Beginnings

The way from here on was clear, mostly. His tribe refused to tamper with nature's natural order, and so chopped no trees down. Everything they built was put together from naturally felled trees, or animals they killed. Half of their homes were made from simply tying low-hanging leaves together into a sort of makeshift roof. But that was not yet important. What was important was the vibrant splash of color that stood out against the backdrop of greens and browns. Frren quickly halted, instantly lowering himself into some large underbrush. He stared at the thing that appeared to be nothing more than a brilliantly petaled flower. Then it quivered.

'See there. One of the hunters of this island,' Frren mentally hissed, his eyes never leaving the flower. 'Camouflaged.'

As if simply to demonstrate its power, the flower shuddered, then stretched. The petals moved apart seamlessly, revealing the actual form of this apparent plantlife to be that of a large, four winged bird. Its beak resembled that of a toucan with serrated edges, and two sets of eyes were blinking on either side of its head. It stretched its wings out, digging sharp claws into the branch it sat upon, and looked around.

'Dangerous. Poisonous, carnivore.' Frren whispered, though he didn't really need to in the mental link.

He lead Gratu'Ul around the bird, quietly as he could. He could not take on the bird alone, and he didn't want to shame himself in front of the otherworldly guest. His only objective was to return to the Elder with the guest and claim recognition among the tribesmen. A simple goal.
 
Gratu'Ul watched as the creature unfolded itself. 'Amazing, simply amazing. An aviary creature camouflaged as a part of the surrounding flora. I must report this to the Council.' he thought, quietly following the short, furry creature.

'Frren, what will your village most likely do when we arrive? I mean, how will they react, to see such strange a sight as me?' he asked. He had not encountered creatures like this before. Reptilian, yes. Marsupial, definitely. Mammalian, some. But none like this.
 
Frren thought as he ran, and replied without stopping.
'With spears. We are protective, distrusting of outsiders. They will see you before you see them, and they will surround you. The elder will approach only when certain you cannot move without running into a spear... So I will try to speak with them before that happens.'

He paused just before a cluster of leaves. The entrance to the village. He held up a hand, hoping that Gratu'Ul would take the hint and stop. He hoped this wouldn't end up a disaster. When he entered the village, there was no sign of anyone, or anything. He looked around, stepping carefully. The rain made hearing anything a little dampened, but even still he couldn't catch anything. He wasn't too worried, though. It was expected.

The high pitched call surprised him, and he turned in time to have the shaft of a spear smack him across the face. One of the veteran hunters was standing over him as he fell to the ground. The hunter's teeth bared, a quiet hiss spitting at Frren. More sounds came from the Lantine, accusatory, disciplinary. Frren replied in the same tongue, trying to talk reason into the hunter, apologizing for disobeying.

'They are upset! Don't come, they will try to kill you!' Frren frantically sent to Gratu'Ul. He didn't mean for any of this to happen!
 
Gratu'Ul hid behind some large leaves, crouching low so as not to be seen. As his fists curled tighter, the blades began to glow red hot, the rain hissing slightly softer than it fell as it touched the heated metal. His ear holes flared to listen for anything else, anyone creeping up on him. He squinted, trying to see better through the blinding rain. He didn't doubt that he could take on the warriors of the tribe and come out victorious, but he also had no doubt that at least one of them would find a chink in his armor, or a flaw in his fighting style. So he hid, silent, hoping Frren could work the situation out.