The Hunted

[martyr]

In one unnerving quick movement, the monster’s head snapped towards Rhea, its vertically slit pupils dilating. In the sudden silence, its breath was a ragged hiss, chest rising and falling rapidly. If it understood Rhea’s words, it choose not to reply, and instead took another step forward and screamed, one clawed foot extended.

Rigidly, Martyr stood at the sidelines, strangely calm despite the electrified atmosphere. All her concentration and emotion had narrowed to one focal point of high intensity; the monster. Something was caught in the recesses of her mind, something that should’ve been obvious. The phantom’s eyes widened as it struck her. Their assailant was a gryphon, but why was it lingering in such a low altitude? Gryphons were one of the unpleasant creatures had dubbed the mountain peaks home.

Horror engulfed the femme as the gryphon turned its livid stare to Kali. Rhea… it’s hungry.

The monster unfurled it terrible wings and leapt at the pup.

[trillian]

On some level, Rhea heard what Martyr had said and tabled it as unimportant. She launched towards the gryphon, fully aggressive now. She caught the assailants neck as it came towards them and dug in. The gryphon's claw flew furiously, trying to catch her. A few reached, but whether they hit or not made no difference to her. Rhea would not allow this thing to so much as touch her pup - she would die first.

Kali stood frozen behind them. Her mother had staved off enemies before, but usually by running away. She had never seen, or never remembered, her mother fight this way. The scariest thing about it for her was the emotions blinding her senses. Both of them radiated bloodlust such that she had felt only once in her life, and she had only been a few days old then. Kali found herself unable to move as the battle stood still: her mother's fangs around the gyfron's neck and the gryphon's claws yearning for her opponent. They where locked for what seemed an enterity... until the gryphon recovered the use of a wing and flipped around - tossing Rhea against the ground. At this point Kali recovered use of her legs and tore off away from them as fast as she could.

Rhea, now caught between the ground and the screaming bird, tried to flip the monster back over but it's great wings made this impossible. She spotted the wall off to the side and made a sharp twist to the right. The gryphon followed, its wing snapping with a crunch.
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[martyr]

Frustration curled about Martyr’s chest like a vice. Physical confrontations were not her strength for obvious reasons. But as she watched Rhea grapple with the violent bird beast; memories soared into her mind’s eye.

The sky was painted crimson by the Northern Lights, a ghastly reflection of the scene below as the two she-wolves ran, eyes wild with terror, nares filled with the thick scent of blood. Above, there was a terrible cry, and a dark shadow fell over the second fatale. Without thinking, Martyr set the whelps down from her jaws and leapt straight at the beast, colliding in midair with an almighty crash.

Something mahogany bolted past Martyr, and belatedly the ghost realized it was Kali. Throwing a glance over her shoulder at the fleeing pup, Martyr’s ears swung towards the battle as her mind calculated her options. Only one option seemed valid for the moment.

The specter charged the now-crippled gryphon, earning a fresh scream of fear and confusion as her icy frame torn through its systems. Her phantasmal fangs flashed near the gryphon’s throat, her mental snarl haunting as any. Confused, not understanding the creature before it was no more than mere shadow, the gryphon backed into the stone wall responsible for its dragging pinion, screaming with the fury of one damned.

[trillian]

Had Rhea been in control of herself, she would have realized that the gryphon no longer posed a threat to anything. Without its wing it couldn't fly or hunt; and would most likely die in a matter of days. She didn't care, this thing had attack her pup. Rhea leapt forward, grabbed the gryphon in her jaws again and dragged it over the path. It struggled, but the broken wing had opened the gates for its lifeblood, now was spilling out on to the ground. With a twist of her neck Rhea flung the creature over the size an watched in crash on to the rocks below. Now that the threat to her pup was utterly destroyed, the anger within Rhea quickly faded as her will to fight vanished back into the darker side of soul. She stood there for a moment until it had completely gone, then turned towards Martyr. "Not hurt, are you?" She asked.

Kali skidded to a halt as the emotions behind her ended. There was nothing to worry about now. Her mother and the wolf-cloud had surely defeated the monster, as there was nothing aggressive left in her perception. She slowly began to walk back down towards her mother. Kali wasn't afraid, she knew her caretaker would never unleash such fury on her, but she was shaken. She peered a head around the corner to were her mother was. Rhea looked the same as she always did, except now her dark muzzle and fur was spotted red in a few places. Kali wondered what had happened to the monster after she ran, then quickly decided she didn't want to know. She trotted up to the two wolves and stopped a few feet away.
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[martyr]

The phantom smiled mirthlessly. It had been quite literally years since her health had experienced even the minutest change. Hurt? No, but how are you? The fatale’s unchecked fury on the gryphon hadn’t fazed her in the least. Like all aspects of the lifecycle, the bond between parent and child was integral. And the creature who dared attempt to sever such a bond was deserving of his fate.

Kali had reappeared wordlessly and soundlessly. The tsarina’s keen eye detached nothing physically amiss with the youngster, even if her expression was far from the jovial, curious one she had greeted Martyr with in the beginning. Though it was instinct for her to extend a word of comfort to the she-whelp, the specter remained mute out of common courtesy. She was a guest upon the pair’s journey, and little more.

[trillian]

"Kali," Rhea said with a sigh of relief, "are you okay?" She walked over to her pup, sat in front of her and looked her over quickly.

"I'm... I'm okay." Kali said quietly.
"What's wrong?" her mother asked.

Kali looked up into her caretaker's eyes and saw that the familiar persona had returned. Kind, amber eyes reflected what she had always ran to when she was afraid. A tension in Kali unwound and she fell into her mother's fur, tears falling from her eyes.

