The Tlarrisons
Hi there!
I've been getting asked if I was going to put up an exerp from Tyler's story (title unknown) which is part of the YA novels I am setting in Quelondain. Here's a bit of a teaser for all of you. :) Hope you enjoy!
They walked in silence back toward the campsite. Tyler put an arm out and stopped John in his tracks.
"Get down!" He crouched low and pulled the older man down to make sure no one saw them.
"What are you going to do?" John's whisper was high pitched and Tyler cringed, hoping the sound hadn't carried to two tlarrisons ransacking the campsite. The slimy long haired animals glanced up before resuming their consumption of the meat that hung over the fire. Tyler tried to think back to the picture his Aunt Hayden had drawn for him after her first sighting of a tlarrison. What had she called the beast it reminded her of? He glanced back to the six foot tall, four legged creatures. They were covered in long dark brown hair which was always thick with an awful smelling goop, their pointy ears perked toward their meal which they were picking off of the stand with their trunks. Mammoths! That was what she'd called them, though she'd been sure that her mammoths had been herbivores and much bigger. Tlarrisons definitely were not plant eaters and weren't scared to take down live prey should it present itself to them. He glanced at John just as one of them tried to spear the other with its tusks.
"What do you mean? I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to wait until they're done and hope they decide to leave once they are."
"You took down the buck."
Tyler frowned but didn't take his eyes off of the beasts. "Bucks don't try to eat you." His head snapped to the right as a happy laugh made its way to his ears.
"No, really, Maddy, you need to learn to relax a bit more." Mirah stepped into the camp and stopped short. The tlarrisons looked toward the intrusion.
"Mirah, run!" Tyler sprinted towards the closest tlarrison as it started to lope in her direction. He jumped forward and shifted in midair, throwing his shoulder and all of his weight into the beast's side. He had a quick thought that the goo was going to take ages to clean off before he found himself rolling on the ground, the tlarrison rolling along beside him. He chanced a glance in the women's direction and saw the two in their lioness forms, both keeping just out of reach of the long powerful trunk. He shifted back and pushed up from the ground.
He hissed in pain as his right palm ended up in the embers of the fire. The tlarrison's trunk slammed into him as he reached for his dagger. The knife flew out of his grip with the impact and he swore under his breath. He landed on his back near part of the drying stand that had been broken and scattered by the beasts.
His breath left his body in a rush and he gasped, trying to suck in some much needed air.
"Tyler! It's coming back!"
He looked up in time to see John throw his dagger at the tlarrison. The blade stuck itself in the mounds of slimy hair but didn't seem to faze the animal. John shifted and sprinted away from the irritated beast.
Tyler scrambled backwards frantically, trying to see his dagger in the tall grass. There was a grunt of pain from one of the women. His burnt hand fell on a piece of the stand and the pain shot up his arm. The animal stomped in his direction, its dark, beady eyes focused on the small form trying to get away from it. A lioness roared.
Tyler resisted the impulse to let go of the stick as his hand screamed in pain and brought it up just as the beast fell upon him. It bellowed and collapsed on top of him. He felt the air rush out of his lungs once again. He pushed and squirmed, trying to get out from under the slimy mess that pinned him to the ground. The smell of rotten meat or eggs filled his nostrils and he gagged, his efforts to get to his feet reenergized by the need to get away from the disgusting smell and feel of the tlarrison.
With a final grunt, he pushed himself to his feet, grabbing another of the sticks as he ran toward the women and the other beast.
Mirah shifted into her human form, her blond hair flailing wildly as she turned and headed for the tree her sister was in the process of climbing.
Tyler screamed, trying to get the tlarrison's attention. When it became obvious he wasn't having the desired effect, he dropped the stick and shifted into his wolf in an attempt to reach it before it caught up to Mirah. He'd almost gotten to it when it turned suddenly in his direction. It charged, its tusks aimed at him. He skidded to a stop and shifted back so he could jump backwards and away from the angry beast.
In the back of his mind, he could hear his father and uncle yelling instructions at him and Trent during sparring lessons. "Shift! Jump Back! Shift! Duck and dodge!" He did just that and managed to scramble away just as the tusks speared the air where he'd just been.
"Tyler! Dagger!"
Mirah's shout was punctuated by the sound of her dagger implanting itself into the dirt not too far from where he was now standing. His chest heaved with the effort to breathe from the exertion. He ran his arm across his face to wipe the sweat out of his eyes.
The tlarrison turned and faced him. Tyler bent slowly, pulling the dagger out of the ground. The forest was quiet as the two of them stared at each other. The moment dragged on and Tyler was starting to think he was going to have to make the first move when the slimy creature snorted and trotted off in the direction of the Wedelven Woods.
He fell to his knees before sitting down, his knees up, his head on them, Mirah's dagger still in his hand. He heard the women climb down the tree and John jog in his direction. He raised his head to look at the three of them and grimaced as the goo on his face pulled with the effort to stay attached to his knee. He ran a hand through his hair and smirked as he got the same result.
"Tyler! Are you alright?" Mirah knelt in front of him and reached for his hand. He pulled away quickly and smiled to wipe away the hurt look in her eyes.
"You don't want to touch me right now. I feel like I'm covered in raw eggs and I smell like they'd been left to rot before I was doused in them."
The corners of her mouth twitched. "I don't care." She took his hand in hers to help him stand then dropped it when she noticed the blood rush out of his face. "You're hurt!"
"I fell into the fire when I tackled the first one." He looked at his palm and cringed at the blisters that were appearing. "I'd better get this cleaned up and bandaged." He stood slowly, testing all of his limbs to make sure everything was working properly before walking to his pack. He wiped his good hand on his pants, smirked, and went through the motion again on a patch of grass.
"Where are you going?" John's eyes were grey saucers in his head.
Tyler smiled. "To the lake. I'll be back." He picked up his pack, careful not to get any goo on it, and walked away.
