[TW] Madness is the gift

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

The bloodlust was like a living thing. It was more than an itch, more than a mere prickle of the skin. Like a seething fury without release it ebbed and flowed, enveloped the mind and grew a little more each day. Making her irritable. Changing her preference in the food she ate, the clothes she could stand to wear, the people she suffered to keep in her presence. Far more profound than any monthly cycles she had ever experienced, Maea felt very much like a teenager again when it came to the bloodlust, just as petulant and enraged at being enslaved to the urges of her body with no say in the matter. Dangerous, if left too long. Dangerous for those around her. The risk to herself... was more psychological.

Did others of her kind enjoy this? The need to hunt and kill, the urge to tear into anything that moved, sink her fangs in and rip, tear, make the crimson spill out until it covered her hands and dripped from her lips, coating her tongue with the taste of hot, tangy metal..? No? Yes? She could imagine that some would delight in the act. Certainly there was a darkness within herself that was more than capable of getting used to it, and she sensed it for a slippery slope into debauchery, a quick path down into madness as alluring as the call of the void. And yet there was no choice in the matter. Either hunt or return to stone.

What a harsh mistress the goddess was. Perhaps they might get along splendidly, once the young Ancient learned to enjoy the thrill of the hunt. She had always preferred the dark, anyway. Death, and the things that went bump in the night. How far of a leap was it to become one of them?

Prowling the Outer Brambles as twilight settled over the landscape, Maea had yielded enough to the needs that sang in her blood to shift. The tiger cared less than the human; felt not so much guilt about the little fires it left in its wake, nor did it wax poetics about the sanctity of life, and all that. It knew only hunger, and scaled the steep hillside to taste the wind for a suitable meal. The more vigorous the better.

But no humans. That part of her remained rock solid in its conviction. Reason still remained - at least for now.

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

She’d survived the trek to Halo, thanks to the jacket Deimos had made and the little ring of fire he kept around her to keep her from turning to stone. But gods it had taken so much out of her – her exhaustion and frustration, the itch and need for food to sate her, blood and iron and the sweet slick heat of it that confounded every moment of every waking minute. But unlike Maea, Kiada has no qualms with the idea of it – finding it cumbersome to remember to delve out into the wilds for a hunt when all she wanted to do was lay in bed all day.

That’s certainly on the agenda for after this. And a long hot shower, of course. But to go from being unable to eat and sleep and fuck, to being able to do all three with this little caveat, well, the Ancient is more than willing to accept the idea of it. Even if it was likely to put crimps in her plans.

She wanders the Outer Brambles, not in a tiger shift as Maea does, but as the lial made of dark volcanic rock, with speed and supercharged heat and a long mouth set with many, many teeth, ready and aimed for the striking, slinking through the underbrush to try and seek out the deer she’s certain linger in these parts.

And with it, the Harpy continues to wander, to slink and drift, bright blue eyes dulled by the need of the hunt, sharp with focus to scout out anything that moves.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

The air was rich with scents, many still unknown to the Ancient who still had much to learn of what it meant to be shifted. Some things came for free, others had to be learned. Dry earth and wilting grass she knew, and the dust blowing in the evening breeze tasted just the same, gritty between the teeth. These things belonged to the season. Of far more interest was an aroma of soot and ash that she usually would associate with wildfires. But since no light was on the horizon and no rumors had reached her of anything burning in the vicinity, Maea's curiosity was piqued. Fire could mean a campfire, or a hazard brewing that required attention - or, it might be another Ancient.

Descending the hill, the tiger eased into a steady jog that engulfed the grassland beneath her paws. Savoring the strength and lightness of her stride in this form, she slowed only when the woodlands rose up to meet her and she could slip in beneath the shadow of arching canopies. The air was closer here, quieter and full of conflicting messages. She struggled to tell the difference between rabbit trails and squirrels, lingered over a tree stub where wolves had marked their territory, and made a wide berth around an area where a skunk had defended itself against some poor sod with bad taste in dinner. The temptation was there to follow all of them, explore the tracks and read traces of their comings and goings in a way that had been impossible as a human. Yet despite the hunger, that burned scent kept pulling at her. So she kept going.

