Dynamic Equilibrium

a Bones/Felarya crossover

Chapter 1: The Predators in Peril

1-17-2013

by Greyman

Disclaimer: Bones and all related characters are the property of 20th Century Fox. Felarya is the creation and property of Karbo, and all associated characters are the property of their respective creators.

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Jora Fenderen shifted in her seat, her impatience growing. She doubted anyone from Folandor Laboratories wanted to be here today, sitting in a stuffy auditorium at the University of Cologne. She glanced over at her co-worker Susan, her body language subtly betraying the same impatience. Jora began fiddling with the nametag attached to her white lab coat, underneath which she wore her usual green top and skirt. After absentmindedly running a hand through her blond hair and tossing back her ponytail, Jora noticed her supervisor, Professor Toramen, had returned, retaking his seat next to her.

Normally, Jora was good at keeping a lid on her emotions. A necessary skill, if she hoped to advance up the ladder at Folandor Laboratories, one of the biggest private research firms in Germany. Currently, she only worked there in an assistant capacity. But after waiting a considerable length of time for their 'mystery speaker', Jora's patience was wearing thin. "Professor, how long are we supposed to wait for this 'expert speaker' of yours?" she demanded. "Most of the speakers so far…none of them work in the fields Folandor Laboratories specializes in. How will this last one help us with our current research?"

"Patience, Jora, patience," said Professor Toramen in a telltale voice. A man in his mid-fifties, he exuded a mix of sternness and savvy. "Help with our current research? Hardly. Help with a special, yet-to-be-announced endeavor? Most certainly."

Jora was about to push the issue further, but the lighting changed a little, to better illuminate whoever was stepping out on stage. Sighing, Jora turned to see who it was.

At first, Jora wasn't too impressed. A brown-haired woman of average height strode onto the stage and took her place, while several assistants wheeled out exhibits. Craning her neck to get a better look, Jora saw what looked like centuries-old remains of people from long-dead civilizations. "I don't believe this…our next batch of research deals with archaeology?" Jora moaned in disbelief.

"No, we don't need an archaeologist," said the professor matter-of-factly. "However, perhaps some pointers from an anthropologist, specifically a forensic anthropologist, may elucidate a few things…."

Sighing in annoyance, Jora just sat there as the woman on stage began to speak. "Thank you for having me on as a guest-speaker today. My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan, and I work at the Jeffersonian Institute in the United States. I've been asked by the anthropology staff here at the University of Cologne to discuss recent advances in forensic research made at the Jeffersonian, in regards to using them to further our understanding of ancient Germanic tribes…."

Despite herself, Jora now found herself intrigued. A good deal had to do with the speaker herself. This Jeffersonian Institute was in the United States, and Jora always heard of how Americans tended to be self-absorbed, and hardly any of them learned a language other than their own. Yet here was this Dr. Temperance Brennan, speaking in perfect German. Though she sounded a little haughty, Jora had to listen really closely for any flaws in Brennan's grasp of German.

But, truth be told, Jora found herself more interested in Brennan's discussion about these long-dead tribesman yielding clues to the past. The way they lived, spoke, and even died, all from things such as analyses of bone minerals to subtle wearing in joints unaccounted for by the ravages of time. Jora was enthralled with hearing how these techniques helped the University of Cologne add to their knowledge of the past. And Dr. Brennan, despite her matter-of-fact delivery and use of advanced scientific terminology…Jora had no trouble following. In her own way, Dr. Brennan was a master storyteller, in a class all her own. Tales such as how these ancient Germanic tribes made the land their own, hunted…a far cry from the lazy, comfortable lifestyle Jora enjoyed now, she was forced to admit. She briefly wondered how she would do, if thrown into such a world….

Whereas before time passed at a glacial pace, now it passed too quickly, and the presentation was over. Dr. Brennan once again thanked the audience and the University of Cologne for their time, and walked off the stage. As everyone else began to lazily rise from their seats, Jora sprang up. "Jora, what are you…" Susan began, but Jora didn't stick around to listen. She wasn't sure why, but Jora wanted to go and talk to this Dr, Brennan, ask her more questions about her line of work. Jora wasn't sure how any of this was supposed to help Folandor Laboratories, but she wanted to know more all the same.

Jora tailed Brennan outside, only losing sight of her when she rounded a corner, probably heading for a parked rental car. Jora was ready to keep going, but suddenly, low mutters made her stop in her tracks. From seemingly out of nowhere, three men stepped out. They were Latin American from the looks of it, and heading to wherever Brennan was now. In the gloom of the night and the dim lighting in the parking lot, these men failed to spot Jora, despite her white lab coat, obviously intent on approaching Brennan. And judging by their dour faces, the murderous gleam in their eyes…forensic anthropology was not on their minds.

Her first thought was that she had to help Dr. Brennan, to warn her. With a courage that surprised her, Jora took a step forward. But due to the damp pavement, and her own insufferable clumsiness, Jora slipped and staggered forward, toppling over the man furthest behind.

Jora then heard Dr. Brennan let out a yelp of surprise, which was followed by the other two men firing off something in Spanish. Still a tangle of limbs with the third guy, Jora looked up. Those other two were closing in on Brennan, now that Jora gave them away. But in an eyeblink, she downed one with a quick chop to his clavicle, then charged the other. It was dark and hard to see, but Jora saw Brennan grappling with him for a moment, until Brennan raked her foot all the way down his lower leg and stomped his foot. A quick blow to his gut finally toppled him as well.

