purge this poison from my veins
Mother roused him gracelessly, a nudge and a few words. Toxin shook his head from side to side as if he could shake the sleepy haze out from between his ears. His mood was petulant, having been broken out of a dream, but he knew better than to lash out at Dione as he might have if it were Ganj or Necro in her place. He mumbled out a nonsensical, sleepy acquiescence. Monster hunting sounded fun, he supposed, even if his mother's expression gave him the creeps. A cold chill ran down his spine and his paws tingled as if he ought to run away, but this was Mother and what she says goes. He nodded, that small bit of fear bringing clarity to his senses. When he followed her into the world, the young boy found that there was no acerbic bite to the wind, and what remained of the snow was slushy and dense. He narrowed his brows at it and thought for a moment that he might ask Dione what that meant, but he was worried it might be a stupid question. He wasn't stupid, not like the others, he told himself fervently. "Mother, I'm excited to see the monsters," he said quietly, trying to sound calm and brave, when in truth her demeanor frightened him still. |