Post by acclue lockheart on Feb 29, 2008 23:59:43 GMT -5
Chapter VIII: The Return
I found Ami that night only after giving up and returning to our room at the inn. She was already fast asleep on the floor between two of the beds. I wasn't sure if she was too stubborn to sleep in the bed because it was a human thing, or if she simply couldn't reach up to the surface. I had always known Ami to be zealous in her pride as a demon, so the former was my first guess.
I backed up out the door a few meters and made a running jump toward the bed. In a brilliant display of clumsiness, I grabbed the topof the mattress and kicked the air beneath me a few times before I lost my grip on the loose edge and fell on my back.
Silently cursing my size, I realized how I might be able to reach the spot. I backed up again and put my arms apart. I pulled them together into my sign and began running as I became my fox form. I leapt up again with my paws on the top, but this time I could easily kick off of the bottom part to get up.
Glad to be up on the soft surface, I just decided to lie down without changing back. I ended up sleeping like that a lot at home because it was often very cold at night and I had fur in that form. I hadn't tried it lately with the odd circumstances of sleep, but since I was already in it, I figured I would work with it.
I fell asleep almost instantly. It was like being pulled into it by force...
-----
My eyes opened to darkness. It was almost as shocking as my first time. I'd expected never to need to deal with it again, but I guess that was too much to hope for.
I was still in my animal form. I panicked trying to change back, but something stopped me.
I felt a series of sharp objects strike my face and send me reeling backwards to the floor. I held my paws over my head as the shadow's voice yelled directly into my mind "Return to your bonds this instant wretched child!"
I tried to shout back "Never!" but it just came out as a loud barking sound. It was clear he didn't want to let me speak.
"You think yourself superior to me?!" it shouted "I hold your very life in my hands! You are nothing to me! I may kill you whenever I wish!"
He allowed me to change back then said "What is it that you so readily fight against me for! Your life is soon forfeit!" I was struck again "You have seen the image! Your life was short and meaningless! What in all the Gods' names do you fight for?!"
"I will not die!" I yelled. I felt the sharp object stop as it touched my face. It backed up slowly. I pushed myself up from the ground and stood breathing a few heavy breaths before I could speak again. "Screw prophecies! I'm not gonna let anyone kill me! I'm going to find that psychic and figure out how to stop it." I slowed down near the end as I calmed more.
I felt myself turn back to a fox again, silenced once more by my animal body. "You are a foolish, misguided child." it sounded much more calm now "But you have changed. Only amonth ago, you cringed at the sight of your own shadow. I expected you to become stronger, but not so soon."
I was caught off guard by his words. I really didn't think he was capable of complimenting me in any way before that, even one so backhanded.
"I... underestimated you." it spoke grimly "But we both know that without me in control, you have no hope to survive this assailant's arrow. You know I can fight back in a way which you cannot."
It was true. Even with my spellbook in my normal form, I paled in comparison to the shadow's power.
"Return to the shackles. In exchange for my control... you earn a chance to live."
As if the darkness around me was covering it before, the open collar tied to the invisible ground appeared exactly as I left it a few days ago.
I felt myself able to speak again as my demon form was returned to me. I looked at the collar reluctantly. I stepped forward to the thing with my eyes looking cautiously for the shadow among the darkness. I picked it up by the chain and looked around expectantly for a second. I rested the end of it on the back of my neck, and noticed once again that it was heavier than I remembered it. I grabbed both broken ends of it and ran the idea through my mind once more, coming to my senses. I ran out from under the metal collar, shouting “No! You can't make me do that again! I can't!”
“Return to me, my control, you insolent child!” it shouted louder than before “You seem to forget the circumstances of your situation! I am willing to leave you for dead if it means I can take control of the other!”
“Leave Ami out of this!” I yelled “I know you can't afford to get rid of me! I'm one of the last two left!”
