(no subject)
The Running Free
Here's the unbeta-ed first chapter of my monstrously long Multi-verse fic.
Normal no money being made disclaimer. All for fun. And fun for all.
Joss's Firefly and Serenity. Hints of LKH's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter. Notes of JKR's Harry Potter. Some Matrix to come. Probably others that I've missed.
River stood in the middle of a clearing in boy shorts and a tank top. She'd never worn boyshorts before. It was strange to know what they were but to be completely unfamiliar with them. They rubbed her butt funny. She giggled softly. It was nice.
She was in the woods. Thick woods. She glanced around trying to remember how she arrived in this particular clearing. There were tiny flowers everywhere. Very distracting. She wanted to take in her surroundings but the flowers were so bright. The edges were so crisp and clear. The trees were fuzzy.
She turned her head a second before a young woman ran into the clearing. She was gasping for air, eyes wide. Her hair was a dark black, not quite as inky black as River's. The jeans she was wearing were dirty, ripped, covered in blood. Her shirt was in worse condition. It gapped from the shoulder to her navel on one side and slashed in several places on the other. There was more blood on the shirt. Most of it seemed to be from the gash in her forehead.
"Scalp wounds are a bitch," the woman looked annoyed. River knew they bled longer and harder than any other type of head wound she'd had. And she'd had a few head wounds in her time.
The woman pushed her long curly hair out of her face and stepped further into the clearing. She pressed on the wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood. River stood her ground but did not like the woman being so close. She could sense something about her that was different. Something other. Something not unlike herself.
"You're not going to try are you?" the woman asked. River felt she shouldn't have been able to hear her. The fuzziness wasn't receding. Usually it only lasted for a few minutes. The flowers still stood out starkly against the night but she wasn't afraid. Sometimes it was easier to focus on one thing and let the rest fade.
"I'll try," River whispered a reply but didn't really know what the woman was asking. The woman nodded.
"You don't have to know right now. You'll see. That's when you'll know." The woman began to strip off her tattered clothes.
"What are you doing?" River asked. Simon had yelled when she'd wandered around the ship naked. Noone else had seemed to mind, especially Jayne. Simon didn't yell at Kaylee when she was naked around him. However, she'd gathered that nakedness was frowned upon.
"The pups are more important. We have to gather the pups. If something happens to them, things will go back to the way they were." The woman was down to her bra and panties now. A pretty matching purple and black set. Secretly, River had always liked when things matched. She smiled at this small happiness.
The woman unhooked her bra to reveal ample breasts, shivered. "The way we were was bad." The panties were down to her knees and she'd tossed the bra onto the pile of shredded clothes. The woman lifted one leg out of the panties. River could hear something crashing through the woods. The panties joined their matching bra. The woman raised panicked eyes to River's.
"I won't go back to that," then she gestured at the ground. "Neither will they." There were several puppies and kittens frolicking between them. How had she not noticed them before? They were tumbling and play fighting but one kitten was lying on its side. It was breathing in slow shallow breaths. One of the puppies wasn't playing but was staring at the sick kitten. Nudging it with his nose.
The woman stared at the baby animals. "I could not foresee this thing happening to you."
The woman stood completely nude in front of River. "I'm sorry. Please help us."
Whatever had been chasing her was now close enough that its running pant could be heard throughout the clearing. River gasped in fright and wonder as the woman shrank quickly and was replaced with a kitten. The woman-kitten immediately began to play with the others.
River bent to scoop them up. They only played harder. The kittens swirled around her legs as though some giant beast weren't after them. She'd get one or two in her arms and they would jump out to play with the others.
Suddenly the crashing in the underbrush stopped. She could feel hot breath on her neck. She turned her head slowly. Met the gaze of a huge shaggy wolf looming over her. It growled and nudged her hand. It was then she noticed the basket dangling from its jaws.
It nudged her hand again and a light bulb went on in River's head. It gingerly dropped the basket from its mouth into her hands. Then he turned to watch as something approached.
Hastily, she bent to retrieve the animals. The solemn one was still standing over the sick one. He wouldn't play with the others. He growled a bit when she picked up the one he was guarding. He leaped in front of a kitten that was playing too rough and herded it back to the basket. River scooped him up last.
The wolf then turned and looked at her. He shook his head and let out a few barks. Other wolves seemed to melt out of the trees into the clearing. They all seemed to look at the huge honey colored wolf. They tensed, a few cocking an ear back as though listening to some far off noise.
