Something is definitely broken, Emory thinks as she struggles to sit up against the stone wall. She whimpers, her hand clutching her ribs as she hisses out. It's quiet, and her heart stutters as Emory's limbs shake. She doesn't understand who or what had grabbed her. She can't see in this complete darkness.
She's really starting to hate the dark room.
She bites her lip, tasting her tears on her tongue. The only answer she can come up with is the monster finally found them. And was completely silent about it. Is Parma dead? Is that why it's so quiet that Emory's ears ring? The thought makes her sick.
But then the aura around her changes, it happens so fast that it makes Emory dizzy.
Dread pulls at her nerves, the feeling so overwhelming and familiar that Emory realises, No. Whatever had grabbed her wasn't the monster, because whatever that has just arrived with them, the aura it carries around, she felt it when she first arrived in the dark room. When she was running away from it. It was silent then too, she thinks. She didn't realize she was actually running from it until it slammed against the door.
Emory shivers, this thing is unbelievably creepy.
Meanwhile, standing in the dark, Parma who has shifted into her sphinx form is trying not to submit to the overpowering presence that arrived. This is why she is so scared to be down here.
Parma may be able to see in the dark, but her vision has a limit. With zero artificial or natural light, the most Parma can see are shadowy figures. She's never seen details of the monster that lives in the dark room, but she knows its figure.
Parma forces herself to stay on all four of her paws, her claws scratching against the stone floor.
"You should probably run now." Parma's voice cuts into the silence and Emory gasps in surprise. "We're two predators in a small space." No matter the number of times Parma has been sent down to the dark room, she has not once shifted into her sphinx form.
She knows Director Alriks is dying to see them fight it out, especially now that Parma has demon blood running through her veins thanks to his experiments. She never wants to give him the satisfaction, but she doesn't have a choice now.
A sphinx is another predator in a territorial beasts' lair. She's not going to make it out in one piece, if she does at all.
Emory doesn't bring up the way Parma's voice shakes, but she wonders if Parma is going to die down here. "I can't just leave you." she whispers.
"Can you do anything useful?" Parma scoffs, her husky voice echoing around them. "You didn't even hit me back when I took your pie. You just shoved it in your mouth like a fucking pig."
Emory's face burns red, "Fuck you that pie was delicious." She snaps out.
"I wouldn't know -" Parma sneers down at Emory's tiny human figure.
"Don't you play that card with -" Emory begins to scold her.
For the second time in less than five minutes, Emory is tossed back and she flies through the air. Her body jerks at the impact of stone, and for a moment she thinks she's dead.
There's no pain, no happiness, just absolutely nothing. And then it all rushes through her a surge of agony and adrenaline.
She screams, the sound loud and shrill as it bounces off the stone walls.
Fuck, it hurts so much!
Parma, the one who flicked Emory's tiny body with a single paw finger, peers at her shadowy figure. As soon as Emory was in the air, Parma had jumped up onto the stone wall with her claws keeping her attached, and scaled it. She stops at the top, and now as she balances on top of the stone wall, she holds her breath.
Did Parma flick Emory too hard? Her mouth pulls back in guilt, she wanted to get her out of the way of the fight zone so she wouldn't die. How ironic, Parma scoffs.
However, when Emory finally moves from the ground below, Parma's eyebrows raise. Okay, so she didn't die. Perhaps witches aren't so weak after all, she smirks.
A large shadow appears from around the two hundred foot tall wall she perches on top of, her lion's tail swishing behind her. Her furr stands on end at the foul smell that emanates from the monster, like something rotten and dare she say unnatural. It's aura pushes back against her own, fighting for dominance in order to gain favor in the battle to come.
Parma stands on all fours and walks along the stone wall. When she's close enough, she leaps down, her two front legs stretching out in front of her, sharp claws ready to tear into the beast.
Goddess, she hopes she doesn't die. She's not ready to meet the God of Death. Before Parma can reach him, the monster's shadow shifts and changes, and her eyes widen at the sight of spikes.
It's too late for her to come out unscathed, so as soon as the sharp jagged horns pierce her skin, she uses the solid touch to launch herself over, avoiding any further damage. Her lion body flips through the air and Parma lands on her feet, her claws scraping against the floor.
The monster growls, then there's an audible inhale of air. Parma lunges at the large shadow of a beast. She rips the front of it open, can feel the wet splat of its blood.
The beast roars and tackles Parma to the ground, it's newly formed spikes piercing into her thick hide skin. She howls, the sound high and grating.
Emory slaps her hands over her ears, and tucks her head between her knees. When the sound stops, she immediately jumps to her feet, shaking hands pressing against the stone wall and following it down a different path. She can't tell what's happening. If Parma is winning or not. Mm, maybe she should have listened to Parma when she first told her to run.