Through the Veil

@Rhysis only please

There are no heroes

• NAIRA AQUILA •

in life the monsters win

The red ferns had turned dry and brown with the autumn chill, leaves and fronds rustling noisily about the tawny queens legs as the made her way through the towering trees, moonlight casting an eerie glow over the lands. Just a bit further. She kept telling herself. Just a little bit further. A giggle, and a flash of white. Her heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be.

Faster she moved, her paws barely touching the ground as she tried to catch up. Eyes seemed to peer at her through the underbrush - one gold, the other swirled with blue but if she looked for too long they would vanish without a trace. Her brows drew together with worry as her head dipped low, snuffling deeply for any trace of the girl, pushing down the niggling voice that just kept telling her It cannot be. But it wasn’t a strangers scent that came to her nose.

She froze. Branches reached down to rank through her coat and her breath came to her in labored gasps as she skittered forward on her final few steps and stumbled into a clearing - tawny tufts of fur and bits of bone littering the ground. She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears as heavy footsteps approach. In the distance, the chattering of bats left her hackles stand on end as an unnatural reddish glow bathed the space around her. Her whole body shook.

It cannot be.

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

*noms your face*

The moonlight began to dwindle. Pulsing as it grew dimmer to the rhythm of a slow beating heart.

Beat. Beat. Beat.

The pearly white shine began to dull and when the light was almost gone, the heavens were suddenly alight with a flash of red. The sky was on fire, tints of cherry and orange flickered all around as far as the eye could see and the moon was alight with dancing flames, burning with menace at the human like face which looked down so fondly upon the earth. Like flesh, the surface began to bubble and boil, peeling back the skin to reveal a circle of blood and there was a piercing scream from a young girl in the distance, but no hint of another in sight.
The moon which had all but shed its skin began to drip; the ball of concentrated, crimson liquid that had been contained within the skin begun to fall; faster and faster from above. As it touched the terrain it began to spread; writhing like snakes as it took on a life of its own and raced around the clearing. Over bones and fur, grass and dust. Faster and faster it went, until what had once been the moon was all but empty. As the last drop fell the tentacles of blood stopped writhing and receded back towards where they had first kissed the land. The clearing which had been littered with bones was now nothing but a blank canvas... a red, stained canvas; sticky and wet.

At once the blood began to pool and it looked as though it was climbing up itself, perhaps heading back into the sky… no.
Instead it began to mould into a shape which was oh too familiar in the land of lore. First a set of four legs formed; stocky and long, perhaps overly so. Onwards, the blood travelled upwards, thickening itself to form a shape at an almost snail like speed – dragging out what Naira must have already known was happening. A chest, heavy and deep where the depths of a low toned, southern accent might linger. Spine and tail came next, starting as bone-like shapes before they filled out with flesh and red fur. Upwards the blood went, rising above shoulders, forming the shape of a strong neck to finally outline a skull. A wolf skull of course, the rest of the torso would draw you to that conclusion but no face formed, no flesh covered the bones as it had the rest of the body- yet in the eye cavity two shards of ice like balls appeared and fixated on the tawny queen.

Nothing was said as the creature merely looked upon the regal female. Expressionless as any skull might be. No words were uttered and a thick, suffocating silence fell all around the clearing. Without hesitation, the creature began to move forwards. Taking each powerful step with a confidence and a swagger that seemed far too familiar. As he drew closer, the vivid red of his body began to fade, as if he were the wick of a snubbed candle, changing from crimson to the darkest of blacks. The skull which sat atop his shoulders solidified into stark white bone, yet did not deter from the eerie stare where his eyes might have been.

”Naira…”

The clearing suddenly whispered. The she wolf’s name filled the air in a voice which she knew well. A voice which had once breathed her name fondly into her ear, but there was no love in the tone now. It was cold, clear cut and perhaps a little chilling.

”Naira, Naira, Naira.” the voice began again. Repeating her name over and over until it was a dizzying white noise. Still, the creature came forward until it was almost before her. Only then did the skull begin to grow skin. The blood which had formed the creature was now black, thick like oil as it streaked across the stark white bone, covering every fissure in black until the face finally became recognisable. When the face was whole, he stopped, though his eyes had yet to leave her face. As the final hair on his face fell into place and the tips of his tattered ear formed, the voice stopped and a profuse silence followed once more.

