There was nothing to hear after the audience quieted down, except for the mild swish of Rod Otter's pants as he walked with a dignified gait across the stage. He turned to them with one paw rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "There are rules and there are stories, about what it means to be an otter. A few basic ones you know. First, if something isn't fun, an otter will not do it. No otter can be expected to make sense at any given moment. Not an otter in the world can be in two places at once. Everyone of them will *try* to be that way though. Lastly, any otter can confuse any non-otter with their playfulness." Rod looked out at the audience and grinned.
They looked at one another with confused faces. They had not expected to hear about otter rules, not one wee bit!
"The world you will enter tonight, is based on The Rules of Otter. Nothing is what it looks like at first. Everything follows the rules... Or not." :)
Rod Otter waved his paw and backed into the shadows of the stage as his voice became darker and darker.
--------------------
Up out of the water shot an otter, black as night with a sprinkling of stars in his fur. His eyes were deeper than the darkest black hole. His claws like steel scritched into the rock, leaving parallel groves when only touching mortal soil. Any that saw him would know for whom it was he had come. He had many names. People knew him as Death. Bunnies told stories about the Black Rabbit. Otters knew him for who he truly was: The Twilight Otter.
Below him on the shore, one animal looked up to him with grey muzzle and overcast eyes. Instinct told him that he could not run. Instinct told him who it was. He shivered within his very heart.
"I have come for you, Minnow," The Twilight Otter spoke with a voice like a soft churr.
Minnow was already lying upon the shore where he was. "I know, Twilight Otter. I know."
"Then come... to Brinewater."
"Must I?" Minnow asked, "I went to the ocean before... the salt stings my eyes and makes crusts on my fur, and the fish are all poisoned with it too... let me stay in the river, I promise not to cause any trouble."
"No," the ebony-furred messenger of death replied.
Minnow cringed back. "What if --"
"No," The Twilight Otter replied, and swiped lightly at the old otter's face with a paw. A hiss and a sigh, and it was over.
The black otter dove back into the river and swam down and down until the sun was but a rippling phantom and the water was a twilight haze. He dropped Minnow off in the queue that swam slowly downwards, towards the sunless, briny depths. Then he was off again.
The young otter rolled and frolicked on the shore of the stream, unaware that the fish he'd just shared with his mate of the day was poisoned with dioxins and heavy metals... but The Twilight Otter knew.
The couple tried to run as he burst from the water, but he reached out and with a gentle motion had them both by the tail. "So it's over -- it's over already?" the young otter asked.
The black otter nodded.
"So where do we go next?"
"To Brinewater, the sunless lands, where you will rest with the others until the end of time."
Rodger nodded, knowing that his time was up and left with the black otter, also knowing that his beloved would be left behind, for she had not consumed enough of the toxin to kill her, but would no doubt give her pains for the next several months.
The Twilight Otter had finished with the rounds of the day, so he swam through the ether towards his den to relax for a bit before starting another round.
Greyfur came out of his burrow, his joints stiff from the cool night.
His name came from his grey whiskers, and touches of grey fur in front of his ears and at the tip of his nose,
He looked at the bright sun, and lied upon a warm rock, hoping it's warmth would make his sore paws feel a bit better.
Greyfur was a bit sad; ever since his mate Goldentufts has been taken by the Twilight Otter he had been alone.
He missed her greatly, and knew that soon, he would join her in the deep Brinewater.
He had lived a long happy life, and knew that his was close to it's end. He knew that any time now, the Twilight Otter would come for him, and take him to again be with Goldentufts, where they could be together forever.
He creakily moved towards to the creek, hoping to make an easy catch of his breakfast, and perhaps take a nice morning nap.
He reached the bank, and saw a large fish, moving slowly through the water. With a quick motion, he reached out and grasped it, finding breakfast was as easy as he had hoped.
As he munched the fish, he saw a rippling of the water, and a dark shape glided up in front of him out of the water.
Greyfur dropped the fish, knowing that now was his time. "Greetings Twilight Otter, I am ready to go."
The Twilight Otter shook his head, "No Greyfur, it is not yet your time. You are not yet destined for the Brinewater. Before you go and find peace and become reunited with Goldentufts, there is one last thing you must do,"
Greyfur looks at the reaper, a little confused. "If I'm not going to die, then why are you here?"
"You are already dead," The Twilight Otter replied, and it was true.
They spun through an endless blue underwater twilight, and Greyfur's paws were empty of his half-eaten fish. "But I will not send you to rest yet. You want to go to Brinewater, so I think I can trust you."
