String-of-Pearls Arroyo

Wandering west from the Triad, the Ryuzoku dragons you met still fresh in your mind, it's no small wonder that Sukira is the protector of these mountains - and it makes you wonder just how many amazing and powerful creatures frequent this area. You've already seen a wing of dragons, some peaceful, others crazed and bloodthirsty, and an entire pack of che'rani, creatures that could easily fell a man. What else could possibly inhabit the Chakaani?

The path curls into the shadow of the Triad after a moment, the Riversource high above and behind you, and you spot a small oasis of white and green among the dark stone. Curving through the middle of it is a small arroyo, a dried up and ice-covered ravine no more than three feet deep, that appears to have been a former drainoff for the Riversource. Along the arroyo are small pools of snow, and it gives it the look of a string of pearls. Aboveground, flowers and grasses sprout in patches of green, and where there's enough space bushes grow, including a pair of shrubs laden with berries, in spite of the chill climate.

Sunning itself in one of the green patches is a flame-red creature, apparently male, his large paws, neck and underside of his tail a warm orange. He seems mostly a rabbitlike creature, with long ears and a thick coat of snow-proof fur. Green eyes watch you with a lazy smile, and he flicks his beringed ear.
"Well, hello there, huma," he grins and gets to his feet slowly - it's only now that you notice that whatever this creature is, he's an older specimen, still in his prime but far from a youngling. "Welcome to the arroyo - I'm Claydreamer, the eldest here, and with Flamegiver and Battlefield, the protector of the arroyo Denn. You're lucky - kartyn'dyrysose are a fairly friendly bunch."
"Kartry'dryosy-wha?" you blink, stumbling over the complicated words. Claydreamer smirks.
"K'd for short. Helps your poor huma tongue, ne?"

"Oi CD," comes a voice from the left as a grey form jumps powerfully out of the arroyo and onto the snow, "who're you talking to this time?"

Another male, it seems, but smaller-built, a little younger and storm-grey in colour; where Claydreamer's ears are sleek, this one's are floppy and seem to curl upward at the tips. His neck and the underside of his long almost doglike tail are white, his eyes dark green, and on his cheek is a mark like a flame.
"Ah, Flame," Claydreamer smiles, flicking his ear again. "Just a traveler, fresh from Sukira, I think. Came from that way."
"Smells like him," the newcomer confirms, looking you over. "Battle isn't going to like this."
"Battle doesn't like strangers anyway, says they scare Jinx."
"The last one certainly proved him right." The grey male looks to you. "I'm Flamegiver, nice to meet you. Can you behave?" You nodnod, confused, but Flamegiver looks serious. "Battle'll hurt you if you scare her, so you know." He looks over his shoulder towards the arroyo. "It's okay, Jinx!"

A flurry of wings and a graceful jump, and a third k'd emerges from the arroyo, her tiny ears pinned back and her head low. This one is definately a female, with much fluffier fur than CD or Flame, and is mostly white with black paws and streaks here and there in her fur. A pair of tiny but obviously flight-capable wings, feathered and tinged blue and black, are folded neatly at her shoulders as she comes to sit near Flame. Her entire attitude is one of submission and fear, as if she expects cruel taunts and jibes from the pair of males and yourself, or that she could be driven away at any moment.
"Say hello, Jinx," CD encourages. The female looks at him with the biggest, most beautiful blue eyes you've ever seen, then turns that frightened gaze to you.
"....hello.... I... I'm Jinxbearer."
"There you go, Jinx," says Flame, smiling. "You're getting better."
From the look on her face, one would think she'd never been praised before. "I.... I am?"
"Definately!" calls another voice as yet another k'd emerges from the arroyo, a grin on his face.

Another male, it seems, and while he's bigger in stature than CD or Flame, there's something about this male that says he's not a fighter. He appears at first glance to be white, but along his back, flanks and the top of his tail are pale grey dapples and curls like mist eddying in the wind. His ears are floppy like Flame's, though with less of a curl to them, and his fur as fluffy as Jinx's. He bounds over to Jinx and grins at her, then up at you.
"Hey, there, traveler - I'm Mistchaser!" A bigger grin, and a waggle of his tail. "What's your name?"
"Umm..." you blink, looking down at the enthusiastic k'd, before stumbling over your name and realm of origin. Mistchaser nods, eyes wide.
"I've never heard of that realm... is it nice there?"
"Um... yes?...."
"Ignore him," comes a new voice from a side, decidedly female. "He's just like a kitten, chasing snowflakes and pretending he's a realm-wanderer."