Having been so engrossed with the fight, Jora almost forgot about the third man, who had untangled himself and hoisted Jora to her feet. Amazement turned to panic as Jora felt a gun barrel press against her temple. The man spluttered something else in Spanish, but when he waved the gun at Dr. Brennan, she fired her own gun, possibly wrested from the second man to go down. One shot to his kneecap had him howling in agony. Jora shoved him away, and a brisk charge from Brennan knocked him on his back, screaming.

Jora and Brennan stared at each other for a moment, the former at a loss for words. Not only was this supposedly the best forensic anthropologist in the world, she could obviously handle herself in a fight. "Dr. Brennan, what...who were these men…."

"I'm not one to make guesses without hard evidence, but I suspect these were hired thugs who traveled all the way from El Salvador," said Brennan coolly, not what Jora expected from someone just accosted by armed men. "During my time there, I…did not endear myself to many in power there. My speaking at this event must have been seen as an opportunity to capture me while away from the Jeffersonian." With that, Brennan pushed past Jora and knelt beside the man she shot. Quickly, she ripped off his bloodied pant leg and used it for a tourniquet. "Here, put pressure on this," she instructed, placing the man's hand on the gunshot wound, ignoring his cries of pain.

Drawn by the gunshot, security soon swarmed the parking lot, and the three men were taken into custody. After giving their statements, Jora ignored the crowd that had gathered and turned to Brennan. "Dr. Brennan, I-I'm sorry, I-I-I just was so impressed with your presentation, and I wanted to know more, a-a-and…"

"Your being apologetic is completely irrational, Ms….?" Brennan began.

"Jora, Jora Fenderen," answered Jora.

"Well, Ms. Fenderen, you shouldn't be apologizing to me, I should be thanking you," said Brennan. "If these men were working for people I aggravated back in El Salvador, I might have been on my way back there, and this time I doubt anyone would've sprung me from their prison. If you hadn't tripped over that one man, I wouldn't have had warning. I probably owe you my life."

Jora looked into Brennan's hazel eyes, oddly cold. It was offputting, how Brennan spoke of a barely-averted kidnapping with such detachment. "Well, you're welcome, I guess. Nice to know my clumsiness helped someone for once," said Jora sheepishly.

"I'm forced to agree. Given your short height, apparent lack of any skill in martial arts, and slightly unhealthy diet and lifestyle, I doubt you would have very effective in a fight with one of these men, let alone all three," said Brennan matter-of-factly, eyeing the slight bulge around Jora's midsection.

Jora grumbled a little, amazed at how blunt this anthropologist could be. Still, Jora let it roll of her back, and they talked for a while longer. Jora then heard of another one of Brennan's recent misadventures back home in America. A judge she proved murdered a poor girl after slamming her head with the trunk door of a car, just from an ear bone, and determined motive just from the way he scratched his nose. Brennan was cold, aloof, and did not hesitate to point out Jora's deficiencies in her knowledge of forensics when she offered her own insight, but there was no denying Brennan's genius. No wonder Professor Toramen thought Dr. Brennan's insight could help with the upcoming research, whatever it was.

When Jora told her this, Brennan just gave her an aloof shrug. "I suppose that it would be an appropriate means of repaying you, if I can help your company's research in any way," said Brennan. "My flight back to America is leaving in a few hours, but you know where to contact me. If you ever need a forensic anthropologist for your work, don't hesitate to call the Jeffersonian. I owe you, Ms. Fenderen."

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Felarya. A strange and dangerous place, known to be a dimension unto itself, wedged in between other worlds, other universes. A fantastical realm with a long and mysterious history, it frequently draws human travelers from across the known universes, those who seek knowledge, riches or the thrill of dangerous adventure.

And more often than not, such travelers get far more of that last one than they ever bargained for. There are mountainous regions, a sizeable desert and a frozen waste, but most of Felarya is a deep, untamed jungle. Massive stretches of sunlight-blotting trees, reaching hundreds of feet high, hiding untold dangers. One's place in the Felaryan food chain is neither certain nor secure, but most often, size is the deciding factor, and those who lack it often fall prey to those who don't.

However, today, in a remote, forested area just south of a particular tree, one so huge entire towns could be built on its branches, an exception to this rule of thumb was about to play out. But for the human explorers currently on the run, their chances did not look good.

Several of the humans had their guns drawn. They anxiously aimed up as they ran underneath thick foliage, despite knowing such weapons would do little good against what was hunting them….

As the group tepidly stepped out from under the huge bush they had hoped concealed them, something impossibly huge dropped down a few feet in front of them. Most were knocked off their feet. After getting over the shock, they fearfully looked up, at what should have been a creature only seen in legend. A behemoth towering over a hundred feet tall, with the torso of a woman, but the wings and legs of a bird of prey. A harpy. A gigantic harpy with an appetite for human-sized prey, this particular one with shoulder pauldrons and short, purple hair. Like most Felaryan predators, this harpy wore little else, but the men were too fearful to appreciate the larger-than-life display looming over them.

The harpy licked her lips, her mouth watering, and the group opened fire. One had a grenade launcher, which reached the harpy's face, but all it did was stun her, and the bullets bounced off her thick skin. But then, the sounds of other harpies landing drowned out the gunfire. The group was surrounded, eyed by ravenous man-eaters eager for the spoils of their chase.