”You have forgotten me.” he finally said.

There are no heroes

• NAIRA AQUILA •

in life the monsters win

Terror filled the tawny queen as blood washed about her paws, her skin crawling with the feel of it as she tried to back away but seemingly hit an invisible wall. Her spine arched to tuck her rear and tail below, crouching down close to the ground. Her ears pinned flat to her skull and her lips drew back to reveal sharp teeth - her chin tucking low defensively, unsure of what was to come but already knowing she would not like it.

As the blood receded and began it’s climb a deep growl left her chest, sounding far more fierce than she felt. The earth had risen to encase her paws, and she struggled against its bonds as the faceless wolf moved closer, the ground shaking with every step the tall beast took. The air around her grew colder than the depths of winter under his piercing glare. Naira. She knew that voice too well. Over and over her name was whispered until she wanted to scream. Her skin crawled as flesh finally formed over the bony skull. The sudden silence was deafening.

You have forgotten me.

She flinched as though she had been struck, shrinking under the dark wolf’s icy gaze - Or was he growing taller? Her eyes screwed shut tight as she willed the ground to swallow her up.

Anything but this.

Then a familiar voice whispered you will be denied nothing... and then her quaking ceased. No queen of mine ever takes what little she deserves... Her legs pushed up as the earthy confines began to crack and crumble. She seizes what is rightfully hers... without question.

Drawing strength from the voice she stood up straight until she found herself standing level with the spectre. Her tail pulled level with her spine and her ears stood proud atop her head, burning eyes alight with flame dared to meet the icy orbs as the two wolves stood nose to nose.

“You left us.” her voiced hissed back, laced with the hint of a growl. “The world doesn’t stop simply because you aren’t around.”

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

The leathery black lips upturned into a smile at her thoughts. It was as if he heard her pep talk and found great amusement in the strength she needed just so speak to him. He let her ramble but it was obvious he did not care what it was she had to say and nor did he flinch at her challenging behaviour. He was invincible here... as well as in life it seemed.
"What reason did I have to leave? I had my kingdom at last, something I have wanted since I took my first breath. Do you truly believe I'd have just walk away from it? Come now Niara, you know me better than that." he teased, his brow quirking in familiar fashion. "I'd already given up one kingdom for you. I'd never give up another without real reason." he reminded. Before he spoke again he jutted his face forward, pushing their noses painfully together as to remind her she would never have the upper hand. Not when it came to him. She could be as brave as she wanted but he knew, he would always know, that she was but a damsal in distress when it came to him. Though this being a dream, or a nightmare, was it simply her own mind reminding her that she would never be free of him? Did she even want to me?
"You knew something was amiss yet you did nothing. You lost not only me but Adonis too, or have you forgotten him as well?" he mused, that irritating smirk still plastered on his lips. His breath fell like shards of ice with each word he spoke, pelting the she wolf with wasp like stings upon her nose. "You simply chose to forget about us. Shame on you Naira."

(This post was last modified: Oct 25, 2013, 11:04 AM by Rhysis.)

There are no heroes

• NAIRA AQUILA •

in life the monsters win

You know me better than that... But did she? The heavy scent of another female deep within his coat. Harsh words and harsher actions... Did she even know herself? With each word that left his mouth she shrunk down further and further. But had he really given up a kingdom for her? Did she demand that he follow her into the night? Again her lips pulled back, her hairs standing on end. “I had far greater concerns. You were both capable of looking after yourselves. Pups don’t survive without their mothers... or has that slipped your mind. Again?” acrid spit accompanied her words, but still her body folded low until it hugged the ground and the black beast stood over her.

There was another flash of a white wolf dancing in her peripheries, her coat glowing pink under the eerie lighting. She couldn’t help but blame him. Lily was never coming back.

