15:58 10/05/2587 –(8734/680/65/12)

“Got your whistle?” asked Gabriel.

“Yep,” replied Pista showing it to Gabriel; the whistle was attached to an elastic cord that, in turn, was firmly rooted to her belt.

“Bells?” asked Gabriel.

Pista jingled the bells on her dress; these were meant to alert anything around them of their presence. That way, nothing would be startled by their sudden appearance and charge.

“Water and snacks?” asked Gabriel.

Pista patted the bags on her waist, saying, “check, check, check.”

“If I tried to do that, we would have been here for half an hour,” Nish commented.

“Yeah, but I ripped a crocodile bear’s jaw off; it gives me a bit more oomph,” Gabriel explained, double-checking his backpack. Perhaps it was a bit of an overreaction, considering this was a long but unarduous hike.

Their guide, a sizeable quadrupedal man with a face full of tentacles, his back had a small sail used as a display structure and a defence mechanism to make himself appear bigger than he was. It seemed somewhat unnecessary, considering he was as big as a white rhino.

The skin was coarse and scally, giving the gentleman a rugged and tank-like quality, as though he could go toe to toe with any other lifeform in the galaxy.

“Please, Mr Ratlu, I’m squeamish,” Kuruja said, his tentacle making an undulating motion.

“Sorry, don’t know what came over me,” Gabriel replied, and he meant it; he had rarely thought about the events of that day because although most people assumed Gabriel had effortlessly beaten his opponents, he knew he had escaped by the skin of his teeth.

Kuruja was one of those people; he had literally gone weak in the knees when it was confirmed that Gabriel was indeed the same as the one he had heard on the news.

It was an understandable reaction as they were now on a whole other continent than Reshu city. Roughly the size of India, though it was shaped like a starfish with three arms. The continent of Cyolespe was located in the northern hemisphere. While the climate of Minagerad varied little, at least compared to Earth, it was just high enough that the environment was temperate compared to the south’s Mediterranean.

Gabriel welcomed the drop in temperature; while his suit had a cooling system, it could still get pretty toasty inside this thing.

“Now, if you would follow me, I will show you our route,” Kuruja said.

Kuruja led them into a small log cabin; on the wall was a map of the surrounding area, with a long route that winded around the park.

“The first leg of our journey will take us over the Eholuntor wolds, and then we will take a break to eat our dinner,” Kuruja explained, tracing one of his tentacles over the route.

“Drink, in my case,” pointed out Gabriel.

“We’re are well aware you cannot eat Gabriel, and we’re very grateful for bringing us here,” Risoti said.

“Will you just let me winge? It’s important for my psychological well-being,” Gabriel retorted, and Risoti snorted in response; Gabriel also smiled. “You know, I’m wondering if I should have waited another month and bought the suit with the airlock thing so I could still eat solid foods,” he added, pointing at his face.

“Then you would have never met us, and Pista would not be here,” Nish countered, holding her daughter close.

“I hate to interrupt, but this information is important, and we can’t leave until you’ve heard it,” Kuruja explained as calmly as possible, barely raising his voice. From his reaction, you would not believe he hated being interrupted, and this was not just a problem due to the species barrier; even other Llohyo could not tell.

Of course, Mr Ratlu was the real deal, and he was willing to give the man more leeway than most.

“You are right; I apologise; please continue,” Gabriel replied, gesturing with his hands to say Kuruja had his full attention.

Kuruja was glad to hear it; there had been a slight niggle in his mind that Mr Ratlu would simply ignore everything he had to say. Gabriel’s encounter with the Vetoru and Carnedon making him arrogant.

However, that did not seem to be the case, and Mr Ratlu seemed to embody humility.

“Thank you, after we have obtained nutrients, we will make our way to the Obleck coast and walk along the seafront before arriving at the nesting colonies,” Kuruja explained.

“Colonies of what?” asked Gabriel.

“Good question, dozens of species make the cliffs, columns and beaches of the Metodolu sea as a breeding ground,” Kuruja replied. “After that, we will follow the trail south into the temperate rainforests; I am well aware that Tufanda do not do so well in heavy rain, and ponchos will be provided.”

“We will then camp at a campsite in Jerul’s glade; the campsite has full toilet facilities,” Kuruja added.

