If you were expecting a Halloween story...
It were larger than we, and with less coat than we, and had been with us for a small time. First we were made strange at its arrival; as it seemed not like a thing we ever knew here. But after days we understand that it has no want to hurt we or frighten we. So we elected not to attack or kill it.
It sat in a strange cave when dark came; a cave that seemed more like its unfixed coat than the strong stone caves we know. And the cave glowed. In light it sat next to its cave and looked at we, with a big dark object covering its sight. Every sunrise it did this, but still it came never near we so we let it. It seemed pleased when we called to each other, and fiddled more with the dark object. It again seemed pleased when we fought, and came a small bit nearer.
After one sunrise the sky came lower and wet we like it sometimes does. On that daylight it stayed inside its cave and didn't watch we at all, but left its dark thing outside, which did. Grey faced we and he told that maybe it was plotting in the cave, but we thought not. Why would it now? Grey was sure. Told that the dark thing was its eye that was watching, and was worried about it. We left Grey to continue this thought and didn't listen.
For lots of days the water fell and we were okay with it. But not Grey. Grey would sit, like It did before the water, and watch, like It did before the water, for as long as the sky was bright. We would give Grey food, and he would eat, but he less was part of our group than before It disappeared in the cave. That is not to say It was never seen by we. It came out few small times each day and sometimes took the dark thing away for a time. Then put it back. It strangely looked at Grey; the way he sat and watched. We told that it was slightly unusual that It found Grey's watching strange; for It did the same thing before and we didn't strangely look after the first few times.
When the sky grew higher again and the water dried, It continued to sit outside Its cave. Sometimes It took a dark object that was smaller than what Grey called the eye, and made strange sounds from its mouth into it; like our howling but sharper and quieter. This remade Grey's suspicions.
He called to we to follow his fear, but we had no reason to. Finally Grey took to It's cave and stole the eye, carrying it to we in his jaw. We looked at it and wondered but no one of we could understand its reason.Before long, It came out from the cave making frantic noises and looked about the place. It saw we, surrounding Its eye and roared, running toward. Some cowered and some howled, some ran and hid. I was among the first group. It turned into a storm in our group, but attacked none. None in turn attacked It, but Grey.
Grey told that he was right after all, and howled attack. None followed him. He jumped at It and bit. Again and again, until It threw It's leg round hard to Grey's side, knocking him back in pain. With the manouvere It stumbled to the ground, and Grey took the opportunity to pounce upon It.
For a small time they tumbled and span on the ground, then It took a small, shining object from under Its coat and waved it fiercely at Grey, who cried out and retreated. We all saw the deep wound and pouring blood which we all recognised from past fights, and moved to aid Grey. All growled attack at It, but It moved fast to the cave and jumped upon a large, tree coloured object which we never noticed before and which took It with greater speed than ours away from us forever.
After the fight Grey did not die. But he walked feebly all the time, and cried for we. We didn't listen. His weakness was not something we should wish to care for as it would then became our weakness, and should It ever return, we had to be strong. Grey was right, but we had no means to honour that.
The sun went up and down many times and Grey still didn't return to normal, but turned ever worse. His cries became strange to our ears. His movements not pleasing to watch. But he still did not die. Even after his wound was gone and no more terrible blood emerged, Grey was not better.
One day we all watched as Grey wriggled and shaked and changed painfully into a different being, that looked like It. He had no tail or snout and his limbs were longer than needed. At this we all gathered to attack, but I told that it was still Grey and we shouldn't do so. The new It-Grey crouched on the ground and was scared, and moved every way he could on only his hind legs but didn't know why. We watched with wonder at his movements.
The It-Grey decided to stay among we, and we let him, but were unsure how to approach him. He could no longer tell we, instead could only make the same odd sounds that It made before. Grey was seemingly content to sleep out in the sky like always, and did for some nights, but when again the sky went low and poured water, he shrieked and jumped, and ran to It's cave, which was still there. We awoke and watched as Grey disappeared into the thin cave. There came confused groaning from within, and the cave shook and bumped, and eventually a flash came and it glowed like before. Grey remained within until daylight.
When he emerged, It-Grey was wrapped in a loose coat. He looked something like sad and scared at the same time and continued to move the cloth over his body whenever it slipped, which seemed to be a troublesome task and unnecessary.
He would stop playing with we, or fighting. He just sat under his tree. We took him scraps of food when he stopped trying to find it himself, but instead of eating it, he departed. When he returned he held a number of tree fruits that appeared equal to the ammount of food we gave him, placed the fruits in front of me and only then took his food. This confused we, as we had no immediate use for tree fruits (we only eat flesh) and couldn't work out why Grey would want to exchange something of no immediate use to we for his food, especially when he had to make unnecessary effort to get it. He performed this needless exchange every time we left food for him and could not say why.
More and more time passed by. It-Grey seemed ever more used to his form and moved around more. He made shapes in the dirt with a tree-stick and would cry out in glee when they were done. He roamed the place picking up dead wood, for some reason. He continued to exchange his berries for our meat and we continued to have no use for the berries. When he saw that we let them die, he stopped giving us berries. Instead he broke up the dead wood into small, similar shapes and made a particular dent in them. They all looked the same and, when he began exchanging these instead, we were ever more confused. They seemed even more useless than the berries, although they didn't rot and die. They were already rotten and dead.