"I do so love it when you little maggot-guzzlers put up some pathetic excuse for resistance. Makes snacktime all the more satisfying for me and this flock of old mold-ridden feather-dusters," said the purple-haired harpy. Instead of annoyed grunts, her rambling drew chuckles from the other harpies. Speech between members of their species was literally nothing but insults and curses. "But enough's enough. I get first dibs, my little morsels!"

Belletia knelt down and opened her mouth. As a rock harpy, she was able to use wind magic and suck up cornered prey like a giant vacuum cleaner. However, before Belletia could begin, she noticed something odd. Suddenly, a thick, turbid mist crept along the ground and over the humans, hiding them from view. "A little cloud cover ain't gonna do much good, morsels," spat Belletia, but then she realized how cold it was all of a sudden. None of these humans looked to be skilled spellcasters. Something else was going on, and judging by how the other harpies were nervously looking around, they felt the same way.

Then something happened to the harpy nearest Belletia. From out of nowhere, something shot out and struck her face. Whatever it was, it was tiny (to a giant harpy, anyway), but it released a huge cloud of turbid, orange gas. The harpy involuntarily sucked some of it in. Her eyes widened in horror, and suddenly turned orange and glassy as she faced Belletia. She toppled over, her fall blowing away some of the low-hanging mist, an orange foam now issuing from her mouth.

With the mist blown away, Belletia saw their humans had slipped away again. But that was now the farthest from Belletia's mind. Another one of those whatevers shot out, gassing another fellow harpy. And then another, from another hidden location. They toppled, spewing orangish foam like the first. Belletia dared to look down around the first harpy that fell. Some sort of little missile, with a broken glass case around the tip.

The screams of a fourth harpy going down snapped Belletia to attention. "Don't just peacock around, you worthless featherdusters! Take off, get the hell away from whoever's gassing us!" she commanded. Belletia and the two remaining harpies furiously beat their huge wings, and darted back through the Tolmeshal Forest with speed that belied their titanic size. But soon after taking flight, Belletia heard more screams. Looking back, she saw her remaining two harpies had collapsed into the branches of trees, screaming about something flying right up their noses.

She was too far away to see if they were spurting orange foam, and Belletia didn't dare go back to check. It wasn't often that fear took hold of Belletia, or any other Felaryan predator so high on the food chain. But now, Belletia was spurred on by fear, driven to fly faster and swifter, to put as much distance between her and whatever was shooting those darts.

"Startin' to think those damn little morsels lured us all into some sort of trap," grumbled Belletia. "Well, them wiggly little snacks can't follow me this far…right?" Not quite convinced, Belletia spared a quick glanced back as she darted around a tree. Unfortunately, this tree had a low-hanging branch on the other side, and Belletia crashed through it.

Belletia let out a string of unprintable curses as she bounced along the forest floor, eventually coming to a painful halt. She rose to a squatting position, lightly flapping her wings to shake out the dirt and leaves. It was then that she noticed she was not alone. Thankfully, it wasn't someone meal-sized anxious to shoot back. Belletia saw the dainty feet of someone her size, and slowly looked up.

It was a fairy. Fairies were a predator unique to Felarya, able to alter their size at will with their magic, this one at her maximum size. Her crystalline wings fluttered gently, and her long, blue hair swayed in a light breeze.

Thankfully, it wasn't that cold mist from before. Still, some instinct was telling Belletia she hadn't outflown the danger, and all Felaryan predators knew to fall back on their instincts. And if this fairy had any brains, she'd fly away too. Scrambling to her feet, Belletia eyed the fairy and said, "Listen, you seaweed-headed glitterbug, something weird is goin' on this part of Tolmeshal Forest. Something that took down the rest of my sorry excuse for a hunting party," Belletia got out quickly. "Flap them pretty little wings of yours, you ditzy little dingleberry, and let's move!"

"I know. I know there's something that goes against Felarya's natural order here in these parts," said the fairy in a soft voice, almost sounding regretful. But Belletia didn't have time to dwell on it, not before the fairy's fist flew to her face. "And I'm sorry."

Belletia gasped in shock as that orange gas clouded everything, and it went right into her lungs. Her vision began to blur as she toppled forward. The fairy idly stepped back and let Belletia hit the ground. Belletia caught one last glimpse of the fairy as she looked up, just as she smelled and heard dozens of potential prey move in around her, surrounding her. She thought she saw a little regret in the fairy's eyes, too, just before consciousness slipped away.

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SEVERAL MONTHS LATER….

Jora lay in the bed, her eyes darting about underneath closed eyelids. Fleeting visions and memories of a past life, one she knew she had left behind forever, flitted in and out of her troubled dreams. Reminders of an easier life, in some ways less complicated…but in some ways moreso. Memories of those left behind clashed with faces of those close to her now, but one stood out in particular…someone who owed a debt yet to be repaid….

At last, Jora's eyes fluttered open, but memory didn't return as swiftly as sight. For a moment, Jora couldn't remember where she had been, or where she even was now. As the haze faded, Jora was dimly aware of a thatched roof over her head, which could only mean one thing. The point was further driven home when a certain dark-skinned, black-haired, mischievous catgirl climbed over her face, peering into her open eye. "Wakey wakey, princess," she teased.

Calina's sudden appearance startled Jora, and she instinctively swatted the neko away. But with the swiftness characteristic of her kind, Calina deftly jumped off Jora's face and over her hand. Calina soared off the bed Jora lay on, gracefully touching down on the floor several dozen feet below.