“There are more than two! Your senses fail you so drastically that you could not notice?!” this was quickly turning into a shouting fight between us, and I felt myself losing. An image began to appear in front of me. It was the caravan driver, Denzel. “You could not tell... Odd...”
“He's a...”
“A Fox Demon.” it said “That is correct.”
“That's still only three!” I tried to hide my worry.
“No. That is a race.” it sounded like it felt it had won, and I knew he had at that point “You see, even without you, there will be a male and a female of differing heritage. And with the control of the older one, I am sure that the race may be repopulated when the young one comes of age.”
I couldn't help but be disgusted by this sudden upturn. He was literally speaking of forcing my sister and some stranger to breed! I couldn't think of anything to say, and I was a bit ashamed to realize that it was actually a good plan. “You... You're going to... bastard...” I whispered quietly.
“This WILL come to pass!” it demanded “But I will allow you to live, for the time being at least, IF you allow me control in return.”
I was defeated. There was no way I could even hope to give it any reason to stay in me. This was a generous offer of the shadow, but I wasn't sure if it was true generosity or if there was something I was missing, something it still needed me for. Regardless, the risk was too high. I couldn't hold out anymore.
I turned around and picked up the collar again. I placed it just as I had before over the back of my neck. I hesitated. I was savoring my very last moment of freedom. I knew that I would never get the chance to be free of this thing again for the rest of my life. It was a disturbing thought, even though it would actually be a return to normality from the last few days. I had quickly learned to suppress the psychic power, and honestly thought I was in control for good. I was wrong.
“You stall.” it sounded slightly irritated, but patient for my next move “What does waiting earn you?”
“Sorry.” I'm not sure why I apologized, but I didn't feel like explaining normal feelings to this being. I instantly snapped the pieces of the collar back together without another word, and in a flash of brilliant white light that revealed nothing in the darkness, the pieces made one whole again.
I sat down and sighed as I noticed my skin and hair changing back to their normal colors. I was a slave again. Who knew how long I would be in this form? The shadow would surely want to make up for the days of murder he had lost with my takeover. As the light cleared, I heard a small and muffled laugh coming from the darkness.
I found Ami that night only after giving up and returning to our room at the inn. She was already fast asleep on the floor between two of the beds. I wasn't sure if she was too stubborn to sleep in the bed because it was a human thing, or if she simply couldn't reach up to the surface. I had always known Ami to be zealous in her pride as a demon, so the former was my first guess.
I backed up out the door a few meters and made a running jump toward the bed. In a brilliant display of clumsiness, I grabbed the topof the mattress and kicked the air beneath me a few times before I lost my grip on the loose edge and fell on my back.
Silently cursing my size, I realized how I might be able to reach the spot. I backed up again and put my arms apart. I pulled them together into my sign and began running as I became my fox form. I leapt up again with my paws on the top, but this time I could easily kick off of the bottom part to get up.
Glad to be up on the soft surface, I just decided to lie down without changing back. I ended up sleeping like that a lot at home because it was often very cold at night and I had fur in that form. I hadn't tried it lately with the odd circumstances of sleep, but since I was already in it, I figured I would work with it.
I fell asleep almost instantly. It was like being pulled into it by force...
-----
My eyes opened to darkness. It was almost as shocking as my first time. I'd expected never to need to deal with it again, but I guess that was too much to hope for.
I was still in my animal form. I panicked trying to change back, but something stopped me.
I felt a series of sharp objects strike my face and send me reeling backwards to the floor. I held my paws over my head as the shadow's voice yelled directly into my mind "Return to your bonds this instant wretched child!"
I tried to shout back "Never!" but it just came out as a loud barking sound. It was clear he didn't want to let me speak.
"You think yourself superior to me?!" it shouted "I hold your very life in my hands! You are nothing to me! I may kill you whenever I wish!"
He allowed me to change back then said "What is it that you so readily fight against me for! Your life is soon forfeit!" I was struck again "You have seen the image! Your life was short and meaningless! What in all the Gods' names do you fight for?!"
