"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
09-01-2015, 08:08 PM (This post was last modified: 09-02-2015, 02:32 PM by Annihilate.)
Annihilate
burn everything you love then burn the ashes
Well. Momma had been pissed. She had yelled, and stomped, and shouted something fierce! Which made sense really, since Anni had scared her. Thing was? Thing was, Anni loved the fire, the snarl and the glare and the just ENERGY in the air when Momma was good and angry. It was kind of like Daddy’s fire, except it crackled along her skin and sent these fantastic little shivers down her spine, and she tried not to grin like an idiot while Momma was on a rampage, but it was HARD, okay? Rampaging Mom was the funnest Mom. It brought out the scary glow in her eyes that sucked the light out of the whole world and pulled it right into her, and how it radiated out of her like she was some kind of avenging angel or something was…well, it was fucking cool. Just like Daddy’s fwoosh was fucking cool.
Probably the point of the yelling and the way Momma tore her a new one and beat her ass was to keep her from doing what had scared her again, right? But. Well. But see, it had been worth it. To explore, to have an adventure, to see Daddy all growly, to see Momma all scary? Totally worth being a little bit sore for a while. And besides, there were sooooo many more adventures to have! So. “Mauly!” Anni snuck up to her sister—well, as sneaky as she was capable of, which frankly was not very—“Mauly, I had sooooo much fun!” She said it in a giddy little whisper, so Momma and Daddy wouldn’t hear. Because before they got all growlish and ragey again, she should get to earn it. Ooooh, and she had ideas, too!
“Mauly, I have to tell you! Aahhhh, I sneaked away and made it all the way to people! And! And there was this guy with red eyes like Uncle Hallows, but the kind of red that sends shivers down your spine! And! And! He told me? He told me he lives in the Chamber, which is this place where the land? HAS A HEARTBEAT! Like you can hear it and everything! AND! And there’s a tree? And if you give it a present, it lights on FIRE! And something something ravens that are probably super cool too, do you want to gooooo? Let’s go! You want to come, right?”
Naturally, because Maul was the coolest sister in the history of ever, she wanted in on the fun. Of course she did, because who wouldn’t want to go explore a cool new place with a heartbeat and fire and ravens and danger and burning and yessssss! But! But Momma and Daddy were kind of hovery and watching the pair of them like hawks. Or like falcons, in Daddy’s case, but that was not the point. Point was, how on earth were they going to get away?
See, now this was why Maul was the coolest. She was smart, and sneaky, and good at planning things where Anni was mostly just enthusiasm and charging into chaos. And she? Came up with the best idea ever! One that was sure to lead to lots of growling and snarling and fwoosh and scary parents later, which really just made it even better. Ooooh, but probably Maul should get to tell that part.
Anyhow, when they’d finally managed to sneak away (to the tune of very much yelling and oh god, the shouting and the crackling of tempers vibrating in the air made Anni want to stay and watch because fun! but also provided pretty awesome cover for the sneaking part) they set out to find the Chamber. Which, actually, Anni didn’t know how to get to, come to think of it. But probably they could find it anyhow.
This is the story of how, when the wolves knocked,
I met them at the door and I became the beast instead.
It’s amusing, really.
How far a clever idea and an innocent question can take them.
They cut through the crossfire like fearless little soldiers, nasty words and bitter accusations flying back and forth like bullets; one finds its mark, she thinks, but Dad takes it like a champ and fires right back. Uncle Nish is no lightweight, however, and even as their voices fade in the distance, she can tell when he gains some footing in the argument because Daddy’s voice grows softer. Maul looks over her shoulder, smirking; her plan is going off without a hitch and she gives an excited little buck and kicks up her heels in their general direction before darting along the hidden trail after her sister.
Annihilate’s been talking about The Chamber ever since Daddy brought her back from the Meadow and, of course, since she missed out on the last adventure, Maul is eager to go and see what all the fuss is about. Two days come and go before they spot the tips of even the tallest pine trees, however; their bellies start to grumble and crankiness sets in, and what’s worse, the longer the trip drags on the deeper the shit Maul knows they’re bound to be in. Hunger and angry parents be damned, Anni is thrilled by the fact that they’ve almost made it and Maul has no choice but to reluctantly carry on.
They’ve made it this far anyways, haven’t they?
It seems stupid to turn back now.
And so, after another half a day of traveling, the twins finally reach the border of the pine forest.
“Something, something, something, don’t cross over without permission,” she mutters, remembering what Uncle Nish told them Grandma Sol had taught him. Manners, or something or other that he’d been going on about that ‘Daddy never taught them.’ She slinks along shoulder-to-shoulder with her little sister, eyeing the big, ‘scary’ pine trees and waiting to feel the beat of a heart beneath her small hooves. It isn’t long before—ooh, oh she feels it now. Maul hops almost a foot to the right, squealing in excitement; she flags her two-toned tail and prances around her twin. “Anni, Anni! Do you feel it, too?” She grins. But then, then there’s a twig and it snaps and she freezes instantly.
Something isn’t right, someone is watching them—
“Who’s there?” Maul tries her best to growl, whipping around to face the source of the noise. “Who is hiding? Don’t be such a coward. Show yourself.”
He is laughing as he watches the two wander close to the border, cleaning the pads of his rather large paws from where he liked to take up residence in one of the land’s many oversized trees. Breaking from the absent-minded cleaning, his sharp yellow eyes cuts upward and zeroes in on the pair of fillies, his lax mouth curling slowly into a rather predatory smile.
What an interesting diversion.
