The Twilight is not kind to the careless.
Deep in the shadows, a creature is running. It is small, very small, dwarfed even by a human child. If it has a name, it does not know it. If it has family, it has not met them. What it does know is that it is not safe. Though it dare not look, it can hear them. Leaves, twigs and earth cracking under the steps of a great beast, or perhaps several. Whether it is gaining or losing, the creature does not know, but it does know where to go.
Scrambling up a nearby branch, it climbs. It climbs and climbs until it has reached the top of the clouds. Still it hears cracking and snapping from below; the hunt is not over yet. Below the creature is a sea, though not of water, but of tree and shade.
But every ocean has its islands. From its lookout, the creature spies its destination. Not far away, a gap in the trees, the shadow, all of it. It leaps from the tree, grabbing the topmost branch of the next. A piece snaps and falls to the ground. The noise below picked up into a fervor.
It leaps. And as it does, the tree falls away. But it is not over yet. Soon all the trees were shaking. But the light was close. Bounding from branch to branch, the creature grew more and more anxious. It would not die here. Not so close. It was certain. It leaped again, grabbing a branch, but a sudden jolt knocked it free, and soon it was tumbling down to the ground below. It hit the ground with a dull thud. It was small, and the ground was soft; there was no injury. Yet. But it heard the growls. It was surrounded. It had perhaps a few moments while they fought over who would get to eat first. It closed its eye, trembling in fear.
Suddenly, it felt... warm? The growling stopped, replaced by whimpers and scrambled stomps in all directions. It opened its eye and looked around. The area had lit up. A strange glowing orb drifted through the air lazily above it.
It had been lucky today. It would need to be more careful tomorrow.
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Equinox surveyed the Twilight. It was impressive, yes. Yes...
But something was missing.