Welcome to Gaia! ::

Three days in the forest had slipped by. Each day held a different type of fear and hardship. Shadows would linger in the bushes with eagerly trembling jowls. Bitter cold would cling to their fur at night whispering the promise of death in their ears.

Today’s difficulty was the scarcity of food. The realization was alarming to LuLu. Her rabbit siblings were moaning to her about empty bellies and pained stomachs. The raevan made curt pledges to each one of her groaning companions.

‘We will not starve.’

‘We will not die.’

Now the rabbit frei had felt it necessary to venture out further into the forest in search of sustenance. She had chosen three of the strongest males to accompany her. She left the other three to tend to their nest. The group’s paws made tender impressions in the spectrum of leaves that littered the forest floor. LuLu ribbon dragged along as well, it marred the delicate tracks of her brothers with a jagged streak. The rustling of their movements filled the stagnant air.

A snap sounded from over head. The troop tightened together and scanned the horizon. A bird flew overhead. They relaxed for a moment.

What else would await them on this mission?

LuLu’s ears flicked around in a constant fit of motion, they were a separate entity. Her body was a stark contrast to the hum of movement. Her limbs jerked in short, awkward bursts. Her companions took a similar approach as they radiated around her. Together they looked like a small mechanism dancing over the forest floor. Each one looked to the other before they made any decision.

Four pairs of eyes were focused on everything.

The rabbit frei took notice of a holly bush ahead of her by a few feet. The sharp prickles gleamed in the downy splotches of light that leaked pass the tree limbs overhead. The bush was framed by a calculated splash of vibrant green ivy. The lovely emerald display served one purpose. They could not eat it. When one of the males ventured forward to sneak a nibble Lulu emitted a reprimanding growl. The hare instantly retracted and flashed his leader a look of apology. LuLu’s eyes flickered with anger before they fell on a twinkle of red just behind a gnarled oak. The color was growing more vibrant as the stranger approached.

LuLu’s shoulders rolled forward as she readied her self in a defensive pose. Two males followed suit with her actions. A third, the one most damaged by hunger, hopped forward and pounced on a scrap of crimson that had floated onto the layer of leaves coating the earth, it was an appetizing serving platter. He quickly gobbled down the velvety petal. Vyn would hear an eruption of squeaks from the rabbit, but LuLu’s trained ears could decipher the rapturous chatter coming from the male. A smile tugged on the bunny frei’s lips.

Apparently the other female was… delicious.

LuLu strode closer to Vyn. She seemed at a loss for words just like her raevan counterpart. Language was long forgotten, a distant memory. She did not it need it to survive in the forest. Not like she needed food.

The rabbit’s patterned ribbon whipped up a frenzy of foliage beneath her. The dingy cloth swirled threateningly with the dried undergrowth. LuLu’s rune pulsed darkly as she gazed up at the wild rose. Her eyes were equally clouded. Lavender orbs soaked Vyn’s features like colorful sponges. She weighed every aspect of the other raevan with a scrupulous regard.

The hares circling around her were like small duplicates, miniature brown planets rotating around their glowing sun. Each one followed LuLu’s lead exactly. The effect of the well organized group would have been stunning if not for the fact the grim look of hunger weighed down their features. Usually gentle eyes were tainted with a feral displeasure. When Vyn floated upwards into the sky LuLu stiffened. Three bodies replicated the motion.

LuLu’s smile faltered. It was like watching a delicate flower bloom in a barren forest. Vyn demanded all their attention. The petals budding from her pale skin clung greedily to the soft flesh. The scrumptious morsels were now just out of reach. LuLu withdrew herself from the wild blossom when she observed the tattered black cloth flowing from Vyn’s waistline morph into dangerous barbs. Each point promised a different kind of pain. The thorns flourishing in the rose’s ribbon only made the flushed petals curving along her frail cheekbones more tantalizing. Vyn was an exotic breed of vegetation that LuLu desired to… sample.

The three hares around the raevan squealed shrilly in agreement. Two of them bounded closer then froze in place as if they were testing the plant. They were perched on either side of Vyn. They evaluated her silently. Was she a threat or…

Food?

LuLu’s eyes met Vyn’s. The purple orbs wavered with an unsettling appetite. The flower was beautiful. She looked like the most delectable fare the forest had to offer. Yet, she did not back down at any of the group’s threats. The undulating spikes framing her body were a testament to that stubborn attitude. It would be too risky to attack. To LuLu, Vyn was looking akin to the holly bush. A grandiose display warning them not to come closer. The rabbit frei backed away slowly signaling to her other partners their retreat.

However, fate would have none of that…

In a sudden burst of movement, a halo of red surrounded Vyn. Like an ethereal deity, her offerings descended slowly towards the peasants below her. The two closest rabbits were eager to relish the delights the rose offered so graciously. They trembled on their haunches. Their eyes impatiently followed the wisps of crimson as they road on the Autumnal breeze. The morsels landed on the ground with a weightless grace.

