Aisling"We're away from that monster! We're free! How did you do that Orion?"
The wind felt so surreal as she raced through the daisies, her footfalls both solid and steady as if she was one with the earth. Every step made her heart pound with exhilaration. Her hair flicked back and forth behind her like wings, as if she was soaring through the beautiful azure sky stretching out before her. She couldn't suppress a whimsical giggle. This was her favorite, her absolute favorite! If only Orion would join her, why was he standing there so sullenly? "Sorry Orion, I was just so happy I wasn't paying much attention! What did you say?"
"I'm taking them Azzie, promise not to scream too much okay~?"
In a single moment, her bliss was taken from her. The earth raced up at her and she fell to the ground, her body convulsing uncontrollably before she realized what had happened. She felt her chest constrict as she let out a scream, her throat becoming raw from pure agony. Yet, she couldn't stop. Or perhaps, it was because she wasn't in control of whether she screamed or not? Did her body even belong to her anymore? She couldn't tell, but everything seemed like it was always this way. Dark, shivering, shaking, screaming, writhing, hot and then cold in a seamless pattern. Then, abruptly, there was nothing, and that was the best part. She had quickly learned to cherish the feeling of nothing. This was her new bliss, comforting and numbing. She could feel herself letting go, letting go of all of it.
And then he had to go and ruin everything.
AZALEA CROWE, DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME. YOU PROMISED!
She took a choking, shuddering breath as she gasped for air. Amber eyes went this way and that as she searched for what had her so panicked. Orion's face was above her own, his red eyes looking like twin harvest moons in his pale face, and he was clenching his oddly spiked teeth as if he was angry. Her head was laying in his lap, she realized. But why? "What happened, Orion? Are you okay?" Was what she meant to say, but it came out in a hoarse whisper that she could barely understand, but Orion's teeth un-clenched. He had understood her. "Hmph! Of course I'm okay, you silly human. We traded, and I must say you received a very generous gift from me. Much better than what I got." His boyish voice wavered ever so slightly into his deeper one.
'What does he mean, traded? Oh... the "Pact" thing, right? It was important, I guess.' She hadn't thought much about it since they had managed to escape the spider and it's nest of icky-ness, but he had said something about how he needed her most precious thing. "Well, I guess we're even-stevens now." She chuckled as a smile blossomed across her face. She was glad, she hated owing people anything. "Umm, do you even realize? Ahaha! No matter, I'll write some instructions down for you, 'cus I feel sorta bad for sending you out without any training wheels, okay?" Orion returned her smile with his own and began tracing his finger through the air in-between them. Glowing runes shone and disappeared in sequence, fading into her forehead. She swallowed, trying to wet her throat before she spoke again. Why was it so sore? "Woah, what?! Is that really magic? I know I just saw the world's biggest arachnid like a second ago, but that still kinda wigs me out y'know?" Her eyes followed the runes as he kept tracing them.
She heard Orion chuckle in response, but something felt off. Instructions, training wheels? 'Did he give me a magic bike or something?' It was the only thing that made sense to her. Maybe it could outrace that spider. That'd be pretty awesome. She could probably get out of here, get Orion back to his parents, and go home pretty easily on one of those, if My Neighbor Totoro was any guide to go by. "Alright, Azzie, I'm done! When you activate it, you'll know how it kinda works alright? I couldn't transfer it's full power to you, you slipped too far and cut off the connection, but you'll learn how to make this version work. I trust you." Orion clapped his hands together, then bent down to look directly into her eyes. His own glittered, except not with happiness... He had the same look as the spider who was about to descend upon it's prey. "You'll be mad at first, Azzie. I can't change that, but you'll forgive me 'cus we're lovers now." Before she could respond, he brushed his lips against her own and promptly shattered into a thousand specks of light.
Her head hit the ground with a solid thump, shaking her out of whatever stupor he might have left her in. Her face felt flushed, but above all she was genuinely confused. He disappeared! Why would she be angry with him? Everything that happened left more unanswered questions. She couldn't stay here laying on the ground helplessly though. She had to find Orion, wherever he had gone. She pushed herself up using her hands, and then everything made just a little more sense.
Every bit of flesh past her knees was gone. Blood spattered and pooled across the daisies where her legs should have been. Here, one of her shoes was sitting in the middle of the puddle, there the other was nearly blood free and sitting a good five feet away. She wasn't bleeding now though, as some invisible force had staunched the flows beneath slick barriers and dulled the pain. "This... this can't..." She reached forward with her hands, splashing them down into the puddles of blood. Her... blood. Without meaning to, her mind began to stitch together the bigger picture as she remembered things Orion had said, things she should have been paying attention to.
"Things here can hurt you, so you gotta be smart. Quick."
"If you don't, we'll both be alone. We'll both die. You don't want that, do you Azzie? After all, you promised to protect me."
"We traded, and I must say you received a very generous gift from me. Much better than what I got."
"I couldn't transfer it's full power to you, you slipped too far and cut off the connection, but you'll learn how to make this version work. I trust you."
"You'll be mad at first, Azzie. I can't change that, but you'll forgive me 'cus we're lovers now."
"I'm taking them Azzie, promise not to scream too much okay~?"
Bile rose in her throat, cascading waves of emotion surged in her. Indignation? Betrayal? Hurt? Disbelief? The one that finally won was rage. Pure. Unbridled. Rage. At herself, at Orion, at whatever this was. A Nightmare? How come it felt so real then? She slammed her fists down, causing blood to splash across her as she let out a roar.