Almost Too Late - Table = Colors - Theme = Orange
Title: Almost Too Late
Author/Artist: Samara Raine
Rating: PG13
Fandom: Original
Pairing: N/A
Table: Colors
Theme: 06 - Orange
Genre/s: Fantasy, General
Warnings: N/A
Words: 1,139
Summary: The Goddess Shenlai is at it again. But this time, can Sadon get there in time to save the innocent she has chosen?
Disclaimer/Claimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to persons alive or dead are purely coincidental. This author holds exclusive rights to this work, and any unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
A/N: This work was written in response to the theme Orange in the table Colors claimed from
thousandtables
what it was, he just knew it wasn't hers.
~Why are you thinking of Likana Myerson at a time like this!~ his mirror exclaimed in his mind as another heart-wrenching scream tore through the night and directly into his soul. ~There is an innocent in trouble and all you can think of is her? Get a hold of yourself, Laundren!~
"Oh, shut up," the young man muttered aloud. "I've never listened to you before, Tyoken, what makes you think I'm about to start now?"
~Now see here! You have always been naught but a stubborn, hard-headed...~
Ignoring his screeching mirror, Sadon Laundren shoved his feet into his sturdy black boots and tore out the front door, seeking with his senses the one in danger.
Lylette Summers let out a terrified scream as the orange blaze surrounded her, reaching out for her cowering form with fiery fingers of scorching malice. The roar of the beast around her drowned out thought, and its foul breath choked her to the point of asphyxiation. Gasping, choking and sobbing, she tried to cry out again but found that the moment she opened her mouth, it was once again filled with the black breath of her tormentor.
Oh please somebody help me! she thought in sheer panic as the licking tongues of flame drew ever nearer. Please! Please somebody!
Her only response was the laughter of her approaching demise.
"Come on come on come on!" Sadon raged into the night. "Why are you failing me! Show me where she is!"
A black cloud of urgent fury surrounded him and his eyes gleamed gold in the darkness. "If she dies because of you, Shenlai, I swear on the bones of Muru himself, I will banish you from your throne as soon as kill you. Be thankful for that." He spat the last word into the night with enough venom to make the stars recoil. "Now show me the way!"
The breeze sighed and blew him west none too gently.
"West," he muttered. "War. Shenlai, if you have harmed another innocent with your sparkling ways..." He trailed off, knowing the wind Goddess knew very well the consequences of her actions should Sadon discover another lost one.
It angered him to no end that his unruly Goddess was forever playing in the sandbox that was not hers. She was not the Goddess of fire, but that of air. So why did she insist upon stepping on Feyenya's toes constantly?
With a sigh, the God of Elements shook his head and sprinted in the direction Shenlai had blown him. He would worry about his miscreant Goddess later. For now, he needed to save the one who had been captured in the web of her evil blaze.
"Please someone save me. Please someone save me. Please please please please please someone save me."
She chanted that single phrase like a mantra as she lay in a fetal position upon the scorched surface that she knew now would be her deathbed. She had long since given up screaming. Nobody could hear her, and if they did, then they didn't care. Not many cared anymore. Ever since 3,030 when the Gods and Goddesses of the elements made themselves known, chaos, dissension and hate had befallen the human race. Government had collapsed, security had crumbled and the inhabitants of Earth were left to the mercy of their fellow beings and those who now ruled them.
There was only one problem with this new world. No one had mercy for anyone anymore. Such a word was now nothing more than a phantom of a long since forgotten past.
Closing her eyes, a single tear ran down her cheek in a droplet of silver sorrow for not only what had been lost, but for what, she knew, would now never be.
"I'm ready," she whispered brokenly to what she knew now was an empty void. "I'm ready to go."
Sadon skidded to a halt as he heard the whispered words in his mind.
"I'm ready. I'm ready to go. I'm ready. I'm ready to go. I'm ready. I'm ready to go. I'm ready..."
They surrounded him, taunting him and caressing his senses with tendrils of mocking triumph.
Too late, the wind whispered. Too late...
"Not this time, Shenlai. You won't have her this time."
~How do you know it's a her?~ Tyoken asked.
~I can't say. I just do.~
~And the whisper...~
~Yes, the whisper confirmed it, but I knew even before that.~
~Hmmmm,~ his mirror said, falling into thoughtful silence. ~Hurry, Sadon. You're almost too late.~
"I know," he whispered aloud as a conflagration of violent orange flames filled his vision. "By Muru don't I know it."
Heat. That was all she could feel. That was all she knew. The ends of her long hair sizzled and shriveled up as the fingers of her torturer moved ever closer, surrounding her in scorching agony and thundering, crackling laughter like the sound of dry wood popping underfoot.
I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready...
"No. No you are not."
The voice was warm and soothing, and suddenly the heat was gone, replaced by a cool wet something. Water? Was she going to drown now?
Gentle arms lifted her as his warm voice enfolded her in its protective embrace.
"It's all right now. Everything's all right now. You're safe."
Yes, but for how long?
Sadon looked down at the small girl in his arms.
"Forever," he whispered, stroking her sooty cheek. "She won't harm you again."
~How do you know that?~ Tyoken asked. ~Shenlai has never been one to take being deprived of a toy well.~
~No, she hasn't. But nor is she one to deny the fact of a simple victory. We were almost too late. But we made it. She knows this and will bow out gracefully.~
~Until she finds another young one to torment with her wicked blazes.~
~And when that happens, we will meet her head on.~ He looked up into the night as a chill wind blew through his hair. "I will not be too late anymore, Shenlai. You want a war? You'll get a war."
