Reptilian

Chapter 1: Ruins of the Future

"Do you think they're real?"

"No, Karnus. I highly doubt that there were actually humans," Hjuirr said. "What of the ruins, though? Who built those? It had to be humans."

Hjuirr rolled his eyes at Karnus for, once again, believing in fairy tails. The Zaak produced many stories for the young hatchlings, but none of which they actually believed. "Whatever. Believe what you want, but I know for a fact that there are no such things as tailless, scaleless, over-intelligent beings. I think our humanoid kin is the best you'll ever find," he hissed. Karnus' tail twitched as she growled lightly. Weirdo, he thought.

This is how normal days in the Zaak tribes went. First, there were all those morning grumps. Then, in the evening, well... There were evening grumps.

Hjuirr looked up from his tome, observing the window. It was as evening in the Jafgin Swamp always was; a dull, green glow emitted from not too far above the jungle canopy, dimly lighting the village below. If people thought the daylight was dark, they would be shocked at the visibility of nighttime. The Hissgill family bathed lazily outside on a smooth rock that lay in the calm lake, their long tails coiled around smaller rocks. As for Karnus' family, they were out Jhnr-hunting again. Jhnrs looked like a terrifying cross between a rat and a wolf, making the job of Jhnr-hunting frighteningly dangerous.

As for Hjuirr, he was stationed on the couch, reading his favorite book, Insha ka Urdin, meaning in his language, Nothing but Blue. As he read the intriguing book about when the skies were blue, it made him think back to the time when Karnus first heard of the "Godly Beings" era, where humans were said to rule over the 190 continents. But back then, there were only 7 continents. This is what made Hjuirr so skeptic. Seven continents was outrageous to even think about, especially since the sea level was so high. Karnus was considered a fool to think of them as gods, even if she sometimes called them nonexistent.

Although they fought occasionally, they were still best friends since birth. Nothing was powerful enough to separate them, except maybe the usual acid storms which lit the swamp with spectacular white blazes.

"What about the North Temples? I heard they were once towering buildings that hundreds, even thousands, of humans inhabited. It was called... New... New something. I forget though. I'm not too good at remembering these human structure names. They were too confusing."

"Be quiet, Karnus. I'm reading."

"So? There is so much history in this stuff! In unbelievable that you aren't interested."

"They're gone, Karnus. That's all we need to ever worry about. This is a new era, so we shall live it. If they were real, they certainly aren't now. This is the Zaak, not the humans."

"Don't be such a hater."

He grunted in response, resuming to his book. Don't tell me what to do, he whispered in his head. Slowly, he closed the book and stretched, stretching out the olive-green scales that lined his back and faded into the front and under of his body. The front of his body was made of smooth, slippery, pale yellow skin that sparkled in the light. He opened his eyes after the relaxing stretch and revealed two dark brown eyes.

As for Karnus, she was born with heavenly white scales that glittered with each ray of moonlight that emits from the night. In fact, her whole body was a pure white, sometimes fading to a grayish color around the edges to her scaly back. Just like all of the Zaak, her back was covered in large scales while her body front was made of smooth, colored flesh. The tip of her tail ended in a spectacular flurry of sky-blue fur, just as her eyes and her hair sparkled the same color. The Zaak also were born with hair colors that matched their scales, skin, and tail fur, just as Hjuirr's hair was olive green.

Yawning deeply, he stared out at the sunset, wondering if she would have to stay at his house for the night again. His parents were already sound asleep in bed, leaving them two alone to socialize. She had settled down on a leather beanbag, and it wasn't the most comfortable thing to rest on. He stared thoroughly, observing her sharp details. That earned him a warning glance from her. "Don't stare at me like that. We're just friends, nothing more," she snapped. She was a year or so older than him, which made her more attractive than ever, but he wasn't looking for her to be his mate.

He rolled his eyes, signaling that he didn't like her.

"When is your family coming back? It's only 5 in the afternoon and you're already growing annoying," Hjuirr groaned. "When they're done, I guess. If they don't return by 7, I'm staying with you tonight," Karnus explained. He replied with a simple 'okay' and returned reading:

The beings took to the sky, stretching the limits of reality and reaching a whole new height beyond any of the Rilak. At day, there was blue that was frosted with the gift of cotton clouds. At night, the sky would drift into sleep, a black blanket sprinkled with white poured over the heavens.

On some days, the puffy and delightful clouds would fill with liquid, bringing the present of clear, blue water. On other days, the skies would preform a show of unearthly events, bolts of light streaming from thin air. They called this godly gift Lightning.

When the night came and the glittering enigmas called Stars came out, they would shine upon the Earth, bringing dim lights to the people below. Alas, these lights have vanished, their white brilliance fading into the darkness of the void.

His heart dropped once he read the last sentence. He wished they had the stars, the mighty, glittering stars. Karnus was now wandering over to him, leaning on his shoulder. He shrugged her off and continued. "Depressing book," she commented, "Yet entertaining."

Karnus hung once again on his shoulder, her eyes concentrating on the tome.

After about 30 minutes, when the green sun finally decided to descend into the depths of the swampy jungle, she crawled off of him. Slowly, she made her way to the window, placing her hand upon the smooth bamboo frames.

"I know they're out there, Hjuirr. I can feel it."