Ribbontail: Enter Emalia
Chapter 14: The Canyon

Author's Note: Please read my artist's comments before continuing. :3
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Long into the day the four traveled. Fidei’s sleek milky form led the four, followed by Ribbontail, who carried O’liday astride her back. PuppetRibbontail trailed behind, silent but obedient to her master.

As the day dragged on the snide Fidei demanded that they settle down and sleep. “Eclipsians are most active at night” had been his reasoning, and O’liday promptly agreed. Thus, Ribbontail did as she was told and the party slept curled in a tightly-knit circle.

Ribbontail’s second real night- her third official one, to be precise- was a silent and calm one. There was no rain this time, and the hush after the storm had turned the meadow into a serene environment. Ribbontail, PuppetRibbontail, and O’liday remained cuddled together as they had the previous night, while Fidei lay sprawled out some ways away.

In the morning the dim sun began inching over the jagged horizon, its dim rays fingering across the moor as it made its slow ascent into view. Ribbontail would have been happier to have spent the morning relaxing and telling stories with O’liday, but Fidei had them up and moving. The young god of light was less than affectionate when the others were present. He even seemed to be in a hurry.

Morning fog clung to the ground, as mist would on a lake; they were thick and billowing gray clouds that hung low, obscuring their view to mere feet. Though magnificent, they made traveling hard.

Fidei’s opaque white coat gleamed like a ghost that swished about before Ribbontail, and she was content to keep her silence and simply watch as he lead them on. Ribbontail kept her head low and her mouth shut; O’liday however, complained incessantly. The feliulf was discontented about many things; he spat out a constant stream of complaints about his hunger, his tiredness, and the moisture in the air.

As they traveled on the feliulf finally began to calm down.

Clouds from the storm before still loomed overhead like a curtain of gray sheets, and the moisture in the air clung to their fur as dew, but all was comfortable. By the time the morning mists had lifted and the cloud-smothered sun hung a few inches above the horizon they had all become quite mechanical and unaware to the world around them.

After many hours of silence and straightforward traveling Ribbontail began to feel a nervous tension in her chest. “We've been traveling for hours!” she thought, “When can we take a break...?”

Ribbontail finally lifted her head to ask such a question aloud, but as she did Fidei came to a sudden stop. He abruptly gestured for them to do the same, and Ribbontail came to a standstill.

Immediately Ribbontail’s mouth opened in a silent display of awe. Before them stretched the expansive mouth of a great canyon, spanning almost a half mile wide. It was massive- red and brown like an open wound, it snaked far into the distance on either side of them. The canyon itself had to be at least a mile deep, so unfathomable that the ground level was cloaked in a reddish black shadow.

The gorge walls on both sides were near-vertical and dropped down into shadowy depths, laced with large stones and boulders, jutting crags, and smaller cliff faces. Climbing down the walls would be a tedious and nerve-wracking descent, and climbing the opposite wall would be even harder.

“Dude,” cried O’liday as he leaned forward, tipping over Ribbontail’s head to get a full view of the canyon below, “that’s HUGE. You sure we can’t just go around it, kid?”

O’liday shot Fidei a curious glance, but the god of light simply sat back and grinned. He lifted his head and took a deep breath of the morning breeze. “No,” he finally responded, the smug grin across his face once more, “this canyon probably goes on for miles and miles. Going around it would take days, maybe even weeks. Why not just go across it?”

“It’s kinda deep, dude. I mean look at it. That could take maybe ten minutes to scale!”

Licking his paw haughtily, Fidei gave O’liday a prided glint out of the corner of his eye. “No big deal,” he said, “you’re a cat, I’m a cat. I’m sure even Ribbontail and her spirit guardian can climb the wall with luck.”

Ribbontail could feel all eyes on her as she stared down into the canyon, its yawning mouth glaring back at her. She could discern  some presence here- something that seemed to be waiting for her in the shadows below. Though the strange sensation bit at her, it seemed to bother none of the others- Fidei had his mask of arrogance, O’liday with his relaxed and patient posture, and PuppetRibbontail with her mechanical and emotionless obedience.

Hesitating for a moment, Ribbontail finally managed to mumble, “Sure… I’m sure I could climb it.”

The eccentric presence below Ribbontail kept to herself; if the others could not feel it, then it was likely her own demoralized mindset. Ribbontail opened her mouth to ask Fidei of this- he already seemed to be hiding his emotions from them, so perhaps he could feel the presence yet feel the need to hide it.

But as she did, Fidei turned and cast a commanding nod at her before he turned and began his descent. He found a single large boulder then in a flowing grace hopped onto a lower one, then another, then another. His means of descending to the canyon floor was a rather elegant one; he seemed almost fluid as he leapt from one rock to a lower one.

