As gravity was a mere third of our own earth’s, Nixie was able to repel herself into the trees with a single hop; her two-forked tail gripped the branches as she landed with an effortless grace. In a moment she tensed; beneath she heard the sound of something rustling, in fact the sound of many somethings. Doing as only her kind can, she relaxed until her very body became Dark Matter; now merely a Shadow, she was a thing that could hardly be considered a thing. Flowing down the body of the tree, she watched as the strange race before her continued to march onward.
They were large, much larger than she and her similar race, who stood at only four feet tall at Nixie’s adolescent age. Males of her kind would climax at a foot above her, but she would be no taller. These creatures were much, much larger. Twice her size, possibly three times it. They looked as though they’d been formed of the black soil of Pyrigia Levis - doglike creatures though their pelts were much like that of any reptile’s. She saw no eyes on these sinister creatures, and yet she knew that they could see - much better than she could in fact. This race, the Umbra Latro, had ruled for nearly a hundred moon cycles now. Hunted her kind into near-extinction. Nixie hadn’t found so much as a single of her kind in many days. The Pianam such as she were dangerously declining. Did the Umbra Latro not realize that Nixie’s kind were the very life source that kept this planet alive? Only the rare chemical that was produced by the Pianam’s breath could keep the Night Forest alive, just as the sap of the Night Forest trees was all that could sustain Nixie. Without either Night Forest or Pianam, the ever-essential hydrogen that made up most of their atmosphere would be depleted. Their world would crumble and die.
Already it was affecting the trees. Nixie could hear the soft sighs of the weary trees, and the sap she found was now often turned blue with the Forest’s blood. Her breathing was harsh; the atmosphere was fading.
One of the Umbra Latros was clinging to something now. It was a device that looked much like a compass, but he placed it on his chest, then circled. As the Umbra Latro neared, the object ticked, faster, faster, until the dog-creature was standing just before her.
It spoke in a way that acknowledged the others of its kind, and soon they’d all circled, gazing down towards her with no emotions or expressions that Nixie could understand. Finally, one approached with a net; Nixie let out a shriek, one sounding much like that of a mourning dove. Their was no hope. As the net encircled her, she found that she was forced to contort to her regular solid form.
“A rare species,” one Umbra Latro said, though Nixie could not understand. The Umbra Latro merely watched as the small streamlined creature struggled in the net. The beast beside him sighed. “We must hope she isn’t the last.”
~*~
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