An endless void stretched out. There was no sense of life or death. There was no color, no sound, no smell. The nothingness had consumed until only stillness remained. Not even the breath of wind air or warmth remained in the space. Only darkness remained to lay itself out endlessly. It could have been seconds, hours, months or years that have gone by. There was no time, yet soon the darkness begun to bleed a deep crimson. It dripped from the endless space of darkness and disappeared. Some of it seeped into the endless chaos to color it the scarlet color. Soon it begun to create a lake. The void, once so bottomless, was becoming an ocean of thick cherry. Spider webs of the substance connected to unseen walls and space as it tangled in the endless void. It was then a low hum of voices begun to start to chant. Yet, their voices could not be heard. Their words were drowned out as if behind an invisible force. It continued to grow louder however. Louder and louder it echoed.
"Ancient Sin. Ancient Sin." The thunderous voices echoed. One after another bloody corpses begun to drag themselves along the claret sea. Canines, felines, ungulate, rodents, reptiles, and so much more begun to emerge from the black. Others pressed themselves up from the blood as they parted their jaws. Their words continuing to echo the same chant. "Ancient Sin. Ancient Sin." Their lifeless eyes stared forward. Maggots, spiders, and other insects fell by the thousands from their jaws and eyes. Their rotting flesh tore with each movement and revealed their bones underneath. Entrails dragged around them like snails as greenish ooze and puss excreted from their movement. Sharp popping echoed in the darkness as they twitched their head and moved their body. Some a sickening wet sound announced a falling of a limp or bones grinding against each other. It was the smell though. It was the smell that reaped the air and choked those around it. The metallic taste of blood, and the smell of sulfur, rotten eggs, and fish. It was strong enough to burn eyes. Mindlessly, they moved as if even in death they could not rest. They could not find peace.
The blood ocean rippled then. A shadow twisted around to circle the area before suddenly the creatures were yanked under. Their screeching cries echoed before only the humming of their words remained. "Ancient Sin." Again and again it echoed until only the whisper of it remained. Instead, piercing blue eyes broke through the darkness.
"Have you finally come to kill me?" Freya's voice broke though as she forced herself to walk forward. It felt as if she was walking through mud. The ocean tangled and clung to her. It wanted to drown her, yet she refused to allow it. Even so, her voice did not sound right. She had not even known if she had spoken or someone else had.
A throaty laugh boomed and echoed. It filled the empty void, consumed the space, and placed a sinister pressure. White incisors were flashed fro a toothy grin. "I do not kill. I devour, but you knew that."
A softness colored Freya's eyes as she held out her hand with her palm up. Her invite was sweet, gentle and without fear. She could feel a clench of guilt and sadness. It gripped her throat, choked her, and threatened to release a sob. It made no sense. The creature did not move as it gazed upon the invitation. "I am so sorry for everything I have done. I-"
The beast snarled. Its eyes narrowed as it stepped forward. Still only its eyes could be seen, yet the anger poisoned the air. "You abandoned us! Thousands upon thousands of lives were lost because of you!" Freya did not flinch at the words. Rage and agony was evident in the male's words, but longing was there as well. The need for more. The need for comfort, however all Freya did was leave her hand out. Her gaze filled with a sorrow she could not explain.
"Fenrir." Slowly, the creature stepped forward, but only enough for a black muzzle to be seen. The lips curled up to flash giant fangs and drool that pooled from his maw.
"Ancient Sins are not easily forgotten."
A weight lifted from Freya as sun disturbed her slumber. In confusion, she blinked and glanced around. The world was moving. Wait, no she was moving. She jerked and nearly fell as a hand reached out to catch her. "Settle down." The voice snarled before jerking her close again.
"No!" She shoved against the hard chest before snapping her head up to meet familiar pink eyes. A scowl decorated Mouse's lips as if he was debating on letting her fall or not. It only dawned on her then what was going on. Mouse was holding her with her legs dangling to one side of the saddle. The saddle that sat on Rose who snorted and threw her head back at the commotion. Blinking away the dream, she looked about as the night came back to her. Fish... her climbing... wait and the bird. She had felt something heavy on her, yet she could not remember what it was. She could hardly recall the dream either as it slowly slipped away.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Freya demanded, but when he ignored her she repeated the question.
Another low snarl vibrated against Mouse's bare chest, but this time it was not towards her. Pink eyes watched the trees as he flashed his canines. "When did you get so close to a pitohui?" The tone dripped with poison. His eyes scorching in ferocity. Freya turned to the trees to watch a small black and orange bird weave in and out of the branches. The same bird that she had seen the night before.
"Why is it following us?" Freya whispered. Mouse shook his head in irritation that she had answered a question with another question. Something inside of her though told her to say nothing to him. Something... about this whole situation was not right. How did he find her? Why was he out here in the first place?
