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"Fire.... fire.... everywhere, but nobody cares.... poor little fox goes pop and bang.... but still no one to lend a hand...." Styx had been repeating the same words over and over again since he had left the forest fire behind it, it was the main reason for swimming in the calming depths of the water. The darkness around him echoed the very darkness within his soul, he felt himself wanting to tear and rip and kill and find blood..... blood on the water, waving and "dancing," playing with the "waves" as they "crashed" into the side. Styx had a habit of never knowing when he had spoken and when his thoughts had remained private, it had got him into trouble on more than one occassion but that didn't matter... for Styx surviving a night and the darkness was more important than whether or not he had pissed someone off accidently.

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts and mind that he wasn't paying attention to the world around him, as far as he was concerned he was alone and the Ocean was still. The skulls on what remained of his saddle bounced and hoped on the water but he paid them no attemption. "Fire fire everywhere... leave me alone without a care!" Again he spoke, the flames of the fire still blazing in his mind, a pain worst than darkness. Styx had watched as "death" had stolen the poor creature, but what worried Styx the most was that if a creature as equally punished as himself could die without anyone caring what would happen to him?

"NO!" he roared stopping abruptly. Styx was cursed, cursed to take the spirits of the damn to hell... but with each trip he took they corrupted more and more of him. Reality and fantasy where now all a blur to Styx, unable to understand one from another.

But to Styx, Foxes had been cursed..... long ago the first fox had used his cunning to steal a beak from a bird, he had used it to sing over and over again but when the bird asked for it back he threatened to steal it. It wasn't until he was caught and the beak ripped from his face that it was returned. The stitches where torn open and left the Foxes mouth wide and reaching nearly all the way to his ears. It was Styx's faviourite story. Pain and misery where things he understood well.

Styx hadn't been paying attention, which was obvious when his eyes suddenly saw movement ahead of him. His eyes narrowed, his lips curved into a snarl that showed off his teeth as he hissed a warning at whatever was out there lingering in the darkness.

He could see few colours and so assumed it was another creature of the dark. He disliked such creatures as much as he disliked himself....

Hiss again he spoke with a growl, "Spit it out or leave in pieces!" Although Styx was not always mean and out for blood, he was never really able to think straight when it was dark. Darkness was his enermy. If he had been born with wings he would have flown around chasing the sun. Sun and light where good. Darkness was bad. And most of all Styx knew, he was darkness, he was bad! He could never escape it for too long.

He heard a noise, moved his head swiftly to the noise to find he had been moving his tail back and forth over the sleek surface of the water. "Curse you to hell," he spat out, looking at the cursed object with hatred and pain.

"Home," He echoed the word, it rattled and rolled in his head for a moment as his attention was drawn back to the dark blur before him, he wanted to bite it but resisted.... just! In all his many years Styx had never truely known a home, he was either forced away or was too mad to find it again after wandering off. No, home was not for him. The fact that the creature before him had one made her, in Styx's eyes at least, less of a monster.

He shifted his weight, heard the cracking of the skulls as they banged together, a smile graced his lips; the curves wrong in appearance, menacing rather than warm.

Styx ignored the question of who he was, he had "never" been one to take "commands" and orders but always one to attempt to give them. He would not share himself with this creature unless it was to his advantage.

His tail contined to iche and flick behind him, the speed increasing to the point that it looked like his tail was pacing a long corridor again and again in frustration... he had lost control of his tail, the darkness was building, a dark presure on his temples that would seeon eradicate all conscious thoughts and replace them with death and duty.

Anger bubbled, and at the creatures cocky arrogance he snapped his head forward in one swift sudden movement. Teeth bared, and a hiss escaping his lips as his eyes narrowed on the beast; perhaps she was the devil in disguise? He would like that... then he could finally, "kill" the b*****d. Styx hissed again before consciously speaking now rather than the odd word of his thoughts escaping his notice, "No longer yours... no, no, no.... mine! Fire.... fire.... everywhere, but nobody cares...." For a moment he was lost again, staring blankly into space before he suddenly snapped back to attention and remembered where he was. He hissed again looking at the creature with pure malice and hatred, he wanted to "hurt" someone... Foxes should never die. Why not kill this creature who dared try to claim nature for herself?!

"Nature owns all. Everything dies. You will be taken to hell...." He paused a moment, looking into the dark wells of the creatures eyes; duty bound him to take damned souls to hell, "...by Styx!"

I am the river Styx, I flow and destroy and carry those with evil intent to their final resting place.... in the bowels of hell!

The beast was soothed slightly when the darkness admitted its fault, a satisfied grin spread across his lips. Then, behind him his tail splashed against the water surface, sending ripples racing and darting around him. Spooked he turned swiftly, eyes darting the surface of the water... looking for... something, anything, a trick?

"Go away!" He roared at the spot, anger starting to bubble and well within him.

Then as suddenly as he had turned he turned back, teeth flashed in a display of anger that he had no control over, a rumble started in chest, building and rising as it tried to escape. It took all of Styx's control to push it back down... but right now he knew he couldn't do that for much longer. It was too dark, the darkness within him always rose to met the darkness around him. He would not stay sane for much longer.... even if you couldn't call his current state entirely 'sane' he could get worst.... much worst!

