Word Vomit

owls-love-tea: datlun

Thu, 09 May 2013 02:55:16 -0400

owls-love-tea:

datlun

theartofanimation: Jennifer Hom

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:26:48 -0400

theartofanimation:

Jennifer Hom

cecaelias: INSPIRATION - neverland “Neverland. A land made...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:00:03 -0400

cecaelias:

INSPIRATION - neverland

“Neverland. A land made of dreams and pixie dust, where the young may find hope again, and where magic can live forever untouched. Above the chaos of a society where blood is shed and money is more valuable than life, the island provides a haven for the young at heart, where they can be protected from the perils of growing up and given a life where companionship does not mean a wedding, and where family does not mean childbirth. In Neverland, the adventure of childhood never ends.” ♕

Photo

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 11:39:13 -0400

oh yes look whats finally lookin guuuuuuuuuuuuud

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 05:13:00 -0400

oh yes look whats finally lookin guuuuuuuuuuuuud

yasminacreates: Howl by *Kodacat

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:43:50 -0400

yasminacreates:

Howl by *Kodacat

Photo

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:01:30 -0400

monstersandwhimsy: Artwork by ~Faei

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:00:38 -0400

monstersandwhimsy:

Artwork by ~Faei

Epiphany

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:36:00 -0400

Strangers come in all shapes and sizes, in all forms. Every kid has a parent or guardian that has told them at some point in their lives, “Don’t talk to strangers.” However, no one really follows this rule. These “strangers” can become something more; a friend, a lover, a colleague, or some other important figure in life. To be social, it’s absolutely imperative that at some point we talk to some form of stranger. On the flip side, strangers can also be that reason parents even say that warning. That stranger could be a rapist, a killer, a thief, or just some creepy pervert. That being said, sometimes people we’ve known all our lives can be truly be strangers, sometimes the people we think we know, we don’t really know.

Elune knew all too well strangers. She realized that she was a stranger to friends she held closest to her heart, and she also knew all about the bad kind of stranger. Elune didn’t know what to think about these strangers though; Tom and Josie.

“Look I don’t like what you’re trying to imply. I’m going to ask for the last time for you to leave us be, and then I’ll call the cops,” Robert said once more. Robert positioned himself in front of his daughter protectively. Elune peeked around her father to see Tom’s demeanor change once again. He was getting angry, impatient. She couldn’t read Josie’s expression.

“You must know what she is Robert. She’s a werewolf like us. A lycanthrope; a shape shifter. Now stand aside and let her answer for herself,” Tom commanded. Robert’s figure visibly trembled, but the man stood his ground. Elune had enough sense to listen, and she stepped up beside Robert.

“You…you said you’re like me?” Elune she said, her voice shaky. She cleared her throat and clenched her fists together. Tom looked at his wife Josie, and Josie just quickly nodded in response. It was hard to describe what happened next, Elune had never seen anything like it. The air shifted around Josie, it was like being in the desert when it’s so hot the haze in the air is visible. It seemed just like a mirage too, because at one moment Josie was human, and a blink later she was a wolf. A beautiful, medium sized snow white wolf sat back on its hunches and casually licked its paw. It gazed at Elune, and Elune saw Josie’s eyes staring back at her. Elune gasped, surprised. That had never happened with her before. Her transformation was slow, long, and extremely painful and most of all she couldn’t imagine doing it in front of anyone. Josie’s transformation…it was like magic.

Elune’s father stumbled back and tripped over his own feet. He fell backwards on his butt. Tom looked puzzled over Elune and Robert’s reactions, like it hadn’t of been what he expected.

“How…how did she do that? Can you do that to?” Elune softly asked, still in shock. Tom sniffed the air.

“Of course I can…I don’t understand. You smell like one of us, how do you not know this happens?” he said, confusion in his voice. Elune just shook her head. Robert sat up and held his head in his hands.

“Elune doesn’t do that,” Robert replied for Elune. Elune shifted uneasily on her feet. What did all of it mean?

“Can I…can you do what she did?” Elune asked politely, her head slightly bowed. Tom scratched his chin for a moment and stared at Elune and her father.

“I suppose…” his deep voice rumbled. The same process that happened when Josie transformed happened to Tom. The air shifted, and in the blink of an eye in place of Tom was one of the biggest wolves Elune had ever seen. A flood of memories came crashing to the forefront of her mind. Elune sucked in a deep breath, her eyes widening to panic. Tom’s huge black wolf form was all too familiar; a recurring nightmare.

“It’s you!” Elune was barely able to say, before a scream ripped itself from her throat. Some primal instinct took over, and Elune quickly ran toward the back door. Thoughts of guilt of leaving her father behind barely crossed her mind, the wolf inside was thinking of nothing but self-preservation and Elune couldn’t help but internally agree with it. Elune slammed the door behind her, and jumped off the back deck, landing in a crouch on both feet. She glanced behind her for only a moment to see the door began to open once more; she didn’t stick around to see what came through. The sun had set, the sky had darkened slightly, and Elune took off into the unknown forest, running faster on her two human legs than she had ever run before. One foot barely touched the ground, before the other was in its place. She didn’t know where she was running to, and she didn’t really care; she just had to get away. Elune leaped over fallen logs, branches, and bushes, dodging tress all along the way. She kept her breathing steady and quiet, resisting the temptation to take it huge gulps of forest air to relieve her hot lungs. Elune took a moment to hide behind a huge oak. She pressed her back against the hard bark and held her breath, listening. It was silent, too silent.

Let me out the wolf shouted from within Elune. It wanted the chance to protect itself, and Elune knew it would be better at doing that than her, but she was afraid. During the moments of her transformation she was completely vulnerable and exposed. If it caught her during this time, she would be defenseless and would be killed without being able to put up a fight. Elune took a deep breath and swallowed, turning her thoughts once more to the sounds of the forest. A bird chirped and flew up into the air some distance away. The wind picked up and blew through the leaves of the trees above her but Elune couldn’t hear the wolf chasing her. It was probably waiting, silently stalking her until an opportune moment came up. She knew how the wolf hunted. She couldn’t go through the nightmare again; she couldn’t experience it in real life again. Elune shakily stripped out of her clothes and jumped behind a clump of tree stumps a few feet away. She crouched on the floor, and grudgingly let the wolf out.

Bones crunched and popped. Flesh stretched and tendons snapped. It was a combination of sickening sounds. Elune fell forward on all fours and grasped at the dirt beneath her palms, trying not to cry out. All Elune could think was to not scream; don’t scream, she told herself. She clenched her jaw shut and shut her eyes, trying to think of happier thoughts than the pain that rocked her entire body. After a few moments of twisting and turning, Elune opened her eyes once more. She was lower to the ground, and felt that different feeling that being a wolf gave her. The wolf consciously pushed her back, and Elune let the monster inside of her take over.

Elune sniffed at the ground, and the air. A growl rumbled from deep within her throat. She smelled the enemy, her stalker nearby. She quietly and slowly made her away from the source of the smell, careful to not make any noise. Elune rubbed her fur against a tree she passed, and then silently but quickly took off in the opposite direction, hoping to throw her opponent off. Elune was faster on all fours, and for a few moments both Elune and the wolf thought they would survive, thought they would get away. The crunching sound of stepped on undergrowth behind Elune told a different story. A howl rang out into the night from behind her. Elune almost howled in reply but she smartly held it in, and somehow quickened her pace even more, lengthening her stride. She ran, and ran some more. Her reddish brown fur became moistened with sweat but she didn’t stop. Elune could still hear and feel the monster behind her, nipping at her heels.

Abruptly, two different howls were heard from some distance in front of Elune. Elune almost skidded to a halt in shock and panic, but swiftly turned her course a different way instead. Elune was worried, she was outnumbered. She hadn’t expected the giant wolf to call in reinforcements; he didn’t do that the first time. Elune thought he was a lone hunter, much like herself. She hadn’t existed when her human companion experienced the attack, but she lived and remembered it through her memories; every single time her human did. Distracted with these thoughts, Elune didn’t notice the shift in the bushes ahead of her. Because of that, she couldn’t dodge the oncoming wolf until it was too late; It growled, and jumped from the bushes and head-butted into Elune’s side. Elune yipped, and their bodies rolled over as both tried to scurry to their feet. Elune bit at the other wolf, but her teeth only caught at small tufts of fur. The black wolf got to its feet and Elune got a good look at it. It was bigger than her, but smaller than the original black wolf. Its paws looked like they were dipped in white paint but other than that it was the same pitch black color of the real monster, Tom.

It’s eyes demanded Elune to back down, to relinquish all control over to it. It thought it was stronger and more dominant than Elune. Elune challenged it with her own eyes, telling the other wolf that it was mistaken in whatever thoughts of dominance it thought it held over her without a proper fight. With that thought, Elune darted forward and attempted to bite at the soft tender spot that every wolf had under its neck. Her jaws snapped at empty air; the wolf had rolled to the side just in time to dodge Elune. The black and white wolf growled, angry at Elune’s attempts to kill. Elune growled back, darting forward yet again to attack. Once again it dodged Elune, just a tiny bit faster than herself, and then it swiped at Elune’z muzzle. It’s large paw and claws caught the side of her face and knocked her to the ground momentarily. The wolf pounced to try and jump on top of Elune while she was down, but Elune moved and ended up kicking the wolf with her back legs. Elune rolled back to her feet and stood once more facing the challenging wolf. The wolf growled once again, but paused suddenly to sniff the air. After it caught scent of something, it looked back at Elune and seemed to almost smirk. Elune then took a moment to also sniff the air, her eyes still on the other wolf.

Backup was coming; she smelt Tom’s scent and another. Human Elune screamed inside of the wolf, urging it to run. The wolf Elune was too proud; it would never turn from a fight like this. Elune knew once the other wolves got to them, she’d be dead, and she also knew that she wouldn’t be able to run from them for that long. She sensed these weren’t the only ones in the pack, knew others were probably somewhere up ahead. And so Elune pawed at the dirt, eager to prove herself, eager to die proudly, and knowing that she went down with a fight.

The other wolf still watched her, but Elune could tell it had eased up some on its defensive stance, probably assuming Elune was giving up. Elune looked around, and saw some things she could use to her advantage; she would catch the wolf by surprise, and hopefully kill at least one of them.

There was a gleam in Elune’s wolf eyes as she sat back on her haunches and licked a paw casually. The other wolf watched her curiously, but sat back as well once it figured Elune wouldn’t try anything. Not a moment after it sat back, Elune took off diagonally, parallel to the wolf. The wolf turned confused, and Elune used a boulder behind the other wolf to pounce off of it and use the momentum of her body to knock over the wolf. It fell on its side, shocked and surprised. Elune slashed at its belly but ultimately saw the opening she needed for the kill. She quickly leaned forward to close her jaws over its neck and twist.

The wolf Elune was a minute too late. Elune felt her canine just barely scrape the other wolfs skin before the wind was knocked out of her once more. She was on her back and the wolf, the monster, the nightmare that Elune now knew as Tom stood over her. The huge midnight black wolf growled and bent for Elune’s neck. Elune closed her eyes, told the human inside to say goodbye, and waited for death to take her where she would run with her own kind forever among the clouds. She could imagine it now; limitless steady ground beneath her feet, the wind carrying her swiftly through the cloudy trees. There would be a moon, and stars as far as the eye could see, and most of all there would be other wolves, friends, to join in on her call.

Death didn’t come.

The black wolf’s huge jaw was around Elune’s fragile neck, but he did not squeeze it closed. She felt it’s hot breath under her fur. Elune opened her eyes. The sky had darkened significantly. Tom’s jaws left Elune’s neck and Tom’s wolf moved over Elune to stare into her eyes.

Elune whined, here it was; the nightmare. Even the wolf was scared; she had experienced the same nightmare as her human far too many times not to be. She told herself she was stronger now, and instead of closing her eyes once more, stared into Tom’s eyes back. It blinked. Elune blinked.

The other wolf that Elune had fought earlier growled from some feet away. Tom’s wolf nipped at Elune’s face, and then turned to growl at the other wolf. Elune was confused. Tom hadn’t tried to kill her like so long before, but nipped at her instead? Tom’s wolf stepped off of Elune and took a few steps away from her. Elune quickly rolled over off her back and to her feet. The other wolf growled, but a look from Tom interrupted it mid-growl. Tom had spared her life for now, but Elune didn’t believe that would last for long. She figured he was toying with her now, playing with her. Maybe it wanted to take it’s time with her this time; make sure she’s dead this time. Elune glanced behind her into the woods, away from these wolves. She would chance a run now. She turned her gaze back to Tom and saw him staring intently at her. He knew what she was thinking. She wouldn’t chance a run now. Tom sat back on his hunches and tilted his head towards the sky. He howled. The other wolf quickly joined in.

It was beautiful, more beautiful than Elune or her wolf had imagined it would be. God, how Elune wanted to join in, but something told her better. Instead, some other force of nature forced Elune to bow her head. She got as low to the ground as physically possibly, and began dragging her own body toward the black monster. Elune was resisting against her own body, but the call was far too strong. Magic pulled her forward. Finally another howl was heard from a very short distance away. Once it answered, Tom stopped his own moon call, and Elune felt the urge to get closer to Tom disappear. Elune panted, and got on all fours once more. The other mystery wolf came into the small clearing now. It was a light brown color. It approached the group wearily, but once seeing all was well, casually walked over to the group and then sat back. It’s tongue lolled out of its mouth and it glanced at Elune, Tom, and the other wolf. Tom’s wolf made some sort of hum in the back of his throat, and the light brown furred wolf yipped in return.

Elune watched them all cautiously. She would be ready to fight in a moment’s time, one versus three. She became confused once more however, when the light brown wolf began to shiver in place. A blink later, the wolf was a man. He was of average build, probably around 5’7, and had curly shaggy light brown hair. He was also stark naked.

The mystery wolf, now man, cleared his throat and coughed into his fist. He then smiled at Elune, and gave a friendly wave.

“We come in peace,” he said, holding up both hands. Elune narrowed her eyes at her and then glanced at the other wolves; the black and white one, and Tom’s wolf. Tom gave her a short nod, but the black and white one bore its teeth at her. Tom growled at it, and the man sighed.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s just a little upset you got one over him. He hasn’t been hurt in a while,” the young man said, teasingly smiling at said wolf. He then looked back at Elune.

“Anyway, I’m Nick. You know Tom, and this is our beta Adam…otherwise known as Tom’s son,” The guy, Nick, said while pointing at each of them. Elune watched them as he pointed. If Adam was beta, that would make Tom alpha. It made sense; it went along with his demeanor, the strength of his call, and just his personality so far.

Elune didn’t know Alphas could be so terrible as to do what was done to her though; she didn’t think other wolves would follow such a beast.

“Tom wants to ask you back to our place, where he assures you will be safe. He has a few questions to ask…and between me and you I’d say yes. Force isn’t necessary, but will be used if you try to run again,” Nick casually stated. Elune thought about her choices. She could try to run, and probably be killed. She could try to fight them, and that would also probably lead to her death. She might kill the human, but that didn’t seem fair. She could resist, get hurt in the process, but at least she would go into capture fighting…

“So what will it be?” Nick said, rubbing his hands together and then rubbing at his arms.

Please, I’m not ready to die the human inside Elune pleaded. Elune rubbed her paw at the dirt below her feet, and shook her head no at the human. She swiped dirt at Tom, aiming for his eyes, heard him grunt in pain, and then she charged the black and white wolf yet again. The human would’ve been too easy of prey. The other wolf was ready though, and eager to fight. Elune growled as the wolf dodged her once more. She turned to attack once more but before she could, it head butted her. Elune fell, stars spinning around her head; that would be a bruise later. The wolf stood over her, paw on her throat. She felt the claws dig into her neck a little; it was a warning.

“Resist it is,” Nick sighed. The wolf that was Tom came into view, and it glared at her disapprovingly.Like he had any right to judge her. Nick came forth with some rope, and tied Elune’s snout closed. He then wrapped her two front legs together and then her two back legs together. She looked like a tied up hog, ready to be cooked over a fire.

“Sorry about this,” Nick said, as he lifted her up, grunting. He threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Tom trotted in front of them both, while the wolf Adam brought up the rear. His wolf’s eyes glared at her the whole distance. She could feel the hate roll off him in waves.

I don’t know about this the human Elune’s thoughts reverberated inside Elune’s scull. The wolf agreed. Before long one of the cabins Elune had seen before driving past came into view. It was the biggest out of all of them and would probably turn out to be the den to a large wolf pack. Those thoughts were right.

