Title card (2024).
Get This Asshole Off This Island! is a story about a group of prey animals having to share their island of refuge with a single carnivore after a flood absorbed their home environment, written by VampireMeerkat.
An exhausted carnivore manages to grab hold onto an island, claimed by prey animals only, but Alefir doesn't have the heart to sabotage the struggling Culou's attempts at wanting to live and argues for his stay.
While the oddly non-vocal visitor is putting a suspicious amount of work in pleasing him and gradually takes on the identity of a female shrew, animals are slaughtered or disappear the next morning.
The unwelcome guest in their midst becomes the main suspect, but Alefir refuses to believe Culou could be the perpetrator the more he spends time with him.
With Alefir making so many enemies, and conveniently-timed tragedy always following him around, the truth becomes harder to figure out.
The story was conceived on April 15, 2024, but it and the characters have made no official online appearance.
NOTE:
This page is not free to edit.
Story
CHAPTER 1: Introduction One early evening, a storm starts brewing over an untamed island country. When the animals of the land come to understand the rain isn't stopping, they abandon their burrows and hiding spaces, including the trees that are getting pushed, pulled, and knocked over by the force of the wind. Within the first hour, animals drown or get blown into the skies like paper rags, never to be seen again.
Alefir is a snub-shrew with a pack to protect and knows he'll have to find some kind of middle ground location for the the night. He instructs his underlings to stay low and follow him.
They find themselves a hill, and not long afterwards, more animals get the idea and show up. They lay down in the grass and watch the rainwater swallow up the scenery. The concern is uttered that they're not sitting high enough, but with nothing else in sight to flee to, Alefir proclaims they've done all they could and tells them not to regret trying. The snub-shrews find solace in their leader's words, but the other animals remain skittish.The storm continues on for hours. The faint light of the moon grants them much needed vision, but reveals the worrisome truth there's nothing but sea surrounding them. Through the violent waves, they see the occasional animal splashing by, but only few of them happen to get close enough to grab hold onto the edge of the island and join the crowd.
With most passersby being carnivores as well, none of these herbivore and small omnivore survivors feel particularly driven to give them a hand and let each one disappear back into the darkness with an ominous screech.Suddenly, a masca digs its large claws in the soil. Its lower body is tucked at by the raging winds and sea, yet the skinny thing manages to stay put. Everyone flinches and closely watches it struggle.
The masca yelps for help, but every face watching it is full of anticipation for its failure. It yelps and cries some more, holding onto dear life in the meantime. It makes Alefir uncomfortable, understanding it too just wants to live, but no one moves, leaving the masca to cry and flounder by itself.Another masca appears, who ungraciously uses the body of the first to climb onto the island. The first masca somehow endures being used as a stepping stool, but its expression understandably turns sour. The newcomer too doesn't care to help out, and instead, focusses its exhausted, yet starving eyes on the assembly of prey in front of it. Seeing every one of them afraid boosts its confidence and it settles on pouncing the closest, most weak-looking creature, which happens to be one of Alefir's underlings. Before it can take the jump, the other masca uses all of its energy to dig its teeth in its back leg and chuck the animal back into the sea with a vengeful swing.
Even so, it still hasn't earned the trust of the others and its cries continue to stay unanswered. The masca decides to lie down its head, no longer able to squeal.Alefir insists it needs to be helped, but his called a fool. His fellow shrews question him as well, but already having made up his mind, he heads over. The masca is larger than him and being pulled at by the waves, but Alefir gives it his all, motivating the masca to put in some last effort to get itself on land.
After having saved it, the others become more panicked and demand Alefir pushes it back into the sea. While they argue amongst each other, the masca lies down and loses consciousness.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Morning arrives and the sun is shining like nothing happened. As suspected the night before, only the hill top survived the flood and everything around them is sky and sea.
The masca wakes up to unwelcoming eyes, but is greeted by Alefir. It becomes obvious that the masca can't or doesn't speak, which makes it difficult to get to know anything about it. The other animals find it suspicious behaviour, since mascas are native to their country and should speak the same language, but Alefir is willing to believe it could be a foreign masca, washed this way by the storm from a neighbouring overseas country. Even so, the masca doesn't even try to speak words and all forms of communication are through animalistic sounds and movements.
To be stuck with a predator who refuses to have civilized conversation is a worrisome situation and they again advocate for throwing it off the island. Alefir sees no reason to repeat his disapproval for that idea and invites the masca over to the other side of the island to talk in peace.While nobody understands Alefir's willingness to endanger himself, no one cares to stop him. His underlings follow behind to keep an eye on them, but don't dare to get close and watch on from a large distance, which Alefir accepts.
He properly introduces himself to the masca, explains the situation they're in, and what is expected of everyone, but still it won't respond to anything. Questions about itself are also ignored, making the interrogation difficult. Since its entire head is hidden under its manes, it's impossible to see what it's thinking, but Alefir makes do with the fact it's standing in his general direction and thus likely paying attention. He continues their one-sided conversation with patience and kindness in his voice.
Hoping it understood his briefing, Alefir wishes to turn around and join the others, but notices the masca moving as he does. He quickly turns his head, causing it to stop. He tells it it's free to explore the area by itself if it wishes to, but it looks determined to follow him. Alefir decides to allow for it for now.
Alefir tells the waiting shrews their next point of focus should be finding food. Luckily, the island has a fair amount of trees, rocks, and shrubbery, and many insects are crawling in the ground, also having fled from the flood.Wherever they go, the masca is there to watch. Whenever they come across other animals during their scouting, these run off at the sight of their persistent little shadow, giving Alefir no opportunity to speak to them and exchange possible knowledge.
They find and feast on some nuts, freshly fallen from a tree and perhaps a bit too undeveloped still, then start digging around in a spot their sensitive whiskers can pick up movement from to find some bugs. Some of the shrews inform Alefir the masca is still watching them and to feel uneasy about it. He replies not to sense hostility coming from it, but decides to stand in between it and his shrews anyway.
The masca takes his nearing presence as an invitation to approach. The others quickly waddle a few steps to the side, peering at it from the corner of their eyes. Alefir stays brave and allows it to come near.He figures it's hungry and interested in joining their hunt, so shows it how to dig for insects. The masca keeps snagging everything away in front of him the moment it appears, the disrespect displeasing the others quite a bit. Alefir tolerates the casual thievery and figures it's better than having a hungry carnivore in their midst.
Everyone on the island spends the day exploring, seeking sources of food and a spot to rest. Same-specie animals form cliques, even if it's not normal behaviour for their kind, and with no one eager to have the masca around, it lies down by itself for the night.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
The next day, everyone is called over to check out a dead haregaroo, its top half missing. The masca is immediately blamed, but Alefir has his doubts. He says it slept nearby to his pack last night and snub-shrews are sensitive to vibrations; insinuating that it getting up would've grabbed their attention. The other shrews confirm not to have sensed any footsteps during the night.
A tangle deer doesn't care for the answer and argues facial hair isn't a superpower. He proclaimes the masca was clearly too far away and sneaky for them to detect.Alefir thinks to himself, then asks why it didn't eat the whole hare if it's truly the culprit, since it's small enough for a creature like a masca to swallow within 2 minutes. To figure out the logic in why a mid-sized predator ate half a rodent and left the rest of it behind for everyone to find and get upset about is challenging, but the deer thinks the why isn't relevant and it's pointless not to suspect the one animal on the island with fangs.
The comment makes the also fanged snub-shrews a bit nervous -each of them wisely keeping their mouths closed.The debate continues on, but without a satisfying conclusion. The consensus is that no one else could've been the perpetrator, but the crime is oddly half-baked, which a fair amount of animals agree is more interesting to ponder about. Regardless, no one has the courage to confront the still sleeping masca about it, and so, the deceased haregaroo is not avenged.
Alefir and his pack move on and start scavenging for food. They're soon joined and again stared at by the masca. This time, it won't approach and digs for insects itself. Alefir feels a sliver of pride to see it having remembered yesterday's instructions, but knows it'd be against the interest of his underlings to lower his guard and makes sure to keep his eyes on it.
All shrews stay vigilant, but the more and longer Alefir looks at the masca, the less convinced he becomes of the need. The masca is thin; and doesn't look like it recently ate, strengthening his doubt it's the one who killed the haregaroo.When the pack moves away after having exhausted their current spot, the masca follows, but stays at a distance. This goes on for the whole day.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
The next morning, two tartoises are found, flipped over and their shells crushed. Their torsos have been so severely destroyed, it's unsure if they've been eaten or are the victims of a random mauling.
The masca is again the number one suspect, but Alefir questions if it's possible for a predator of its size and weight to crush a tartoise shell. Moods have been soured by the brutal loss of more animals and less of them show patience to the defense lawyer that is Alefir. But, again, the courage to confront the masca is absent and their heated debates lead to nothing.The snub-shrews can't concern themselves with it any longer and have to go back to finding food to silence their growing pains of starvation. Almost as expected, the controversial masca shows up to join them for breakfast.
