anonymustelid

The sun beat down on the white sandy beaches of the Narnvak Grand Island Resort. Handlers and Tokotas bustled around in tight groups, moving from activity to activity. The Resort was hosting a myriad of competitions for the locals and tourists to enjoy. Out in the bay, several tokotas rode surfboards with their handlers, catching waves and sometimes lucky enough to catch air. Closer to shore, resort officials gathered competitors for the dock diving competition. Ford, Best Steak Marinade in Existence, and Shadow were huddled together, waiting their turn to be called up to the dock. Steak seemed to dwarf the two standard builds in size. He looked down on Shadow and Ford with a goofy grin on his face. “What’re you so smug about, big guy?” Ford asked. “I have you two beat already, no sweat,” Steak said. He raised his chin slightly, as though preening. “I’d like to see you try, you big loaf,” Shadow said with a chuckle. “What’re you going to do, soak the judges with a cannonball? It’s

The inky black of the void stretched on to infinity. It was rare to meet another creature. Even rarer still, to meet another creature with friendly intentions. After some time, one can lose themself to the darkness. Grover knew some creatures here had existed far longer than he had. He had no concept of time in this dimension, but he surmised he’d been here over a year, while others that shambled through the darkness had been here uncountable years. He could feel the void tugging on the edges of his mind, beckoning him to let go. Still, some part of him remained. When he looked at his paws, he saw nothingness. A gray monotone that ate up all light and creativity that touched it. There were no smells here. He could only faintly recall the taste of fresh baked cookies on the back of his tongue. But why? Why was this the flavor and scent that stuck with him through this void? A telltale clue of his past life. His head throbbed in pain if he thought about it. So, he didn’t. He shambled

Sometimes when the wind howls across the tundra, it sounds like a rampaging beast. Spitfire found this rang absolutely true in the farthest reaches of the North. Even when the skies were clear and snow was not in the forecast, the wind liked to whip across the land like a galloping horse. It stung his eyes and battered his fur. It echoed off the rocks and ice formations, roaring into his ears at deafening decibels. The only sound audible above the wind was the occasional hiss and eruption of one of the Frost Dragons. The pillars of ice and frost towered over his head like silent guardians. They held an uncanny presence like they were watching his trek across the ice. He had to be careful of some of the smaller formations, especially those at eye level. If you weren’t careful, a gout of steam could scald you, or worse. Spitfire had made sure the weather forecast was clear for this journey. There was nothing worse than traversing the Frost Dragons in a winter storm. While he knew that

The climate of Maquraq was stifling. The jungle harbored many dangers that Spitfire was not used to. His paws paddled through swampy water and belly-deep mud as he attempted to keep himself afloat and as dry as possible. He found that while caiman, mosquitoes, and quicksand were daunting, getting lost was his most significant issue. His fur was matted with foul-smelling mud, his paw pads cracked from travel, and he had no earthly idea where he was at. Twisting, serpent-like roots rose out of the muck, crisscrossing each other before disappearing into the bog again. Spitfire hauled himself up onto one of the massive roots, attempting to get out of the slime and gunk and get a better vantage point. He looked around and saw nothing but kapok trees, an endless expanse of green and brown and gray. He let out a frustrated huff. What did the locals say? Don’t go into the jungle alone? Well, that wasn’t helpful at all. They said something else, something about the roots. If he could just

It happened before Spitfire had time to think, let alone react. Fiery jaws clamped around his neck. Serrated teeth pressed into the tender flesh under his mane. His paws thrashed against the ground, churning helplessly in the air and kicking up dust. His claws grasped at fallen trees and decimated trunks as he was lifted into the air. The heat of a thousand suns seemed to press into his back, and he felt his very soul being funneled into an endless void. His wide, fear-stricken eyes met the infernos of the beast that held him captive. He managed to gasp out a name. “Meelanik.” Minutes before, Spitfire had been traversing the desolate wastes of the Starfall Expanse. He was mindful not to disturb the toxic dust that still covered the earth. A meteor’s reminder that what happened in the past could happen again, today, tomorrow, or any day in the future. A grim reminder that the beautiful continent they called home could be taken from them in an instant. Either in a blast from a space

