Arisa
September 26th, 2007, 07:33 PM
Blood Moon
by Arisa.
__________________________
Would it ever leave her in peace?
The she-wolf lifted her gaze through the branches and growled. The rain had started again, and the heavy drops splattered loudly on the leaves above her head. Three suns now it had been following her relentlessly. She had hoped she could lose it in the forest, but even now as she lay beneath the bracken, its black eyes were fixed on her position.
Shaking off water from her midnight-black pelt, she pulled herself from her hideout and looked up at the great bird, trying to fix it with the same unblinking stare. But she failed, and was forced to blink away the rain for the hundredth time.
“Why are you following me?” she yelled, her hackles rising with her snarl.
But the raven did not answer. It never did.
Turning, Kai padded away through the boughs, not even bothering to look back. She knew full well that the bird would already be pursuing her – hunting her as it always did.
The world had fallen into autumn without a sound, and the short-lived summer had vanished as fast as it had begun. Now, the trees were crowned with shades of auburn-red, and the cold and unforgiving bite of winter could already be felt in each breath of wind.
Kai could remember a time when she had loved this season, and she could almost see her youthful face marvelling at the beauty of the land she had come to call home. But that was a very long time ago, and that cub would have been unrecognisable in the she-wolf that passed beneath the branches what felt like lifetimes later.
For Kai had seen too much to allow her the foolish notion that the world was only beautiful. No. Her years alone had taught her that everything was tainted by the shadow; that everything that tasted the sweet scent of life … was destined to die.
The raven cawed above her but she ignored it.
Ravens were said to be Clan Guardians, just like the wolf. The two animals had shared a symbiotic relationship since the dawn of the earth, and would often work together to find food and seek out dangers.
Kai herself had played with the ravens when she had been a cub. She would creep as close as she could to them before they flew off. Several times she had gotten too close and had been pecked as a sore reminder of what happened when you played with your food…
Could it be that this raven simply wished for companionship? A loner like herself, could its only motive be a bond between guardians?
Kai doubted it somehow. There was something about this particular bird – something that set it apart from all the others. The she-wolf had never felt anything like it in her life, but she felt both drawn and afraid of it.
“If only you could tell me...” She glanced wistfully at the raven as she trotted past it, aware of how its gaze seemed locked onto her. But it was a fanciful thought. Ravens could not speak – or at least, not so that wolves could understand.
Between the boughs, the sun had slipped almost completely from sight, leaving only the smallest splinter of light to the west. Yet there was an urgency to the wind, and the earth herself seemed to tremble in anticipation. There was a storm brewing high in the mountains. The World Spirit was restless…
Kai hesitated for a moment. She should find somewhere to wait it out. Every fibre of her body seemed to urge that true course, but there was something different in the way the leaves turned; something different in the water, and the open, lost heavens…something wrong.
The raven, now perched high and to her right, let out another, much louder cry.
But Kai had forgotten the bird now. All around her, the air between the trees was wavering, and a darknees far deeper than the night was descending upon her.
A churning sound, as if the very planet were grinding to a halt. Kai collapsed to the ground and clawed at her ears to rid herself of it – a noise that seemed to reverberate straight through her.
Everywhere she looked, the shadows were reforming themselves, and monstrous shapes were leaping from the branches and crawling from the bowels of the earth, their red eyes flashing.
It was then that she felt it: the bitter, unbearable taste at the back of her throat – the tang of the Otherworld.
And then she was blind, and they were upon her. But it was not the pain of flesh or bone. It was far, far worse. Her very soul seemed to be ripping at the seams as they tore it from her, and already she could feel her spirits fading…
Dazzling white blazed across the darkness and encircled her. Great wings beating the air into a din. Already the demons were being driven away, as the raven’s cry shattered them and cast them back to whence they came.
And now Kai could see clarity in the shapes and forms of the forest, and slowly the drumming of her heart resumed a more normal pace. There was warmth within her too, where before she had felt so very cold.
But it was none of this that she realised in that first moment. It was the raven, standing straight and stark before her. Its feathers were black once more, and the sun was no longer draped across its tail.
“But how…how did you…?” It could not have been true, surely. That a simple bird had thwarted so many creatures of shadow…
The raven looked away as if in answer, and Kai followed its gaze to where the moon was full above them. A single band of deepest crimson had been wound once about its surface, and the she-wolf felt her stomach lurch.
There was blood in the moon.
A gate to the Otherworld had been breached, and now the dead were moving…
“So it begins,” muttered the raven.
________
1, 009 words. I already asked, and apparently we're allowed to go a couple over the limit. I already cut a chunk out, but I couldn't find anything else to get rid of. Hope it's alright.
by Arisa.