To see it again claim food that's needed and better suited for their kind gets on some shrews' nerves, but Alefir asks them not to be unreasonable, since there's little else the masca can eat without causing everyone trouble. The shrews ask if he truly believes it's innocent of all the murders, to which he admits he can never know for sure and it's more accurate to say he's "the least suspicious of the masca" out of all the islanders.Alefir watches the masca for a little while, who appears quite lucky at finding the fattest beetles and larva on the island. They practically flock towards it for a reason he can't figure out. Its small paws are so delicate, the bugs it digs up seem to not even realize they're exposed until it's too late.
Alefir's mind goes back to yesterday's haregaroo discussion and how plausible it is the masca could've snuck past them, but there's not much time to revisit this mystery, as the masca notices his staring. Not wanting to provoke a predator, Alefir moves his gaze away, but the damage has already been done and the masca hops over.The other shrews worriedly walk away as they see it coming, even though it clearly has its eyes on Alefir alone. Alefir can't make up his mind on time on whether he should also run and the masca stands still in front of him, seemingly waiting for him to state his business. He guesses it thought he was purposely trying to grab its attention, so excuses himself for staring. Not wanting to seem hostile or creepy, though, he comments to be impressed by his insect finding skills. Of course, the masca gives no response.
Before things can get awkward, it then suddenly starts digging in front of him. A fountain of crawlers escape from the hole. It catches Alefir off-guard and the hungry shrews want to run over to grab them, but nobody seems sure on what's the right response to give in front of the predator that made it happen, so all stay put.
The masca picks up on their hesitance, or distrust, and grabs a grub the size of a kitten to push against Alefir's muzzle. He's not one to reject what's obviously a gift and expresses his thanks. The other shrews see this as their cue to come over, though their presence doesn't seem to please the masca, who runs off. The shrews don't care for its negative reaction and focus on the food they so gravely need, except for Alefir.He follows behind and promises they are harmless creatures, but the masca remains frightened and ducks as it sees him coming. Alefir feels bad and decides to lie down as well, hoping to prove his docility by making himself even smaller.
Suddenly something clicks with Alefir. The masca's appearance, demeanour, scent, and tone of its nervous coos paint a picture he hadn't picked up on before; and he realizes the "it" is female.
It's unusual for an animal to sense details like these so clearly from another species, but though questions are raised, Alefir doesn't turn it into a topic and continues trying to console her. The masca needs time to come around, but seems appreciative of his friendliness. Even so, she doesn't want to come near the other shrews, and since Alefir has obligations as their leader, has to choose them over her and eventually leaves her be.The shrews happily swallow the mountains of bugs still crawling all over the place, a much needed meal for these creatures who possess a supercharged metabolism, yet Alefir feels guilty for taking what is basically the masca's haul. It's a dilemma he hopes to make right the next morning, when she's fully calmed down and they can interact again.
Later that night, though, a dark figure scuffles through the sleeping shrews and lies itself down next to Alefir. While the movements are quiet, shrews have large noses and they all pick up on the foreign scent in their midst. Upon waking up, they see the masca and respond displeased to see her lying with them, let alone their leader, which they take as intrusion and an act of grave disrespect.
Since they just met, Alefir has to agree with them and explains the issue to the masca. He states she's not part of the pack, thus there's no need to associate with them. The masca moseys off again.Alefir knows to have done the right thing, but that same feeling of guilt grows in his stomach as he watches her leave.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Another morning, another death. Ten skullels are found headless, another strange kill Alefir doesn't think a hungry predator animal would act out.
Somewhere in the past few days, the tangle deer have taken it upon themselves to be the island's leaders; and they come walking with authority in their step. They deem this the last straw and advocate for chasing off the masca, leading to a tired and familiar argument.
Alefir notes not to have seen any tar on the masca's mouth yesterday -an unavoidable result of eating a tartoise- and with these new clumsily performed murders being similar to the haregaroo's death, he advocates for her innocence.
The largest deer replies they've never decided the haregaroo wasn't the masca's doing and he can't possibly speak for it, as it doesn't sound like he's ever been in contact with the species to know what they're like. He reveals they're talented tricksters and like to spread confusion, whether it's for an actual purpose or merely entertainment.Alefir can't respond to the statement, knowing it's true he's never dealt with mascas before, so can only answer to be speaking from his gut. The deer insults the size of said gut and urges everyone to not let themselves get swayed by a masca sympathizer.
Alefir refutes by asking everyone to look at the masca's skinny frame and see there's nothing resting in her stomach. The deer huffs at his pitiful attempts at defending it, yet Alefir's words again seem to confuse the jury and no one reaches a final decision. The deer warns it's a guaranteed mistake to keep a carnivore alive and adds none of them owe it their hospitality. Alefir finally grumbles she's not an "it", but the deer doesn't care and snaps all meat-eaters are monsters and all monsters are "its".
He then turns to the other animals and urges them to stick together tonight, promising his group will keep watch and no one will die this time.The animals disperse, leaving Alefir and his pack behind. The shrews asks if it's wise to ruin his reputation by being so involved with the safety of a stranger, and while Alefir understands their concerns, he reminds them he chose to save the masca, making her his responsibility in a way. If the truth is ever revealed, he assures them he won't be this stubborn, but things just aren't adding up right now.
His pack thinks it'd be better to quit babysitting her and focus on themselves from now on, but Alefir needs time to think things over. He decides to try and discuss the incidents with the masca, despite being noted on the pointlessness of expecting a criminal to come clean just by being asked.He finds her just about to climb a tree. Like a little monkey, she shoots up the trunk, but with no goodies hiding in the branches, her efforts are for naught. Alefir walks over and looks up. Though he just witnessed her climb, he already struggles to see her through the leaves.
The hidden masca looks back down at him, already having noticed him waddle over. His pack is nowhere in sight, unusually gutsy for a prey animal that only thrives in numbers. She can't say if he's come for her or is looking for food, so just watches him from above. She picks up on his abysmal eye sight; as he can't seem to see her, despite the leafage not being that dense.When he decides to give up and turns his back to her, she drops down.
To have two clawed paws land next to his face startles Alefir greatly, who wants to sprint off, but teeth hold him in place and something starts to wrestle with him. He can't get his bearings and has no idea what's going on, so can only twist his body the best he's able to and bite his attacker.
The masca shrieks as his teeth dig into her shoulder. She gets off and Alefir is finally able to stand up as well. He inspects himself for any wounds, but it doesn't appear like he was harmed during the scuffle. He guesses she was playing. The masca is licking her shoulder, but runs off when he tries to approach her.He collects his thoughts, giving her time to do the same, then tries to head over and talk to her again. Upon finding her, she squeals like a battered pup. Alefir tries to console her and promises not to have come to attack her. He explains the reason for his actions; and couldn't see in time who he was being jumped by.
He slowly draws closer. The masca flips her head from side to side, very reminiscent of a parrot. It's animal behaviour Alefir is unfamiliar with, but whether it's a threat or her attempt at seeing him better through her manes, he knows it won't improve their relationship if misunderstandings like these stay undiscussed.
Regardless of her nervous stance, she allows him to approach and clean her wound for her. It's not deep and likely won't even be visible with some fur brushed over it, but sometimes it's the shock that hurts. With that in mind, he apologizes again.When he thinks she's calmed down, he decides to get to the next order of business: the murders. He asks if she's been feeling particularly hungry or has seen anything weird the past few nights, but she shakes her head.
Alefir can only ask her yes or no questions, making it a challenge to get much information out of her. She won't admit to having eaten anyone -at least not animals with a basic level of intelligence- ending the interrogation early. He thanks her for her time and leaves.The arial attack was a frightful moment Alefir can't shake off and keeps him up at night, yet to have come out of it unscathed makes him wonder a few things. If the masca did attempt to kill him, she's evidentally a bad hunter and even less likely to be the culprit of the murders, since snub-shrews are embarrassingly easy to overpower.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
This time, everyone survived the night and there's no meeting.
Alefir and his pack are scavenging for food like always, but the island seems to already be running out. They can't digest grass or leaves like most of the other refugees, giving them few alternatives to consider. Some of the shrews see no point in waiting for more food to magically appear and already started eating grass and twigs. Alefir advices not to make it their main source of nutrition and always eat double the amount of bugs or nuts for every nonedible.
The masca passes by them a few times, carrying away the sticks and grass they just so decided to supplement their diet with. It annoys the pack, but they know there's no point in scolding a creature who can rip out their throats.
Alefir would rather know what she's planning with them and follows her. He sees she's building an interesting-looking nest, shaped somewhat like a sphere. He accepts a nest is important to have and turns around without reprimanding her.He returns to the pack and the shrews look at him with careful optimism, but Alefir shakes his head, letting them know he didn't and won't confront the masca's thievery. A few shrews decide to lie down and sleep, hoping to slow down their metabolism. It's a sad, but unavoidable state of affair with the sea not shrinking down any time soon.
After two hours or so, Alefir and the others do the same. Shortly afterwards, the masca shows up with a big caterpillar in her mouth. Alefir opens his drowsy eyes and remarks it's a big caterpillar indeed. She pushes it against his mouth, but he can't accept it if there's not more around to give the others. He turns his head away and tells her to eat it. She figures he's not hungry and the grub disappears inside her own stomach.