Greyfur nodded, and swam in a little circle around the other. He was young again, as young and strong as he always was in his dreams. "So you need my help? I suppose... I suppose Goldentufts can wait for another day or two." *sigh*
"Then listen to the task I set you," the black otter replied, floating as still as a piece of driftwood as Greyfur cavorted around him. "It is your destiny to die, to rest in peace, but you find no joy in it. You argue, and bargain, and struggle, and I can do nothing but drag you down, screaming in anger or whimpering in fear. I will give you the run of my lands, and the lands I can reach, if you will watch, and look, and search, and tell me *why*."
"You don't -- you don't know?"
"I do not," the black otter replied.
"Then... I'll find out for you," Grayfur replied, and swam off into the ether.
Greyfur swam through the darkened ethereal mist. The order was a tall one . . . especially since it was his understanding that The Twilight Otter, AKA Death, knew what death was. His desire to be with his Love became the driving force in his existence. 'Where to start? Explain Death to Death himself?'
How did one go about that? Grey 'tufts' pondered it heavily as he touched down in a misted land. The ground beneath his feet felt sodden and gave way beneath his toes. New sounds filtered through the fog as he padded quietly on his way, and soon he came upon an otter, groveling upon the ground in fear.
"What is wrong? Why are you on the ground? You should be happy. This is a a place where there is no pain, no suffering . . . . you should be happy."
"How can I be happy?" the otter whimpered, staring up at him beseechingly. "I don't belong here! I want to be alive! I wasn't old! WHY ME?"
Greyfur blinked and dropped to his haunches. "But . . . but . . . you should find peace and contentment here."
The otter before him glanced about furtively. "Is-is he here?"
Greyfur blinked. "Who?"
"The dog! The damned dog that brought The Twilight Otter after me!" The otter whimpered and tried to slip into the shadows, but there was nowhere to run.
Greyfur shook his head slowly. "This is not a dog place. He would not be here."
The otter glanced about. "How do I know YOU weren't followed and it won't come after me again?"
Greyfur shook his head. "It will not. Why do you bemoan your being here?"
The otter backed away. "You know! You know!" And vanished into the mists.
Greyfur sighed. He was no closer than before. Yet, a clue was there and he catalogued it in his mind for later on.
Drifting through the mist, Greyfur followed the hints of otters, always asking the same thing. "What do you fear being here? Why are you alone? Are you not happy here?" The answers were always the same: Fear of The Twilight Otter... The dog, the gun, the trap, or the poisoned fish. All were the same. "You know! You know!" was like a chant heard in the night, just a drift of fog in the mist.
Greyfur despaired. He had now been on his quest for years. Goldentufts was always being pulled forward in his mind. He needed to find the aswser. "How do you explain death to the deathless? What needs does The Twilight Otter find?"
"You seem very frustrated, my friend."
Greyfur turned around and looked into the mist. An otter came out of the mist. There was a smile on his face, with a brightness in his eyes.
"Who are you?" Greyfur looked at the stranger. He looked old, unlike so many other otters. They all looked young... Forever young.
The old one laughed, his muzzle dropping open and showing old, worn teeth. "You should know me, Greyfur. All otters should know me."
Greyfur blinked. "Father?"
The old one laughed again. "Yes, son. What are you so frustrated about?"
Greyfur stepped forward. "The Twilight Otter wants me to explain Death to him. He does not understand, nor do I."
The old one held out his paw, then opened it to Greyfur. "There are only two kinds of otters, Greyfur. Your answer is there. Live playful ones and dead still ones. You know the rules as well as I do. You know."
Greyfur sat down and blinked. The old one faded into the mist and was gone in the twinkle of an eye. He knew.
Greyfur was happy now, almost whistling. The otters he passed, those who were moaning and lamenting their fate looked at him strangely as he walked by.
He went quickly along the worn path, worn down by countless otters passing here through the ages, knowing now the answer, the reason that otters were so unhappy here, why death was so strange and such a burden to them. Death wasn't a repast, a lifting of burdens, it was a struggle, a fight. Here, Otters were expected to be cold, and still, quiet and submissive..
Now he knew, he knew what made them sad, and why it was so hard for an otter to be here.
Greyfur walked quickly to the top of the fog-shrouded hill, to the circle of stones there.
He stood in it's center, a smile on his face, knowing the answer. He waited, knowing soon he would be with Goldentufts, and took a deep breath.
