|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Dec 13, 2009 16:52:18 GMT -5
It was becoming more and more likely that business was going to bring Apocalypse away from the Court. With Xiven on bedrest, it was impossible for her to make the sometimes-lengthly trips herself, and so as her King, those trips fell to him. Mostly, they were within the Highlands or in the Capital. Sometimes, like today, they were farther than that. The presence of the Court had been requested by a prominent Lakeland trade commission. As far as the King understood, many of the smaller organizations that made up the commission as a whole were responsible for bringing clean water to the Court itself, and he quite valued that water. The only thing that was different about this trip was that he was requested personally, rather than selected by default. They wouldn't be discussing business, either. On the surface, it was almost like a job interview - they wanted to know more about the man that had taken over in Bernard's stead. Apocalypse was more than prepared to put on a charismatic face for them, especially if it would make his job easier. He put on the cursed gray suit that was standard for his position without complaint, he smiled warmly and laughed openly, he shook the hands of many a stiff and old businessman who wanted to, in their own little way, feel important. He drank wine, he joked, he complimented. It was all a part of the game he'd thrown himself into, he understood. If he wanted to further his Court - and himself - he needed as many friends as he could get. Even if they weren't friends, not really. When it was all said and done, however, the King was exhausted. His mouth was sore from all of that damn smiling. He was tired of being cheerful and charming. And, most importantly, he wasn't ready to go home just yet. He knew that he'd have to tell everyone there - and one of those people was a pregnant woman - exactly how much ass he'd kissed. He needed to de-stress a little, first. So he did. It involved a little jaunt into the far corners of the Lakes, far from civilization. He wanted to swim, and he wanted to do so without anyone watching him. He'd just started walking, enjoying the nice weather. A few hours back he'd seen a rural farmer sitting on the side of one of the lakes, fishing for his dinner, but that was all. It was perfect. Out of sight, the man was quick to take off the damn suit-jacket and hang it over the branch of a tree. Then the shirt. It was amazing how much better that alone made him feel, but he needed -- Before the pants could come off, a noise reached his ears. Was there someone... What? He hadn't seen anyone when he'd stopped. Rather than continue on, however, he decided to investigate. Maybe it would be a woman. Heh. |
|
|
|
Post by The Jenn on Dec 13, 2009 16:59:46 GMT -5
Eli hummed quietly to herself, sitting in the shallows of the lake about a mile away from the warren. Things had been quiet lately, as she liked them, sedate and status-quo and comfortable. She tended to her Jack, occasionally helped the Leverets tend to the warren, and just generally lived a calm and happy life. She was as at one with her universe as a Doe could feasibly be, a simple woman with simple needs and contented with simple pleasures. She hadn't been more than a hundred feet away from the warren in several weeks, but the weather had finally begun to warm up and she'd gone out for a swim. She never went far, but she liked visiting a small patch where the grasses grew right up to the shore and tickled her fur underwater, and where there were always little fish to watch if she held especially still. Her long ears twitched when she heard a sound and she pulled herself from a quiet reverie, staring into the water. |
|
|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Dec 13, 2009 17:16:42 GMT -5
It was, the man had learned over the last few years, often better to dive into a situation slowly and carefully. He didn't want to just burst out of the grass and potentially frighten whoever it was that he was - ahem - stalking, and he really had no desire to get his hopes up and then find that it was just another man, or a Club, or any number of other unpleasant things that could be waiting for him just on the other side of that hill.
So he eased himself to the ground, moving slowly through the grass, as cat-like as someone in human form could be without looking utterly ridiculous. He probably did regardless, but he was still moving quietly. Besides, no one was watching him, so what did it matter how he looked? When he reached the top of the descent down to the water's edge, he paused, brushing the grass away to clear his field of view. If it wasn't someone who got his interest, he would just slink back in the other direction and continue on until he'd found the privacy he needed.
Orange eyes went wide and, before he could help himself, a quiet curse escaped his mouth.
What in the name of all that had breasts was that?! Gray, Mid-range in tone, familiar colors stretched across an utterly unfamiliar form. The legs, the tail, the ears... Everything about this creature was wrong to his eyes. Wrong and... Something in him made up its mind, and then without hesitation he threw himself from his hiding place. It was only a second after he'd cursed, though to his mind he'd waited far too long. He wasn't going to let it get away from him, not until he was sure of what it was. Without even thinking, he shouted out the command word and his hands began to swell. In case it was dangerous, he needed to know he had some weapon easily available.