She lies down against him, but he reminds her she shouldn't. Another shrew also repeat that no one may casually lay next to a snub-shrew leader, forcing her to get up and leave again.It was an uneventful, yet stressful day, and Alefir has never been less sure about the future of his pack.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Another night safely passes, nevertheless, it doesn't bring the animals peace, who're back to advocating for the exile of the masca. They argue not wanting to spend the rest of their days being watched in their sleep and having to share an island with a killer they can't escape.
As Alefir had two nights to figure out his feelings, he more confidently testifies to believe the masca is innocent. Then, another animal jumps in with the peculiar announcement she's apparently spoken to them and bragged about the deceit and chaos "he" created.The news surprises everyone, since the masca doesn't talk. The added detail that she's not an "it", but male now, makes Alefir doubt it even more and he makes sure to let them know he doesn't believe this lazy attempt at character assassination. Many do want to believe it, but with no other witnesses, are forced to dismiss the testimony.
Alefir begins to see it won't matter if more of them die or the masca is sent away, as tension grows with every day they're trapped on the island. He takes his concerns to the pack, but they believe the animals are right to respond hostile towards the masca and she's the reason for the tension, as she's a predator, thus can't be trusted.Alefir sits by himself to think and ponder if he's indeed the one who's losing the plot. Based on what he witnessed, she is a cautious, yet playful animal whose only goal in mind is to secure her safety by pleasing her surroundings. Or at the very least, please the one person who advocated for her stay and doesn't act like her enemy.
She failed to subdue him during their play fight, despite being the one to catch him off-guard, and acted like she lost a limb when he bit her. None of these were the traits of a killer. At the same time, the large tangle deer excused it as the tricks of a born manipulator. But for what purpose she'd go through this much trouble, Alefir couldn't figure out, nor could anyone else.With nothing else to do, he decides to see what she's up to. He had to be more vigilant if he truly considered her his responsibility.
It takes a while to find her, but at the edge of the island, he picks up on a dark figure in the distant sea. It's floating on the waves, but otherwise not moving. Alefir can't see what's going on, but his nose picks up on a familiar smell and he becomes panicked thinking the masca has already been killed and dumped in the ocean by the others.
He shouts at her and sprints over. He ignores the fact snub-shrews can't swim and jumps in the water. Upon drawing closer to the figure, his vision finally picks up on more details; and he confirms it's indeed the masca lying face-down in the sea. He calls at her again, kicking around his skinny limbs as hard as he can to keep himself and his thick fur afloat.Before he can feel miserable for letting an animal die who's never been given a fair trial, she raises her head and looks at him, alive, with a fish in her mouth. He expresses his relief and compliments her for taking the initiative in finding alternate food sources. Nevertheless, he tells her to hurry back to the island, seemingly ignoring she's an excellent swimmer.
She curiously circles him and nips at his body while he's fighting for his life. Alefir tells her to please not to and come back with him, but the masca isn't the one in danger, thus sees no reason to. Even as water enters his lungs, she continues to bump against him, like a boat she's trying to capsize.Alefir's pack hurries over to shore, but they can't swim either and shouting is their only strategy. They're calling for help, though as they're not making eye-contact with the masca as they're doing so, it's made apparent they think she's purposely killing Alefir. She hears them screaming in the distance and finally understands Alefir has not come to play.
She grabs the drowning loaf of bread in the scruff and slithers to his waiting followers. When Alefir finally touches land again, he thanks her. The pack is a bit hesitant after witnessing her cruel playtime with him, but also mutter a thanks.She jumps back in with the grace of a dolphin, then disappears for a good few seconds. Alefir starts feeling nervous again, but she reappears unharmed, with another fish in her mouth. She lays it down for him, but he tells her not to eat that kind of food. She offers it again.
He gives it a long look. While snub-shrews don't treat fish as food, he understands he can't be picky and should try it. He happens to like it.The masca catches another fish, but this time the other shrews take it as their turn to try. The masca won't have it this time, though, and takes the fish back. Alefir explains to her he can't stuff himself in front of those he's supposed to feed and protect, but his words don't convince her and she goes back in the water, where she swallows the fish herself.
Unfortunate, but still an appreciated experience that showed Alefir fishing could be their guarantee to survive their predicament. He suggests they teach themselves, but the shrews deem it impossible with their inability to swim. Alefir points out he just swam and they might get the hang of it if they just tried. They're nervous, so he offers to go first.He submerges himself in the water, but with no adrenaline blinding him this time, the force of the waves quickly sweeps him away. He has to make the best out of it and looks underwater to check for fish, but his nose and whiskers don't work in this environment and his bad eyes make it impossible to spot much of anything.
His followers call after him to ask if he's alright, but since they won't be able to save him anyway, Alefir has to pretend he's not drowning again. Nevertheless, he's spared from an embarrassing death when the masca again shows up to carry him to shore. He whispers a thank you to her, then changes his act upon meeting with the others, saying he was doing fine. How petty.She disappears into the water and returns with a new fish for Alefir to have. He repeats he can't take it if his followers can't have some as well. Even though her face is obscured by her manes, the way she drops the food and departs gives off an almost unmistakable "ugh, whatever"-attitude and doesn't make him feel good about himself. Even so, mountain of fish is returned, courtesy of the masca.
It's a pleasant, long overdue meal. Alefir is ecstatic and exceptionally grateful, but as he's unsure how to show it to a different species of animal with its own customs, his gratitude sounds distantly formal. With the masca's face always covered by hair, there's no way to surmise if she's content with it.When the sun goes down, everyone agrees to go to bed early. There's no certainty the masca will help them again tomorrow and preserving their energy is also a strategy worth following. They move to the usual spot to lie down, and a few minutes later, the masca also shows up. She stands around a short distance away, but doesn't come near. Alefir sees her and ponders to himself for a bit, but when she settles down in the grass, closes his eyes again.
Why she won't use the nest she spent so much time building he can't say, but why he didn't allow her to rest with his pack, after everything she's done for them, as her supposed number one supporter, was a bigger mystery.Could it be he didn't actually trust her?
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Another animal is found dead, this time a hipporse. Unlike the other victims, it's not missing any parts of its body nor looks trampled in a fit of rage. Random holes and tearing are spread all around its neck, though this is hard to see because of the blood.
Right as the animals are about to start their next pointless meeting, two haregaroos come running, their fur messy and covered in dirt. They state to have just escaped a hole dug by the masca, who revealed to them to be the criminal.Eyes widen upon the reveal and even Alefir is swept away in the moment, until the gears start turning and he realizes there to be something off about their story. He approaches the haregaroos, the two already looking annoyed to see him coming, and he asks how they ended up getting trapped in a hole. They don't understand the question and reply it's a hole. Alefir reminds them they're haregaroos; animals who're able to both dig and jump well. A tangle deer interjects and barks the hole was obviously too deep for them to escape in a timely manner. The haregaroos add they were buried alive and couldn't do much of anything.
Alefir stops the cross-examination and lets the others take a turn with the haregaroos, though they don't ask them any difficult questions. Just like the last witness claimed, the haregaroos insist the masca is male and provide the additional detail his name is "Culou".The tangle deer move their stern eyes to Alefir. They ask if he has any more doubts, but he's hesitant to tell them his mind has remained unchanged. He knows to be testing everyone's patience with his behaviour, he knows not to know the masca long and intricately enough to say for sure she's not trouble, but there are still puzzle pieces missing and he can't make up his mind.
He asks everyone to give her one more chance and says to watch over her tonight. The haregaroos call him a fool, but then, a sudden shift of focus happens when another animal starts blaming the tangle deer -pointing at their failure to protect the hipporse and haregaroos. Surprisingly, the tangle deer agree to have dropped the ball and promise to dial up the effort.With the deer and Alefir now too expected to keep watch, the group appears soothed and goes back to business.
The deer assemble and start digging a grave for the victimized hipporse. It's another grave for another animal the masca could've taken care of by eating it, she needed the food, but truthfully, Alefir knew he would've done the same thing. The circle of life has no empathy, giving her meat could entice her to start hunting them for real. There were still alternative food sources available, hiding away these corpses was probably necessary to keep her docile...These intrusive thoughts surprised him. Did he truly think she's a liability and that easy to corrupt?
He and his pack walk back to the usual spot. As expected, the masca shows up. A long sleeper like always. His followers mutter at him to be careful as he heads over.
He gives her a smile, but no words follow. He was doubting her, after all.The masca appears tired of waiting for him to do something and starts rolling over the ground. It's an invitation to play, but knowing how she plays, Alefir doesn't want to humor it. With her legs in the air, she waits for him to pounce, or perhaps she wanted him to lie down as well? He didn't know. He's seldom played games throughout his life and always been more concerned with survival. It helped him earn his role as pack leader. And leaders don't play at all.
He looks at the squirming masca, still belly up, a sign of trust, relaxation, and submission. It ate away the doubts that were growing in his mind. No animal would show its stomach just for show, right? Alefir's eyes drift to her lower body. His expression becomes stern.
This is no male. Her pheromones already conveyed the message, but so did the visuals. for what purpose were these lies being spread? Were they that convinced she's the perpetrator that they felt the need to make up stuff as to urge everyone to get rid of her sooner?The masca sees his displeased face and scurries off with a curled tail. Alefir is too deep in his thoughts to pick up on her leave until she's already out of sight. He tells her to wait and runs after her.