The pair of hares broke their ranks and lunged at the petals. The finely tuned machine that LuLu had spent so long creating now tumbled to pieces before her eyes. The rabbit raevan bleated out in a foreign tongue, something resembling the own rabbit’s cries. Frustration darkened her features as LuLu watched her two best men charge headfirst into danger. She was able to hold back her third troop; he was already reading himself to rush in and join the assault. The raevan glowered at him. This was no longer an attack. It was a rescue mission.

When the first hare fell to Vyn’s power, LuLu felt her breath stop in her chest. The delicate rose tore off her tender facade and revealed herself to be a cruel wild flower. The rabbit leader could only watch in horror as the younger male was slapped carelessly aside like a mere toy. He was instantly gutted by Vyn’s woody claws… LuLu corrected herself… they where more like daggers. The frei inwardly cringed as her friend’s innards sloshed out in a heap of bubblegum pink and licorice red. The other male met a worse demise. LuLu almost had to look away. His cries of pain filled the air. It mixed with the echo of his struggle to escape from Vyn’s vise-like hold. The noise was rancorous and excruciating to endure. It only ended when his corpse fell to the ground. It was as gnarled and tangled as the oak’s roots. LuLu felt a rage smoldering behind her ribs. Liquid heat welled up in the corners of her eyes. Her lids fell and she released the hiss that she had been holding all this time.

LuLu composed herself.

She had already lost two valuable members of her team to Vyn’s thorny clutches. That was two brothers too many in her opinion. Her eyes traveled down again to see the rich crimson that still dotted the forest floor, like threads of scarlet woven into a brown carpet. Splinters of bone littered the murky stains of her former companions. LuLu’s nose crinkled in disgust. She could not stand the idea of losing another to this vile plant.

LuLu gritted her teeth and squeaked a quick command to the only hare left under her command. The male looked at her with a hesitant gaze but when he met LuLu’s agitated glare he immediately obeyed. The hare withdrew himself and hopped back in the direction they had come from. LuLu’s glare then turned to Vyn. She spoke no words to the other raevan, but her intentions rang clearly in the still air between them.

LuLu would avenge her fallen men.

Vyn’s golden stare fell onto her gore covered fists with morbid disinterest. Her black sclera only accentuated the dull, careless look in her eyes. LuLu bristled. The rose’s barbed fingers where playing idly with her comrades’ blood like it was mere finger paint. Digits spun and twirled around nonchalantly to evenly coat themselves in the liquid essence. The ruby fluid oozed down her knuckles and dripped from her forearms where it joined other cherry hued puddles, just another drop added to the wicked display that surrounded the gruesome creature.

Even when wounded, Vyn held the air of an unconquerable being. Her thorns stretched far and impatient with the desire to take another life. LuLu felt another hiss escape her pursed lips. Vyn was some kind of weed that would not give in no matter how much of a fight you gave it. Yet, LuLu ignored these nagging feelings and stood her ground. Two of her men had given their lives foolishly to this frei. LuLu would make sure that Vyn paid the price for her cruelty. The rabbit would make her give blood for blood.

When there gazes met, LuLu found herself momentarily stunned. Those gilded orbs had her pinned under their intensity. However, the rabbit pushed off the weighted feeling and darted to Vyn’s left, just out of the rose’s reach. Adrenaline was mixing in LuLu’s veins and it powered through her like a burst of fire. The flames of energy spread from tip to toe coursing into ever limb. LuLu felt herself trembling. Was it from drive or… fear?

The rabbit frei gagged on a bitter taste that bled into her mouth. It was a difficult flavor to swallow. It left her throat dry and tight. Her jaw stiffened as she darted behind Vyn. She glided in a circle a few feet away from the rose, the rabbit skirted on the edge of death. LuLu waited for an opening while she combated her desire to plunge into Vyn like a bloodthirsty blade. The frei new those tactics did not work. Two corpses had proven it. LuLu told herself that she would play this battle smartly.

LuLu pivoted and swayed from side to side in a continuous circle. The rabbit swirled around Vyn like a hostile merry-go-round. Around and around she went. Each completed revolution added to the tension between them like a winding top. Soon the strain would make something snap. But what?

The motion was draining on the rabbit frei; yet, it seemed to have similar effects on her adversary. The constant movement was wearing down on the rose’s resolve. LuLu tried to fight back a few exhausted pants that threatened to escape her lips. She hoped that the prickly raevan before her would crumple first. Lavender eyes scanned her feverishly to pinpoint any opening.

A shoulder slumped.

A hand unfurled.

LuLu struck.

Dirty nails, covered in the grime of half a week’s neglect, dug into the pallid flesh of Vyn’s arms as LuLu embraced the flower in a vicious hug. Fingers dug and ripped at whatever they could get a hold of. A small mouth opened wide to reveal two rows of perfect teeth. The pearly white weapons sunk into Vyn’s shoulder without hesitation.

Even with such a fierce start, the momentum of the rabbit's assault quickly waned. The dam she had built between her and Vyn had been broken. The first ripping torrents of her passion had flooded the rose. Now, however, the rabbit's pent up frustration has degenerated into a faint dribble. Her hands gave a few more sluggish swipes.