A young girl sat down on reading a book on a bed in her room. Her violet blue right eye and her dark green left eye looked around at each of the pages. As she looked at a ticket and her suitcase, she knew that it was going to be the start of a new day tomorrow. And that seemed to make her a little nervous too. What exactly was she going to see at her new school? Who would she meet? “School shouldn’t be too bad Azusa. New setting, friendly students. Might just be like home,” she said to herself. As she laid down on her bed, she looked at the train maps. What will this new town hold for her?
That very same night, the town of Briar Park was silent, except for the chirping of a few crickets and the occasional haunting hoot of an owl. In the city park, near some subway tracks, a silhouette walked down the tracks. A nearby lamp illuminated her, revealing silvery grey fur with dark grey spots. She was a snow leopard. Alongside her, a massive black creature with a robust build and powerful arms walked next to her. An Eastern gorilla, specifically a Mountain gorilla. “Is this supposed to be the location where humans live?” The snow leopard asked. The mountain gorilla looked around. “Yes. This is the place Sibyl,” he replied in a gruff yet gentle voice.
Eastern gorillas are the world’s largest living primate. They can stand as tall as nearly six feet on their hind legs, and can weigh as much as 400 lbs. for males. They are primarily vegetarians though they will eat the occasional insect and despite the old portrayals in Hollywood, they are generally peaceful animals.
Sibyl looked up at the apartment building with some anticipation. “If only we had our little group here. Then this would have been a little easier to actually get up to the window Tobias,” she said as she looked for a way up. Tobias rolled his eyes as he pointed at a massive oak tree. Sibyl seemed to give a smile. “That’ll work,” she said to herself as she climbed up the tree, her retractable claws providing excellent grip on the trunk of the oak tree. Then, she spotted the window where Azusa’s room was. “This is where that pigeon said she lived.” The snow leopard then scratched at the window.
Azusa then looked around outside. “What was that?” She asked as she looked around outside. As she opened up the window, Azusa looked around as she peered around outside. What exactly was outside scratching on the window. Just out of her peripheral vision, Sibyl was hiding behind a tree branch as Azusa looked outside. “Who’s out there?” Azusa asked somewhat timidly, holding a bat as she looked around. Then, Sibyl spotted something else about Azusa.
“What’s with her eyes? They’re different colors,” the leopard said to herself. But then, she lost her footing and fell from the tree! However, she righted herself and landed on all four feet.
Cats have a righting reflex which allows them to rotate their body in midair. They also have extra back vertebra which are flexible to help in the landing.
Tobias chuckled to himself. “So what happened might I ask?” The gorilla asked. Sibyl turned to the gorilla. “Lost my footing in the branches that’s what,” she said. But then, the barking of dogs rang through the nighttime sky. “And we better get going before we attract any unwanted attention here,” Tobias said as he and Sibyl ran off. The barking of the dogs was growing closer until the two animals leapt onto a nearby train which then disappeared underneath a bridge. The barking noises got softer and then they started going in the opposite direction. “That was too close,” Sibyl said. Tobias nodded. “Let’s not do this again,” he said. About two hours passed before he finally leapt off the train and went off into the city. Overhead was a street sign that had big letters.
Avenue Zoo.
“Back in Avenue Z,” Sibyl said as she started to enter an area which was relatively cool and high above sea level, with some snow on the ground too. The mountain section. Specifically the Himalayan sector. Sibyl then went into a small cave hidden within some rocks and curled up into a ball. “Well, tomorrow we should be acquainted. Until then, better rest up,” she said to herself.
Sunrise soon came up on Briar Park, and Azusa woke up. “That was a pretty strange night,” she said to herself as she was getting ready. But then, Azusa also noticed something else too. It looked like there were claw marks on the tree branch just near her window. With it, a tuft of fur. Azusa raised an eyebrow before she got back to preparing for the day as well as the train she needed to catch. “Alright, better catch that train,” she said to herself. As she grabbed her bag, she then went out the door. Almost immediately, her phone rung. Azusa picked it up. It was her dad. “Hey dad,” Azusa said. “Morning Azusa. I was calling to wish you the best of luck with your journey,” Azusa’s dad said. Azusa smiled. “Ah, thanks dad,” she said. “I’m heading to the train station and I’ll call you when I get there.”
