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Post by Nako on May 28, 2008 16:52:41 GMT -5
Zuberi chuckled good-naturedly at the coyote's innocence. It was a keen reminder of her younger cousins and their similar questions about death and the afterlife. The youth always had such... honest feelings about such things, and very vivid perceptions of what they wished paradise to be. The older Zuberi got though, the more cynical she felt about it all, and the less she thought about what paradise may await her. The squirrel figured her hope would come to her again as she aged, as it often did with the elder Midori as their ambition wore away with time.
"Nobody really knows what it is like... I haven't heard of many people who've come back to visit to tell us." She laughed, if somewhat lamely. It really wasn't the best of jokes. picking up the lobsters she had killed, she took them over to the pot to drop them in to cook. "Well, I suppose that we shall all find out the big surprise eventually.. but not until it is time. One who rushes death is not to be rewarded."
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on May 28, 2008 23:17:36 GMT -5
Rhiannon's small smile faltered slightly, but it was hardly visable. She moved away from the counter as the squirrel did, keeping a respectful distance but still following close. The girl had no desire to miss a single thing - after all, who knew what kind of people would be delighted by a skill in cooking like a Midori? - and, for whatever reason, she wanted to stay close to the cheerful woman. Something about her demeanor made the girl feel safe and secure, like she could let down her guard. Perhaps it was the knowledge that this squirrel had known her father before he'd become what he was now - thoroughly boring, as far as the hybrid was concerned. "I suppose not," she replied simply.
~~~
Dinner sat heavy in her belly, filling her body with warmth as she curled up on the floor, giving her wings one last stretch before closing her eyes. She lay there peacefully for a moment before rolling onto her back, opening one bright eye to look up at Zuberi as the woman prepared for bed. "Can I stay here with you forever, Zuberi? Please?" she asked, tail wagging lightly beneath her.
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Post by Nako on May 28, 2008 23:42:01 GMT -5
Zuberi was looking forward to getting some sleep; for some reason, the day really wore down on her for a reason that was foreign to her. Maybe it had something to do with the girl.. and how it made her think.. of a lot of things she'd been trying to run from. It seemed like her -only- strife these days would be the emotional ones, but one could argue that those took the heaviest toll.
Rhi's question took Zuberi more by surprise than she would have suspected.. not because of the question itself, but how she.. wantd to tell her that she could. Pausing, she thought out her response carefully as she unfolded the spare blanket, managing a smile as she gently brought the blanket down over the silly creature. She'd offered to hang a hammock, but she had insisted she would be more comfortable on the floor on one of the grass woven mats.
".... There will always be a home for you here to come visit, dear... but I'm sure your family misses you.." Offhandedly, Zuberi realized she'd end up needing to wash the blanket she'd let Rhiannon borrow.. but that wasn't too much of an ordeal. The smell of the little bog creature was comparable to the saltwater bogs in the area so it was a scent she was not too unaccustomed to.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on May 29, 2008 0:45:33 GMT -5
The hybrid let out a quiet sigh as Zuberi draped the blanket over her, peering upwards through her mane before shaking her head almost irritably, folding her paws before herself and resting her head on this "pillow". "I know," she muttered, closing her eyes again. Her irritability was disrupted, however, by her tail, which continued to beat a happy tattoo against the floor. "I just like it here with you better, that's all."
It wasn't long before she was breathing more regularly, and her tail had all but completely stilled. The only sound that came from the girl now was the occasional scrape of nails against the floor and the sniffing that comes with canines and powerful dreams.
~~~
She was running. She could hear footsteps, following her. Friends? No, it was only her shadow, racing beside her, egging her on faster and faster. Sights whipped around her, passing by her by mere inches and moments, but she couldn't truely comprehend them. Somehow, they were just out of her reach, and when she tried to get a better glance they contorted, warping at their edges and skating further from her grasp.
There was an explosion.
Her heart beat heavy in her chest, sending her spiraling through the world in a daze. Where was her shadow? In the flash of light it was erased, erradicated. She needed it. She would be nothing without it. Her shadow... How could she go to that better place the lime squirrel had told her about without it?
Faces, stretched and unkind, loomed out at her as she walked, unfamiliar in every way. She held herself tall. She was the child of nobility, and she needed her shadow. She would get it back from these people, no matter what the cost. A flicker caught her attention, and she turned to face it. Could it be...? There was a familiarity to it, and when it called out to her, whispering words of longing, she had no choice but to move to it. Finally, she had found it. Tears streamed down her cheeks, tears of joy and relief, and the other shadows all reached out as if to bask in her joy.
There were hands touching her.
Fondling her, one might say, and a gruff voice was speaking. "Ey, what's yer name, girlie? Hehe, she just came right over to me...[/b]" Panic, hot as an iron, stabbed into Rhiannon's gut and she wrenched away, only to be gripped harder. "Ey, ey! No second thoughts now, come on![/b]"
She did all she could think to do, and screamed.
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Post by Nako on May 29, 2008 1:14:08 GMT -5
Zuberi didn't know what time it was, but when she woke, she was in a cold sweat. She'd been dreaming something.. but it slipped away from her before she could grasp the memory. Whatever it had been though.. it terrified her. Whatever the dream had been though, it gave her an inclination to look down on the ground where.... where Rhiannon once lay.
"Rhi!" The name was choked out as she all but fell out of her hammock. Normally she wouldn't have panicked like this. She may have went out to use the latrine or went to get a glass of water, but there was a feeling in her gut that told her that something was -wrong-. Her eyes weren't quite adjusted to the dark but she frantically searched, frantically scented the air for a hint that the girl was still around, but only silence responded to her panicked whisper.