Something weighed down on Elune like a ton of bricks. As soon as they walked up the stairs and into the house, it hit her. Elune assumed the whole pack was there, they were all in human form, standing and waiting for their alpha. Some looked curious, some anxious, some nervous, and even some looked excited. The furniture that was in the huge living room had been moved aside against the walls. The huge black monster that was Tom walked to the middle of the room and then transformed back to human. Tom the bald man stood in the former wolfs place. Every human in the room lowered their head a little. Josie, his wife from earlier, came pushing her way through the crowd of people and took her side next to Tom. She nodded to someone in the crowd and Elune’s father, Robert, was gently pushed forward. He looked panicked and scared, but unhurt. Elune whined a little, she had a soft spot for him because of the human. He looked nervous for her. Nick walked forward and gently placed Elune in front of Tom like she was some kind of offering. He bowed his head, then stepped aside and stood in front of the crowd. Elune looked up at them all, a little scared, but not stupid enough to show it. She stared defiant at them all, challenging them all, despite the fact that she was still tied up. Most of all, she wanted to turn around and bite Tom’s ankles.

The black wolf with dipped in white paws trotted his way over to Tom’s side, and then just like before, he shivered and a moment later a man stood in his place. Elune could feel the interest of the human inside her was piqued. He was extremely tall like his father, his hair short and messy against his scalp. His lips were attractively full for a man, his jaw sturdy, and his skin flawless and tan. His naked body was ripped with muscle, and he stood proud. He knew he looked good. Josie passed clothes to both Tom and Adam, and they swiftly put on a pair of sweatpants. T-shirts apparently weren’t required. The room was silent, waiting for Tom to say anything.

“I’ve gathered you all here tonight because something has come up that I think requires a pack decision…” Tom began to say, his voice booming out.

“A woman came into town today, with her father,” Tom motioned to Elune and then her father. “The young lady is a wolf, the father a human. As everyone knows, to live here and be a wolf, living amongst us, it is required to get permission. Permission was not asked for, or granted in this case. When confronted with these facts, this lone wolf refused to answer, ran, and then attacked our beta.” He took a moment to let the facts settle in everyone’s minds.

“Now normally, attacking a beta without warrant or reason means certain death,” Tom continued. Robert gasped from the crowd. Elune looked down to the floor. “…But the life of a female cannot be so easily thrown away now days. Time…time has forced us to read between the lines with this rule. I would like to now hold a sort of trial. I will hear what the wolf has to say for herself, and afterwards, we will weigh her statements and together we will make a decision about what to do. Know however, I will have final say, and some of you may not like the decision made.” Tom finished his speech by looking around the room at everyone. Lastly his eyes laid on Elune. He then nodded to Adam. Adam smirked at Elune and pulled out a pocketknife. He flipped the knife up and bent towards Elune. Elune growled in warning. Adam frowned, looked up at his father, and then Tom shook his head. Adam sighed, and cut at the ropes that bound Elune’s legs. Adam’s large hands then enclosed over Elune’s snout, and he finally cut the rope tying it closed. He forcefully held her jaw closed as Elune fought to open her jaw. She would’ve given anything to snap at his hand and maybe draw some blood. Adam’s eyes narrowed at her like he was reading her thoughts, and then he let go, stepping back quickly at the same time.

Elune first opened and closed her jaw, working at the sore muscles there. She then looked at the circle of people that had formed around them; there was no way to get out. She sniffed at the air, and so many different smells attacked her senses. Each wolf’s scent was unique, and the 25 or so wolves gathered in that one room confused Elune’s nose. She sneezed, trying to clear her nose.

What now? The human inside asked. Elune didn’t know how to respond. What did they expect her to do now?

“Well, changeback now wolf,” Tom commanded, looking down at Elune. Elune looked away and took a step away from them. She wasn’t planning on turning back to a human anytime soon. She wouldn’t give them the benefit of being able to overpower her like that so easily. She could feel that the human inside was scared, scared beyond any form of reason. This was her nightmare coming true, her scars coming to life, and the wolf Elune would not allow such a scared creature to take over.

“Father…” Adam said, his voice was deep and rumble-y.

“Um can I say something?” Robert’s voice said from somewhere in the crowd. Someone in the room snarled.

“Quiet, let him speak,” Josie yelled.

“She doesn’t…she doesn’t change like you do. I’ve never seen anything that looks so painful and disgusting. I know Elune is in there somewhere, and would probably like to come out, but I don’t think the wolf will let her,” Robert stated. As soon as he was finished talking, chatter broke out in the crowd. Even Adam looked down at Elune confused. Something Robert had said provoked everyone.

“SILENCE!” Tom yelled. The talking immediately ceased. Tom scratched his chin in thought for a second, staring down at Elune, and then turned to Josie. They murmured things to each for a moment before Tom looked back to his pack.

“Everyone will wait here as I take Elune into a separate room. We will have complete privacy, no arguments.” He sharply looked at Adam, whom looked like he was about to protest the idea. Adam cursed under his breath and looked away. A path cleared through the group of people to one of the adjoining rooms, and Tom began walking towards it. He glanced back at Elune and motioned her forward. Elune had no choice but to do as he said. She walked in front of him, ignoring the stares from the other people, and walked into a room alone with no one but the monster from her past. Tom shut the door after himself, and sat into an office chair. It looked like they were in his private study. He rubbed his hand over his bald head, and sighed looking at Elune. He let his guard down, and his age and weariness showed through the wrinkles around his eyes. Elune looked away.

They had another thing coming if they thought Elune would turn back human in front of his man. She suddenly felt protective over her human side, and would not let him see the scars he had made upon her so many years earlier. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. He may have created her, but she would not blindly follow his orders like some kind of minion.

“Alright little miss, do your thing. I’m interested in seeing how you change…the way your father describes it AND you doesn’t make any sense. I’m haunted with questions. You look like one of us, act like one of us, smell like one of us, but yet something is telling me that you aren’t quite one of us.” Tom said. His words sounded kind, trustworthy, and just all around nice.

Elune knew better than to fall for it. It would take more than words to get her to give up control and become vulnerable once more. She looked away from Tom, and turned her nose into the air. As far as she was concerned, this was a stalemate. Elune could feel Tom’s eyes on her for a minute, before he looked away and sighed deeply. She heard the click of a drawer, and turned to watch Tom pull out a glass of brandy, and pour himself some. He downed it, and put the brandy back in the drawer. He rubbed his bald head once more, before standing.

“If that’s how it’s going to be, then so be it. You shouldn’t be so stubborn,” Tom said. He began walking towards Elune. Elune backed herself against the wall and snarled at Tom’s approaching figure. She didn’t know what he was doing, but didn’t care to find out. Tom caught Elune’s eye in his own, and did some alpha mumbo jumbo thing. She couldn’t look away. She felt powerless again under his magic and snarled once more. He lunged forward and grabbed her muzzle within the palms of his hands and held it closed. Tom held her down and looked deep into her eyes. Elune could feel a change in the air, sense it somehow. Deep down, she knew some sort of magic was at work. His eyes commanded her, and she was powerless against it all.

“Turn, now” Tom commanded through clenched teeth. One more moment of eye staring and Elunes struggle was in vain. Elune felt the human coming back to surface; felt her body began to change once more. She couldn’t even fight against it. Whatever Tom had done, it was effective. Tom jumped backwards as Elune whined and cried. It was the most painful experience she had felt in a while. Tom stared, horrified and fascinated as Elune’s body changed once more from wolf to woman. The sounds were just as disgusting and scary.

After ten terrible minutes, the wolf was back in its cage, and the human Elune was back in control. Elune found her voice and screamed, crying out. She laid herself flat on the cool wood of the floor. Her naked skin was red and blotchy. It felt like she had a terrible sunburn. Tom came forward, gaping, and Elune found the energy to get up and scramble away. She turned her back on him and flew to the corner of the room. She crouched there, trembling.

Face him and die proudly! The wolf inside commanded. Elune wanted to, but she couldn’t. She could feel the scars on her back, and they were a terrible reminder of the night of the attack by this horrible man. Images of blood and flesh being torn at flashed in her mind, and Elune whimpered squeezing her eyes shut. Tom had the sense to stay back.

“I don’t understand,” Tom said, once more sitting in the office chair. After a minute he tossed a blanket toward Elune, and Elune felt it brush against her. She took it and wrapped it around herself. Elune wiped at her wet eyes and nose, and coughed. The tears had given her a headache, and the false sense of okay-ness. She laughed a little.

“All these years running away from the memory of you, and somehow I actually find YOU,” Elune said, still facing the corner of the room. The clock in the room ticked.

“Again, I am confused Elune. I have never seen you before in my life. A lot of years that has been, but I remember every wolf and face I encounter,” Tom tapped his bald head. A spark of anger crashed through Elune. He didn’t remember her? He didn’t remember the innocent victim he tore savagely through? Elune stood from the corner and threw the blanket off her back. She pointed at the three scars running from her shoulder and then down her back.

“YOU DON’T REMEMBER THESE? YOU DON’T REMEMBER THE NIGHT YOU DID THIS TO ME?!” Elune exclaimed, hot angry fresh tears pouring from her eyes. He still looked at her confused. His eyes were drawn to the long scars on her back, and pity filled his eyes.

“DON’T YOU DARE LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! IT’S YOUR FAULT I’M THIS WAY! IT’S YOUR FAULT I’M A MONSTER! I WOULD RECOGNIZE YOUR EYES ANYWHERE! I’VE HAD NIGHTMARES ABOUT THEM FOR SEVEN LONG YEARS!” Elune cried out. After one last angry look at Tom, she picked back up the blanket and wrapped it back around her. Elune let out a sob and leaned her weight against the wall. She refused to look back at Tom and give him anymore satisfaction. It was silent in the room for a few minutes, and Elune had finally stopped crying. She wiped at her eyes, and was curious as to what Tom was doing. She turned and found him with his face buried in his hands. Elune refused to feel any pity for him. She didn’t care if he was a different person now, she would always remember him as he truly was; a monster. Tom sighed one more deeper sigh and looked up out of his hands at her. A tear streamed down his cheek.

“So you have met my twin brother it seems,” he muttered. It was Elune’s time to be confused.

“His name is Viktor. He looks exactly like me, save he has a scar running alongside his belly. He was the one that attacked you, and you are not the first he’s attacked. You are however, the first to survive I believe.” Tom muttered. Elune nearly collapsed at the news. He had a name; Viktor, and it wasn’t Tom after all. She was the first to survive too? What did that mean for her?

“This has turned out to be quite an interesting night. You are most definitely different,” Tom said, rubbing his chin and staring at Elune. He got up and went to the door.

“Josie, I need you in here with me. Please bring her father too; I would like to know what he remembers also.” Tom yelled outside the room. There was a small commotion, and then Josie walked through with Robert behind her. Tom shut the door after them and sat back in the chair behind his desk.

“Sit everyone, you too Elune. I think this story will require for us to all be sitting,” he said, motioning to the chairs. Robert took a seat, staring at Elune. Elune stood anxious for a minute, before sitting down next to Robert. Josie looked at her husband confused.

“Tom…?” she asked. Tom rubbed his knuckles.

“Josie, meet Elune…sole survivor of an attack by Viktor,” he said to Josie. Josie looked at Elune with her mouth agape. She sat down.

“Oh you poor darling,” Josie remarked towards Elune. Pity whelped up in her eyes. Elune looked away.

“Elune, if it’s alright with you, I’d like to hear your story. Maybe then I can tell you a little about Viktor if you’re up to it.” Tom said, leaning back in his chair. Elune took a deep breath and stared everywhere in the room except at the people in it. Her father patted her on the knee encouragingly.

“When I was fifteen, we lived in Florida. It was just me and my dad here…my mom passed away a couple of years before that from cancer,” Elune began her story. The words came out of her numbly; she hadn’t really collected the full story for anyone before. She took a moment to collect her thoughts.

“Anyway, one night I went to a friend’s house to spend the night. I started feeling sick though at some point, so I called my dad and told him I’d be home soon. He offered to come pick me up…now that I look back, It’s almost funny how if I would’ve said yes to that then everything would be completely different,” Elune paused again, licked her lips and stared down at her fingers. Her fingernails were painted blue, and the paint had started to chip off.

“On the way home…on the way home I saw a wolf. And I remember thinking how odd it was to see a wolf in Florida, I didn’t think they existed in somewhere like Florida. At first, I thought I could just keep walking and it wouldn’t do anything. It was huge and black, bigger than anything I’d ever seen…but I’d never seen a wolf before, so I didn’t really know what to compare it to. It didn’t seem like it was going to attack me… so I cautiously walked by it.” Elune wiped a tear from her cheek. This was the hard part for her to think about.

“It howled, and then started chasing me. I used to be a runner, so I thought maybe I’d be able to get away…but it overpowered me completely. Within minutes it was right on me. I screamed and yelled, but it was late…no one was awake or nearby. It was just me and the big black beast. At some point it finally caught up with me, it got me while I was turned running. Jumped right on my back and tore the skin there.” Elune’s voice became shaky. She unconsciously reached up to her shoulder and felt the marred flesh there, tracing it to her back. Elune continued to look up at the ceiling; she wouldn’t look at her father, Tom, or Josie. If she did, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to finish her story.

“It tore into me. I remember there was lots of blood, and at first everything hurt…but after a while I didn’t feel much. My body was in shock, I guess. I never stopped screaming in case someone walked by at the time, but no one ever came to help. After a few minutes of clawing and biting at me, the wolf stood over me and just stared into my eyes. Then…then it howled and ran off, leaving me for dead. I lost track of time, lost a lot of blood. I remember I would pass out every now and then, and then wake up staring at the full moon. I thought I was going to die, but I welcomed it at some point. I just wanted to stop feeling everything. I wanted the nightmare to be over,” Elune’s voice cracked at the end of this statement. She leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. Robert reached over and rubbed her arm.

“Elune was missing that whole night, but I couldn’t call the police until a day later. They figured she had just run off, decided to go back to her friends place, etc. I told them my Luna wouldn’t do that, but they didn’t want to listen. Finally they helped in her search…and they found her. I was called to the hospital, and when I arrived they told me she was in critical condition and that they weren’t sure she would survive. I waited in the lobby, saying every prayer I could think of. If I lost her…I didn’t know what I’d do. The thought of losing both her and her mother…” Robert clutched at his chest and closed his eyes.

“But I didn’t lose her. Hours upon hours later, the doctors came out covered in blood, but told me she would survive. When I went into that hospital room…it was like a different person lay in the bed. I didn’t recognize any part of her. Everything was a complete mess. Anyway, I stayed by her bedside and she didn’t wake up for a very long time. The doctors said her mind was shut down to help heal her body. The doctors became baffled at the rate at which her body healed. Elune was healing faster than she should’ve been. Within a week, the bruises were gone, the scratches were mostly healed, and the torn flesh was back to normal. Those nasty scars were all that was left to heal, but they never did. The doctors did all sorts of tests, but nothing conclusive ever came up. Her body temperature was a little hotter than normal, her metabolism a little faster, but other than that they just called it a miracle. The police made a small attempt to find the wolf, but I wasn’t sure they completely believed it was a wolf attack. They had never heard of a wolf being in Florida, and there hadn’t been any escapes from any zoo’s.” Robert took a deep breath, and looked at Josie and Tom. Josie’s eyes were red, and she was dabbing at them. Tom looked intensely thoughtful.

“A week later she finally woke up. Elune was scared still, and very confused, but she was alive. And that’s all that mattered to me. So I took her home, and we tried to get back to our normal lives. For a while…it worked. Besides a twitch every now and then…and the nightmares she had, Elune was getting along okay. A week and a half later, things changed. It was the night of the next full moon, and Elune said she was feeling under the weather that whole day. I was going to take her to the hospital that night; she was sweating profusely and complained of terrible pains throughout her body. Before I could get her in the car…she changed.” Robert scratched his chin and stopped talking to look back at the memory. Elune got up from her chair and turned away from them all. She faced the wall, and put her arms out to lean against it. She took up the story next.

“It was the worst feeling I had ever felt, and I didn’t understand any of it. It was worse than the attack. My skin felt like it was melting off, all my bones broke slowly and painfully. I think worst of all, was that I felt not in control… there was another presence in my body, in my mind. I thought I was going crazy; it was like a voice in my head, scratching to get out. Something else was in control of my body. I don’t remember a lot of the first change. After I changed…it attacked my dad and then got out of the house. It’s like I experienced everything it did, but I couldn’t do anything with the body I was in. I could feel it trying to speak to me in some primal way, but I couldn’t listen to it. I didn’t want to. Somehow I realized what I had turned into without having to look in a mirror. I just felt it. All the stories about werewolves and lycanthropy turned out to be true…” Elune sighed.

