hearing voices through the walls
seasonal prompt/open if you want it
12-27-2021, 01:55 PM
They’d been camping at the wall for a decent amount of time now. Sanngriðr was adjusting well, but there was always an acute fear of complacency. Complacent meant dead, back home. Complacent was what would get you fucking killed. She wasn’t about that. No, there was no way that she’d go down without the most horrible, most wonderful fight. It would not be complacency that would kill her. Not today, not any day. That being said, she had grown far more comfortable here than anywhere they’d stopped to rest for the last year. Had it really been a year already since they’d left? Since she’d taken what she could of her siblings, of her cousins, and made a run for a better life? There was no doubt in her mind that in the beginning, their family had given chase. They would have been upset to wake up and find an entire litter of pups and a budding priestess gone, as well as the others. No doubt in the valkyrie’s mind that it had pissed their family off, but she couldn’t let the young ones learn. It would have broken them. They couldn’t know what was really going on. Sanngriðr would protect them. She’d keep them safe. That was her job, after all. After a year of running, they’d finally made landfall somewhere that seemed safe. Far enough away from all the things that were chasing them, or would want to chase them. Being pursued had left her sitting up on so many sleepless nights. That was a feeling that was hard to shake, the one that kept her awake in the worst way. Dawn was a few hours out when Sanngriðr woke. The night was grey and chilly, but not truly cold. The valkyrie wandered away from her family, needing to stretch her legs. It wouldn’t be too far, just… out a little. Towards the sparse, growing pines the valkyrie moved. Her steps were quiet, graceful. It wasn’t long until she realized, however, that she wasn’t alone. No, there was something following her. Sanngriðr was all too familiar with the feeling. The woman froze, holding her breath as she tried to catch the sound of the creature stalking her through the dark. It was one heartbeat, then two, before she saw the lynx. It was attempting to pounce onto Sanngriðr, but she stepped easily to the side. The thing was clumsy, seeming to move as if its head was too heavy. “Helvete,” she snarled, cursing at the predator. With a powerful movement, Sanngriðr launched herself forward. She wasn’t going to be bested by it. Her hackles raised. Heart pounding. With a few large steps, she pounced on him. Still, the cat wasn’t going to go down without a fight. It screeched, attempting to bite and claw at the valkyrie. The startling thing? There were crystals growing from its ears, and from one of its eyes. Sanngriðr could feel one scraping against her foreleg, along with teeth. Ah shit, the teeth. “Jävla inte–” She swore indelicately, feeling the sharpness of claws on her shoulder. Sanngriðr snarled, throwing her weight against the lynx. The predator rolled to the ground. She was panting, heat rising through her system. Adrenaline high, but that was what made her feel alive. The pain was blooming across her shoulder, and Sanngriðr knew she needed to end this and end it now. Ending it, and taking her victory would be a fantastic way to start her day. The lynx was fighting back, but Sanngriðr was no meal. Ferocious as ever, her heart pounding, teeth flashing. With a growl, the girl pounced brutally on the predator. Her jaws around its throat, sinking in. The lynx’s back claws struck Sanngriðr’s underside, but the valkyrie’s grip was too strong. With one swift pull backwards, the creature’s struggling stopped. She’d done what she needed to, and took no joy in it. Still, the very sight of the crystals growing from the thing was unsettling at best. Curiously, she reached out to swat at one with a paw, realizing that it wasn’t moving at all. Anchored… anchored to the bone? Maybe Iðunn would have some interest in studying it. She wasn’t that far from where they’d made camp after all. Carefully, the valkyrie took the lynx’s still warm back leg in her mouth and made her trudge back. If it didn’t look too questionable, maybe they could even eat it. Sanngriðr’s movements were a bit gingerly, feeling the tenderness of her shoulder and her undersides as the adrenaline subsided. The pain of it all made her feel alive. She could be alive, and she could hurt, and that was what mattered. Grey dawn was slowly creeping in as she made her way back. Blood ran down the insides of her back legs, and dripped slowly down her shoulder. Sanngriðr wasn’t troubled by it. No, the biggest concern in her mind was the strange crystals. Why were they here? What was wrong? Was this a far less safe place than she’d initially felt? That was starting to seem likely. Complacency would only lead to death, as always. SANNGRIÐR Kom och hata mig. |