Her door nearly came off its hinge when she opened it to go outside, her voice shaky as she called out Rhiannon's name over and over... She'd lost her.. heavens only knew what the crazy child had gotten herself into.. and then...
Then that scream
"Rhiannon!" Her own scream was as bloodcurdling as Rhi's had been, her paws taking her as fast as she could to where she had heard it. It took her little time, but in her mind it felt as if it took forever to streak through the small village, the the empty marketplace where she had heard the cry.
And she saw them. Men.. grabbing the poor girl... She'd never really see their region or their rank.. her mind was on something else... it was in.. a dark place. Before she knew it, she'd rushed forward, barreling into the ferret and scratching viciously with her claws. "You will NOT touch that girl!!" The words came out as a dangerous hiss, grasping his face hard as her pupils dilated dangerously.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on May 29, 2008 1:35:09 GMT -5
The men were startled by the squirrel's sudden and rapid approach, but the ferret kept his grip on the girl, snarling. "EY! What the 'ell do you want, anyway?![/b] he snarled, grabbing Rhiannon by the wing, which wrenched a sharp cry of pain from her. She flailed desperately, thrashing with renewed vigor, pulling his attention away from Zuberi for just long enough for the squirrel to really tear into him. The girl took the opportunity, flicking the latch on her mask so that she could help, and powerful coyote jaws found their home on the man's hand.
He cried out, enraged, and staggered back a few steps, shaking the girl off of him and doing his best to get away from the woman. Her claws had already done well to tear into the few areas of rot he had, making his wounds bleed freely once more. "Crazy fuckin' bitch![/b]" he spat as he untangled himself from her, hissing over his shoulder as he darted into the shadows.
Rhiannon, meanwhile, was sobbing and muttering wildly under her breath, words a strange language that the Midori city had likely never heard before. Her eyes were wide as she retched, seeming desperate to get her mask back on and the foul tase out at the same time. Amber eyes were wide and dull, staring blankly at the squirrel but seeming to not see anything. Her movements were slowed, and she fumbled with what should have been an easy task. All the while, her mouth never stopped moving, the words flowing out without pause.
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Post by Nako on May 29, 2008 1:46:29 GMT -5
Zuberi was rather unceremoniously flung off and onto the ground, but she didn't feel much at that point and time. Every fiber of her being was still on fire with anger, and the steely taste of fear still soured her tongue. It.. took a while for the strange words to reach her ears.
Blinking, she looked over to the young bog dweller, and her heart.. just sank. "Oh.. no no no... Rhi..." She rushed to the coyote-bat's side, reaching out to touch her face, to run her webbed paw over the tussle of hair. They were both bloody.. both covered in what could only be rot from something that had the curse. That horrified her to a new extent, the violation that had nearly taken place becoming all the more vile. Still, Rhi continued those cryptic words that Zuberi could not understand, her eyes sightless "Rhi! No, come back.. I'm here.. You're safe..."
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on May 29, 2008 2:01:25 GMT -5
"No, no, no, they took it away, our shadow..." the girl whispered, voice strangely hoarse as she finally secured her mask once more. One paw in front of the other, that was the way they had always done it before, yes? Yes, yes. The ground was swaying, that was new, but everything else was the same. "It's so very bitter, isn't it? Our failure... But we're okay, because they will die very soon. The reaper will take them away from this poor, sick world. Poor, poor sick Rhiannon. The doctors tell her she's not quite alright, can you hear them too?"
The words didn't stop, even as the girl smiled brightly, lifting her paws and gently stroking the squirrel's cheeks, giving her a small lick to the cheek, a canine kiss. Her expression changed once more, eyebrows furrowing slightly, and the golden eyes dulled again with worry. "Zuberi... W-what happened?! Are you hure? W-why are we outside?" In the distance, there was the rumbling of a storm, and the wind whipped around them. "Oh... My wing! It hurts..." she whimpered.
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Post by Nako on May 29, 2008 2:16:22 GMT -5
Zuberi's expression was oddly.. sorrowed, and she continued to stare silently even as the 'normal' side of the girl came back out. This.. just wasn't right. Whatever was wrong with this girl would get her in trouble.. probably even get her killed. She continued to stare dumbly even as the girl gave her wet canine kisses.
It was the girl's cry of pain that awoke her, and it took everything within her to keep her composure. "Y-you were dreaming... sleepwalking, dearie. Got yourself in an awful mess... come.. we need to get cleaned up." But it wasn't back to the hut where she led the girl, but toward the sea. There, they could clean themselves off, get rid of the blood and the gore in the dark of the night, and keep Rhi safe from.. herself. "We'll get something for your wing dear, no worries.... come, before the storm gets too bad."
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on May 29, 2008 2:55:22 GMT -5
"Oh... Hadrian, he's my brother, see, he looks like my dad... Well, he says I sleeptalk sometimes, too. Did I do that at all?" she wagged her tail somewhat weakly, leaning in to lick Zuberi's cheek again, a little more urgently. Why was she so upset-looking? Rhiannon could feel her heart plummet down to be lower than her feet, even. She had done something bad, she was just sure of it, and now Zuberi looked just heartbroken.. "Sometimes I say funny things when I sleeptalk, that's what Hadrian says anyway." her voice tapered off at the end, and she followed the squirrel in whatever direction they needed to go.
When they reached the water's edge, Rhi hesitated, staring out over the water. "I-If I'm too much trouble, I can go home tomorrow, Miss Zuberi," she said softly. She knew that there was something going on with her.. It was scary, but if it was doing bad things to her new friend, then she could take the pain and run away again. One paw tested the water's surface, letting the waves lap softly at her toes, even as she started to tremble.
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