The thought that this was not how normal people reacted to the sight of a supposedly-mythological creature never occurred to him.
When he was a few feet away from her, he actually leapt forward, reaching out to grab tight to any part he could get his hands on. If he impacted her, the momentum would certainly drag them both into the water, but Apocalypse was beyond caring at this point.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Jenn on Dec 13, 2009 17:40:49 GMT -5
Staring around herself in momentary confusion, Eli wondered if the sound had been enough to merit her leaving the water or if it was justa small creature in the reeds a few dozen yards away, or in the bushes beyond and over the hill. The heather was beautiful further in.
She waited another breath and had just decided to turn back to the water when a quiet, very distinctly spoken word came to her large ears. She froze, limbs locking in place as her dark green eyes swiveled all around her and her muscles stiffened. Should she run? Should she run?! She was still making up her mind when a form sprung from the brush like some sort of skinned demon.
A squealing shriek of fear erupted from her throat and she tried to turn towards the shore and spring away all at once, but the grasses she'd been so happily walking amongst before caught at her feet and made the motion awkward. That was more than enough time for the horrible beast to be upon her, his body slamming into her furry form and sending them both sprawling in the water, her head slipping beneath the surface so that she choked on her scream.
|
|
|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Dec 13, 2009 17:54:09 GMT -5
It was one of the many moments when Apocalypse actually cursed the human form he'd been born into. For the most part, it was perfect for his uses, but as he was hurtling through the air at the cowering form of that whatever-the-hell it was, he realized exactly how much easier this would have been with an animal or even biped form. Ah, well. He was well-practiced at taking advantage of the tools that were available to him. From the wide-eyed flicker of terror that he saw an instant before the collision occurred, what was available to him was more than good enough.
His breath escaped him in a rush as his body slammed into hers, his hands groping for something to grab onto as they tumbled into the water. One leg was seized, his other hand groping at the ropes of mane that rose from her head. His legs promptly saw to the task of pinning the rest of the creature - with his mind completely focused on getting a good grip on the Rabbit, it took him a second to realize he was holding its head underwater.
Apocalypse rocked back, pulling her head forward and out of the water, letting her breathe. He wasn't sure just yet if he wanted to kill her. "You're a fucking Rabbit, aren't you?" He said in a rush, a laugh in his voice. It probably sounded bizarre, especially considering the way he was still holding her in place. The happiness just didn't fit the picture. "Bloody hell, you're a Rabbit."
Could it speak? Excitement coursed through his form, making him tremble with excitement and hold onto her just a little more tightly than he might have done normally. His mind was abuzz with thoughts. In the Bog, people didn't see Rabbits as myths. Just as extinct from years of appearing on the plates of those who could catch them.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Jenn on Dec 13, 2009 18:04:31 GMT -5
Eli couldn't see, couldn't breathe, and she was trapped beneath the water. She's already lost all of her air in the choking scream and had invited a flood of water into her lungs, which she promptly coughed up the second her head rose beneath the bubbly surface of the lake. It felt as though her leg was near to being broken and this beast was trying to rip the hair from her scalp, not to mention the squeeze on her ribs and torso beneath the water as his legs wrapped painfully around her.
It was talking to her. White Rabbit preserve her, the thing was talking. What was it? Was it a Card? She couldn't see behind her, didn't know if it had a rank, this terrifying furless thing. It was a hunter, whatever it was, and it sounded delighted.
Why had she gone out without a Leveret? Why had she thought that it would be a bother to drag someone else along just so that she could swim? "Leon!" she cried, completely useless this far from the warren, and terrified shivers shook her entire frame.
|
|
|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Dec 13, 2009 18:23:56 GMT -5
This was all just so - so damn exciting. Apocalypse's heart was beating hard and fast in his chest, his body rushing with an excitement he'd never felt before. At least - not to this extent. Everything had been perfect. He'd stalked, he'd lunged, he'd caught - and now he had it in his hands, his grip tight and unyielding. He didn't stop to consider that he was probably hurting her rather badly and scaring her even worse than that. He was too fixated, his weight balance shifting as he moved to get a better look at all aspects of her.