“The next morning I woke up, covered in blood and freaked out. It turns out it was only coyote blood. I got sick, threw up everywhere, and walked home naked. I thanked god I didn’t run into anyone…I was covered in blood and naked. Dad had gone to the hospital that night, and come home. He was waiting for me, his arm pretty messed up. So we sat down, and we talked, and etched out a plan to control the monster inside me.”

“Monster? Sweetie is that what you think the wolf inside is?” Josie spoke up now after a moment. Elune didn’t bother to turn around.

“Well it is, you have no idea what it’s like for me. Something’s different for you guys, I can just tell. The thing that attacked me is a monster, and it turned me into one of it,” Elune responded, becoming a little angry.

“But…” Josie began to say. Tom cut her off.

“Josie, let them finish the story. You said you came up with a plan, what plan was that?” Tom said.

“We…we locked her in a cage in the basement every full moon. I’m ashamed to say I put my daughter in a cage, but she urged me to do it every time. We were both afraid of what would happen if someone found out, if someone was accidentally attacked by the wolf,” Robert said. Josie gasped.

“A cage?!” she exclaimed with a harsh whisper. Robert could only nod. Elune thought about those times in the cage. She remembered the wolf was extremely angry at her. She remembered feeling awful too. Being caged up was the worst feeling, and it made her anxious and nervous. It turned her a little crazy.

“I could see something inside of Elune breaking. She looked sick constantly, she looked tired constantly. One day Elune just collapsed and had some sort of fit. It wasn’t the night of full moon but she changed anyway. The wolf didn’t attack me this time, but it did leave the house again. The next morning Elune came back looking angry and sad, but physically better. We realized that she had to take steps to control what was inside of her, and she couldn’t be locked in a cage any longer. So…we packed up from Florida and moved out in the middle of nowhere in Montana. After that there were no more cages. I locked myself in a room every full moon, just as precaution. Elune used a nearby park forest to run and learn how to control everything.” Robert continued.

Elune finally turned around and faced everyone. This was the easy part of the story.

“Every now and then I’d have nightmares, but I got used to what was inside of me. We sort of… let each other have their wins. I give her complete control during the full moon. She won’t try to force herself out anymore when it’s not a full moon. Sometimes I’ll change and let her take over any other night. I haven’t attacked anyone since, and no one’s found out about me. We moved here just in case, as a precaution. We didn’t know if eventually someone in the park would see tracks, or something the wolf left behind and then start to question things,” Elune said.

Tom tapped his fingers together thoughtfully.

“You can’t turn during the day?” he asked Elune.

“No…you can?” Elune responded. Both he and Josie nodded. Elune wanted to sit back down. They could turn during the day and she couldn’t? The wolf inside hummed that that wasn’t fair. Elune almost smiled.

Tom and Josie looked at each other before Josie nodded. She got up and walked past Elune, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly as she walked by. She left the room. Elune watched her go before turning back to Tom.

“I havn’t heard about something like you in quite a while. There were stories when I was younger…but I always thought they were just that, stories. I suspect you are…you’re a hybrid,” Tom remarked, staring into Elune’s eyes. Elune didn’t know what to think about that. What exactly did that mean for her?

“I’ll have to brush up on the books…this is very interesting. How did my brother manage to do this…” Tom said more to himself. He looked off into space for a second. He turned back to Elune and stood up.

“Because of what you are Elune…some in this pack will not accept you. You aren’t really one of us; you aren’t really a full werewolf. Because of this, I’m sorry to say I’m going to have to go straight to the pack and discuss this with them and you’ll have to wait to hear about Viktor. I won’t tell them your story, but I will have to tell them what you are…and from there your fate will be decided,” he remarked. Tom walked over to the door and turned the handle. Elune turned to him, a little anxious now.

“Will they have me killed?” Elune asked. The wolf inside was eager to know too. Tom paused his exit and turned to Elune.

“I don’t know child. I’ll do my best not to let that happen…but in some ways you could be a danger to this pack and I will not let some hybrid harm this pack.” Tom slowly said. His eyes flashed, and then he turned and left. Robert stood up and hugged Elune to himself.

“I won’t let them hurt you,” Elune’s father said to her. She hugged him closer to her and chuckled.

“Dad you know if they want to kill me, they will. Nothing you do will stop them.” She said to him.

“I’ll go to the police, or die trying.” Robert mumbled into her ear. She patted him on the back but stepped away from his embrace.

“You heard Tom earlier; they have people in the police. My death will probably “officially” come up as some kind of an accident…and I don’t want you to die for me like that,” Elune replied. Robert collapsed back in the chair and put a hand to his head and began massaging his temple. Elune smiled a little; he was getting greyer by the second. She then walked over to the window in the study and looked out into the night. She had learned a lot about herself tonight. Elune was eager to find out more about Viktor, Tom’s nightmare of a brother. She sighed and felt the wolf whine inside.

Internally, for a second, she had felt like she had finally belonged somewhere. For seven long years Elune and the wolf had felt out of place amongst everyone. She felt like a stranger to everyone she talked to, sometimes her dad couldn’t even heal the loneliness she felt somewhere deep inside. Seeing the other wolves, seeing these other people had momentarily warmed that place in her heart. For a moment, she believed she might actually belong somewhere.

But that wasn’t true. She wasn’t like these people, not really. They would all know, and now she knew that too. She would once again be a stranger among the people around her. Elune finally accepted her fate; she would be truly alone her whole life. She was…what had Tom called it? A hybrid; she was a hybrid, and by the way Tom spoke, the only one at that.

Elune was done with everything, and if they wanted to kill her she would let them. She vaguely wondered what would happen if they decided not to kill her. Would they have to move again? Would…was it possible they would let her join the pack. The wolf inside hummed inside happily at the thought. Elune thought that maybe it wanted to belong somewhere even more than her. Drudging up old memories made Elune reflect upon the wolf inside her once again. Maybe they weren’t as different as she thought. They both were alone in this crazy world. They really only had each other. She had felt what the wolf had felt during those first couple of months, and knew she had treated it poorly…but she had been scared out of her mind. Surely the wolf could understand that. Earlier tonight, Elune had felt the wolfs urge to protect not only itself…but Elune herself.

Maybe…maybe it wasn’t such a monster.

There was a knock at the door, and the guy from earlier, Nick, poked his head through the door.

“Ah hey, it’s time for you to come out. Hope you’re ready!” he said, opening the door wide.

“Depends what I’m supposed to be ready for,” Elune responded, wrapping the blanket around her naked body even tighter. They may have felt comfortable naked around her, but she didn’t feel the same way.

“You’ll see,” Nick said ominously. Elune walked past him, heard her father walk behind her, and held her head up proudly. She was ready to face the huge crowd awaiting her, no matter what happened.

Tower Over Me

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:32:45 -0400

In the eyes of the world, it was a brand new day. The morning signaled a fresh start, a clean slate. It was the chance to start over, to start anew, or to continue on from the previous day. Anything could happen, everything was possible. Most awoke with a brand new look to the future; Elune however, awoke that morning to thoughts and nightmares of the past. The dream from the night before was still fresh in Elune’s mind. It had begun like a reoccurring dream she had many times before, being hunted by the source of her curse…but the end was different, the end was brand new. Elune wasn’t sure what it meant, and had nowhere to start. Knowing there was no point in contemplating it anymore, she tried to push it from her mind as much as possible.

Birds chirped outside the bedroom window. Sunlight drifted through the room and right onto Elune’s tired eyes. Curtains would be at the top of the list when getting supplies from in town; she needed her cave back. Feeling her puffy eyes, Elune put a pillow of her face and sighed.

“It’s about time to go into town and breakfast is ready in the kitchen for you.” Elune’s father said from the door.

She took her arm out from under the blankets and gave him a thumbs-up and heard him walk out. Elune thought of a time when him showing up suddenly at the door like that would have scared her, but now her sensitive ears could pick up his movement all the way from the stairs. Every step on the floorboards, every creak from that slight pressure applied, Elune could hear. It was a blessing and a curse.

Elune tiredly slid the bedding off her body and got out of bed. She stretched, bending backwards, her muscles stiff. Tomorrow she would get back to her yoga routine once she sniffed out the outside boundaries of her new home. Elune slid open the window and felt the cool morning air. Dew rested on edge of the window sill and it moistened her fingertips slightly.

Closing her window, she turned to go through her small closet. She dressed warmly, and grabbed a rain jacket. Elune had smelt the moisture in the air and wanted to be more safe than sorry. After hoisting on her rain boots she grabbed her handbag and headed down the stairs. The smell of sausage, eggs, and muffins greeted her nose. It smelled delicious and Elune was happy her father was a good cook; Elune couldn’t cook if it saved her life. Her father wasn’t waiting in the kitchen when she arrived, but she went ahead and grabbed a full plate of food and sat at the table. A pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice sat in the middle of the table, and Elune poured herself a glass. The strong citrus flavor set her mouth abuzz and she began wolfing down her food. Elune liked to think it was like she was eating for two.

Not five minutes later, Elune finished. She put her dishes in the sink to wash and waited for her father to make his appearance. Just in time, her father walked into the adjacent living room towards the front door.

“Ready?” he asked. Elune nodded and started towards the door after him.

“It’s going to rain later,” she warned him on the way out. He smiled then grabbed a jacket from the coat rack next to the door.

“It always makes me smile when you say something like that. You’re like my personal weatherwoman.” He grinned at the pointed look she gave him in response, and threw her the keys to the truck.

If her dad wasn’t joining her, Elune would have walked the miles to town. The thought stirred the wolf inside her and Elune grimaced, gripping the steering wheel in concentration in an attempt to control the wolf.

Her dad stopped smiling when he saw her face, and put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

“Breathe,” he reminded her. Elune breathed out heavily, and sighed in relief. The urge had passed. She moved her hand off the steering wheel, feeling the slight indention she had made accidently.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, starting up the truck.

“No problem kiddo, it’s easily fixable.” That wasn’t the first time she had unintentionally let her strength get the best of her. They both thought back to the beginning, when numerous things had been broken or ruined because of it. Elune frowned at the thought, while her father looked back at it fondly. He’d always try to think about things positively.

Elune rolled down the windows and started driving back on the unpaved woodsy road towards town. She wanted to stick her head out of the window and let the outside air blow over her senses and through her hair. Half of her mouth turned upwards in a smile, thinking about how much she sounded like a dog.

—- - - -

Elune cut the engine to the truck and they both simply sat in the cab for a little. They were parked on a main stretch of road lined with little shops and a few places to eat and drink. A train blew its horn as it passed on the train tracks behind them. It was almost deafening to Elune’s ears.

“Ready?” Elunes father asked after the train had finally passed.

“As I ever will be, I guess,” she replied. Elune wrenched the door open and stepped out. They had talked about visiting a few of the shops before stopping to get something for lunch, and then moving onto the grocery store. They walked into an old antique shop first.

An older man eyed them curiously from behind the front counter. Elune’s father gave him a friendly wave, and then started browsing through the wares. He was looking for some old picture frames for some of his photographs. Elune was surprised to see there wasn’t a speck of dust to be seen on anything throughout the store. She rubbed her finger across an old desk and it came off squeaky clean. A glance towards the front of the store told Elune that the old man was still curiously watching them. She idly wondered how the town treated outsiders. There was a clatter of wood and Elune looked towards the sound to see her dad going through a stack of beautifully handcrafted frames. Some wooden figurines caught the corner of Elune’s eye and she reached out her hand to touch them. They were also carved from wood, done by hand. The detail was extraordinary. Elune picked one up and balanced it in the palm of her hand. The wolf figuring stared up at her. She loved it. Her dad struggled with the weight of some frames from behind her and Elune turned to help him. She easily lifted a few of them, but her dad shot her a warning look. Elune couldn’t help but roll her eyes, but she still pretended to struggle a little under the weight of the frames as they both walked to the counter.

“These sure are finely crafted,” Elune’s father spoke to the old man. The old man silently began ringing it all up. Elune sat the wooden wolf on the counter to be rung up also.

“Passing through?” The older gentlemen asked, glancing up at Elune and her father.

“Ah no, we actually just moved into one of the cabins a few miles into the woods. I’m Robert and this is my daughter Elune.” I smiled politely at the old man out of courtesy.

“Oh I see, well I’m Harvey. I own this place. You said you moved into one of the cabins in the woods?” The old man’s demeanor became friendlier, and Robert was encouraged to be more open because of it.

“Yes! I believe the previous owner died of a stroke, old age.” Elune’s father replied. Elune sharply looked at her dad; that was news to her. Harvey scoffed and then went into a fit of coughs. Elune saw the hesitation when he picked up the wolf figurine, and it made her speak up.

“That’s beautiful, how old is it?” Elune asked. Harvey smiled.

“It’s actually not an antique. One of the local boys did it. HE comes by every so often to sell me some things.” He finished ringing up their stuff and as he handed over the bags, he grabbed Elune’s wrist gently, but refused to let go. His eyes turned a little crazy.

“Be careful in the woods. Some who go in…never come back out.” Harvey warned. He released her wrist, and went into another fit of coughs waving them out of the store. A bell rang as Elune and her father stepped out of the store and the door shut back behind them.

“Well what an interesting place!” Robert spoke. He hummed as he started walking towards the truck. Elune looked at her father incredulously and then looked down at her wrist, rubbing it.

“You didn’t think that was odd?” she asked, joining her father in putting the bags in the truck.

“Sure it was, but he’s a much older man cooped up in that shop all day Elune. Who knows what kind of gossip he stirs up.” Her dad shrugged off the encounter as if it was no big deal. Elune couldn’t do the same.

For the next few hours they wandered through several of the local shops. Most shop owners were friendly and welcoming; some were cold at first like Harvey, suspicious of outsiders. Elune got the sense that tourists only came through every now and then. New neighbors in town were exciting.

“Ready to eat yet? I’m getting hungry.” Robert asked his daughter. They had just stepped outside of a department store where the woman behind the desk had been flirting shamelessly with her father. Robert had been friendly and polite, but didn’t reciprocate any of the advances. He didn’t seem to have thought anything of it.

“Sure dad, you know I could always eat.” Elune joked. He smiled at her and they began walking down the side walk in search of somewhere for lunch. As they walked, Elune was distracted every so often by smells she couldn’t remember ever smelling before. There were a variety of wild smells that would almost out of nowhere assault her senses as they passed certain places. Elune took note to remember the places for later…just in case. And every time they passed these places, the wolf inside her would stir a little. It sensed something that was lost to Elune. Elune wasn’t sure what to think about it all.

It was during one of these times that her father stopped and pointed at a sign hanging over the door to a lounge type place. He laughed.

“The Howlin’ Wulf. Appropriate right? Smells good though!” her father joked. Elune was too distracted to respond appropriately. As they stepped closer to the door, the wolf began to rage inside of Elune. Warning bells sounded out in her head. Her gut, her instinct, told her to turn around and run very, very far away. Robert, oblivious to the change in Elune, pushed through the door and the air from inside of the tavern only made Elune’s state of mind worse. She struggled to control herself, and staggered forward. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

“Hi! Welcome to The Howlin’ Wulf. How many, and is there anywhere specific you’d like to sit?” A girly, bubbly voice said from in front of Robert. He was blocking Elune’s view of the girl.

“Just the two of us, and any table will do,” Elune’s father replied friendly. Elune held her breath to try and control her senses. Her skin involuntarily crawled. The wolf inside her rattled against its cage; it warned her. The wolf was making her feel like how it was when out on a hunt, when a bigger predator was nearby, but it was also ten times worse than normal.

“Follow me,” the girl said. Her dad began walking, the air shifted. Elune stood in place unable to go any further in. As if sensing something also, the girl turned. Her high ponytail swooshed and her eyes blazed into Elunes.

“Oh!” The girl gasped. She dropped the stack of menus. She didn’t bend to get them. Elune felt the overwhelming need to attack; attack the smaller girl, the wolf begged; no, it demanded. Elune gritted her teeth and shook her head. The wolf was getting out of its cage. Elune’s father looked at the girl, then seeing her intent gaze, looked back at Elune.

“Elune, your eyes!” he softly exclaimed, aware of the amount of people currently ignorant of the event taking place in their presence. Elune wanted to look at him, but her eyes stayed on the girl. The wolf wouldn’t let her look away. A very large man walked up behind the girl and clasped onto the girl’s shoulder. Elune looked up from the girl to the man. He was extremely tall, packed with muscle, and extremely bald. The look in his eyes demanded for Elune to look away, but her wolf forced her eyes to stare back in challenge.

“Get out, the both of you. You are not welcome here.” The man nearly growled this statement. Elune had never heard such a commanding voice. His words echoed around in her head. Elune wanted to move, she wanted to leave. The wolf however had too much control at this point. The wolf inside wouldn’t let her budge. The man stepped one step forward, his eyes turning a little wild. As if Elune’s father finally sensed the impending trouble, he shoved Elune back and out the door. She didn’t turn her back on the man and young girl until they were out of the door. The open outside air flushed itself through Elune’s senses. Although the wolf still stirred angrily inside of her, pacing back and forth in its cage, Elune was in control again. Her father had the sense to give her a few moments.