Winding through the underbrush, shimmering with light and heat in the darkness, she was brought to a sudden halt by a rustle in the dry mulch. Something was moving up ahead, something big and heavy, that altered the temperature of the air. Sensitive whiskers picked up on minute changes in air pressure, estimating that the thing had to be at least as long as herself, if not bigger.

Crouching low, with the thick tail twitching back and forth in unbridled excitement, Maea inched forward. Prowling, more to see what this thing was than with any real intent to strike. Her stride was silent, remarkably so considering her size - until a dry twig suddenly snapped beneath her inexperienced paw, with a crack that ricocheted between the trees.

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

There is no scent of a deer that captures her attention, but there is the sense of something large – not the deer that she’d been hoping for, so the lial slinks further into the brush and shrubs, bright eyes peeled for any sign of movement or changes in the ground beneath her. She doesn’t spot the tiger visually, of course, but she does hear the twig snap, and with it the large reptile is on the hunt.

Her body is made of blackened volcanic rock, little streams of orange and reds burning through the cracks in her appearance. And a speed unlike any others, has her barreling through the brush directly toward that molten tiger, that only has her letting up the second she aims for superheating her body as she tries to smother it.

And why? Despite the bloodlust, she’s aware enough to know that molten tigers aren’t usually in the Grounds.

So despite the fact she’s smacked directly into the feline, the crocodilian creature slinks back quickly, pressing down into the brush with sharp teeth and a mouth partially ajar, head swung to the side to get a better view of the tiger as if in confusion.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

The tiger leaped high with startled yoel when the reptile came barging at it. Swatting at it with heavy paws, her claws slipped on the creatures tough hide and for a moment Maea thought they would fight. But when she backed off, the crocodile didn't follow. It only looked her up, solidifying the notion in her mind that this creature did not belong in the Grounds. Ancient, then? Or perhaps attuned - either way, it landed them firmly in the 'people' category, to her relief.

Approaching more slowly, the molten tiger extended a cautious nose to sniff at the red-hot person. Having never seen a lial before, the inspection could have gone on for a good while. But the wind changed, and over the scent of hot air and ash and reptile came a whiff of something else. Furred and fearful and with a tang of blood that had her salivating - an injured deer, perhaps? Startled by the ruccous of the predatory encounters, and now trying to slip away unnoticed.

Tigers normally hunted alone. But since reason remained, Maea remembered enough courtesy to throw a glance at the other predator; silent query in her golden eyes, and a pregnant pause when she turned into the wind. Together?

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

The tiger doesn’t attack either, and it only draws further confusion from the volcanic crocodile, her head tilting slightly as she takes in the air of the other. She remains still as the tiger approaches, as the scent is lifted and she in turn tries to guestimate what exactly she’d encountered, before the only thing that makes sense is another ancient.

Luckily it doesn’t take her long to get past the confusion, the flare of greed for her blood lust at the forefront of her mind when the shift occurs in the sounds of leaves moving, the scent of iron on the air. She captures the tiger’s golden eyes, a silent agreement. Together. But she didn’t intend on waiting for the tigress to catch up, not as she starts hauling herself through the brush toward the scent, guided by the speed of this shift and darkening the greenery beneath her as her stomach glows with extreme heat, searching, hunting.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

Never knowing the closeness of the Attuned bond, Maea felt the moment of quiet understanding between two predators as something profound, a closeness without words she had scarcely experienced with another person. Humans talked too much, lost themselves in words and forgot the fundamentals. It would be easy to remain in the tiger, forgetting all else to the colorful scents in the wind and never reach for anything else. Why the Attuned ever changed back was more than she understood - and it was a mystery to ponder later.

For now, she was being left behind. The burning crocodile shuffled off into the underbrush with a scorched trail left in its wake and Maea had to decide fast how to help in the hunt. On quieter feet she chose to angle away from the lial's path, off to the left. Creeping stealthily through the woodlands she sought to cut off the deer's path in one direction, and with some luck and skill they might be able to corner the prey against some denser brush or other natural obstacle. Now that the hunt was on the hunger rose like a tidal wave within; all other thoughts shrank away, and though there was a brief stab of concern... Maea bravely let herself be taken over by it. Letting go, giving in - the hardest thing she knew.

