Three days after Mory discovered that his manek was from the flying squirrel, he was training in the woods near his village. The temperate forest of Stork Village was the perfect place for Mory to practice his new gliding technique. There were plenty of tall trees that he could leap back and forth from. He also liked the fact that he was usually the only person there, besides occasional hunters or explorers. This was one of the few places where he could go to escape the drama and negativity of his spora haters.
He visited the woods on both of the past two days also. Marlon had been there with him to keep him from getting seriously injured. Once Mory learned how to control himself a little better, he decided to go train alone. Heavy rain fell from the sky, but it didn’t diminish the ambition that drove him as he climbed up a sugar maple tree. The slickness of his sharp claws on the damp tree bark was challenging, yet pleasing to him. His entire life had been a challenge, but beating the odds was always his motivation to move forward.
Mory reached the top of the tree, and just like what he had done hundreds of times by that point, he jumped. The experience of gliding seemed more natural to him than before. Each time he sprung himself into the air, he felt an explosion of energy that zoomed throughout his entire body until it reached his fingertips. With each leap from a treetop, he craved the feeling more and more. The glide no longer felt like a dream. He was more aware of his surroundings as he weaved around and between the trees. He thought about the positioning of his limbs and torso to guide his direction. In his mind, there was more focus and purpose with his movement than there had been before. After about a minute, he steered himself towards a tree, close to its base. He latched on to it with his claws and climbed down from there. He sat down on the ground with his back against the tree. It didn’t matter to him that the ground was a muddy mess.
All he cared about was resting so he could glide again. After all, there was a limit to how long a person can use their manek form. It depended on the manek user’s level of stamina, as well as the rate at which they use energy. Mory was usually able to get about twenty minutes at best before he could no longer sustain his manek form. That was the case as he sat against the tree and reverted to his human form. He wouldn’t be able to activate his manek for a while. Similar to holding the manek form, the amount of time for refractory was different for everyone. Mory needed roughly ten minutes to recover.
He planned on resting for a bit and waiting for his refractory state to wear off before getting back to training. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. The sound of rain pelting leaves and the smell of moist soil was soothing to him. He may have even fallen asleep if it wasn’t for the cool massage that he got from the raindrops on his skin.
Mory remained there in peace until he heard footsteps through the squishy mud. He opened his eyes and saw a man walking towards him. The man walked as if his furry gray coat and black wool pants weren’t soaking wet. He stopped walking once he was about a few meters away. Mory could tell that he was probably in his mid-twenties by looking at his stubble covered face. The man gave off a serious vibe with his black shoulder-length hair and his dark eyes. Mory rose to his feet as quickly as he could. He still needed more resting time before he could transform, but he was prepared to run or fight if the stranger tried anything suspicious. He raised his arms a little and positioned himself in a combat-ready stance.
“I come in peace,” said the man. “I’m not from this land, but I have come here to find you for a very important reason. What I’m about to tell you may sound ridiculous and hard to believe, but hear me out and consider my proposition.”
“You already sound kinda ridiculous. Who are you and why show up out of the blue like this?”
“My name is Sannis, and just like you, I am a spora. I was born and raised in the Land of Fish, but I possess a mammal manek. You are Mory, correct?”
“Yeah. How do you know who I am?”
“It’s quite easy to figure out who’s a spora in Keanos. We stand out like a flame at night. Once you’ve been spotted, everyone in the land will know who you are. The reason for me coming here is because I need your help and you will need mine too.”
“Why would I need your help?”
“Because a massive war is about to start and all spora on Earth will be in danger.”
Mory stood upright and relaxed his arms. “War? Between who?”
“Keanos and Zitonia.”
Right away, Mory thought about his father. He was currently on a mission to scout the Zitonian domains.
“H-how could you know something like that?”
“All that I can tell you is that I have some reliable allies who can acquire important information for me. They are members of a group that I lead. We go by the name, ‘Sporadical’. We’re a group of spora who will end manek-based segregation and begin a new era of unity. For centuries, the spora have been oppressed. In Zitonia they serve as slaves. The division of territories by animal classes is unjust as well. We will never reach our full potential as a species if we are split this way. We are searching for every spora who we believe can help us achieve our ultimate goal. Mory, join Sporadical and help make the world into the place that is should be.”
Mory was rapidly shaking his head. “No, no, no. You want me to betray the Land of Birds and Keanos. That’s treason. I couldn’t.”
“I would be a fool to think that you would accept my offer now. But trust me, I’m sure you will change your mind soon. When that time comes, go to the plunge basin at Avian Falls. Lay a hand on the big boulder there, and say to it that the lone wolf has sent you.”
Mory didn’t have a response to that. His talk with Sannis was brief, but everything he said seemed unreal. To jostle his thoughts, even more, Sannis unexpectedly revealed his animal power at that moment. Some of his teeth suddenly grew into sharp fangs. His eyes turned to the color of autumn leaves and his stubble grew longer and turned gray. Mory could see that he had the manek of a gray wolf.
“Mory, I should warn you. Any person who learns about our group without us informing them may be considered a threat to us. In that case, we will not hesitate to eliminate them if necessary. It would be wise of you not to tell anyone about what we just discussed here.”
This left Mory speechless, but he managed to nod his head to the mysterious wolf-man. Sannis turned and sprinted away. He made a sharp right turn around some trees, and then he was out of Mory’s sight. Mory had never seen a person run that fast before.
They’ll eliminate anyone? Maybe I should tell Terias, he thought.
Fantasy
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