"You're a Mid-ranger? The old texts - they talked about Rabbits, but I never assumed..." He leaned over her to get a better look at her face. It was similar to the other rabbits he'd seen, the smaller ones that were more often than not used in cooking or skinned for their pelts. But it was different. What she'd see would be the traces of a human face, a mouth full of too-sharp teeth, and slit-pupiled eyes that were wide with excitement. "Damn, you've even got the cuts. So you follow the same traditions, too?" Clearly some traditions were followed. After all, the hair he was gripping was in a braid. Someone had to braid it, and as far as he knew, wild animals couldn't do that.
Her terrified cry took him by surprise and his grip tightened. He couldn't be entirely sure - who knew if she even spoke the same language as he did, after all? - but it sounded to him like a name. A male name. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Are there more of you? Answer me." The words came out short, demanding. He needed to know if he was about to be ambushed by a whole group of Rabbits. He'd taken this one down easily enough, to be sure, but he'd caught her by surprise. Who knew what they were capable of, under normal circumstances? "Where did you come from?"
|
|
|
|
Post by The Jenn on Dec 13, 2009 18:32:01 GMT -5
Eli tried to use her meager Doe's ability on this terrifying beast, but it seemed to have no effect. Did it only work on Rabbits? She didn't- didn't know. Couldn't know. She'd never been away from Rabbit society before, never like this, trapped in some horrifying creature's vice-like grip with her head pulled back to strain her neck and her body feeling as if it were slowly being crushed.
His words barely came through the rushing in her ears, fear and pain and the frantic beating of her own heart drowning him out like a whirling drum. She saw a glimpse of his face in her peripheral vision and something inside of her spasmed, in her head and in her... her chest. Those eyes. Those terrifying slitted eyes, teeth that looked as though they could shear through bone, a smooth and alien face with a disfigured muzzle, a nightmare given form.
She twisted as best she could, her breath coming out in choking gasps. Something was wrong, something inside of her, and was this monster doing it? Was he crushing her inside and out? She shivered and thrashed ineffectively, trying to scream but unable to force the sound through an awkwardly-bent neck that had only gotten worse in her wriggling.
Something was wrong. Something was wrong. She choked and sobbed.
|
|
|
|
Post by carcinoGeneticist on Dec 13, 2009 18:48:26 GMT -5
There was no real way for him to know when it had happened, but it did. His excitement, still pulsing strong through his veins, was now joined by the first tendrils of irritation. The roots of it were obvious. The creature could speak, couldn't it? She'd said something before, even if nothing was coming out now. A low growl escaped him, his body close enough to hers that she'd be able to feel the rumble in his chest. Damnit, there were others, weren't there? She'd called out for their help and was just holding on until they arrived.
Against his better judgment, he growled again. This time, the growl was accompanied by a little shake, meant to emphasize the importance of what he was asking her.
"Answer me. Fuck. I'm not going to kill you." He wasn't planning on it, at any rate. He was just... He wanted to know more. He was curious. As far as he knew, this was the last Rabbit in all the world. Maybe he could bring her home with him somehow. It was a shame that Bernard was dead, but... He needed to share this with somebody, and before he could do that, he needed to know more. "Are there more Rabbits nearby?"
He repeated the question, putting more emphasis on it both vocally and by tightening his grip on her arm ever so slightly. He didn't want to break the limb, after all, just scare her into telling him whatever it was that was going through her mind so he could figure out what to do next. Damnit, was that so hard for her to understand? "Do you even speak?" The question came out in an exasperated tone.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Jenn on Dec 13, 2009 18:59:38 GMT -5
Unfortunately, Pale underestimated the frailty of a Rabbit's bones and her limb fractured with a splintering sound. A scream would have escaped her if her head weren't already twisted in that awkward angle, a gurgle catching in her throat. Though he wouldn't be able to tell beneath her fur, the skin of her head and neck began to go pale as the blood slowly drained from the capillaries and headed downward.
Kill you...
More Rabbits...
Speak...
It was like water in her ears, sound traveling a great distance, and her struggling became weaker. Breath labored to reach her lungs and she whimpered in terror. What was happening to her? It hurt... so much...
She would slowly lose sense, her heart burst and unable to sustain her struggles, and pale would find himself with an unconscious near-corpse in his arms after only a few minutes more. He had killed her by accident. Way to go, kitty.
|
|
