❝bare your teeth, little one, for you are made of stardust and divinity.❞
It is said, in the era before the mother of our mothers, when the ancients first built their ruins, we were not alone in this world. Creatures flitted through the skies above...
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Tip's paws carried him faster than they ever had before.
The excess energy caused him to stumble as he burst through the tent flap. His claws scrambled to gain purchase on the ground and his tail snapped to correct his balance but it was too late. Tip toppled directly into a stack of books. The collision caused bruises to blossom on Tip's side and the books to scatter across the tent like fallen leaves.
"Tipitia!" the Chief Elder shouted. She had been sitting when Tip entered the tent but the noise caused her to quickly rise. Her eyes were wide and her ears were pricked with alarm. "What's happening? Is everything alright?"
"Yes. Sorry," Tip said in quick succession. "Wanted to show you."
"Show me what?" the Chief Elder asked.
Tip stood up and offered the feather to the Chief Elder.
The Chief Elder furrowed her brows. She leaned in, examining the strange thing Tip had brought her. Gingerly, she took it from his hands and carried it to her workstation in the back of the tent. Tip followed her without a word. He moved the books that had piled on a nearby stool and sat down next to the Chief Elder.
"Where did you find this?" the Chief Elder asked.
"Don't know," Tip said. "Ituha or Jin would."
"I'll speak with them later," the Chief Elder said. "Did you see where it came from? Perhaps a flower or tree?"
Tip shook his head. "It came from... it was alive. Like... like us." Tip made a small noise of frustration at his inability to articulate what he saw. "It... it was not a plant. It moved. It flew." He hoped the Chief Elder could make sense of his words. "The feather fell from it."
"The feather?" the Chief Elder echoed.
"The feather. I think?" Tip's tail flicked. "Was that... the wrong word?"
The Chief Elder did not respond. Rather, she moved fluidly through the tent to a crate, wrapped in protective fabrics. She pulled them off, layer by layer, and opened the crate to reveal the oldest and most fragile of the herd's books. They were incredibly precious things. Tip had only seen the Chief Elder open the crate once before. Whatever Tip had found was very old and very important.
The Chief Elder removed a thick book from the crate and unwrapped the second layer of fabric from the book. She was gentle as she flipped through its ancient pages. When she found what she was looking for, the Chief Elder inhaled softly.
"Come here," the Chief Elder said. "Was this the thing you saw?"
Tip crept forward. He was almost hesitant to look at the pages of the book, as though the mere gaze of unworthy eyes might somehow damage them. However, when he finally mustered the courage to peek over the Chief Elder's shoulder, he saw a painted depiction of something that looked very, very similar to the one within the forest.