“Nice to hear. Love you sweetie,” Azusa’s dad said. Azusa nodded. “Love you too dad,” she said before she hung up. As she continued downstairs and out the door, she looked at her window one last time before she went to the nearest train station. “I wish you could see this mom,” she said as she approached the train station. The sign on the train station had Briar Park on it in big letters. Azusa then noticed the train was starting to board into the station and she quickly hopped on. As soon as she got her seat, Azusa then noticed the train start to move. “Avenue Z, here I come,” Azusa said quietly as she rested her head against the window. The train then left the Briar Park station.
The train continued on as it went down its path. Soon, it passed by a massive city with tall skyscrapers in the distance. A sign saying Avenue Q was seen nearby. Azusa barely noticed it. “Crazy place,” she said to herself. As the train started to continue on its way, she noticed that there was also a relative decrease in the large skyscrapers or apartment buildings the further down she went. Forests started to increase and grow thicker as the train went through them. Finally, Azusa then noticed the train was going down underneath a bridge. The train then finally stopped at a nearby station and the doors opened up. Azusa carried her bags off before she finally got off the train.
There was a sign nearby. Azusa then read it. “Avenue Zoo,” she said to herself. As she got onto a nearby gondola lift, she then saw something else. It was a bird with white feathers with black wing tips and a bright red bald head. The bird was also quite big too, and its outstretched wings spread four feet from tip to tip. “That’s one of the biggest birds I’ve ever seen,” Azusa said to herself. The massive bird tilted his head. “At least it’s not being called disgusting or ugly,” he crooned. Azusa screamed out before toppling over one of her bags. The massive bird leapt over to her. “Calm down señorita! I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. Azusa looked on in shock. “How are you even talking?!” She asked. “All the animals talk to humans,” the bird replied. “My name is Papa and I’m a King vulture.” Azusa got up and brushed herself off. “Azusa Shimizu,” she replied, still slightly shaken by what had happened. Papa chuckled to himself. “Where are you heading might I ask?” He asked politely. Azusa shook her head. “I actually don’t know,” she said.
Papa turned to her bag before turning back to the young girl. “Well, I found your pass into the city. You’re supposed to be going to the Himalayan Highlands it seems,” he said. Azusa’s eyes widened. “Where’s that?” She asked. Papa nodded. “Follow me,” he said as he started to fly ahead. Azusa kept the king vulture in her line of sight.
King vultures are able to soar effortlessly for hours at a time without needing to flap their wings. They do this by riding thermals in the air which help to keep them airborne.
Azusa was surprised as the vulture continued to ride the wind as they all went up to a stop at the top of a cliff. “Alright, here we are,” Papa said. Azusa looked around. “This is just a mountain area,” she replied somewhat quietly. Papa nodded. “You’re actually going to be lodging in this area. I saw it on the ticket you had. It assigned a home for you,” he replied. Azusa nodded. “So I see,” she said. “I guess this works.” Azusa then looked around. “Where do I stay?”
But Papa had already started to fly off. “Find the snow leopard den,” he said. Azusa looked around the area until she spotted Sibyl the snow leopard. Sibyl then moved off. “Huh?” Azusa asked as she moved up towards the mountain. Finally, she came up to a building near the cave. She also found a key in the door. “That’s weird. Do they know I was coming?” Azusa asked. “Did anybody leave a key here?” Then, Sibyl leapt down. “So you’re my new roommate?” The snow leopard said gruffly. Azusa nodded as she backed up. “Nice to meet you!” Sibyl said excitedly before hugging the human. “How’s it going?” Azusa strained. Sibyl then released her grip. Azusa straightened herself up. “Going fine,” Zoé said. “Name’s Sibyl.” Azusa nodded. “Azusa Shimizu,” she said quietly.
Sibyl padded onto a rock next to her. “I was wondering when you would come,” she said. Azusa turned. “I barely saw you move up there. How’d you do that?” She asked. Sibyl made a chuffing noise.