He assures not to be upset, and after struggling to think of his next words, asks if she'd like to spend the day together. She seems appreciative, though again, hard to say with a creature whose whole gimmick is hiding away their face. He takes the lead, hoping she'll follow. Her footsteps are abnormally silent, but as he reaches the sea and turns around, sees she's there.
Figuring it's best to keep her occupied and tire her out, he asks her to teach him how to swim and catch fish. There's uncertainty in her pose, but she eventually slithers into the sea, where she waits for him to join her. Since she's a fair distance away, he has to believe the first assignment is swimming over, but the currency is too strong and it pulls him away the moment he gets his toes wet.The masca chases him down with chattering noises that sound like giggles, but Alefir can't say for sure, since he's more occupied with dying. She grabs and returns him to shore, where the idiot belongs.
While he catches his breath, she performs a little water show for him. It's like she herself is a stream of water, wholly unbothered by the waves trying to take her away. Considering they first met when she was about to get killed by these same waves, it's surprising to see her move like that. He guesses a whale can't persist a whirlpool just because it knows how to swim.
The more impressed he sounds, the faster she goes and higher she jumps. It's clear he'll never learn to swim with her help, their bodies are just too different, but he enjoys being a spectator.She exhausts herself in her overexcitement and forgets to catch herself breakfast before joining him on land. She lies down on her side and pets her stomach with a limp paw to signal her hunger and desire to have him serve her, but it's a gesture no snub-shrew is familiar with. He watches her with confusion and briefly wonders if she hurt herself, but eventually and conveniently, offers to get them some breakfast. The masca rolls her eyes in response, probably, who knows.
He brings her a few nuts, which she stares at for an awkward amount of time. Alefir then reminds himself she's not a shrew and needs meat, a detail he curiously forgot in the moment. She decides not to be a choosing beggar and eats his gift. He apologizes for the mistake and smiles they can always catch some fish after they've rested. Or really, she can.Alefir tries a few more times to join her in the sea, but is better off cheering on her fish hunt from the sidelines. The other shrews are called over to eat, an practise she still doesn't seem wholly on board with, but to gain Alefir's approval is reason for her to not throw a fit.
He doesn't want her to think he and his pack are using her, though, and wishes to change up the usual formal expressions of appreciation and let this masca know they are on the path of being allies. Knowing how much she likes to play, he walks over and clumsily asks if she wants to play tag. She clearly doesn't know what that is, and nearby shrews look at him with an expression no authority figure wants their underlings to grant them, though the word "play" is enough for her and she gets down onto her back. He still doesn't know what's expected from him when she does that, but decides to copy the only example he's ever been given and jumps her with his teeth out.She flinches as he lands, but doesn't get up and coos in excitement. It's a little wrestle session where the masca is clearly holding back, though Alefir can't tell and is giving it his all. Not a shrewlet anymore, he's surprised to find himself having fun. Primarily because he thinks to be winning.
The others watch their leader engage in this unusual behaviour and don't know what to think of it.When evening arrives and everyone prepares themselves for bed, the masca is again standing around like she's waiting for something to happen. But nothing does and she lies down. Alefir raises his head, knowing he can't fall asleep and lose track of her if he wants to keep his promise to the others. She sees him looking at her, and after a few seconds of prolonged eye contact, walks over. It's a familiar scene, but one she's not entirely confident in repeating. Her steps are slow and she looks around often, waiting for one of the shrews to shoo her away. But even though their eyes aren't welcoming, they're less afraid of her and many continue grooming each other like she's not even there.
Her last steps are hurried and she positions herself next to Alefir. This sets off some shrews, but he asks them not to scold an animal who doesn't know or abide to their culture.They find it concerning to see a masca claim such an important space, perhaps moreso that their leader is allowing for it, but agree to say nothing more.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Another night passes without casualties. Alefir's pack wonders if it's thanks to him, but as this insinuates the masca is guilty, he's more inclined to believe it's thanks to the tangle deer staying awake to do their job this time.
Now that the masca got to sleep with them, she inserts herself into the group and more noticeably copies their mannerisms. While an outsider is never given easy access to an existing shrew pack and adopting a member of a different species unheard of, Alefir gets used to her lingering presence as the day progresses and he lets the others know that integrating her is not off the table. It's unexpected news and he's asked if snub-shrews and mascas are similar enough to live alongside each other. He admits not to know and they'll have to discover that for themselves.
Then, a distinct scent quickly grabs the attention of the vigilant shrews. A gloomy-looking tartoise watches them from afar and Alefir is asked if they should check what it wants.
He heads over and the tartoise thanks him for his time. Upon asking what he needs him for, the tartoise instead wants to talk about the masca and its place in his pack. Alefir corrects it's female, which the old reptile remembers him mentioning before. With her gender being made a subject almost every morning discussion, Alefir is surprised he's forgotten and figures the visitor is extremely old.
The tartoise murmurs it's a good thing they're stuck with a "mascara", since he heard they have a less violent sense of humor compared to the males. Alefir replies not to know anything about the species, but seeing his chance to learn more, asks if there's anything he should know about mascas. The tartoise says not to have come for that and instead wishes to let him know he thinks there are suspicious things going on on the island, which the masca isn't to blame for.Alefir feels relieved to meet someone who agrees with him, even if it's in private. Nevertheless, the tartoise can't guess what the truth is. The two tartoises that died were his family and he was nearby when it happened, but his claim he saw a figure other than the masca was discarded over the fact he has bad eyes. Alefir doesn't recall him saying a word that morning, to which he says the deer asked him not to bother.
It's a concerning confession, but one neither of them can act upon at the moment. The tartoise can't describe the features of the supposed real perpetrator, but Alefir thanks him for speaking up anyway. The tartoise advices him to not trust anyone, then leaves.He returns to the pack, hard at work at digging holes for food that's running out. He looks at the masca, obediently helping along. While sending her out to fish is an easy solution for them, it's not an easy solution for her, and he can't ask her to keep feeding an entire community of perpetually hungry, giant shrews. That was his job.
She catches him looking and walks over. If he learned anything about mascas, eye contact seemed to be a request to interact. He needed to keep in mind not to stare so much.He smiles as she approaches, but says not to need anything from her. She stays put regardless. Since she bothered to come over, he decides to strike up a conversation and reassures her she has more allies out there. She sits down, but says nothing. With little else to add, he randomly remarks to have learned what female mascas are called. No response from her again, but that made sense. What can you say to something you already know?
Alefir then reminds himself he never got to learn her name and asks if there's a way for her to tell him. She looks at him, but no sound follows. He asks if she perhaps doesn't have a name, but she won't even nod or shake her head to clarify.He thinks to himself, then offers to name her. Surprisingly, she nods. As a "mascara", he thinks it would be fitting to call her "Ara" and asks her opinion on it. She appears pleased and wants to celebrate by playing, but he smirks they can't slack off yet and there's still work to do.
Ara does what she wants and keeps rolling around, hoping to entice him anyway, but Alefir is an experienced buzzkill and finds not starving to death more important. Nevertheless, his eyes keep darting back to the bored ball of energy and her antics. It calls to him and he's envious of her carefreeness, but knows to have priorities; which is never going to be having fun.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
The next day, another murder victim is found.
Since Ara started sleeping next to him, Alefir has never been more sure of her innocence and doesn't want to listen to the same old accusations. As per usual, another animal comes forward with the claim to have been threatened by her, but their description of the perpetrator is nothing like the masca he's come to know. Since Ara came along this time and is listening to it all, he wants to leave, but the disrespect for the deceased angers the tangle deer.
Alefir replies not to have the free time to do this every morning, and unlike everyone else, has a pack to look after on a water-choked hilltop that struggles to feed them. He closes off with the reminder nature is all about "Every man for himself" and calls their courthouse puppet show an attempt at distracting themselves from the boredom and hopelessness of being stuck on an island.The animals are baffled to see Alefir this fed up, but though the deaths make them uneasy and they want a solution, they understand their unease to come from a place of self-preservation, not actual care for the deceased.
The large deer sees their changing facial expressions and wants to get them back on his side by taking the moral high ground. He scoffs at Alefir's lack of empathy, but Alefir won't take the bait and replies empathy needs to be selective, since the world will cease to function if every ant stepped on gets its minute of silence.The tangle deer threateningly stomps his front feet, deeming him guilty of murder if he chooses to turn his back and not cooperate with them. Alefir is shocked by this sudden turn and replies that to be nonsensical. The other deer gather with their apparent leader and the group takes on a menacing stance, putting the short-statured Alefir on edge.
The boss deer snarls to have given him and the masca the benefit of the doubt more often than deserved, to which Alefir intervenes they've not given it enough. Alefir insists every piece of evidence points at her innocence, while the only rebuttal they keep offering against her is the fact she has fangs and nothing more. The deer shouts there doesn't need to be more evidence than that on an island occupied by herbivores and insectivores.Their arguing starts to make some of the spectators nervous, who walk away from the noise. Seeing animals freely leave motivates Ara to do the same, but as she's about to turn around, the deer charge at her. With their large, intricate horns, they bump and slash against her head, the sound of her ear-piercing screeches sending everyone flying out of there, except for Alefir. In a poisonous rage, he charges at the large deer and mauls his front legs.