"I will not die!" I yelled. I felt the sharp object stop as it touched my face. It backed up slowly. I pushed myself up from the ground and stood breathing a few heavy breaths before I could speak again. "Screw prophecies! I'm not gonna let anyone kill me! I'm going to find that psychic and figure out how to stop it." I slowed down near the end as I calmed more.
I felt myself turn back to a fox again, silenced once more by my animal body. "You are a foolish, misguided child." it sounded much more calm now "But you have changed. Only amonth ago, you cringed at the sight of your own shadow. I expected you to become stronger, but not so soon."
I was caught off guard by his words. I really didn't think he was capable of complimenting me in any way before that, even one so backhanded.
"I... underestimated you." it spoke grimly "But we both know that without me in control, you have no hope to survive this assailant's arrow. You know I can fight back in a way which you cannot."
It was true. Even with my spellbook in my normal form, I paled in comparison to the shadow's power.
"Return to the shackles. In exchange for my control... you earn a chance to live."
As if the darkness around me was covering it before, the open collar tied to the invisible ground appeared exactly as I left it a few days ago.
I felt myself able to speak again as my demon form was returned to me. I looked at the collar reluctantly. I stepped forward to the thing with my eyes looking cautiously for the shadow among the darkness. I picked it up by the chain and looked around expectantly for a second. I rested the end of it on the back of my neck, and noticed once again that it was heavier than I remembered it. I grabbed both broken ends of it and ran the idea through my mind once more, coming to my senses. I ran out from under the metal collar, shouting “No! You can't make me do that again! I can't!”
“Return to me, my control, you insolent child!” it shouted louder than before “You seem to forget the circumstances of your situation! I am willing to leave you for dead if it means I can take control of the other!”
“Leave Ami out of this!” I yelled “I know you can't afford to get rid of me! I'm one of the last two left!”
“There are more than two! Your senses fail you so drastically that you could not notice?!” this was quickly turning into a shouting fight between us, and I felt myself losing. An image began to appear in front of me. It was the caravan driver, Denzel. “You could not tell... Odd...”
“He's a...”
“A Fox Demon.” it said “That is correct.”
“That's still only three!” I tried to hide my worry.
“No. That is a race.” it sounded like it felt it had won, and I knew he had at that point “You see, even without you, there will be a male and a female of differing heritage. And with the control of the older one, I am sure that the race may be repopulated when the young one comes of age.”
I couldn't help but be disgusted by this sudden upturn. He was literally speaking of forcing my sister and some stranger to breed! I couldn't think of anything to say, and I was a bit ashamed to realize that it was actually a good plan. “You... You're going to... bastard...” I whispered quietly.
“This WILL come to pass!” it demanded “But I will allow you to live, for the time being at least, IF you allow me control in return.”
I was defeated. There was no way I could even hope to give it any reason to stay in me. This was a generous offer of the shadow, but I wasn't sure if it was true generosity or if there was something I was missing, something it still needed me for. Regardless, the risk was too high. I couldn't hold out anymore.
I turned around and picked up the collar again. I placed it just as I had before over the back of my neck. I hesitated. I was savoring my very last moment of freedom. I knew that I would never get the chance to be free of this thing again for the rest of my life. It was a disturbing thought, even though it would actually be a return to normality from the last few days. I had quickly learned to suppress the psychic power, and honestly thought I was in control for good. I was wrong.
“You stall.” it sounded slightly irritated, but patient for my next move “What does waiting earn you?”
“Sorry.” I'm not sure why I apologized, but I didn't feel like explaining normal feelings to this being. I instantly snapped the pieces of the collar back together without another word, and in a flash of brilliant white light that revealed nothing in the darkness, the pieces made one whole again.
I sat down and sighed as I noticed my skin and hair changing back to their normal colors. I was a slave again. Who knew how long I would be in this form? The shadow would surely want to make up for the days of murder he had lost with my takeover. As the light cleared, I heard a small and muffled laugh coming from the darkness.