"Guarding the Alsumi is one thing, but I need to have a talk with Milly about babysitting giantesses liable to squash me while half-asleep," Calina quipped from the hut's floor. Jora ignored Calina, grumbling as she sat up, her head aching. She had no idea how she wound up in the home of the fellow giantess, Milly. It brought back…awkward memories of her arrival in Felarya. One minute she was running an algorithm, hoping to crack the mystery of that artifact Folandor Laboratories was researching. And the next, she found herself transported to this bizarre wild world…but transformed, now a giantess towering over a hundred feet tall, forced to quickly adapt or perish.

Still groggy, she looked down to Calina. She wore a pair of denim cut-offs and a yellow bikini top. Calina's cat ears twitched a little as her eyes fell on the neko. "Just…how did I get here? I…can't remember a thing."

"Well, from what Yemic told me, he and Milly found you passed out in the middle of Tolmeshal Forest, while en route to Safe Harbor to drop off Isham. Milly went ahead, while Yemic brought you back here, and left me to look over you until you woke up," said Calina.

Jora racked her brain, trying to remember what she was doing out in Tolmeshal Forest…besides hunting again and doing a terrible job of it. She slowly recalled being on her way to Safe Harbor as well, to pick up Tanny, the giantess girl she adopted. But there was something else. Slowly, it came back to her: a double-decker bus from England, mysteriously transported to Felarya. Jora had resolved to take it, and its passengers, to Safe Harbor.

Any other Felaryan predator would likely have had a feast right then and there. But Jora had an ironclad rule: never eat a human who arrived in Felarya by accident. Being forced to adapt to life as a giantess in Felarya meant having to accept her place in its food chain. At first, Jora resisted, the thought of swallowing humans whole disgusting her. But her trouble with hunting other animals, and the urging of fellow predators who befriended her, had Jora reluctantly go down this path. It was something she tried to not dwell on. Many humans she knew here, like Milly's human friend Isham, made no effort to hide their disdain for her. But they had no idea what she had to go through, to adjust, just to survive….

As Jora recalled the bus full of humans, her eyes widened in fear. "Calina, there was a bus full of humans. What happened to it? Did…."

"Milly and Yemic help themselves? Nah. They figured you were bringing it to Safe Harbor, so Milly finished the job for you," said Calina sweetly, a subtle, mocking inflection in her voice.

Jora raised an eyebrow. "Say what you will, but I was rescuing those humans of my own free will. Unlike, say, how a certain neko is protecting a tribe of tomthumbs because of a deal struck with Milly."

Calina smiled. "Touché."

"And…how did I fall unconscious in the first place?" Jora pressed on. "A tonorion attack? Blindsided by a harpy?" Jora shuddered as she considered another possibility. "Malika?"

"From what Yemic tells me, it looks like you tripped on a root and smacked your head on a rock. Graceful as ever, our Jora," Calina replied with a twisted, teasing smile. Jora glowered at Calina, but the neko was still unfazed. "By the way, in your sleep, you kept muttering something. I think I heard the word 'doctor' more than once. Care to tell me what that was all about? You couldn't've hit your head THAT bad," asked Calina.

Jora shut her eyes. Thinking back to her old life was not something she relished. She had long since accepted she could never return to Germany as a normal human being, and just tried to make the best of life here in Felarya. Besides, the debt Dr. Temperance Brennan owed her…what good would it do here, now? "It's nothing, Calina. Just someone I met before well…you know."

"She must've made an impression," said Calina dryly. "Anyway, Yemic said you're free to help yourself to anything in Milly's garden once you woke up."

Jora's frown deepened. "Oh please, I'm not so desperate for food I'll mooch from…." But Jora was interrupted by the grumbling of her stomach.

Calina smirked again. "I heard the trulps and stam roots are coming into season," she beamed up at Jora. Jora just sighed in annoyance as she stood up and lumbered out of the hut.

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Jora showed mercy to a busload of hapless humans, but most other predators in Felarya have no such scruples. But there is one in particular whose name is synonymous with doom, with a reputation for voraciousness that makes nekos and humans shudder. And some distance north of Milly's hut, a group of treasure hunters were about to find out why.

Thinking they lost their pursuer, the four treasure hunters ran out from the cover of a large bush. They made a beeline for a large log that bridged the gap between a stream otherwise impassable for humans. Given that the sun was still shining overhead, running out in the open was a huge blunder. When they were halfway across, what looked like a giant snake's tail came crashing down, snapping the log in half. Three of the hunters were catapulted forward, while one shot straight up. When he came back down, he fell into his pursuer's open maw.

There, with a height of 103 feet from head to ground, was Crisis. From the waist down, her body was that of a snake's, with teal scales, covered with patterns of sly-blue rings, and a yellow underbelly. Her long, blond hair flowed in the breeze, and her blue eyes twinkled mischievously. Except for a giant pouch fastened around her waist, Crisis wore nothing, as was the case with most Felaryan predators. Though she was sixty years old, Crisis was known to have the playful demeanor of a kid, and giggled devilishly right before her prey slid down her gullet.

After taking a moment to savor her meal, Crisis took off after the remaining humans. Most would assume that a giant snake was incapable of breakneck speed…and it's often the last misjudgment visitors to Felarya make. Before they could duck into a crevasse beneath a large tree, Crisis's tail shot forward, snatching up two more. It wasn't long before they joined their companion in her belly.