When feeling content or when greeting somebody, snow leopards, along with tigers, will produce a sort of chuffing noise. This is known as prustening and it is considered a friendly greeting by the cat who is making the noise. Jaguars too can make this noise when greeting.
“I’m a master of stealth. We snow leopards can easily hide from our prey thanks to our silvery fur and dark spots,” she replied. Azusa nodded. “That’s actually pretty cool,” she replied to the big cat. Sibyl laid down on the rock. “So where might you be heading?” Azusa looked up. “The Snow Leopard’s Den?” Azusa replied. Sibyl’s grayish-green eyes seemed to light up. “I actually live there. Looks like we’re roommates or next door neighbors,” she said. “Here, let me take you there!” Sibyl then leapt up the rocks with Azusa following her until they got up to a rocky outcrop. “Here we are,” Sibyl said.
Azusa then saw that there was a cave with a door in it. Sibyl then opened the door and revealed a hallway with blue lanterns lining the walls. “Welcome to the Snow Leopard’s Den,” Sibyl said. Azusa looked on with surprise and awe. “This is where you live?” She asked. Sibyl nodded. “Your room is right over there,” she said, pointing to a large grey door. Azusa opened up the door and walked inside. “Hey, come in,” she told Sibyl. Sibyl nodded as she did. Azusa then set her bags down as she sat on the bed. “You have some warm sheets here,” Azusa said. Sibyl nodded. “You’re gonna need it. Gets cold around here,” Sibyl said as she wrapped her tail around her as she curled up inside of another bed. After getting into a pair of pajamas, Azusa nodded. As she looked outside of a window, she found herself lost in thought.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
So far, this is a pretty decent place. I wonder who I’m going to meet at my new school. Will I even fit in?
Azusa crawled into the bed and soon laid down. Then, she slowly found herself drifting off before everything went black. Sibyl looked up and found Azusa asleep. “See you in the morning,” the snow leopard said before curling back up again, her tail wrapped around her like a scarf.
Snow leopards live near the top of cold, snowy mountains, so when they sleep, they wrap their long bushy tails around themselves as a means of keeping warm in the bitter cold Himalayan Mountains.
The call of a Himalayan monal rang through the air. Azusa and Sibyl woke up. “How long were we asleep?” Azusa asked. Sibyl looked around. “Hurry up and get dressed! The lift is gonna take us down and then we gotta catch the monorail to the academy!” She said. Azusa quickly did just that! She grabbed a backpack with her school supplies and both rushed out the door, closing it and locking it as they did while Azusa put the key in her jacket pocket! Both human and snow leopard rushed over to the gondola lift station and managed to catch the first lift down!
“So what exactly do I need to worry about at school?” Azusa asked. Sibyl turned to her. “Ah right. Well, don’t tick off Virgil. That’s a big one. Make sure you’re on time for class and stay on the good side of the teachers,” the snow leopard replied. Azusa nodded as she listened to this. “Who’s Virgil might I ask?” She asked. Sibyl sighed. “He’s the school bad boy,” she replied. “And he’s got the strength to back up his attitude. He’s not that smart though.”
Azusa nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. As they got off the gondola lift, they then got onto a nearby monorail as it was boarding into the station. “Let’s go!” Sibyl said with some excitement. Azusa nodded as the monorail then continued down the track. She also was able to get a full look around as she and Sibyl left the mountains. They then entered into a wooded forest with many oak trees and a few conifers. Birds flew past as they fluttered and soared through the trees. “Well, look who it is,” a familiar friendly voice said.
Azusa waved to Papa as he soared by before the king vulture landed on the monorail next to her and Sibyl. “Good morning Papa,” she said. Papa nodded and bowed his head respectfully. “How was the first night?” He asked. Azusa nodded. “Kinda nice actually,” she replied. Papa nodded. “Happy to hear that,” he replied. Sibyl looked at him before waving at him. Papa waved a wing. “Heading to Goodall Academy I presume?” He asked. Azusa nodded slightly confused.