His only response was the hissing laughter of the cold winter wind.
Visit the Table
Author/Artist: Samara Raine
Rating: PG13
Fandom: Original
Pairing: N/A
Table: Colors
Theme: 06 - Orange
Genre/s: Fantasy, General
Warnings: N/A
Words: 1,139
Summary: The Goddess Shenlai is at it again. But this time, can Sadon get there in time to save the innocent she has chosen?
Disclaimer/Claimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to persons alive or dead are purely coincidental. This author holds exclusive rights to this work, and any unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
A/N: This work was written in response to the theme Orange in the table Colors claimed from
thousandtables
what it was, he just knew it wasn't hers.
~Why are you thinking of Likana Myerson at a time like this!~ his mirror exclaimed in his mind as another heart-wrenching scream tore through the night and directly into his soul. ~There is an innocent in trouble and all you can think of is her? Get a hold of yourself, Laundren!~
"Oh, shut up," the young man muttered aloud. "I've never listened to you before, Tyoken, what makes you think I'm about to start now?"
~Now see here! You have always been naught but a stubborn, hard-headed...~
Ignoring his screeching mirror, Sadon Laundren shoved his feet into his sturdy black boots and tore out the front door, seeking with his senses the one in danger.
Lylette Summers let out a terrified scream as the orange blaze surrounded her, reaching out for her cowering form with fiery fingers of scorching malice. The roar of the beast around her drowned out thought, and its foul breath choked her to the point of asphyxiation. Gasping, choking and sobbing, she tried to cry out again but found that the moment she opened her mouth, it was once again filled with the black breath of her tormentor.
Oh please somebody help me! she thought in sheer panic as the licking tongues of flame drew ever nearer. Please! Please somebody!
Her only response was the laughter of her approaching demise.
"Come on come on come on!" Sadon raged into the night. "Why are you failing me! Show me where she is!"
A black cloud of urgent fury surrounded him and his eyes gleamed gold in the darkness. "If she dies because of you, Shenlai, I swear on the bones of Muru himself, I will banish you from your throne as soon as kill you. Be thankful for that." He spat the last word into the night with enough venom to make the stars recoil. "Now show me the way!"
The breeze sighed and blew him west none too gently.
"West," he muttered. "War. Shenlai, if you have harmed another innocent with your sparkling ways..." He trailed off, knowing the wind Goddess knew very well the consequences of her actions should Sadon discover another lost one.
It angered him to no end that his unruly Goddess was forever playing in the sandbox that was not hers. She was not the Goddess of fire, but that of air. So why did she insist upon stepping on Feyenya's toes constantly?
With a sigh, the God of Elements shook his head and sprinted in the direction Shenlai had blown him. He would worry about his miscreant Goddess later. For now, he needed to save the one who had been captured in the web of her evil blaze.
"Please someone save me. Please someone save me. Please please please please please someone save me."
She chanted that single phrase like a mantra as she lay in a fetal position upon the scorched surface that she knew now would be her deathbed. She had long since given up screaming. Nobody could hear her, and if they did, then they didn't care. Not many cared anymore. Ever since 3,030 when the Gods and Goddesses of the elements made themselves known, chaos, dissension and hate had befallen the human race. Government had collapsed, security had crumbled and the inhabitants of Earth were left to the mercy of their fellow beings and those who now ruled them.
There was only one problem with this new world. No one had mercy for anyone anymore. Such a word was now nothing more than a phantom of a long since forgotten past.
Closing her eyes, a single tear ran down her cheek in a droplet of silver sorrow for not only what had been lost, but for what, she knew, would now never be.
"I'm ready," she whispered brokenly to what she knew now was an empty void. "I'm ready to go."
Sadon skidded to a halt as he heard the whispered words in his mind.
"I'm ready. I'm ready to go. I'm ready. I'm ready to go. I'm ready. I'm ready to go. I'm ready..."
They surrounded him, taunting him and caressing his senses with tendrils of mocking triumph.
Too late, the wind whispered. Too late...
"Not this time, Shenlai. You won't have her this time."
~How do you know it's a her?~ Tyoken asked.
~I can't say. I just do.~
~And the whisper...~
~Yes, the whisper confirmed it, but I knew even before that.~
~Hmmmm,~ his mirror said, falling into thoughtful silence. ~Hurry, Sadon. You're almost too late.~
"I know," he whispered aloud as a conflagration of violent orange flames filled his vision. "By Muru don't I know it."
Heat. That was all she could feel. That was all she knew. The ends of her long hair sizzled and shriveled up as the fingers of her torturer moved ever closer, surrounding her in scorching agony and thundering, crackling laughter like the sound of dry wood popping underfoot.
I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready...
"No. No you are not."
The voice was warm and soothing, and suddenly the heat was gone, replaced by a cool wet something. Water? Was she going to drown now?
Gentle arms lifted her as his warm voice enfolded her in its protective embrace.
"It's all right now. Everything's all right now. You're safe."
Yes, but for how long?
Sadon looked down at the small girl in his arms.
"Forever," he whispered, stroking her sooty cheek. "She won't harm you again."
~How do you know that?~ Tyoken asked. ~Shenlai has never been one to take being deprived of a toy well.~
~No, she hasn't. But nor is she one to deny the fact of a simple victory. We were almost too late. But we made it. She knows this and will bow out gracefully.~
~Until she finds another young one to torment with her wicked blazes.~
~And when that happens, we will meet her head on.~ He looked up into the night as a chill wind blew through his hair. "I will not be too late anymore, Shenlai. You want a war? You'll get a war."
His only response was the hissing laughter of the cold winter wind.
Visit the Table