Introducing Senni! (Concept Art Attached)

This month's one shot is being made available to the public. Be safe, stay inside, and carry on everyone!

*Disclaimer: I gave a lot of objects like cactus or bird English names just to help with flow. Velathi names may come later!

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“Mother, father, I’m going to take a bath!” Senni called, stuffing a woven net into her belt. The teenage Velathi was about to leave her family’s home, a structure of stone, mudbrick, and wood nestled against the side of the ravine when her mother called after her.

“And why are you still clothed then, Senni?” She demanded, her scaled tail waving testily behind her. “You’re a grown female now. There’s no need to be embarrassed about taking a swim. Let some of those boys get a look at you. Just be sure you’re downstream of the hatcheries. The last two who decided a dip with the fish was a good idea got a week of harvesting vines each.”

“And their balls nipped at,” came the deep, chuckling voice of Senni’s father as he emerged from their bedroom into the common area of the home, a fishing net woven from softened vine fiber in his hands. He looked at his daughter with mixed emotions on his face, his large, black tipped ears rotating flat as he nodded. “Dear, she’s going to take a real bath.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Senni’s mother screeched. “She’s but a child!”

“I seem to recall you saying just now she’s a grown woman,” her father countered gently, approaching his daughter. Her scales flared slightly as he rested a hand on her shoulder. “We all heed the call of Shalaki one day or another. Besides, it’s coral season. Isn’t that right, Senni?”

“I…yes sir?” She squeaked, handing him the net she’d fashioned herself. She’d picked her own vines before drying and soaking them in vinegar made from used cactus husks. The villagers who worked the moisture farms were more than happy to offload some of their waste to her. She had woven the supple fibers together into twine, and then the twine into rope. With a few clasps and pins from the smith she’d created her net with skill and dexterity, though she couldn’t help but feel self-conscious as her father examined her work. His finely scaled fingers, seasoned by many years as a fisherman, pulled and tugged, checking the strength and flexibility of the creation. He handed it back to her with an approving rattle of the scales of his neck, the subtle clicking just barely audible to Senni’s large, sensitive ears.

“This is fine work, Senni. I guess you were listening after all,” he praised her, returning the net. 

“Thank you, father,” she whispered, meeting his eyes. Hers were sky blue and his a dusky red. Other than overall bulk, the eyes were the main defining feature of sex among the Velathi. He placed both of his hands against her furred cheeks, his scruffy pads tickling her whiskers.

“And if the shadow of death comes for you, you drop this net and run like Shalaki herself. Do you understand me?”

“Yes father,” she promised seriously.

“Dear, you cannot let her go!” Her mother protested fearfully.

“If I do not let her go she will go herself…in a time and place that we don’t know of. I was not a teenager so long ago that I forget the call of the sands, of our brutal, beautiful ancestral home. Senni, listen to me. If it comes for you do not look away. Watch it, as you know it will be watching you. Run like the winds on the dunes and when it strikes, dive and curl.”

Senni couldn’t help but swallow loudly, feeling her heart quite ready to beat out of her fluffy, sandy-furred chest. “I understand.”

“Good, and remember your duty to our people as you make your climb out of the ravine. If there are no tags at the base, stop by the blacksmith. We received plenty of charcoal with the last shipment. They will have what you need,” he commanded.

“Yes sir, I will. I’ll be back before dinner with plenty of delicious treats, I promise!” Senni assured them. “Maybe we can make some chimes with the husks?”

“Just come back alive or your mother will never speak to me again,” her father chuckled before allowing her to scamper off into the streets. He and his wife stood in their doorway as water from on high dripped down the rocks of the ravine, an indication of the waterfall just beyond the bend in the river that hard carved out the valley they now called home over millennia. They watched as Senni hurried along wooden bridges, winding stone streets, and swung on a couple of vines that the younger and more nimble Velathi used to traverse their home on her way up to the ‘base’, a natural platform of stone that formed the bottom nexus of the network of ladders, ropes, and vines that led up the ravine to the vine farms and the desert surface high above. Dust and sand occasionally drifted down to join the water and mist, forming the mud and clay from which the Velathi grew their crop of cactus, built their homes, and constructed their forges. A light breeze from the falls blew through the air and rustled the trees that had managed to take root in the hard but abundant climate, their trunks growing out from the walls of the cliff to provide shelter for the flocks of birds that called the area home.