One day, It-Grey started coming back with all of the dead wood he'd taken. He worked and grew tired but eventually came up with something of a cave in our home. It was shaped more like It's sharp, dark objects than our caves that looked like they were from where they were from. This cave looked unusual in its place, as nothing around it looked the same. It unsettled we, but it was the only of its kind and so we didn't worry for long.
Grey eventually destroyed the cave he had taken from It, as his new one was more powerful against the sky and didn't dance in the wind. On one terrible night I made attempt to go into it, but Grey stopped me. I came back later but he stopped me again. Eventually I realised why he was stopping me. I took a jaw full of his small wooden shapes and offered them to him, he let me in. As I grew tired and before sleep took me, I wondered why he wanted them. He'd given them to we at first, why did he need them back before allowing me shelter? Why not simply exchange the shelter for the food we gave him? I slept on the ground where Grey slept higher on an object that looked better to sleep in. For the first time since he'd changed, I felt like Grey was my master, even though I was always the master of the pack before.
When I awoke the cave was without Grey. I emerged and found him to be attacking a tree with an object not unlike the one that rendered him wounded when he was still like we. But it was bigger. Eventually the tree fell with a terrible sound that hit all the other trees, and hit the ground like it was beaten.
Even though he had won, Grey continued to attack the dead tree with the object, ferociously, until it was in bits. He then picked up these bits and took them to a place where there were many more, piled.
He spent many more days building smaller caves that looked like his. Eventually the place was over-run with caves and it didn't look like our home any more.
When he'd finished, he walked away. He was gone many days and we slept in his new caves. Eventually things seemed back to normal, we'd forgotten about Grey and although our land didn't look the same, it felt like it did before. We played, fought and hunted like before. It was good.
Then one day, he returned. His approach was felt long before he appeared and, when he did, he was carrying something big. As he drew closer I saw that it was another like he, but fairer and with more complicated coating on its body and head. It seemed asleep and I spied a large wound on its head. Grey took it into his big cave and that night he did not let me sleep in there with him.
The next day Grey roamed his collection of caves, when he found several of our kind dwelling in them he turned angry. He roared and waved his limbs and made we leave.
When we regrouped at the edge of his land which was ours, we thought to attack, but he took out a giant object and struck one so hard and fierce that it could only howl once before it fell to the ground and died.
We all howled in terror, and Grey roared at we again, waving the object. He was warning us of our punishment were we to ever try to use his land again. So we retreated.
On our walk we told of our sadness for the dead. He never fought with Grey in either of his lives. We snarled and fought as we looked for a new home; for the stress was making we do so. Our place was our home before any of we came into living. Now it was Grey's place only.
One day we came upon the old, tree-coloured thing that It escaped upon. It was pressed deep into a big tree and its shape was ruined. We sniffed and prowled around it, interested. Eventually within we saw It. He was unmoving and the flies were also interested. Dead from meeting the tree too fast. He proved a decent meal for our troubled journey.
No new place was good. Our search was not good, and we none felt good. It had been a long journey and we were sick and dying. Angered, I decided to tell that we should go back to Grey's land and take it. It had always been ours, and Grey was never the master. Why should his new form make him so? We had fought and killed others that were not like we, and we should be able to do again. With remade energies, we made for home, and the fight.
When we arrived little was different from before. Grey's caves still stood in place of our trees. We waited by the edge of the place, stood for the fight. Grey appeared.
He stood taller, prouder than we last saw him. His coat was no longer loose and dull, it fit against him well and made him seem entirely the same as It, who dwelled before.
He seemed pleased to see we. That caused worry, but we did not delay. Our charge was all fury and teeth, and we were on him in no time. Grey swiped and kicked and did pacify one or two, but the battle was ours. His go at reaching the big objects was useless, and we soon tasted his blood, which was no longer ours.
As we bit and scratched, several grew startled and stood firm. A sound filled up the place and disrupted the fight, and a number of the large tree-coloured objects swarmed in. We scattered.
More like It and It-Grey appeared, all pointing dark sticks. As they pointed, we began to die - one by one - some tried to hide but the sticks still managed to make them die, despite their distance.
Only I still stood. The other Its were reaching for Grey and making alarmed noises. Grey seemed unsure but passive and eventually happy as they took him away from us.
Presumably back to their civilisation.When we arrived little was different from before. Grey's caves still stood in place of our trees. We waited by the edge of the place, stood for the fight. Grey appeared.
He stood taller, prouder than we last saw him. His coat was no longer loose and dull, it fit against him well and made him seem entirely the same as It, who dwelled before.
He seemed pleased to see we. That caused worry, but we did not delay. Our charge was all fury and teeth, and we were on him in no time. Grey swiped and kicked and did pacify one or two, but the battle was ours. His go at reaching the big objects was useless, and we soon tasted his blood, which was no longer ours.
Then he made a very terrible noise, and folded in on himself. Then he uncurled and the force knocked we all away from him. Not deterred for long, we crept back. But as we did, he began to show more pain alone than we could ever inflict. Just like before he shook and bent and cried, and then he was like we again. Cowered on the ground, looking with sorry eyes. His tail, back. His coat, back. No longer a master.
As we continued to close in on the traitor he looked around him; at his caves, at us. He did not know what to do with his former dominion now.