“That’s the school there,” Sibyl explained. “And we’ve reached our stop as well.”
As the monorail stopped at a station, Azusa noticed a large building that had several trees growing out of it. The building was also many meters high, and as she and Sibyl walked in, the ceilings hung with vines and strangler figs.
Strangler figs of the genus Ficus get their name because the stem creep and girdle the trunks of trees. These patterns resemble something strangling a neck, and this growth pattern often results in the death of the host tree. Many species have fruit that are edible for animals and humans.
Sibyl looked around. “That’s definitely odd,” she said. Azusa seemed surprised. “Are we early?” She asked the snow leopard. “Maybe the teachers haven’t arrived yet,” Sibyl replied.
The singing of Lar and White-cheeked gibbons rang through the halls. “Hey there!” Sibyl cried out. The gibbons swung through. “Looks like we have a new member here!” A Lar gibbon said. An Asian water monitor moved past the feet of Azusa and Sibyl. “We better find good seats quick, before they all get taken,” the monitor lizards said. “This way.” Everyone then ran into a massive building that had numerous seats inside. All were facing a large stage. “Been a while since we got to the school auditorium,” an Asian tapir said to a Sloth bear. Sibyl and Azusa quickly got to their seats as a large salamander like creature with a tail like an eel and the head similar to an alligator got up to the stand. A Hynerpeton.
Hynerpeton was a tetrapod that was the first fully terrestrial vertebrates discovered in North America and one of the first terrestrial animals to ever live. It was bigger than most modern amphibians, and was about the same size as a modern giant salamander, and it likely lived close to water like amphibians today.
“Hello new students, welcome to Jane Goodall Academy. I’m Headmaster Bassett and I am looking forward to helping out this academy in another year of success,” she said. Everyone nodded with some murmurs in the group before everyone started to head to their rooms.
Azusa looked around as she went up the stairs. At the same time, a group of condors were seen looking on from some rocky outcrop overhead.
Condors are the largest vultures in the New World and along with the Cinereous vulture are the largest of all birds of prey. They can have wingspans of eleven feet, while the biggest species, the Andean condor, can weigh up to 33 pounds, making it one of the heaviest flying birds.
Sibyl looked on as the condors looked on. “So who’s the new primate?” An Andean condor asked. Sibyl turned. “Morning guys. Her name’s Azusa,” she said. Azusa waved somewhat shyly, though she was surprised by the sheer size of the birds she was meeting. “Hello there,” she said. Another condor, this time a smaller one with a pink head, came up to her. “Nice to see you around this part of the school. Don’t get much company,” he said. Azusa’s eyes widened. “Hey, you’re a California condor,” she said. The California condor nodded. “Yep. I’m Calvin,” he replied.
The California condor is the smaller of the two condor species, but is no less impressive. It had a wingspan of up to ten feet and weighs around twenty six pounds. This bird is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List and was briefly extinct in the wild when all the remaining birds were placed in captivity for a very successful breeding program. Now, a total of 504 birds in both the wild and captivity exist today, and half of the birds are found in the wild, making this a conservation success story.
Azusa nodded. “I’ve actually seen you guys at a zoo where I came from,” she said. “A lot bigger up close than I expected.” Calvin turned to the other three condors. “The other California condor is Jim, and the Andean condors are Griffin and Sora,” he said. The condors waved to her. Calvin turned to the biggest Andean condor. “Griffin is our leader when Papa isn’t with us,” Calvin said.
Suddenly, screeching could be heard. “Oh great, here comes trouble,” Calvin said. “Beat it you bunch of ugly birds!” A Caribbean flamingo screeched out as some toucans and other flamingos rushed the condors, forcing them to fly off! “And stay out!” A Toco toucan croaked. Azusa looked on. “What was that about?!” She asked in surprise and mild anger. “Those guys weren’t doing anything wrong!” One of the flamingos turned to Azusa. “So? They know the toucans get these spots,” he said. “Since the heck when?” Sibyl asked. “Last I checked, wasn’t this available for all the birds?!”