River closed her eyes. The wolves had been large blurs of color amongst the tiny flowers that still stuck out in her vision. She could hear better with out the flowers singing. And there was the sound they'd heard well before her. Something was crashing through the underbrush. Something was big. Making more noise than the wolf pack. It sounded far away but was traveling at a rapid pace.
The leading wolf let out a howl. Several of the other wolves let out answering calls. The big wolf picked the basket up in his jaws and bounded toward the trees. He turned after a few steps and looked back. Then sped off again.
The other wolves followed him. River started to run in the general direction of the lead wolf. The crashing was growing louder. The flowers brighter. She had to close her eyes. The brightness burned. She stumbled and nearly fell when her shoulder hit a tree branch.
Scrunching her eyes closed, she slowed to a walk. She could hear a tune in the woods and was startled when she realised it was coming from her own lips. She was humming and walking and trying to squint against the flowers when the growling trailed off. Something was gathering itself to pounce her from her left. She continued her leisurely stroll through the woods.
River screamed when Something knocked her to the ground. Claws ripped into her back. She scrambled at the leaves and dirt. Gasped in pain. She never turned her head to look at the Something. She focused on one flower directly in front of her. Jaws clamped onto her neck. She couldn't turn her head if she wanted now. Something was putting more and more crushing pressure into the bite.
A wave of naseau and dizziness hit her. She didn't stand a chance if she passed out. The pressure continued to build. She recognized the strange little whimpers as sounds coming from her. She hummed harder. The humming had turned into a strange keening. Spots of gray competed with the bright flowers to cloud her vision.
Something let go of her neck and leaned in close to her cheek. "I wanna see your face, painted black," Something growled. Then Something jarbled unrecognizable words into her ear. It ended with what could only be a cackle. Animal form or no.
"It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black," she whispered to Something. Apparently this was not what something wanted to hear.
It raked its claws across her throat. She felt blood gush into the leaves beneath her. The blood was choking her more with each breath. Each shallow gasp brought another gulp of hot thick blood into her lungs.
Everything faded slowly. The leaves. Her fingertips digging into the dirt. The small pains of sticks and rocks jabbing her back. Something's laughing growl. The last bright flower winked out. She knew she could rest now. The forest was painted black. Black as night. Black as coal.
Here's the unbeta-ed first chapter of my monstrously long Multi-verse fic.
Normal no money being made disclaimer. All for fun. And fun for all.
Joss's Firefly and Serenity. Hints of LKH's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter. Notes of JKR's Harry Potter. Some Matrix to come. Probably others that I've missed.
River stood in the middle of a clearing in boy shorts and a tank top. She'd never worn boyshorts before. It was strange to know what they were but to be completely unfamiliar with them. They rubbed her butt funny. She giggled softly. It was nice.
She was in the woods. Thick woods. She glanced around trying to remember how she arrived in this particular clearing. There were tiny flowers everywhere. Very distracting. She wanted to take in her surroundings but the flowers were so bright. The edges were so crisp and clear. The trees were fuzzy.
She turned her head a second before a young woman ran into the clearing. She was gasping for air, eyes wide. Her hair was a dark black, not quite as inky black as River's. The jeans she was wearing were dirty, ripped, covered in blood. Her shirt was in worse condition. It gapped from the shoulder to her navel on one side and slashed in several places on the other. There was more blood on the shirt. Most of it seemed to be from the gash in her forehead.
"Scalp wounds are a bitch," the woman looked annoyed. River knew they bled longer and harder than any other type of head wound she'd had. And she'd had a few head wounds in her time.
The woman pushed her long curly hair out of her face and stepped further into the clearing. She pressed on the wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood. River stood her ground but did not like the woman being so close. She could sense something about her that was different. Something other. Something not unlike herself.
"You're not going to try are you?" the woman asked. River felt she shouldn't have been able to hear her. The fuzziness wasn't receding. Usually it only lasted for a few minutes. The flowers still stood out starkly against the night but she wasn't afraid. Sometimes it was easier to focus on one thing and let the rest fade.
"I'll try," River whispered a reply but didn't really know what the woman was asking. The woman nodded.
"You don't have to know right now. You'll see. That's when you'll know." The woman began to strip off her tattered clothes.
"What are you doing?" River asked. Simon had yelled when she'd wandered around the ship naked. Noone else had seemed to mind, especially Jayne. Simon didn't yell at Kaylee when she was naked around him. However, she'd gathered that nakedness was frowned upon.