__________________________
Would it ever leave her in peace?
The she-wolf lifted her gaze through the branches and growled. The rain had started again, and the heavy drops splattered loudly on the leaves above her head. Three suns now it had been following her relentlessly. She had hoped she could lose it in the forest, but even now as she lay beneath the bracken, its black eyes were fixed on her position.
Shaking off water from her midnight-black pelt, she pulled herself from her hideout and looked up at the great bird, trying to fix it with the same unblinking stare. But she failed, and was forced to blink away the rain for the hundredth time.
“Why are you following me?” she yelled, her hackles rising with her snarl.
But the raven did not answer. It never did.
Turning, Kai padded away through the boughs, not even bothering to look back. She knew full well that the bird would already be pursuing her – hunting her as it always did.
The world had fallen into autumn without a sound, and the short-lived summer had vanished as fast as it had begun. Now, the trees were crowned with shades of auburn-red, and the cold and unforgiving bite of winter could already be felt in each breath of wind.
Kai could remember a time when she had loved this season, and she could almost see her youthful face marvelling at the beauty of the land she had come to call home. But that was a very long time ago, and that cub would have been unrecognisable in the she-wolf that passed beneath the branches what felt like lifetimes later.
For Kai had seen too much to allow her the foolish notion that the world was only beautiful. No. Her years alone had taught her that everything was tainted by the shadow; that everything that tasted the sweet scent of life … was destined to die.
The raven cawed above her but she ignored it.
Ravens were said to be Clan Guardians, just like the wolf. The two animals had shared a symbiotic relationship since the dawn of the earth, and would often work together to find food and seek out dangers.
Kai herself had played with the ravens when she had been a cub. She would creep as close as she could to them before they flew off. Several times she had gotten too close and had been pecked as a sore reminder of what happened when you played with your food…
Could it be that this raven simply wished for companionship? A loner like herself, could its only motive be a bond between guardians?
Kai doubted it somehow. There was something about this particular bird – something that set it apart from all the others. The she-wolf had never felt anything like it in her life, but she felt both drawn and afraid of it.
“If only you could tell me...” She glanced wistfully at the raven as she trotted past it, aware of how its gaze seemed locked onto her. But it was a fanciful thought. Ravens could not speak – or at least, not so that wolves could understand.
Between the boughs, the sun had slipped almost completely from sight, leaving only the smallest splinter of light to the west. Yet there was an urgency to the wind, and the earth herself seemed to tremble in anticipation. There was a storm brewing high in the mountains. The World Spirit was restless…
Kai hesitated for a moment. She should find somewhere to wait it out. Every fibre of her body seemed to urge that true course, but there was something different in the way the leaves turned; something different in the water, and the open, lost heavens…something wrong.
The raven, now perched high and to her right, let out another, much louder cry.
But Kai had forgotten the bird now. All around her, the air between the trees was wavering, and a darknees far deeper than the night was descending upon her.
A churning sound, as if the very planet were grinding to a halt. Kai collapsed to the ground and clawed at her ears to rid herself of it – a noise that seemed to reverberate straight through her.
Everywhere she looked, the shadows were reforming themselves, and monstrous shapes were leaping from the branches and crawling from the bowels of the earth, their red eyes flashing.
It was then that she felt it: the bitter, unbearable taste at the back of her throat – the tang of the Otherworld.
And then she was blind, and they were upon her. But it was not the pain of flesh or bone. It was far, far worse. Her very soul seemed to be ripping at the seams as they tore it from her, and already she could feel her spirits fading…
Dazzling white blazed across the darkness and encircled her. Great wings beating the air into a din. Already the demons were being driven away, as the raven’s cry shattered them and cast them back to whence they came.
And now Kai could see clarity in the shapes and forms of the forest, and slowly the drumming of her heart resumed a more normal pace. There was warmth within her too, where before she had felt so very cold.
But it was none of this that she realised in that first moment. It was the raven, standing straight and stark before her. Its feathers were black once more, and the sun was no longer draped across its tail.
“But how…how did you…?” It could not have been true, surely. That a simple bird had thwarted so many creatures of shadow…
The raven looked away as if in answer, and Kai followed its gaze to where the moon was full above them. A single band of deepest crimson had been wound once about its surface, and the she-wolf felt her stomach lurch.
There was blood in the moon.
A gate to the Otherworld had been breached, and now the dead were moving…
“So it begins,” muttered the raven.
________
1, 009 words. I already asked, and apparently we're allowed to go a couple over the limit. I already cut a chunk out, but I couldn't find anything else to get rid of. Hope it's alright.