Braq, radji Cradle ecologist.

Date [standardised human time]: January 23rd, 2118

(18 years, 7 months before the invasion of the radji Cradle).

For many days Braq had been angry. A diffuse rage at the men who sought to undermine them. Who had waltzed onto their property without being detected. Who had shot at his daughter!

There was no one they could turn to for help, for any thorough investigation into the interlopers would uncover Ki-yu. Is that what he meant? Braq wondered, not for the first time. Is Ki-yu the trap? Was Dirk a middleman who has been quietly snuffed out? Juran did arrive the day she hatched… No… it didn’t make any sense. No extermination officer would trust a pyq, not even an infant. Most officers would destroy her on sight, and the rest would get creative… The end of his train of thought left him seething as he stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. He realised that he had been standing there for several minutes.

Okay, maybe he was still angry.

Rain was beating against the roof as he returned to the bedding-room. He stood and watched the two people he adored most as they slept beneath the harsh rhythm of the torrent. Ki-yu’s chill had dissipated, but the experience was an unpleasant one for all of them. She had shaken for several days, and night terrors plagued her sleep; they had woken to find her curled up between them in their bed as often as not. Last night she had been brave and fought against herself as she tried to sleep alone. Braq had listened to her crying and rolling about in the darkness and found that he could not bear it. He had gone to her and picked her up, and she had brought Spike in tow.

“I’m sorry Baba,” she had whispered against him. “I’m sorry…”

“I’m having trouble sleeping tonight,” he had told her. “Do you mind keeping us company?” She had trembled in his arms as he lay her between Turin and himself and offered Spike to him.

Ki-yu was clearly still traumatised by the encounter, yet still she forced herself out into the woods. Pride and anguish warred in Braq’s heart; pride that she was so brave, anguish that she had to be. At the very least, Braq had vowed that she would never come home shivering and broken again.

Under most circumstances radji wore nothing, a habit they appeared to share with pyq. Nevertheless, Braq was aware that some sapients wore further protection from the elements than just their fur. He had spent the past few weeks taking some measurements for something to keep his daughter dry and warm in the forest. His first idea was something called a ‘poncho’, the apparel being the preferred covering of some ancient radji cultures due to the natural warmth their bristled back provided. But the fabric gripped her form too loosely and dragged upon the ground as she moved about. The addition of a fabric belt about her mid-section proved handy as it held it in place and allowed her to carry things, but it was ultimately the placement of half-sleeves on her arms that brought it all together. In the end, the poncho became a kind of canvas raincoat. It was only a short-term measure, Ki-yu was growing too fast for it to fit her for too long. But if it kept her warm for the next few months of winter it would be worth it.

Ki-yu had despised the entire process, hissing, snapping, and scratching at the garment. She had even growled at Braq one morning when he went at her with his pins and fabric. She apologised at once, bursting into tears. Braq had to remember that, whilst she loved him, he was still a large man, and her trauma was fresh. But after a few days out in the forest she had begrudgingly admitted she was warmer for it. Still, it was a trial to get her to put the damn thing on.

The raincoat incident was just the first pawful however, and Ki-yu had been becoming increasingly anxious and irritable in recent weeks. Her first true interaction with a stranger, and they tried to kill her. Braq wanted nothing more than for her to go out into the wider world, for them all to see and accept this beautiful clever young girl! To show her that his people were not all like the Teraka and Juran, that good and kindness were an immutable part of the radji soul. But he knew that would not be. What was worse, if the safety of the forest was already being shattered by traps and interlopers then Ki-yu would have to learn to look after herself, alone if need be. And it hurt Braq in his bones.