Still hungry, and still feeling playful, Crisis sauntered over to the tree the last human disappeared under. She reached into the hole and eventually felt out her last morsel. He struggled uselessly as Crisis's fingers wrapped around him and pulled him out. "Wait wait, hold on!" he pleaded. "You gotta…actually, it's a good thing you ate those other guys!"

"Oh, is that so?" Crisis asked with mock curiosity. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"Yeah yeah, now the treasure won't have to be split four ways when I find it," said the treasure hunter. "I should be real close now. If you let me go, I can track it down, and then we'll share the booty! What do you think?"

"Nice plan!" Crisis beamed, smiling at her captive.

"Wonderful! So, are you going to release me now?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, no," said Crisis, right before tossing him into his mouth. Another thing Crisis was known for: playing along with their final pleas.

Crisis savored his taste for a moment, sloshing him around in her mouth, before finally swallowing, satisfied with the spoils of another successful hunt. She turned and started to slither back to the Giant Tree.

Most observers unfamiliar with Felarya would view Crisis as nothing short of a monster. How could anyone but a raving psychopath enjoy eating another sapient being?

Unfortunately, there was no clear-cut answer for that. Felarya had always been a world governed by the law of the jungle. Such a lifestyle was all that most of its larger inhabitants had ever known. Crisis spared such philosophical quandaries little thought, anyway. Hers was a carefree life, her days filled with the simple joys of hunting and exploring the wonders of Felarya.

Unbeknownst to Crisis, those days were swiftly coming to an end.

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After taking a long drag from her cigarette, Anna Demorah looked back down at the innards of the base's busted oscilloscope. Much of their communications equipment was either in disrepair or in need of fine-tuning, and before Anna could get to work on any of that, she needed a functional oscilloscope. The pink-haired Deluran scout took another drag to steady her nerves, grabbed her tools, and got to work.

Scarcely after beginning, Anna jumped with a squeal, feeling a heavy hand clasp on her shoulder. "Still trying to get that oscilloscope working, I see," came the gravelly voice of her unit leader. Anna slowly turned to see General Garrardo, who had personally requested she be placed under his command. The general had been here as long as anyone could remember, since the very first time the Delurah government sanctioned an expedition into Felarya.

A long trail of burn marks traveling down the right side of Garrardo's face, and the deep scars marring his left temple and left side of his neck – all things the healing power of Felarya's soil did nothing about – were unsightly testaments to the general's long tenure in this world. They marred what was otherwise a handsome face, despite Garrardo's age. Round and stern, his red hair styled with little more than a buzzcut, Anna came to regard him as a bit of a father figure.

Still, it was unnerving, how such a big man (over a foot taller than her) moved so stealthily. Just like a certain blond naga whose name her comrades never dared speak…those who hadn't landed in her belly. "Yes, sir," Anna said quickly. "Due to a lot of quirks with our long-range communication equipment, maintaining contact with personnel far from the base is spotty at best, and make tracking Crisis's movements difficult. We're losing far too many personnel these days, especially to that one damn naga." Anna thought she saw the general jump from the venom in her voice, so she took another drag to calm herself.

"Regardless, it bothers me that every moment of your off-duty hours is spent slaving over our hardware. No amount of nicotine will help if you overwork yourself," said the general gravely.

"I wouldn't have to if the higher-ups would send some more qualified personnel to help me with this, instead of a constant stream of know-nothing meatbags for the grinder," spat Anna. She immediately regretted her outburst. Even here in Felarya, it was dangerous to be openly critical of Delurah's military regime…and the oligarchy back home that ran it.

However, General Garrardo just smiled and nodded. "And now you know why I handpicked you, out of everyone else fresh out of basic training. Just about all of them have the same troubled history as you, but you have real talent. Talent no one else was willing to pay full price for." Anna wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Do what you must to get that oscilloscope patched up before your next shift. Then, I'll have one of my other techies get around to using it to fix our gear. For all our sakes, our most versatile scout needs a little time off," the general went on, before turning and striding out of the storeroom.

Time seemed to come to a standstill in that storeroom, everything taking on an ethereal quality. Anna remained in that limbo for some time, until….

"Oh, Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnna!" came a singsong voice, waking Anna from her slumber. The human-turned-naga lifted her face from her crossed arms, groggily turning to the voice's source. Sure enough, there was Katrika, her hands behind her back. She was a young naga with short, brown hair, and ashen-grey scales with a blue zigzag pattern running down her tail. As always when Katrika came to see her, she had that giddy look on her face. The poor girl was hopelessly infatuated with her. Among Felaryan predators, being bisexual was hardly uncommon, but Anna had yet to let the kid down easy, so she usually indulged Katrika. "I heard you muttering in your sleep, Anna. Were you dreaming about something?"

Anna sighed. "Not so much a dream as a flashback. Back to when…." Anna stopped herself, growling. Much like Jora, there was no going back to her old life. As Garrardo hinted at, she had always eluded capture by Crisis…until that one day the voracious blond naga blindsided her. Yet, by some freak of fate, after being digested in Crisis's stomach, she was reincarnated moments later as a naga, one just as big as Crisis. Crisis took it upon herself to teach Anna how to live as a naga, and gave her a home in the Giant Tree. To maintain her sanity, Anna kept her skills with machinery and engineering sharp…even though her curious naga roommate had a habit of wrecking her work.

