He was a jerk. The biggest Poopy McPoop of them all, Big Bad Turkey of the Week, maybe even Satan. Okay, maybe not quite Satan, though he had a head start compared to anything else with male genitalia that she knew. If she had a picture of him, she would also have a personalized dart board. Castor was being particularly affectionate tonight, what with his maleness, and his... felineness. He was currently curled up against her throat, purring and nosing at her every so often. His Girl smelled like salt and metal, pain. Jada stroked him with one hand, staring at the cut in her other hand. Tucked up against her throat, the toyger was warm, and anxious, and loving, and it was all too much. Shoving to her feet, Jada moved into her kitchen, grabbing one of her recyclable shopping bags and shoving some food into it- PopTarts, a bag of powdered donuts, some leftover brownies Ashley had given her a few days ago, a bag or Doritos. Some soup, A can or two of something unidentified, and a can opener. A roll of toilet paper- she didn't know when she'd come home. Shampoo, her loofah, body wash. A big bottle of Aquafina. She loaded up Castor's dish with food and water, opened up all of the curtains so he would be able to see out and made sure his litterbox was clean before she slipped out the door.
It only took 20 minutes to make it to the edge of her family property, an Eternal senshi carrying a bulging bag of supplies. As always, she found her way into her father's study, avoiding the maid, locking the door and digging into the mahogany liquor cabinet. After review, she grabbed two bottles- Glenlivet, and a bottle of Cuervo's 1800. She would have taken the bottle of Dos Lunas Grand Reserve, but her dad had the key to that box. Those bottles topped off her bag and she plopped down in her father's leather chair. It took almost half an hour of meditation before she was calm enough, but she eventually felt the warm, loving pull of her homeworld.
She landed at the base of the path leading to the White Temple, in the middle of the remnants of... ἄσυλον. “Asulon.” She repeated the word that had sprang to her mind, the memory of something real. It had been the only fortress on the land- there had been undersea fortresses, and one or two in the sky mountains, but Asulon had been the home of Scylla, the only true neutral place on the planet.
Jada glared up the path defiantly, scowling. It was high, steep and treacherous, and she could almost feel like her planet was mocking her. And in her current mental state, she didn't much feel like being mocked. No, in fact- she was feeling downright hostile, at a planet. It took her 10 minutes to scramble up the path, but that was 10 minutes too much.
Impotent rage.
Hurt.
Not at her planet, but at her own uselessness. She could have money, she could have family, she could be in a foreign country, she could be buying shoes. Self-pity, dull as a spoon in her belly, scooping out her innards and exposing them to the world.There was nothing inside her that was particularly pretty. It was all ugly- jealousy, anger, hatred, blood and guts and gore, corrupt and ugly. She stumbled into the entry of the temple, eyes lighting on the mural crawling its way around one of the pillars- it was that scythe-armed thing she thought of as the devilfish. It was stalking something that looked like a Hammerhead shark- and in the next moral, as she passed those pillars by, the shark was ripped in half, it's head stuck on one long tooth, one half of the body on each scythe-like arm.
The rain made everything slick, and Scylla skipped over it easily, two women at her side, shooting down the cliffside towards the docks. Battle cries resonated from the beach- The nephelai leader was there, and the bear-king, both already covered in sticky green ichor. Scylla plunged forward into the water and roared. Her cry echoed across the waters, and something heaved; A shape was rising in the distance. It came speeding through the waves and she shifted her body, dropping into a stance.
The beast that met her was from a nightmare. Four tentacle-like limbs, tipped in spikes, and a mouth wider than Scylla was tall with teeth that were a foot long and eyes set wide apart. She screamed, and spun, and her sword flashed, and the creature was on the land, flying past her, finned tail sweeping rows through the soil and using its front limbs to drag its body towards the warriors. Blood poured from a gash in its nose; that must be what the bear-king was covered in. Scarlet lined some of the teeth, and a human arm was stuck between two teeth. The creature whirled, its body seemingly one long muscle, like a snake of earth. It coiled in on itself, rising up and its head flashing back towards the senshi. Out in the water there was another heave- and there was a thudding sound- audible, more than felt. Green ichor flew in an arc, and the bulky Nephelai queen wiped it from her face, the limb of the beast striking the ground next to her. It screamed, mouth moving for her, jaws closing.