“Yes,” Gabriel said, pumping his arm. He had been worried that they would be broken when they arrived.

“After daybreak and breakfast, we will head east into the continent's interior, moving through the great interior meadows. Then shortly before dusk, we should reach the Portul cave system, and we will spend our final night there before making our way west and ending the hike in the small village of Volotri,” Kuruja finished, bringing their tentacle back to their face.

“Any questions?” asked Kuruja.

“How rainy is this rainforest?” inquired Nish.

“It will rain at least twice a day, but the ponchos are damn good, we’ve had Tufanda on the trail before, and they were impressed by how dry they remained,” Kuruja replied.

“Are there any big scary animals on the path?” asked Pista, finding her confidence once again.

Kuruja crouched and replied, “some of the animals can be quite angry if you get too close, but we will be fine as long as we stay on the path and give them plenty of space; there are no big predators in this part of the park.”

An exaggeration, to be sure, but if it kept the girl calm, it was fine. Hypercarnivores were rare on habitable worlds. While obligate carnivores, animals that needed meat or would die, were utterly unheard of, even the carnedon and vetoru supplemented their diets with fruits and could hypothetically survive on an all-vegetarian diet.

Getting a carnedon to do that, however, was another matter entirely.

“There is a blue trail on the map. What’s that?” asked Gabriel, pointing at the route.

“That is the public path; we’ll be taking a longer but more exclusive route,” explained Kuruja.

“Isn’t that a bit unfair? Only allowing people to pay to see certain sights,” said Risoti.

“You’re not wrong, but you need to consider that if hundreds of people walk along a trail daily, they will damage it, either on purpose or by accident,” explained Kuruja.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Gabriel commented, recalling wildlife trusts and environmental groups begging tourists not to take rocks and scratch their names onto heritage sites back on Earth. Sure one person doing this would have no impact in the grand scheme of things, but if thousands of people all have the same idea, then the issue occurs.

A couple more questions were asked about the biggest incline and if there were any narrow ledges, but the trail was very gentle, and their concerns were unfounded.

***

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“So, how long have you been a tour guide?” asked Risoti, looking away from a group of cjol grazing on the heather-like plants that dominated the wolds.

“Twenty years now, and the creator willing, I will be doing it for another eighty more,” Kuruja replied, holding a pair of binoculars with his tentacles.

Kuruja looked over at Gabriel, currently playing with Pista, chasing her up and down the trail. “It must be quite something to be friends with Mr Ratlu,” he commented before looking at Risoti.

“Yes, my girlfriend met him while they were in hospital, and things just grew from there,” Risoti said, watching Gabriel, who finally caught Pista and lifted her into the air.

“What’s he like, you know, in private?” Kuruja asked, looking away, worried that giving any attention to him would let Gabriel know they were talking about him.

“Reserved, but he has his moments,” Risoti replied. “I take it you’re a fan.”

“That obvious?” asked Kuruja, raising three of his tentacles and swaying slightly.

“I was nervous too,” Risoti offered, “quite the juxtaposition isn’t it? He went claw to claw with those animals, and there he is pretending to be beaten up by Pista.”

Risoti pointed, and there Gabriel was, begging Nish for help to save him from the gremlin. No one present but Gabriel knew what a gremlin was, but they could make a good guess.

“If it weren’t for the different body shapes, you would think they really were father and daughter,” Kuruja noted. Risoti did not reply, but she did agree.

Checking the time, Kuruja realised if they did not get a move on, they would arrive at camp after dark, and that was a hazardous scenario.

***

The cacophony was almost deafening; thousands upon thousands of squawking, cawing, hissing and bellowing animals dotted the cliffs, and the roar of the waves added to it, and everyone needed to raise their voices to be heard.

“Ecologists estimate that over seventy-three different species of flying animals, from thirty different planets, use the cliffs as a nesting ground,” Kuruja explained, nearly shouting at his charges.

“Why don’t they have an exact number?” asked Risoti over the din.

“It’s a little tricky with them moving all the time, and they get very aggressive when they are protecting their nests, so they can only get rough estimates,” Kuruja replied.

