DOPD Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Ilee was in the process of reinforcing the barrier around her domain when she saw the siren staggering her way. She vaulted over the barrier and landed gracefully on her feet, worry taking the place of her usual neutral expression. With a thought, she adjusted her body temperature and pulled the dazed-looking siren into a hug. If she had not, the siren’s second skin would dreeze. “What’s wrong Coral?”
“Mrr almost killed me!” The siren sobbed, putting her face against Ilee’s chest. “He’s too obsessed with finding Anar before Krassy can hurt him like he hurt Hyassy and he didn’t notice that it was too hot under Mirar and that I was getting so so dry… He put me in Nina’s room but I just wanted to be somewhere else… Swam here from his den so I’m a little sleepy…”
“Why didn’t you go to sleep in your cave?” Ilee asked gently, helping the siren through the gate. “It’s much closer.”
“A few merpeople tried to kill me when I started for home. The chief punished them but I’m too tired to feel safe if they sneak up on me again. I would’ve gone to Hyassy’s because they think of me as a goddess but I didn’t want to explain what happened to her.” Tears ran down her cheeks, soaking into the fine material of Ilee’s dress. “I miss her Icy! I miss her and I want to hurt Krassy bad because it hurts so much but I can hardly stand right. You don’t want me to go too do you?” she whimpered.
“Of course not.” Ilee hugged her friend, trying very hard not to think about Hyacinthia’s death. “I was just thinking that all the ice would ake you uncomfortable.”
“I can lower the shield if I’m safe.” The siren whispered, eyelids already drooping a little. “If I’m with you I’ll be warm.”
And so Ilee brought the Siren to her bedroom and covered her with blankets before crawling next to her. As the Siren’s breathing slowed into deep sleep, Ilee kissed her cheek affectionately, allowing the other to snuggle against her body.
It made her think of the sphinx, her lovely Sanura, who always purred in her sleep as she rested her head on Ilee’s chest. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes and she pulled Coral closer, holding onto the exhausted creature desperately. “I miss her too.” She whispered, burying her face into the Siren’s silvery hair. The scent of ocean water permeated the Siren’s being, as opposite from the sphinx as she could be, but they were both warm and she was lonely. Even when the sphinx was spending all her days with Nina they still made time for each other.
They’d been friends for over a thousand years.
~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~
Anar awoke in a small cave, his wrist and ankles firmly bound with steel manacles. The flame on a nearby torch wavered as a breeze fed it oxygen, reassuring Anar in a way few would understand. The elf decided the torch was there to create an atmosphere more than anything else since he and the demon had perfect vision in the dark.
Pain. It was the start of life the continual proof of life, and the harbringer of natural death in many cases. There were many words for different degrees of pain, and what the elf felt upon waking was a dull throb by his stomach and a mild headache near the front of his head. He noted the torch and his surroundings before he even awknowledged the throbbing. As soon as he did however, the dull thorb became shrieks as network upon network of nerves sent signals of pain to his brain like growing waves upon the coast. His head felt like it was about to split apart to relieve the pressure.
He was dimly aware of a hand reaching out to his midsection as he screamed his throat raw. He had been wounded in that area before, so long ago that the scar tissue was hardly noticeable, and the demon’s healing magic only seemed to have emphasized the pain even as tissue mended. It was as if he could feel every change in the tissue connections, the formation of new connections, and the torn nerves all at the same time. The pain only intensified as the demon put more healing magic into his body, chasing away thought.
Anar regained his senses almost an hour later, having passed out for a few minutes after the wound was healed enough to prevent imminent death. Sweat covered his bare torso and bloody trails followed gravity, spoiling his favorite pair of black pants.
“I bet the elven high court would love to see the hated Koros like this, your father in particular.” The demon smirked, absorbing the elf’s pain as if it were a fine ambrodisiac.. “I had finer accommodations planned, but I’m afraid things never turn out quite the way you expect - as you should know, being a former general and all. I never did get the complete story of your fall from grace, but I’m sure the bloodbaths had something to do with it.” The demon jeered.
“Shut up.” The elf managed. He had wanted to say something witty about Krasnar being brought into the world by the darker dregs of human emtions when his people were born from the earth, but couldn’t think properly. “Shut up!”
