All Hail the Shifter King
Title: Surprise, Part III (Holiday Story 2014)
Word Count: 1033
Notes: I struggle a little with whether I need to make this story super accessible to people who aren't familiar with All Hail the Shifter King or if I should just write it for the sake of writing it. I eventually decided on the latter in this piece, opting not to describe the Tesairen in explicit detail - at this point Katrina's seen enough of them to last a lifetime, so it didn't feel "right" to me. Also, comments on Katrina's obliviousness are more than welcome.
Ryder stayed silent for the remainder of the drive, and even though her hurt calmed and her anger cooled after about an hour, Katrina contented herself with her novels and puzzles, or simply stared out the window and watched the world pass. Even with the tension in the vehicle she felt a contentment - it was nice to get away from Eli's house for a while, away from how nauseatingly cute he and Rebekah could be together. It wasn't even that they were outwardly affectionate, just that their relationship was so picture perfect it drove Katrina to distraction. She had trouble enough finding a man that could tolerate her erratic lifestyle and her demanding career for more than a few weeks, and yet those two had been together for the better part of two hundred years?
She nodded off at some point despite the occasional jarring of the vehicle, and woke to the sound of rain pelting off the windshield. The stormclouds had turned the early evening sunlight to complete darkness, and Katrina shot Ryder a wry smile as she stretched her arms and tried to massage the cramp out of her neck.
"I thought you said there wouldn't be a storm?" she teased lightly, testing his mood. He chuckled quietly, not taking his eyes from the road.
"We're not there yet," he told her. "Have a good nap?"
"Surprisingly good." She yawned loudly, then laughed. "I can't remember the last time I slept so..." She paused, noticing the glow of Ryder's coin from beneath his shirt, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Hmm?"
"You're glowing again, Iron Man."
He took one hand off the steering wheel to press his palm against the glow, his smile fading.
"Just the weather," he told her. "Not exactly normal driving conditions." She hummed at this, looking out at the road ahead. "We'll be stopping soon, though, so -"
The seatbelt had locked across her chest before she even saw the pack of Tesairen running across the road, splashes of muted color in the darkness with gleaming eyes and the shimmering tribalesque patterns on their skin. Her breath left her in a screech of shock as her body was first jolted forward and then twisted to one side as the Jeep fishtailed, and her hands grasped wildly for the door handle, the bars of the roll cage, the dash, anything that she could hang onto. For an agonizing moment the Jeep rocked up on the two passenger-side wheels, throwing her against the door - outside her window a sheet of swirling golden light flared across the door and flowed backward along the vehicle like a net before finally easing it down onto all four tires, and she found herself staring into the startled, sky-blue eyes of one of the creatures just inches from her face before the light flickered and winked out.
She could barely hear the rain or the idling engine over the rush of blood in her ears, and it wasn't until Ryder touched her arm that she remembered he was even there. Turning her head, she saw his lips were moving and shook her thoughts clear before asking, "What?" in a voice that was unnervingly shaken.
"Are you alright?" he repeated. The coin wasn't just glowing now, it was pulsing rapidly, almost in time with her own racing heart. When she nodded dumbly at him, he squeezed her arm and said, "Wait here."
"What? Where are you -"
"Just wait here," he ordered, and opened his door to step out into the rain. She stared at him through the windshield as he walked to the largest of the Tesairen, one that stood almost as tall as he did. In the glaring light of the Jeep's headlights she could see every curve and scar of its elegant body, the violet-black of its skin and the brilliant red of the long spines that ran from the top of its skull to the tip of its thick tail. It flared its wings slightly as Ryder approached, shielding the smaller ones from view, though they seemed far more curious about Katrina than they did the rain-soaked man in front of them. Probably, she realized after a few moments, because she was considerably lower on the food chain than they were.
No wonder he'd asked her to stay in the Jeep.
Their interaction was brief - Ryder said something to the Tesairen and it nodded its head in a bobbing, avian motion before it ushered the little ones across the road and into the cover of the trees. It paused just briefly and looked back toward the Jeep, staring at Katrina from the darkness until Ryder stepped between them, and then it was gone, racing into the forest.
She stayed quiet when he got back into the Jeep, soaked to the skin with water pouring off his hair and clothes, and without saying anything he spun the steering wheel, got the Jeep headed in the right direction, and set off again. She waited until several minutes had passed before she reached over and laid a hand on his arm.
"Hey," she said. He glanced quickly at her, his face unreadable. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"What did you say to them?"
"I told him that I just wanted to pass through."
"And he was okay with that?"
"Not entirely." He took one hand off the wheel to push his wet hair out of his eyes, flicking water everywhere. "He wanted to feed you to the children."
"He... he what?"
"Don't be offended. It's just natural."
"I don't think offended is the right word. Horrified fits, though." She shuddered, her mind filling with images of a Tesairen gnawing on her torn and severed limbs. "So how did you convince him not to?"
"I told him you were mine."
"Good God, I thought we were done with this 'you're only worthy of being my food' thing." She rolled her eyes and slumped back in her chair. "So I can't be their dinner because I'm supposed to be yours?"
He was quiet a few moments, his eyes fixed on the road.