“Your eyes turned golden. What was that?!” he demanded to know. Elune could only shrug. She wanted to collapse to the pavement; the struggle against her own body had tired her out.

“I don’t know dad. Those people…they smelled different. The wolf wanted to attack them both. This has never happened before.” Her voice croaked towards the end. Elune let out a deep breath, a deep sigh. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. Robert sighed too.

“Let’s get you out of here.” He gently grabbed her arm and led her back to the truck. Elune gladly jumped in the passenger seat and sat back, resting. The familiar smell, her territory, calmed her. It calmed the wolf. It rested too, defeated. Her dad watched her for a moment, and then leaned through the window to kiss her forehead.

“I’ll be back in a few. I’m going to grab all the groceries we’ll need for a while.” He said, before walking away.

Elune sighed again. She lay down on the truck’s one long seat, and curled into the smallest ball she could manage. She was more confused, more lost, than she wanted to be. She hadn’t felt this way sense it first happened. Elune swore, and pushed her fists against her chest. Elune hated what was inside of her; the monster that lay within. Every struggle, every fight just felt like some cruel small form of self-mutilation. Angry, hot tears streamed down Elune’s face. However much she tried to be completely in control, it was really never possible. Today had been a prime example of that. She realized she could never truly be in control of her own body, and the thought brought more angry tears. She shared her body with a monster. Elune could almost feel the wolf inside her whine sadly, but she ignored it, attempting to disconnect herself from it even more.

Elune rolled to her back, and stared up at the ceiling of the truck. Clearing her head, she wiped the tears from her face. She thought back to the encounter in The Howlin’ Wulf and combed through possibilities to explain the whole ordeal. Nothing really stood out. They were different somehow, different than normal humans; Elune knew that for sure. The thought that they could also be weres, or lycans like herself briefly floated through her mind. She toyed with the idea, but ultimately threw it out. There was something that was different about them, something that separated them from her. She couldn’t explain how she knew, just that she did. Elune sat up and braided her long black hair back into a braid down the back of her head. She figured she would just stay as far away from those people as possible. The town wasn’t that small.

Her dad approached the truck, arms full of bags. Elune got out of the truck, feeling better, and helped him put the bags in. He cautiously smiled at her, and Elune smiled back to reassure that she was okay now. He nodded and they both got in the truck. The drive back to the cabin was like the drive to town, with the exception that they both had a little more on their minds. Elune was surprised her father didn’t ask her anymore about what happened, but his thoughts were furrowed for most of the drive. She could tell he was thinking about something.

It rained on the drive back, but they got back to their new home without incident, and began unloading all the bags into the house.

Elune stayed in the kitchen to unload the groceries, and stock up all the cabinets and fridge. Robert went around the house unloading the other bags. After finishing, Elune made herself a sandwich and stood gazing out the kitchen window into the forest.

“Finally going for a run tonight?” Elune’s dad asked, suddenly behind her. She looked back and saw him sit the wooden figurine of the wolf on the kitchen counter.

“No.” Elune responded shortly. She brushed the crumbs from her hands and wiped them on her jeans. She downed a glass of water. Her father stood watching her movements.

“Why not?” he asked.

“I don’t feel like it, and won’t be going for a “run” until the night of the full moon comes back and I haveto.” Elune snapped. Without glancing at him, or the wooden wolf staring at her from the counter, Elune walked out of the kitchen and stormed to her room. She opened the window in her bedroom and breathed in the wet, rainy, woodsy smell. Her hands shook a little as she balled her hands into fists, upset at the way she had reacted to her dad. Elune hadn’t meant to react so strongly, but she also didn’t want him to question her decisions regarding the wolf inside her.

He didn’t know what it was like.

Elune blew out a breath and collapsed on her bed. She pulled the old quilt over her feet and buried her face into her feather pillows. Her eyes closed and she drifted to sleep, determined to get in a decent nap. She was sure she would feel better when she woke up.

—— — - - - - - - - - -

The sun had just set and it was beginning to darken outside when Elune opened her eyes to see the small wooden wolf staring at her from beside her bed on the night table. She gazed at it before reaching out and taking it into her hands. She brought it up to her face, it smelled like the trees, like her father, and like something else she couldn’t quite make out. Elune knew her father had forgiven her for earlier thanks to the little wolf being placed in her room. Her focus on it was disturbed when she heard voices from down the stairs. Curious, she placed the wolf back on her nightstand and got up to walk to the door. She quietly cracked it open and put her ear up to the crack. Elune heard her father’s voice, and then a woman’s voice. A deep slightly familiar voice rocked Elune back on her heels.

It was the bald man’s voice from earlier in town. The woman’s was unfamiliar. The wolf inside of Elune immediately stirred from the deep place Elune had shoved her earlier. It growled, angry. Elune was well rested however, and was able to keep control from the wolf. Elune was not angry like the wolf, but very curious. She opened the door as quietly as she could manage, and crept forward down the hallway towards the stairs. She paused at the top and listened into their conversation.

“…I wanted to come with my son, but my wife insisted she join me instead. I just came by to apologize for my behavior earlier. I don’t know what came over me.” The bald mans voiced rumbled. It sounded sincere enough.

“We also wanted to apologize for our daughter’s behavior, and how she reacted to your daughter…who I’m sure is a nice girl like you said.” The woman who Elune still couldn’t see spoke now. There was a moment of silence and then Elune’s father spoke.

“Ah it’s alright. Accidents happen I guess! You said you live in one of the cabins on the way out here? This meatloaf sure does look good Josie.” Robert warmly said.

“Thank you, and yes we live in the bigger of the cabins out here. We have um…a big family,” the Josie woman responded. Elune stepped forward and the wooden creaked quietly under her step. She was sure no one heard when her father continued to talk.

“We are just getting settled in now. It would be great to see your place though and….” Elune’s dad began saying.

“I think we have company,” The large man’s voice interrupted her fathers. Elune glared down at the wood floor, but stood tall and began making her way down the stairs. The wolf inside struggled against her more. There was that threatening feeling again reverberating through Elune’s bones.

“Ah Elune, this is Tom and his wife Josie. You remember Tom from earlier?” Robert stated as Elune reached the bottom of the stairs and looked into the living room. Elune nodded. Yes, she remembered the large bald man named Tom from earlier. She saw he was out his work clothes, and in a t-shirt and some jeans. He was as large and as intimidating as before though. Elune then glanced at Josie, his wife. She was standing a little behind him and was of average height, a little taller than Elune herself; the description that popped into Elune’s mind when seeing her was…motherly. The wolf inside Elune wouldn’t allow her to step any closer. Elune’s eyes unintentionally glanced at the exits of the cabin; the door, and all the windows. Tom noticed her eyes dart to them. Robert coughed awkwardly at the silence that filled the room. Tom cleared his throat and stepped forward. He stared into Elune’s eyes. Elune wanted to look away under his threatening gaze, but found herself staring right back at him.

“Honey…” The Josie woman stepped forward too, putting her hand on her husband’s arm. Tom pushed her behind him though. Robert warily looked between Elune and Tom and began backing up toward Elune. Tom growled. It was deep and throaty, and a clear warning of some sort. It sounded…it sounded like a wolf growling. Elune felt her lips pull back from her teeth but the wolf inside allowed for her to turn her eyes away. Elune refused to look down at the ground however. Tom relaxed his stance a little.

“Now that we’ve got that over with, we need to talk. What do you think you’re doing on our territory? Without permission at that.” Tom asked, voice still holding some warning. Robert came to his daughter’s defense.

“What are you talking about? We can move wherever we want to. Last time I checked anyway.” He said. Elune was also confused at the way Tom had worded his question. Tom’s eyes darted to Elune’s father, and then back to Elune.

“That would be true normally, but not in this case…wolf.”

Elune gasped. Her father sucked in a breath and nervously went to Elune’s side.

“We…we don’t know what you’re talking about sir. I must ask you to leave my house now before I call the cops.” Robert shakily answered. Tom’s eyes narrowed at Roberts lie.

“Now is not the time for storytelling,” he simply stated. Elune felt ready to bolt out the door. For once she let the wolf out a little, relinquished some control to it, but it was confused too. It felt threatened, angry, curious, even a little scared, and something else. Something Elune couldn’t put her finger on.

How had he known? How had Tom known what she was?

Dust

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:30:30 -0400

The road to Salem, Virginia was to say the very least, not short. Traveling from one side of the country to the other was a long ordeal. Elune was irritable; the wolf wanted to stretch its legs and Elune silently agreed. At last, they had made it. After getting off the highway and driving through the small city, there was nothing but trees around. Elune rolled down the window and the smell of the woods flowed through her sense. The longing to explore hit her hard. They passed several cabins and drove a little further on until they finally reached their new home, which also happened to be a cabin.

“I picked a good one didn’t I?” Elune’s father asked as he parked the truck and opened his door.

“We’ll see I guess,” Elune wistfully responded. The scent of the forest was new and it brought a feeling of exhilaration to Elune’s veins. The wolf struggled within. Elune’s feet moved towards the forest uncontrollably, as if she was possessed.

“Luna! Grab some things and lets start moving in!” her father yelled. Elune had to bite back a retort, but his exclamation brought her out of her trance like state. The wolf inside became more agitated. Elune shook her head and took a deep calming breath, pushing the wolf deep inside. Feeling more in control, Elune began the moving process of grabbing a couple of her bags and heading up the old wooden front porch steps.

A creak resounded against the wooden walls of the cabin as Elune stepped through the front door and onto the wooden floors. Wood, more wood, and even more wood… the epitome of a cabin in the forest. Not to mention dust covered absolutely everything in sight. If the place had been called beautiful, or rustic but elegant at some point in life, it was not now. Maybe with some hard cleaning, maybe some rearranging, and redecorating it would be livable. Elune dropped her couple of bags and they hit the floor with a bang. Dust immediately became unsettled and floated gently into the air to then lie back down in its former place. She inwardly groaned at the sight.

“Daaaad, did you even check out the place a little before buying it?”

His footsteps stopped behind her, and Elune felt he was taking it all in too.

“C’mon kiddo, give it a chance. All it needs is a bit of cleaning. It’s just a bit rough around the edges,” he smoothly said after wiping dust from the wall to the right of them. She turned to see him grimace then wipe his finger on his pants leg.

“Right…I’ll be sleeping outside,” Elune responded as she turned around to leave right back out the front door. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, pinning her to his side.

“I know this isn’t exactly the greatest hun, but think of it as a project you can do with your father. Not to mention you know we can’t stay in one place for too long.” He gently squeezed her against him.

Her only response was a grunt. Elune knew he was right. It was a smallish town in a big forested area, just what she needed. It was just what her wolf needed. He was just looking out for her when he could have abandoned her completely to fend on her own. Maybe once the house was more put together, more home-y, this new place would be perfect. Different, but perfect.

“Head upstairs and you’ll find your bedroom I believe. There should be an extra room up there I was thinking we’d turn into an entertainment room of some sort. My bedroom will be down here along with of course a kitchen, living area, and study. I was going to turn the huge closet area next to my room into the dark room. Anyway, explore a little and then help me unpack the rest of our stuff.” Her dad let go of her then started walking further into the house with his bags, towards his bedroom.

Elune blew her hair out of her face, gave the house one more onceover and headed up the stairs. It wasn’t hard to find her room, and just like the rest of the house it was also covered in dust. She picked up the quilt covering the mattress and threw it in the corner of the room for the moment. She then picked up the mattress and stood it up against the wall. Elune put her finger to her lip in thought and studied it for a moment. When an idea came to mind, she then picked up her hairbrush from her bag. Dust floated into the air as she took the blunt end of the hairbrush and proceeded to bang it against the mattress. Her sensitive nose twitched and her puppy-like sneeze filled the room. Elune then picked out a shirt from one of the bags and wrapped it around her face to cover her mouth and nose like a mask. Satisfied, she began banging on the mattress once more. After she was content with doing that, she flipped the mattress back onto the bedframe and then dug through her bag once more to pick out her sheets. When she was done with the sheets, she looked at the quilt she had thrown to the corner of the room previously. It was good looking enough that Elune took it downstairs and outside to hang to freshen up to go on her bed later. That small complete task made Elune feel an ounce better on the inside, and it was enough to put a smile on her face and the mindset that she could tackle this project of a house. She and her dad would restore it, and it would be beautiful.

Elune walked through the downstairs rooms to find her dad to see how he was doing. She found him sitting on the edge of his bed in his own room. His face was buried in his hands, and his body hunched over. His shoulders sagged with the weight of weariness. Elune’s mouth quirked to one side in sadness for him, he didn’t deserve all this. She walked over to him and put her head on his shoulder. He looked up in surprise at her and wiped at his cheeks.

“I didn’t hear you,” he said after clearing his throat and looking away.

“Don’t worry dad, this will be easy compared to what we’ve been through before. You don’t have to try and hide behind that rough exterior you think you’re fooling me with. If you’ve taught me anything it’s that when we stick together we can do anything, and we can definitely do this house…this new life here. I’m not your little girl anymore you know, but I appreciate all you’ve done.” They both stared at the wall in front of them.

“You haven’t been my little girl in a long time Luna, but that won’t stop me from trying to be strong for you, from trying to protect you from everything. I failed in the past…and I won’t fail you now.” He put his arm around her shoulder.

“You never failed me, what happened was a freak accident and you can’t blame yourself. Now common, let’s get to work superman. We’ve got lots to do,” Elune said before pushing off the bed and out of his embrace. She turned to smile at him, and then left the room to go get more things from the truck, especially the cleaning stuff.

For two days they cleaned the house up and down. As hours went by the rooms began looking more like rooms, and less like dusty antiques. Elune and her dad hummed and danced together while cleaning and rearranging the rooms, only stopping to eat the snacks they brought with them. They had decided to not go into town until the house was finished and proper food could be properly cooked in the proper kitchen. Each night Elune was too exhausted to really dream and it was not until they were finally done that she restlessly slept.

“Wow, look at it! It looks…great Luna. I really liked especially what you did with my pictures in the living room.”

They both stood just inside the front door, in the same place they had first stood on that first day. Everything was if it was magically transformed, the cabin didn’t look like it originally did in any way. All the wood was polished, not a single bit of dust could be seen. What furniture they had brought with them was in the house, blending in with the cleaned furniture that had been left there. A warm fire was crackling in the living room and currently her dad was looking at his professional photographs that adorned the walls. Elune had put them up when he was finishing up his black room. They were beautiful, and had always reminded Elune of the real forest that was back in Montana.

“The new house needed a bit of the old us,” she responded before wiping the sweat from her forehead.

“I’m heading upstairs to shower and then hop into bed. Wake me up to go into town tomorrow right?” Elune paused on the stairs to look back at her father. He was still mesmerized by the house, and had a huge smile on his face.

“Of course of course, I’ll be in here for a little while longer then I’m heading to bed myself.”

On the way to the bathroom Elune considered going for a run, but decided against it. She would wait till it was daylight outside, just in case. The wolf inside hummed with displeasure. It wanted to stretch its legs, badly. Elune winced and shook her head; she had resisted and would continue to until she was ready.

A little later Elune stepped into her new bedroom toweling off her hair. It started to look like home, but she couldn’t wait until it started smelling like it. Something was still a little off. The old quilt that had been on the bed before was now clean, but still a little ragged. She liked the way it made her room look a little more rustic. Not to mention it smelled a little wild, like the forest. Elune turned off the light in the room and got into bed. She curled into a ball and finally got comfortable, her eyes felt heavy. Tomorrow would be a new day, full of a new adventure and she was eager to get it started.

That night was the first night Elune couldn’t really sleep in her new home. She was haunted by a dream. Elune suddenly found herself running in the forest, being chased. What was usually her safe place was now turned into a maze she could not escape. She could hear the steps behind her crushing the leaves that she left in their wake. The mysterious chaser was catching up quickly, she could just feel it. Elune couldn’t get away, she couldn’t run fast enough. Her wolf wouldn’t help her; she could feel the wolf was oddly content and Elune felt betrayed, abandoned, scared, and confused because of it. Normally she was the predator, not the prey, and that stable sense had left her. Her breath left her as she was pushed to the ground; her eyes were not yet adjusted to the dark. It was pitch-black and she could feel it’s breath on her neck. Her chasers form was slowly coming into shape. It was a man, his silhouette was unrecognizable. The eyes of a wolf suddenly stared into hers. Elune’s breath hitched as the man grabbed her chin. Those eyes were familiar, and they were not a welcome site. Her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest then burst. It was over she thought to herself, finally she could rest in peace. Forget her wolf, her life, her friends and family. She had been caught in the ultimate chase and it was finally just… over. She moved her head to look to the stars, where she imagined she would go and finally be entirely happy. Yes, she thought. She would make this be her last view of the world. Elune waited a moment or two before finally looking at her predator.