His eyes darted across the surface of the water... looking for something? But his memory was clouded, he couldn't remember what he was doing here or why he was still surrounded by water. Panic inhaled him in one mighty swoop and he suddenly felt as if he was drowning below the waters surface. Styx began to thrash, his tail and head hitting the water hard sending pillars of water rising and rolling away from him. Pained cried escaped him, he cursed and hissed.... he was losing control.

Control... "lost" .... death... coming! His thoughts where disjointed, coming to him surrounded by the very darkness he feared.

Almost as suddenly as he had started thrashing he stopped, eyes looking blankly up at the sky. Darkness sprinkled with a few sparkling lights.... stars. Oh how he longed to have a star within his own darkness.

Styx hear his name, his head snapped up immediatly to locate the source. He found two eyes glaring back at him in the darkness, he could feel the fear and terror radiating from the creature... but he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. Part of his mind was loving the fear, feeding off it, getting stronger.... wriggling in an effort to get free. But the other part of him wanted to sooth the fear, it didn't want to be seen as a monster despite the fact that he knew what he was, he was worst than a monster..... he was evil in flesh.

"Talk to you..." He repeated, his eyes narrowing in a suspicious glare... why was this beast trying to be nice to him?

As if snapping out of himself he screamed, a scretching deathly sound that was filled with pain, anger and utter suffering. He wanted nothing more than to die, his sould so corrupted by those he had ferried that he could no longer distinguish truth from lie, but in that moment Styx wanted to be "free" of the darknes.

As if just thinking of release was the key to bring back a slice of his light his eyes cleared and his teeth showed less and less until his lips closed once more. What was he doing? Why had he stayed still long enough for the darkness to "torment" him?

He was about to turn when he saw the creature before him for the first time, in many ways it really was the first time... for now the creature no longer looked like a monster of the dark but an "innocent" creature of the sea. An innocent creature that his darkness had tomented, he could scent her fear, and it made Styx ashamed.

Ashamed that breath still drew into his body, that his heart still pounded in his chest. Ashamed of who and what he was. After a long moment of silence Styx finally said... "I am sorry little sea creature, but you should leave me... before the darkness returns." He wasn't sure what he had done already, in many ways when the darkness took over his mind he was left with nothing but the blackness of his thoughts, an empty spot on his memory. He had woken up many times with blood covering his jaw and body wondering what crime he had commited... had he killed something? Was it another soquili or just a small animal? Either was a tradegy but in many ways the thought of killing a soquili would mean that he was damned, cursed to be ferried to the very place he had taken all the others.

"Darkness knows all!" His eyes where blank, he stared into space for several moments, memories flooded him. He had done very dark things. He had killed and slaughted, lead the damned to hell and all the while allowed his very soul to become filled with darkness and hatred, pain and eternal damnation. He was beyond redemption. He would not be saved.

"Looming darkness everywhere, it never leaves or fades away..." He hissed and thrashed his head forward once more, not out of anger towards her, not because he wished her harm, but because he could no more control his actions than he could his words. "...but clings forever to beasts it claims as its own. I am the darkness!" His bore his teeth then, hissing and spitting and fighting with himself, Styx wished he could escape... but how did one escape the confinds of their own mind?

Snapping out of his state for a moment he glanced around as if to recall where he was, the night was too dark it clung to him like a second skin, he suddenly felt unable to breath, unable to swim, unable to do anything.... exhausted for simply managing to stay concious. His eyes snapped towards the creature ahead of him, bald and more of a sea creature than himself... a mer? Anger started to bubble up again, a haze of red and darkness stealing his vision until all that remained was a tainted sight that needed to be destroyed. "LEAVE ME BEAST! LEAVE ME TO DIE IN PEACE!" He screamed and thrashed again, he was losing control, each of his muscles where already alligning so that he could leap towards her and rip the flesh from the creatures body. He longed to taste it, to see the blood mix with the water, to watch as the powerful waves carried it away and turn it to nothing.

Yes, he wanted that, and in a moment he would take it.

Thrashing stopping.
Gaze suddenly focussed.
Styx stared at the creature.

"Mine..." He hissed, his tail already swaying from side to side in a manner reserved for predators who had found their latest prey. He growled deep in the back of his throat, the sound echoing on the emptiness around them.

"Can't or won't?" He snapped, a low and annoyed growl snapping and hissing in his throat. He was losing control... soon he wouldn't be able to hold back, in a way he pitied the foolish creature for remaining.

Suddenly his head snapped forward, towards the creature, teeth bared wide as his jaw snapped closed with a loud 'Crunch' and 'Bash' sound, his nose was only a small distance from the creature now, his eyes could see the dull grey of it and smell the fishy tange of its breath. Styx's nose wrinkled in sudden disguist as he exclaimed, "You stink!" Yet the sudden normality of the conversation snapped something within Styx, he froze. Breathing suddenly short and sharp, and just as suddenly as he had snapped forward he turned around... wading his way back to the shore.

Bubbling fury, strange calm.... together made for a confusion that threatened to confused him.

Memory blackened and dimmed by the darkness Styx forgot where he was, what he was doing and even what he had been talking to or about.... perhaps it had all been his imagination? A mix of memories brought forth to torment him?

Darkness.

Blackness.

Eternal damnation.

Styx was doomed, and as he made his way through the water, tail swishing from side to side he dared to wonder.... would it ever end?