6 Chapter 6

R H O E

The two chiropteras are back… foolish, foolish males. They think to take my female from me? Think to tear her from my arms and steal her away to their nest? They are, indeed, foolish. Fatally so.

"Ursidae," one of them hisses in the common language. The sound of membranous wings rustling meets my ears, as does the scratch of claws against stone.

I stand up, laying my female directly behind me. They will not reach her. They will have to kill me first. A wicked grin swipes across my face, baring my teeth. Their grubby little paws will never get close to her. If they so much as lay a hand on her soft, pale flesh, that will be the last thing they will ever do. Crouching low, balancing on the balls of my feet, my mating call booms loud and clear. They will not miss it, my claim on her.

"You fools have permission to enter my cave, if that is what you are seeking. I will warn you though, neither of you will leave of your own volition…" The warning is hot in the air, heavy and pulsing. The males outside the cave exchange a series of clicks, their fur no doubt bristling in poorly-concealed alarm.

Yes… They should be cautious.

A shadow moves over the entrance and lingers. The male is large, his folded wings rising high above his head. In the shadows, he is pure darkness… his fur melting into a black against the sunlight flooding in behind him. His hands clench into fists at his sides. "You have no right to a female, ursidae. We heard her screams. We smell her sickness! Hand her over to worthy males; you are young and naive, you have no right stealing a female."

My fur bristles at his words, lips pulling back to expose canines. They think me to be a cub? High on instincts, impulsive, and single-minded? The mating call is drowned beneath the growls radiating in my chest, my very damn soul. I will show them rash…

"I have already warned you both. Neither of you will get another warning. Turn back and leave us be. Find another female to claim." It was a snarl, one that bounced from wall to wall.

At my heels, my mate whimpered. It was a small, near silent sound… but a sound of distress nonetheless.

Every drop of blood within my body screamed at me to comfort her, to sink to my knees and hold her close to my chest. The urge to hold her, skin to skin, rode me hard. Perhaps if she felt my heartbeat, it would prove to her that she was not alone? That she had a soul that was pining for her; one that yearned to take away all her pain and hardships, if only she would allow him to do so?

I wheeled on the males that dared to interrupt my time with her. They will bleed for this! They will hurt and beg for mercy, but I will grant them no such thing.

"Come and try to take her from me, you rotting fools!" A roar, an acceptance to the challenge they proposed.

The males swept into the little cave, chests swelling with their angry breaths, wings fluttering in anticipation, claws curling. Two pairs of violet eyes landed on me, then swept past and down to stare at the bundled female at my feet. One of the males, a large chiroptera with reddish-brown fur and a pale stomach, cocked his head. His nostrils flared once, then twice.

I was bigger than them, but they were leaner. The already small cave felt like a tiny hole now. It was not big enough for three mature terran males and the female they were fighting over… But, for once, the cave's small size benefitted me. I did not have huge wings to worry about. I was massive, granted, but their wings scraped against the ceiling of the cave, the spined tips brushing the stone floor with every breath. And, if those chiropteras were anything like raptidae terrans… I just needed to sink my claws into those wings; so much as brushing a finger against the membrane-like skin would bring them to their knees. If I impaled my claws on those wings and… slashed sideways? They would never bother a male and his mate again. Of that I was sure.

Sinking into a low crouch once again, I spread my arms wide. Another sneering grin curved my face. "What are you two waiting for? You want to steal my female, correct? She is right here, you guano."

The slightly smaller male, a woolly brownish-grey, shifted on his feet, his nose twitching. He glanced at his pair-bonded male, rounded ears flicking back. Clicks rumbled in his chest, left to be unanswered. At my rumble of amusement, he returned his attention to me; violet eyes never straying far from my own amber ones, not even straying when another whimper crawled past my mate's lips.

My claws sliced into my palms at the sound. She had to hold on a little bit longer… just long enough for me to scare away these males. Then I could hold her, wrap around her and hold tight. Just a few seconds longer!

Waiting, waiting, waiting. I stared at the winged males, expecting them to lurch forward and latch onto my hide with razor-sharp canines and claws. But they stood silent, violet eyes completely and utterly confused.