She wasn't there, already moving out of range as Scylla ran up the beast's back- she had gotten there, somehow- and one of her daggers flashed, the devilfish losing an eye. Its scream was terrible, and it lifted its head. Another slender warrior, Kyma, her lover, harried its belly, sword flashing. monster cried, limbs flashing, and the woman was hewn in half, chocolate eyes wide with... The other eye went, just before Scylla was thrown from the creatures back, slim body arching in the air. She came down hard, sand flying, and she rolled out of it, sword and dagger already moving around her. It caught one of the scythe-like arms in mid-blow, and she stumbled back. The Haliai noble roared, and the creature screamed a reply. Scylla had her sword buried in its skull, and was riding it as it thrashed its way downward, flinging herself to the side and rolling across the sand as it fell backwards, and would have crushed her.
She stumbled against the pillar next to her, cursing. “You suck!” she told the mural, and stomped her way into the next room, dropping her bag of supplies on a table that had once been used to feast. Goblets and plates of precious and rare metals still sat on the table, waiting for their warriors to take their seats.
Andromache bent her head, kissing the young woman's brow.
“Stop it!” She pulled out the Cuervo, pouring a generous dollop into a goblet.
= - = - = - = - = -
“I h't'chu.” she told Andromache's bedframe, staring out the hole in the wall- was it a window? Or had there even been a wall in the first place? Or maybe she'd eaten it. The Cuervo was almost gone, and it was only the second night. Glowing blue paints streaked the walls, glowed over her own skin from when she'd decided to finger paint the walls. “Y'werra slav. Anyu gotta... gotta...”
Matera. It was a soft word, and Jada blinked. A little boy's voice. Matera, get up. Patera. Arms, around her. But no one was behind Jada, not even a flash of someone. Just the haunting little voice. She screamed, fury, throwing the remainder of the bottle of Cuervo at the wall- the wall that wasn't there. There was silence, then a faint tinkle, and the heiress crumpled, punching her hand against the frame of Andromache's bed. Patera, Matera, it is my birthday. Get up!
No one was there. No visuals, only a small voice telling her of a brief moment of happiness that had belonged to another life.
"Anyu got ever'thng."
It only took 20 minutes to make it to the edge of her family property, an Eternal senshi carrying a bulging bag of supplies. As always, she found her way into her father's study, avoiding the maid, locking the door and digging into the mahogany liquor cabinet. After review, she grabbed two bottles- Glenlivet, and a bottle of Cuervo's 1800. She would have taken the bottle of Dos Lunas Grand Reserve, but her dad had the key to that box. Those bottles topped off her bag and she plopped down in her father's leather chair. It took almost half an hour of meditation before she was calm enough, but she eventually felt the warm, loving pull of her homeworld.
She landed at the base of the path leading to the White Temple, in the middle of the remnants of... ἄσυλον. “Asulon.” She repeated the word that had sprang to her mind, the memory of something real. It had been the only fortress on the land- there had been undersea fortresses, and one or two in the sky mountains, but Asulon had been the home of Scylla, the only true neutral place on the planet.
Jada glared up the path defiantly, scowling. It was high, steep and treacherous, and she could almost feel like her planet was mocking her. And in her current mental state, she didn't much feel like being mocked. No, in fact- she was feeling downright hostile, at a planet. It took her 10 minutes to scramble up the path, but that was 10 minutes too much.
Impotent rage.
Hurt.