“The most numerous animals are Opedi’s Ham; they are the ones with the large membranous wings,” Kuruja added, pointing to the giant flying creatures soaring above them and the waves.

The initial outline put Gabriel in mind of a pterosaur, only they had a tail, no pycnofibres, and the head was more like a cat or perhaps a pug; it was difficult to get an exact read with them being so far away.

“I wanna fly too,” Pista said, fearlessly walking to the cliff edge.

“Get back here, young lady, the gravity is too high, and you’ll end up in the sea,” Nish stated casually, annoyed by her daughter's antics but not worried for her safety.

Gabriel was perplexed by this until he recalled that both Nish and Pista could fly, so of course, they were not scared of heights or falls. “How could I be so dull to miss that,” Gabriel mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief at his own stupidity.

“Listen to your mother, Pista,” Gabriel said, and Pista dutifully returned to Nish’s side, though she did nothing to hide her disappointment.

In the distance, Gabriel noticed people along the public route; they were not allowed as close to the cliff edge, and Gabriel could well imagine some of them were disappointed.

One family gained Gabriel's attention; the silhouette was unmistakable, a long body supported by over twenty legs. The head was not distinct enough to see from here, but Gabriel knew that it was shaped similarly to a horse, only covered in scales as opposed to hair.

Gabriel had never seen one before, but he had always wanted to; these aliens were so alien. The only other thing Gabriel knew was the species name….

“Oh my god, Nish, look, it’s some Nish!” Gabriel noted, pointing at the family.

“What?” she asked, following Gabriel's finger.

“Those people there, they're called Nish,” Gabriel said, amazed that he had not realised it until now.

“Really?” said Nish, “what are the odds of that?”

“In the grand scheme of things, it was bound to happen to someone,” Gabriel replied. “Though I think they pronounce Nish with a long I.”

Nish trilled slightly and said, “you learn something new every day.”

***

The temperate rainforest lived up to its name; they had been here just over an hour and had already had two showers. Gabriel was confused as to how the climate could change so drastically.

Kuruja explained they were situated in a small valley that faced the ocean, clouds condensed in the valley and fell as rain, making the valley far wetter than the surrounding land. That would certainly explain why it felt like they were going downhill.

Gabriel felt a patter against his suit’s helmet, and he knew it was raining again. “You doing alright under there, Nish?” Gabriel asked.

“Yeah, he did not lie; these ponchos are really good,” Nish replied. So good, in fact, that she was enjoying her time in the rain. Gabriel had mentioned that he enjoyed walking through harsher weather; the sound of water, hail or snow hitting his hood made him feel snug. Now she understood why.

The forest was beautiful, the rain quickly formed a light mist, and the sounds of wildlife echoed through the trees. Bright flowers dotted the branches, and an earthy sweet aroma permeated the place.

Gabriel picked up a new noise in the forest and informed the rest of them, “someone’s shouting up ahead.”

“Unsurprising, we are on the public path now; it’s probably just some tour group. I am more impressed that you can make any speech out at all, with all this noise,” Kuruja replied with another thinly veiled compliment.

“They are shouting, though,” Gabriel reiterated; he could not tell what they were saying as it was not galactic basic and trying to guess emotion with aliens was just begging for failure.

“Probably a lovers tiff, happens all the time,” Risoti stated, straining her ear to pick up the sound, though she could detect nothing over the noise of the rain. They would find out soon enough, their next fork in the road was five miles away.

Round the bend, Gabriel saw the Nish family again; the smaller one was yelling at something in the trees. This close, Gabriel noticed that each leg split at the knee, creating twenty cloven hooves; their body was pseudo-segmented, and their skin appeared to be in transit between chitin and scales. It was so unlike anything found on Earth that Gabriel found himself staring in fascination.

Kuruja was not as distracted, so he approached them and asked, “What’s going on?”

“There’s some animal in the trees, and we want to see,” the Nish explained, and as if on cue, a loud trumpeting call came from the woods. Gabriel peered between the trees and thought he could see a shape move. He could not make out any details, but it seemed pretty big.

“I see, umm….” Kuruja hesitated as he did not know who he was talking to.

“I’m Tokol; this is my husband Abalet,” Tokol explained, gesturing to his partner, “and this is our son, Udolu.”

