RP:Children of the Maw
Summary: Aira allows herself to be consumed by a horde of demonic children instead of fighting back.
Hunter's Lodge
Aira had returned from another day of hunting, a wild frostmare lying dead and skinned at her feet. Disappearing into the lodge via the hide hanging over the threshold, Aira returned with a hatchet, moving to kneel beside her beast. Lifting the blade in her arm she came down hard with a grunt, making contact in the leg joint. It took a few hacks, but eventually the leg came dislodged from the rest of the body. Some spattering of blue blood had come to stain her clothes as well as her face, but the huntress made no notice. Silently, Aira worked removing each leg and then the head, butchering down the beast to more manageable pieces. After her work was done with breaking the frostmare down, she began to place the slabs of meat in the smoker, working to cook it for her own use and probably Drargon’s as well. Finally lifting the head from the ground with a slight grimace, she moved to a barrel and dropped it in some clouded brine.
Revan :: As Aira made her trip inside the lodge to retrieve her hatchet she may have spotted something just in the corner of her eye, though ultimately deciding to pay it no mind. As she continued her work outside with the deceased Frostmare she'd find the forest to be eerily quiet and lacking of any sounds of nature but a sudden sharp cry from a raven colored bird perched just a few feet away on the roof of the outhouse breaks the silence followed by a loud crashing of metal from inside the lodge, the heavy mammoth pelt covering the door swaying as if it had just been disturbed.
Aira :: Being a skilled hunter, Aira was well aware of the signs and sounds of the woods--didn’t she spend most of her time in trees? The loud cry of a crow caused the high elf to swiftly drop the Frostmare head in the brine, pull the bow from across her body, and knock an arrow into place, all in seemingly no time thanks to her sylvan grace. Aira pulled her bowstring taut and sighted the crow only to adjust her aim when a loud crashing noise could be heard within the lodge itself. “What the--” Aira muttered to herself in elvish. She had just been inside and there was no other way in. The huntress felt that prickling sensation on the back of her neck that she often felt when a spirit was near but none seeming to be making their presence known. “Who’s there?” she called out in her rough common tongue.
Revan :: Aira would find no reply to her inquiry though if she had a sharp ear she would hear the faint laughter of a small female child come from the inside of the lodge followed by another loud crash sounding of glass this time.
Aira let an elven curse escape her full lips as she moved towards the lodge as a young child’s laughter and another crash met her tapered ears. She slowly made her way towards the flap in the threshold and, taking a deep breath, pushed her way through and immediately pulled her bowstring back tighter, about ready to let her arrow fly at whomever had found themselves inside of the lodge.
Revan :: Standing at the center of the lodge upon Aira's entry is a small girl, no older than four wearing a beautiful white dress that is decorated with soft stitching of various yellow and blue flowers, she gasps as she see's Aira aiming the arrow at her and her smile quickly fades as fear is clearly reflected in her auburn eyes. Clutched in her left hand is a small jump rope and scattered about are the remain of multiple broken objects pointing to the source of the crashing, "I'm sorry... I just wanted to play..." the cracking voice of a guilty child being caught shifts slightly to one of hope as she extends her hand out to offer an end of the rope to Aira, "Will you play with us?"
Aira gasped when she saw the young girl standing in the middle of lodge and quickly tilted her elbow back so her arrow would hit the far wall instead. Her mouth twitched into a frown as copper eyes scanned the the broken objects around the room and breathed out a heavy sigh. Aira quickly slide her bow back over her body, the bowstring cutting across her chest. Her almond shaped eyes fall to the extended jump rope before reaching her own slender hand to grasp it. “What do you mean by ‘us’?” A beat, “And how did you get in here?”
Revan :: Aira sealed her fate as her hand touched the other end of the jump rope, the entire world around her seems to freeze and the windows of the lodge show nothing but darkness as the girl replies in the same innocent tone, "us." The high elf would find herself surrounded by a dozen children in a full flanking circle though their appearance not quite as elegant as the girl before her, their flesh gray and rotting with bloated bellies that oozed gunk and bile. Turning back to the girl before her she would find the auburn eyes replaced with polluted yellow tints as black tar-like veins covered her body with emphasis on the neck and mouth, her breath reeking of sulfur with blood stained teeth as she spoke, "I'm so happy you'll play with us." The children all began to giggle, the sound waves bouncing around the room to cause a dizzying echo as they began their approach with razor blades replacing finger nails the sound of protruding bones scratching the wooden floor as they get closer and closer.
