Blood of Terray

There was a voice echoing in the dark.

"Hello? Are you dead?"

I couldn't feel it, but the voice felt my pulse.

"Oh, maybe you aren't dead. Just asleep?

It was like I was thrown into some sort of coma, a coma that lasted a few hours and many years at the same time. At that point, I was alone, helpless, I might as well have been killed in the dark. But daybreak had came, and finally someone had noticed me.

"Are you going to wake up? It seems like someone hit you on the head."

My senses were just beginning to return. I could smell the toxic odor of the creature standing right on top of me. It smelled almost like rubbing alcohol, almost like cleaning products...

My eyes had opened.

I couldn't help but look around in a sort of panic after the first thing I see being this unusual anomaly consisting of a reptilian posture and strange colors. Who was this? What was this?

"Hello?" I had asked like as if they were the ones passed out on the ground.

"Hello! I am Flasque." Immediately he shook one of my limped hands and finally jumped off my stomach. Quick to introduce yourself, I see.

I wish I remembered why I was even here... I've been through these parts of the woods many times, but I don't know what I did to pass out. Although it doesn't seem like I was the only one...

"I guess another war broke out here... It happens every year! You guys start fighting for food and then it gets personal, and then you hit a tree and pass out or die."

So is that what happened? I guess I do need to work on my flying skills a bit more, but I don't usually hit trees.

"Did you see me pass out? Or did you come around after?" I need to know all I can.

"I'm... sorry, I was just taking a walk and found you here." He was clearly nervous but I'm not sure why.

"I tried to see if any of you guys down here would respond, but you're the only one. I know this is kinda dramatic but it could be worse, right? You could've gotten stuck here and eventually eaten up by a group of fellow terray."

Wow. I guess I'm lucky. On a serious note though, terray are unusually savage so in any consolation I got the better end of the stick here.

I finally felt a little less paralyzed and got up. I was about to just leave without comment but this guy still wants to ask questions...

"Wait! Are you just going to leave like this never happened? I want to atleast know your name first."

It was silent for a while after that. I didn't even want to give eye contact anymore after that request.

"...Me? You want to know my name." I still refuse to give eye contact.

"Well, what else am I supposed to call you by?"

I had the perfect excuse to not tell him. "I don't have the kind of time to converse with you, I need to be back home... And quickly..."

I immediately rushed away from him before he could respond, but then I quickly realized: Where is home? I lost a good amount of my memory from what happened, most of it being short-term... But I don't remember what part of the woods I'm in. It's going to be much harder to get home now.

Without break, I kept walking through the woods in hopes I'd eventually see a light emitting from the window of a cozy cottage, or atleast the smell of roasted chestnuts and steak. I would fly but seeing how the war is apparently still ongoing, I'd rather be on the down low.

On the inside, I was panicking, since I'm not even supposed to be here in the first place; I had snuck out last night. But if my dad comes around here and sees that I returned here without his consent and gotten hurt, I think something worse would happen than this brawl.

Terray are still falling from the sky like birds struck by lightening. Every few steps I take, I encounter a carcass, or possibly someone who's just waking up the same way I did. I think there needs to be some sort of control here, but it's free game here in the Down Under.

Despite what the Flasque guy said, he was incorrect of the reason why terray end up like this. I know why this happens.

It's just that kind of season where it starts to get hot, and out of insanity our minds start to focus on our main objectives. Any obstacles in the way, those being other terray above, will be tackled down without thought. And then, summer warfare begins, and the woods begin to shift into a garden for corpses.

And this is the time my father definitely doesn't want me to touch this part of the outdoors. He was afraid I would get killed along with the rest, and.. I almost did...

Suddenly, I had a flashback. It helped me remember how I ended up in this; a terray was flying at high speeds, and ran into me.

Now, I can usually control myself during this season, but the reckless, rough pressure on my back initiated an angry fight-or-flight response. We both fiercly clawed at eachother, and I got a few jabs and cuts in (I'm proud of it), but I'm a pretty amateur flier compared to most in the skies, so I eventually lost my grip.

And I started to fall for what felt like an eternity. I wasn't very high up before I fell because we were a little busy fighting, but the pressure of the fall was still too strong for me to control.

And then, I fell. Right onto where I started.

My vision immediately went black after that. I felt like the hardest block of concrete hit me right in my face. With the speed I was falling at, it's honestly a good thing I didn't hit a tree. That probably would've actually killed me.

But the impact of the fall still affects me; even as of right now I still feel the world spinning as I walk. I'm much more concerned of the plates in my head doing dances than any of the still-bleeding, dirty cuts on my body, although I'd do anything for my father to not see them.

All I can do now is think about all that just happened, and worry I'll never make it home. At this point I'm in a place I'm not too familiar with, and I don't have anyone to help me. What do I do now..? The more I walk, the more I start to think I might need to ask Flasque for assistance. He's the only one here I feel like I can trust.