"The pups are more important. We have to gather the pups. If something happens to them, things will go back to the way they were." The woman was down to her bra and panties now. A pretty matching purple and black set. Secretly, River had always liked when things matched. She smiled at this small happiness.
The woman unhooked her bra to reveal ample breasts, shivered. "The way we were was bad." The panties were down to her knees and she'd tossed the bra onto the pile of shredded clothes. The woman lifted one leg out of the panties. River could hear something crashing through the woods. The panties joined their matching bra. The woman raised panicked eyes to River's.
"I won't go back to that," then she gestured at the ground. "Neither will they." There were several puppies and kittens frolicking between them. How had she not noticed them before? They were tumbling and play fighting but one kitten was lying on its side. It was breathing in slow shallow breaths. One of the puppies wasn't playing but was staring at the sick kitten. Nudging it with his nose.
The woman stared at the baby animals. "I could not foresee this thing happening to you."
The woman stood completely nude in front of River. "I'm sorry. Please help us."
Whatever had been chasing her was now close enough that its running pant could be heard throughout the clearing. River gasped in fright and wonder as the woman shrank quickly and was replaced with a kitten. The woman-kitten immediately began to play with the others.
River bent to scoop them up. They only played harder. The kittens swirled around her legs as though some giant beast weren't after them. She'd get one or two in her arms and they would jump out to play with the others.
Suddenly the crashing in the underbrush stopped. She could feel hot breath on her neck. She turned her head slowly. Met the gaze of a huge shaggy wolf looming over her. It growled and nudged her hand. It was then she noticed the basket dangling from its jaws.
It nudged her hand again and a light bulb went on in River's head. It gingerly dropped the basket from its mouth into her hands. Then he turned to watch as something approached.
Hastily, she bent to retrieve the animals. The solemn one was still standing over the sick one. He wouldn't play with the others. He growled a bit when she picked up the one he was guarding. He leaped in front of a kitten that was playing too rough and herded it back to the basket. River scooped him up last.
The wolf then turned and looked at her. He shook his head and let out a few barks. Other wolves seemed to melt out of the trees into the clearing. They all seemed to look at the huge honey colored wolf. They tensed, a few cocking an ear back as though listening to some far off noise.
River closed her eyes. The wolves had been large blurs of color amongst the tiny flowers that still stuck out in her vision. She could hear better with out the flowers singing. And there was the sound they'd heard well before her. Something was crashing through the underbrush. Something was big. Making more noise than the wolf pack. It sounded far away but was traveling at a rapid pace.
The leading wolf let out a howl. Several of the other wolves let out answering calls. The big wolf picked the basket up in his jaws and bounded toward the trees. He turned after a few steps and looked back. Then sped off again.
The other wolves followed him. River started to run in the general direction of the lead wolf. The crashing was growing louder. The flowers brighter. She had to close her eyes. The brightness burned. She stumbled and nearly fell when her shoulder hit a tree branch.
Scrunching her eyes closed, she slowed to a walk. She could hear a tune in the woods and was startled when she realised it was coming from her own lips. She was humming and walking and trying to squint against the flowers when the growling trailed off. Something was gathering itself to pounce her from her left. She continued her leisurely stroll through the woods.
River screamed when Something knocked her to the ground. Claws ripped into her back. She scrambled at the leaves and dirt. Gasped in pain. She never turned her head to look at the Something. She focused on one flower directly in front of her. Jaws clamped onto her neck. She couldn't turn her head if she wanted now. Something was putting more and more crushing pressure into the bite.
A wave of naseau and dizziness hit her. She didn't stand a chance if she passed out. The pressure continued to build. She recognized the strange little whimpers as sounds coming from her. She hummed harder. The humming had turned into a strange keening. Spots of gray competed with the bright flowers to cloud her vision.
Something let go of her neck and leaned in close to her cheek. "I wanna see your face, painted black," Something growled. Then Something jarbled unrecognizable words into her ear. It ended with what could only be a cackle. Animal form or no.
"It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black," she whispered to Something. Apparently this was not what something wanted to hear.
It raked its claws across her throat. She felt blood gush into the leaves beneath her. The blood was choking her more with each breath. Each shallow gasp brought another gulp of hot thick blood into her lungs.
Everything faded slowly. The leaves. Her fingertips digging into the dirt. The small pains of sticks and rocks jabbing her back. Something's laughing growl. The last bright flower winked out. She knew she could rest now. The forest was painted black. Black as night. Black as coal.