Not at her planet, but at her own uselessness. She could have money, she could have family, she could be in a foreign country, she could be buying shoes. Self-pity, dull as a spoon in her belly, scooping out her innards and exposing them to the world.There was nothing inside her that was particularly pretty. It was all ugly- jealousy, anger, hatred, blood and guts and gore, corrupt and ugly. She stumbled into the entry of the temple, eyes lighting on the mural crawling its way around one of the pillars- it was that scythe-armed thing she thought of as the devilfish. It was stalking something that looked like a Hammerhead shark- and in the next moral, as she passed those pillars by, the shark was ripped in half, it's head stuck on one long tooth, one half of the body on each scythe-like arm.
The rain made everything slick, and Scylla skipped over it easily, two women at her side, shooting down the cliffside towards the docks. Battle cries resonated from the beach- The nephelai leader was there, and the bear-king, both already covered in sticky green ichor. Scylla plunged forward into the water and roared. Her cry echoed across the waters, and something heaved; A shape was rising in the distance. It came speeding through the waves and she shifted her body, dropping into a stance.
The beast that met her was from a nightmare. Four tentacle-like limbs, tipped in spikes, and a mouth wider than Scylla was tall with teeth that were a foot long and eyes set wide apart. She screamed, and spun, and her sword flashed, and the creature was on the land, flying past her, finned tail sweeping rows through the soil and using its front limbs to drag its body towards the warriors. Blood poured from a gash in its nose; that must be what the bear-king was covered in. Scarlet lined some of the teeth, and a human arm was stuck between two teeth. The creature whirled, its body seemingly one long muscle, like a snake of earth. It coiled in on itself, rising up and its head flashing back towards the senshi. Out in the water there was another heave- and there was a thudding sound- audible, more than felt. Green ichor flew in an arc, and the bulky Nephelai queen wiped it from her face, the limb of the beast striking the ground next to her. It screamed, mouth moving for her, jaws closing.
She wasn't there, already moving out of range as Scylla ran up the beast's back- she had gotten there, somehow- and one of her daggers flashed, the devilfish losing an eye. Its scream was terrible, and it lifted its head. Another slender warrior, Kyma, her lover, harried its belly, sword flashing. monster cried, limbs flashing, and the woman was hewn in half, chocolate eyes wide with... The other eye went, just before Scylla was thrown from the creatures back, slim body arching in the air. She came down hard, sand flying, and she rolled out of it, sword and dagger already moving around her. It caught one of the scythe-like arms in mid-blow, and she stumbled back. The Haliai noble roared, and the creature screamed a reply. Scylla had her sword buried in its skull, and was riding it as it thrashed its way downward, flinging herself to the side and rolling across the sand as it fell backwards, and would have crushed her.
She stumbled against the pillar next to her, cursing. “You suck!” she told the mural, and stomped her way into the next room, dropping her bag of supplies on a table that had once been used to feast. Goblets and plates of precious and rare metals still sat on the table, waiting for their warriors to take their seats.
Andromache bent her head, kissing the young woman's brow.
“Stop it!” She pulled out the Cuervo, pouring a generous dollop into a goblet.
= - = - = - = - = -
“I h't'chu.” she told Andromache's bedframe, staring out the hole in the wall- was it a window? Or had there even been a wall in the first place? Or maybe she'd eaten it. The Cuervo was almost gone, and it was only the second night. Glowing blue paints streaked the walls, glowed over her own skin from when she'd decided to finger paint the walls. “Y'werra slav. Anyu gotta... gotta...”
Matera. It was a soft word, and Jada blinked. A little boy's voice. Matera, get up. Patera. Arms, around her. But no one was behind Jada, not even a flash of someone. Just the haunting little voice. She screamed, fury, throwing the remainder of the bottle of Cuervo at the wall- the wall that wasn't there. There was silence, then a faint tinkle, and the heiress crumpled, punching her hand against the frame of Andromache's bed. Patera, Matera, it is my birthday. Get up!
No one was there. No visuals, only a small voice telling her of a brief moment of happiness that had belonged to another life.
"Anyu got ever'thng."
