----Hello. This is my first story I've ever decided to share. I've really enjoyed reading your stories here, and I wanted to return the favor. I will write a prologue later and a later chapter will narrate the following events from the point of view of one of the humans involved. It's 3 am though, so I'm sleeping now. This story came about when I was thinking about nonhuman creatures and how we have no real way of measuring their intelligence. First person to figure out what kind of creature it is gets the privilege of naming a character, as long as they pick something non obscene. Enjoy the read, or else! :) ----

The darkness was everywhere. The darkness was everything. It was all I needed until the light came to me.

Three things intruded into my peaceful realm. I knew them first by their clanking and rustling footsteps. I heard the echoes of their coming from a very long way off. In fact, I had never heard anything so loud. It terrified me that things could approach with such a nonchalance and lack of fear. I retreated into my safe place, squeezing in through the narrow gap in the stone, and retreating back to where I kept my precious things.

Their approach grew louder and louder, and with it, something I had never seen before. The tunnel stalagmites and stalactites grew clearer in my vision and suddenly, as they entered my home, I became painfully blinded, seeing nothing due to their radiance. I closed my eyes and let free a hiss of startled pain despite my fear. The radiant things stopped, and I knew they had heard. I quickly changed the color and texture of my skin to match the surrounding rock and picked up three sharp stones with my appendages, more for comfort than preparation to fight. I could see the creatures positions through my eyelids, they were so bright. I tracked them, increasing the transparency and thickness of my eyelids slightly to help protect my vision as it recovered, but still allow me to observe them.

The creature in the lead had two arms and two legs, attached to a blocky body suspended in the air with a bulbous protrusion on top, all shining like the reflections in the lake I hunted in, and bearing two sticks in it's upper appendages, one dark, with a bright light on the end, the other long and shining like its carapace. It rattled with each movement and wheezed unpleasantly, as if it were dying. While this creature scared me, I felt the urge to touch its strange reflective skin. Curiosity was overwhelming, but fear was paramount. I held very still.

The two other creatures both bore bright orbs of light floating above them, seemingly unattached. Their limbs were in all the same places as the first creature, but instead of the shiny carapace the first bore, each possessed a strange rippling skin that covered them completely, hanging almost down to the ground. It waved and rippled as they walked, like nothing I had ever seen. I immediately wanted to touch it, but I held fast thanks to my fear. Each held a large stick with one of their upper appendages, placing it on the ground at regular intervals as they shuffled forwards, using it to move like an extra appendage.

The creatures were all swiveling about and moving their lights and I realized they were searching for the source of noise. They were searching for me. I retreated very slowly, farther into my secret place, sacrificing vision for stealth.

Suddenly, I could hear a roar and heavy steps coming from the tunnel they had just traveled down, and the creatures made loud noises at each other, turning to face the way they had came. A large bear came charging in roaring, but it had another two legged creature on it's back waving another reflective stick, who struck the shining one several times, causing it to fall. The bear rushed forward at the same time, knocking one of the rippling creatures to the ground and savaging it with it's great jaws.

The other rippling creature made a cry and a blinding flash of light lit the room, and a great boom shook the whole place. When my vision returned, the last rippling creature stood bowed over, both upper appendages around the stick it held, wailing loudly. The bear and the creature on its back lay on the floor, blackened and hissing. The creature continued to wail for a moment, then fled with great speed, continuing to wail. It sounded very sad.