[b][i][u][color=00a651]Nelos Oakleaf[/color][/u][/i][/b]

	Just as the forest boy was about to reach the helpless girl, a man in a robe ran across the stampede, tackling her to safety. The boy's snapped at nothing as he followed them, anxious to get out of danger' path. The robed man produced a staff and, twirling it around, slammed said staff into the ground. The forest boy could feel magic emitting from it, and the entire stampede suddenly transformed. While he couldn't [i]speak[/i] to animals, he could hear their confused and frightened cries as many of them suddenly burst into existence.

	Before the boy could catch his breath, another girl, older than the one he was now crouched next to, appeared, killing some of the people in the stampede before shouting to someone on top of the massive, snake nosed creature. Then a large beast similar to some of the ones the boy had just fled from came up and began speaking to that same individual, who [i]then[/i] began shouting hostilities at everyone around him.

	The boy's hair was already standing on end by this point, but things didn't calm down. No, things only seemed to be getting worse. Without warning, one of the younger people became a monstrous demon, only to be encased in ice. At the same time, an unnatural beam of darkness shot into the sky, turning day to night. And [i]then[/i], as several people began [i]falling from the sky[/i], the older girl went through a transformation of her own!

	By this point, the boy had completely forgotten about the strange parchment he was carrying. He was terrified! None of this made any sense! Was this normal for the world beyond his forest? Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed hold of the girl on the ground next to him. Screwing his eyes shut, he asked the plants to protect them. They obliged, several small trees sprouting around them. The trees grew rapidly, weaving together and forming a kind of protective shell around the two of them. Despite this, the boy felt no safer, and couldn't help whimpering, occasionally even howling out of fright.

	During all this, Streak had been trying to get around the stampede to get to the boy. Once the hatred and malice started spreading, however, she turned tail and ran. She didn't stop until she was in the safety of the trees. She howled insistently, terrified that she had just lost her pup, the only member of her pack.