"Kali..." Rhea lowered her head around her pup and comforted her. From some reason, it was times like this when Rhea remember that she was not in fact this pup's true mother. Kali's real mother had died many days ago, and though she had been a close friend of Rhea's, Kali had never known her. Although it plain that the Protecting One watched over this little fae, fate did not spare her all the trials of a full grown adult. "It's okay now." She lowered her head to her pup's. "The monster is gone." Kali gave a sniff and nodded.

It was only when they started down the trial again that Rhea realized it was not the gryphon Kali has truly been afraid of. Her pup had never seen her fight before. She had hunted, certainly, but this was different. She glanced down at Kali. A brown face looked up at her and smiled weakly. She'll bounce back... Rhea told herself.

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[martyr]

Upon Rhea and Kali’s reunion, the phantasmal fatale had made herself scarce. She did not wish to be a spectator to their own, private affairs. Besides, it was painful to behold the obvious love they shared. It eased open the edges of a wound that had never healed, and more than likely never would…

Though never a tsar of many words, it was still unusual to realize Caspian had been reduced to nothing but awestruck silence. In the dim light of the earthen chamber, Martyr gestured for him to draw closer. “Come meet your sons and daughter.” The warrior glanced down at the petit trio nestled between his lover’s forelimbs, and then her vivid eyes. He slowly sank to the ground, sheltering the whole of his family with the bulk of his frame, Martyr’s tiara beneath his jaw. No further words were spoken, but none were needed.

Darkness engulfed Martyr, and a dazed second later, she realized as she had been reminiscing, her had glided unintentionally into the maw of a tunnel. Shards of sunlight painted the granite walls in various interludes from where she was standing. The entire structure looked stable enough, and as an added bonus, seemed to head straight down the mountain side. Perhaps they could avoid any more incidents if they opted to take the subterranean route.

Rhea, Kali, I think I’ve found the quickest way to the valley, she announced, drawing out of the tunnel back to the rocky trail.

[trillian]

((Sorry replying took so long. There was a massive string of book returns at the library and my boss made me work all day yesterday and Tuesday.))


Rhea and Kali followed Martyr to the entrance of the tunnel. Kali ducked her head in. Inside the sound of water could be heard echoing off the wall. "Ohhh..." she said and curiously wandered inside. Guess she's all right. Rhea thought as she followed. "Sorry about before. I didn't mean to make things awkward for you." She said to Martyr. "We haven't had the easiest time getting here and, well, Kali is only a puppy. She isn't used to dealing with things like this."

Kali wandered through the cave exploring the strangeness of the odd new place. Light filtered down from cracks in the ceiling made long before she was born by many years of dripping water. She found a place where the water pooled and drank from it. It tasted like rocks. She followed the path around the pools of water and stagatites. "This place is cool, Mama! There's lots of wierd stuff here." She bounded away to explore more of the tunnel.

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[martyr]

(Don’t worry about it ^.^ Happens to all of us sometimes!)

A smile lightened Martyr’s expression. I understand, there’s no need to apologize. As they walked, the fatale realized what Kali had noted from the beginning; the earthen vein was indeed interesting. Erosion proved its artistry time and time again in the fantastic figures that would loam unexpectedly from the turns and corners. The sunlight was a welcome change from the pallid mist, and Martyr felt the block of tension that had embedded itself into her shoulder easing as they continued.

I hope you don’t mind me asking, Martyr began once Kali was out of earshot. But what brings a pair of Arctic wolves down from the North? Her question reveled the curiosity that had been kindled within since she had noted Rhea and Kali’s heritage. If you don’t wish to reply, that’s all right. If you ask me questions, I can’t promise I can answer them either.

[trillian]

Rhea felt the weight of a heavy past fall fully on to her shoulders. "Well, it is a long story..." Actually it wasn't, the story was very simple, but to an outsider it would seem illogical. Sometimes Rhea herself couldn't believe the root of their troubles was the thing she always turned to when lost. "... but I will tell you, if you really want to know. I will try to keep it short - but it will take some explaining for you to fully understand."

As they walked along the cave, Rhea began her story.

"I was born in a pack in the lands of the Far North. When I was two seasons old, I became an aperntance Teller of Tales. My job was to learn the stories of my pack so when the master Teller died, the stories wouldn't be lost. I learned them well and was content.

"A few years later, a new alpha pair had come to power. Most did not mind the change, that is until the alpha had a brush with death after a birthing period. He thought this was because of the Cycle..." Rhea stopped for a moment and released Martyr probably had no knowledge of the tales that had explained the world of the Icebolt.

"Have you heard the story of the Calling One by chance?"

Kali followed the path through the cave. Luckily, the tunnel was simple, and though it wasn't straight it didn't branch. She wandered along happily, oblivious that her mother was telling a stranger what even she did not know yet. She stayed within sight of them, but out of earshot which suited Rhea. She was not quite ready to tell her pup the details of why they traveled constantly.
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[martyr]

Martyr listened without interruption, nodding at the appreciate junctures. The pack Rhea described sounded similar to the standard in the far north. Arctic wolves were oft deeply superstitious and religious in equal parts. In a merciless land, such values did hold merit. The unknown was, more often than not, dangerous.

The Calling One… Martyr repeated, her ghostly ears pinned back to her tiara. The name did strike a chord, like the name of an acquaintance half forgotten. She had done much wandering in the North after having been cursed, though her spectral travelings had created distrust and animosity in most of the packs she had encountered. It had been years since the land of snow had harbored her. It sounds familiar, but I don’t know what it is… it has been years since I set foot on my homeland.