Daelin and Hypnos set foot off the S.S Awoo and into the sweltering heat of Fosbir. They stepped over tiny bushes and shrubs, foliage that seemed to be barely clinging to life, yet still managed to blossom. The duo followed the caravan of handlers and tokotas alike into the unexplored territory. After several miles of hiking, they arrived at a small encampment settled into the dust of the badlands. Hypnos looked up at Dae with worried eyes. He didn’t like the heat and he definitely didn’t like the rumors he had heard on the boat about dangerous creatures lurking around every corner and under every rock. Who would want to come to a place with hundreds of species of venomous insects and reptiles? Hypnos sure didn’t. Daelin rested a hand on his tokota’s head and rubbed. Hypnos let out a sigh and relaxed. Before they could settle down, they were accosted by a frantic-looking woman. “You have to help me,” she said. She thrust a notebook brimming with handwritten research at them. Hypnos

Daelin found himself back at the TCA facility, almost a year after he had adopted Reivar. Today, the small Toki was accompanying him. He thought it would be good for the little fella to get out of the house. Hypnos loved to have the house to himself, and Reivar loved an expedition. The Toki was looking around with an expression of distaste. His lips were curled up to expose his teeth and his snout was wrinkled. As the duo stepped through the sliding doors of the shelter, they were greeted by the beaming face of one of the volunteer staff. “Daelin! It’s so good to see you again. I can’t believe it, is this really Reivar?” she exclaimed. Reivar wagged his tail once and looked away. He remembered this lady, she helped look after him during his time at the shelter. “Yes, its been long enough that I’d like to introduce another to my pack. I hear you have some new tokotas that need homes?” Daelin said and looked around. “Yes, they were just put up for adoption at the beginning of the

Hypnos and Khione made the long, arduous journey from their home to Alurik in search of Setina’s Hot Springs. Both of the tokotas had been aching and in pain for some time, but due to their constant get-up-and-go nature, neither of them had the time to stop and rest and heal. It took the begging of their handler Daelin to get them to make the journey to the hot springs that were lauded as a place to heal yourself; both physically and spiritually. Khione’s head had been throbbing for what felt like months, and Hypnos’ old injuries in his hind legs were beginning to cause him trouble again. They made their way to the shadow of Ravarri where the hot springs were nestled. They avoided the bath houses that charged admission fees in favor of going to one of the wild pools. Neither Khione nor Hypnos were too keen on mingling with tourists or the locals. Too many strangers stressed them out and they were here to heal, not have their anxiety tripled. They walked past pools filled with other

Dae and Hypnos waited in line to board the S.S. Awoo. Hypnos pressed against the back of Dae’s legs, keeping them grounded as they braved the crowd. Dae briefly worried about the amount of people boarding the ship, brief images of the vessel sinking crossing their mind. They quickly banished the thought, and buried one of their hands in the soft fur of Hypnos’ neck fur. Hypnos, also uncomfortable with the amount of people surrounding them, reveled in the closeness of his handler. After what felt like forever, it was their turn to board the boat. They climbed the stairs that lead up to the deck and tried not to look over the railing and into the water below. Neither of them had ever been on a boat before, so they didn’t know how they would react. Hypnos saw lots of sea sickness in their future, which wouldn’t fare well for the journey ahead, or the trips to the supposed other regions they were to travel to. He tried not to think about it as his nails clicked against the wood of the deck

Daelin had been sick for a week. Hypnos stayed by their side the whole time, letting out gentle whines and occasionally nudging their handler to keep them coherent. The doctors weren’t sure what the anthropomorphic badger had come down with, but whatever it was, the outlook was grim. Hypnos felt helpless as he sat by Dae’s side. He didn’t know the first thing about medicine and he absolutely wasn’t qualified to give medical advice, or assistance for that matter. The only thing he was good for was soothing his handler’s anxieties, and right now, Hypnos needed his own anxieties soothed. He brought Daelin bottles of water from the fridge and fetched pouches of crackers from the pantry. It was the only thing he could really do. Daelin wasn’t able to keep down anything that wasn’t plain. Hypnos felt like he was resigned to watch his handler die right in front of him. Hypnos pressed himself against Daelin’s side in their bed as they slept. Hypnos, usually prone to naps and deep sleeps