Her brother does not care for these philosophical problems, and as he pads beside her he derails her thoughts, instead filling her head with thoughts of the cool oasis and warm desert sand. Again, petulantly, he asks her Why? frustrated that she would see fit to interrupt his nap and drag him back to the shrines of the gods. He can still remember Ampere's words, the venom she spat and the stupidity of her fat, stupid face... he snarls quietly at the very thought, turning to Tandavi and demanding, again, Why. She shrugs, her mind still unfocused, though drifting now toward something else. A scent in the air, the stink of something rotten which lingers along the narrow path.
Ahead of her a shadow creeps, flickering blue in the heat of lava; she pauses for a moment, and the boy does too, realization hitting them both at once, a sudden terror gripping their collective hearts. They're all gone... they were all gone... She can remember the stench of poison and rot, the unquenchable evil in the monster's eyes. Paralysis grips her, the desire to run pounding war drums in her ears, and above it a low hum growing louder, more urgent, the voice of Natraj: What if someone else is there? What if it desecrates the shrines of the Gods? What if- what if-
What if will get her nowhere, and she pushes the myriad of possibilities out of her mind. She can feel her legs begin to move, mechanical muscles forced into submission; she continues up the path, now walking, now running, now stumbling in her haste, deaf to all but the pounding of her heart. The shadow has crossed over the lip of the hill and out of her sight, and as she follows in its wake a scene comes into view, bodies and voices and a moment of horror as the small girl watches her world threaten to crumble inside of grotesque, oversized jaws.
"Amaris!"
o. pixel pony credit to tamme
o. permission granted to use force and magic on Tavi
o. only tag me in opening posts, please!