Gazing down at her long naga tail - solid blue scales with a yellow underbelly - Anna sighed again. "So, squirt, what's got to so giddy today? Please, don't tell me it's another present that'll literally blow up in my face." Katrika, eager to please Anna with technology found on her hunts, brought her finds to her. More than once, this involved crates labeled 'explosives'. Katrika said nothing, merely swaying like a cobra ready to strike…a hapless, lovesick cobra. "So…you're gonna make me guess? Is it another camera? A generator turbine, maybe? Maybe some big lens to fix up my particle…"

Katrika smiled even wider, finally revealing what was behind her back. It was some sort of truck, no…a half-track, mobile communications and command center. And it had the symbol for the Deluran armed forces plastered on its sides! This was obviously something that only came about after she…left the Deluran base. The make and model, the overall design…this wasn't standard military issue as far as Anna knew.

"Hmmm, let's see what we got," said Anna, popping open the back doors. To her surprise, it looked to have an entire computer lab within. Whatever the Delurans were doing since her freakish transformation, their plans had become more ambitious, necessitating mobile command outposts, heavily armed and suited for all terrains. It would have to be incredibly stealthy and fast as well, in order to evade predators. A disturbing thought came to Anna. Turning to Katrika, she asked, "Please, kid, don't tell me you took this after…."

Katrika quickly shook her head. "No Anna! I promise, I just found it lying around!"

Anna looked back at the half-track vehicle. While still a Deluran scout, such a powerful piece of tech would've looked awe-inspiring, and now she easily held it in her hand. "Still, I find it hard to believe Deluran soldiers would've ventured all the way to your hunting grounds near Miragia Forest.

Katrika shook her head again. "That's not where I found it. It was on the eastern borders of the Misty Glade!"

That was even more peculiar. Even with such a rugged vehicle, getting across the river south of the base to reach the Misty Glade would be tough. Still, it explained why Katrika found no one still in it. Most likely, they had all gotten lost in those magical mists. Peering into the back again, Anna wondered if the computers were still in good condition. This was a golden opportunity to get some intel about the base, what was going on back home in Delurah, and maybe even….

"Hey, is Crisis back yet?" came a sweet voice from up above. Looking up, Anna and Katrika saw Temi, the healer and leader of the fairy tribe that raised Crisis, fluttering overhead at her human size. Sporting antennae and thick reddish-pink hair, which was tied back to make it look like a huge brush, the fairy also wore clothes fashioned from leaves. Temi was known to be more level-headed than other fairies, not as prone to mischief, but even so, there was anxiousness in her body language that Anna found disconcerting. "Any idea where Crisis is? We didn't see her while flying in, and we really need to ask her something."

Anna shook her head. "Sorry Temi. For all I know, Crisis is still out on a hunt," she told Temi. "Not to mention…hey, hold on. Who is 'we'?"

Temi looked all around, now simply looking confused. "That's funny. Lily and Exona were right behind me."

"Hold on, you brought LILY back here?!" Anna demanded vehemently.

"Wait, is that a bad thing?" asked Katrika.

Anna held up a hand. "You'll find out in about five…four…three…two…one…." She counted down, putting down her fingers.

A long bang from a branch high above made all three look up. Two human-sized figures were dropping down, a tangle of limbs, and crashed onto Anna's workstation, rolling around the various tools and equipment Anna had strewn about.

One of them righted herself, and planted a boot on the neck of the other. A human woman with long, brown hair held back with a headband, with a green sweater and jeans, also brandished a magical staff, and pointed it at her enemy's face. However, she had pinned a fairy, one with a murderous glare. She had long, bushy brown hair, blue eyes that radiated pure rage, patterns of brown spots that adorned her tanned skin…and vines that sprouted out of her arms. Which had wrapped themselves around her assailant's neck.

However, the human seemed wholly unconcerned, her voice cold and flat. "Go ahead, try to put the squeeze on me. I can blow your head off the instant you do," she said tonelessly.

That only seemed to enrage the fairy even more. "You think choking you…is the worst I can do…you lousy human?" she got out. "Give it time. With prolonged contact…I'll…."

"You'll do nothing," came a third voice, seemingly from nowhere. Then another fairy appeared, as if from nowhere, growing from her minimum size to that of a human. Somehow, she snapped the fairy's vines, while also slapping away the human's staff. After pushing aside the human, she stared down contemptuously at her fellow fairy with piercing, hazel eyes. She had long, flowing purple hair and antennae, but a single lock of pink hair fluttered over her left temple. Butterfly-style, crystalline wings flittered behind her, and peculiar, tiger-like stripes adorned her arms and legs, traveling down from the shoulders and hips. "Great way to solicit Crisis and Anna's help, Lily. Try, and utterly fail, to kill Léa for…what is it, the eighth time now?"

"I don't need any more lectures from anyone, especially you Exona. We've all seen it. It's not just that you abstain from eating these mongrels, you actually respect these sick sociopaths on some perverted level," Lily snapped back.

"What I do and who I see in Kortiki Town is none of your business, Lily. And I didn't fly all the way from Kortiki Town to have you complicate our search for Shandra," spat Exona. "Who, might I add, doesn't eat humans either, yet you still seem concerned for her."

"Of course I am. So horribly naïve, that girl, just like Aya," sneered Lily. She briefly looked up to Anna and Katrika. Unlike most fairies, Lily couldn't attain a giant size. Yet she showed no fear under Anna's withering gaze. "And who needs your help anyway? I know of all her favorite spots in between here and the Ur-Sagol Ruins. I'll go find her myself, without the help of any human-loving or formerly-human nagas!"