“And where are you going, my love?” Senni’s mother asked of her father.

“To fish,” he replied stoically, making for the wooden stairs that led to the docks and their family’s canoe, moored below along with the boats that belonged to the other families in the neighborhood. “And to not think about the fact that our only daughter has gone on her first coral harvesting expedition.”

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“Hmm hm hm,” Senni hummed to herself, finding a barrel full of shiny metal tags at the foot of the first ladder. She clipped a few to her belt and began her climb, her blood already pumping nicely from swinging across the river on a couple of vines. She had loved that part the most ever since she was old enough to wrap her hands and claws around the thick vegetation. No structural deficiencies could be found on the first ladder, so the tags stayed on her belt as she strolled along the narrow stone surface to the next ladder that would take her further up the ravine. A small wooden fence was the only thing separating her from a tumble onto the roof of some family’s house far below. On her way up the next ladder she noticed a fraying section of rope. It was nowhere near in danger of snapping, but maintenance would have to be done. “That means you get one of these,” she sang, fixing a tag there to mark the location and continuing on her way, knowing that the maintenance crews would be by later to check for and repair any deficiencies in their route to the deserts high above. As Senni continued on her journey she took many breaks to rest, drink some of the water that dripped from the rocks, and to look down on her home from above. She could see the glow of the forges from beneath the rocky outcropping that sheltered them from water and sand, the entrance to the flooded passages that led to the mines, and of course the bustling activity of boats and canoes, transporting goods, Velathi, and fish throughout the canyon. She often scaled the ladders and cliffs for the beautiful views, but today would be her first day on the surface. “My first dust bath!” She exclaimed, picking herself up and carrying on.

“Wow…” Senni couldn’t help but whisper when she pulled herself up the final rung and onto the windswept plateau at the top of the canyon. Before her, as far as the eye could see, was the domain of Shalaki, the All-Mother and Queen of the Sands. Sun beat down on her scales and wind whipped through her fur. Where they could find purchase in the rocky crags, occasional cactus could be found, but for the most part all she could see was sand. Sand and coral. A small cluster of the bright pink polyps had sprouted several hundred meters from her position. Though used to life in the ravine, Senni was still a Velathi, and the heat, sun, and dunes called to her. She wiggled her claw-tipped toes, covered in long, firm fur to help her stride across the sands. With soaring spirits, Senni strode out, putting that fur to use for the first time.

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It took some time for Senni to get used to the feeling of fine sand grains between her toes, but she quickly found it oh so pleasant and warm. Her scales lifted from her back, tail, and neck, venting excess heat into the wind and dry air. Every so often she looked behind her, taking note of the position of the guideposts left by her people. They lined the area near the canyon, sunk deep into the sand. Small metal tags and charms fluttered from them, reflecting the harsh sunlight and lighting the way back to safety. Reasonably assured she would not be forever lost in the desert, Senni continued on her way, the tantalizing coral coming closer with every step. When she crested the final dune, Senni felt a noticeable shift in the sands beneath her feet. It was finer, smoother, and felt divine against her pads. A product of the coral’s feeding cycle that drew minerals, water, and nutrients from deep beneath the ground, that sand in particular was exactly what she had been looking for. “Well you know what they say, one coral’s trash is a Velathi’s bath!” She chimed, slipping the net from her belt. “But work first, and then I get to play.”