The eyes had changed. They were still the eyes of a wolf, but a different one; an unfamiliar one. She could make out a small smile on his face, and then suddenly…suddenly something happened she did not expect. In a flash his face leaned towards hers and his lips came crashing down on her lips. He kissed her hungrily, and she saw a brand new different kind of stars.

A howl echoed outside her window and Elune awoke in her bed with a start. It took her a minute to take in her surroundings, remembering that she was in the new cabin and not outside beneath the canopy of the trees. She felt as if her heart was still beating as hard as it had in her dream. The dream had felt so real, and as Elune looked to the clock beside her bed she saw it had only lasted an hour.

Was the howl real? It sounded like it happened right outside her window.Elune got out of bed to walk over to the window. She pushed back the curtain and set on the cushioned window seat. Her breath fogged up the window, and her eyes darted back and forth across the forest line. Nothing however, could be seen. Elune laid her head against the window and looked up at the small sliver of moon. It was just a dream, all of it.

That reassurance however, didn’t quiet her mind and it certainly didn’t help her get back to sleep.

Memories Last For So Long

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:28:18 -0400

The wolf was always with her. Elune was the wolf, but the wolf was also Elune. The bond between human and wolf in a lycanthrope is like no other, and it is one that is hard to explain. The wolf was a constant, albeit more primal, companion. The wolf never controlled her during the day, but it could be influential to a point. The wolf made her stronger, stronger than any human. The strength is not to be mistaken for the strength of some sort of super human with superhero strength however. Elune found that her temperature and body heat usually ran a little warmer than the average human, an anomaly that doctors were continuously baffled over. Her metabolism was also unnaturally high, which resulted in a few differences. On any other night besides that of a full moon, Elune had control of the wolf and the choice to shift or not. On the night of a full moon however, the wolf was in complete control. When the full moon hit its apex, the forced painful change occurred no matter what. As the wolf took backstage during the day, Elune did the same at night when shifted. She was aware of the wolfs decisions and consequences. She could try to influence the wolf, but it rarely actually worked. The beast, despite how intelligent, was still just a primal beast, interested only in its own desires and well being.

The morning after the night of the full moon, Elune awoke in her bed twisted in her sheets. The smell of blood and sweat filled her senses. The wolf had feasted before returning the night before, and the shift back had been strained. The wolf did not want to return within Elune. The door to Elunes bedroom door banged open. Her dad stepped through the doorway, hands covering his eyes.

“Are you decent? How’d it go last night? I made you eggs and bacon, although they’re a little on the crispy side.” he spoke to her in a rushed sentence.

The smell of bacon made Elune gag. She clutched her stomach.

“Dad,” she said to him, “I’ll meet you downstairs and tell you about it okay? And you ‘mines well throw away the food, she fed last night.”

“Alright Elune, come down when you can. Take your time.” he said on his way back through the door, hand still covering his eyes. His face still told Elune that he felt bad.

Elune couldn’t stop the feeling of guilt. She had never wanted to burden him with her problems, or the situation itself. But she wasn’t sure she could go through everything alone. Elune forced herself up from the bed, taking the nasty sheets with her and crumpling them in the corner. She clicked the light in the bathroom on and found herself staring into her own tired eyes, black rings underneath. Her browned skin was nearly blemish free, aside from the ruined scarred flesh covering her right shoulder, and the three scars running the length of her back. Elune tied her long curly hair back and dressed warmly in layers. Montana’s falls tended to get cold. On her way out of the bathroom she took a final glance at the framed portrait of her mom, an image that held a great likeness to Elune herself. She gently picked it up and put it in one of the few boxes left in what remained of her room. What life she had was packed away in boxes and in the back of her dads’ truck, waiting to be carried to her new “home”.

Elune grabbed her phone, sent a text, and then headed downstairs to the kitchen. Her dad, dressed in an apron and cleaning dishes couldn’t help but bring a smile to her face. She kissed him on the cheek and turned to grab her bag.

“I’m going to say goodbye to some people, when I get back we can leave and on the long drive you can hear all about my night if you want,” Elune stated after her dad turned to her, soap spuds covering his chest. He gave her a quick glance over, looked at the clock, then back at her and nodded. That was her signal she could leave.

Elune headed out the front door and began to walk towards town. She never owned a car, since her house was always within walking distance to the town. Her dad had taught her to drive anyway, though Elune always preferred the fresh air and wide open spaces. The walk was around two miles, and once Elune finally got into town she headed into the local coffee shop. The smell of coffee and people filled her nose. She was able to almost immediately locate who she was looking for. Natural fire engine red hair blazing, her best friend, and probably only real friend Ariel, spotted her and stood from her seat. A sob escaped Ariel’s mouth when Elune hugged in her greeting. Elune wiped the few lingering tears from Ariel’s cheek and smiled.

“Cheer up my little mermaid, its not like I wont ever see you again,” said Elune. They both sat down at the small table.

“I ordered you your favorite, a delicious hot chocolate. I figured you’d be exhausted.” Ariel motioned towards the mug nearest to Elune.

“Yeah, all that packing really got to me huh?” Elune responded, while rubbing at the circles under her eyes. Although Ariel had been Elunes friend for as long as she had been in Montana for ten years, she could never bring herself to tell Ariel her biggest secret. She couldn’t risk losing her only real human companion, and was afraid of the consequences of someone…normal finding out. Ariel got a call on her phone; she mouthed to Elune it was Jeff, her current boyfriend. As Ariel talked and giggled away, Elune was fine with taking long sips from her mug and soaking in the atmosphere. She would probably never see this place again. She also studied Ariel, trying to memorize every detail of her best friends form so she would hopefully never forget her. A glance at the clock told Elune it was almost time for her to say goodbye. Fortunately Ariel got off the phone.

“Sorry about that Luna, sometimes it’s like he’s more of a woman than I am.” Ariel said as she put her phone away. Elune smiled in response and finished the mug of hot chocolate in front of her. She glanced up at Ariel.

“You know I’m really going to miss you right? I don’t know how I’m going to survive without a friend.” she said.

“Just be yourself and you’ll make tons of friends. Well, the more social and less brooding in the corner by herself Luna I know is in there,” Ariel shot back. She patted the top of Elune’s hand for emphasis.

Elune stood to go as she said, “Thanks for the drink my favorite mermaid.” They embraced one final time, Elune leaving with a little more sadness in her heart than she had upon entering the coffee shop. A glance back to Ariel told Elune that she was feeling the same way. “Miss you already,” Elune texted to Ariel. Elune then began her walk to the forest, saying goodbye to the town forever.

The ledge was nowhere near the same during the day. As a human, things were also a little duller, but it would do. It had to. Elune sat down and let her emotions go. As a wolf, she would have howled, but as a human she merely cried. She felt the wolf inside stir, it was feeling the same thing. This forest had been a little haven of her own. She had run away to the forest below countless times. Countless nights she had spent, one with the forest and the earth. The memories could never be replaced. Elune was scared. She was scared of the road ahead of her, scared of the unknown future that lay waiting for her..and the wolf.

Solace

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:24:23 -0400

Leaves and sticks softly crunched beneath her feet so quietly it was as if the forest was just whispering. The full moon gave light and leeway to the barely existent trail below the canopy of the trees. The faint breeze of the night carried the thick, earthen, musty smell of the woods and rustled the tree leaves.

This large thicket in Montana was officially known as the Flathead Forest, but to Elune it was just home. The forest itself, the trees, the wildlife, the familiar paths, was a refuge; her element. The nearby babble of a small creek told her she was following the right direction. The sound of a disturbance some feet away halted her journey.

Always cautious, Elune crept towards the sound and found herself staring into the black beady eyes of a buck. It lowered its head and kicked at the dirt below its’ hooves. Slowly Elune retreated backwards into the bushes; she had no need to kill the buck. She then continued on her adventure following the creek. She picked up her pace, quickening to a run, anxious to get to her destination.

The creek dwindled into a smaller pool of water and it was then Elune knew to change directions once again. This time her path was up a mountainous slope, trees and bushes still there to navigate through. With cautious steps and past experience however, Elune was able to climb the slope with relative ease.

She felt and saw her destination drawing closer as the forest came to a halt but the slope went on. The bundles of tree canopies ended, and the vast black expanse blanketed with bright twinkling lights came into view. Her breathing quickened, the sight of the sky excited her. Elune picked through her familiar path that led to a ledge that oversaw the forest she had just journeyed through. She sat at the same ledge and looked into the sky.

Her relaxed breaths came out in small puffs of foggy air. Finally, she was where she belonged. There was nothing more beautiful to her then the bright, large, full moon fully in view surrounded by the stars and dark sky. The depth of the cosmos was never ending. Past the moon was more space, more stars, seemingly unlimited. No boundaries. Her forest, like all forests, eventually ended. Her sky however, never did.

Deep within her breast came an irresistible urge, as it always did when she sat gazing at the moon. When she first experienced it, she had tried to control it, to stop it. She learned though, that nothing felt better than to just let it happen. To just let it out.

And so Elune howled. Emotion; pain, sorrow, joy, pleasure, all the emotion she had ever experienced came pouring out. It contained the remnants of her past, only of which she could understand. Every howl was usually different, every howl was unique. It was beautiful, and it was like music to any wolf’s ears.

This would be the last time she would come here at night, but Elune would stay on the ledge until the moon began to set and the sun began to rise. The reddish brown fur that covered her body would keep her warm. Her keen sense of smell and sound would tell her if there was danger nearby. The sharp teeth in her jaws and the deadly claws on her four paws would keep her safe. Until the time to head back down the mountain and back through the forest to her house came, that is where Elune would stay…staring at her solace.

Siren's Call; Chapter Three

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:05:10 -0400

“Amatheia! Theia! Where are you!?” Raveena shouted as she neared the freshwater river that emptied out into the ocean. Amatheia was her closest friend, but was also a Nereid, and because of that they were doomed to be enemies from birth…but somehow the fates had other plans in mind for the two of them. They had become friends against all odds placed against them.

—————

A much younger Raveena strayed from the mermen guards that were supposed to be watching her. Her mother had strictly informed her to never swim towards the beach; the townspeople would see her. She was also commanded to never go towards Kalech River, which was one of the largest rivers on all of the Isles and that emptied out into the ocean.

But as always, Ceto’s warnings just made Raveena more curious and she wished very much to see what freshwater was like compared to saltwater.

“The rivers of Innis nan Druidhneach, especially Kalech River, are full of Nereids. They are dangerous, and human sympathizers. They will kill you if they see you Raveena!” Lady Mother Ceto explained to Raveena. Raveena had nodded and respectfully agreed to stay away from Nereids, whatever they may be.

Raveena had absolutely zero idea what a Nereid looked like, but she assumed they were big ugly foul looking creatures of the water. She also assumed she would have no problem staying away from them, but ironically a Nereid was the first thing Raveena saw as she neared Kalech River.

Raveena was swimming happily towards the source of the freshwater. She was feeling proud because she had managed to ditch her babysitters, and also eager; Raveena immediately started feeling the difference in water. The water started feeling less grainy, less course. She stuck her tongue out of her mouth and tasted. That was also different.

Raveena stopped in her course as she saw another mermaid, who looked around her age, also swimming at the mouth of the river. She didn’t recognize her, but that wasn’t entirely unusual.

“Hello!” Raveena excitedly called out. How great was it that she wasn’t the only one defying the rules? The young mermaid quickly stopped and turned slowly, equally as surprised to see Raveena. She was silent for a minute.

“Hi?” The stranger shouted back. Raveena swam forward, sensing no immediate danger. As Raveena got closer, she saw the mermaid wasn’t exactly the same as the mermaids she saw frequently. Her tail wasn’t as vibrantly colored, just a dull blue color like those of mermen. Her ears weren’t as pointed either, more round like those of a human. They both approached either other cautiously.

“I like your hair.” Raveena said when they were just a few feet apart. She pointed at the young mermaids silver hair.

“I like yours too, it looks like the sun.” the other mermaid responded, pointing up towards the sun. Raveena just nodded; she got that a lot.

“My name’s Raveena. What’re you doing around here? We aren’t supposed to be near Khalech River. There’s some kind of monsters that will eat us if we aren’t careful.” Raveena stated after a brief moment of silence. The mermaid looked around nervously, looking a little frightened.

“R-river monsters? I’ve never heard of any of those being around my place. My names Amatheia, but all my friends just call me Theia. What were you doing out in the ocean? That’s the dangerous place!” Amatheia, or Theia replied.

“What’re you talking about? I live in the ocean, it’s wonderful!” Raveena retorted, a little offended. The two young mermaids both stared at each other for a moment, switches going off in each of their brains.

“You’re one of them! You kill people!” Amatheia accused, swimming back a little. Raveena crossed her arms over her chest and turned her nose up.

“I’ve never killed anyone, I don’t know what you’re talking about. And what about you?! You kill us!” Raveena responded. Amatheia shook her head violently from side to side, disagreeing wholeheartedly.

“We help humans. You kill them. You’re the bad guys.” Theia argued.

“My mom said that the humans are the bad ones.” Raveena stated, less angry. She liked the other mermaid. She wasn’t afraid to fight with Raveena, like the dozens of other young mermaids who were afraid of Raveena…or more her mother’s wrath.

Theia shrugged and looked down.

“They seem okay to me. Sometimes they give us stuff for helping them.” Raveena shrugged at Theia’s comment, unsure what to say now. They both looked at each other for another minute in silence.

“Want to go treasure hunting with me?” Theia asked. Raveena immediately brightened up.

“Treasure hunting? You guys have hidden treasure?” Raveena replied.

“Sorta. Weird stuff always washes out of the river here and sometimes you have to dig a little to get to it…” Theia said, looking down at the sandy floor. Raveena nodded and started swimming downward. Theia followed. They spent the next few hours bonding over weird dug up human spoils.

The next hundred years Raveena spent their friendship trying to get Theia to let her throw rocks at the humans for fun from the river, although she was never really serious about the idea. Theia always warned her against actually traveling up the river, her kin weren’t so keen on the idea of letting a “murderous” Siren swim in their waters.

——-

“Theia I know you aren’t speaking to me anymore, but this is serious! I know you’re out there somewhere, aren’t you supposed to be saving humans and such.” Raveena yelled up the river. She considered swimming up the swift downstream current for the first time in her life. She was desperate for help, and knew Theia would know what to do about some dying human.

“Raveena. What are you doing here? I told you to never come around. You have become one of…them now.” Her best friend finally responded. Raveena looked around and narrowed her eyes to see better through the water. She spotted a flick of silver hair and stared at the spot in the water.

They had fought a few days before. Amatheia had pleaded with Raveena to not go through with the song, to not become one of the Sirens that the Nereids hated. Raveena explained that she had to go through with the song, it was a part of who she was, who she had to be. Amatheia had pulled a rusty blade on her and told her to never come back to Khalech River again unless she wanted the blade in her heart. Raveena had reluctantly left, although she knew Amatheia would never actually use the blade against her. She was much too kindhearted.

Another moment later, Theia was floating in front of Raveena, an older version of her younger self. Her heart shaped face was fuller, her straight silver hair longer, and her body curvier.

“How’s it feel having human blood on your hands?” Theia asked, a frown on her face. Raveena swallowed and looked down at her hands. The memory of dozens of bodies floating on the surface of the water came to mind.

“I didn’t…I couldn’t…I didn’t kill…” Raveena stumbled through her words. Theia squealed and then grabbed Raveena into a hug. Raveena grunted and tried to push her away.

“Oh Vee! I’m so proud of you! You didn’t go through with it, I knew you could stand up to that old hag of a mother!” Theia exclaimed into Raveena’s ear. Raveena tensed up under Theia’s arms and pushed her back with more force. She stared down at the sandy bottom of the water, thinking of times much simpler when she had dug through that sand for treasure with her friend.

“No, I did it Theia…I performed the Siren’s call. They’re all dead…but-” Raveena began. Amatheia made a sound of disgust and turned her back on Raveena. She hung her head low, and shook it back and forth sadly.

“I thought you were different…” Theia murmured. Raveena sighed and then grabbed Theia’s wrist.

“Quit being sappy and just follow me for a moment. There’s an emergency I need your help with.” Raveena snapped, tired of feeling like some big disappointment to everyone. Theia pulled against her fighting for a moment, but then gave in and let Raveena drag her along. Raveena led her towards one of the local beaches.

