Once upon a time their was a ( just ignore my very generic opening, ) there was an armadillo.
This armadillo was no ordinary armadillo, she was a very blue-grey armadillo who stood upon two legs instead of the usual four.
She wore a pure black bandanna with an intricate white tribal like pattern. This armadillo in question was named Pauline.
Pauline was known for being the most unusual armadillo that had ever been with the group.

This made her stand out next to her companions. In which were very standard armadillos, being brown, and walking on all four legs unlike
Pauline. Although the group was small they managed to survive in dangerous situations which increased their confidence in each other.
Twix was the oldest of the group of four ( whom just happened to share the name with a delicious chocolaty treat... ) was old and had become less mobile which slowed the group down but not enough to stop them moving for A to B.
Lori was the youngest and the smallest of the group, who just happened to be the most active and constantly became an annoyance of
Twix. Finally their was Tyler, older than Pauline but not as old as Twix he was the most sarcastic of the four.

One day they had found themselves far from home upon a distant and uncharted plain.
Twix the oldest and wisest ( of course he had to be the wisest he is the oldest after all! ) stop suddenly and turned to the rest of the group.
"We should travel no further, we are far from home and should head back," said Twix, Pauline sharply responded "Were is your sense of adventure old man!" "In a crevice deep in the a forbidden forest," said Tyler in his usual sarcastic tone. "Watch your mouth hooligan!" roared Twix, voice echoing in the vast abandoned field. "Look over there! There is a fire!" yelled Lori.
"Lets go!" replied Pauline excitedly, hoping they would agree so she could continue on her adventure.

The four of them headed towards the smoke as the sun began to go down.
By the time they had gotten a few or so meters of the smoke the sun had set and the darkness had crept into the sky.
Engulfing the sky in dark grey clouds and shiny white stars. They had reached the smoke it was coming from a pyre.
The pyre had been a final resting place for a young man who had died to unknown cases. Only a young woman remained at the pyre,
she was in a terrible state, crying and miserable. The four of them walk towards her.

Pauline question, "why are you so sad?"
The young woman replied "He was my wed to be... "
"... but then he fell ill and had pasted away," wept the maiden.
Pauline walked towards the young woman, who was startled to see that it was in fact an armadillo
who stood on two legs that had been curious to why she had been so sad.
"H... ho... how are you talking? ..." asked the maiden.
"I don't know why are you?" said Tyler. "Tyler! Don't be so rude!" said Twix hushing the sarcastic Tyler.
"We were born in a magical place" said Lori who had be silent up till now.
"Where?" questioned the maiden. "In the middle of the ...." Lori was sudden hushed
when Pauline said, "That is not for anyone to know, and will be kept secret to stop our people being bothered."
"I understand... how about I show you to my home?" replied the maiden. "I'm known as Annabel."

They followed Annabel the maiden to a nearby town and followed her to her home which was a lavishing house
with beautiful white-washed walls and dark brown shingled roofs. It had a pure oak porch which also had a dark brown shingled roof. The door had a round top and with three windows in the top half of the door, the handle was gilded with gold, Annabel must have been a rich maiden porn of powerful lord.

Once inside, Annabel brought them to the kitchen in which she took a bowl from her cupboard and filled it with water, in which see laid on the floor to refresh the armadillos. "Don't worry the water is taken straight from the stream," said Annabel to comfort the group of armadillos whom then went and drank from the bowl. "I miss him you know," began Annabel. "He was my true love, he had be traveling when he had caught the disease that killed him, when he got back he had slowly disintegrated into a state wear he couldn't talk nor walk. The last he had ever told me was through a letter he had sent when he had gotten the disease." continued Annabel... "If you can talk then I assume you can read? If you wish you can read the letter." stated Annabel. "Yes please, I want to know what he meant to you." said Pauline.

Annabel went into her family room and took from a low down drawer a letter which had been opened.
"Here it is." said Annabel. Pauline began to read,

"Dear Annabel,
                     I'm writing to inform you my love of a disease I have acquired whilst traveling the distant lands,
I will be returning to Arrav as soon as I can, but until then my love I fear I may not make it back. The disease has effected my mobility...
as the days pass I find myself less communicative forgetting how to speak, that is why I send you this letter now. If I do not make it back, I wish for you to gain inheritance of my house and all my possessions. As I have no-one else to pass them onto. You are my true love and I wish for you to continue with your life happily without to much though of my death. I still remember the day we meet. Five years ago we had become apprentices of the local teacher. The day we meet I saw the glint in your eye in which I fell in love with. We slowly started to talk more and more until eventually I finally gained the courage to ask you to meet outside of the school. One the day we became closer and we slowly developed into the people we are now. It was then that I asked you to marry me only but three months ago. But not longer than a month later I had been called to research a fossil that had been found over on the isle of Carvos. Since I will unlikely not return I sent you my dear the contents of my research; The fossil had similarities to the species we know as armadillos, this startled me as the creature in question seem to have more tools of survival than the armadillos we know today, does this mean the armadillos lost a dangerous predator over the years making them evolve into the creatures we know today? But even more startling than that only two towns over from Carvos city, did I see a creature similar to the fossil I had seen. This was on my way back and around the same time this disease of mine began.
If these creatures actually existed and caused such diseases then someone must be informed.
                                                   Yours Sincerely, Gerard."

This startled Pauline as the mention of a creature like an armadillo could possibly do such a horrific thing.
"Annabel, can you take us to the town of the sighting?" asked Pauline.
"Yes, but I won't be going into the town." replied Annabel.

So the five of them headed out by horse and wagon to the town, which Gerard had mentioned in his letter.
"I won't be going any further, this town looks abandoned now," stated Annabel. "Okay, will you wait for us to return?" asked
Pauline. "Yes, but no longer than a few hours." replied Annabel.

