[ PRP ] Shanhali Spawn | Complete |

[Thalion]

The cub was huddled in the back of his cave, his eyes wide and his tail curled around himself. Every strand of fur stood up off of his tiny body. For some reason... the sky was roaring. The sky. It was roaring. He couldn't understand why it would do that!

Thunderstorms weren't uncommon along the sea, but it had been a mild summer and it was the first time the cubs had seen the sky grow dark. It was the first time that it started to rain, the first time the air filled with electricity, the first time light tore through the darkness, and the first time that thunder shook the earth below.

He gasped as the light streaked across the sky. One. Two. Th- There it was! The sky roared once more. He hissed at the mouth of the cave, hoping that would do something to detour the massive beast rolling about in the sky above. In the brief flashes of light the landscape looked angry. Dangerous. Vile. The sea was churning and rising up like an angry snake. Perhaps their father had been right about the ocean- it was dangerous.

When the sky flashed- then roared -once more, RiddleSight bundled himself up to his nearest sibling and growled unhappily. "I tried."

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

Like his brother, Puzzle was wide awake... But he wasn't watching the storm in fear. Large bright blue eyes watched in fascination as the sky lit up. One, two, th- There it was, the sky roared. He shifted as his brother rejoined the huddle of cubs. "Tried what, talking to it?"

He got up, slowly inching forward. As the rain pattered at the plants and ground outside, his ears quivered, eyes watching the sky. He'd just reached the cave mouth, when another flash lit the world up, illuminating the trees and undergrowth and making everything seem so much more sinister. The roar from above made him jump back, more startled than scared.

He reached a paw out, then withdrew it, soaked through. "Sky water..." He shook the water off, then returned to his brother, leaving a single wet pawprint every time his right forepaw stepped down. Settling by RiddleSight, he smiled at his brother. "It'll be okay, the sky monster will leave soon enough!" There was no malice in his voice or words, only a bright optimism, like a beam of sunlight through a storm in the middle of the night.

Thalion

 

[Thalion]

Riddlesight shook his head and wrinkled his little nose up. "No. I tried scaring it off with a roar. Like papa said we could!" He jerked back and watched, in near horror, as his little brother inched his way to the mouth of the cave. He wasn't sure what would cause anyone to approach such a horrible force. The older cub stepped forward but hesitated after only a few steps. The storm roared above and he was right back against the wall of the cave. Almost through instinct alone he hissed at the mouth of the cave again.

As Shanhali trotted his way back, Mikael settled his paws under him and turned his back to the cave's mouth. "The sky monster is stupid. It's drooling all over the place and screaming for no reason. I can't even understand it! It's too loud. And the accent is stupid." He glanced over to his brother. "..what do you think the lights are?"

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

Shanhali was thoughtful as he settled by his brother, watching the sky light up again. One... Two... Three... Fo-- The sky was filled with another roar. "I'm not sure... Maybe it's blinking... Like a giant lion in the sky, with eyes that light up like beams of sunlight from his face." He looked at his brother, tilting his head, before his gaze returned to the sky outside.

As the storm flashed and rumbled again, he let out a thoughtful sound. "Perhaps the sky is throwing a tantrum, and the water coming down is actually its tears of frustration... The roaring above is the sky monster howling in anger... I'm still not sure about the lights, though." He licked at his wet paw. Oh good, it didn't taste like unsavory fluids...

Thalion

 

[Thalion]

Mikael snorted and rolled his eyes. There was always that chance. It sounded like a monster but he doubted that the eyes could light up like that. The flashes were too short, too brief to give any animal constant sight. Eyes would have to be like the sun. Open, constant, blinking only when the clouds passed over and sleeping when the night came. Tears made some sense, or drool, or ... well he didn't want to think beyond that.

"You sound like a mummer." He grumbled. "I don't like it, whatever that thing is, it needs to go away. There needs to be some kind of rules. Like no going outside after sunset, no getting too loud after dark. That sort of thing."

He glanced over. "Mama will tan your hide if she hears you went to the mouth of the cave with a monster outside..."