Aira thought of herself as rather lucky, lucky that she was able hide her emotions so completely on her face. It was for that reason that her features remained impassive as the other children appeared, their flesh rotting, teeth gnashing, breath putrid. Her metallic gaze quickly shifted to the few windows that were encompassed by darkness before looking back down to the original girl who’s auburn eyes were replaced with yellow, blackened veins lining her flesh. Even as the reeking breath assaulted the high elf’s senses she didn’t flinch; however, the echoing of the giggles did cause all the blonde hairs on her body to stand on end. “It seems like it will be hard for us all to play jump rope, no?” She asked evenly, eyebrows lofted questioningly.
Revan :: The girl giggles at Aira's question though it becames more of a gurgle as blood began to pour from her lips, "No silly! We just need a bigger rope!", she lunges for Aira's midsection with her metallic claws aiming to gut the woman while the other children amplified their assault flanking on all sides gunning for her arse, legs and feet hoping to pick her clean to the bone.
Aira’s copper irises flared slightly as the undead (she assumed) girl lunged forward towards her midsection, a longer rope most likely being her intestines. Aira froze for the slightest of a moment, long enough to feel the girls claw like fingers dig into her vest, but the huntress soon twisted free of her, turning her back only to find the others closing in on her as well. Aira cursed and broke into a run, shoving the children out of the way, but doing no more to injure or destroy them at this time. As their fingers clawed at her body she finally reached the hide, breaking through and stumbling back out into the snow, her breath hanging in heavy clouds in the air. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. What the hell was going on? Was this really happening or was she dreaming? It had been a long time since she ate, was she hallucinating? Did she drink too much last night? Unsure of whether this was reality or not, she drew her bow from across her body once more and knocked an arrow into place.
Revan :: Aira would find the outside area surrounding the lodge to be different than it was before, the darkness closing it off from the rest of the world preventing any further retreat. Though she could savor a single moment of peace it is swiftly broken as the mammoth hide is cast from the entrance and the herd of children erupt doubled in numbers moving at a lightning fast pace some of them sprinting on two legs though some have taken to contorted crab like stances with rapid twitching sending their heads spinning in circles as they screech like banshee's deafening their target as they come en masse to claim her mortality.
Aira definitely thought that she might be going crazy as a mass of children followed her, something running on two legs, others bent over and twitching, deafening screams escaping her lips. Copper eyes quickly move over the masses searching for the original girl that first asked to play. Calling out the high elf suddenly...smirked? “In case you haven’t noticed, I am skin and bones and full of booze. I’m afraid you guys won’t get much meat off of me.” Did the huntress care if she died? Frankly, she wasn’t sure. She still clutched the bow in her hand but she didn’t bother to pull her bowstring back, keeping it loose, but the arrow still knocked.
Revan :: Aira's negligence to act would be her downfall as the horde arrives on her heels tackling her to the ground where they begin lacerating the flesh on her legs biting, tearing, gnawing and clawing their way through and picking the muscles clean from the bone, the sounds are repulsive as the meat is shredded and the pain for Aira would be very, very intense. The original girl takes point and is about to dig into Aira's stomach when she puts her nose right against Aira's, "You're very kind to play with us but all this fun can be exhausting, you can be like mommy and take a nap if you want." The girls nail runs down Aira's stomach shredding through the vest to her bare flesh where she presses her finger down into the soft vulnerable skin piercing right into her gut where she digs around slicing up anything in her path before digging her disgusting yellow fangs into the high elf's vulnerable neck.