“I remember you from the glory days, when you were the shinning knight of the elven kingdom, master of magical war.” The demon continued nostalgically. “You beat back the dwarfs every time, losing less soldiers than any other general in history. Armies fled if they saw your flag… you must have done something horrid to be exiled and cursed to never set foot in Arondell again. What did you do?”
When Anar did not answer, the demon ran a finger over the still=oozing wound, reactivating the pain receptors. The physical and emotional pain were making the demon slightly giddy. It smiled, but it was not a smile that brought joy to others; it was one that inversed everything a smile stood for.
Blood gathered in his mouth as he bit down on his lower lip, resisting the urge to scream. He tried to chant an attack spell in his mind, but a sharp spike of pain pierced his mind and destroyed whatever power his frail concentration had gathered.
“That was foolish.” Krasnar remarked. “I was treating you so nicely too.”
“Liar.” Anar spat.
“Camelia!” the demon called. “I think this will be more entertaining if you’re the one who whips him into shape.” He continued as she entered the room cautiously, taking a cat of nine tails off of a hook.
“Can’t you do your own dirty work, little demon?” The elf said haughtily.
“Of course I can.” Krasnar dismissed Anara’s taunt, knowing that the elf just did not want to get beaten by a woman. “I’ll just be able to feed on both of you this way. Of course, she’ll have to be serious about it or I’ll introduce little Tifa to true pain.”
Camelia’s look of fury did not change as she started to tear at Anar’s flesh with the whip. He soon forgot their discussion.
When Anar finally passed out from the pain, Krasnar took the whip out of his subordinate’s hands. “And that, my little shifter, is why you do not get attached to anyone or anything. It makes you weak.”
~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~
Tifa was asleep when Camelia returned. The five-year old was curled up on a pile of furs, a light brown pelt covering her as she slept. The television was still on at its regular volume, depicting a pair of cartoon cats that were fighting over an ugly-looking mouse. Deciding that her daughter could sleep for another ten minutes or so, the shifter went to take a shower. The water flowed through her hair, becoming red as it washed away blood. Camelia enjoyed the feel of the cleansing hot water against her skin for a moment more before attacking the clumps of congealed blood in her hair with her fingers. Once there was little resistance, she ran her hands along the rest of her body, picking at crusty blood trails.
When she was sure that no blood remained on her body, Camelia left the bathroom and wrapped herself in a fresh robe. She lifted her child gently from the pile of furs, taking comfort in the sweet scent of her body. Tifa took after her sire, small and lithe with pure white hair and light skin. She had Camelia’s golden eyes however, and a similar temper.
A small hand grabbed a loch of damp hair. “Mommy, what’s wrong?” she asked, voice soft and muffled with sleep.
“Mommy has a choice to make.” Camelia answered, placing the child on her lap as she sat on the pile of furs. “I’m happy that you changed before going to bed though, even if that pile isn’t the best place to sleep.
“It’s comfy.” The girl explained, already falling back asleep.
Camelia was glad the child had not asked about the choice. She knew she had to get away from the demon. It was becoming more and more unpredictable as it orchestrated events, feeding off the pain of great beings as if they were lesser creatures. If it stuck to its pattern, it would kill Tifa and her soon. At the moment, they were more likely to survive running away, especially if she managed to free Anar. The dragon would follow the old rules and acknowledge a debt.
“At dawn, we’ll leave when he’s at his weakest.”
~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~
When the demon left Anar’s holding cell, the elf took inventory of his injuries. Considering the damage inflicted, they were not so bad. The demon had healed him after the shape-shifter tore away a chunk of flesh, but the twisted nature of the healing made it more painful than before. Blood that had been creeping down his bare body was now half-dry, chaffing his skin.
He had called upon his training as a warrior during the beating, separating his consciousness from his body. The darkness helped him, feeling the planet’s pulse always managed to soothe him. It kept him from telling the demon what he wanted to know anyway.
He searched inside for his power, calling it outwards. His chains grew warm for a minute, and he felt them absorb the magic he had collected. “Well then.”