At the same time, they also needed more continuous monitoring of the estate in the future. The automated system could only alert them to so much, and if recent events had shown them anything it was that there were gaps in their security. So, the idea was, when she was old enough, for Ki-yu to monitor the wildlife on the estate. It would give her direction, purpose, and it would keep a closer eye on the potential comings and goings of certain officers. According to Ki-yu, Juran had said that the trap may take years to take hold, or as little as weeks. That meant that they had some time to act, even if Juran was confident that he and Teraka had already won. As Turin had put it:

“Because of the gun, they know that we know something. But they don’t know that we know that they know! If there’s one thing we do know, it’s that the more they think they know of what we know, the more we can make it so the less they actually do!” Braq hoped he was remembering that right, but the truth was so long as they did not know what the trap was, there was no way they could protect themselves from it. The best they could do was prepare themselves for another encounter.

If Ki-yu was going to be more active in the forest, she would need an area of her own, a den of sorts which she could operate out of as she monitored the Brackwood. It would need to be far enough away that any guests would not stumble across it, whilst also being close enough that they could get to her quickly. For that matter it would need to be well hidden, whilst still being accessible to all three of them. Communication would also be difficult, unless the den was located at moderate altitude, and came pre-installed with a signal amplifier…

It was at this point that they had realised they had already found the perfect spot for a clandestine predator den: the vacant cave in the eastern mountains. Today’s goal was for them to examine what would be needed to turn the cave into a comfortable home for Ki-yu.

Turin had been finding more comfort in staying in the warm indoors as of late and would not be joining them on this outing. Radji pregnancies were not as difficult as some other sapients, Braq knew, but it was still an ordeal. Given their remoteness, it was unlikely that Turin would make it to a hospital in time, so they had both resigned to a natural birth. So long as it all goes to plan… Braq was not looking forward to working out the logistics of building inside a cave. They were still applying the finishing touches to the new baby’s room, this one being slightly larger on account of it not being a secret.

Once the others had woken, and even Ki-yu had morosely joined them for a light breakfast, Braq set about preparing the buggy for their excursion. He did not need too much; some surveyors tools to check the caves integrity, a wiring kit to test the signal amplifier, and the gun (just to be safe). The most difficult part of the morning was, predictably, his daughter.

After much grumbling, and some predator wrangling, Ki-yu was forced into the raincoat. It was made of dark green canvas lined with a soft plaid fabric interior. Overall, it fit her form well, but a few sections were a bit big. Her eyes, for example, were lost beneath the hood, her nose sticking out ahead of it. She stood up on her wobbling hind legs and tried to roll up her sleeves. I should praise her for how quickly she’s started standing upright, but that’s also the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, Braq thought to himself. Chuckling, Braq rolled the hood back a little so that she could see.

“Ready?” he asked her. She mumbled something vaguely affirmative and dropped down onto all fours as she padded outdoors to the buggy. Turin took him by the arm as he made to follow her and leaned close to his ear.

“She’s scared,” she told him, her voice filled with concern.

“I know. She’s brave to be heading back into the forest so quickly, all things considered,” he replied evenly, but Turin shook her head.

“I mean about this,” she said gesturing to Ki-yu as she sulkily clambered up into the buggy. “About us setting her up in the cave.”

“We agreed she would need to learn to look after herself one day, this is just the first step. It’s not like we’re abandoning her, we’ll be there for her every step of the way.”

“Well, that’s just it, she thinks we are abandoning her!” Turin’s words were like a splash of cold water. “We’ve told her that one day she’ll have to live on her own, learn to survive, learn to hunt on her own.” She pulled back a little, chewing on her lips. “Do you remember the day of the fiirit? How we had to hide her away, and how despondent she was afterwards?” Braq nodded thoughtfully. She had moped about in the lodge for days, hiding away from them when they came to feed or play with her. It had taken great and persistent displays of affection to show her that they were not mad at her, not scared of her.

“Teraka didn’t help that either…” he grumbled but understood her point. “We need to show her that we’re still here for her, that we’re not keeping her at arm’s length.”

Turin nodded and, patting a paw against his arm, they looked out at the buggy. Ki-yu was waiting patiently in the passenger seat, holding out a hand and feeling the rain trickle over her fingers.

“Who ever said raising a child would be easy?” she tried to jest, but Braq could tell her heart was not in it. He nuzzled her gently, then joined Ki-yu in the buggy.