Ribbontail felt O’liday give her a motivating kick to her sides. At this she turned to give PuppetRibbontail a worried glance, then O’liday a bleak smile and a nod.

Down into the canyon Ribbontail descended, tracing the path Fidei had taken. It was a near-vertical drop, with rocks almost entirely adjacent to one another, like stacked coins. Ribbontail’s pace was a lot sloppier than Fidei’s graceful and polished one; where he sprang from one bolder to the next in a single sinuous bound, Ribbontail tumbled and scrambled, falling once or twice on her belly and skidding sideways.

About halfway down O’liday dropped off Ribbontail’s shoulders to watch her fall skidding down the face of the cliff, a look of frantic worry and confusion etched across her face. The feliulf laughed and pointed a finger at her, calling out as he did, “Haha dude just relax! You can’t climb down if you’re all worried like that.”

Ribbontail clenched her teeth as finally she landed atop a rock below. As PuppetRibbontail came hopping after her, the young wolf barked, “Yeah, O’liday I’d like to see YOU try!”

In a single leap O’liday hopped down from two rocks above, landing with an almost effortless curtsey. “Like catchin’ a wave: easy.”

Grumbling, Ribbontail shot O’liday a joking look of contempt. For him it was so easy. Felines were built to climb, whereas canines were not. Even in her old human body Ribbontail would have found this easy, but the rocks were slippery and rounded, making the descent harder.
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Many strenuous minutes passed before Ribbontail and PuppetRibbontail reached the floor of the canyon.

Ribbontail reached the bottom of the canyon and slid off the final bottom rock, her paws falling heavily on the ground below. Down here Fidei and O’liday waited almost impatiently, sitting in silence as they watched Ribbontail approach.

“Wasn’t so bad, was it dude?” meowed O’liday confidently, hobbling  merrily over to Ribbontail to give her a congratulatory pat on the shoulder.

“No, I guess not,” Ribbontail responded hesitantly. She turned and gazed back up at the ravine’s wall; sure enough it was a treacherous thing to climb, almost vertical and laced with dewy rocks.

As PuppetRibbontail came clambering down after them, Fidei snorted and peered about. As Ribbontail had assumed, the canyon down here seemed to stretch on forever, its length stretching into the horizon to both their sides. Fidei stared around them for the longest while before finally stretching his limbs as arrogantly as he could.

“It’s not too terrible,” Fidei crooned, “but the walls are too steep here. We should travel down the road for a little bit. Maybe the walls won’t be so steep elsewhere.”

“Maybe” Ribbontail couldn’t help but think, as she compliantly nodded. It was then that, as though on command, O’liday hopped over to climb aboard Ribbontail’s shoulders, while PuppetRibbontail neared her master with a dutiful bow.

“Let’s go,” directed Fidei, and he turned and padded away.

Ribbontail followed much like an obedient child, keeping quiet for the fear that she might spark some emotion in Fidei. If he wanted to adopt his ‘tough-guy’ persona before O’liday and PuppetRibbontail, then she would let him. It was perfectly fine with her.

Down deep in the gorge the red-brown rock glowed with the morning light, the orange shafts of light flitting down like rays from the great heavens. The rain the prior day had given the canyon floor a soft, dampened feel, and the air down here clung cool and crisp.

It was almost a quarter of an hour before finally somebody took the initiative to say something. It was O’liday, and with his jolly aptitude he attempted to start a conversation with Fidei- he asked the white lion of his origin, his parents, his hobbies. But all the while Fidei returned the feliulf’s kind gesture with ignorant grunts.

After many attempts at starting a conversation, O’liday returned to Ribbontail’s shoulders with a fidgeting sigh. “Thinks he’s too good, dude,” O’liday groaned after his hospitable actions were ignored, “that Fidei kid’s got to get his head out of his ass.”

Suddenly Fidei halted in his path and swerved to snarl at O’liday, pressing his large lion-like face against O’liday’s tiny little feline one. “Maybe you’ve got to get your head out of your ass, pussy!” he hissed.

“Oh nice comeback, dude,” O’liday retorted, directing Fidei’s nose away with a little shove.

At this O’liday slid off of Ribbontail’s back and began a hearty bickering with Fidei; they exchanged many rude gestures and insults, but all were words and nothing else. Ribbontail stood and watched this with a look of shock upon her face, before finally a nudge on her flank gained her attention.

Ribbontail turned to see PuppetRibbontail standing there, staring into the slight distance. She seemed to be frozen solid, those hollow eyes at attention and her bony claws clenched with a certain nervousness.

“What is it?” she whispered to PuppetRibbontail, her two other friends forgotten.

With a puzzled look Ribbontail slowly turned and followed PuppetRibbontail‘s gaze, cocking her head slightly as she saw a strange form laying not far away. It appeared to be a dead creature of some sort. Easily three times Ribbontail’s size, the massive form lay perfectly still beneath the charred remains of an old tree. It was a mass of fur; gleaming bones protruded from the heap of fur, and the pink-red glimpses of internal organs could be made out even from here.