The door creaked open, trace amount of light spilling past the two figures beyond. One he recognized as his reluctant tormentor, the other was obviously her child. Anar’s attention went to the sleeping child, searching for something he was not quite sure was there.
“You’re her sire.” Camelia stated, walking into the room swiftly. “Krasnar does not know.”
Anar, after centuries of idea-swapping with Mrr, finally knew why a powerful shape shifter like Camelia would allow herself to be controlled by the demon. Then his mind processed her announcement. “My what? How? When? Then why are you here? You know you’re jeopardizing your lives.”
“How injured are you?” Camelia asked instead.
“He healed my internal injuries and the others are not that severe. You did not answer my question.”
“We don’t have time for explanations. We have to be at least halfway to Mt. Mirrar before It realizes you’re missing. Will you let me use my magic on you or are you going to get all of us killed to sate your curiosity?”
Anar decided to trust his instincts. “Go ahead.”
“This’ll hurt.” She warned, extending her power to cover his body, shifting the child to one hip and extending her free hand. With a twist of her mind, she turned him into a rat. He screeched as he changed, but that did not stop her, and the charmed manacles were not designed to absorb her power. She stroked the panting rat’s fur, checking his internal structures one last time. Anar did not stop chittering angrily throughout her inspection. “Do you have a better escape plan? I already changed your swords and you’re out of your bonds, aren’t you?”
“…Mommy?” the child murmured drowsily, her eyes wide. “Why are you holding a rat?”
“He’s actually an elf and we’re helping him get away from here.” She set the child down for a moment and knelt down before her. “Now, would you hold onto him and keep him safe?”
“Why can’t you?”
“I won’t have hands.” She undid the button of the child’s breast pocket and placed Anar and two small pebbles in it. Then, she became a she-wolf, able to run for days if need be. She knelt down, her belly straddling the cold floor, and waited for her daughter to get on. She wanted to get out of this place, its smells were overpowering in her new form.
As she ran, she felt her exhileration grow as the wind rustled through her fur and the power of her limbs flowed through her whole body.
Prologue *** Chapter 1 *** Chapter 2 *** Chapter 3 *** Chapter 4 *** Chapter 5 *** Chapter 6
Ilee was in the process of reinforcing the barrier around her domain when she saw the siren staggering her way. She vaulted over the barrier and landed gracefully on her feet, worry taking the place of her usual neutral expression. With a thought, she adjusted her body temperature and pulled the dazed-looking siren into a hug. If she had not, the siren’s second skin would dreeze. “What’s wrong Coral?”
“Mrr almost killed me!” The siren sobbed, putting her face against Ilee’s chest. “He’s too obsessed with finding Anar before Krassy can hurt him like he hurt Hyassy and he didn’t notice that it was too hot under Mirar and that I was getting so so dry… He put me in Nina’s room but I just wanted to be somewhere else… Swam here from his den so I’m a little sleepy…”
“Why didn’t you go to sleep in your cave?” Ilee asked gently, helping the siren through the gate. “It’s much closer.”
“A few merpeople tried to kill me when I started for home. The chief punished them but I’m too tired to feel safe if they sneak up on me again. I would’ve gone to Hyassy’s because they think of me as a goddess but I didn’t want to explain what happened to her.” Tears ran down her cheeks, soaking into the fine material of Ilee’s dress. “I miss her Icy! I miss her and I want to hurt Krassy bad because it hurts so much but I can hardly stand right. You don’t want me to go too do you?” she whimpered.
“Of course not.” Ilee hugged her friend, trying very hard not to think about Hyacinthia’s death. “I was just thinking that all the ice would ake you uncomfortable.”
“I can lower the shield if I’m safe.” The siren whispered, eyelids already drooping a little. “If I’m with you I’ll be warm.”
And so Ilee brought the Siren to her bedroom and covered her with blankets before crawling next to her. As the Siren’s breathing slowed into deep sleep, Ilee kissed her cheek affectionately, allowing the other to snuggle against her body.
It made her think of the sphinx, her lovely Sanura, who always purred in her sleep as she rested her head on Ilee’s chest. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes and she pulled Coral closer, holding onto the exhausted creature desperately. “I miss her too.” She whispered, burying her face into the Siren’s silvery hair. The scent of ocean water permeated the Siren’s being, as opposite from the sphinx as she could be, but they were both warm and she was lonely. Even when the sphinx was spending all her days with Nina they still made time for each other.