The toucans burst out laughing. “That’s what you’d like to think snow leopard!” A Keel-billed toucan taunted her. Sibyl released a growling noise. “Maybe we should also show this person with you about what happens when you try to speak down to us,” the toucan said as she flew down to them. The toucans then flew towards Azusa and Sibyl and dive bombed them, with Sibyl and Azusa trying to swat them away.
“Okay we better run!” Azusa said as she and Sibyl rushed up the stairs and into the hallways. However, the soon came up towards a room. And the toucans were starting to approach them at a much more rapid pace! Azusa gulped. But Sibyl quickly knocked on the door. A black hand reached out and grabbed both of them! Azusa and Sibyl were then whisked into the classroom and the door slammed shut! The flamingos and toucans tried to stop as their eyes bulged in complete shock and horror as they flew straight into the closed door!
A loud bang was heard on the door!
Azusa and Sibyl looked on along with several other animals as they turned their heads around.
“Ah what do you know? The toucans and flamingos crashed again,” Tobias said nonchalantly. Sibyl turned to Tobias. “Thanks for that,” she said. Tobias nodded as he squinted his eyes. “So you’re our new student?” The gorilla asked. Azusa nodded. “Yeah, I am,” she replied. Tobias nodded. “Name’s Tobias, and I’m a Mountain gorilla,” he replied. “I see you already met Sibyl.”
Azusa looked on. “Well, I was definitely meeting some of the savory and unsavory students here. What’s with this school anyway?” Azusa asked.
Sibyl nodded. “Actually, we have to deal with some of these cliques and territorial battles. Most of them haven’t devolved into full scale wars, but many of the students are trying to find their place here and even willing to put others down too,” she said.
Azusa looked on. “How am I going to survive here?” She asked. Tobias turned. “Well, we could form a little group of our own to thrive in this school,” he said. Sibyl was surprised. “Why didn’t we think of that before?” She asked. Azusa turned. “A group?” She asked somewhat nervously.
Sibyl nodded. “Gladly. Plus, you can be the first human in it too,” she said. Azusa was surprised. “I haven’t been invited into a group before,” she said. Sibyl turned. “How come?” She asked. Azusa sighed. “Just never had anybody offer before,” she replied. Sibyl padded to her. “Well, consider this one your first,” she said. She then extended her paw out and gave out a chuff.
The snow leopard’s friendly greeting. Azusa also extended out her hand and the two shook. “Well, let’s see if we can help you out in this. Forming a group to study and hang out with should be easy,” Azusa said.
Tobias turned. “Well, as easy as it gets if we have the flamingos and toucans flying around. I also saw Virgil around here too, and we also have bears to contend with,” he said. Azusa gulped. “Alright, so what animals can we find?” She asked.
“Any animal would work, but I think that maybe carnivores would possibly help out well against some of these groups,” Sibyl replied. Tobias nodded. “Looks like we have a new goal for school. Surviving the first year of high school and making a few new friends while we’re at it,” she said. Azusa nodded.
Further outside, a Chevrotain looked on as she started to head over to another room. Inside the room, the lights were turned off and there was also a massive pool inside. The Chevrotain then leapt into the water with a splash! She was a Water Chevrotain, the largest of the chevrotains.
Water chevrotains are the biggest member of their group. They are found in the rainforests of central Africa and are about the size of a small dog or a house cat. They are called Water Chevrotains because they can swim and walk underwater, almost like a small hippo, and can stay submerged for up to four minutes.
The Chevrotain then approached a large grey mass in the pool. “So what have you to tell me Stacy?” He asked. Stacy got out of the water and shook off her body. “There’s a new student here. She’s a human and planning to join with other students,” she said. The mass rose up, revealing a massive hippo.
“Well then, somebody to challenge my top status? I believe that we should do something about that shall we?” He said. Stacy nodded. “I agree with you Virgil.” Virgil then got up and the two of them headed off out of the pool. “I’ve got territory class coming up,” he said. Stacy nodded. “I’ll be in camouflage 101,” she said. Virgil nodded as Stacy ran off. Virgil looked around. “Well then, time to show this school who really rules the roost,” he said.