"Yeah," he said finally. "That's it."
Word Count: 1033
Notes: I struggle a little with whether I need to make this story super accessible to people who aren't familiar with All Hail the Shifter King or if I should just write it for the sake of writing it. I eventually decided on the latter in this piece, opting not to describe the Tesairen in explicit detail - at this point Katrina's seen enough of them to last a lifetime, so it didn't feel "right" to me. Also, comments on Katrina's obliviousness are more than welcome.
Ryder stayed silent for the remainder of the drive, and even though her hurt calmed and her anger cooled after about an hour, Katrina contented herself with her novels and puzzles, or simply stared out the window and watched the world pass. Even with the tension in the vehicle she felt a contentment - it was nice to get away from Eli's house for a while, away from how nauseatingly cute he and Rebekah could be together. It wasn't even that they were outwardly affectionate, just that their relationship was so picture perfect it drove Katrina to distraction. She had trouble enough finding a man that could tolerate her erratic lifestyle and her demanding career for more than a few weeks, and yet those two had been together for the better part of two hundred years?
She nodded off at some point despite the occasional jarring of the vehicle, and woke to the sound of rain pelting off the windshield. The stormclouds had turned the early evening sunlight to complete darkness, and Katrina shot Ryder a wry smile as she stretched her arms and tried to massage the cramp out of her neck.
"I thought you said there wouldn't be a storm?" she teased lightly, testing his mood. He chuckled quietly, not taking his eyes from the road.
"We're not there yet," he told her. "Have a good nap?"
"Surprisingly good." She yawned loudly, then laughed. "I can't remember the last time I slept so..." She paused, noticing the glow of Ryder's coin from beneath his shirt, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Hmm?"
"You're glowing again, Iron Man."
He took one hand off the steering wheel to press his palm against the glow, his smile fading.
"Just the weather," he told her. "Not exactly normal driving conditions." She hummed at this, looking out at the road ahead. "We'll be stopping soon, though, so -"
The seatbelt had locked across her chest before she even saw the pack of Tesairen running across the road, splashes of muted color in the darkness with gleaming eyes and the shimmering tribalesque patterns on their skin. Her breath left her in a screech of shock as her body was first jolted forward and then twisted to one side as the Jeep fishtailed, and her hands grasped wildly for the door handle, the bars of the roll cage, the dash, anything that she could hang onto. For an agonizing moment the Jeep rocked up on the two passenger-side wheels, throwing her against the door - outside her window a sheet of swirling golden light flared across the door and flowed backward along the vehicle like a net before finally easing it down onto all four tires, and she found herself staring into the startled, sky-blue eyes of one of the creatures just inches from her face before the light flickered and winked out.
She could barely hear the rain or the idling engine over the rush of blood in her ears, and it wasn't until Ryder touched her arm that she remembered he was even there. Turning her head, she saw his lips were moving and shook her thoughts clear before asking, "What?" in a voice that was unnervingly shaken.
"Are you alright?" he repeated. The coin wasn't just glowing now, it was pulsing rapidly, almost in time with her own racing heart. When she nodded dumbly at him, he squeezed her arm and said, "Wait here."
"What? Where are you -"
"Just wait here," he ordered, and opened his door to step out into the rain. She stared at him through the windshield as he walked to the largest of the Tesairen, one that stood almost as tall as he did. In the glaring light of the Jeep's headlights she could see every curve and scar of its elegant body, the violet-black of its skin and the brilliant red of the long spines that ran from the top of its skull to the tip of its thick tail. It flared its wings slightly as Ryder approached, shielding the smaller ones from view, though they seemed far more curious about Katrina than they did the rain-soaked man in front of them. Probably, she realized after a few moments, because she was considerably lower on the food chain than they were.
No wonder he'd asked her to stay in the Jeep.
Their interaction was brief - Ryder said something to the Tesairen and it nodded its head in a bobbing, avian motion before it ushered the little ones across the road and into the cover of the trees. It paused just briefly and looked back toward the Jeep, staring at Katrina from the darkness until Ryder stepped between them, and then it was gone, racing into the forest.
She stayed quiet when he got back into the Jeep, soaked to the skin with water pouring off his hair and clothes, and without saying anything he spun the steering wheel, got the Jeep headed in the right direction, and set off again. She waited until several minutes had passed before she reached over and laid a hand on his arm.
"Hey," she said. He glanced quickly at her, his face unreadable. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"What did you say to them?"
"I told him that I just wanted to pass through."
"And he was okay with that?"
"Not entirely." He took one hand off the wheel to push his wet hair out of his eyes, flicking water everywhere. "He wanted to feed you to the children."
"He... he what?"
"Don't be offended. It's just natural."
"I don't think offended is the right word. Horrified fits, though." She shuddered, her mind filling with images of a Tesairen gnawing on her torn and severed limbs. "So how did you convince him not to?"
"I told him you were mine."
"Good God, I thought we were done with this 'you're only worthy of being my food' thing." She rolled her eyes and slumped back in her chair. "So I can't be their dinner because I'm supposed to be yours?"
He was quiet a few moments, his eyes fixed on the road.
"Yeah," he said finally. "That's it."