03-08-2024, 10:53 AM
He had thought she’d wanted to partake in the hunt, the attack. She had agreed, after all, so he’d tried to offer her a chance.
He hadn’t expected the lion to turn its attention so solely upon her.
Doctor can only watch as if entranced as the cat and the mare engage in their gory battle. His breath is heavy and his muscles ring with adrenaline; he wants to charge forward again, to rain fire upon the feline and rip it from Umani’s back.
To protect her like he’d promised.
But his vision grows dark as soon as he lurches toward the pair of them. He can still hear her screams, the screeches and yowls of the cat, the thuds and gasps of fighting.
A brutal dance.
He can hear it all, but he can see none of it.
The shadows have returned, reaching around him as if with grimy black fingers that dig into his eyes and cling around his legs. With a bellow of his own, he throws his head up, slamming his feet into the ground again with a fiery snort. The flames do little to permeate the darkness that has overtaken him, billowing about him as if a great creature looms above. But the sky is clear and the trees are far behind him.
The heavy scent of blood permeates the air, stinging his nose with the heavy iron aroma. He snorts a fiery breath against it, pawing at the ground and heaving another plume of smoke. The shadows cling to him harder, a net around his struggling body, his labored sides and sweat-darkened flanks.
Umani’s voice still carries to him, teasingly close. She shrieks at her attacker, accusing it of taking her child’s life, and Doctor’s struggle lessens in that moment. Hadn't he heard something similar in the past? That same traumatized wail, that same despair. Where had it been?
(Had it even been real?)
In that moment, when he stands still with his feet planted wide, gasping harshly against his own smoke and against the shadows still whirling around him, the unseen battle comes to a final, grisly end. A spatter of blood paints his face and neck, trailing down his chest. He tosses his head again and snorts, braying shortly in surprise; he's certain that must have been the end of the mountain lion but, as the shadows finally ease away, dripping from his body like a sheet falling off of him, he is met with a terrible sight.
The palomino mare lies on the ground near the body of the lion, bleeding profusely. Flames have spread across the dry grass between them, small and slow-burning as they creep toward the feline’s corpse. Doctor has little concern for the fire, though – he worries for the life of his companion, the one he had brought into this awful situation.
She is gasping for him, begging him to stay, and he can do nothing other than oblige, falling to his knees beside her. “I…” He cannot find his voice though, unable to help at all. She thanks him – he is confused by this, confused by the fact she doesn't blame him for her abrupt demise – but before he can truly register the twist of sadness in his heart, she breathes her last.
The fire crackles quietly, popping as it finds the hidden grass seeds and they burst, as the fallen leaves crumble into ash. They creep closer and he only watches, suddenly too sullen to bother retreating from them as they spark up around her body.
Strangely, though, they do not burn him. They light upon her stained body in a merry dance, licking her with blue tongues and red-gold light. Doctor draws away slightly before he senses it – a heavy fold of magic presses over her body as it burns quicker, rapidly consumed by the flames. It smolders and hisses, but rather than consuming her golden hide, the fire renews it.
The blood vanishes. Her wounds heal. Soon enough, the flames flicker out with a whisper and the mare opens her eyes. Doctor watches as she breathes again, as her legs move and she flicks her tail.
“You're…” He still cannot speak, amazed by what he has witnessed. He's seen plenty of magic before, but never has he witnessed kind magic.
She speaks again, her voice quiet and unharmed, before closing her eyes to rest. He muses over the mention of her son again as he looks toward the nearby Mountain. Had Beqanna spared her life because of her sacrifice?
He stands then, careful not to disturb her. He does not leave; instead he bows his head and scans the treeline, the foothills, the open areas around them. He hadn't protected her before, but he will watch over her now. She has intrigued him quite a bit more than he'd anticipated and he's curious to learn more about her.
The shadows creep over him again, gentler this time as if aware of the newfound calm. This time, he notices how they fall heavily around him, moving almost like black flames along the ground. Shifting slightly closer to Umani’s sleeping form, he is pleased to see the darkness draping gently across them both as if to hide them from sight during the night.