They’d been friends for over a thousand years.
~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~
Anar awoke in a small cave, his wrist and ankles firmly bound with steel manacles. The flame on a nearby torch wavered as a breeze fed it oxygen, reassuring Anar in a way few would understand. The elf decided the torch was there to create an atmosphere more than anything else since he and the demon had perfect vision in the dark.
Pain. It was the start of life the continual proof of life, and the harbringer of natural death in many cases. There were many words for different degrees of pain, and what the elf felt upon waking was a dull throb by his stomach and a mild headache near the front of his head. He noted the torch and his surroundings before he even awknowledged the throbbing. As soon as he did however, the dull thorb became shrieks as network upon network of nerves sent signals of pain to his brain like growing waves upon the coast. His head felt like it was about to split apart to relieve the pressure.
He was dimly aware of a hand reaching out to his midsection as he screamed his throat raw. He had been wounded in that area before, so long ago that the scar tissue was hardly noticeable, and the demon’s healing magic only seemed to have emphasized the pain even as tissue mended. It was as if he could feel every change in the tissue connections, the formation of new connections, and the torn nerves all at the same time. The pain only intensified as the demon put more healing magic into his body, chasing away thought.
Anar regained his senses almost an hour later, having passed out for a few minutes after the wound was healed enough to prevent imminent death. Sweat covered his bare torso and bloody trails followed gravity, spoiling his favorite pair of black pants.
“I bet the elven high court would love to see the hated Koros like this, your father in particular.” The demon smirked, absorbing the elf’s pain as if it were a fine ambrodisiac.. “I had finer accommodations planned, but I’m afraid things never turn out quite the way you expect - as you should know, being a former general and all. I never did get the complete story of your fall from grace, but I’m sure the bloodbaths had something to do with it.” The demon jeered.
“Shut up.” The elf managed. He had wanted to say something witty about Krasnar being brought into the world by the darker dregs of human emtions when his people were born from the earth, but couldn’t think properly. “Shut up!”
“I remember you from the glory days, when you were the shinning knight of the elven kingdom, master of magical war.” The demon continued nostalgically. “You beat back the dwarfs every time, losing less soldiers than any other general in history. Armies fled if they saw your flag… you must have done something horrid to be exiled and cursed to never set foot in Arondell again. What did you do?”
When Anar did not answer, the demon ran a finger over the still=oozing wound, reactivating the pain receptors. The physical and emotional pain were making the demon slightly giddy. It smiled, but it was not a smile that brought joy to others; it was one that inversed everything a smile stood for.
Blood gathered in his mouth as he bit down on his lower lip, resisting the urge to scream. He tried to chant an attack spell in his mind, but a sharp spike of pain pierced his mind and destroyed whatever power his frail concentration had gathered.
“That was foolish.” Krasnar remarked. “I was treating you so nicely too.”
“Liar.” Anar spat.
“Camelia!” the demon called. “I think this will be more entertaining if you’re the one who whips him into shape.” He continued as she entered the room cautiously, taking a cat of nine tails off of a hook.
“Can’t you do your own dirty work, little demon?” The elf said haughtily.
“Of course I can.” Krasnar dismissed Anara’s taunt, knowing that the elf just did not want to get beaten by a woman. “I’ll just be able to feed on both of you this way. Of course, she’ll have to be serious about it or I’ll introduce little Tifa to true pain.”
Camelia’s look of fury did not change as she started to tear at Anar’s flesh with the whip. He soon forgot their discussion.
When Anar finally passed out from the pain, Krasnar took the whip out of his subordinate’s hands. “And that, my little shifter, is why you do not get attached to anyone or anything. It makes you weak.”
~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~
Tifa was asleep when Camelia returned. The five-year old was curled up on a pile of furs, a light brown pelt covering her as she slept. The television was still on at its regular volume, depicting a pair of cartoon cats that were fighting over an ugly-looking mouse. Deciding that her daughter could sleep for another ten minutes or so, the shifter went to take a shower. The water flowed through her hair, becoming red as it washed away blood. Camelia enjoyed the feel of the cleansing hot water against her skin for a moment more before attacking the clumps of congealed blood in her hair with her fingers. Once there was little resistance, she ran her hands along the rest of her body, picking at crusty blood trails.