~*~

Braq’s mind turned inward as he drove, and it circled like water down the drain that was Juran’s “plan”. What could it be? What trap do you place then cannot find?

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Ki-yu was quiet on the journey, a stark contrast to the bubbly, quizzical child she normally was. He probed her a few times, asking her about what she wanted to do later, what she thought of the rain, but the little questions only got little answers.

When they reached the base of the hill, they stepped out into the downpour, and Braq slung the rifle over one shoulder as Ki-yu led the way up the slope. The rain was growing fiercer now, and both were desperate to get under cover. When they reached the top, Braq had to bend down to see the opening, rivulets of water falling in a sheet across it. It was large enough that Ki-yu could pad right on in, but Braq had to squat down and pass beneath the miniature waterfall to enter. Within, the cave was flooded in places where the water had pooled and then overflowed from the larger opening opposite. They shook the water off themselves, Ki-yu’s raincoat crinkling all the while, and looked around the cavern.

“Centuries of rain must have eroded that opening,” he told her, lighting his torch and shining it up on the walls. “Must be what smoothed all this rock down.” The rain outside echoed into the cave from the large opening, the sound of water droplets falling resonated throughout the chamber.

Braq began moving about the interior, exploring the smooth yet porous rock. Ki-yu copied him, padding around the cavern’s interior. On a warmer day Braq supposed it would be rather cosy for a cave; not so large that any heat would be lost, but not so small that it was cramped or claustrophobic. But Braq’s primary concern was for their safety. Some sandstone caves could sag, and eventually collapse if they were inhabited for prolonged periods. However, this structure appeared more igneous in nature, the rock having large clasts throughout it suggestive of volcanism. Whatever magma had once passed through this chamber had long since subsided and sunk back beneath the Cradle.

“Baba… there’s something in the wall,” Ki-yu said, and Braq brought his torch over. She was looking at what Braq initially thought was a lump of rock the size of his paw, but it was clearly more defined than a lump of rock should be.

“Hmm… some kind of inclusion… but it’s not a xenolith, and it’s not quite rock…” He peered closer, running his paw over the dark blob in the wall. It felt smooth to the touch. One end tapered distinctly, whilst the other had a round, bulbous protuberance. He shone the torch around the chamber. “This is… some kind of volcanic vent… which would… Oh!” He turned to the little predator and wondered if his eyes were as wide as hers in the torchlight.

“Do you know what you’ve found?!” he asked her, and she shook her head. “It’s a noxoform! A fossil of one at least! These are super rare; I don’t know the last time I even saw one. Oh, if Professor B’tly knew about this she’d tear the whole mountain down to find more!” Ki-yu was watching him in bewilderment. I’ve gotten overexcited, haven’t I?

“What’s a nocka… nocko…” she tried.

“Noxoform. It’s a kind of extremophile.” She just blinked at him. He shook a paw at her. “Sorry, too many big words. Noxoforms were a kind of life, a kind that’s super rare nowadays.” She tilted her head to one side.

“Life… like trees, and animals?”

“Yeah, but as different from trees and animals as they are to each other.” He hesitated, not sure of the best approach. He knelt beside her and shone his torch up at the wall. “A long time ago, a really long time ago, the Cradle was a very different place. There were no trees, no animals. It was a young world was young, Ki-yu, people didn’t exist here yet; we only know about it through centuries of study. But these–” he gestured to the fossil, “–these were about. We think they were some of the first life forms on the Cradle.” He took Ki-yu’s paw and ran it over the smooth surface of the alien creature, her hands felt warm against the cool stone. “You see, the world back then was a harsh, hot, toxic place. Thick clouds blocked out the sun, there were nasty plumes of gases on the surface and beneath the sea. But those plumes held the building blocks of life, and from them the first strands of nucleic acids formed. We think that some of the first life forms fed upon the chemicals in the gases, and over time some of them grew. Evolved. Becoming something like…”

“… this…” she whispered. Braq nodded.