Time ceased to matter. There was only the night and the forest, the prey and the other Ancient, moving separately yet joined under a common purpose. When a dell appeared ahead of them, the molten tiger made a sudden rush toward the deer, that sent it careening down into the narrow gulley. As it burst from the bramble she could see it properly for the first time; limping with one leg torn from viscious thorns, it was a young doe, nearly fully grown.

Plenty of meat for the two of them.

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

In a way, the two hunters start to herd the deer through the woods, following in a way to guide it into a natural corner, giving it a moment of thought to think that it might get out of it. Of course, as it breaks into the clearing and Kiada’s hunger grows, the warmth of her blood stinging within her not unlike the way she practically melts a trail into the undergrowth beneath her, she sees the limp and the blood torn.

It only takes another heartbeat before the Lial is launching at it, using that super speed to tackle the doe in a way to allow it to fall, large and sharp toothed mouth aiming for the creature’s throat. She misses the first time, her jaw clacking together in a booming echo that reverberates through the trees, before she flicks her tail, aiming for that wounded leg, spinning enough to actually land her teeth into its throat. And it begins to thrash, leaving an opportunity for Maea to aim for the hind quarters to fully get the doe down.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

The Molten Tiger was a white blur in the darkness, a swift death in motion. And the girl within it knew only hunger and bloodlust in that moment, as she leaped for the rear end of the deer and sank her sharp talons into its skin. Red seeped through the puncture wounds, soaking into white fit, spilling onto the ground when the force and weight of the tiger wrestled the creature down and held it fast.

The doe let out an awful sound, pain and terror lamenting its violent demise - but in that moment, Maea knew it as a victory song, goosebump inducing, a dinner bugle announcing that dinner was served. Before the prey was even properly dead she was tearing at the tough hide with her teeth, ripping open skin and flesh to expose quivering muscle.

And so the feast began. Of flesh and blood, hastily devoured in ravenous swallows - quickly, before the lial could snatch it away and keep it for itself.

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

Luckily for them, there’s enough of the doe for the two of them – and while Maea tackles the hind end and begins to tear the meat from the doe’s bones, Kiada’s wholly content on tearing the meat from the doe’s throat and chest. Her large jaws tearing and pulling, swallowing it easily, blood smattering along scales that seem to smoke and glimmer from the blackened, ashy scales.

If Maea gets too close to her side, Kiada would rumble a deep hissing sound, but as it stands the two of them work in tandem, sating that blood lust, letting it fully sink into their souls, soothing the temper that had bloomed after so many days and weeks of staving it off.

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

With every ravenous swallow of meat, the itch beneath her skin subsided. Keeping away from the lial's part of the carcass, the molten tiger gradually slowed its feeding in pace with the swelling of her sides and before long, not much was left of the deer.

Gorged, and with sanity returning like the slow rise up through murky water, the younger Ancient tugged and yanked at a hind leg until it came clean off the hip socket. With only a flick of the long tail in well wishes to the red-hot crocodile, she began to drag the morsel off into the woodland, to finish her meal more in private where she could think in peace,and reflect on the events of the night. She should be proud of herself; this had been a very good hunt, and no danger to anyone but the deer, and the blood on her hands could be washed off... or not. Perhaps it was another thing to acclimatize herself to, given the nature of their Goddess.

Later she would regret not staying to learn more about the other Ancient, but comforted herself with the thought that there would be other chances. How many Ancient were there in the Grounds now? Surely not so many that they wouldn't run into one another again.

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney

this is your sport

but she's not playing a game

They make quick work of the doe, and despite the inherent instincts the lial offers, Kiada’s aware enough that the other is likely an Ancient as well rather than an attuned – with how ravenous the tiger had gone after the doe alongside her. She can’t seem to figure out who, though, so she focuses instead on satisfying the blood lust, letting her mind and body indulge in it to stave it off just a bit longer.

All growls and temper aside, Kiada remains by the deer while Maea takes the hind leg away, iceberg eyes flickering to watch briefly before she devours what more of it she can and departs, the crocodilian creature caving little paths through the underbrush to head home and take a shower to clean up all the blood.

- FIN <3

do not think you are safe because you love her

do not think she won't stain her mouth red with your blood too

KIADA