His teeth are surprisingly sharp and the deer backs off. Seeing their leader lose his confidence has the others stop the assault as well, but when they want to go back at it, Alefir's pack shows up to defend him. Despite being much larger and stronger than the overgrown critters, the only thing they're focussed on is that they're outmatched and the deer turn around.
The large deer warns Alefir he risks losing his followers if he continues to use them to shield the masca, but Alefir sees no reason to grant a word to a dictator and only growls back at him. He turns to check on the cowering Ara, who's surrounded by piles of her own hair, pulled out during the attack.Her head appears unharmed, but all feelings of concern are overtaken by anxiety the moment the shrews see her now exposed eyes; large, pale, and piercing. They're the kind only a meat-eater could have, but even more upsetting, with a ghostly and almost deranged look to them. It was the first time Alefir caught a glimpse of them as well and even he felt unsettled.
Ara catches on that her face is displeasing her surroundings. She starts to breathe heavily, then water falls down those same eyes. The snub-shrews watch on with confusion, no idea what the meaning of the water could be, yet the display is like a memory erasion spell and they lose their fear and urge to self-preserve.Alefir too stops lingering on her appearance and comes closer to console her. He asks if it still hurts and inspects her for blood. He licks her head, but she just whines and crawls closer to wraps herself around him.
Ignoring their prior reservations for the masca, the shrews condemn the deer for their crude ways and see it necessary to keep an eye on them from now on. Alefir agrees they've become a threat and shouldn't be interacted with anymore, if it can be helped.
Alefir wants to guide Ara back to their usual spot, away from the scene and other animals nearby, but she's uncooperative and can only whine and moan in her self-pity. When he tries to grab her scruff, she yelps again. The shrews come over to help comfort her, and finally, she stands up to follow them.After settling down, he goes back to grooming her. Thinking she might be upset over having lost her mane, he asks if her species considers it a sign of beauty and tries to make her feel better by saying he likes the short cut.
While he tries to act positive, they've found themselves in an unfortunate ordeal and Alefir didn't expect to be making enemies this soon in. He can't help himself and asks her if she didn't kill those animals, urging her to be truthful. She just shakes her head. It's all he can realistically do and she can realistically tell him, so he smiles and thanks her for her honesty. He apologizes for the attack she suffered, believing it to be his fault by riling up the deer with his behaviour. He clarifies to usually be more diplomatic than that. She releases a sleepy groan.
He promises to make right and insists she doesn't have to be afraid. With a single look targeted at his pack, his shrews stand up and form a circle, covering every direction a vengeful deer might charge at them from. This satisfies Ara, who nuzzles and grooms Alefir back for the trouble. She's a feisty groomer, and after a short minute, Alefir is the one lying on his back in between her legs. His proclamation he isn't the one who needs to be consoled is ignored. He'd be lying if a predator's mouth near his neck and stomach didn't make him nervous.
After a while, though, one of the shrews tries to grab his attention and Alefir tells Ara to rest and he'll be back.Away from Ara, the lady shrew gets to business and tells him everyone is wondering what they intend on doing with her. Alefir thinks it likely she'll be become part of the pack, to which the shrew replies it looks like she already is. Her tone doesn't sound excited and Alefir knows some shrews are annoyed by their relationship, but explains he can't look after her if she can't be near him. She replies the real question is why they're this involved with an outsider to begin with.
While Alefir has already given his reasons, he admits not to be sure what initially made him save her and want to stay responsible. In his mind, he knows no other carnivore would've earned his trust this quickly.The two look at Ara, loafing around with the others like she's always belonged. None of the shrews concern themselves with her, a stark contrast to a few days prior. They're sleeping or peacefully grooming each other. The shrew remarks she smells like them, but could've sworn that wasn't always the case. She then asks Alefir if he remembers what she smelled like before, but he can't recall.
To see an animal who clearly isn't the same species visually, but checks every other box, is puzzling, though not as puzzling as the fact they have to consciously think about it and point it out in order to realize it.Even so, Alefir decides not to overthink matters and concludes he'd save any creature from drowing if they looked genuine and needed the help. His choices were influenced by the loneliness and daily persecution Ara faced. The shrew accepts that might be true, yet, with some hesitance, brings up it's the preferential treatment he's giving her that makes the others uncomfortable. Playing, grooming, sleeping alongside each other; these things are not deemed appropriate to do with a leader, unless the other party is their mate or the leader demands it from an underling.
Alefir reminds her Ara isn't familiar with their customs and it's unlikely she ties such a heavy meaning to these actions. The shrew replies she might not know, but he does.A short silence follows, whereafter the shrew shifts focus to the actual topic she came to discuss; and asks when he's planning on taking a wife. Alefir is almost dumbstruck by the question. He deems the island an unsuitable setting to start a family at or even to look for romance. She agrees, but also notes him on the many years he's been leading the pack -never having socialized with anyone outside of formalities during the entirety of his life.
Alefir can't deny he's been more concerned with his role as leader than befriending his peers, though the truth remains that snub-shrew followers naturally distance themselves from their leaders, making it hard to establish a close relationship, unless these shrews are expressively ordered to.Alefir never felt comfortable forcing others to hang out with him, but telling the concerned shrew this was not a good idea. Blaming the pack for distancing themselves or blaming himself for being too shy -he knew both excuses would just make him look spineless in front of those who expected him to be strong, competent, and dependable.
Alefir promises to consider picking a wife, though adds that securing a plentiful food source and getting off the island have to come first. The shrew appreciates his willingness to hear her out and accepts his answer. At the same time, she and a few others seem to have already picked up on his worrisome shyness; and she exits with the announcement she and her friends are open to talk to him at any time.An opportunity has been established by this surprisingly considerate shrew, and yet, Alefir's eyes won't stay on the young lady and her girl friends. Ara is lying belly-up on the ground, her paws paddling in the air, calling for him to finally come back. Getting reintroduced to her large eyes and fangs give him the shivers, whereafter she flips herself around and appears to do her very best at making herself look small and inoffensive. She closes both her eyes and mouth, puffing up her muzzle to give the impression it too is small and harmless. It's quite effective.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Alefir and his pack are sunbathing near shore, while Ara is playing in the sea. Or perhaps helping herself to its sealife. It was hard for any shrew to see what she was doing from that distance.
Alefir perceives her blurry, dark, snake-like body swiftly and gracefully jumping up and down the reflective waves. It was mesmerizing, but it looked like he was the only one to think that, since he was her only audience member.Suddenly, a female shrew lies herself down a small distance away from him. She was one of the girls from the friend group he saw yesterday.
She looks at the endless sea with him, then asks the question if there'd still be anything out there. He replies to have contemplated teaching them to swim, but doubts the risk of sending all of them out there to find out will be worth it. His choice of words grab her attention and she asks if he's planning on scouting the seas by himself. Alefir returns an indiscernable expression, perhaps not knowing the answer to that himself at this point in time, yet indeed open to sacrificing himself.The shrew lowers her voice and urges him not to, saying he's too important to the group. Alefir isn't sure about that claim, deeming his conduct and the decisions made these past days shameful. He says not to be blind for the looks he gets and utterings of confusion within the pack, and laments not having led them to better conditions.
She disagrees with his pessimistic viewpoints. Since they've found themselves in a dreary, inescapable situation, it's normal everyone feels uncertain and on edge. She reassures him no one's bearing ill will against him and they're only holding on thanks to his efforts.Alefir looks at Ara, still jumping around like she's got something to prove. He asks the shrew what everyone's thinking of her. She's less quick at formulating an answer this time, but after a few seconds, says they hope he'll do the right thing. It's a vague answer that doesn't appear relevant at first glance, but he understands the underlying message that asks him not to give his love to a non-shrew.
The shrew relaxes her body and begins to lean more onto her side; an invitation a wise leader would pay attention to in this situation. Someone else paying attention is Ara in the far distance. She hurries to shore with a fish in her mouth and drops it onto Alefir's head before he can lay eyes onto her competition for too long. This fish is still alive and angrily slaps him in the face as it drops in between his resting paws, forcing him to sit up and break contact with the shrew.With Ara looming over him, he guesses she's waiting for a thanks, so does his best to convey gratitude during the abuse. Ara's face remains vigilant and suspensful, and when Alefir's about to lie back down and continue his conversation with the shrew, she springs into action and presses him to play with her. He says to be in the middle of something and suggests playing later, but she won't have it and gives him saddened whines.
Since it's clear playing will always be his last priority, Ara quickly makes up another excuse and gestures wanting to practise swimming with him. The second he shows minor interest for it, she grabs him in the scruff, away from the girl and her friends, who also started drawing closer.She carries him into the water and Alefir starts paddling his feet, but she's too speedy for him for it to be useful. She keeps swimming farther and farther away from the island. The sun reflecting on the water greatly affects Alefir's vision and the lack of control feeds his concern. He asks her to slow down, but she won't.