Atrox doesn’t bother to uproot himself or move at all as they wander close—to the base of his tree actually. Watching with lazy amusement, he sees a deer step onto a branch and scurry into the shadows, the echo enough to send the two of them straight into defensive mode. “It’s a brave move to call someone a coward who you haven’t seen yet,” he drawls, the sound of his arrogant voice cutting through the silence with ease. With a cheshire smile, he dips his obsidian head down to study them closer.
“For all you know, you were insulting the very Queen of the land. She has quite the temper.” He emphasizes the word with relish although he does not particularly fear Straia’s temper. Tilting his head to the side, he curls his lips to reveal pointed teeth, “Or you may simply be tempting the local wildlife.” His stomach growls, rather audibly, and he considers its timing good fortune. Not that he particularly enjoyed eating his fellow equine. Making them bleed was one thing; digesting them was another.
Not quite ready to give up his cards yet, Atrox yawns and makes his way down the tree in languid motions, stretching once he reached the pine floor. “You are right though; you should never cross a kingdom border without permission.” A rule he ignored more often than he followed. “But I might be willing to grant you permission if you can guess my name.”
Okay. So maybe the Chamber was a little bit farther away than Anni was expecting. Maybe she should have picked a closer place to explore for the adventure just after her first one. Maaaaaaybe two days of not having food in her grumbly growly hungry belly was starting to wear on her temper and her energy levels. She wasn’t quite as bouncy as she had been when they set out, and she was kind of starting to see spots? But probably it was fine. Dizzy wasn’t a whole lot different from hurty, and hurty really wasn’t that bad, so dizzy was probably just as not bad. Good!
Besides, she was all kinds of stubborn, and the more she started to feel like she wanted to be home, curled up in a cuddle pile with Momma and Daddy and Mauly and a full belly, the more she was determined to keep going ‘til they made it to the goddamn Chamber, because she was GOING to hear the land’s heartbeat if it was the last thing she ever did. So she used all her bullheadedness to stay cheerful and excited and moving forward, because otherwise she would just lay down and stop moving ‘til Daddy caught up with them again and where was the fun in that?
Nope. They were gonna make it.
And besides, there were animals to see and pounce on and play with, and rivers to splash in, and hills to climb, and dirt to roll in, and puddles to jump in, and new plants and new places and a whole world to see! So that helped quiet the snarling in her belly. And it helped her stay in good spirits even as she got worn out and exhausted and sleeeeepy and—no, no, focus on the goods! Hoppy bugs and chirping things and chittery squirrels and oooh, a frog! Froggy froggy frog, with the ribbits and the long sticky tongue and the shlooooop, fly for dinner! Fun!
“I wonder if flies are tasty. I would eat a fly, if I could catch one. Just to see. Because maybe!” And the best way to find out would be to try, right? Right. And frankly, she’d eat another horse at this point if it would just fill up her hungry belly. Or maybe like, mud was almost milk texture, right? There was probably something edible in mud somewhere. Worms, were worms food? Was that why Momma and Daddy ate from the ground? Because worms lived in the ground and that was where food came from? Probably.
She was just about to try it, when they finally, finally, finally found the forest! Little legs gathering to pounce, to leap, to dash into the forest, when Mauly remembered they weren’t supposed to, not without permission. But! But she had basically an invitation, right? Gryffen had practically told her she could, and that was good enough, she was sure. Besides, she couldn’t hear the heartbeat yet! Oooh, but Maul did! Maul did!
Completely unable to restrain herself any longer, Anni dove across the edge of the kingdom into the edge of the forest. And the moment her tiny hooves landed, she could feel it! Thumping against the soles of her feet, making her melt into a little puddle of delight. Her eyes were closed when Mauly growled, but they didn’t stay closed for long.
KITTY! Kitty kitty kitty kitty big talking kitty yessssss, best adventure! “Ooooh, is your name Rumpelstiltskin? Chomper? Juliet? Mister Whiskerson? I bet it’s Mister Whiskerson!” Big, growly Mister Whiskerson, guardian kitty of the beating-heart Chamber. Big black kitty with big yellow eyes and big shiny teeth and claws! “Also it’s okay, we were invited! We have permission,” she said, with a happy little nod. After all, it was as good as true.
He hasn’t missed their entrance, oh no, Annihilate’s shrill voice carries as it always does. This time she’s brought along a friend, it resembles her but is much quieter. Must be the famous sister she had babbled about. He’s rather surprised she’s here. He knows he had planted that little seed in her head, enticing her with Chamber stories. It’s really more of a surprise that she had escaped under the watchful eye of her burning father and the so called “mute” mother again. Terrible parents they must be. It doesn’t matter, they will be punished enough and learn a future lesson when their little girls never return home. For the Chamber ghost has no intentions of letting them leave. Whether it be by trickery or force, he plans on keeping the tortoiseshell girls right here. Sure… Annihilate was incredibly annoying but with their ties to the jungle, they may just be useful.
Atrox beats him to the punch but that’s ok, it is his heart after all that has drawn the girls here in the first place. Crimson eyes watch carefully as the panther taunts the two, toying with them. It’s lost on Annihilate, as he figures it would be, as she immediately launches into a plethora of stupid names that must surely sting at Atrox’s ego. Red eyes roll and he sighs softly, this fucking girl. I swear. The white wraith takes a few steps from the shadows of the forest, if the twins don’t catch his pale coat then they will surely see his glowing eyes. He says nothing, simply watching for now and waiting for any of them to notice him as they surely will. As for the permission, yes in his way he had invited her hadn’t he? But he won’t ruin Atrox’s fun just yet.
![[Image: atrox.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/XBppy9VY/atrox.png)
