Freya jerked from her slumber only to curl upon herself. She hissed loudly in pain as she clenched her shoulder. The burning in there turned into an inferno while tears leaked from her eyes. Despite Justin's best efforts, the stitching had done little to help with the pain. Bruising had formed around the wound, and her skin had turned an ugly black. The first few days it had swelled while she burned with a fever. Not once had Mouse come to see her, and the other healers did not have the power they did. They could only treat the infection, not heal the wound. She had been lucky it had not killed her.
Shaking her thoughts away, she parted her lips and breathed out slowly. Instead, she clenched to the memory of Justin's hands as he wrapped her... the unspoken questions between them. He had not asked further about her confession. Freya, on the other hand, had not pushed to give him answers. She knew soon enough he could come to claim them from her. Although, she had a feeling he already knew the answer. Justin was wise in his own way. It scared her just how... smart he truly was when he put his mind to it.
Shaking the thoughts away, she finally sat up. The makeshift fur blanket fell from her body. Still bare from her sleep, the cold assaulted her. She shivered from the cold while she glanced around the room. It took a few moments to realize... she was back in Bellaroos. She had thought for sure she was still at home... the dream... it had been so real. She had been able to feel the fur of her dogs...smell the smoke... feel the grass under her feet. She could still hear the blood curdling screams that left her sick to her stomach. The illness invaded her at the memory. Yanking around, she placed a hand over her mouth and leaned down. She pressed her head between her legs and allowed her eyes to clench closed. Her stomach, empty, attempted to undo itself. Horrible dry heaves wrecked her system as she trembled. Acid burned along her throat and choked her. She had seen blood... gore... but never like that. Never in her wildest dreams had she seen something so...
"Shut up." She cried out as a hot tear dripped along her cheek and curled itself to her jaw. She tasted the salt as its journey ended as it hit the floor. "Why me? Why?" She sobbed.
In her anguish, Freya shoved herself up and yanked her breast bind from the chair it sat on with her clothing. She couldn't sit here. If she sat here, she would lose herself. The only thing that was keeping her alive was doing something... moving... otherwise... The tightening in her chest and the memory of home will one day tear her down. She had accepted her fate, just as she had accepted there was little chance she would ever return home. It was the hiss that drew her from her thoughts and memories.
Freezing, her eyes landed on a small snake that was curled up on the chair. It was only about two feet in length with a rose red color. Black bands were placed along the snake with smaller yellow bands on the black. The snake flickered its tail with excitement, yet she could see it was rather relaxed. Could it be a pet? Unsure, she hesitated for a second or two before she stepped back. She kept the snake in the corner of her eye while she pulled on her breast bind. She had learned to use different materials to help keep her breasts in place, while also giving them proper support. It was a pain to have them always flopping around, let alone have them constantly being looked at. Once she had it in place, she picked up a new shirt. Blinking in confusion, she realized it was not the one she had laid out. Her old shirt had been fixed after the cheetah attack, but it would seem someone decided to give her something new. It was beautiful. A deep rose red was the background color while black rings were placed along the black of the dress. Down the side were black spots with dark orange painted in the middle. In the light, she could see it was translucent. It was beautiful with the collection of dancing colors. The dress was meant to come down to the ankles with elbow length sleeves. It took her a moment to realize it was made of snake skin.
Freya finger brushed down along it before glancing around the room. "Hello?" She called to check if anyone was in the room, but she was alone. Could... Looking down at the snake, she knelt down and narrowed her eyes. "Hello?" She mumbled, yet the snake only flicked its tongue at her. "If you are a beastman, I swear I will chop your fucking head off." Freya muttered. Her memory flashing back to the times she had snake for dinner. Perhaps, she would fry this one up. Huffing, she ignored it and looked at the dress again.
Freya chewed on her bottom lip, but pulled the dress on. The sleeves fit loosely against her skin with a softness that surprised her. The way it hugged her had her smiling just a bit. Brushing her hands along it, she picked up her leather sandals to put on. She had made them from deer hind, so they did the trick to protect her feet. She tightened the strap, and then went to working on her hair. She had been using bones for a brush. She needed to find something better though to wash her hair with. It had become dry and frizzy since her stay. After taming her hair, her attention finally turned to the snake. "Now, what am I going to do with you?" She mumbled before reaching over. The milk king snake did not even flinch when she picked it up and placed it around her neck. With that, she opened the door blushing a bit. She wondered if Alec had brought her the dress. "Lets hope Alec is in a better mood." Freya mumbled under her breath as her finger absently brushed along the snake's skin.
