Post by FlyingPanther on Mar 8, 2008 14:52:08 GMT -5
The Monster and the Man
Author: Arielle Guthrie
Characters: Silvanus, Cerynitis (Silvanus' Mother in the BG), Adam
Timeline: 4+ years after the last chapter's date
Setting: Avington, Torquehelm, Tugley Wood, and Gulfam Marsh
Word Count: 1484
Author's Note
Thanks Vyn and Tigs for the comments on the last chapter. XD <3
I appologize for not getting chapters up as quickly as before...I'm still writing it...and well...yeah...I just don't really want to spam the board with a bunch of chapters, since I don't really know how many people are paying attention to this anymore XD; And I don't want to be a bother or anything >.>;
This is a really messed up chapter
;;;...enjoy...or try anyway XD;;;
~*~
Author: Arielle Guthrie
Characters: Silvanus, Cerynitis (Silvanus' Mother in the BG), Adam
Timeline: 4+ years after the last chapter's date
Setting: Avington, Torquehelm, Tugley Wood, and Gulfam Marsh
Word Count: 1484
Author's Note
Thanks Vyn and Tigs for the comments on the last chapter. XD <3
I appologize for not getting chapters up as quickly as before...I'm still writing it...and well...yeah...I just don't really want to spam the board with a bunch of chapters, since I don't really know how many people are paying attention to this anymore XD; And I don't want to be a bother or anything >.>;
This is a really messed up chapter
;;;...enjoy...or try anyway XD;;;~*~
Only four years had passed since Adam was born, but to Silvanus it felt like an eternity in the place his father used to call Hell. Adam was not a particularly abnormal child, save for bouts of aggression now and again that Cerynitis could only pin upon His genetic passage, but overall, Adam was like any other child. Pooed in his diapers, cried when he wanted food or attention, was a bratty child around age two like most children, learned how to speak at an average age, and was even potty trained as time went on.
But no matter how normal Adam acted, no matter how unlike a monster he appeared in behavior, Silvanus felt as if he could see through the child. To him Adam had some sort of ulterior motive. He was dangerous, and not to be trusted, even if he was only four years old. Cerynitis herself seemed only to be getting worse. Her strong personality tried to make her pain less obvious, but Silvanus had lived with her long enough to see that her depression had gotten worse, and that she was starting to be worn down from stress.
There was a point in time when Silvanus almost didn’t even recognize his own mother. She had allowed herself to break down, and it was heart breaking to watch her wonder around the house so battered and broken. Indeed, Silvanus couldn’t take it, and wondered even why his mother bothered to keep the little demon around if it caused her so much pain and agony to have him around. Adam seemed oblivious to his mother’s mood, mostly because it had been the only thing he had ever known, and even so he was a fairly happy child. He was far more interested in his older brother then his mother, but he didn’t really seem to capture Silvanus’ attention for some reason. This disappointed him greatly.
So one could imagine Adam’s surprise when one day, Silvanus approached him on his own accord. Silvanus expression was strange, a mix of a smile, and that of a worried expression, Adam wondered why his brother’s greeting was so mixed, but figured that it was simply his brother’s first time coming to him, and maybe he didn’t really know how to interact with others. Least this seemed to make sense. Silvanus scratched the back of his neck with a hand.
”We haven’t really ever…spent time together have we?” he asked finally, his mouth parting in an obscure smile that seemed almost as if he was unsure of it. Adam completely ignored this though, nodding his head vigorously.
”Nope!” he said with a child-like excitement only seen in those children that were getting exactly what they wanted. ”Wanna play?” Adam could hardly contain himself, his little hyena tail wagging excitedly.
Silvanus nodded slowly. ”That’s a good idea.” he said looking down the hall where his mother was occupying the kitchen. There was a long pause before he spoke up, calling down the hall to her, ”Mom! Adam and I are going outside!”
”Ok sweetie! Take care of him! Be back by dinner!” she called back. Her voice finally conveyed some sort of perkiness, but Silvanus felt as if he knew better. Deep inside, she was still sad. But no matter…it would all be over…soon.