Udolu shouted something again, and once again, the beast replied, and though Gabriel had never seen or heard the creature before, he was sure it was not happy.

“I see, mister Tokol; I have to remind you that the animals are not here to entertain you,” Kuruja explained, trying to be firm but not aggressive.

“We’re just having fun, we’re not hurting it, and we won’t touch it, whatever it is,” Abalet explained, placing one of his more mobile and articulate appendages on their husband's shoulder. What Gabriel assumed was their shoulder.

Pista grabbed Gabriel’s hand; she did not like the noise, and it brought back unpleasant memories.

All the while, the boy continued to yell, “would you tell your son to stop doing that! It is a very bad idea,” Gabriel butted in, gesturing with one hand.

“Who are you to tell us what to do with our son?” Abalet asked, taking offence at the perceived insult on his parenting style.

Tokol then whispered something in his husband’s ear, though Gabriel could not see any ear. Abalet looked at Gabriel and then back at his Tokol before saying something in their native tongue.

“Udolu, Mr Ratlu says you should stop doing that,” Abalet said to his son.

Udolu looked at his father, clearly disappointed, “we’re just talking, dad,” the boy replied, trying to defend his actions in the hopes that it could continue.

That lull in the noise was all the unknown creature needed, as it let out a new sound, more akin to a shriek, and Gabriel heard snapping branches, along with wet leaves trodden underfoot.

Gabriel let go of Pista’s hand and charged, putting himself between the boy and whatever was coming, and not a moment too soon.

A bird; that was the closest analogue Gabriel’s brain could come up with. However, that comparison did not do the animal justice. It had no feathers or scales but was covered in a rough mammalian-like skin. It stood on two pillar-erect legs, with a long slender neck.

The two appendages on its flanks looked like wings, but they were, in fact, display structures, shaped like three tennis rackets connected at the handles, that glowed with bioluminescent light.

That was not the strangest thing; however, it was the face; it was flat and wide, with no eyes. It made a constant clicking noise with its tongue, similar to was a bat did, and Gabriel understood it was blind and navigated the world through echolocation.

Why a blind animal would need visual display structures, Gabriel did not know, but there was no time to think as the alien was just a few feet from him when it skidded to a halt and began bellowing at him.

“A mock charge, thank god for that,” Gabriel thought as he held his ground.

The animal raised its displays and began to shake them back and forth; they created a low, rather unsettling clicking noise, like dozens of people cracking their knuckles repeatedly. It sounded painful.

When it was clear that Gabriel was not budging, the beast took a few steps back and charged once more and just like before, it stopped before making contact. It did not want a fight; it just wanted whatever had been yelling at it to stop.

Udolu was too frightened to make a sound, and after a few minutes, the beast calmed down, content that its point had been made, and waddled back into the forest. Gabriel did not move even after it was gone from sight, just to be sure.

Once he was confident the danger had passed, Gabriel looked at Udolu and said, “don’t taunt the animals.”

Gabriel had just finished speaking when Pista leapt into his arm and began to buzz. “It’s alright, I’m fine,” Gabriel said, hugging her.

“How did you know to do that?” Kuruja inquired; most people would have run for it, and most people did.

“I’ve watched a lot of videos about stuff like this,” Gabriel replied, gently rocking Pista back and forth.

“You watch people getting attacked by animals for fun?” asked Nish, ruffling her wings.

“Human thing,” responded Gabriel.

***

Gabriel was still a little frazzled from his earlier experience; despite what everyone assumed, it had been terrifying. As he gazed up at the stars and Illohu, he realised he had never willingly slept under the stars before. Kuruja explained that the odds of it raining at night were slim, as the clouds usually dumped their payload once the sunset.

Nish had not been willing to take that chance, though and was slumbering with her daughter under a tarpaulin. The park management had even been gracious enough to provide her with a sleeping frame.

Both she and her Pista hung in place, totally at ease, twitching and shifting as they dreamt of the day's events. Gabriel could not fathom how they could hang on even while asleep, but he had heard that paradiseworlders did not sleep as heavily as normal people, though maybe normal was a bit presumptuous.

Gazing back into space, he noticed a streak of light. “A shooting star, make a wish Gabriel,” he told himself.