||Loknoek|| The first step

Read this beforehand!
Alright, this is a story about a race of tribal lizard people who live on a reptilian planet. The creatures/world was not my original idea so you may not be able to understand it fully because it was based on a game in development called Reptilian that never made it past the concept stages. If you want to dig up some of the information, you're welcome to look "Loknoek" up on google. The first thing that pops up should bring you to my story on the website.
Don't bother joining or anything. The site is dead.
So anyway, in my story the main characters who are lizard people, or 'sauruses,' are only adolescents right now. They aren't mature adults, as you'll be able to tell xp

Also, I'm unhappy with a few of the last paragraphs. I'll change that someday.
So...enjoy chapter one of this I guess?




"Get down here Loknoek before we tell the adults!" Came the angry yawpings of his fellow tribe younglings. Loknoek looked down at them coolly through the dark branches of the enormous tree, whose leaves halfway covered the area where he was perched, hiding him. "Why don't you make me?" The saurus taunted loftily in the most harassing tone he could muster, as he waggled his long tail mockingly through the air. Loknoek already grasped the knowledge a long time ago that all of them were all brawn and no bite. He knew that he would be perfectly free to stay up here for as long as he liked. His baiting seemed to work since the olive-colored Thornac, who had been his rival ever since he could remember, was so maddened to the point of stamping his feet with jaws agape like a sick crocodilus. Well, Loknoek couldn't actually see him from where he was positioned, but he knew that was what he was doing. "Condemn you, Loknoek!" He roared up to him, throwing to the ground a wooden pole that he had been carrying. "You're gonna get us all in trouble! We're not supposed to be here you jerk!"

Loknoek simply changed position on the hefty branch that was serving him as a platform and layed on his belly with his arms lazily hanging down while his back legs resided in the air. "Got a problem with it?" He replied sassily as a sea of complaints flew up at him. So what if he made them angry. Loknoek considered himself more of the solitary type anyway, and since he had never gotten along with his peers from the beginning he felt he had no reason to endear himself to them now. "Besides," he spoke louder, "You lot look like gaggle of cross-eyed fools just standing there. Come up here yourself if ya want me to come down!" Smirking, Loknoek closed his eyes and ignored them. The only reason the other youths wanted him down was because they would reproached by the adults if they left him out where they weren't supposed to have been in the first place. Rustle. Loknoek glanced down and wasn't surprised when he noticed Thornac had started making his way into the lower branches of the tree. That soft-heart was simple and took every chance he got to get into a fight with him. Just let him come! He thought and closed his eyes again.

Despite pretending not to pay attention to the olive-colored saurus climbing after him, Loknoek listened very carefully for his approach. He reluctantly admitted that Thornac was probably a lot stronger than him, and he certainly didn't want to be caught unawares by his rival. Thornac had a broad build, a pointy, wedge-shaped snout, and interesting charcoal-colored smudges down his skin, and while Loknoek was lanky, his coloring easily outdid Thornac's with his crisp white body and vivid purple stripes. Not to mention, he had a lovely crest of feathers and a smear of black on his chin. Yes, he was certainly one fine-looking saurus, and cordially brought this up. Loknoek's blue eyes snapped open as soon as he heard the leaves rustling only a few branches away and the scraping of Thornac's quick ascension. No way! He was this far up the tree already? A little alarmed by this, Loknoek rose to his feet earlier than he intended. "Good day, my awful fellow!" He said with a mock bow and saw Thornac's glare.

Hastily he grabbed onto the next branch and rose higher into the mass of thick limbs in order to get away from his pursuer. Thornac determinedly climbed on, and he knew that he wouldn't give up the chase until he caught him. Loknoek stopped climbing and crouched on one of the higher, thinner branches which swayed a bit under his weight. He recognized the danger and made sure one hand grasped a different branch to balance himself. Thornac was still beneath him, but continued at a rapid pace and would overcome the distance in no time. "Hey, you're good at climbing." He chimed. "I've never seen you climb before. Is it talent, or did you train to do it?" He waited, but that tailbiter was ignoring him! "I don't suppose you have anything else to do with your spare time, right?" He continued. "After all, you're just so perfect at everything aren't you?" Thornac answered him this time, only a branch below him now. "Shut up!" He growled. "I can't believe I have to do this! You better get down because I'm about two seconds away from tearing you a new one!" Loknoek reckoned he was rather serious about it this time. He was not exactly in the best solution, but he was positive he would be able worm his way out of this. He always did.