He opened his mouth and shouted, "Twilight Otter, come to me... I have your answer!"
As he spoke, the stones began to glow, and a column of swirling water carried him up out of the sunless lands, to the blue twilight realm where the black-furred otter awaited.
"So," The Twilight Otter spoke as Greyfur floated in front of him, "You are back. I admit this with a certain amount of surprise. I expected you to take off, as the others did... Truly I rule a feckless bunch."
"Do you want to know why we fear death?" Graeyfur asked. "You won't like it."
"I must know."
"It's because of you, Twilight. You drag us down and chain us to rest in peace... is it any wonder we hold onto our life and our freedom to the last -- to the last breath? You rule us, and we should not be ruled."
The Twilight Otter was silent for many minutes, but Greyfur swam around him and in front of him and above him and below him, waiting as patiently as he could for an answer. Finally, the black otter spoke.
"Thank you for your service," he said, "Now it is your turn to rest in peace." And he reached out to take Greyfur... but Greyfur was gone with an echoing laugh!
Darkness followed Greyfur. He dove down into shadows. 'It' followed, gaining on him. He darted to the left. It followed him. Greyfur laughed again. The Twilight Otter didn't understand. How could he? All people had death.
He made a plunge upwards to the sun; his body paled in the light, so that he was only a ghostly shape. The darkness followed him, catching up with him as his paws came to rest on the water, standing where no otter should be able to stand. The ebony-furred, star-glinting, otter joined him on the water.
"You must come with me now. I am The Twilight Otter, Greyfur." The reaper looked upon Grayfur. "I rule you. That is the way that it is. That is the way it is for all creatures. Each have their own form of death. It is. That is. That is."
Greyfur did not move. He had answered The Twilight Otter as best he could. He so wanted to see Goldentufts. "I am ready, Twilight Otter. I have told you what needed to be told. You come for us when it is our time, to take us from where we are free... to be ruled by you. There should be no rule."
The Twilight Otter reached for Greyfur as he settled on the waters, now waiting.
There was a frightened gasp from next to them as a young otter came to the surface of the water next to him. In her eyes was fear. "It is too soon. It can't be my time!"
Greyfur looked at The Twilight Otter, "You asked why they fear you, why they fear death, ask this one, ask her why she fears you."
The Twilight Otter nodded, and looked to the small Otter, "You are in pain, are you not? Your stomach cramps, your legs are weak, you have trouble swimming. Do you not wish the rest and reprieve of death, a cessation of the pain of life, and eternal rest?"
The small female otter, still fearful, but defiant, replied, "I am in pain, and I hurt so badly sometimes ...I do wish I were dead. But Death is nothingness, no life, no love, no pleasure, Nothing. Just being still, cold, resting forever. I would rather endure my failings and pain, and have them tempered by the joy and pleasure of warm sun, sweet water, and good friends, than to lose it all and be just a lump in a cold dark place.
The Twilight Otter nodded, "But death will bring your suffering to an end."
"Yes, it will," The small otter replied, "But at what cost? I will be told, forced into a life that I have never lived."
"The old ones tell of two places you can go after death, one a happy place, sunny warm, and friendly, another dark, cold and restraining, where you are so miserable that the loss of pain isn't even felt. How can I know to which place I will go?"
The small otter asked The Twilight Otter, "Is there a choice, can I choose by myself, or is it by my actions the cause to which place I go?"
"Two... places?" The Twilight Otter said softly, as Greyfur cringed.
"Yes, they speak of two... but if you are only the messenger of one, then the choice has already been made. Is it the happy place?" she looked to Grey 'tuft', who shook his head sadly. "Oh, no! Not... not Brinewater!..."
"There is no other place," The Twilight Otter said, "It is your destiny and your eternal reward. And I have talked too much! Death goes on while I explain what you do not need to know."
"Are you *sure* there's no other place, Twilight?" Greyfur asked, "While I roamed your realm, I saw someone happy, one otter that wasn't one of your subjects. Where was he from, do you think?"
"Whoever he is, I will hunt him down."
"Indeed. Although... you didn't even have the time to ask a simple question, until now." Greyfur grinned.
"Then you will go, Greyfur."
"My work for you is finished. I wish to see Goldentufts now, even if it is in your horrid realm. Send this little one here to find out what lets some otters escape their fate."
"Then take my paw, Greyfur," The Twilight Otter said, "if you wish to rest at last."
Greyfur plunged back down into the depths, to the world of The Twilight Otter: Brinewater Stream. He was ready now. After all this time, he was ready to see Goldentufts again.