The other shrews perk up when they notice their leader being dragged into the endless blue and cautiously watch on.Alefir again asks her to turn around, saying he can't possibly swim this distance, but she remains unresponsive. He calls at her again, after which she flips onto her back and sets him down on her stomach. They drift around the empty space, with only a small piece of green holding a bunch of nervous shrews, at a distance he can't perceive with his flawed eyes, and the sound of waves hitting their bodies.
Ara smiles a sweet and playful grin, she's appreciative of their alone time, but Alefir isn't comforted by the set of razor teeth. He tries to keep calm and tells her he doesn't want to seem cowardice -as if she'd find that an important trait in him as an authoritative animal- but to be very afraid. He explains snub-shrews aren't familiar with this kind of terrain and none of his functional senses made to comprehend it.She finally picks up on his discomfort and drags him back. When the other shrews see him coming, unharmed, they lie back down like nothing happened. Mostly.
Safely arrived at shore, Alefir thanks her, though his face still shows mental exhaustion for the panic-inducing moment. He asks her not to do it again and appears eager to return to the waiting shrew, leading to Ara to produce some sniffles and blink slowly. Slow blinking is behaviour he knows very well. It's a snub-shrew's way of crying, hurt, or the general response after getting reprimanded. He's surprised to see another animal exhibiting the same mannerism, but it's not made a topic and he instead turns around to console her. He states not to be angry and clarifies he's just not built to swim like her.
He rubs her paw as a last effort to prove his docility, to which she responds with intrusive licks on his muzzle.Alefir flinches and looks around. Though not all shrews saw it happen, those that did have a careful stare on their face. He whispers to Ara not to do that, which is again taken as a reprimand. Alefir is beginning to feel cornered and wants to explain why she can't act this way, but knows it not to be the place or time for it. He promises again not to be angry and asks her to meet with him in private later tonight, so he can explain.
Ara watches him mosey back to the lady shrew, though this time, his new resting place is a few feet farther removed from her. The shrew picks up on the added distance as well. It no longer allows for a natural conversation, and so, things stays silent upon his return and Alefir chooses to nap.
When the sun is down and everyone's preparing for bed, Alefir gestures at Ara to have that foreshadowed talk. He seeks out an empty shore and sits down with her.
He tells her she's welcome to stay with his pack if she desires, but needs to learn their customs. He continues she's free to play and cuddle with the other shrews, but he can't be seen doing that with her as a leader figure -expected to be assertive, dominant, and undistracted. Alefir struggles to think of more words to make his point, though Ara also doesn't care and licks his face again. He tells her to stop it and they just met, yet won't run and feels conflicted.
She starts cooing a concernedly familiar sound, one he's never heard her utter before, and her muzzle touches his again. She came to their date with a clear goal, but he rejects the flirting, insisting they're a different species and his pack has expectations he cannot sully.Ara senses he's done talking with her, so does the only thing she knows and grabs him in the scruff. She speeds off with him, seemingly heading towards the sea again. Alefir feels the heat and yelps not to go there, but instead, she takes a sharp turn and effortlessly runs up a tree. This alternative is almost worse.
He pleads with her to bring him back down, but she seeks out a nice branch for them to sit instead. She looks at the sky and seems to be waiting for him to acknowledge something, but he's too occupied with the long drop distance and says not to understand what is asked from him. She grabs him in the scruff again and faces him to the moon, but Alefir is no stranger to it and it doesn't impress him enough to distract him he's now even higher up. Seeing it's not working, Ara finally takes him back down.
Alefir sees her disappointed face and apologizes for not understanding.Then, as her large eyes look back at him and the moon peeks from behind her head, he notices how almost similar the colour is. He then looks at the sea, almost as pitch-black as her fur in this nightly sky.
Water and sky, two settings that pose no challenge to Ara, like she's these elements herself, but bring great fear to him. It's like the concept of a masca itself. This was an apex predator and snub-shrews one of the most evolutionarily flawed, easy prey. Her teeth were enormous, it felt like he was getting punctured just looking at them. With her speed and jaws, she could bring an end to his entire pack within minutes. Especially if she worked on her confidence. Yet, she chose to work alongside them and stayed in her lane, like the moon that never leaves the sky, and like the once rampaging sea that continued to spare this one little island.But this was his interpretation. Ara's true thoughts and intentions were still a mystery. He wished she could talk.
He looks at the moon and says it's an intimidating sphere he doesn't understand, but pretty, and an appreciated source of light in the darkness. Ara nods.
He smiles they should find a little lake when they get off the island to try practise swimming again. Ara nods.They look at each other.
Alefir knew it was too late for him.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Alefir is awakened by one of his underlings, bringing the news that though they're not expected to come to the meeting, another animal has been found dead. It appears to be a tartoise -the one who expressed to doubt Ara was guilty.
To learn he died doesn't even incite Alefir to take a glance at the still knocked-out Ara lying behind him. He shares his suspicions with the pack that the tartoise's defiance might've done him in, making him at risk of being next. This worries the shrews and they ask if the deer were the killers all along, if only with the goal of becoming the island's authority. Alefir doesn't think the tangle deer were looking that far ahead of things, though it might very well be the case now.
Nevertheless, assumptions are just that, and he asks everyone to remain vigilant of everyone.It's a stressful realization there's no end in sight and things may only get worse. The shrews are distracted during their insect digging and matters are only made worse when one shrew swears to Alefir they're being spied on. He and a few others decide to test that theory by lying themselves down on the ground, giving off the impression they're oblivious and lowering their guards, but using their whiskers to sense any and all trembles via the ground. The moment they pick up on movement, they sprint towards the source; a bush holding a haregaroo who can't escape in time.
Alefir demands the reason for his lurking and the hare says he wasn't up to anything, but is keeping an eye on the masca, who is still the number 1 suspect. He asks who instructed him to do that, to which he claims it was his own incentive.Ara cowers upon seeing the judgemental stranger, pushing Alefir to ask him to leave. The hare warns him they're being played for a fool and Ara has already revealed her plans to everyone on the island. It sounds so comically villainous, the shrews don't take him seriously.
Since the last death almost caused a war, some shrews suggest they should raise their defense and tightly wall in Ara tonight. Alefir agrees, though is suspiciously less excited about it than one would expect.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Things keep getting worse, and this time, 10 animals are found missing. Every shrew in the pack knows Ara couldn't have possibly jumped over them unnoticed and their belief she's innocent is only strengthened. Alefir and his pack try to convey this to the other animals, but the deer are quick to show up to call them traitors. The claim Ara is a two-faced male is repeated once more, but Alefir isn't eager to start another brawl, so he and the shrews depart without saying another word.
They're out of allies and surrounded by desperate prey animals in need of a scapegoat. Alefir worries they won't be able to stay on the island much longer and either have to fight or venture out into the ocean. It's a concerning conclusion, but one the shrews can't deny is a likely outcome.
Nevertheless, a group of females, growing ever larger, move their eyes to Ara, the undisputable source of their troubles -whether innocent or not. Besides endangering their lives by damaging their reputation, they suspect she's a "homewrecker" as well, but know they can't speak up without proof or everyone else's support.A thick air of hostility further poisons the island, and the only one smiling is Ara, pleased to have gotten herself an army of loyal warriors to defend her.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
More animals have gone missing, but since the snub-shrews lost everyone's trust, they're not told the details. Alefir sees no reason to concern themselves with it anymore and urges everyone to implement the usual survival tactics and focus on finding food.
Nevertheless, some of the shrews pick up on Alefir's sudden, constant, and lengthy disappearances, risky and unusual behaviour for a shrew leader.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Day 14 is identical to yesterday.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Day 15 is identical to yesterday. More shrews are made aware and start wondering what Alefir is doing.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Day 16 is identical to yesterday. Since Ara is often missing as well, a couple of shrews decide to look for her at the usual spots she likes to play at, but can't find her.
When Alefir and Ara return, they're asked where they've been. He replies they were out finding more alternative food sources and scouting for lurkers.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Animals continue to die or disappear. While Alefir's instructions are effective at keeping his pack alive and safe from the increasingly stressed opposition, they're unhappy with his random disappearances and begin to feel somewhat abandoned.
Alefir never returns having provably done any work and looks suspiciously cheerful, considering their situation.It's the same carefreeness Ara exudes, and the female shrews are first to spread around the premise Alefir has gotten himself inappropriately involved with the masca. The males, generally better at picking up those kind of cues from females, do not sense that kind of interest coming from Ara, though agree Alefir has grown closer to her than with anyone else in the group, despite their short time of knowing each other. The females find that a bad sign in itself, as no shrew leader gives someone all of their time out of mere hospitableness.
Nevertheless, to throw around accusations on this island built on accusations is something they want to postpone, so the pack chooses to silently monitor them instead.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Animals continue to die or disappear.
Alefir and Ara are carefully watched, but prove to be an elusive duo. Their scent trail always reaches a dead end, and the moment other animals are sensed nearby, the shrews know it's best to turn around.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Alefir's pack is abandoned once again, right when a tangle deer shows up. They take on a defensive stand, but the deer states his purpose right away and reports his spies have witnessed Alefir snuggling with the masca in a ball-shaped nest.