“Wha-” Theia asked as she saw where Raveena was pulling her. Raveena just yanked on her arm harder. Soon their fins began to drag against the sandy bottom, and waves began to foam and crash above their heads. Raveena poked her head out of the water first, nervously looking around in case there was now a live human on the beach. Theia’s head popped out of the water right next to her, and Raveena heard her audibly gasp.

“Raveena, what have you done?” Theia asked in complete wonder. Raveena didn’t answer, but swam towards the beach some more. Soon she had to use her arms to drag her body on top of the sand, the water too shallow to swim through. The tide lapped at the end of her tail-fin as she paused to stare at the creature before her, lying on its back with its eyes shut. Its chest wasn’t moving either.

The human man did not stir.

Raveena heard Theia moving up onto the sand beside her, and then her sharp intake of breath. Raveena looked up and watched as Theia began pounding on the human’s chest, and then putting her cheek close to his mouth. Raveena was both curious, and revolted as Theia placed her lips on the man’s mouth. His cheeks grew larger, and then Theia pressed on his chest some more.

After a moment the human made a choking noise and water poured out of his mouth. He then groaned, but did not open his eyes. Theia put her ear by his lips for a second, and then leaned up and just stared at him. Raveena watched the human’s chest rise and then fall steadily.

“Wow.” Raveena said, staring between the man and Theia. Theia looked sharply over at Raveena, her eyes wide.

“That was the first human I’ve ever saved. They really don’t train you for this kind of thing. I mean they do…but it’s just…different. More intense.” Amatheia quickly spoke, her words tumbling out. They both stared at the sleeping man before them.

Raveena’s eyes roamed his tan skin, his pitch black shaggy hair, his strong jaw and full lips. They then swept downward, past his broad shoulders and lean torso, his white shirt clinging to his skin. Raveena stared at the two appendages attached to his hips. They were so strange. Raveena reached out and poked the leg, and then examined one of his feet. The other foot had some sort of strange covering over it. On his naked foot were five more tiny little appendages, like much smaller fingers.

Raveena pulled on one of the tiny things, and the man stirred a little.

“Don’t touch those. Leave his toes alone.” Theia said, laughter in her voice.

“Toes? These are strange things. However do they swim with body parts like these?” Raveena asked, examining his legs once more. She remembered the way he had flailed like a newborn under the depths of the sea. They had seemed useless to her.

“They manage somehow.” Theia replied. Raveena shook her head, silently disagreeing. This one couldn’t swim. Maybe his legs were broken.

“He’s a handsome one,” Theia softly sighed. Raveena looked up and saw her gazing down at his face.

“You should see his eyes…they’re like ice,” Raveena said, crawling her way back up his body. She wanted to reach out and pry open his eyes just to see them again.

“Raveena…what the hell happened?” Theia asked. Raveena looked back up at Theia, and then looked behind her out to the sea. The ship was no where in sight. Raveena knew it was at the bottom of the ocean by now. Raveena wasn’t sure she could explain what happened, she was just as confused about it all herself.

“Everything was going well and as planned with the song, until I saw this man. He was putting up a fight against the song, but even then he didn’t collapse like the others who fought did. I remember mother saying sometimes it was necessary to change the song specifically for more of the strong willed men…usually the captains of the boats, and so I did.” Raveena paused and collected her thoughts, thinking about being in the water and the events that passed.

“He stared right at me…his eyes like icey daggers, Theia. My throat felt momentarily seized up, like I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t continue singing. And then I fought back with the song when I could breathe again, and he jumped overboard and disappeared from sight. He was the last to jump, and so I ended the song and dove underwater to join my sisters in taking care of those who survived the jump.” Raveena spoke while gazing down at the human man. She reached forward as if to peel back his eyelids so she could see those eyes once more. They had captivated her, literally physically captivated her.

Theia made a noise of protest at Raveena’s words. Raveena rolled her eyes and withdrew her hand, looking over at Theia.

“Oh grow up Theia. I’ve told you that I have to kill. I have to do the things my sisters and mother have done, do, and will do, just as my daughters after me will do. It’s just the way it is.” Raveena coldly snapped at her friend. Theia just sighed softly and silently shook her head back and forth.

“Anyway, I never got around to actually killing anyone. I got rid of those little sprites, lost sight of Delphin…he probably left my side hoping I’d be killed accidentally… and then saw this one attacking Opala, where I then went to help her. I don’t think she saw me, but he cut her and she swam away. I do hope she’s alright now,” Raveena paused, likced her lips, and gazed back down at the man before them. Theia was silent.

“Under at least 50 feet of water he still put up a fight. I could see death reflected in his eyes, his lips turned blue and his skin went pale. He looked to be in complete agony…but he still put up a fight. He’s braver than most of the creatures I’ve ever known, yet a mere human being. It’s fascinating Theia, absolutely fascinating.” Raveena reached forward and placed the pads of her webbed fingers over his chapped lips. She could feel his warm breath on them, and that itself was interesting. Theia cleared her throat slightly, and Raveena snatched her hand back and looked over at the other mermaid, flushing a little under the sun. Theia chose wisely not to mention it.

“And to think the fight he must have had with Hades to still be here, living and breathing before us. You are quite right Vee, not all of them are like this you know? He’s a special one.” Theia commented.

Raveena was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to reach out and strangle the life out of this man’s lips. This wasn’t right what she was doing. She had seen the tools stocked up on the boat as it sunk into the depths of the sea. They…he was here to hunt Raveena’s people. And she was struck with the knowledge that if any of these feeble minded humans could do it, the man before her could. If she let him live, who knows how many of her kind he would kill once he awakened and sought revenge for his brethren. What had she done in saving his life? She should have just let him drown like the others.

Raveena glanced down at the black haired human once again, her eyes narrowing in thought. It would be such a pity for him to be able to survive all of this, and then to die by Raveena’s hands on a beach where he was supposed to be safe. Her eyes then went to Theia, who was looking up towards the nearest town dock which was quite a distance away. Theia wouldn’t let Raveena do it anyway. The human would have to live.

“RAVEENA!” Two all too familiar shrieks disturbed their thoughts. Theia looked towards the sea and swore, as did Raveena. She could see the water sprides quickly hovering towards the beach, their tiny silver wings flashing in the air like glitter.

“Go Amatheia!” Raveena exclaimed to her friend. Theia didn’t wait around, Raveena often spoke of her mother’s annoying helpers. Raveena watched as Theia swiftly dragged her body to the ocean and disappeared beneath the blue surface.

“Raveena!” They shrieked again. Raveena moved, placing herself in front of the still unconscious man, hoping maybe the sprites would be too dull-witted to make any connections.

“What do you want?!” Raveena snarled as the sprites finally engaged her. Their beady little eyes flickered between Raveena and the body behind her.

“You know you aren’t supposed to near the beach!”

“What would your mother say if she found out!”

Raveena rolled her eyes and started edging towards the water.

“Let us go back then so you can tell on me like the dutiful servants you are. I was just finishing off this one, he somehow managed to swim all the way over here.” She nodded her head back at the human. She prayed they wouldn’t investigate it any further.

“Well maybe Lady Mother wont be so disappointed then when she hears of this news.” One of the pale skinned sprites grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth.

“Let’s have a looksy at the dead trash!” The other squeaked out. Raveena thrust out her hand to try and stop it, but it darted past her and towards the body. The other quickly followed, laughing gleefully. Raveena prayed the human would suddenly stop breathing. She was not so lucky.

“Look how pale it is Tali,” The sprite Avi pointed at the human’s face and then giggled. But Avi went still. It was looking at the man’s chest, which was rising and falling gently.

“It’s still alive!” Avi accused, sending Tali into squeaks of terror.

“You let it live?!” Tali added. They both turned to Raveena, their eyes flashing. Raveena bit her lip, clenched her teeth together, and then narrowed her eyes at the two identical sprites. They watched each other for a moment in suspended time. Their wings twitched, and Raveena quickly reached out and snatched them before they could fly away. Their nails scratched at her hands.

“Be still you little demons before I peel your wings slowly from your back.” Both of the sprites quit struggling within Raveena’s grasp. They looked up at her with a mixture of hate and dread. Raveena glowered at them both, pulling herself up right and sending them the most intimidating look she could manage.

“Breathe a word of this to anybody, and I mean anybody, and I will personally tear you into little bits, piece by piece, and make you into bait for the sharks.” Raveena spoke quietly, her tone deadly. She squeezed their little bodies in her grasp at the same time, and saw the terror in their eyes.

“We won’t say a word Lady Raveena!”

“We promise!”

Raveena stared at them a moment before ripping off one of their tiny little ears. They both wailed, screeching loudly. Turquoise blood oozed out from on top of their heads.

“QUIET!” Raveena snapped. They stopped wailing to sniffle at each other.

“That was just a taste of what will happen if you break your words.” Raveena threatened darkly. They both nodded accordingly.

“Where’s Delphin?” she asked next, glancing around. She half expected him to pop up and make this situation even worse. He wouldn’t take being threatened like the sprites had.

“H-he’s waiting at the palace with your mother and sisters.” One of the sprites chirped out; Raveena had already forgotten which one was which once more.

Raveena glanced back at the human man, utterly exasperated. What trouble this one was already causing. At least now, she’d be through with him forever…hopefully. Next time he was anywhere near the waters, she wouldn’t allow him to be so lucky.

“You’re on your own now.” she muttered, almost wishing she could see those icey blue eyes just once more. Strengthening her hold on the sprites, she turned and dragged her way towards the sea and into the water. Raveena didn’t look back.

———-

“Where were you? What happened to these two?” Ceto’s cold voice immediately struck Raveena as she entered the “throne room”. Raveena merely shrugged in response, and eyed Tali and Avi reproachfully.

“What does it matter? I was taking care of some loose ends and now I’m here. I assume everything went well?” Raveena replied coolly. Ceto watched her for a minute before bursting into some semblance of a smile.

“Oh yes daughter! Yes, everything went wonderfully. It was beyond all my expectations! The water ran thick with blood! You will make a powerful Lady Mother one day.” Ceto’s gold eyes flashed as she held her palms up in the water and then lowered them to her mouth. Raveena wished she felt proud at her mother’s words, but instead a feeling of guilt loosely wrapped itself around her.

“Yes, job well done sister.” Brith spoke next, her compliment sounding forced. Beside her, Delphin looked peeved about something. Raveena let herself grin at that. Azalea stared silently at Raveena, quiet as usual. She looked for her other sister; Cora.

“Where’s Cora?” she asked.

“Tending to Opala. One of the bloodthirsty beings actually hurt her quite bad. Took off nearly half of her hand. Thankfully she was the only really injured. Bless Atargatis!” Ceto answered.

“Bless Atargatis.” Raveena added. She then turned, intent on seeking out Cora and Opala.

“Raveena! Where do you think you are going daughter! There’s a celebration to be head, which you must lead. You know this.” Ceto’s voice cut through the water.

“I’ll be back mother, I need to go check on Opala. I feel as if it is my fault that she is hurt,” Raveena responded. Ceto waved her hand through the water dismissively and snorted.

“It was no fault of yours. Opala is just a dimwitted fool for letting one of them get an advantage over her. Regardless, go if you feel you must.” Raveena nodded at her words, sent a menacing glare over at the sprites one last time, and headed out.

Finally, she could brood over the days events without anyone watching. And she really was eager to check on Opala’s condition and talk with her friend and sister, Cora.

Siren's Call; Chapter Two

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:01:09 -0400

“Once you get back from your silly adventure boy, it will be time for you to really start your duties as prince of Khalgaria.” The young man’s father laughed down at him from on top of his throne. The prince kept his head bowed, mostly to keep his curled upper lip hidden from sight. “I don’t know how you expect to hunt and conquer those silly…what do you call them? Mermaids? If you can’t even swim like a real man.”

“Despite any misconceptions or…flaws you may see in my character father, I have no doubt these mermaids do exist. And I promise to make our country richer by bringing back their precious pearls and scales in your honor. Perhaps even more will come from the trip.” The prince replied monotonically.

“Ah yes let us hope you come back with some real balls.” The king responded before barking out in laughter. “Do not forget to report to me all of your findings.” His father continued before waving his hand at him in a ‘shooing motion. The prince nodded silently and then stood, turning before he would say something he would regret later. The tyrant behind him continued to laugh until the prince left the throne room.

————

Prince Sebastian of Khalgaria brought his dagger down on the point on the map that they were drawing near to with a resounding whack. He glared at the string of green average sized islands; the Isles of Druids. Whispers had told him of this place; the place where the veil between the worlds can be traversed, a place where the sense of sacred seemed more pronounced than the more mundane parts of the world of Talagrid, a place of…”magic.”

Sebastian rubbed a hand through his black hair, an inheritance passed down from his dead mother, and rubbed at his stomach. It still felt queasy from the boat crashing against the waves. It was a brilliant day outside, but Sebastian had a hard time being out on the deck for more than a few minutes. The sailors had laughed at him at first, until he had pushed one over the side of the deck and sent the remaining a dark glare. That had shut them up quick enough.

This quest had better be successful, Sebastian’s reputation was practically riding on it.

There was a squeak and then squeal in the corner of the room that distracted Sebastian from his thoughts. His ice-y blue eyes darted to the corner, and the corner of his mouth quirked up into a small smile.

“Find something to quell your hunger Loki?” Sebastian spoke towards the darkness. There was no answer, only the sound of claws scampering across the wooden boards of the boat.

Sebastian’s eyes snapped over to the door as someone knocked and then entered.

“Prince Sebastian. We are drawing close and the mercenaries are getting rather…restless. Some are whispering of mutiny. They are coward dogs.” The knight before Sebastian spit to the floor in disgust. He was one of the several guards Sebastian had chosen to accompany him. Sebastian simply nodded before standing, grabbing the dagger from the map and tucking it into the sheath hidden in his boot for it. He then picked up his sword and attached it to his side and started towards the door. The knight, whose name Sebastian hadn’t bothered to learn, headed out the door first with Sebastian behind him.

As he passed through the doorway he felt the familiar weight of his companion settle on his shoulder, it’s claws digging slightly into his shoulder blades.

Sebastian stepped out onto the deck and shielded his eyes from the sun at first. It was nearly blinding for a few seconds. The smell of salty water filled his senses, and he breathed the crisp air into his lungs. Looking up, he glanced at the two moons and sun overhead that seemed to fill the whole sky up. Calmly, he walked towards the side of the boat and looked over; the isles were near.

The prince then turned, placed a hand on the pommel of his sword, and stared at the mercenary sailors, or pirates, in front of him. They were a scurvy bunch, and superstitious to boot.

“I’ve heard talk of…mutiny aboard this ship. Tell me it’s not so my loyal companions!” Sebastian bellowed out. The group of men looked at the creature sitting on Sebastian’s shoulder, and then at Sebastian himself. He knew Loki frightened them; he frightened everyone. Sebastian liked it that way.

“Sir…I mean Prince… it’s not that we don’t want to work for ye, it’s just that there’s talk of the sirens drowning us because we haven’t given them proper sacrifice that allows us to pass through their waters.” One of the sailors stepped forward nervously. The others narrowed their eyes over at him. Superstitious idiots, Sebastian thought to himself once again.

“We’re not getting paid enough to die today!” An unknown voice shouted. Sebastian’s cold eyes flickered in the direction to the source of the voice. He could feel Loki stir on his shoulder. A few of the sailors backed up a little.

“Have I not made it clear how glorious this voyage will end up being for you? Riches beyond your imagination await you! These…mermaids that you are all scared of are nothing but women with fins lollygagging underneath the water.” Sebastian turned towards the ocean and held up his arms.

“Do you not wish for such treasures to be bestowed upon you so easily?” He continued. Sebastian lowered his arms and willed himself not to look down into the water; a source of constant fear that clawed at his gut. He turned back to the small crowd that had formed.

“They say their tears form into the most precious of pearls that anyone has ever lay eyes upon. They say their scales are so brilliant that they’re worth more than 10 men’s lives.” Sebastian spoke, his voice deep.

“I heard if you catch one they grant you three wishes!” someone yelled. The other’s turned towards the random sailor and nodded their heads.

“Ah yes! But I’ve heard better than that! I’ve heard that if you can get one to fall in love with you…they’ll grant you something that no other can give you…” Sebastian ominously spoke, drawing all of them in.

“What’s that?” one of pirates asked while pulling on his long beard curiously.

“Immortality.” Sebastian spoke slow, pronouncing every syllable clearly. The mercenaries all glanced at each other, each grumbling about some excitement at the prospect.

“So get your nets, your guns, and your spears all ready! Soon enough we’ll all be living like kings!” Sebastian cried out. The crew all burst into a roar of cheers, throwing their fist into the air. Sebastian smiled and then reached up to scratch at the wings of his Loki.

