The continuation, finally, of Yalvah's little story! Again, it's very summarized but I try to highlight the key points of her story and the questions she might have had during those times. I try to respect the original characters as much as possible, how they could have acted in those circumstances, but it's obvious that I have to shape them a little bit in my own way so that the story remains coherent with my Au! Also slight trigger warning: there will be mention of hunting, wounded animals, carcasses (no graphic details). I hope you'll like this new part!
Her first encounter with a Skeksis was while she was wandering around the west of The Endless Forest, noticing the changes that had taken place in such a short time. First of all, the fauna had become rarer, the larger animals had migrated to another part of the forest; and with them their predators. The flora was also not unchanged, some shoots showed strange deformations. She suspected that the presence of the Crystal Castle further west had something to do with it and hoped that the disease that was beginning to attack this area would not spread further. In order to better monitor the condition of her proteges she decided to camp in the area for an indefinite time. Every day she walked through this part of the forest looking for something, whatever it was.
This is how she met her first Skeksis. During one of her usual walks in search of a group of Landstriders whose little one seemed to be in bad shape, she almost came face to face with a grotesque and deformed creature. They stared at each other for a while, gauging how dangerous the intruder was and whether it was right to attack. The beast looked like a bird mixed with a Rakkida with the tail of a Gizzizzy. This formless beast inspired a violent disgust mixed with a morbid curiosity; this creature did not seem to be in adequacy with the Song of Thra, it was as if it was this bad note which had so much disturbed the world. She made the connection quickly that this being was surely the fruit of the Split. They walked away in silent agreement, watching each other out of the corner of their eyes as they went their separate ways.
Yalvah did not see him again for a while, only occasionally finding the remains of a nest where he had rested or a carcass. Her questions and curiosity grew as she found more and more traces of his passage. It was probably a predator, but its hunting style seemed very clumsy, like a newborn starting to stalk its first prey.