Holding up the gear to not drop off the Icy cliff, Shashi pressed her shoes deeper in the ice, drowning half of her shoes beneath the cold foam.
"What are you doing?" Rati bawled worriedly behind her. "How many times should I tell you, It's not safe to go near the end. You could have fallen in the hell."
"Yes…" Shashi turned with an expressionless face, trying to tilt as much as she could to stare down the cliff much longer without managing a rebuke again from her elder sister.
Shashi was so young to be allowed to roam across the edge of this huge mountain cliff reaching up in the heavens where even the sun couldn't peak. However her all other sisters were mature enough to be even allowed to crawl down the cliff and hunt for a delicious meal enough to feed all there clan.
"You know how worried mom will be if she'll knew about you walking along the shore again. You don't wish to upset her, Right?" Rati said, pressing her grip around Shashi's shoulder as they walked along the windy path torn out of the icy ground. There mother, the supreme authority of there clan who could never let a shortcoming to her reign, leave up the chattering of a Vasu daughter falling down in hell.
"Its time for sisters to return, hurry if you don't want to miss your share." Rati smiled as she pulled her arm off her youngest sister and rushed her steps towards the white hall.
Encircling the building were numerous white pillars engulfed with viridian feathery peacocks from there top to bottom, depicting different tales as the god blessed the bird with its beautiful feathers. As the two sisters stumbled near the hall, a large hoard of girls join them along the path who were all heading the same way, all chirping in there glimmering jewels and silky garments about there birth animals.
Passing the entrance the huge ocean of females started pouring in the hall like a never ending river and started arranging in neat curves around the edges.
"Shashi, I heard you were again near the end." A thin girl standing aside the Shashi said, her nose ring dangling off her hairs. "You know its dangerous. Why you keep repeating it?" An another girl eagerly waiting for the event to start spared a glance there way. "This could be your last day if mum get to know about this." The thin girl giggled evilly.
"No sisters." Rati blocked her way in with a nervous laugh, "Where you heard such rumors. I was with her all the time."
"Oh! they are here.." suddenly a head shouted among the ocean of heads and all the eyes were shot in a second towards the door. Around twenty girls dressed beautifully in jewels of gold and jade carrying small baskets bravely passed the doorway. The path made among the ocean of audience was drowned back by peoples again as the girls assembled towards a small stage in a corner.
"WELCOME DAUGHTERS…" A high pitched lady with broad shoulders but a thin waist said as she emerged from behind the stage and past her throne. A wave flew through the ocean of girls as they all bow to there mother Queen, dangling there beautiful nose rings to the tip of there noses.
"Mother, today we manage to caught three elephants." One of the girl said proudly as they all stretched there basket towards there queen.
"GOOD.." the lady said, slowly examining the baskets as she smelled over there lids, meanwhile the girlish ocean was laid in deep silence as they all waited for there turn. Finally picking the third one from the left she slowly moved its lid off. Multiple blooming fumes shaped in tigers rushed across the winds, running in every possible direction until they were swallowed in by the lady with her deep breath, coloring her neck as they crossed her throat and finally entered her soul. "OHMm…" she exclaimed with her eyes closed as the life force of her birth animal entered her soul and nurtured her hunger after a long month. The ocean suddenly gets back to its roaring self as the other girls smiled and pressed the lust for there part of the life force.
"ARRANGE..." As quickly as wind carried these words to the girls, they were all arranged according to there birth animals near the baskets carrying the life forces of different species of animals. One by one the lids were removed and similar magical fumes gleaming in different colors and shaped in distinct animals emerged in the sky. Rambling, jumping and tossing over each other, trying to escape until they were breathed in by the girls having that specie as there birth animal. All the foxes were sucked in by there cunning but beautiful sisters, the elephants were swallowed by the fat and lazy ones, the thin and fast ones had all the snakes and the mighty and strongest ones surped up the lions.
Among the whole lot of girls arranged in there birth animals, Shashi was merely a part of any group and was just gulping large bits of air as she swallowed deep breaths trying to absorb the life force of any specie she could.
Soon after all charm of the life forces were swallowed in by the Vasu daughters, they all exclaimed in pleasure as there hunger doused down for an another next month. "Shashi..Shashi!..." Suddenly a mumbling aroused in the crowed as all the sisters looked for the youngest one.
"SHASHI…" the final cry came from the queen as Shashi slowly stumbled near the stage, head down apologetically. "I'm..em sorry." She cried silently.
The queen knotted her brows in disappointment looking at her youngest daughter curled up in silence and apology. Suddenly a disapproved muffling rolled over the ocean again and some of the sisters glance Shashi with profound distress.
"Come here now." The mother said flopping over her viridian throne in agony.
The little girl moved plotting her head and eyes so down and trying to not hear the sentences mocked for her. Barley seeing what's in front she stumbled over the stairs and stood with same head down trying not to face the ocean of her sisters glaring at her. Rati smiled though the crowed at her poor sister, trying to part a courage in her fearsome heart.
"BEGIN…" The Queen said frustratingly balancing her neck.
Soon the complete ocean of heads muttered a chant silently and raised there palms stained in red aalta towards the little girl standing with her head dropped at the lowest of her spine. The red tints of there palms engulfed into brightness and colorful fumes shaped in multiple animals rushed towards the little girl.
Jolting trembling and twisting they all rushed in rage towards Shashi, laughing at the little girl who was curled up and was pressing her eyes so tight to endure it.
No one stopped the fierce wave of raged creatures rushing with there crocked fumed fangs towards the youngest Vasu daughter.