A Blurred Society

(This is my first story, please enjoy!)

A tiger ambles through the township, listening to the cries and calls of each animal showing their wares and inviting guests. She yawns, walking around them. She was your average animal; not much to her. A worn blanket wrapped around her midsection, a few elf bracelets strapped around her paws; you know, the basic type.

"Hey, Mythical," an eagle shouted over the hum, "what for your worn?!" he cried, pointing a feather sidelong at the piece of torn fabric draped over her back. The tiger narrowed her eyes. She never understood why animals automatically knew each other's names, and she also pondered why everyone always pestered you for things you weren't trading. "Er, not for trade, sorry," she said briskly, making a turn at the clothes shop, towards the path to Mira's statue. Along the way she also mused upon why these rags were worth so much. Jamaa is weird.

Mythical sighed, looking at the statue of the great heron. A few other animals had gathered here, observing the statue of the Sky Mother with great respect. A wolf turned her head at the sound of the sigh. "Is something wrong? Have you come to pray to the Sky Mother Mira?" she said concernedly. This attracted the attention of a panda and an arctic wolf who apparently were friends with the canine.

Mythical jumped. "Oh, no, no, just came to remember the time Liza first welcomed me to Jamaa," she explained, her flame colored fur bristling with fear. These animals were creepy and there were always a few hanging around the great hunk of stone. "Liza?" the arctic wolf said confusedly. "Liza welcomed you to Jamaa?" she said, her nose wrinkling. "Liza is only the host of Adventures. Peck welcomes you."

The panda nodded in agreement. "Peck welcomes you. It is the rule."

Mythical shook her head. "But, but...Major," she said, looking at the panda. "You've been here since...since years ago, I know you were welcomed by Liza..." The panda merely shook his head. "You are wrong. I was welcomed into Jamaa by Peck the Rabbit Alpha. It is the rule." Mythical stared at him with slight bewilderment. "Right...so, where, er, where can I find this rule...?" Mythical inquired. She knew Liza welcomed you to Jamaa. It has to be that way, it's in her mind!

The panda told her that the rulebooks were located in the Chamber of Knowledge, clearly upset she hadn't already read them, repeating the same hollow sentence: "It's the rule!"

Mythical slipped back through the township, nudging away the party invitations and trade offers. Her home was a weird one, but this is getting out of paw. The tiger sloshed through the riverbed hurriedly. She stepped in front of the vine covered building, the yellow python lingering motionless by the door as it opened. She stepped inside, the hollow tunes of the chamber echoing hauntingly. She walked around, examining the dusty bottles and scrolls lining the shelves. A bright, shiny volume stood out from the rest of the leatherbound and dirty books, resting neatly on a wooden table. "Bingo!" she cried, padding over to it. The cover was embossed with the words "The Jamaasian Handbook" in glittering gold print.

A book of laws, she guessed, flipping it open. The book's introduction told the tale of the mysterious appearance of Phantoms from dark portals and their taking our Sky Father away, followed by Mira who chose the Alphas and...wait. Wait a minute. This isn't right at all! This couldn't've have been what happened, this is malarky! Mythical growled angrily. She was there, this is inaccurate!

The tiger flipped through a few more pages, showing pictures of the Alphas and their duties. Mythical's eyes widened as she realized that she hadly recognized any of them, they seemed unreal and fake, shiny looking and new. The only one she didn't see was Gilbert, which was curious...but this was entirely incorrect! A lot of the story was glossed over, questions left unanswered. It was blurred in places. She closed the book with a slam. "I need to find the original lore..." she muttered to herself, looking around the room that was stocked to the brim with scrolls and stories.

Mythical rooted through the entire hall, books out of order and in disarray. She looked frazzled, her paws aching. There was only one place left to look. A small wooden trapdoor in the corner of the room sat unopened. The tiger slunk over to it, her excitement rebuilding. She tugged at the handle and the door remained closed. She pulled at it again, this time harder. No luck. She gave it a final tug and- nothing. "Argh!" Mythical shouted in aguish. "I didn't work this hard to be stopped by a slab of wood!" She leapt onto the trapdoor and hopped, her weight causing the board to crack. A small book lay before the tiger. She picked it up gently, dusting it off. She read the title aloud. "The Story of Jamaa."

Mythical cracked the book open. Inside was the original story of Jamaa with the Shamans and the story of how Phantoms came to be. The tiger yelped with excitement. "I knew it; I knew it all along! I KNEW something was different!"

The sound of the stone door scraping open filled the reverberant chamber. A mixture of voices spoke at once; a raspy grunt accompanied by an eerily calm tone, a bold cry and a soft mutter. "It also seems that you know too much."

The shadow of a rabbit, panda, wolf, and koala cast upon the walls. The tiger turned around to face the intruders. The Alphas. The new Alphas. "Who...who are you...?" Mythical asked, shaking. The bipedal panda said in a calm voice, "We are improvements to your society. We are the Alphas."

"No, no, you're not," the feline cried. "Where are the real ones, the Shamans?!"

"Forgotten." the pink rabbit said simply.

"Just like you are soon to be," the dark blue wolf stated maliciously as the group closed in on her. Mythical's vision grew blurry and gave one last roaring cry as Jamaa took one step closer to a perfect, peaceful, and protected society.