He looked over at the dark shape of Twilight. "Why do we have to rest?"
"It is your reward for a good life, Greyfur. Soon you will be there... to rest."
The Twilight otter came to a sudden stop in the mist. He had not let go of Greyfur's paw, but held it tight in his grasp. He looked from side to side, sniffing the air with his dark nose. His dark eyes saw far and wide in the mist. His dark fur was nothing but a shadow in his own world.
He darted to the right, to an otter hiding under a bush. Greyfur brightened and leaped down to the ground next to the otter. "Goldentufts!"
The female otter looked up. "Run, Greyfur! They will come... the men will come here!"
Greyfur backed away from his onetime mate. There was only fear there now. She was at 'rest', re-living the last moments of her life... Forever.
The Twilight Otter turned. "I must go for others. There is your mate."
"Stop!" Greyfur grabbed at The Twilight Otter.
The Twilight Otter paused, "What is it Greyfur, have you not what you asked for, have I not fulfilled our bargain?"
"Yes, you have." Greyfur replied, "But our bargain was made before I knew about the other place. You rule us here, but otters were not meant to be ruled. As an eternal reward, this is wrong."
Greyfur took Goldentuft's shaking hand, "We will not remain here. You cannot rule us"
The Twilight Otter looked blankly at him, "You are questioning my authority. You feel you can do as you wish? You cannot, I am master here; you have no choice."
Greyfur said, "We have a choice, it was only that we didn't know we had one. We do not have to remain here, there IS that other place, where otters are not ruled, where they are free to enjoy happiness, without pain and sorrow."
The Twilight Otter smiled, "You may think there is, but you are wrong. There is no other place. THIS is where all otters go when they die."
Greyfur shook his head, "You are wrong, for I have travelled this place far and wide searching for your answer. I have seen many otters, some I knew, but I was old, and many others had died before me, and I have not seen many of them. There is another place, and they are there."
The Twilight Otter smiled, "Perhaps, but you shall never tell of it, Greyfur."
A shape appeared out of the mists, "You are wrong Twilight Otter," The shape said, "He shall..."
"You do not exist," The Twilight Otter said, closing his eyes and turning away. Meanwhile, Greyfur grabbed Goldentufts and dragged her off through the bushes, ignoring her delusional protests and ramblings. "I don't see you, and I'm not --"
"Run!" Greyfur said, pushing Goldentufts in front of him and dashing off across the chilly mud. But Goldentufts stumbled after a couple steps, still lost in her fears, and in any case The Twilight Otter was there in front of him, waiting with dark, glaring and angry eyes.
"You have gone too far, Greyfur," The Twilight Otter snarled, eyes glowing red with rage, "Not only will you not rest, but you create these... illusions..." he waved his paws at the mist, which seemed to glow slightly, and smile. "I BANISH THEE! Neither you or those you love shall ever know rest!"
A glow surrounded Greyfur and Goldentufts, swirling up as Brinewater faded around them. "Thank you, Twilight," Greyfur laughed, "You're not so bad after all."
The Twilight Otter felt, briefly, that he had perhaps made a somewhat hasty decision, but his word was law, to himself as much as to others, and the feeling soon passed. He needed to get back to his duties...
What... what *were* ...his duties, ...again? ? ?
He looked around his empty land, ...and shrugged, then curled up to rest...
--------------------------------
Timber collapsed to the ground and folded his paws under him. He was weak with a sickness, his body was very hot and his tongue was dry. He looked up at the sound of a splash.
Before him was The Twilight Otter. The fur was black with stars like a moonless night. His eyes were endlessly deep. "I have come to guide you, Timber. For it is your time... to go to Brightwater Stream."
Timber reached out for The Twilight Otter's paw. "Thank you, Twilight Otter."
The Twilight Otter led Timber down into the stream. Through the dark and into the light. Something troubled him as he left the dark behind. He was restless. Always so restless. He wanted to rest.
----------------------------
Rod Otter slid to the edge of the stage and lifted his muzzle. "There are many rules for an otter. Many things to know. The Twilight Otter comes for us all. As a guide. Once... he ruled. For he wanted rest. The rules must be followed. So they are." Rod grinned at the gaping people as he faded. His fur turning dark as night, his eyes going deep, his claws turning to steel like the sharpness they were.
One very brave otter in the front row looked up. "You.... You are The Twilight Otter."
Then he was gone, with one who was old in the audiance. ( I have come for you.)