And so Senni set about her delectable task, canvassing the five coral stalks within the sunken area for fresh growths. Beneath the toughened shell was delectable flesh that delighted the Velathi palette. The husk could then be used for art or as a base for soup. Her mother had taught her well what to look for, areas that had yet to be warped and twisted by prolonged exposure to sun and wind. She was a little late, but there was still plenty to fill her net and she made sure to leave some on every coral pillar, ensuring they would continue to grow through that year and into the next. When her net was full and tied off, she left it in the shade of one of the stalks and walked a few paces to a nice, warm patch of sand. She could abstain no longer. “Bath time!” The Velathi cried happily, tossing off her belt and clothes before unceremoniously flopping down into the sands and flaring her scales as far out as they would go. The dry, dusty sand filled each crevice and she giggled and rolled about in the dunes, kicking up dust and feeling the fine grains scour away all the oil, dirt, and even the occasional growth of algae that came with living in a watery environment. “Oh by Shakali herself, this is divine!” Senni exclaimed, wiggling her tail and butt into the sand before rolling about again. Occasionally she would stand and shake off the dust, allowing it to fall to the ground before choosing a new location and diving right back in. The warmth and softness was such that she felt herself being lulled into a blissful nap beneath the Maran sun, curled up beneath her scales and blending into the dune itself. Through her closed eyes a moment of darkness passed over her. Senni’s ears stood on end and her ice blue orbs flashed open. In the desert there was only one thing that cast moving shadows, death.

“Shalaki protect me,” Senni whispered as her ears roared with the thrum of her heartbeat. As slowly as she could she crawled on elbows and knees over to her net of coral. There was no way she would have the time or luxury of putting her clothes back on, not if it saw her. In the shelter of the large, pink stalk she looked to the skies, finding an ominous black shadow circling high above her, its twin heads scanning the deserts below. Senni watched, and watched, and watched. The sun moved overhead and yet still death circled above her, the winged omen patiently waiting on rising columns of heated air. Her throat was dry. Time was not on her side. She cried and said a prayer, then she ran. 

Her clothes long forgotten, Senni sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her over the dunes and back towards the glinting tokens that marked her home. The walk to the coral had been so free, so uplifting, but now there was only fear and the burning of her lungs as she tried to suck down enough air to fuel her flight. The dark shadow passed over the sands, circling larger, ever above her. He’s coming for me, she thought, terror gripping her as she pushed harder and harder against the sands. Though every nerve wanted to look away, she recalled her father’s wisdom and looked over her shoulder. She screamed as wings blotted out the sun, black feathers below and white above. The twin heads were looking right at her, its talons outstretched. Senni dove forward, desperately tucking the coral to her belly as her scaled exterior rolled over the sands. She could feel the wind buffet her as the winged monstrosity pushed itself back into the air in preparation for another attack. She did not spare the warm sands a moment, uncurling herself, pushing up to her feet, and taking off again for the cliffs. She prayed as she panted. “Shalaki, blessed All-Mother and Queen of the Sands, lend me your swiftness. Let me fly as wind over the dunes. May my scales be strong and may I live long enough to jump off these darn cliffs!” She shouted, throwing herself to the sands again as death came for her. She shrieked in terror as the tips of its claws raked over her back. Her scales did their job, and it did not find purchase. The injury and pain kicked her body into overdrive, leaving behind a small trail of blood that the sands drank away as well as a couple of scales from her back. 

“I wont…I can’t die now!” She gasped as the ground hardened under her feet and she made a beeline for one of the totems that indicated safe landing below were one to leap from the precipice. “I need to take another dust bath!” With a final gasp she pushed forward and off the cliff, net still clutched in her hands as the massive, black shadow passed over her one final time, snatching but finding only air as she dropped into the ravine below. Senni tucked her scales tight to her body as the soft, churning water of the falls waited below, pouring from a wound deep in the earth, the lifeblood of her village and whatever life above managed to tap the aquifers deep below the surface. Senni had jumped from many vines and bridges in her days as a cub and teenager, but she had never attempted the jump of life before. Her limbs and tail flailed as rock, trees, ladders, and her own people rushed by her vision. Her final trial was upon her, and she flexed her core, straightened her body, and pointed her feet and tail straight down, preparing to stop her descent the moment she was submerged.

“Look out beloooooow!”