“I had children to raise and a pack to run... Adonis is grown and capable...” The though of her dark son caused the eyes of the youngest brood to flash through her mind, one pair of gold and two blue. Two. The frigid stare of the the looming apparition drawing lines where before none had existed, knocking the wind right out of her. Why else would a stranger linger so near to the Pass to give birth? Right in the path of @Sagacity’s return... Was there even the hint of a chance that the crowchild could be the brother of her girls? His mother left to face the elements on her own... Face the prospect of raising her children alone. Would he have batted an eyelid and why had she been the exception?

Deep breaths were drawn after his final words - ripping a hole right through her soul. Had she abandoned them? Or had she been right all along in her belief that they had abandoned her? Her head shook from side to side.

It all felt too real.

She thought she had finally found peace.

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

A bubble of laughter came from his mouth. A sound rarely heard unless there was true humour to be found. Apparently this was one of those occasions. ”Of course Naira. Pups cannot survive without their mothers. How many have you killed up to date? We’re three down already. How long before you lose another?” he goaded, clearly enjoying sticking the knife into her guilt ridden heart.
From the darkness around them, another set of eyes appeared. Shining like a beacon, though they were not the ghostly grey hue of his father’s but the iced blue of his aunt’s. Adonis. As he appeared, Rhysis took a step back and aside, allowing room for the black boy to step forward. The hurt evident on his face of his mother’s words. ”I thought you loved me, mother? You said we would always be together… that was just a lie, wasn’t it?” he said in his quiet, husky voice. His appearance had not changed since the day she last saw him, still stuck half way between being a boy and becoming a man. ”Do I really mean so little to you? After everything we’ve been through… you’ve forgotten me.” he said, his voice a little louder and a little more venomous. Slowly he face began to mirror that of his father who stood next to him. He appeared to age before her very eyes until he was a carbon copy of his father, all but his eyes were the same. ”Selfish bitch! Let’s hope that I am dead and gone, so that I may never have to see you again!” he spat, before he ran forward as if to attack her, but instead he faded into dust. Gone. Leaving only a smirking Rhysis in the clearing with her once more.

”The boy is right you know. You’re very selfish, Love.” he began, in a matter of fact tone. The tall male began to pace then, shifting his weight between his paws as though preparing his next onslaught. ”If it were me, I’d have sent a search party at the very least to find you, though most likely I’d have gone myself. Despite our problems you were still my property and I always get back what is mine...” There was an underlying message there, but he wasn’t going to spell it out for her, but he gave her a moment of pause to let it sink in.
”We hadn’t gone too far you know. Yet you did nothing. Oh no wait… you did do something. Oh yes, you did something but not for our benefit. For your own, selfish means as always.” he cooed, the words being spoken were intended to slice her to pieces but his expression and cheery manner in which he spoke were just how he would deliver such hurtful words. Everything about him was him. ”You did Triell. Didn’t you?” he threw, but there was no hurt on his features. The smirk had faded, leaving his face expressionless, but his eyes bore into her very soul – seeing her for what she was, like he always had. ”And when you had finished with him and had cast him aside like you had me, you found Mapplethorpe. Another pitiful bastard you’re using to fill the void I’ve left behind. Your need to be loved, wanted is quite simply pathetic my dear.”

He began to approach her once more. The hackles on his neck rising higher and higher with each step he took towards her. ”No wonder my attention was elsewhere. Look at you. Pitiful excuse for a woman.” His gaze travelled up and down her. Not the gaze of the boy she had fallen in love with, but of the man who had dominated her when they had last been together. The God. The King.

Crappy post is crappy :(

There are no heroes

• NAIRA AQUILA •

in life the monsters win

How long before you loose another? How long had it been since she had laid eyes on @Datura? Caught more than a fading scent? Her head dipped low and her eyes squeezed shut. It was all a bad dream. It couldn’t be anything more than a dream... could it? When Adonis materialized before her eyes she remained silent, trying to tune out the words that were echoing through her skull. Selfish. Was she selfish? She supposed so, to an extent - but it had never bothered her before and she wouldn’t let it bother her now.

@Triell. @Mapplethorpe... Yes she did tend to make a fine mess of things, leaving little but disaster in her wake. Poison Path had never recovered once she was done with it, what other lives had she destroyed in the process? @Aphrodite, left to fend for herself down in the Wildwood, had anyone from Poison Path even noticed she was gone? Was that more blood left on her paws? She supposed now she would never know, and her daughters? She always seemed to be busy, only checking in on them as she passed by on some task or other...