The hallway, true to the ancient times, were collective dirty bricks. There were no pictures, no color, and only the natural light and torches paved the way forward. Without them, she would have no ability to find her way. Which she needed as the quakes shook the stone. It woke her senses causing for her eyes to flicker about as she tried to focus on what caused the sounds. Her nightmare had made her jumpy... the thought of the calm before the storm and the bloodbath she had witness brought a new fear into her subconscious. This would be no common conflict. This would be a war to decide the fate of the clans... of her life. Freya felt sick to her stomach all over again. Her arms had moved to wrap around her chest as she shivered. She wanted to go back to her room and hide for the rest of the conflict, but she was pulled forward. She kept moving without breaking her stride as the vibration sounded again. It lead her down another hallway, down the stairs, and onto the main floor. Perking her ears, she absently brushed her thumb along the snake before stepping forward again.
Freya stopped at the sight before her. Widen eyes stared as she took in the sight of Alec as he sat on a throne of thorns. It was made of stone that have been beautifully and expertly crafted. It was hard to believe it would be created with the non-existent technology here. Stone vines collected along the side of the throne, cross-crossing, and climbing with thorns extending out like spikes. He sat there like a king overlooking his subjects. His feral green eyes glared down with clear displeasure. His black hair laid along his neck and shoulders like a mane. He had not cut it since Tessa's threat. To be honest, she found it rather sexy. Black wolf ears were curled back and pressed down against his skull. She had never seen them, but then again she never seen him show any wolf features while still human. His green eyes, so beautiful and clear, were now darken with dilated pupils. His lips were pulled back in a low snarl to reveal sharpened teeth including two canine fangs. Alec wore no shirt, however he did have on the feline pants that came down to bare feet. The only darken color in the pattern was the black tail that curled around him and flickered in annoyance.
His eyes were focused on the small group below that stood before him. Although, a crowd stood on either side of them both of his people and some Freya could tell did not belong here. Some of them did not have feet, rather hooves replaced them. Rather than wear animal skins, many of the hoofed creatures wore bark, collection of grasses and vines to cover them. Mud was streaked along their body and blended into their forms. She could see some had tattoos in the form of scars and splashes of colors to represent their clans, their place, and relationships. Others had a collection of spots, stripes, or patches that stood out on their skin like birthmarks. It was easy to tell what kind of form they took. Although, the most intimating were the collection of horns some of the individuals held. Curled horns, straight, forward, and backwards.. no horns had the same shape. The other half was the opposite. They were much more... like the Bellaroos clan. They ranged from young to old, while some did not have shirts on they all wore one thing in common. They wore shed reptile skin while others wore turtle or tortoise shells. They kept their shoulders and back open though, which she noted glittered with the sight of scales. Their eyes were slited and she noticed off and on the flicker of a tongue. It was not hard to figure out they were reptiles... the Hopi clan. That was mostly given away by the Komodo dragon that stood glaring at Alec. Its drool dripped down like acid and collected at its feet.
It was Justin's voice that brought her back. "Say that again, Aadesh." It was then that Freya realized he stood at Alec's side. He glanced at Freya for a moment before turning back to the three. A man stepped forward. He was the only one out of the clan that wore a thick white woven shirt and pants. Curled grey hair settled on his shoulders and fell in his eyes. There was no ability to see the color, nor did Freya care to see them. Just like the clan, he had hooves. Behind him, stood a female with long thin legs and small hoofed feet. She wore a collection of wines and bark just like the others. A small white tail perked up behind her while two small white ears curled forward towards the two. It was easy for Freya to decipher her as a deer, but the male... She was not so sure.
"We will noooooooot be apart of this war." The R curled and the 'not' was dragged out when the male spoke. It took her only a second to realize he was a sheep. A thunderous pounding of hooves sounded in the room from his clan. That must have been the sound she was hearing down the hall.