The shrews offer no rebuttal and just stare at him with caution. The deer figures on leaving them with their thoughts and turns around, though not without the warning their leader is in deep and needs their help to save himself from the treacherous trickster. He urges them not to hesitate killing the masca, for their sake, if not everyone else's.The shrews look at each other with expressions of uncertainty. They normally wouldn't believe the words of a foe, yet find his words plausible enough. Even so, one of the shrews asks if Ara falling in love with their leader is deserving of the death penalty, since she's not one of them and unfamiliar with their customs, nor obligated to follow their rules. One of the girls mumbles it could be deserving if Ara charmed Alefir just to get at them, which seems to be what the deer and his allies believe.
But with no proof Ara doesn't genuinely like Alefir, they can't blindly accept that to be true.Still, the masca risks hindering the birth of fresh blood within their pack, and when Alefir shows up, it's made a topic of discussion. He's quick to deny they're in love and argues the spies witnessed an act of platonic grooming after their fur got messed up during their scavenge. It's a well-rehearsed excuse that convinces a fair chunk of them, but the females are perceptive and every one of their senses pick up a discrepancy, yet, they can't explain in words what it is that's off.
Since Alefir isn't budging, a group of females take the initiative and seperate Ara during bedtime preparations. They bear their teeth and threathen her to know her place and stay away from their leader. Ara wimpers and scurries off into the dark like a beaten dog, offering no rebuttal or retaliation.
Upon their return, Alefir asks if they know what's taking Ara, to which the girls lie she's tired of company and chose to sleep alone tonight. Since he was told before mascas are solitary animals, he decides to believe it, even if it feels wrong.The girls look for a spot to rest and lie themselves down near Alefir, who immediately turns away his head in hurtful disinterest.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Morning arrives after a long, comfortable sleep, but the shrews' moment of serenity doesn't last and Alefir immediately notices his pack is smaller than yesterday. He urges everyone to wake up and a search for the missing shrews is conducted, but with no success. All females have gone missing, but why them specifically can't be guessed.
They look further down the island, then are stopped by a tangle deer carrying the lifeless body of a snub-shrew in his antlers. They gasp at the display and the deer proclaims it was the masca's doing. Alefir doesn't believe him, to which the deer instructs them to look at the puncture wounds in her torso for proof. As the shrews hurry over to inspect the victim, the deer says to have found her and others in their territory, and guesses the masca intended to intimidate them with a shower of corpses.Alefir looks at the wounds, then back at the large and unruly antlers that carried her to them. He asks how he can prove he and his friends weren't the ones who killed his shrews, a question the deer doesn't want to entertain. With righteous indignation, he replies only an imbecile would disregard the same warning signs, day after day, then growls they may pick up their lost members for a burial, but better not overstay their welcome.
They find female shrews with the same puncture wounds scattered all over the place, though Alefir also notices the opposition has exponentially shrank in size since last time. He asks the silently sneering deer how many of them are left, but they look unwilling to speak. An old moomoose decides to answer for them and says many have died, disappeared without a trace, or fled into the seas. One of the deer snaps she should not entertain a conversation with Alefir, whereafter she lowers her head and turns silent again. The other survivors look and act much the same; servants under the rule of the self-proclaimed leaders of the island, the tangle deer.
But with enough trouble on his mind, Alefir can't start another fight with them and doesn't return after having collected his missing pack.Back at their own domain, they try to burry them, but they're shallow graves with the water level being as high as it was on the first day. Ara shows up to see what they're doing and sniffs at one of the corpses with great interest. She licks her lips as careful excitement takes over, but upon seeing Alefir watching her, she hesitates to make her next move. He walks over and stares her deep in the eyes, but appears out of it and no words actually follow. He then drags the body towards a hole and burries it with the others.
Later that day, Ara lies down with him as usual and washes his head. No response is given, so she stops. When she settles on leaving, he asks her not to and says to need the distraction.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Things transpire like normal, so far it's possible. Alefir is riddled with guilt over failing to protect the deceased, yet can't figure out what he could've done differently. He has a lacklustre demeanour and doesn't talk to anyone all day.
Ara, normally so intrusive, doesn't know how to approach him like this and keeps her distance. His request to want distraction is not remembered.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Things transpire like normal, so far it's possible. During lunchtime, screeching can be heard in the far distance. Ara's ears too perk up.
Alefir looks at her and tells her to eat, as they're not in the position to worry about others. One of the snub-shrews asks if there could be another predator in their midst, but he thinks it's more likely they're listening to the tangle deer enforcing their iron will onto their followers.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Things transpire like normal, so far it's possible. Alefir is restless and keeps walking around the area as if to protect his pack from an invisible lurker. The others don't sense anything and reckon it's caused by that same guilt festering in his mind. They try to let him know he's done nothing to cause their tragedy, to which he disagrees his absence from the pack was a mistake he could've avoided. Though they appreciate his remorse, he was present when the females went missing, making the days prior irrelevant.
When Ara walks over to see him, Alefir tells her they can't repeat their escapades and their attention is needed with the left-over shrews. Her face is indiscernable, though she seemingly agrees to his wishes and takes on watching duty with him. Alefir and the others are flattered by her efforts and continue on with their day.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Ara does her best to ease Alefir's workload and motivation slowly returns to the pack, despite still being stuck on an island, without females to help them thrive.
At this point, Alefir wonders if staying put is the right thing to do. After seeing tree and plant residue floating in the water, he contemplates creating a "mobile island" for them to move around the seas with and hopefully find real land. Even so, the risk of starving on sea doesn't make it the most appealing sollution.
Alefir turns to Ara and asks if she's strong enough to paddle a piece a tree with all of them on it, but she doesn't offer him a very convincing expression. He apologizes for trying to put the responsiblity onto her shoulders.He suggests everyone to pull down some trees in preperation and keep it as their plan B. It sounds reasonable enough and they start biting away at whatever looks suitable for a raft. Since their jaws aren't made for this kind of labour, the day ends with everyone exhausted. Alefir expresses to be proud and makes sure to praise Ara as well, still keeping watch for them.
Now that work is done for the day, she hopes he's free to play and gets on her back, but he expresses they'll be going to bed early. She moans like an insulted ferret and scurries off again. Alefir calls after her to come join them, but not until many hours later does he feel a familiar body pressing against him.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Morning arrives and the pack finds their tree trunks gone. The grass where they once lied is soggy, suggesting the waves got to them, but with the sea never having extended that far on land before, it's odd timing. Regardless of what happened, their work has been made undone and it's not bettering their moods.
The shrews ask what to do next, to which Alefir suggest they should try again tomorrow, but not overexert themselves today.Their day off is welcomed and some choose to revisit the graves of their friends. Things appear quiet for a while, until shouting is heard at the gravesite. A shrew is fighting with Ara, and when Alefir comes to check, tells him she's acting suspicious around the graves. When asked for the details, nothing definite is shared.
Alefir thinks she's just paying respects like them, but the shrew appears too stricken by grief to be reasoned with and stays convinced she intended to dig one of them out. Alefir finds it a bold move to pull in broad daylight, in front of everyone, but remembers the moment she was eyeballing a corpse well, so figures on having a private talk with her.Away from the worked-up mourners, he asks if she's feeling alright and what she planned on doing. Expectedly, she doesn't say, though doesn't offer a non-verbal answer, either. He continues to ask if she intended to dig out a grave, to which she shakes her head.
She's still hard to interrogate, but something about the incident makes him uneasy and he can't let go of it. He asks her to be honest, as they can't help her if she doesn't trust them, and reminds her she's part of the pack; and they're not quick to discard one of their own.Ara takes on a contemplative face. It lingers, making him wonder if she's expressing confusion for his accusatory words, but then, she starts rubbing her stomach with one of her paws. He's unsure what she means by that and looks at her body. Her fur was no longer able to hide her protruding ribcage, she was visibly starving.
Alefir worked hard to feed his perpetually hungry shrews, but couldn't remember giving her the same attention. He asked her to help and she's always brought them food, but what had he done for her? He asks if she's hungry and she nods.
There's an unfortunate solution to her stomach pains, but Alefir can't get himself to entertain it, nor knows how to get the others on board. He apologizes for neglecting her needs and asks her to sit tight a bit longer.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
The death of the females is still too fresh in everyone's memory and Alefir can only aid Ara by giving up his own food. She appears not to like it much and makes a habit out of stealing from other shrews to give back to him. This doesn't earn her any favours and the pack wants to know what's making her act out like this.
Alefir admits she's starving and feels enticed by the deceased shrews, so they're trying to find other ways to satiate her. It's an alarming admission and the angry shrew from yesterday demands she takes her leave, but Alefir asks him and potential joiners to realize her need for meat is not something she can control, while her current state proves she knows restraint and cares about them. Many agree, yet express concern she might not be able to restrain herself if this continues on. Alefir agrees, but doesn't say it in Ara's presence.
Since they themselves need large quantities of food to keep functioning and Ara assists them with that, they understand they're overworking her, while little food remains to reward her for her efforts. It gives a new pespective to their relationship with the masca, and though he hesitates to bring it up, Alefir asks their opinion on giving up some of the deceased. It shocks the pack and some respond livid to the suggestion to give their respective best friend a resting place this ungraceful.Alefir assures those with living loved ones will not be defiled, but also points them to the shallowness of the graves and how these bodies will get pushed above ground within a matter of time. If they lack better, alternative solutions, he wishes for their deaths to at the very least prevent the death of their dearest masca friend.