“Bunch of blubbering idiots this lot.” Sebastian mumbled to Loki. A snort of smoke was the creatures only response.

“Back to work, this boat isn’t going to work on it’s own!” One of Sebastian’s knights yelled. The crew set off to their duties with a little more vigor than before. Sebastian looked up at the tallest mast of the ship, and then ran towards it before jumping on it and starting to climb. Loki held onto Sebastian faithfully.

“Too handsome for his own good maybe but he seems to have his senses about him. Perhaps this will be worth it afterall…” A voice drifted towards Sebastian as he climbed. Sebastian smirked.

His body lean with muscle and used to even tougher labors easily clamored up the long wooden pole. Sebastian kept his breathing even and controlled as he swung from mast to mast to get to the very top. He may have been afraid of water, but he was not afraid of heights. After just a couple of minutes, Sebastian held onto the main topmast, the highest lookout point on the ship. With one hand on the wooden beam, Sebastian took his looking glass tube from his belt and held it up to his eye.

The island would not be far at all. He hoped to be able to dock and talk with some of the locals before going out on his hunt for the merpeople of these waters. He knew that they would not be so easy to capture or defeat like he had told the ragtag group below him, but he also had no doubt he would be able to do it. The waters, and everything inside of them around these isles would soon be his.

He had not told his father, the king of Khalgaria, of all the stories he had been told to be true about the mermaids. Sebastian wanted immortality, and the wishes all to himself. The King could have all the pearls he could ever want…but Sebastian wanted the power for himself. His father didn’t deserve anymore power. Soon it would all be his.

The wind brought a new smell, the smell of something exotic to Sebastian, and he inhaled great-fully. He was tired of the smell of salt. He felt Loki expand his wings and Sebastian glanced over to his shoulder to him.

The small dark blue dragon held it’s snout into the air, its eyes were closed and it’s fleshy wings expanded fully. Loki was the size of a lemur, although Sebastian would never compare him to such a dull witted beast out loud.The dragon had been Sebastian’s loyal companion for more than two decades, but he was still an awesome sight to see. Prince Sebastian; the only human ever to have a dragon as a friend and partner. No, he was no pet but much much more. Loki might have been the only remaining dragon in the world of Talagrid, and he was always attached to Sebastian’s side. The sight of jealousy in other people’s eyes was never a rare occurance. Even his father had tried to take Loki for himself, but Loki would follow no one but Sebastian. The king had regretfully given up on trying to keep the small dragon as his pet and figured it would be more useful to him under Sebastian’s command…who was under his command.

————-

“Father, why do these people deserve to be enslaved?” A much younger Sebastian, just a small boy now, asked the king as he rode next to him.

“They rebelled against us even though we offered nothing but peace in return for taking their lands. They are nothing but savages, worshiping false old gods and we will use this land for its proper purpose. Our nation will prosper greatly!” The king arrogantly spoke. Sebastian still didn’t understand why they had to take the “savages” land in the first place, as far as Sebastian had been taught…their nation was prosperous enough. Far more prosperous than any other nation. But he knew not to question his father in this matter again, he knew it would gain him nothing but another whipping for incompetence.

“So many dead though…” Sebastian gazed at the piled up naked bodies around him. Those people had never stood a chance against Khalgaria’s solid forces. They had fought with arrows, with nothing but cloth covering their bodies…Khalgaria’s forces had long broad swords and armor.

“It’s a part of life my boy. Death spares no one, and he takes whomever whenever he wants. Your mother is coddling you too much, you should’ve seen the remnants of a battlefield way before now. I won’t forget you couldn’t hold your stomach contents at the sight easily.” His father stated. Sebastian rubbed at his eyes and tried to see past the bodies, but their image was now burned into his mind. The King spurred his steed forward through the village, and Sebastian kicked at his own horse to quickly catch up.

Soon they heard a woman screaming. A couple of his father’s guards were holding her and laughing as she clawed at them, speaking in some unknown language and pointing towards a crudely built structure behind her.

Sebastian swallowed a bile taste in his mouth when he saw one of the men slap the foreign woman across the face, push her to the ground, and begin to unclasp his pants.

“My King! Prince!” the other guard shouted as he saw Sebastian and his father approaching. The guard holding down the woman stood and bowed respectfully. The woman wailed and tried to crawl back towards the building she had been pointing at. The guard kicked her hard in the side. She screamed once more.

“Kindly slit that savages throat so I don’t have to hear her maddening scream anymore.” The King spoke, waving at them all.

“Yes sir!” The ever dutiful guard responded. The one who had slapped the woman looked very disappointed. The guard whipped out his sword and walked towards the woman, who upon seeing the guard, touched her forehead to the ground and started chanting.

“Wait.” Sebastian bravely spoke up. The king snapped his gaze over to Sebastian, a fire burning in his eyes. Sebastian was never supposed to question his orders, especially in front of others.

But curiosity had filled Sebastian’s veins, and the terror on the woman’s face clawed at his insides. The guard holding the sword however, paused and looked over, glancing unsure between his prince and king. The king held up a hand.

“This had better be good.” The king warned, his voice low. Sebastian looked away, slightly terrified himself now.

“I-I was just uhm wondering why she clearly thinks that building is so important. What’s inside?” Sebastian asked. The king did not say anything, his eyes glancing over at the building.

“My lord Prince Sebastian, it’s probably just some temple of theirs. We were smashing everything inside and was just about to light it on fire when she came scampering out of the shadows screaming at us.” The guardsmen responded.

The king waved his hand once more at the guard, and he started towards the praying woman once more. Sebastian slid off his horse and dusted at his pants before stalking towards the building. The woman, seeing Sebastian, stared at him with tears in her eyes and then she smiled. She closed her eyes, whispered some other things in a foreign tongue, and then said nothing more as the guard’s blade drew a bloody line across her neck. Sebastian looked away from the sight.

“Don’t die in there boy. Your frail mother can’t give me anymore children.” The king simply said as Sebastian continued towards the building. Sebastian didn’t bother looking back at his father as he pushed past the leather skin that was a makeshift door for the building.

Sebastian sniffed the air, a foul smell filled his nostrils. He then looked around at the wreck before him. The guards had indeed smashed almost everything in sight. The small boy glanced at the center of the room, where a beam of sunlight shined through the roof of the building and onto some sort of shrine. On the steps was what looked like dozens of cracked large egg shells. Sebastian walked forward towards them and upon reaching them picked up the pieces. He looked around at the floor but saw nothing dead or perhaps once living within the shells alongside the fragments. The boy sighed, the curiosity fueling him was slowly ebbing away. The intense feeling drawing him to the building was now passing.

Sebastian was about to turn away when out of the corner of his eye he saw a brilliant blue color peaking out from underneath a blanket. Both frightened, and mesmerized, the young boy crept forward and slowly reached for the object. Sebastian peeled back the curtain and stared at an uncracked egg. It’s color reminded him of the dark abyss of water, and that scared him. He had nearly drowned in water that looked like that a year ago.

But that did not stop Sebastian, and he picked up the egg and cradled it into his arms. The egg was warm to the touch, not cold like the other broken eggs at his feet.

A crackling and popping sound stirred Sebastian out of his thoughts, and he looked around to see the building was now on fire. His father had ordered them to set it ablaze while he was still inside. No doubt, some test of survival. Sebastian gazed down at the small blue egg in his arms and wasn’t sure if he should leave it or take it with him. What would his father say? Sebastian would probably be laughed at, and he hated more than anything when his father mocked him.

A plank on fire fell from the ceiling and nearly hit Sebastian. He took a huge breath, made the decision to keep the stupid egg, and then ran towards the doorway. He made it out, coughing smoke out of his lungs as he tried to inhale the fresh air outside.

His father was waiting for him, and stared down at Sebastian and the object in his arms.

“All that for an egg. Pathetic boy…” The king nearly snarled. Sebastian bowed his head but hugged the small egg closer to his chest.

“Maybe it will hatch.” Sebastian weakly replied.

“Doubtful. Come, let’s ride back to the castle. I tire of you.” his father commanded. Sebastian just nodded pitifully, and climbed back onto his horse. He wished with all his might that his father was wrong about the egg in his arms. Sebastian was sure it was different. It felt…different.

Later as he lay with his sick mother in his bed, holding the egg out for her to see, he was comforted once more as she smiled that he had made the right decision.

“It’s magic. It’ll hatch because you saved it, you just see.” His mother had whispered when he told her what he thought about the egg and asked her what she thought.

And so little Sebastian kept the egg with him at all times, being more careful with it than anything he had ever possessed. His father frowned constantly at the sight of it, but his mother smiled. Sebastian spoke to it like it was his friend, and it truly was one of his only friends.

And it did hatch; nearly a month later the same night Sebastian’s mother died, when Sebastian needed a friend the most.

————

“Loki, scout ahead please. Make sure we aren’t about to run into any trouble…” Sebastian asked, more than commanded. Loki blew out a small blast of fire before taking off. His scales glittered blue in the light as he flew farther and farther away.

Sebastian watched the dragon until he felt safe enough to turn and begin his descent. Just as he was stepping down…something stopped him.

A voice, a single beautiful voice singing some unfamiliar song. Confused, Sebastian turned, looking around everywhere. There was no woman singing in sight.

“THE SIRENS!” Someone shouted from on deck before Sebastian heard other voices add their own to that single powerful voice that continued to sing over the rest. Sebastian began to feel a little drowsy; almost sleepy. He shook his head, attempting to clear it, and then as quickly as he could began to slide down the mast towards the deck.

“COVER YE EARS AND ARM YOURSELVES!” one of his knights yelled, his words slurring. Sebastian’s feet touched the deck and he held strong onto the mast before swaying heavily. He drew his sword, but began stumbling about like a drunken fool almost immediately after.

The mysterious song, the stunning collection of voices continued. Sebastian covered an ear and turned about. He watched as a few of the pirates ear’s began to bleed, but they didn’t seem to notice. They looked dazedly out into the ocean, in some sort of stupor. Sebastian stumbled towards the front of the deck as he tried to drown out their voices.

“SORCERRYYYY!” Someone called out. And it was; Sebastian quickly realized. One of the crew members had changed steering routes and was steering the large vessel towards a huge formation of rocks. The song carried on around them, and Sebastian’s legs carried him to the side of the ship before he could even think to grab the wheel and steer it instead towards safety. He looked over the side of the boat, and saw nearly fifty women’s heads bobbing all across the surface. Their mouths were open, some of their eyes were closed. At the very front of them all was the most beautiful woman Sebastian had ever seen, in her golden hair a wreath of pearls glimmered. She stared at him, and Sebastian fell to the deck onto his knees as he felt her voice single him out.

He suddenly wanted to throw himself over the boat. He wanted to throw himself into the murky waters of which he feared most and join the beautiful woman who was calling his name.

Sebastian turned his head, felt warm liquid below his face pouring forth out of his ears. He watched his crew members throw themselves overboard, nothing but joyous expressions coloring their faces. Those who had tried to fight whatever magic Sebastian felt pulling him towards the water were lying motionless on the deck, blood seeping from their eyes.

Dozens upon dozens of his men through themselves overboard, where Sebastian would then hear their screams and then nothing at all. Sebastian’s limbs moved against his will, crawling him towards the edge of the boat. He could see the ship was nearly upon the rocks, so close to being smashed into a million different pieces.

The song’s notes changed, and Sebastian grinned, standing. He didn’t want to fight anymore. He wanted to go beneath the water; he desired those beautiful women under the sea more than anything in the world. He wanted to join them. They would save him from the rocks.

Sebastian stepped up onto the side of the deck, stared at the dead bodies below but did not worry. Those gorgeous women on the surface of the water would take care of him. He would be safe. It was safe to jump in. They would protect him while the ship would be wrecked.

And so Sebastian jumped feet first towards the water, not a care in the world. For once he felt nothing but happy.

But that changed as soon as his dark head plunged underneath the water’s surface. Terror seized his limbs, the magic of the song wore off. Or maybe they had just stopped singing, Sebastian wasn’t sure. He kicked at the water, flailing his limbs every which way, but he knew it was over. Sebastian knew he couldn’t swim.

Just as his face broke the surface of the water, something dragged him deep below once again. Sebastian looked down and saw one of the mermaids; no sirens, pulling him under, a witchy smile on her face. Under other circumstances Sebastian might have thought she was pretty, but she wore the face of death to Sebastian, so he kicked at her. She just kept dragging him under, farther and farther below.

Thinking quickly, Sebastian reached down and slid his dagger out of his boot. He then dragged the blade through the water, cutting at the siren’s hand. He heard her wail, even through the water he could hear her scream. A red cloud of blood swirled around Sebastian, and he then saw a couple of webbed fingers floating past him towards the surface. The force dragging him down was gone, the siren gone, but Sebastian was still drowning.

He kicked at the water as his lungs burned. He wanted badly to open his mouth and suck in nothing but air; he resisted the urge, knowing it would mean his lungs would feel with water. The blade of his dagger glinted under the water as he swung his arms about. When Sebastian saw he was getting no where, he stopped moving.

Sebastian looked up at the surface, saw the men he had commanded over for a week floating motionless on the surface. Blood swirled about. He could see them too; the mermaids darting every which way, their tail fins shimmering as they moved. Sebastian closed his eyes as he opened his mouth, ready to breathe in the water and just end his own misery before the mermaids could get their hands on him.

“Magic…” his mother’s words whispered through his brain. God how he hated the water. Sebastian opened his eyes one last time, but stopped himself with what little time he had left from breathing in the water.

The beautiful one in the water, the one whose voice commanded him to jump in the water, was floating in front of him. Light that somehow made it through the depths of the water seemed to form some sort of halo around her silhouette. Her eyes were the color of Amethyst, but much more brilliant than the purple gem. The mermaid’s long golden hair floated slowly around her, revealing her long pointed ears as it swayed back and forth. Sebastian wanted to reach out and touch it, it looked like it was made from one of the suns rays. Her breasts were covered by nothing but a long piece of seaweed that wrapped around her rib cage. Just where her hips would have started, was instead the beginning of a green tail fin. It reminded Sebastian of the lush forests, which was nice to think about as he was dying.

Sebastian blinked; she blinked. Her narrow eyebrows looked at him in confusion, and he watched as she quickly examined him from head to toe, her eyes straying on the dagger in his hand. She then glanced around her, looking almost nervous.

His lungs burned; he couldn’t wait any longer. He opened his mouth and sucked in nothing but water. His vision went blurry as he choked on water. He vaguely saw the siren come towards him and he weakly swung his dagger through the water. Sebastian felt it slip from his grasp as something hit his hand. He blinked again, sucked in more water, and felt a pair of webbed fingers grasp his sides as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

This was the end. He was sure she would suck his soul right out of him. Death by one of the creatures he had mistakenly called a lollygagging woman with a fin for legs. Sebastian blacked out.

Siren's Call

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 01:57:37 -0400

“Raveena!” Raveena snarled and turned to stare at Delphin, her betrothed. Although he was the least grotesque out of his brethren, Delphin was still not pleasing to the eyes. But that’s how it was for all mermen, who compared to their gender counterparts, were more fishy than human-like.

That however, didn’t matter when it came time for Raveena to announce her engagement. The day of her one hundredth birthday came around and the Lady Mother announced she would marry Delphin in exactly one year. According to Lady Mother, Delphin was the “prime of all other mermen, promised high quality breeding, and would make a glorious mate.” Raveena thought that Lady Mother forgot to mention how Delphin was constantly stuck up her ass, and only wanted to mate with Raveena for the social status and power it would bring him. But love didn’t matter when it came to choosing a companion amongst the mermen. Raveena didn’t even know what love was.

Half a year since than had already passed, and every night Raveena came closer and closer to stabbing a dagger into Delphin’s pretentious back while he slept. Raveena couldn’t believe that in another hundred years she would be expected to actually have kids with the pig in front of her.

“I’m praying to the goddess, how dare you disturb me Delphin! Leave, be gone with you now!” Raveena replied to him. Her tail whipped through the water, the green scales flashed in the light. Delphin puffed out his chest and glared at her.

“Soon you will not be able to speak like that to me…wife. Lady Mother requires your presence immediately. The ship is nearly three leagues away and will soon be upon us. You know what that means!” Delphin growled out. Raveena stared at him with contempt, but Delphin just shot her a cocky smile before bowing mockingly and bidding her farewell.

Raveena watched his grey tail-fin disappear around the corner before she let her tense shoulders relax. She then turned back to the huge underwater shrine of the goddess and mother to all mermaids, Atargatis. A variety of different colors of corals and sea anemone grew abundantly around her statue. Small jelly fish circled the shrine, constantly keeping Atargatis in the light even though the shrine was in a deep underwater cavern.