Silvanus and Adam left the house and wondered around Avington for a time, before Adam felt as if he was no longer in familiar surroundings. Every now and again, the family would all go on rather large walks through Avington, until Adam felt completely exhausted so that when they finally got home he would go straight to his room and sleep til morning. It was a way of handling his mischievous self, which Cerynitis had come to truly appreciate. However, this seemed to be farther then they had ever gone before.
It was an unsettling place, and he could see from the black and purple bound people walking around the towns that they were no longer in Avington. ”Where are we going?” Adam asked anxiously.
Silvanus looked at him, his eyes showing that he was feeling some sort of worrisome emotion. ”We are going on an adventure. You like those right?” he said trying to smile.
Adam felt as if something was wrong, but not wanting to upset his brother he nodded emphatically. He wanted his brother to believe that he was enjoying himself in his company, because he was. It was just that…there was something not right.
Soon it was night, and Adam grew increasingly more worried, as well as exhausted. He was lagging behind, and Silvanus had to tell him repeatedly to pick up the pace. Finally, Silvanus decided that they had to stop. ”Mom said we needed to be home by now. Won’t she be worried?” the four year old said looking up at the large trees that surrounded them. He was really uneasy, but his eyes begged to finally close.
”Don’t worry about Mom. We are big boys. She knows this.”
”But, I’m only four!” he said worriedly, as Silvanus looked around in the fading light to find a hallow tree or someplace they could huddle up for the night.
Silvanus began to feel the stirrings of an emotion he wasn’t sure of. It was something he had never felt before, but it was telling him that what he was doing wasn’t right. He pushed it back as far as he could. It was for the greater good.
”Do you wanna go on an adventure or what? It’s all part of the experience.” he said, hoping to sush the anxious child up.
Finally they both found a place to rest their heads, and they settled down for the night. It was late in the morning when they finally rose, the light was so dim in this part of the forest it hardly felt like it was morning at all. Silvanus looked around a bit. He was nervous, they were in an area that was not to kind to those who were not of the region. They had to get through it before sundown, or there would not be a sunup to wake to. Despite how tired Adam was, they ran. Ran as fast and quietly as their little legs could carry them, all the while their little hearts pounding with adrenaline from the run and from the fear they collectively felt from simply being in Tugley Wood.
They managed to pass through safely, a miracle really. And only after a couple of days did they finally reach where Silvanus had intended to go. They were in Golfam Marsh, the place where Adam’s father, Him, must have come from. Adam trudged through the muck…trying his hardest not to complain, but he was getting tired, and had for some time now begun to grow very worried, and just generally wanted to go home. He didn’t like these places they were exploring now…
”I miss Mom…I want to go home!” he stated finally, at his wits end.
Silvanus turned around to face his brother. His eyes were tired, and filled with worry themselves. Or what Adam thought was worry. In truth…the gravity of what Silvanus was about to do was beginning to truly affect him. He now recognized that the emotion he was feeling before…was guilt…and it was slowly eating away at him. He knew however, that it was for the best. The best for he and his mother. The little monster would be out of their lives for good, and it could all go back to normal.
”Hey, what’s that!” Silvanus said in the most excited voice that he could muster, pointing a hooved hand deeper into the Marsh.
Adam perked his ears in the general direction, squinting his eyes, excitement renewed at the sound of his own brothers. He bounded off immediately, intending to find out exactly what his brother had seen to relay to him. Muck was getting everywhere, but still he could not see what his brother had been pointing to. Maybe if he went a little farther in. After a moment or two, the excitement wore off as he couldn’t find anything. He became aware that Silvanus had not been following him, and he turned around in the direction he had come. He felt very alone.
”Silvanus?” he called, eyes drooping in worry. When there was no call back, not even a noise, Adam’s eyes began to swell with tears.
Though it did not yet occur to Adam, Silvanus had left him, and was already on his way back through the Marsh, clutching his arms around his chest. It ached badly, and the twinge was persistent. He stepped quietly though, while behind him he could hear the screams of his name louder and louder, despite moving farther and farther away. After a moment or two more, wandering his way back home, he could no longer hear anything. Just the sounds of the Marsh and the sloshing of his hooves as he picked up the pace.
~*~
