The ground is a little marshy underfoot here and The trees, though tall are less dense. The scent of damp leaf mould and lake water saturated the air. The soft ground is dotted with a mixture of hooved and pawed prints where the bare earth is exposed, the rest is masked in fallen leaves.
Ahead, Through the trees, you can see a little bit of open sky and a great mound of jagged black stone.

A frenzied barking comes from the left of this path and you turn to look that way. A rabbit shoots out of the underbrush followed by a streak of fiery red and white. It pulls up as it sees you, the rabbit forgotten.
"Hullo" He pants, shaking his brilliantly hued mane out of his eyes and retracting his running claws. Seeing you glance in the direction of the rabbits departure he shrugs.

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't that hungry anyway." He gives you a canine/feline grin.
"I'm Yaan^ki but everyone calls me Apollo. I'm a dasorot, my kind generally live in the realm of the Silver One but I chose to live here. Dasorots are a mixture of horse, cat and dog. Our cousins, the Dagaroo's have a strong streak of kangaroo. There is a small band of 'native' Dasorots here too, their ancestors were brought to the Tir by Allanon over a century ago but they are very shy. I doubt you'll see any of them..."

There is a faint yowl and a brief, shrill, squeal from your right and the dasorat beside you grins. "Or maybe you will..."

A golden shape leaps through the foliage, white mane floating like a banner. This dasorot is more feline than Apollo and much more lanky. Her face is feline and, dangling from her mouth, she carries the still form of the rabbit.
"You flushed our a good fat once 'pollo.. Oh!" She notices you and bobs her head, the rabbit swaying from her jaws.
She drops the rabbit by her feet to speak. "Hullo: So you're the reason Apollo stopped. I'm Kukiti."

Apollo grins "She's a Tir born Dasorot and 'prolly the only one your likely to meet on your own!"

Kukiti mock-cuffs Apollo. "You shouldn't say such things, even if they are true."
She turns to you. "Despite the safety of the Tir most of my kin... in fact all of my kin, bar myself, are extremely uneasy about strangers." She tosses her head lightly. "Allanon rescued a small group of Dasorot, our ancestors, long, long ago. Before the plague that devastated the population living in the land of the Silver One. We have been cut off from the outside world by Allanon's shield for generations but the memories remain, we were hunted back then and perhaps we will be again..." She trails off sadly

"How's Tirtara, while I remember?" Apollo asks, changing the subject.

Kukiti's whiskers sweep up into a smile once more. "As healthy as ever. She says the lake water level indicates a good hunting season to come and that the waters are teeming if you want fish." She turns to you. "Tiru is my half sister. She's... a little different from us. We could try to visit her if you like. Otherwise I'm off to eat my supper before it gets too cold."
Apollo eyes the rabbit.

"I might go cadge some fish from Tirutara, there isn't enough meat on a rabbit to satisfy two Dasorot."He tail wags fairwell to you and trots off towards the black rocks. The only other way is back into the forest, following the stream.

Apollo is (c) to Talonshawk and Kukiti is MINE do not steal either Tks.