The Zodiac Cycle

1.20 Capricorn

Iris clenched her jaw as the creature holding her came to a hard stop, honding her in both hands. Its grip was tight enough that she couldnt wiggle out, but not so tight that it hurt her in any way, like a gentle firmness.

She looked around at where they had stopped to find a village. There were animal-skin tents set up and a large hut in the middle that looked to be made from tree branches. The people walking around were smaller than the beasts and seemed to stick to darker, cooler tones. They looked up in confusion as the one carrying her walked through the village. They were busy in the area and seemed less... monstorous. They wore cloth and animal fur clothing and all of them seemed to have a skull mask resting on their heads. They reminded Iris of deer, almost.

The one carrying her got to the hut in the center of the village, and Iris got closer to the ground as the hands around her shrunk into normal arms.

The creature was holding her from under her arms, but seemed to have shrunk down to the form that everyone else in the village was in.

They opened the curtain into the hut aggressively and spoke in a feminine voice. Iris wasnt in the best position to look at them though. "Cheif."

Inside the hut was a male with the largest antlers Iris had seen in the village. He seemed far older than the workers and turned upon their entry to gaze upon them with dark red eyes that stood out on his bronze skin. He had what looked like a bear skull mask on his head.

"Elizabeth, why have you brought your prey alive?" He motioned to Iris with a thick arm covered in traditional markings.

"Uh... I might have accidentally hurt her." She stuck Iris out like one would show off a teddy bear.

"You were hunting her, that's the point." He turned back to what he was doing a bit, before he sniffed the air and froze. He spun once again and looked at Iris. "A fairy?"

Iris bit her tounge. She knew that if she said anything, she would most likely be killed and eaten. She was an Eagle fey, and in her culture, she believed that her species were descended from Icarus himself. The notion that she was even related to a fairy was incredibly repulsive as she had been raised to know that her heritage was otherwise. Earlier, when she had first been picked up and called Fairy, she had to do the same thing, and she hated it.

But she was a Fey, and Fey were unable to lie. She knew that, so she knew that if she had said anything, it would have been the truth.

Most fey were taught half-truths by their parents when they got into high school, but Iris' family had died before she came of age. She found it better to keep her mouth shut because of this.

The Cheif lowered his voice menacingly, "Elizabeth, you hurt a fairy?"

Iris was set down on the floor while she replied. "I didnt mean to! She was protecting a Harpy, and I was trying to get her to back off!"

"I dont smell Harpy on you."

"We didnt catch it, I thought to bring the fairy to you first." Iris was able to turn and look at the person that had brought her there.

She was tall, nearly as tall as George, and had the same skin tone. She had black hair in a straight bob and dark green eyes, sticking out from the whites over her eyes, which weren't actually white, but black. She had antlers like all the others and ears that resembled deer ears. Her skull mask resembled that of a deer as well. She was curvy, with a thin waist and wide hips and clawed feet similar to Iris'. She had a tail that looked like a backbone, and Iris had no idea how it moved.

She was wearing a green long sleeved shirt with a brown shawl over it liked with black fur and black pants that hooked over her talons.

"So you hurt and captured a fairy for a harpy that you didnt even catch?" The Cheif looked angry as he stepped towards Iris (well most likely he stepped towards the woman, but Iris was between them) and she took a step back, bumping into the one who had brought her, Elizabeth.