Fryrk Wood

It was strange how the woods felt like... Home.

The fur which coated all but his palms, face, and soles of his feet kept him incredibly cosy during the biting forest wind. Although nothing like Kastanika, the creatures here resembled him, what the Kastinikans were like before. But his people were less human, and stronger now. 

His feline eyes searched the woods, seeking something able to communicate with him. He was evidently curious to know whether there would be more creatures like him here.

He walked through the woods slowly, thinking on the things that the strange creature had said to him. She seemed very nice but he wasn't sure if he liked her or not. She seemed to think that her race was above everyone else. The elders in his clan had told him that creatures were created to co-exist.

Even though the satyrs shied away from most creatures, they did treat all of them fairly.

Laus couldn't understand why one would be better than the other.

The cracking of branches alerted him to another presence. He crept towards the source of the sound, wondering what would be lurking there. Although not drawing himself into a defensive stance as of yet, he postured himself in preparation for attack. He had heard little of Fyrk, apart from the woodland people could be akin to his.

"If anyone is there, please speak, I mean no harm." His words were sincere, for now.

Laus jumped at the voice and let out a little bleat. "Who's there?"

"Me. I'm Fierre." He stepped out from hiding, inclining his head into a bow. "I'm a visitor; I honestly mean no harm to you." He stretched his lips into a smile. 

"What's tour name?"

"I-I'm Laus. I haven't ever seen a creature like you before. Pardon my curiosity, but what are you?"

He pulled back his fur, attempting to appear more human. "I'm a Kastanikan, which means my ancestors are human, but we've evolved to become more... in touch, with nature." He showed off his claws, his gaze fixating onto Laus. 

"how about yourself? I haven't seen many creatures apart from my kind."

"I'm a satyr. Half goat, half man. There's a bunch of us here in these woods."

"That sounds nice." He admitted, attempting to smile at Laus. "Are you happy here?" Fierre's curiousity was unmatched when it came to new species and people. "Do you all live communally?"

"There are two clans of satyrs in these woods. I would say we live...comfortably. Happiness is subjective to each satyr and I can't speak for everyone."

'Although I can speak for myself and I am not happy,' he thought to himself.

"Do you fight with the other clan?" He wanted to know if their kind could live peacefully, as it might provide hope for his kind following the same path.

He then thought of more questions. "what about humans? Do they ever find you? Humans used to hunt us, once."

"We live peacefully, the two satyr clans. The humans don't like anything that comes from these woods. They've been hunted by too many evil creatures from here to trust anything."

"So you can... Never get on with them, because of fear?" His expression tinged with genuine sadness, if only for a brief second. "The same happened to us, sort of. Well; they almost killed us." He hoped the same would not happen here.

"I'm sorry that they were so savage to your people." He shifted his hooves a little, to get the circulation moving again. "The humans have been wiped out here. Vampires."

"You mean... the kind that feast on blood?" He raised a brow, finding it curious that vampires would feed on daywalkers, rather than the shifters. "The vampires of our kind feed on us, not the humans. They're safe; for now." He was itching to know more.

"It seems like the humans here have been exposed to more pain, and they dont usually trust what they don't understand. Have you tried communicating with them?"

"I have. My father hasn't... He's the leader of our clan."

"Did they hurt you? What happened?" He thought the situation would be different now, if a generation had passed. The daywalkers changed their tune quickly.

"It was made very clear that I wasn't welcome."

He nodded slowly, sadness tinging his usually wild features. "I see... Do you ever think that'll change? The humans in our realm warmed up to us, eventually." Fierre would not go into detail unless he was pressed for them, purely for the sake of upholding politeness.

"I'll never find out." He shook his head in sadness.

"You don't want to find out?" He was curious. "Surely, part of you wants to know if things have changed?"