The chiropteras seemed to be… hesitant? But they were not wary of me, at least not primarily. Their flat noses flared with every inhale, the thick fur around their throats, shoulders, and upper chests bristling with unease. Their large wings, so crammed in the very little space the cave provided, fluttered.

As if shaking himself from the haze that had settled over his eyes, the reddish-brown male took a step forward, sinking low. His pointed ears flicked back against his skull, violet eyes glowing in the low light. He was a mere shadow, nothing more than a creature of the night. The chiroptera male stared at me. I stared back.

But he did not lunge. He just stayed in a low crouch, ears swiveling this way and that. After a quick glance to his pairbonded male, he turned to me with narrowed eyes. "She is an odd creature, is she not, ursidae?"

His pairbonded lurched forward, eyes flaring wide in horror at his crude words, "Vyctor!"

She is an odd creature…

What the rot did he just say about my female?!

My muscles seized, twitching and trembling beneath my fur. Claws dug into the stone, scoring five white lines along the ancient surface at my paws. It would be the males' flesh my claws would be scoring soon… and the one called Vyctor would receive the worst of it for his words alone. And his sacred wings? Those leaf-thin, membranous wings that permitted him mastery of the night?

My hands fisted at my sides. Yes… He would receive no mercy. No one, and I mean no one, insults my female. And they thought to steal her away from me as well? And then insult her to my face?

Rotting fools.

Despite his pairbonded's furious clicks and rustling wings, Vyctor ignores him. He takes a step forward, baring his teeth at me. Prominent, razor-sharp teeth flash in the light, the canines long and dagger-like. Chiropteras have a horrible bite, as their teeth were designed to sink in deep and hold tight. No amount of thrashing will dislodge their bite… I grin.

Yes. Let them sink their little teeth into my hide; it leaves their precious wings vulnerable.

Vyctor draws closer, and I fight back another grin. He sinks lower, his body practically humming with anticipation, tension. Any second now... "Has her mating scent clogged your nose, ursidae? You do not smell it?"

I cock my head at his words. They are just empty words, dropping from his deceitful lips to distract me. My eyes slash over to the smaller male, and narrow as he edges around me to strike from behind.

Ah. Similar to canidae, the creatures of the night are cooperative. Cunning, and dependent on social bonds to navigate difficult situations such as this. While ursidae-- and many other solitary creatures-- depend on personal strength, experience, and skill to defend what is theirs, chiropteras are one of the few races that operate in pairs. Like a singular mind, they seem to know what the other is thinking, seem to know the other's direction, even before it is put into action. It is something that I will never understand, but I begrudgingly respect it regardless.

The chiropteras may be smaller than me, but their ferocity could not be ignored. There was a reason why most sane terrans hid in dens and caves when the sun died and gave life to the moon. There was simply no way to get an upperhand when the night-dwellers spread their wings and took to the starry skies.

But it was not dark out right now...

Another grin split my face. They were foolish, desperate males, letting their cocks muddle their better judgement. All they saw was an unmated female; all they smelled was her unclaimed womb; all they could focus on was the fact that the need to breed, to possess, was an insistent clench in their gut. Foolish, foolish males.

The smile on my lips sharpened like a dagger; its blade constructed of teeth and its pommel made of lethal promises.

My eyes narrowed on Vyctor's wings as he lunged.

G R A C E

I was running through a market, weaving through the tightly packed bodies like a weasel. Behind me, in the deep boom of a voice sounded, rising above the congested murmurs of merchants, traders, and hagglers.

"Get back here, girl!" The pot-bellied man roared. People cursed at him as he shoved them aside with swipes of his massive hands. But he didn't care. His only focus was on the young girl that had just stolen jewelry from right under his nose. "Stop!"

I didn't stop. I wouldn't stop, especially not when I had a fist-full of necklaces and rings. Even now, as I darted through the thickest crowds of the market, I could feel the beads and stones biting into my fingers. My heart pounded, slamming against aching ribs.

Not much longer… I was almost out. The forest was just twenty feet away, arms spread wide in welcome. I may be faster and smaller than the merchant chasing after me, but in a crowded place such as this, he had the advantage. When people were in his way, he physically moved them. In fact, with a quick glance over my shoulder, I could see fallen people struggling to their feet behind the huffing man. While I, on the other hand, was as thin as a reed. It took precious time to avoid slamming into others… Time that would be made up once I hit the forest.