“As the young world cooled and the gases dissipated, the noxoform empire diminished. But it was the sun breaking through the clouds that did them in. You see, it allowed the trees to grow.”

“Why would that be bad for them?” she asked. “I like trees. I like the sun.” Braq smiled at her.

“Trees… breathe in a way. They breathe out an element called oxygen, that we breathe in. But oxygen does a funny thing, it makes the air colder. That chilled out the planet, and the gases went away.”

“And the noxo… noxoforms, who liked the heat and the gases…”

“Died,” he said quietly. Ki-yu pulled her paw from the rock and looked down at it contemplatively.

“Whole… kinds of things can die?” she asked. She’s so young… too young to hear this.

“Yes,” he said softly. “Even people. When we walk in the forest, it seems like it could go on forever. But it doesn’t. Beyond our land are pastures, vineyards, and orchards. These are lovely places, rich and productive; necessary ventures for sustaining our people. But they have come at a heavy cost, and now no other patch of land on the whole Cradle is as full of life as here. The noxoforms were once as widespread as the trees, but now they are all gone, extinct… mostly.” She looked back up at him, and Braq smiled gently.

“Some can still be found in a few special places; deep sea vents, some chemical pools, and–” he gestured around the cavern, “–the odd volcanic chamber. This one is dead, and so are the noxoforms that once dwelled here.” He rapped a claw on the lithified unfamiliar. “This is a fossil, a rock that has filled in the shape of the long dead.”

“It’s… a ghost,” Ki-yu whispered. Braq thought the look on her face bordered on reverence.

“Where’d you hear that word?” he asked with a curious tilt of the head. Ki-yu looked up at him sheepishly.

“I… read it. In a book.”

“One that was high up on the shelf?” Braq asked, raising a brow. She smiled crookedly at him, and he shook his head as he looked back at the fossil. “Hm… I suppose it is. Part of why your mother and I have invested so much of our lives in preserving this forest is so that it doesn’t become a ghost too.”

“Like this,” Ki-yu said, running her paw across the noxoform.

“We are a bastion,” he said. “Our job is to show everyone else that what we have here is special, important. It’s worth fighting for, even if some people don’t want us to.”

“Like… Teraka and Juran,” she said quietly. Braq put an arm around her, and she leant against him.

“We’re building this as a place for you to grow up, not as a place to keep you away from us. We love you Ki-yu, more than the Brackwood itself. And we’re not giving up on you or the forest.” He shook her gently. “But you once told me that you’d need a life beyond these trees. That you’d need to be someone. This is part of that. You must learn to survive.” Ki-yu’s dark eyes were wet with emotion.

“Alone?” she asked, her voice quivering. He placed a paw on her scaly cheek.

“You’ll never be alone, so long as we live.”

“Promise?”

“I do,” he swore. “It’ll be a while yet before you’re ready to move in here… and it’s only for when you’re staying out for long periods. If you ever wanted to stay with us, your room will still be there. Any day, every day you want to stay in the lodge with us you shall. Hell, if you only spend a day here and decide you don’t like it, then you can come straight back.” Ki-yu seemed to soften, and for the first time in days Braq felt her guard drop.

For a while they explored the extent of the cavern. Ki-yu was excited to look for more fossils in the rock, but it seemed that the noxoform was alone. Overall, the structure seemed stable, and well ventilated. The entrances could be sealed up with wood which would stop the flooding issue and lighting a fire would also be rather easy. The only issue in keeping Ki-yu out here was that of sustenance. They could regularly supply Ki-yu with kibble, and certainly a supply in storage would be wise. But both Turin and Braq had come to the same difficult conclusion: for this plan to work, Ki-yu would need to learn to hunt. A trial for another day, Braq decided.

When they stepped through the larger opening to examine the amplifier, they found that the rain had lessened. Ki-yu sat near the shelters edge, taking in the smells of the forest. Turin had not oversold it, the view from the cave was spectacular. Where their visit had been a bright and sunny day, today was overcast and grey rains obscured the lodge in the valley below. The rock pool, whilst murky right now, would no doubt be rather refreshing on a warmer day, even if it overhung a deadly drop.