After staring at the large thing for some time Ribbontail felt an urge to approach it, but she chose to stare longer at it. She could now see a skull, or at least the remainder of a face: overturned on its side, a glossy blood-crusted skull could be distinguished, with an immense and outlandish lower jaw. It had long jackal-like ears, and the lonesome black-pitted eyes gave the creature a forlorn look.  

Its body appeared to have been smashed and crumbled into a pile of amorphous fur and bones, with its long neck extended with its skull exposed. Anything else about the deceased monster Ribbontail could not tell, as the rest of its body she could not distinguish.

Ribbontail hastily turned and brushed herself between the still-bickering O’liday and Fidei, shushing them with a quick gesture. “Hey look over there,” she whispered as quietly as possible, pointing to the hulking dead creature.

This seemed to quiet down both O’liday and Fidei. The two both turned and stared for a while at the massive dead body, nuzzled dispersedly in the shadows.

“It’s a...” began O’liday, scratching his head with a little paw, “What is it?”

Fidei’s reply came quickly: “Just a dead body, I think.”

Shifting a little bit in her footing, Ribbontail nodded in agreement with this. “Sure, just a dead body. It must’ve just came down here to die. Poor thing.”

The three agreements didn’t calm Ribbontail’s nerves, however. It was PuppetRibbontail who seemed to know the most about the beast, as she turned and returned to her master in a sheepish crawl. Though none could really tell what PuppetRibbontail was thinking, it was evident that she was full of fear.

Ribbontail opened her mouth to question PuppetRibbontail’s gesture, but her words were shattered by a tremendous succession of snapping. The strange cacophony, like a tree being split by lightning, ripped through the stolid air in the canyon.

Fear intensified, all four whirled around. There was the beast, massive and skeletal, slowly shambling and jerking to life. Its large skull-like head shook and hung as slowly it rose to its feet, a frightening spectacle. Cruel teeth and bones glimmered with life now. And- as though the pulsing of life had wounded it- a thin trickle of crimson blood began dribbling from its bony mouth.

“Oh my gods...” croaked O’liday, backing away from the beast.

With a moan the beast stood, its furred body shifting and revealing a pulsing pink organ: a bloated, trembling knot of flesh hanging from where its main organ cavity would have been. With its frail body, bony face, and bloodied features, the creature was not a pleasing one to look at. Yet it didn’t seem too angered to see them. It merely stood there, as though it were dazed, and stared at them dumbly.

Then a familiar thing happened. A faint symbol- the moon and star encircled in a sun- glimmered across its forehead like golden fire.

With the symbol came the beast’s name. A faint, ghastly ”Screeeeeeech...” droned through Ribbontail’s head, and it seemed as though the other three heard the name as well. Apparently the monstrosity could not speak, so the emblem itself introduced it. A magic of sorts.

All was still for a second before finally O’liday yowled again, “Oh my gods it’s an Eclipsian!”. Then he added hurriedly, “Run!”

Dust coiled upward in their wake as both O’liday and Fidei turned and fled down the canyon; but not long after the two males departed did Ribbontail and her guardian follow. It was the monstrous Screech who tore quickly after them all.

Avoiding the striking blows they fled, but the animated beast darted in an uncanny pursuit. It was massive, horrifying, and ghastly as it ripped and tore the air. Furious but uncoordinated it was- the long neck and tail sent the beast off balance, crashing into the canyon walls in a zigzag gait.  

Down the canyon line the young ones fled, the unholy Screech howling in their ears. She could feel its breath on her rear, cold like a northern wind, as it reached out with its winding neck to snap at her. Cruel teeth clicked the air, but all the beast succeeded in gaining was more ferocity.

Without stopping Screech let out a booming howl, a keening noise with the pitch of five wolves crying in unison.

Ribbontail dove after her friend O’liday, hurrying to keep up with the little feliulf. “How...” she cried frantically, “How do we get away?!”

Panting, O’liday turned as if to say something, but his words were drowned out by the thunderous scream of the Eclipsian. Close behind them was the mighty Screech, its teeth lashing and rending the empty air behind them. And it was as though they were being chased by an earthquake: all around them the canyon was trembling and shuddering at the monster’s chase.

“We’re gonna die!” Ribbontail wailed, frantic as the icy breath of Screech chilled her flanks, “We’re gonna die we’re gonna die!”

  “We’re not gonna die!” called O’liday.

Suddenly O’liday skidded to a halt, turning as the enormous beast came towering overhead. Ribbontail stopped and turned just in time to see the skeletal beast loom over O’liday.  