Raveena put her hand to the statue, tucked her long golden hair behind her pointed ears, and remembered when her own mother had brought her to this cavern when she was just shy of five years old. It was ages ago.

———-

Little Raveena watched her mother place a hand on the old statue of a woman and bow her head.

“This, my child, is Atargatis. She is mother to us all…the very first mermaid ever to exist.” Her mothers raven black hair swirled around her, and Raveena pondered what her mother had said for a moment.

“But…you’re my mom, not some old statue.” Raveena stated.

“Raveena, don’t be ignorant. Pay attention to what I tell you child. Yes, obviously I bore you as I did your younger sister just as my own mother bore me. Atargatis is however, the only reason all of us exist. Therefore, she is all of our mothers.” Ceto, Raveena’s mother, waited until Raveena nodded her head in understanding before continuing. Her sharp gold eyes turned back to the statue and the deep purple color of her scales shimmered lightly underneath the dark blue water. Ceto was one of the most beautiful, but cold, mermaids existing.

“Atargatis was the goddess of fertility, and protected and cared for her people greatly. She considered the fish sacred, as a symbol of fertility and the life of the water. Atargatis doted upon the humans that doted upon her, for she was the most beautiful thing any of them had ever seen. Her flaming red hair and voluptuous body drew them to her like fire imps to an ember. ” Raveena watched as her mothers hand traveled across the shrine until it rested on a mural of creatures that looked like Raveena’s people. Instead of fins however, they had two stick like objects as their bottom half. Little Raveena thought they looked very odd, how would they swim with no fin? Raveena couldn’t imagine a world without swimming.

Ceto’s hand clutched into a tight fist and then it pounded against the mural once.

“Humans…” Ceto spit out the word as if it disgusted her. “…are treacherous beings and betrayed Atargatis. One day, for reasons unbeknownst to me, she fell in love with one of these feeble creatures. The human man betrayed her love and rejected it, and so Atargatis weeped for days. Inconsolable and in deep despair she threw herself into the water, intent on becoming like one of her beautiful symbols forever. The other gods however, would now allow her to conceal such beauty under the murky water and stopped her from becoming a full fish. And so the first mermaid was created, half human half fish, and nearly immortal…more beautiful than any human female could ever hope of being.” Raveena wiped a tear gathering at the edge of her eye. The story moved her and struck a cord somewhere deep inside of her for some reason.

“And daddy? How was the mermen made?” Raveena asked. Ceto turned to Raveena and smiled almost predatoryily. Her teeth had been sharpened to points, and that had always disturbed Raveena in some way despite how much she loved her mother.

“Well Atargatis took vengeance. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, especially a goddess. She sung a song that called the sailors of the city she used to protect to the sea, including the mortal who betrayed her love, and dragged them all far underneath the waters. She let most of them drown, but then enslaved the rest. Through some spell weaving, she managed to turn them also into mer-people so they would forever have to live under the water like herself, never to walk among their families or friends again. Her magic was not as powerful as the other gods in her new form however, so they did not become as…beautiful as we are, nor do they live as long. Atargatis took her old lover as her mate and he spent the rest of his life regretting his mistakes.” Ceto seemed to hum in pleasure at the thought, and floated towards her daughter with a small smile on her face.

“Come, let us get to the ceremony now. Who knows what trouble your sisters are getting into at the moment.” Raveena closed her eyes as her mother threaded her fingers through Raveenas already lengthy golden hair. “…and Raveena?” Raveena’s eyes snapped open as she looked up at her mother.

“Remember that Atargatis will always watch over and protect you my daughter.” Ceto leaned down and brushed her cold lips across her daughters brow. Raveena held still, trying not to wince at the feeling. It felt like death himself was kissing Raveena’s face. They both then turned and left Atargatis’s shrine.

————

“Atargatis hear my call. Please watch over us today and keep us safe from harm. Guide us swiftly, let our voices ring true, and their deaths come quickly…” Raveena may have hated the humans, but they were living creatures like anything else in the world and didn’t deserve to suffer…too much. “Perhaps let Delphin get eaten by a shark also.” Raveena smiled before she bowed her head and pressed her two of her fingertips to her lips and then her forehead.

“Bless thee our ever watchful mother.” she added. Raveena stared upon the statuesque figure of Atargatis one last time before turning and leaving the deep underwater cavern.

With a few flicks of her tail-fin, up she swam nodding at her fellow people who bowed their heads slightly as she passed. Raveena let her hands run over the seaweed she swam past, followed and swam within a small school of black and silver angel fish for a little while. Raveena loved the water, why wouldn’t she? It was unlike anything she’d ever seen outside of the water and had been her home forever. She was friends with some of the dolphins, talked sometimes with the whales and manatees, listened to the caws of the seagulls regularly, and loved the brilliant colors of the hundreds of different fishes that also called the ocean off the coast of Innis nan Druidhneach their home.

Sometimes some of her friends would talk of wanting to walk ashore someday, to walk among the humans, but Raveena never understood why. Those things they called “legs” were a deformity and so abnormal looking. Not to mention the fact that humans were liars, ready to betray you at any second. Raveena had grown up with her mother Ceto whispering about their sins and treacheries, and so she believed every bit of it. Wasn’t that why they killed them sometimes?

Everything Raveena could possibly want was under the sea.

Soon a very large wrecked ship came into view. The wooden planks were worn, some of the ship was indeed falling to pieces its self, but it was the equivalent to a castle in the merpeoples eyes. Her mother would surely be waiting somewhere in side.

“Out playing with your little animal friends Raveena?” the melodic voice of one of her younger sisters, Brith, floated towards her. A few giggles erupted immediately after. Raveena stopped her traveling to turn to the source of the voice. The young mermaid was sitting on a large boulder with two of her friends, combing her hair out with a small branch of a piece of coral. Raveena didn’t know another mermaid so full of herself, with the exception of Delphin. She watched Brith’s red hair float for a moment before replying.

“Actually I was out praying to the goddess, not that it’s any of your business where I am.” Raveena responded. Raveena knew her younger sister was just jealous she could not yet join in the soon sirens call, she was just a tad too young.

“Mother is looking for you, and is very displeased.” Brith stated.

“Mother is always displeased. Where are our other sisters?” Raveena asked.

“Azalea is right on mothers tail as usual. Silly Coralia should be back soon from collecting some of her ridiculous things.”

“Don’t call Cora silly, her “ridiculous things” as you call them will help anyone who becomes injured today. At least she does something.” Raveena bit out. She turned and began once again towards the ship.

“Oh Raveena?” Raveena glanced back. Brith’s eyes flashed and she smugly grinned..

“Good luck today.” Raveena shook her head at her sister’s comment and continued to swim.

“Lady Raveena.” Two mermen, who served as guards, bowed their heads to Raveena as she swam through one of the large holes in the ship that served as an entrance.

“You’re late! You’re late Raveena! We’ve been looking all over for you. You know how important today is to everyone, and we can’t begin the call without you.” Raveena batted her hand at the small water sprites that instantly began to chirp away at her as soon as she came within site of them.

“Oh shutup. I’m here now are I not? Is mother where I think she is?” Raveena asked her mother’s advisers. The water sprites nodded and swam along side Raveena, chirping along in her ear the whole way. Raveena rolled her eyes at them.The three of them passed a series of rooms, all filled with awaiting mermaids.

“She is not happy about this-“

“-nearly tore of our wings for letting you disappear on us”. Raveena spotted a couple of more guards in front of a set of double doors and blinked at them before they nodded and pushed open the doors. The shimmery blue sprites immediately went silent. Raveena tensed her shoulders, not quite sure what to expect.

“Lady mother!” The sprites called out, before darting forward to join by Lady Mother’s side. Raveena slowly swam forth, her eyes taking in the scene before her.

“I told you little wretches not to annoy me right now unless…” Lady Mother began. She looked up from her throne towards the door, and frowned at the sight of Raveena.

“Ahh Raveena, you have finally decided to grace us with your presence then? It wasn’t like we had anything important planned today or anything.” It took all of Raveena’s willpower not to flinch at Lady Mother’s tone, the queen of all mermaids.

“I am sorry mother, I was praying to the goddess.” Ceto, Raveena’s mother, and Lady Mother to all mermaids, stared at Raveena for a minute in silence. Raveena knew not to speak anymore. She took the time to study her mother, whose purple fin was more brilliant than ever and whose golden eyes now supported just a couple of wrinkles. It was the only tell of just how old her mother was getting.

Azalea, her youngest sister by a hundred years, was just behind her mother. She stared at Raveena with an expression of indifference. Azalea was one of the most emotionless creatures Raveena had ever come in contact with. She rarely spoke, and stuck to Ceto’s side like glue. Raveena frowned at the sight, she had always wished she would’ve somehow taken Azalea under her wing…perhaps she would’ve grown up a little warmer.

“Ah well, I suppose you are forgiven then. Come, we must prepare for you first Siren’s call. You know how important this is and how well it’s success goes determines if you may one day become Lady Mother yourself…” Raveena forced herself to smile, although she wasn’t really sure if the thought pleased her. She could only hope her mother would survive a few more hundred years.

“Tali! Avi! You know of your duties now!” The sprites chirped and squealed before zooming away quickly. Raveena had never been able to tell the two apart, and sometimes wondered if even her mother could.

“They have not given us patronage then? I thought they might within a few leagues of us.” Raveena asked, inquiring of the boat full of able bodied foreign sailors.

“No, fools as they are. I should’ve thought they would have been warned by the locals, word of us has traveled very far…but the human minds are simple and dull. They will pay for their ignorance.” Ceto drummed her sharp fingernails on the arm of the chair with a smile on her face as she stared into the distance for a moment. Raveena nodded, agreeing with her mother.

“Come Raveena. I sense the sprites are ready to attend to you and I.” Her mother swiftly began to swim away, the only thing she took with her was the long golden trident passed from generation down to generation to all Lady Mother’s who took up the throne. Raveena quickly followed her, with Azalea following the both of them like a silent spirit. They went to a back room, where the sprites immediately began fixing them for the ceremony.

Raveena’s nails were sharpened and cleaned. Her long golden hair was brushed and combed out, not a bit of kale or seaweed could be found in it afterwards. One of the sprites began to clean and scrub at the dazzling green scales on her tail, making them become ever brighter than ever. Raveena tried her best not to laugh at the tickling sensation, for her mother would not approve of that in the least bit. A small golden band of pearls, formed from Ceto herself (as was tradition), was placed on Raveena’s head and that was the last bit of preparation. While all this was going on Raveena and her mother began to warm up their voices with very short songs of no importance and that held no magic within their words.

Soon after, a guard excused himself into the room and informed his Lady Mother that the ship was larger than they expected, and but now just a league away. Delight filled her mother’s eyes and she clapped her hands together excitedly.

“Oh Raveena this is grand news. They will remember this as the day you killed many, many men. It will surely be a filling sacrifice to Atargatis and the beginning to an exceedingly bloody legend you will leave behind.” Ceto proclaimed. Raveena grinned to please her mother, hoping she was right at the same time. Azalea was expressionless as always to the guards words, although it didn’t matter to her because she could not take part in the song herself.

News of the ship being larger than expected frazzled her nerves. She didn’t know if she was prepared. What would it be like? To kill her first human. To drown the life out of him, watch his eyes as water fills his lungs and feel his spirit drain from his body.

Before Raveena could dwell too long on the thought, her mother forced them out of the throne room and to the grand gathering room. Ceto, Lady Mother, took her place ahead and above everyone, while Raveena floated slightly behind her. Azalea took her place to the side, gathering with her sisters Bridth and Coralia, whom Raveena smiled warmly to. Coralia sent her a reassuring smile. They were the only sisters on more than good terms with each other, and who got along like equal friends. Delphin also made his appearance be known as he settled by her sisters.

“My sisters, my daughters, it is time for us to reap our vengeance on those who dare trespass without permission from the goddess, without giving proper patronage to her vassals. They dare enter out waters to make a mockery of our name and honor.” Ceto began her preparation speech, biting her words out with clear cut confidence, no room for argument. She wielded the symbol of her power, the trident, around while she gestured. The mermaids and small group of merman became restless at her words, eager to begin the massacre that was surely about to take place.

“I have no doubt that they are here to try and hunt us, to try and kill us. Or yet worse, take us from the waters and use us for their own rewards. Our tears are worth their weight in gold, our voices a source of power, our beauty something for them to defile in the most awful ways…” A few mermaids cried out angrily. This was what mother wanted. She was always able to get the crowd stirred up. Blood lust filled their eyes. “But we will not let them! We will protect our own, protect our water from their corruption! We will kill every last one of them, proving that we are not their slaves, or some pet they can use. We will prove just how superior we are!” The crowd of mermaids erupted into cheers. Raveena herself was moved by the speech, feeling more confident then ever that this was what she was meant to do. This was her part in being a mermaid, it was who she had to be.

“My daughter Raveena has just turned of age…” Ceto turned and gestured Raveena to swim forth beside her. Raveena did so, and felt the weight of the audience crash down on her shoulders. They were all depending on her, and a feeling awoke in her breast. She would lead her people to victory, just as her mother had every time before her. “…and shall therefore be the one to lead the Siren’s song. I have no doubt that she will do it just, and I implore thee to join your voice to hers as you would mine. I trust this day will end in victory!” Ceto finished her speech and Raveena thrust her fists into the air, belting out a battle cry. The merpeople below joined in.

“To the surface!” Raveena called out, her voice carrying over all of their yells. The large group swam all together out of the large ship, like a school of brilliant fish swarming for a kill.

“Raveena, the sprites and Delphin will be with you at all times just in case. I will remain here with your sisters and expect nothing but good news on your return.” Ceto told her golden-haired daughter.

“Mother…I do not need babysitters.” Raveena angrily retorted, offended that her mother assumed she needed them.

“Speak no more of it, they will be at your side at all times. I shall not have an accident befall my eldest daughter and heir to the throne.” Ceto turned and swam towards her daughters, who followed her towards one of the many rooms in the ship.

“Lady Raveena, we our at your service!” The sprites were immediately at her sides, willing to do her bidding. Delphin slowly swam forth, his fat tail guiding him through the clear waters.

“Let us hope that today you bring honor to your name.” Delphin stated, his tone casual but his words offending.

“Tali and Ali, stay out of my way or I will drown thee both myself. And Delphin…let us hope the goddess answers my prayers.” Raveena bit out. She quickly swam without a look back, halfway hoping that maybe her “guards” would stay behind just for kicks. They didn’t.

The farther they swam up towards the surface, the more the light filtered through the crystal blue water. The mermaids tails were iridescent and more beautiful than ever in the light and nearer to the surface. Her people were waiting already at the surface, their tail fins the only thing in the water now. Before Raveena herself surfaced, she noticed with grim satisfaction a group of sharks gathered a short distance away. They knew what was coming; meal time. Such was the circle of life in these waters, although they dared not trifle with the merpeople.

Raveena’s face broke the surface first, and she took a huge gulp of air, her lungs adjusting to the difference. The very small slits that served as gills on her neck wiggled a little and then disappeared completely from sight. Her golden hair looked brilliant in the sun light, and was light a shining beacon for her people behind her. She didn’t know it, but they gazed upon her in great admiration of her beauty. Raveena looked even better outside of the water.

She first glanced towards the sun, welcoming its sight, and then at the two moons in the sky. It was the time of the day where all three could be seen clearly in the skies. As much as she enjoyed the view of the sun, Raveena preferred the sight of the two luminous dark circles in the sky, so close Raveena felt like she could reach out and touch them.

“Lady Raveena, they are approaching quickly.” Tali, or Avi, pointed out. The water sprites were now flying slightly above the water, their wings buzzing. Raveena resisted the urge to reach out and flick them away.

“Quiet, I can see the ship just fine.” Raveena snapped. She licked her lips, seawater still on them, and nervously looked upon the massive boat approaching them. The boats sails looked like giant clouds, drifting slowly towards them. Raveena slowly breathed in and out, willing herself to stay calm and focused. Timing had to be perfect with the call, to began to early would alert the sailors to their presence without having effect on them, to began to late would endanger them all of being injured.

“Don’t fail…” Delphin whispered, his words loomed over her.

“Goddess help me.” Raveena whispered even quieter, closing her eyes and tilting her face towards the sky. She felt strength invigorate her body, and Raveena opened up her eyes, looked to the ship, and opened her mouth to begin the Siren’s call.

Go to http://paynedown-under.tumblr.com/

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 23:47:45 -0500

Go to http://paynedown-under.tumblr.com/

snowangelz: oh my fucking god fdsiofjdsaojfdsa

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:55:46 -0500

snowangelz:

oh my fucking god fdsiofjdsaojfdsa

Photo

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 02:52:04 -0500