When she was sure that no blood remained on her body, Camelia left the bathroom and wrapped herself in a fresh robe. She lifted her child gently from the pile of furs, taking comfort in the sweet scent of her body. Tifa took after her sire, small and lithe with pure white hair and light skin. She had Camelia’s golden eyes however, and a similar temper.
A small hand grabbed a loch of damp hair. “Mommy, what’s wrong?” she asked, voice soft and muffled with sleep.
“Mommy has a choice to make.” Camelia answered, placing the child on her lap as she sat on the pile of furs. “I’m happy that you changed before going to bed though, even if that pile isn’t the best place to sleep.
“It’s comfy.” The girl explained, already falling back asleep.
Camelia was glad the child had not asked about the choice. She knew she had to get away from the demon. It was becoming more and more unpredictable as it orchestrated events, feeding off the pain of great beings as if they were lesser creatures. If it stuck to its pattern, it would kill Tifa and her soon. At the moment, they were more likely to survive running away, especially if she managed to free Anar. The dragon would follow the old rules and acknowledge a debt.
“At dawn, we’ll leave when he’s at his weakest.”
~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~
When the demon left Anar’s holding cell, the elf took inventory of his injuries. Considering the damage inflicted, they were not so bad. The demon had healed him after the shape-shifter tore away a chunk of flesh, but the twisted nature of the healing made it more painful than before. Blood that had been creeping down his bare body was now half-dry, chaffing his skin.
He had called upon his training as a warrior during the beating, separating his consciousness from his body. The darkness helped him, feeling the planet’s pulse always managed to soothe him. It kept him from telling the demon what he wanted to know anyway.
He searched inside for his power, calling it outwards. His chains grew warm for a minute, and he felt them absorb the magic he had collected. “Well then.”
The door creaked open, trace amount of light spilling past the two figures beyond. One he recognized as his reluctant tormentor, the other was obviously her child. Anar’s attention went to the sleeping child, searching for something he was not quite sure was there.
“You’re her sire.” Camelia stated, walking into the room swiftly. “Krasnar does not know.”
Anar, after centuries of idea-swapping with Mrr, finally knew why a powerful shape shifter like Camelia would allow herself to be controlled by the demon. Then his mind processed her announcement. “My what? How? When? Then why are you here? You know you’re jeopardizing your lives.”
“How injured are you?” Camelia asked instead.
“He healed my internal injuries and the others are not that severe. You did not answer my question.”
“We don’t have time for explanations. We have to be at least halfway to Mt. Mirrar before It realizes you’re missing. Will you let me use my magic on you or are you going to get all of us killed to sate your curiosity?”
Anar decided to trust his instincts. “Go ahead.”
“This’ll hurt.” She warned, extending her power to cover his body, shifting the child to one hip and extending her free hand. With a twist of her mind, she turned him into a rat. He screeched as he changed, but that did not stop her, and the charmed manacles were not designed to absorb her power. She stroked the panting rat’s fur, checking his internal structures one last time. Anar did not stop chittering angrily throughout her inspection. “Do you have a better escape plan? I already changed your swords and you’re out of your bonds, aren’t you?”
“…Mommy?” the child murmured drowsily, her eyes wide. “Why are you holding a rat?”
“He’s actually an elf and we’re helping him get away from here.” She set the child down for a moment and knelt down before her. “Now, would you hold onto him and keep him safe?”
“Why can’t you?”
“I won’t have hands.” She undid the button of the child’s breast pocket and placed Anar and two small pebbles in it. Then, she became a she-wolf, able to run for days if need be. She knelt down, her belly straddling the cold floor, and waited for her daughter to get on. She wanted to get out of this place, its smells were overpowering in her new form.
As she ran, she felt her exhileration grow as the wind rustled through her fur and the power of her limbs flowed through her whole body.
Prologue *** Chapter 1 *** Chapter 2 *** Chapter 3 *** Chapter 4 *** Chapter 5 *** Chapter 6