Turning her attention back to him, she frowned. Mouse was an expert on a horse. He kept his frame in perfect formation. His body light, but his thighs tucked in just the right way. His pale skin was covered in dried mud. She could smell something mixed in with it, but she could not place the scent. His face was covered by the shadow of his white hair, but he had tied it back with a vine. She could not imagine it was very comfortable in the sorching heat. As they moved further, the heat only seemed to get worse. She hated it. He wore white rabbit shorts today, and like always had on no shoes. Along his shoulders a single blue stripe of paint colored him. "I was hoping you knew." Mouse's tone was one of frustration. Freya turned away and swung her leg around to straddle the longma. It was Rose. Where had she gone during the attack?
"What's a pitohui?" Freya whispered in hopes of changing the conversation. The male glanced at her with narrow eyes. The conversation was far from over, however he let it slide.
"Enforcers." The word came out in disgust while his eyes traveled back to the trees.
"Enforcers?"
"Assassins for the Valkyrie flock." Mouse growled. "One touch from their feathers, claws or peaks kills any beastman instantly. They are laced in poison." He turned away as his tail begun to flicker restlessly. He was tense, a brick wall against her back. It felt so unlike him. He was always a hot tempered healer, however there was more to this. He was struggling to be still, holding his tongue. Mouse never held his tongue. Nothing about this sat right with her.
"Mouse, let me down." The coyote turned pink eyes back to her for a moment.
"Afraid I will bite?" He smirked a bit at the comment.
"Why are you all the way out here?" Freya pressed, yet Mouse did not seem to even flinch.
"Justin was worried. The little shit wouldn't shut up, so I came out instead." She raised her eyebrow at that knowing full well that they did not have a good relationship. However, in the time she has known Mouse, she has witness his respect and care for the husky. They had a bond, a friendship that the coyote has not forgotten. For a second, she debated on pushing him for answers, but in the end she decided to allow it to drop. She did not want to press him further on the matter mainly with him being so tense. Plus, she hurt to much to care.
Glancing up at the trees once more, she could still see the bird following them. Mouse's nose flared as he breathed in the scent before yanking against the reins of the longma. He twisted the steed quickly all while keeping his eyes on the little spy. Neither knew why the creature was following them, however it was clear the bird had no intention of leaving just yet.
It would be nightfall by the time Mouse was comfortable enough to slow Rose down and to stop. The pitohui was nowhere to be found. After a few hours, they had believed to have lost the bird, but Freya could always feel the burning of eyes on her back. Either way, Rose was spent and both of the riders were beat. The coyote had said little, and she had not pressed the matter. Something still did not feel right in her bones. Not to mention, she was sour regarding his sudden disappearance. Her shoulder ached at the memory of the big cat's teeth. Her skin burned at the thoughts of the fever that went on for days. She had cried out when they took care of her, but no one could find a healer with Mouse's abilities to help. She had to find a way to comfort herself alone. He was not much of a talker anyway, but Mouse did well to watch her close. When they had dismounted, he had tied Rose to a rock. They had found a small pond in order to grab supper, drink, and then work on a fire for the night. There would be no cover, however with a coyote watching over her she had no worries.
Even so, Freya pulled a hind from Rose's saddle case and made a small bed for herself. She grabbed some fallen branches and laid them over the bed against a large stone. It gave her enough cover to not feel naked in the open. Speaking of being naked, she decided she needed a bath as well. After the long night and day, she felt as if she was crawling out of her skin. Her hair was oily, and she wanted to change into something else. It was a shame she had limited options. She had taken soap and shampoo for granted. No, she had taken showers and baths for granted. The warm water... the steam, and privacy. She could be clean and groomed everyday, however not here. She went days without being clean. Her hair was greasy. Her skin caked with grime, and her teeth... ugh.
Therefore, she found a spot away from the male, but close enough to see him to stripe down and step into the water. She whimpered at the cold, but at the same time she relished in it. It was shallow enough to sit down to scrub herself with her hands. She used one of her arrow heads to shave the best she could, and then scrub her head clean. She did the best she could with her teeth and even found some wild mint to chew for her breath. It was not long before she felt human again. Once done, she pulled on her breast wrap, but left her shirt off. Tugging on her pants, she looked up as she watched Mouse approach the water.
The coyote flickered his gaze along the shore line before he stepped forward. He was careful, slow as he found the spot he wished to anchor from. Before long, he was up to his knees in water as he searched for their dinner. He was an excellent fisher. With one strike of a makeshift lance, he had speared a few fish. Mouse had gotten ten before he stabbed them through and roasted two on the fire. The others he ate raw. It was only after he had consumed seven and begun on his eighth fish that Freya had made her way over to him. She had tied her hair back and dried herself the best she could. She did not want to get sick in the cold, although she was starting to regret her choice. She was cold.
"What happened to your shoulder?" Mouse asked suddenly as he picked up a cooked fish to hand to her. Freya glanced up at him in surprise, but took the food. Leaning back, she hald closed her eyes as she debated on telling him. The bile rose in her throat at the memory... the memory that Justin found out she was a fraud.
"A cheetah attacked me. It was when Tessa came to see Justin during the Bonfire Celebration." She kept out that he would have known if he was there.
Mouse licked at his fingers as he watched her. His pink eyes unreadable. She bit into her fish and soon was reaching for the second one. With that, the conversation ended once more, however Freya could not help the tiny smile on her lips. She had missed Mouse. She was glad to have him watching her back.