With that, Lily flew off, not even sparing a glance back. Exona sighed as she looked up to Anna. "So sorry to interrupt your work with Lily's temper tantrums yet again, Anna. Just…let Crisis know about Shandra having gone missing when she returns, will you? I'll go after Lily and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

The purple-haired fairy took off after Lily, leaving a confused Anna behind. Anna was never the most sociable person, either as a human or a naga. But instead of resentment at so many people invading her workspace, Anna was just flabbergasted. Felarya was dangerous, and even predators were not entirely safe, yet something told Anna there was more going on than one missing fairy….

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Jora and Milly strode through a lightly-wooded area of the Tolmeshal Forest, somewhere in between Milly's hut and the Bulvon Wood. The sun was setting, its orange rays filtering through the trees. Milly had long since dropped off Jora's rescued humans at Safe Harbor, and according to her, Tanny was doing just fine. Jora would go pick her up in the morning. For now, she was looking forward to some time to herself in their cave. Jora wasn't sure why, but that dream about her old life, and Temperance Brennan, was nagging at her. She thought she long ago had resolved that her old life was gone, and that she would forevermore be a Felaryan predator…albeit a clumsy one. Yet somehow, remembering the night she met Dr. Brennan…it was like those first few weeks with Teliya all over again. Never able to go back, never fitting into her new home….

"Something on your mind, Jora?" asked Milly. A fellow giantess, Milly had light brown skin and long, black hair. She currently lived in her old hut with her boyfriend, the fairy Yemic, but before he came along, she had hardly been alone. Not only was there Calina, but she protected the Alsumi tribe of tomthumbs, people who grew no taller than three inches. In fact, Calina was riding on Milly's shoulder now, and on Calina's shoulder were several Alsumi, including the boy Tan, who seemed quite infatuated with her. Jora never understood how Milly could possibly communicate with the Alsumi, given the extreme size difference, and right now it was furthest from her mind.

"Nothing, really. Just…mulling over how ridiculously clumsy I can still be. Everything from kensha beasts to tonorions out there, and what lays me out when I've got humans to drop off? I bump my head," said Jora. "That, and…while I was carrying that bus, I was debating whether to take it to Safe Harbor or near Nekomura, so they could be taken to Negav. I much as I respect Jade, I can't help but feel survivors I find might be better off in Negav, with the Isolon Eye protecting them."

"Not me. I'd trust Jade over a piece of magical rock anyday," replied Milly. "Besides, from what I've heard from some new arrivals in Safe Harbor who FLED Negav, it's not a happy place to be right now."

"What do you mean?" asked Jora, curious.

"Just some things I picked up after dropping off Isham and your bus," said Milly. "Turns out, over the last few months, there's been a string of mysterious killings in Negav, thirteen in all, and no one knows who's behind it. Mostly these Vishmitals were killed, and it's caused all sorts of tension there. Frankly, I can't blame some of these people for wanting out. The thought of your own kind killing each other, a-a-and how whatever fragile peace there was, about to fall apart from what I hear? No Jora, those humans you rescued are better off in Safe Harbor with Jade."

Jora stared at the ground. Milly had a point about the politics in Negav. The Ps'isol Magiocrats and the Vishmitals were two rival factions sharing power with an uneasy truce, from what Jora understood. If Milly was right, the whole city was about to be ground zero for another pissing contest between the two. And once being a human on Earth herself, she was familiar with the whole 'killing your own kind' thing. If she hadn't been there when those kidnappers went after Brennan…

Jora shook her head, determined to leave her past behind her. Then, Calina cut in. "Plus, let's not forget my own kind in Nekomura, who aren't too happy with either faction from what I gather. I'd be willing to bet someone from Nekomura is playing the two against each other, rechargeable Isolon Eye knockoffs be damned." The neko had a point. In Felarya, one usually doesn't have to confront a dead body. If someone was dead, the body was long since digested. There was no greater recipe for frayed nerves than to leave dead bodies of important human officials where they would be discovered. And evidently, no one in Negav had the know-how to track down the murderer. But perhaps, if by some miracle, someone who owed her a debt could be brought there….

Shaking her head again, Jora kept walking forward. There was no going back to Earth, and whatever was going on in Negav, it was none of her concern…right?

A series of shouts snapped Jora back to attention. Looking up, she saw two fairies, both at human size, flying around haphazardly. One was unfamiliar to her, with flowing, purple hair, while the other… "Oh great, Lily," Jora muttered under her breath.

"Listen to reason, Lily. Shandra's 'spots' here in these parts of the Tolmeshal Forest stretch for miles. You'll spend days scouring them all!" pleaded the purple-haired fairy.

"Just flutter on back to Kortiki Town and have fun with your damned humans, Exona," Lily shot back. "I'm not coming back until I find Shandra."

"I've known Shandra a lot longer than you have, Lily, but blindly flying around Tolmeshal Forest will solve nothing!" pleaded Exona. "I ask you one last time, listen to reason, go back to Temi, and…."

"I'll go back to Temi in my own good time!" cried Lily. "Until then, stay out of my way…or I'll make you!" Lily summoned a vine from her arm, and it shot out to ensnare Exona. However, just before it would have struck, Jora put her outstretched finger between the two, and the vine wrapped around that instead. "Wha…JORA?! What're you…." Lily began, but was cut off when Jora twirled her finger around, and thus Lily as well. "WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA!" screamed Lily, sounding dizzy, until at last, Jora flung Lily into the canopy of a nearby tree.

