Land of Armonia

Chapter One

Herogi sat cross legged on her cot. The girl was smudged with dirt and her cloths were torn. She didn't mind though. Her black hair was undone and frizzy. A leaf tickled her nose as it clung to her bangs. She whipped it away and snarled, bearing her fangs. Her catlike eyes spotted a mouse in the corner of her tent. She pinned her golden ears that wrested on her head flat. she pulled herself into a crouch. She froze, watching as the mouse picked up a nut from the ground. The little creature began nibbling at the edges of its food. She leapt off the bed, claws out and pounced on the little creature. It had died from her force as she hit it. She held the limp mouse in her claws. "not nearly big enough to eat" she thought to herself. She tossed it outside the tent door.

"hey!" a voice  said from outside.

A mountain lion made his way into the tent.

"that wasn't very nice now, was it?" the cat said.

"sorry" Herogi  replied as she stepped back.

"its alright. I've come to tell you its your turn for night shift."

"Oh, right. Thank you." she bowed her head to the mountain lion as he turned. The large cat made his way out. "At least he didn't try and sneak up on me" she thought. Trituradora  was the mountain lions name. He was sort of the mysterious type and could scare almost anyone by how sneaky he was.

Herogi opened the tent flap and walked out into the cool night air. Most of the tribe was asleep in their tents. In the distance she saw the glow of a fire. On normal nights, this was supposed to light her way to patrol. But tonight was lit by the moon and stars. The clear sky seemed to talk to her.  But she couldn't understand it.

Rather than walk the mile on foot, she crouched on all fours. Her spotted golden tail got longer and wider. Her torso stretched longer. the whiskers on her cheek became more plenty full. She morphed into a cat herself. A cheetah to be precise. The only thing that stayed human like on her was a necklace that hung around her neck. Four different colored beads accessorized it.

She leapt into the air. When she landed she hurled herself into a sprint. She raced of through the tall grass until she reached the trees. Here, she had to be cautious of fallen trees, rocks and upturned roots. Though she knew the land of her village like the back of her hand, anything could happen at night. After about five minutes she spotted a figure. A tall boy stood there. He was spinning his yoyo like weapon. He was probably bored.

"Alright, your shift is over Kaajila" Herogi said as she stopped at his side. Rather than respond, Kaajila nodded and turned to the direction she had came. He silently crept away. Herogi hated night patrol. Somehow she got stuck with it. She longed for the easier day shifts.

The tribe wasn't always like this. Always on their toes searching for any threat. Ever since the Chaton tribe had gotten in an argument with the Sly Vulpes, they somehow managed to blame her own tribe for whatever they were fighting over.  Now the Cretos tribe, her home, lived in fear. The Chatons were one of the most powerful tribes, and the most feared.

You see, each tribe represented a different power. The Sly Vulpes represented illusion. The Pax Canis, loyalty. The Testudos, protection. Their were many other tribes as well. Her own tribe, the Cretos, was one of the more powerful tribes, and represented creation. But the Chatons, destruction. The Cretos, and the Chatons were always at a cold war with each other. They found any reason to be mad at each other. But there was one thing that set these two tribes apart from the rest. They were the only two cat tribes. But they weren't the same. Her own tribe were like the kings of cats. The large majestic type like lions, tigers, panthers, and cheetahs like herself. The Chatons however, were what you would call housecats. Very mean, solemn, large attitudes, and dominate.

Herogi was so caught up in thought, she didn't see the black cat creeping from the trees. But the cat saw her. It froze as not to be seen. It was crouching from behind a rock. He watched as Herogi stood in silence. She had round golden cat ears with black lining perked up on her head. A long spotted tail curled at her bare feet. She wore red clothing leaving here stomach bare.

The cat knew she was one of the Cretos. He lay still, watching her. She grabbed something that was wrapped around her waist. A string. A yoyo. He knew it seemed harmless, but in reality, she could make knives stick out the edges, make it into a whip, and shoot arrows from the edges. It was the weapon of the Cretos. His weapon was a baton. The weapon of the Chatons.

Herogi heard the sound of someone breathing. "who's there!?" she called.

The black cat was startled. She had some how heard him. Herogi's eyes flickered to where the black cat crouched.

"Chaton" she muttered angerly. Suddenly four knives blossomed from the edge of her yoyo. her eyebrows narrows. Without warning, the yoyo was hurled at the cat. He had barely jumped out of the way. One of the knives lodged itself into the ground where he once stood. The yoyo returned to Herogi. She threw it again at the cat. He dodged it. His heart was pounding ferociously. They repeated this several times, dancing around each other in a a dangerous manner, each time the yoyo getting closer to the cat in his effort of dodging it. He started getting tired. Herogi turned to her left and grabbed a bugle the was sitting on a stump. She placed her lips to the end and blew.

"great." The cat thought. "she's calling for her tribe."

The cat new he had to leave. But as he turned to sprint away, he was caught by something. He thrust his head around to see the girl who had pinned him to the ground. The black cat slithered out of her grasp and bounded away. Herogi morphed into a cheetah and caught up with him easily. This time grabbing him with her jaws.

"I-I come in peace!" he said desperately.

"yeah right" she said with an annoyed tone in her muffled voice. "why are you really here. Are there any others?"

"n-no I'm the only one."

Herogi still didn't believe him. the sound of footsteps running behind them caught his attention. 6 Cretos warriors had appeared through the thick trees. Each had a yoyo weapon.

"There!" one man cried out. The men and women morphed into there cat forms. Two tigers, one mountain lion, one sphinx, a black panther and a lion. The black cat struggled as he tried to crawl out of her grasp. The six large cats surrounded them. Herogi unclenched her jaws and the cat fell to the ground.

"We were right. The Chatons are after us." said the lion with a deep male voice.

"Are we to take him back to camp, or shall we finish him off now?" said the sphinx. "what if there are others?" she concluded.

"Tigerlily, Guerrero, scout for any others." the lion nodded at the two tigers. "Wakanda, return to camp and warn the others." he said to the panther as she turned and trotted off.

"Sphinx, take him to camp." he said to the other cat who was staring at the black cat on the ground  to scared to move. "Make sure he doesn't leave your sight!"

"yes sir."

"what about me?" Trituradora asked the lion.

"stay here. You will switch posts with Herogi." said the lion.

The mountain lion nodded and morphed himself into his human form. A tan boy with filthy golden hair. The lion motioned for Herogi to walk with him back to the village. They walked in silence  for what seemed like fifteen minutes. Ajawo was the lions name. Herogi couldn't find words to speak to him. It was an honor for him to walk with her, for he was the tribe leader, and the king of creation. She was shocked that he came with the other five warriors at the sound of her distress call. It was quit unusual. He must have been worried that the Chatons had arrived on an ambush.

When they arrived in the village, Ajawo told her to go to her tent, and sleep. She obeyed him and walked her way down the trail through the village. When she found her tent, she morphed back into a human. She thought she would have an easy time falling asleep but she was wrong. Something didn't feel right. Herogi didn't know if it was the fact that a Chaton warrior had snuck up on  them that was keeping her awake, or if it was whatever the stars were trying to tell her that night. Whatever it was, she had a restless night. When she finally fell asleep, she had a nightmare.