The four armadillo's entered the town, Annabel was right, It had been abandoned, and recently at that.
Warm food smells could still be smelt in the town. "This town must have been bustling why would everyone leave?" questioned Twix.
"Maybe, just maybe, Gerard had actually seen what he had seen." said Tyler. "Well lets go look around!" said Lori excitingly.
They went from house to house no sign of life was seen, only fires that were going out. The houses around them looked expensive.
The villagers must have had a good reason for leaving everything behind. Each house had balconies which protruded from the fronts and sides of the house. Although the houses weren't as extravagant as Annabel's house.

"Clink!" the sound of something metallic had rang through the town echoing off the walls and ground.
They headed towards the sound to find it had came from the village blacksmith, a metal hammer had feel onto an anvil from the shelve above. "How did it fall?" Pauline asked herself. "Ding-Dong" the Church bell had began to ring, but how? The village was abandoned and
the church wasn't connected to a clock.

Yet again they went to the source of the sound, this time going inside of the church to find a shadowed figure standing at the altar.
They slowly approached as the figure said, "Come no closer, or pay for your lives." They all halted. The shadowed figure turned around to reveal that he was an armadillo that in fact stood on two legs, and his "Armour" was made of a steel like material. He wore sharp claws and had a more agile physique. "I am the last of my kind," said the Armadillo. "My name is Aranidale." "...and you are known as Pauline, Twix, Tyler and Lori.." said Aranidale. "I've been watching you, your curiosity reminds me how my species died out, we had a knack for exploration and curiosity, but this was a bad thing as I am the last of my kind." Pauline asked abruptly, "Sorry if this is the wrong time to ask this but aren't we genetically related?" "Yes, but not as much as you would think" he replied somewhat bitterly.

"I wish to give you gifts to persevere my species memory." with that Aranidale snapped four of his long claws off and handed them to each of the four armadillos, "Didn't that hurt?" questioned Lori. "No my body is disintegration as we speak, I am slowly dieing a slow and painful death." replied Aranidale. "Ohh well, at least you lived a long life?" asked Tyler, whom for once had asked a more serious question.
"Unfortunately no... I lived in a cave for over half my life to find out that my species have died and that I am the last of my kind, a true shock to me." replied Aranidale. You must return to your home now because over-exposure to my species will affect you such as the human that died studying the fossil or my peoples remnants. "But we could help you! Heal you!" said Twix. "Alas that wouldn't work you see, though my species themselves can withstand there toxicity for a long time, I have become weak and I fear I will die no matter what happens, now go! Leave me here in my resting place." said Aranidale... the church fell silent... no one said a work.... slowly they turned and left.

Twix, Pauline, Tyler and Lori returned to Annabel and headed back towards the town in which Annabel lived.
The group was unusually quiet. "So what did you find? Your all being unusually quiet," asked Annabel. "We saw it," said Pauline...
Annabel turned abruptly, "WHAT!" she said in shock. "It's okay, he meant no harm to us and he explained how Gerard died," said Pauline.
"Please tell me," asked Annabel. "It's species were related to armadillos as Gerard had deducted but not by much, he explained how his species gave off a radiation or fume that caused fatal diseases, but alas this is why is species began to die. Their own toxins where killing themselves." explained Pauline. "That is horrible!" replied Annabel... "But how could one live with such toxins for so long is astounding," stated Annabel. "They couldn't that is why they are now extinct, he gave us a claw each to remember his species by," replied Pauline.
"Wow... Wait would you mind if I had one?" questioned Annabel. "They would be an invaluable item to have for learning about the species," continued Annabel... "and most of all it's species would forever be remember."

"I think he would have wanted that," said Pauline slightly happier about Annabel's offer. "Okay then."
Pauline handed her own claw that Aranidale had given her to Annabel who took it and put in a small container to keep it safe.
"Where almost back to my town, do you want to stay the night and travel in the afternoon after a good rest or will you continue straight home?" asked Annabel. "We would like to stay, its almost dawn and we haven't had sleep for over a day now," replied Pauline.
They arrived at Annabel's house and retired upstairs to sleep, during her sleep Pauline had a nightmare where she was in a cave living like Aranidale had been and all she felt was pain.

They awoke and set off on the long journey home.
                                                                                                   The End.



As promised I give you a short story about an armadillo ( or four ) !
Those who took an interest in my last short story and may want to read this :
EvilAlu :
tRIUNE :
Barathemos :
austipokedude :
earthwarrior :

Okay this sort of became a long story but I hope you guys will enjoy it more than my last one which was by my standards somewhat short.
Hay whilst your at it why not review my story? XD Also whilst your at it why not give me a topic for tomorrow which I will fulfill if I give myself enough time. My last short story can be found here : https://www.vizzed.com/boards/thread.php?id=57039 .
Unlike my previous short story this one is a bit more speech heavy which I'm sure won't deter anyone from reading as I did but a good bit of effort into writing this. My only wish is that you do not say anything to bad about it, I will allow some constructive criticism, but if it has already been said please don't say it again as I will consider it spam and I will know you didn't actually read my short story. I even went so far to give this one a proper Title.

Again something very different than I'm used to lol another first in characteristics for the main character, or in this case animal xD
Had a fair bit of length to it, which is good, even thou you intended for it to be a short story
And one thing for sure, you had an interesting pick of name choices in this lol
Not a bad read.

EvilAlu : Lol I paid austipokedude like 2k for two of the names : Tyler and Lori xD
I had writers block xD

iN008 : lol I know that feeling from my spat of writers block yesterday, so your not alone lol
Pauline was the name that got me xD
Reminded me of old ladies for some reason Oo
Just me? >.> ok then <.<

EvilAlu : Inspired than non-other than mario's first girlfriend from donkey kong xD