Artemis Child

Monster Earth Ch3

  The air in this tent was stale. The girls and I were all stuck bound to these pillars full of animal spoils. Skulls, feathers, fur, teeth, even pellets from something else also bound to these pillars that helped support the weight of this large tent. Dark honey amber material was letting in a warm glow from the sun. The ground was covered in a combination of bound wood and thatch fibers from nearby trees. The small bit of air coming from the drafty back only brought the smell to our noses, a rotting scent that rolled into copper pennies found on hot pavement.
   A woman Centuaride in a bright red and green feather garb entered the tent. Her fur was black speckled with white spots. She had tattooes that showed hard against her dark complexion where ever the garb ddint cover. She spoke in patterns of growls and meows. In her left hand was a mortar bowl and ingredients of some kind. Deep red pellets, orange seeds and a small white twig layer in the bowl. She waved her right hand in front of our faces making sounds as she did so like a ritual.
  "Excuse me..." Serena said trying to slow the woman down and ask here some questions. The woman started grinding the material on the bowl and doing a little ritual bow of some kind. Her front paws laying flat against ground for only a moment before she was up again. The bowl produced a red fume before falling back into the bowl.
  "Safu!" The lady said blowing the red powder in all of our faces. We choked on the material, our eyes watering. "Can't." Kaylyn said trying to catch some air. "Breath." She finished still coughing and wheezing. "Breathe from here." The Centuaride said pointing at her lower rib cage, on her human half.
  "So you.." Lexi said through a breath. "Speak English now?" The woman turned her head to the side. "English?" She seemed confused. "What was that stuff?" I asked her, there was this slight bit of energy crackling I could hear. My fire was now coming up my arms and undoing my binds. "They will kill you." The woman said giving me this hand gesture to stop what I'm doing.
  I was already free and about to free the others when a large woman entered the tent. The shaman like woman bowed before the new person staying there unmoving like she was made of stone. The new woman was a pure white furred Centuaride, with beautiful orange eyes. She had medium level cheek bones, and was definitely an older being here, but she was stunning. The woman had a ornate cloak draping on here hind legs, fitted together with golden medallions each with two symbols on. But I could read them. North and South.
"Fire spirit?" The woman looked me in the eyes asking, no demanding an answer.
I didn't know what to say to answer her. Her paws had her claws slowly growing to show her impatience with my lack of answer. "No ma'am." I said sitting back down against the semi-charred pillar. "Then what kingdom are you?" The woman asked her claws retracting slightly. "We are demi-gods, from earth." Serena answered her, only to suddenly have a paw full of claws from the shaman close in on her. "No speak. Queen must request your words." She warned Serena, and we now knew just who this woman was to be all high and mighty.
   "Demi-gods?" The queen asked with a raised eyebrow looking at Serena then to me. She looked me over with a smile. "Delicious." But she didn't seem to mean like she was going to eat me, maybe she was flirting with me. "Your smell, its arousing." The queen said stepping closer to me, her soft fur from her paw touched my thigh through my torn clothing. Here touch was, electric to my whole body.
   "Free them. They will learn from us." The queen said, stepping back to leave the tent. The other woman obeyed. When while we were being freed, we heard suddenly war drums being pounded hard in rhythm along with a rise in sudden chanting.
  "The change has begun." The woman said as Lexi was now being freed. "Where is my brother?" Lexi asked looking worried. "If he is here. Then the Change." She said pointing towards the entrance of the tent.
  Leaving showed us an amazing view. Hundreds of trees with wooden stairs, tents, wooden tree platforms that connected in multiple ways like jungle webs, stone pillars with painted banners, deep pools of water with little Centuarides running around. It was a community of this species of monster. This tree was next to a huge wooden platform that seemed like the center. There were over a hundred trees supporting the weight of this massive wooden/stone castle where the queen was headed. Drums were coming from this area illuminated entirely by fire. They were surrounded by this deep well that was next to this small canyon that dropped of from the forest.
  Someone poured this stone bucket full of clumpy material into the well as the drums were being beat like a piñata in deep active rhythm. "You will see the Change there." She pointed at this path that lead to a slide children Centuaride were using to get to the canyon edge to see what was happening.
   Apon heading there we were getting all sorts of looks from the villagers, but they didn't do anything after seeing the shaman woman with us. The slide was surprising slick for being made of stone and clay.
  The canyon edge was a surprisingly beautiful view. This small river cut through the middle, the twilight rained purple light down the canyon walls. The sun sinking perfectly in the canyon distance like it was made for it. The other side of the canyon had torches if their own lighting up and scouting the edge. It was a different tribe of monsters cheering and roaring their drums with a different sound. Their biome was a marsh land kind of area. The edge of their side had moss leaning over the soft red and orange clay. The beats of both tribes echoing off the canyon walls into this harmony. Out of our side rocks carrying people started launching out of this hole in the side of the canyon. It was Andrew first, then Cory, Marc, then finally Toni. All with rocks pulling them from where they were coming from.
  Across the way they delivered four of their own. But in one whole motion, they dropped a cage of wood off the side of the cliff. It skidded across the canyon flipping hard before busting next to the river.
   A low rumble came as the sun started to completely sink below the horizon blanketing the canyon in darkness. Everyone was covered in this faintly glowing goop. They all approached the river to wash off, instead they only began to glow more. Now a completely red aura seemed to surround them all, making them visible in the darkness.
  "Now they Change." The shaman said as large clusters of rocks started rolling together pulling some of the glowing material with them. Hard to make out shapes started shaping themselves in the growing darkness. Those eight down there were now just targets.