Aira didn’t scream when the children closed in on her and threw her to the ground. She was, however, surprised by their movements or her own lack of attack back, and let her bow slip from her fingers. When they began to feast on the flesh of her legs she did let out a groan of pain, using every fiber of her being to not give in to screaming or pleading. The pain was excruciating, blinding white light clouding her vision. “Die, just die already!” She yelled at herself in her head. Squeezing her eyes shut as she whimpered she didn’t open them until the original girl was face to face with her. Aira felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness, not able to completely focus on what she was saying. Something about mommy and napping? As she sliced into the soft flesh of her belly and buried her fangs in her neck, Aira finally let out a hellish scream, wondering why she was not reacting to being attacked, wondering if maybe it was because they were children around the same age as her younger sister...
Revan :: With Aira's scream the world she occupied ceases to exist, the thick darkness shrouding the area exploding into a million crows who retreat allowing the sunlight to bathe the lodge in it's glow once more. A single figure dressed in heavy black robes with the raven colored bird perched on his shoulder stands over Aira's collapsed (though intact) body and stares at her with glowing blue eyes from beneath the thick hood, his voice calming though raspy as he speaks, "Faced with overwhelming odds against abominations and hell beasts you refuse to defend yourself or show any emotion until your scream is powerful enough to shatter a world. Why?" He doesn't ask for an answer so much as he demands it, the entity's presence over the high elf seems to keep her pinned to the ground while her bow rests a few feet away where she had dropped it.
Aira opened her eyes wide when she heard a raspy male voice suddenly speaking, copper eyes settling on icy blue ones. She was still laid flat, but her body was whole. She gasped as if had resurfaced after a very deep dive, gasping at the cold air as her chest heaved heavily. The metallic gaze shifted to the side where she saw her bow several feet away. She attempted to sit up but found herself pinned. “I don’t fight children,” she spat back through gritted teeth.
Revan shifts his eyes to Aira's arms as she struggles to escape before redirecting his attention to her eyes as she spews words laced with venom eliciting no reaction from the shadowed visage. "Those were not children. They were beasts. If they would have been consuming children of your own flesh, would you have reacted? If so, why does that change the circumstances of your decision?"
Aira narrowed her gaze at the man standing before her, whatever force her was emitting keeping her pinned down, though occasionally she still shifted to break free. Tilting her head to the side, her platinum blonde hair fanned out underneath her she groaned as she realized she couldn’t break free. “What does it matter?”
Revan remains silent for a single moment as he seems to ponder her question, the glowing blue of his eyes faltering in a shimmering shake as he speaks. "You're own internal conflicts hold you back from a happier place, you're battle is not with me little girl, no, it is with yourself. I don't believe you gave yourself to the beasts due to some moral obligation, I believe you wanted that release because you are -weak-. You seek release from persecution but the hand dealing the cards is none other than your own. Your scent is stained with the stench of self loathing and pity and if I didn't believe you'd get so much happiness from it, I'd cut your throat myself." His eyes are a burning red now though his voice makes no change in tone, the man's right hand slips out from his robe sleeve revealing a flower held tight in his clutches: a single black rose. Kneeling down he places the flower into Aira's retrained hand "You, high elf, are your own worst enemy but do not worry for I will help you find salvation from your own wrath, I will prove to you there are far worse things in this world... than yourself." At his conclusion his body and the birds would suddenly turn to dust in the wind, blowing his fragments away leaving Aira with only the black rose to show that any of this ever really happened.
Revan gave 1 black rose to Aira.
Aira pulled that mask back on her face, the one that remained impassive and void of emotion as copper eyes remained unblinking as she stared into those blue ones as he gave his speech. His words did not hurt or surprise her, she was self aware enough to know that while not actively seeking out death, she would be welcome to it should the situation arise. Hadn’t she told Pilar as much last night? He was wrong, though, about morally not wanting to hurt children. Her younger sister had a similar dress that the original girl had worn and her sister was the only person back home in Rynvale who didn’t seem to loathe her. Still, she remained silent even as the azule eyes burned red and a black rose found itself in her hand. With the promise of helping to show her that there were far worse things in this world than herself she cocked a brow, gasping slightly as the weight pinning her down suddenly dissipated into nothing more than dust in the wind. (oocly strums her guitar)