"It cannot be."

The creature's voice was breathy, a near-whisper with his disbelief. Pale blue eyes stared down at the howlite--a light blue-white in color, threaded through with gray. Dirt smeared it, fresh and wet, from where he'd scraped the moss away.

"It cannot be."

So it was here.

Rezik remained frozen: and then reared up, lashing out and striking sharply with his hooves against the stone. She had lain here all along-... All along! All through his sleep, and ever since his own-...

With an angered cry he struck out again, but his kicks were feeble compared to the thick shell. He stopped himself, breathing heavily, and stared down. "I will find-... a Master. An Overseer. I will bring them here-... This cannot be."

With that, Rezik spun and rushed away, stumbling through the moss in his haste.


art by April

She had woken sharply at the crashing all around her. And now it was gone-...

Now it was time to get away from here. Already, she could feel the minds stirring somewhere in the distance, and she kicked, struggling. The grey-veined Howlite cracked, then shattered, and she scrambled out. One graceful leap, as if she'd never been asleep, and her long-legged, blue-hued form was perched atop the mound of upturned moss above.

Her eyes widened as she stared around, breathing coming fast.

I have to get out of here.

With tail low and body trembling, the stranger bolted off into the deeper shadows between the Warrens, and out of sight beyond.

Nothing but the shattered Howlite chrysalis was left behind.