"Oh, right, like you were any different when you were a kitten, Coyote?" Mistchaser sticks his tongue out at the form of a female, sitting in the shade of the bush and seemingly watching for danger. This female is brown with black and white markings, almost like a gazelle, but not much else of her is visible, as she has her back to you.
"At least I played to sharpen my skills," she shoots back, flicking a short ear in Mistchaser's direction. "You played because you had nothing better to do."
"Hey!!"
"That's Coyotedodger," CD informs you, hiding a smirk. "The resident scout and most agile k'd in the Denn. She's lived up to her name - she's as useful as Battlefield in protecting the arroyo."
"And don't you forget it," the female grins, finally looking at you over one shoulder with a glimmer of mischief in her eye. "I can outrun, outdodge and outwit just about anything!"

"But leave the fighting to me."

The k'd that emerges from the arroyo is the largest yet, a powerful male with a thick brown-black coat fading into chocolate and crimson on his legs. White marks the underside of his tail as well as his chest and leaves trails like tearmarks on his eyes. Double studs mark the edges of his ears, simple earrings but somehow conveying more than CD's single earring does; this male is obviously a protector or warrior of some sort.
"Battlefield," Flamegiver nods, bowing somewhat.
"Flamegiver, CD. Mist, Coyote. Jinx." The male moves over to the winged female and licks her forehead affectionately, which seems to relieve her of some of her anxiety. "I see we have a visitor - traveler, I assume?"
"Fresh from Sukira's!" says Mistchaser, grinning. Battlefield looks you over.
"I suppose they're allowed. As long as they make no trouble here."
"Aw, c'mon, Battle," squeaks a young female voice as another form darts from the arroyo, "nobody ever harms the Denn!"

"Lighten up," she squeals, coming in on the other side of Jinx to rub the female like a sister, "life is too short to spend it in fear and suspicion! Kick your heels up, play in the rain, have fun and live fearlessly!"

The female that advises this carefree way of life is obviously the youngest of the arroyo band; fluffy white with brown patches all over her, she looks like she played in the mud when she was young and the stains remeained in her fur. Her happy-go-lucky attitude is infectious, however, and with now this female and Battlefield nearby, even Jinx seems to hold her head a little higher.
"And lastly, Mudsplatterer," CD smirks to you. "You can see how she got her name - quite friendly and trusting. She and Battle are Jinx's best friends, strangely enough..."

From the arroyo Denn emerges a golden form, a quiet, shy male at least the size of Battlefield. A gentle giant, then. His fur is deep gold, streaked with white and ruddy orange, with a fluffy tail and, oddly, dark gold feathers growing from the tips of his long ears. In one ear is a red-tipped gold feather dangling from a silver earring, probably a mark of rank of some sort, as the only other k'd in the arroyo with earrings are Battlefield and CD. Big blue-green eyes look you over appraisingly as he slips up next to the timid Jinxbearer.
"Don't worry," he says in a soothing voice to the smaller female, nudging her, "the traveler means none of us harm."
"...you sure?" says Jinx, looking to him and Battlefield for reassurance. The golden male nods.
"I see peace and curiosity, and a little confusion, but no ill intent."
"That settles it," Battlefield says, smiling for Jinx. "Golden's never wrong."
"That's Goldensoul," CD says for your benefit, "the arroyo's Seer."
"Seer? Like an oracle?"
"Sort of. Golden can see and sense auras, and interpret them, almost without fail. He hasn't had any training in it, but his raw power is enough to keep the arroyo safe, at least."

Name	Claydreamer	Flamegiver	Jinxbearer
Gender	Buck	Buck	Doe
Sire	Wild	Boltbraver	Wild
Dam	Wild	Tearchaser	Wild
Mate	None	None	None
Birth Denn	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Current Denn	None	None	None
Notes	Eldest k'd in the arroyo Denn	Best scent-tracker	Abandoned by her own kind; raised believing that she was cursed and bad luck to other K'd; called SsaviRevisii by birth Denn K'd, meaning Sky Brother's Daughter
Type	Kartyn'dyrysose
Name	Mistchaser	Coyotedodger	Battlefield
Gender	Buck	Doe	Buck
Sire	Wild	Wild	Wild
Dam	Wild	Wild	Wild
Mate	None	None	None
Birth Denn	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Current Denn	None	None	None
Notes			Lost his Denn to Runner attack; was sole survivor, now a Warrior
Type	Kartyn'dyrysose
Name	Mudsplatterer	Goldensoul	Breezeleaper
Gender	Doe	Buck	Doe
Sire	Wild	Wild	Wild
Dam	Wild	Wild	Wild
Mate	None	None	None
Birth Denn	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Current Denn	None	None	None
Notes		Rare feathered-ear mutation; Intermediate-strength Seer, can see & sense auras; empathic; with training, could be almost able to read minds	Paw-wings mutation
Type	Kartyn'dyrysose