Her feet shifted under his stare, splaying slightly to brace herself and her head lowered and her ears pinned flat to her skull. She wasn’t sure where this was going, or when she was going to wake up, but she didn’t dare to think that this nightmare was over yet.

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

His laughter was wicked. It didn't just filter from his mouth but from all around them. So loud was it that the very earth beneath them began to shake and the earth began to crack. "What's the matter my love? Rhysis got your tongue?" he mused and in a flash the she wolf's tongue hung limply from his mouth. He shook his head, waving the muscle around and allowing it to hit him on either side of his mug with a wet slap. More laughter followed as he tossed his head and threw the item at her paws. It landed with a dull thud, splattering blood from the torn end all over her paws. There was more then there should have been and in seconds the blood began to pool, rising up invisible sides, climbing higher and higher. Her toes, her ankles - up it went, faster and faster. So hot that it would burn her skin.

Before her Rhysis began to step closer. His eyes boring into her own, all amusement gone as he approached her defensive form. She was right to be on her guard. The look in his eyes was unmistakable; he was done playing with her. It was now time for her to die. There was no remorse in his expression. No second thoughts. He wanted her life to end and his to continue.

All around them a thumping began and if she listened closely she would realise that it mimicked her own beating heart. It was as if he had amplified it just so that he could clearly hear when it stopped. And it would stop, he would make sure it would.

"Naira, the punishment for your crimes is death at the paws of your God. How do you plead?" he mocked, taking another slow, deliberate step towards her whilst the blood around them climbed ever higher, sitting now snugly at her chest. Like all dream villains, he was uneffected as the liquid parted like the red sea, clearing a path towards her; there was nothing else to stop him. Time was running out for the Queen of the Mountain.

There are no heroes

• NAIRA AQUILA •

in life the monsters win

She could feel her mouth filling with her own blood, taste it trickling down her throat as the scorching heat worked its way up her legs to brush at her chest, wrapping around her limbs and anchoring her to the floor. She struggled against her bloody bonds as they burned into her flesh, unable to talk, and unable to scream as a singular tendril had reached out to wrap about her muzzle, locking her mouth shut and dragging her head down.

The wall of blood parted as he moved forward, and his smooth mocking words were met with a growl, it was all she could manage without her tongue, and although by now she well and truly knew this was a dream, she simply didn’t have the will to conjure one.

She struggled against her bloody bonds, finally managing to free her mouth enough to bare red fangs. Her teeth clicked together in frustration as she tried to pull her legs free. Thrashing from side to side didn’t seem to be enough though, she was trapped, and she had nowhere to turn.

All around her the forest turned to fire, bathing the entire area in a deep red haze. She was burning - the blood burned, the fire burned and all the while those blue-grey eyes stabbed at her with shards of ice - but she wouldn’t go down without a fight. She would not bow down before him again.

template base by GINNYSAURUS | image by GREY

The fire roared, burning brighter and brighter, illuminating the darkness around them, but where his figure had once stalked towards her, there was nothing. He vanished into thin air leaving her with nothing but the crackling of the fire in the background and the thick gushing sounds. The blood continued to climb her limbs, reaching her shoulder level now- it appeared drowning in her own blood was a fitting way to go.

"Better watch your back, my love." came his voice again, breaking the silence. He appeared behind her then, walking atop the blood was if he were a prophet who walked on water. A God in his own right. The way he had always seen himself.
His gaze was set directly for her, his posture was clearly ready for a fight. Not that she would put up much of one, what with him being in complete control of this dream; she was at his mercy. She had always been at his mercy.

"I'm coming for you." fell his final tones before he lunged towards her. His mouth seeming to grow like that of a snake before it devoured its meal whole. Flashing in and out, he appeared as a solid form before her where his jaws snaked around her throat and begun to crush the very life from her bones. Higher and higher the blood rose all around them, rising up towards their noses. He did not fear drowning though - he was immortal afterall. All Gods were.