Alec snarled low in his throat. "Our tr-"
"I knooooow what it staaaaates." The voice dragged out again. "Hooooowever th-"
Alec narrowed his eyes making the sheep shut up. The sheep bowed his head and stepped back slightly. "Do not interrupt me again." It was a threat, unlike what Freya has ever heard before. It was dark with a promise of immediate punishment. He commanded the room with a powerful presence that had even her shrinking back. If he spoke like that to her, she would not be able to help but obey. "Our treaty states that when we call, you come and you obey. We grant you protection, you grand your support."
"We are aware sir, but you must understand... We... We cannot go against them." It was the female that spoke this time. Her ears folding back. This time it was Aadesh that stomped his hoof in support of her words.
"Why?" A growl erupted from Justin's chest.
"We... can't say. Please understand. It was-"
"Coward." The voice was quiet, but it seemed to overcome the whole room. The male stood back, clearly not the figure head, but seemed to care little. He was tall, lean, and yet formed rather well. His skin was pale, almost a light grey. He had short bluish grey hair that collected just above his ears. Black scales collected onto his chest to then blend into a flat spiky turtle shell on his back. It was rich in color, and he was the only one that had something on his back. Those black scales ventured further down over his ankles were he stood bare foot. The second thing that stood out was the white fur that collected along his arms. No other member of his clan had fur on them making her nervous. The female next to him did not even glance over, but dressed in white scales with long white hair she looked like nothing compared to this man. Freya was glad she was unable to see either of their faces. However, she could tell the male was smirking.
Aadesh snapped his head around, but said nothing. It was the other male that kept speaking. His voice rough and taunting. "You are scared because Valhalla threatened you."
"Klpeto, explain." Alec commanded the room again.
However, a slow smirk slipped onto Klpeto's lips before he glanced over in Freya's direction. "She knows what I'm talking about." That was when all eyes turned to her, including those deep green eyes that she knew all too well.
Freya's body tensed slightly as she glanced about. Her form turning just slightly in defense as if it would protect her. She did not like this one bit. She didn't like the attention or the curl of Alec's lip. His fangs flashing as if to warn away anyone that dared take a step towards her, however Justin was faster. He came down the steps, slipped around the group and moved in her direction. It was then she realized why. Klpeto's tongue flickered outwards. It was a brief glance, but she saw the onyx color.. the deepest shade of black that colored his tongue and mouth. It was only then she could see his black lips... his black lifeless eyes. There was no mistaking the painting of scales that collected down his eye and along his cheek. They stood out against his pale flesh. He was a black mamba... the deadliest snake known to man. One bite from them could kill a full grown man within seconds. Even she stared him down, however it would seem he had no intention of moving closer.
Justin reached her side as she spoke. "I don't know anything about this." Narrowing her eyes at him, she watched the black tongue flicker again. The husky came to stand slightly in front of her, tense and unsure while blue eyes watched the other two clans.
"Dreamweaver says otherwise." It was the first time the milksnake flickered its tongue and moved to slither along her until it hung along her arm. She glanced down at it before turning to Alec. "What did you see, little bird?"
A hand shoved her back making Freya yelp. She skid for a few inches just as the eruption of snarling and snapping echoed in her ear. Rolling over, Freya's eyes widened at the sight of the husky. His hackles were raised, his ears were turned upwards and forward. His tail was raised and buzzing with energy as he stepped forward. A bluish grey mamba hissed and curled on itself. Its head was pushed backwards read to strike. She was shocked how fast the snake had gotten over to her, and now it had positioned itself just in front of the husky. The two had a stand off, but no other party moved.
Shaky, Freya rolled until she was able to push herself up again. She went to speak, but the mamba spoke instead. "You ssssssaw it. Their power... their bloodlust. You are not of thissssss world." Gasps echoed throughout the crowd, but finally Alec shoved himself up.
"Enough!" Silence filled the room. "What did you see Freya?" Alec's voice commanded making her feel small, but still she held her head high.
"I saw... Kenya." The image of the individual wormed itself back into her mind. The thought of the black and orange feathers... the orange hair that shadowed their face... the voice... the voice that told her she would change the course of the world. "I saw the fall of the Kenya border. I saw a girl commanding them, and a bird... a black and orange bird that flew to sit on her shoulder."
"It would seem the Valkyrie has abandoned their peace." The mamba cold hisses swept across the room leaving Freya feeling more naked than ever before.