They will be safe.
He hadn’t expected the lion to turn its attention so solely upon her.
Doctor can only watch as if entranced as the cat and the mare engage in their gory battle. His breath is heavy and his muscles ring with adrenaline; he wants to charge forward again, to rain fire upon the feline and rip it from Umani’s back.
To protect her like he’d promised.
But his vision grows dark as soon as he lurches toward the pair of them. He can still hear her screams, the screeches and yowls of the cat, the thuds and gasps of fighting.
A brutal dance.
He can hear it all, but he can see none of it.
The shadows have returned, reaching around him as if with grimy black fingers that dig into his eyes and cling around his legs. With a bellow of his own, he throws his head up, slamming his feet into the ground again with a fiery snort. The flames do little to permeate the darkness that has overtaken him, billowing about him as if a great creature looms above. But the sky is clear and the trees are far behind him.
The heavy scent of blood permeates the air, stinging his nose with the heavy iron aroma. He snorts a fiery breath against it, pawing at the ground and heaving another plume of smoke. The shadows cling to him harder, a net around his struggling body, his labored sides and sweat-darkened flanks.
Umani’s voice still carries to him, teasingly close. She shrieks at her attacker, accusing it of taking her child’s life, and Doctor’s struggle lessens in that moment. Hadn't he heard something similar in the past? That same traumatized wail, that same despair. Where had it been?
(Had it even been real?)
In that moment, when he stands still with his feet planted wide, gasping harshly against his own smoke and against the shadows still whirling around him, the unseen battle comes to a final, grisly end. A spatter of blood paints his face and neck, trailing down his chest. He tosses his head again and snorts, braying shortly in surprise; he's certain that must have been the end of the mountain lion but, as the shadows finally ease away, dripping from his body like a sheet falling off of him, he is met with a terrible sight.
The palomino mare lies on the ground near the body of the lion, bleeding profusely. Flames have spread across the dry grass between them, small and slow-burning as they creep toward the feline’s corpse. Doctor has little concern for the fire, though – he worries for the life of his companion, the one he had brought into this awful situation.
She is gasping for him, begging him to stay, and he can do nothing other than oblige, falling to his knees beside her. “I…” He cannot find his voice though, unable to help at all. She thanks him – he is confused by this, confused by the fact she doesn't blame him for her abrupt demise – but before he can truly register the twist of sadness in his heart, she breathes her last.
The fire crackles quietly, popping as it finds the hidden grass seeds and they burst, as the fallen leaves crumble into ash. They creep closer and he only watches, suddenly too sullen to bother retreating from them as they spark up around her body.
Strangely, though, they do not burn him. They light upon her stained body in a merry dance, licking her with blue tongues and red-gold light. Doctor draws away slightly before he senses it – a heavy fold of magic presses over her body as it burns quicker, rapidly consumed by the flames. It smolders and hisses, but rather than consuming her golden hide, the fire renews it.
The blood vanishes. Her wounds heal. Soon enough, the flames flicker out with a whisper and the mare opens her eyes. Doctor watches as she breathes again, as her legs move and she flicks her tail.
“You're…” He still cannot speak, amazed by what he has witnessed. He's seen plenty of magic before, but never has he witnessed kind magic.
She speaks again, her voice quiet and unharmed, before closing her eyes to rest. He muses over the mention of her son again as he looks toward the nearby Mountain. Had Beqanna spared her life because of her sacrifice?
He stands then, careful not to disturb her. He does not leave; instead he bows his head and scans the treeline, the foothills, the open areas around them. He hadn't protected her before, but he will watch over her now. She has intrigued him quite a bit more than he'd anticipated and he's curious to learn more about her.
The shadows creep over him again, gentler this time as if aware of the newfound calm. This time, he notices how they fall heavily around him, moving almost like black flames along the ground. Shifting slightly closer to Umani’s sleeping form, he is pleased to see the darkness draping gently across them both as if to hide them from sight during the night.
They will be safe.
doctor
884