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

His eyes widened and his hackles went up as he suddenly looked around for their mother in the cave. "Oh no, don't tell her..!" Then he stopped, leering at his brother. "Wait, you were about as close as I was, and I only stuck a paw out!" He then crossed his paws, lifting his head and closing his eyes. "And don't call me a Mummer, I'm a PRINCE." He didn't think he was above the rank of Mummer... He just wanted his present and current rank to be stated CORRECTLY.

A particularly loud crashing sound followed a flash of light, causing Shanhali to jump. Even his fur stood on end as he clung to his brother, eyes quite wide with surprise. "Is it getting closer? I think it's getting closer..."

Thalion

 

[Thalion]

"I didn't try touching it though." Mikael countered sharply. "Mom will loose fur! She'll have kittens and paddle us all raw." He reached back with a paw and rubbed at his bum. He wouldn't want to let this one slip- it's likely she'd be so beside herself that they'd all get a spanking. If not from her, then from their father. The cub shuddered. Riddle-mouth was a little diabolical in his punishments. He threatened to put crayfish in their dens while they slept, to change their food into greens, and to make the mists swallow up the fur off their tails. Horrible things that no cub anywhere could guess was beyond the realm of possibilities for adults.

He snorted. "Mummer. You talk like one! Princes are all... all noble and stuff. They- EEK!" He brought a paw over his eyes and scooted in closer to his brother.

"It can't get any closer! Mama will roar it away!!!"

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

His hackles went up at the thought of the tanning his rear would get, and he began to frantically groom at his paw to get the moisture off. "Oh no, she can never know I stuck my paw out there!"

He paused, glancing at his brother, frowning. He was about to retort to the comments about him being a mummer and not a prince, when his brother clung to him. While he jumped, too, Shanhali gave Mikael a smug look. "Scaredy kitten!" He tried to push his brother off, then froze as a flash of lightning lit up the world outside.

"M-M-Mikael... I think there's something out there... I think I saw EYES... In the shadows..." His own eyes were quite wide, fear in them.

Thalion

 

[Thalion]

He wasn't a scardey-cub! The look Mikael shot his brother would have been comical to anyone else, but to his brother it was pure poison. How dare he call him that! Of all the cubs he was the most bold, the most fearless, the first one born!

Hurt and insult coated his features a moment before terror re-ignited in his eyes. The fur along his spine stood on end and his little body tensed and coiled tight as a newly spun rope. The cave almost seemed to tremble as thunder roared following the bright flash of lightning. It was closer- right over their heads. He could almost taste the electricity in the air.

The waves seemed to roar just as angerly, only to find themselves swallowed up by the thunder. He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut and call for his mother, but it was unlikely that she'd hear him over the storm outside. Instead, he shifted a paw over his brother and squeezed him closer. "I'll keep you s-safe. Ju-just keep still. Maybe it won't see."

Andranis

 

[Andranis]

Shanhali was about to protest his brother needing to protect him, when the monster outside roared. He clung tight to his brother, then offered his own words. "I don't need protecting! But I'll protect--" Another roar right over the cave made him dig his tiny claws in, eyes seeming to grow wider. "How about we protect each other? I scratch your back, you scratch mine!" That seemed fair, and they could both reasonably protect the other without anybody knowing, or anybody questioning who was the tougher brother... Shanhali's ears folded back as the sky lit up, but relaxed as the next rumble from the sky sounded further away, took longer to happen. The beast was moving on.

Thalion

 

[Thalion]

MIkael tensed and squeezed his eyes shut as the light tore across the sky. One. Two. Three.... and a roar. It was moving further away. He could hear the rain pelting the sands outside and the hissing of the waves as they crept up the sands and smashed against the rocks in the distance. His tension seeped out of him as the rumbling sky seemed to drift father and farther. The adrenaline died off, leaving him with only exhaustion.

"Mmm... sounds good." He shifted himself around, turning his little body around so he could watch his brother's back. "Mom should be home soon..."

Andranis

Fin!

Word Count: 1,650