"Alright Alrigh-" His speech was cut off as a horn wailed through the air, loud and deep, and then it sounded again after what felt like an hour-long pause. It was enough to make Loknoek freeze as a shiver coursed up his backbone, and he felt unusually scared. The two young sauruses stopped their bickering and looked at one another nervously as the entire forest went quiet. Loknoek had heard this sound many times before, and each time he did it had brought havoc to their tribe. It was the signal for danger and each youngling had been taught to fear it. "Lets go!" Thornac cried and descended recklessly onto the limbs below. Loknoek barely understood him and wavered dumbfounded for a moment, before he immediately followed the other saurus, forgetting their strife from before. He felt the leafy twigs snap under him as he made his way down. As he neared the bottom he painfully slipped and fell onto another branch, so he decided to jump the rest of the way and landed clumsily on the dirt. The rest of the troop were still dutiful enough to hang around to wait for him but he could tell they were also extremely agitated and uneasy. "We need to get back to the tribe, come on!" Snapped a dark copper female beside him and signaled everyone to follow her lead. No one had to be told twice.

Catching a glimpse of Thornac making his way into the bunch, Loknoek did the same as each of the trainees ran at the quickest pace they each could manage and weaved their way through the looming trees in a rush to get back to the village. The territory was marshy, thick with clumps of tall grasses and bushes. Loknoek, despite having almost mastered his way around the terrain, was forced to venture into ankle-deep water which contained the type of mud that liked to suction around his feet. Despite this, he was one of the fastest out of the troop and easily sped up to be at the front, but the village was still a good ten minutes away. By the time Loknoek arrived he was the first one to see it burning. It was actually on fire, right in front of his eyes. Smoke drifted menacingly through the trees while the flame cast an orange glow on its surroundings. Loknoek stood as motionless as stone, too memorized by the dancing flames hungrily swallowing all the huts and tents that it could find and the screaming from the villagers fleeing and barking orders through the chaotic event. "Mom!" He called out, suddenly spotting her form. He ran to her as fast as the wind and grasped her around the middle. "Mom what's happening?!"

"Loknoek, I'm glad you're safe!" She cried while Loknoek allowed her to hold on to him and steer him away from the fire. "All the children were gone, so we didn't know what to do when the Pteronix dropped fire on us!" She had white hide, but unlike him there were no stripes to be seen. Loknoek probably inherited her graceful build, he noticed, as she lifted her elegant head vigilantly like a sentinel, looking out for anything that might hurt her young. After a moment she relaxed her tense muscles and leaned down to him. "Listen, I want you to stay here and not get close to the fire. I'm going back to fetch some things but I'll be back...Got that?" Loknoek nodded to show he understood, and in a flash his mother sped back between the burning homes that had been standing for years. Alone now and standing anxiously in the tall, dark grass, he shuffled his feet and waited for her to return. He could see sauruses running around everywhere, attempting to save their huts or gather up their families. When was mom coming back? He thought, running a few scenarios through his head about what could happen to her in the commotion. Then again, it had only been a minute since she left him. Before Loknoek could get too absorbed in his thoughts something abruptly collided with him from behind and he was buffeted to the ground.

"Watch it!" He snarled, getting to his feet after the impact. Laying on the grass, another young trainee had fallen and was also standing up. "Sorry!" She said briskly and sprinted off without another word. Loknoek frowned and looked back to the fire engulfing the village. It was strange, he thought, as he watched his home being destroyed without feeling anything. However, he did know that he couldn't just stand around like a lost calf. Loknoek started to pace around the perimeter of the village, back to where the giant trees started, and suddenly he saw the group of full warriors huddled around. "Chief Tonakin has collapsed!" One called, signaling a few others over. He blinked in surprise and attempted to get a better look over the tall adults. His tribe had a simple hierarchy with the leader, Tonakin, an elderly brown-hided saurus in charge over the children and adults to make sure everyone didn't go into complete chaos. Loknoek wasn't too chummy with Tonakin, but he, like everyone else, knew his old smile and his mild nature that somehow seemed to make everyone more tolerant of each other.