The pack is too emotional to keep the discussion going, so Alefir calls an end to it. He promises not to take matters into his own hands if they refuse and will listen to their ideas and concerns.The day ends with a foul mood hanging in the air, but Alefir felt the same way just yesterday, yet here he was, making the suggestion that was once so unfathomable to him. He trusted his words reached the shrews and they would surely think things over during the night, there was nothing else to do at this point.
Ara curls up with him and they fall asleep.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
Morning is especially quiet, enough so to earn a remark from the pack. Alefir too notices that the distant trembles, smells, and noises from the island refugees died down, like they're the only animals on the planet.
Even so, it's not remarkable enough to stop their daily activities or incentivize anyone to revisit yesterday's conversation.Alefir's only ally is Ara, company he gladly accepts, though doesn't calm his anxiety.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
The pack has seemingly figured out their feelings for Alefir's morbid proposition and approach him with their verdict. While they wished Ara's struggle solved itself, they can't ignore she helped to ensure their survival and there are few to no other ways to rid themselves of the decomposing bodies.
Alefir thanks them for their understanding, though it's hardly worth a jump of joy and he moseys over to Ara to tell the news. She hurries over to the gravesite. None of the shrews can bear to watch and make sure to be far away.She's especially happy and energetic upon her return, but her excitement is not returned and even Alefir tries to avoid her smiling mouth. Seeing him repulsed saddens her, and with none of the other shrews caring to look at her either, she turns around. Alefir hurriedly follows behind her, but is the only one to feel guilty enough to do so.
His pack radiates indifference for Ara's feelings, almost anger, while it was them who gave her the green light. Their intention was to be "fair" to her, but snub-shrews were too emotionally aware to clear their heads from the knowledge their friends were being devoured as they sat around waiting for it to be done. The time given to grieve them was too short, and the frustration they were feeling had nowhere else to go but Ara.
Alefir had become a topic amongst the pack often enough, but he did his best in the circumstances they were in. No one envied his position. They were presented a difficult question and made a difficult choice, something Alefir had to do on a daily basis.Alefir catches up to Ara and tells her not to take it personally. He explains emotions have been running high since the flood and assures things will go back to normal if they let time fix those wounds. Ara draws closer, with that same mouth he knows has done the unspeakable.
He tries hard to tell himself it shouldn't matter. She's eaten many animals throughout her life, it'd be hypocritical to only care about her carnivorism now that she's had a taste of his own. Yet, it's upsetting it had to come to this. Alefir figures that's the real reason for his discontent; the way things escalated and kept escalating, not so much Ara having to eat his fallen followers.Alefir steps forward as well and kisses her face. Ara whimpers like a dog meeting its owner after 5 years of army duty and wraps herself around him like a constrictor.
He requests her not to make his shrews her main diet if it can be helped, but adds to be happy she's feeling better and wouldn't have wanted her to suffer their fate. They cuddle for a while, until he figures they're sitting out in the open and reminds her they shouldn't alarm the others with their secret relationship at this moment in time.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
The pack works hard at getting back on track. Some bite the bullet and gnaw down new trees for the plan B-raft, others head off to find food, while Ara hopes to fix her reputation by using her renewed strength to catch them fish.
The island still has an eery silence veiling it, though, and Alefir wonders if they should investigate. The shrews rather not and think it's more likely they're experiencing stress-induced paranoia. He doesn't find that implausible and agrees their efforts are needed elsewhere.Ara flaunts with her fisherman skills, but it's not earning her any thanks this time and she becomes bored with trying. She wants to interact with Alefir, but he can't make time for her. Ara's playfulness turns to pestering, her pestering to amorousness, her amorousness to playfulness, and keeps circulating in the hopes to get a response. It grabs the shrews' attention, only making Alefir nervous and the two seem more suspicious. He whispers they can't hang out if others are watching and are needed here.
After a long day, Ara is finally given the opportunity to be with him, but has to settle with the standard bedtime embrace opposed to real intimacy. Surrounded by the pack, Alefir prefers to keep up appearances and leaves it at a brief grooming session. She hungers for more time and attention, but he mutters they should sleep, as tomorrow another day of work will undoubtedly be waiting for them.
(Click "Expand" to read)>
The sun rises and Alefir opens his tired eyes. That same, off-putting silence hangs in the air, but this time, isn't lessened by the voices of his pack. They are nowhere in sight. Alefir looks around and traverses a large piece of the island to no avail. Panic grows with every minute that passes and he settles on exploring the tangle deers' territory. While he mentally prepared himself to get in trouble, no one shows up to stop him.
There's no trace of life on this suddenly big island and Alefir feels miserable in his cluelessness. He calls out to anyone who might hear him, but hours pass and a response never comes.
He decides to stay near shore this time, though the salty water affects his sense of smell and the sun's light reflecting on it worsens his already abysmal eyesight. He takes slow steps in the hopes he'll detect something or someone, but it's a chore and his previous wandering left him with little energy.
Eventually, he sees two blobs near the water, seemingly of different colour than it and the grass it's touching. He walks up to it to see what washed up, then finally sees it's Ara and a tangle deer, both wounded. He tries to determine if they're still alive, though his priority lies with Ara, the sight of her limp body hurting his heart like nothing else has.
Unlike the deer, she comes to and moans upon seeing him.
Characters
Alefir
Alefir (2024).
Alefir, commonly called "Oleefier" (Olivier) by those not part of his pack, is a giant snub-shrew and the trusted leader of his pack. As is common for snub-shrew leaders, he's middle-aged.
He safely got every one of his underlings onto the island, though their loyalty to him is tested when he decides to rescue the controversial Culou. Since Culou works hard to stay on his good graces, Alefir sees a harmless ally in him and ignores the claims manipulation is his kind's most prominent trait.
Though Culou looks nothing like a snub-shrew, he acts and smells like an overly submissive female, feeding Alefir's belief he's in need of protection and is a genuine female he can pursue. Not having forgotten they're a different species, though, he isn't quick to feel romantically interested, yet small features of Culou's become ever more noticeable and appreciated. Culou's eyelashes especially are interpreted as facial whiskers, which are considered an attractive physical trait amongst snub-shrews.
When Culou wins him over as his mate, Alefir stays quiet about it, not wanting to create more conflict amongst the already stressed masses. As snub-shrews only allow for the dominant male or female to have a mate, and these animals are monogamous, Culou's trickery effectively doomed Alefir's pack and puts him at risk of getting violently dethroned.
Alefir looks somewhat like a hairy-nosed wombat and has pale silver fur, some white patches on his face and stomach, black ears, long whiskers, dark eyes, stubby black horns, and fangs.
Culou
Culou, one eye exposed (2024).
Culou (pronounced: "Koo-loo"), named "Ara" by Alefir, is a masca. Not uncommon for his species, his age is indiscernible.
His kind are notorious tricksters and manipulators; willing and able to do anything that'll lower another animal's guard. Despite being genuinely grateful and charmed by Alefir, he's an inherently malicious creature that doesn't know any better than to implement underhanded tricks to get what he wants. He purposely uses him to secure his place on the island, and goes so overboard with his desire to be safe and keep Alefir's attention, he pretends to be female and offers himself as his mate.
Despite his chaotic nature and need for meat, his love for Alefir lessens the urge to attack other animals, though it remains his intention. Every moment of weakness he shows is argued to be a calculated act, including the choice to starve himself.
It's not easy to determine a masca's gender and there's no point in time where Alefir suspects Culou is male. His decision not to speak to Alefir is on purpose, as his speaking voice would give him away. He primarily makes animal sounds, like coos and growls.
Culou looks somewhat like a fossa, and has black fur, long legs, ghostly pale eyes, eyelashes, two toes with a large claw on each, and some mane formation that increases in volume towards his head. At one point in the story, he loses most of his mane and his face becomes visible.
Sherman
Sherman (2024).
Sherman is a tangle deer, and depending on personal interpretation, the main antagonist or a hero gone rogue. His name was never revealed in the story, as Sherman demanded his followers to call him "general".
He's a large and overly dominant male; always expecting respect from his surroundings and taking offense when someone dares to question him. Like Alefir, he too is a natural leader, but less inclined to take the advice of others or care about one's feelings if not beneficial to his survival.
Since multiple tangle deer got stuck on the island and they possess body parts made to harm, a base following was easily acquired and other refugees were intimidated into disregarding Alefir's opinions.
In the end, the story gives no clear answer to whether Sherman's sternness was somewhat justified, or he was spreading lies with help of his followers and staged some or all of the incidents that transpired throughout the month as an attempt to get rid of Culou.
Sherman has a long, almost anteater-like head, a black upturned nose, tan fur with a light underbelly, a horse-like tail, thin hooves, and large sturdy antlers that somewhat form a messy circle above his head. His eyes are reddish brown and his pupils flat and horizontal like that of a goat.
Trivia
- Sherman's name is a reference to the largest tree on Earth, "General Sherman".
See also
- Giant snub-shrew
- Masca