Once Lily's screams died away, silence lingered for a moment, until Jora noticed all the blank stares aimed at her. "What? It was about time someone shut her up."

Exona let out a nervous laugh. "I'm hardly one to argue with that logic, Jora. But don't you think…."

A loud shriek from the tree Lily was flung at cut Exona off. But this was no scream of impotent rage, but rather, one of terror. After exchanging furtive glances, Exona, Jora and Milly all rushed over to the tree. "I can get up there quicker, see what's going on," Calina offered. Making sure her Alsumi passengers were secure, Calina jumped off Milly's shoulder and scampered up the tree. She disappeared into the leafy canopy. "Alright, you garden-on-wings, what's…oh."

Silence lingered again for a moment, but then Calina burst out from the leafy cover, running down a branch, until she stopped and heaved over the side. Now Jora knew something was very wrong. Calina had lived in Felarya her whole life, and survived all its dangers. Anything that made Calina upchuck her hard-earned meals must be gruesome indeed.

"Calina, what happened? What did you see?" asked Milly kindly.

After coughing a bit longer, Calina turned and said, "Might as well lift those branches and see for yourself. And the only way I'm going back over there is if someone airs out that canopy anyway."

Raising an eyebrow, Milly lifted up the branches obscuring whatever Lily had found. Jora immediately wished she hadn't. There, with the back forced down against a branch angling upward, was the decaying body of a fairy at human size. Within the cover provided by the leaves, the smell of the rotting flesh must have been contained, thus hardly any activity from carrion-eaters. That meant instant nausea for anyone with a powerful sense of smell, such as a neko. Once the wings must have sparkled with crystalline beauty, but now they were dull and chalky, limply hanging on. Much of the hair had fallen away. The remaining scalp only covered half the head, and now, part of the skull was visible. Dark-blue, diseased strands of hair clumped against the rotting flesh of the face….

Lily stood a few feet from the fairy's corpse, and then Exona landed beside her. "Blue hair…long, blue hair…. Oh no no no no no…this was SHANDRA! IT HAS TO BE!"

"How…how horrible!" exclaimed Milly, covering her mouth with her free hand. "And…oh no, it can't be… The position she was forced into. Against something, sitting… I heard…that's how all those dead humans in Negav were found!"

"Wait a minute, whoever's stirring up trouble in Negav is now out here butchering fairies!?" Jora cried incredulously. "That doesn't make any sense."

Lily just stood there, muttering to herself. "Kill…must find…make them pay…kill…." Until now, Jora never understood why Lily was sometimes referred to as 'The Slayer'. But seeing her about to explode like a time bomb…. She returned her gaze to the dead fairy. If Lily was right, she had been part of Temi's tribe, the one that raised Crisis, another helpful friend she had made since arriving in Felarya. And Crisis was also the one Jade, her very best friend here in Felarya, shared a mutual agreement with, and a certain measure of respect. Plus, Jora had heard this Shandra was a fairy who avoided eating humans, and probably dropped off wayward ones to Jade.

This was not some isolated incident, just another casualty of the harshness that was Felarya. This affected just about every predator Jora knew. And if this was connected to the killings in Negav…try as she might, Jora couldn't ignore how political unrest over there could have ripple effects throughout Felarya. Negav was as much a part of Felarya as Chordoni Falls or the Dridders' Forest or the Crimson Wood, and whatever went on there could have repercussions elsewhere.

"Hey Lily, if you're standing there thinking about humans and death, whatever it is…you're absolutely right," said Jora.

"Oh what would YOU know? I don't care if you were once…huh?" Lily blinked in surprise, caught off-guard, which was quite unusual for her.

"Hardly anyone in Felarya is used to seeing death like this, so we need someone who understands death intimately," Jora told the distraught fairy. "And both of us know humans can be ruthless killers. There's an old saying: it takes a thief to catch a thief. So maybe we need a human to catch a human. A human that's familiar with death when it looks like this. So I'll get you a human like that, Lily. I don't know how, but I'll get you Dr. Temperance Brennan."

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Once again, instead of getting to work on Fusion of Destinies III, I take a turn for the patently absurd. Now, I'm sure most of you have no farking clue what all this Felarya nonsense is. Right now, it's an OEL Manga distributed on Lulu…but what's it about? Well, to put it bluntly, it's a fantasy universe spawned by the vore fetish, which is…the fascination with one being eating another. I'm more for the giant chicks with house-sized tits and could care less about the nomming, but what's amazing about the Felarya universe is how detailed it is and how expressive the characters are, easily rivaling J.R.R. Tolkien's work.

Yeah, I went there. Come at me, bro.

Another amazing thing is that not one person is responsible for Felarya. Karbo is the artist who originated the idea, but through the Internet, other people have contributed concepts and characters, and it has become a lively online community. It is my hope that readers can put Felarya's odd roots aside and enjoy being introduced to a creative, yet bizarre, new fantasy world. For a better look at the characters, hop over to DeviantArt.

Felarya character credits:

Crisis, Anna Demorah, Belletia, Léa, Temi and Lily belong to Karbo

Katrika belongs to Zoekin3

Milly and Calina belong to FrenchSnack

Jora belongs to Ravana3k

Exona, General Garrardo and Shandra belong to Grey-X (Yours truly, bitches)