“O’liday!” Ribbontail was pinned to her spot with fear, her legs locked and paws shaking.

Screech stood with legs bent, cocking its head at O’liday and snapping at the little feline. The behemoth was so large that tiny O’liday was difficult to see, strangely. Yet the little cat just stood there, a defiant look upon his face, as Screech tap-danced and sized up the little animal.  

“O’liday, run!”

At this the great Eclipsian bellowed with frustration, turning to dive at O’liday with bloodied jaws wide.

But its triumphant scream was cut short as O’liday kicked up a cloud of dust; the gaping maw was not met by the satisfying flesh of Emalian, but by the bitter dry taste of dirt. The canyon trembled and pulsed as Screech reared back, its unholy cries filled with agony and frustration.

Without pause O’liday swerved and ran, gesturing for Ribbontail and PuppetRibbontail to do the same. “C’mon, up the cliff dudes. Hurry, Fidei’s got the idea!”

Ribbontail quickly glanced up and saw Fidei’s creamy white form ascending the canyon walls. He was already a good halfway up, and moving swiftly with the expected agility of a feline.

The pained roars of Screech behind her, Ribbontail threw herself onto the nearest stone. The frantic O’liday hurried ahead of her, grabbing and tugging at her paws. “Hurry up kid, that thing’s gonna be HELLA MAD!”

As swiftly as she could Ribbontail clambered up the cliff face. But her claws were dull and she lacked the climbing expertise her human form had offered; ungainly she ascended, glancing down to make sure that PuppetRibbontail was following.

“Dude, hurry!” urged O’liday, turning to yowl back down at Ribbontail, “we’re almost there!”

Ribbontail hoisted her form over one last large rock, falling exhausted only to find herself cornered: the cliff face rose at a ninety-degree angle, stretching straight up into the sky. There were no nearby rocks to leap onto; the only way to go from here was back down.

The three stood aghast at the sight, wide-eyed.

“We’re...” stammered Ribbontail, “We’re- we’re cornered!”

In this same instant a great din from below flooded the canyon. At the bottom of the cliff was Screech, with soulless eyes as hateful as ever, its unstoppable might driving it up the cliff. It spat blood now, fiery crimson spattering its claws as it drove after them.

Ribbontail’s terror was unmentionable now. Her entire frame shook. “Fidei!” she cried, turning and glaring against the midday sun, “Fidei, help!”

When there was no reply, Ribbontail spun back to stare down at the nearing horror.

Again she turned and again called Fidei’s name, her voice barely audible over the fierce howling of Screech. “Fidei! Help us!” Ribbontail turned and ran a hysterical circle. She and O’liday looked like cornered rabbits, pacing circles around PuppetRibbontail.

“Bloody little Fidei, the kid bailed out on us,” O’liday meowed, peering around for other options. Stumbling to a standstill, O’liday pivoted and pointed a paw at the frail little PuppetRibbontail. “Puppet!” he yowled, “Puppet can help us!”

Ribbontail abruptly turned to her guardian. “PuppetRibbontail, save us!”

This was all that the skeletal little wolf needed. PuppetRibbontail’s eyes glowed their ambient white and she circled stiffly, deathly obedient to her master.

The echoes of the closing nightmare finally grew to an ear-rending tine, and from the crest of the rock appeared the great Screech. Its bony claws clutched the earth as it reared up, that worm-like neck snaking into the sky.

The two-pointed ivory jaw yawned and spread- a declaration of victory: Today I eat Emalians! it seemed to declare.

As soon as her foe appeared, PuppetRibbontail leapt in a blur of dust; through the air her rotting body flew. Her tiny claws seized what face-flesh remained on Screech’s skull, ripping and tearing with undeniable speed.

Screech squealed. With a ruinous bellow it swung its head, its whining cries splitting the air. Yet no matter how fast or hard it struggled, the little PuppetRibbontail would not fall. She had both foreclaws tangled amid the beast’s mask. Tufts of hide and rotted fur dispatched into the air as she tore, exposing bleached bone beneath.

With no authority in the fight all O’liday and Ribbontail could do was watch, huddled against the cliff wall, as PuppetRibbontail and Screech struggled with one another.

A bleak cry of distress blared from Screech’s throat as it attempted to unhook the little creature from its face- it raked against its bony features, smashed its skull along the canyon wall, and shook its head as though it were clearing its hollow eyes of rain.

In its frustration Screech reared onto its hind legs, the bloated stomach-organ lurching and trembling, as it trumpeted with rage. With both its foreclaws it wrenched PuppetRibbontail from its face and threw her frail form off the edge of the cliff. But unbalanced, it swerved and struggled under its own weight, falling backwards into the great abyss below.  

Speechless, Ribbontail and O’liday watched as the two creatures fell, tumbling down into the darkness of the canyon floor from whence they had climbed.