Braq ran his paw over the amplifier’s casing, pleased to see it had weathered well. He was flicking through the circuit board to check for corrosion when he noticed Ki-yu was leaning right out over the edge, her dark eyes screwed up in concentration. Braq’s heart and his mouth switched places.

“KI-YU!” he yelled as he reached out and snatched her by the scruff of the neck from the precipice. His daughter looked quite surprised that he had grabbed her, annoyed even.

“What’d you do that for?” she asked him.

“I should ask you the same thing!” he hissed, his heart thundering in his chest. “That was dangerous, darling.” She looked sheepishly down at the sheer drop again, still dangling from his paw.

“Oh… sorry Baba. But I can smell something familiar.”

“Something worth falling to your death for?” he sighed, placing her down again. “Well? What was it? More radji?” he asked. She snuffed hard at a gust, before chattering her teeth as she processed the smell.

“… no. It’s… more like…” she let out a panting gasp as she found the scent. “…roht.”

A terrible fear pulsed through Braq as his eyes scanned the forest beneath them, the trees shadowy and foreboding. “It smells… far,” Ki-yu whispered. “Maybe that’s roht mama?”

“Perhaps,” Braq replied as thunder rumbled in the distance. ”If it is a roht, then it would be hibernating at this time of year. They didn’t like the cold, that’s why we…” The epiphany struck him like lightning from the dark clouds above. Roht were never found this far south, it’s too cold for them. He took her by the shoulders.

“Remember the cub?!” he asked her, and she nodded warily, surprised by his change in tone. “When we found it, you said there was another smell in the clearing, one that smelled like Turin and I, but wasn’t. Was that the same smell as Juran and Teraka?” Ki-yu tilted her head, considering the half-remembered smell. Her nose twitched at the phantom recollection.

“Maybe…” she said. “It… was a faint smell, not clear.”

“But it could have been them?” She raised her brows and stuck out her lips, and Braq took that for another maybe. It makes sense as for how they got here, but not for why.

“Why bring dangerous predator into forest?” Ki-yu asked, clearly thinking along similar lines. “They hate predators!”

“I have no idea,” Braq said, shaking his head. “But if they did, it would have been a great effort to do so, so it must have been important. It’s just a silly plan if that’s the case, they’re poorly adapted to the cold. We’ll have to be more careful in the summer months, but like I said they should be hibernating right now.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s where an animal hides away and sleeps in a hollow, or a crevice, or a cave to wait out the winter.”

“L-like this one?” she asked nervously. Braq bristled, and for a moment he thought he had been profoundly stupid. “I… I think we would have known pretty quickly if there was a roht in this cave,” he said, still casting his torch back into the dark cavern. “C-can you smell anything in the cave?” he added, loosening the strap of the rifle on his shoulder. When she shook her head, he let out a breath. Then he started chuckling, a nervous, honest chuckle, the kind children make when they know what they are doing would get them in serious trouble. Ki-yu slowly joined him, and their mirth became nervous laughter at their own foolishness.

Their journey back to the buggy was far less joyous, however. Every tree and shadow seemed to hide a massive predator, and Braq found himself rather glad to have brought the damnable firearm. Still, it was only Ki-yu’s assuredness that the smell was very distant that stopped Braq from picking her up and bolting for the vehicle.

The rain threatened to start again as they cautiously got into the buggy, and the forest felt dark and close. As Braq keyed the engine and punched it down the trail back home, he shuddered at the feeling that something was watching them go.

---

“An English garden in the rain,

Something hidden and something strange.

Don't go walking in the woods,

Yes, Father dear, you're understood.

An English garden in the rain,

Someone whispered my name.

Victoria sits upon her throne,

And when we fall, we'll fall like Rome.”

– An English Garden, Sol Invictus, 1995.