The forest was my domain. It had always been.

Fifteen feet. Ten! The trees were practically looming over me now.

"Stop her!" He howled. People shrieked; clop of hooves.

Seven feet! Six!

I grinned, my stomach clenching… So, so close now! I could already taste the food the jewellery would trade for… Bread, soups, stews, carrots…!

Pumping my arms and legs harder, faster, I looked over my shoulder one last time. The merchant was about ten feet away, glaring at me as he bent over, hands on his knees, in an attempt to catch his breath.

Ah, yes. I could already taste the stew… Potatoes, bits of beef, carrots! It'd be a great meal for a cold autumn's night-

Something unmoving and so, so much larger than myself slammed into my side. I was suddenly airborne, lungs empty of air and limbs flailing.

Colliding with the earth, I was a useless heap on the ground. My lungs constricted, my throat closing on nothing at all. I couldn't breathe! Rolling to my side, fingers clawing at the dirt, the desperation to fill an empty chest rode me hard. Darkness wavered at the edges of my vision, looming over me just as the trees did.

A shadow moved over me. Snorting, gnashing teeth, pawing hooves. It blocked the sunlight, the sky.

Oh gods!

I gasped, finally finding the strength to refill my aching lungs. A deep belly laugh sounded from the merchant just feet away, nothing more than a mosquito's hum in my ears.

"We meet again, Grace Hoge." The high guard leaned to the side, staring down at my pathetic existence with an unreadable, shadowed face. His mount tossed its head, pawed at the ground again.

Even despite the shadows concealing his face, I knew that Mason had to be grinning down at me; his eyes utterly and completely...

Dead.

I choked on a gasp, pulling myself backward, grappling at cold earth in desperation. Deprived of air, my lungs screamed and screamed. A heave wracked my frame, causing me to shudder head to toe. My stomach sucked in, concaving beneath ribs that were too sharp, too prominent. I couldn't breathe; couldn't expand my chest. My heart stuttered in my chest and blackness swarmed my vision. Air, air I needed! I needed air; and needed it now!

Fingers I vaguely recognized to be my own clawed at my throat and mouth, nails biting deep. Blood poured freely, causing the looming equi to gnash its teeth.

Screaming, screaming, screaming I was; but hear it I could not. Nothing graced my ears, just endless, deafening silence as Mason dismounted and advanced. He knelt beside me, armor blazing in the light of the sun. The metal glinted and winked as brightly as the blade strapped to his hip. Then, before I could even blink, his hand shot out and latched onto my ankle; his grip so strong that the scarred knuckles turned a pasty white…

But the white of his knuckles was nothing compared to the white hot pain that flashed through my very being. It seared up from my ankle and clawed at bone and muscle. There wasn't an inch of me that it didn't slice through. As if miles away, a dark chuckle sounded as claws bit into my flesh, sinking all the way down to the bone.

Darkness was rising up to claim me now. My body went lax, hands falling away from my throat to lay limp at my aching sides. Darkness, so much darkness now. The once blue sky faded into an ugly, dreary grey, so lifeless and hopeless. I sighed once, a ragged exhale that sliced through all of my ribs.

Then the ground ripped out from under me and I was falling. Down and down I plummeted through the earth, but I couldn't move. Wouldn't move. The endless void of death surrounded me on all sides, rising high above me within the blink of an eye.

I was going to Hell. There would be no saving me from my sins. I only prayed that the gods overseeing my punishment would understand... But it was no secret that the gods were merciless; cruel even. They treated even the best of mortals with indifference… Me? I was no "good" mortal. I was a thief; stealing from others for as long as I could care to remember. I was also an orphan, abandoned by a prostitute mother I could scarcely remember… Left to fester in an orphanage overseen by strict, cold nuns, before running away and taking to the streets at the ripe age of twelve.

There would be no mercy for me.

After all, no one ever truly cared about me; not truly. My mother was always too busy chasing the next fix and spreading her legs; the nuns, although kind, were always too detached to fill the motherly role so many orphans craved; and the only person who ever cared about me, or at least I thought had… She was long gone now. But I suppose that was my fault too.

If none of them cared, there was no way in Hell the gods would; no way in Hell anyone ever would.