Broodmother
#1 of Short Stories
Didn't mean for that to turn into a short story, but that was basically my thought process while drawing this.
Oh look, I tried drawing a decent background again. Turned out bad, as always. Shrug
So...here we see a new queen in her nest with her brood. Mimeck queens are especially protective and aggressive during this time when their brood are still eggs, so it is very unwise to approach one during this time. Chance are, you're going to regret it, if you live to tell the tale, that is.
Promises self to stop drawing Mimecks. Draws more anyway, oops.
Mimecks are a semi-open species of my own creation.
You, a would-be adventurer decided to explore a a cave deep in a forest that had long been forbidden to the other townsfolk after hearing a rumor about a creature that devoured its prey and took on their appearance and even their voice afterwards. Of course, anyone would want to see if those rumors were true about such a creature - there were shape-shifting animals out there, but one that was said to be sentient enough to be capable of speech? You couldn't deny that you were intrigued. That and you couldn't deny that bringing in the creature - dead or alive - would fetch quite the coin, as well as putting your name amongst the big leagues.
Despite your better judgement, you explore and manage to find the cave, entering before your conscious could even attempt to convince you otherwise. The cave was dark and had a stench of decay, the very air seemed to be still and tense but you pressed on anyway despite feeling and seeing the warning signs. You light a torch halfway in as you stray further and further from the outside world, and from sunlight. You release a breath as a chill suddenly goes down your spine, but you're too stubborn to turn back now.
You soon reach the inner sanctum of the cave, your torch illuminating a sizeably large chamber. However, before you could get a good look around, you hear smething that makes your blood run cold.
A low growl emanates through the chamber, instinctively you tun your torch towards the direction of the noise. You then find the source, and your breath hitch. You stare back into the multicolored irises of a reptilian with oily dark scales. You don't see any remarkable features on it other than their eyes, smooth skin and dark teeth. They're clutching something against their chest, and you notice that the creature is surrounded by a clutch of those same objects.
Eggs.
It was then you realize your mistake - you foolishly stumbled into the creature's nest. This was a mother, and you were the intruder who so brazenly entered her territory.
The growling gets louder as the creature rises to her feet, and you can see she was at least seven to eight feet in height, easily towering over you. However, you sense the immediate danger and turn on your heel, bolting it back to cave's entrance. You hear the mother-creature release a hiss and s shrill as it gives chase, you can hear its claws scratching against the floor and walls of the cave as she thunders after you. You yell out in terror as you through down your torch to hopefully strike the creature,but it only hits against the wall uselessly before the fire is put out, and you are now running blind as you threw away your only light source.
Fortunately, the cave was only a single tunnel and you soon spot the light of the outside world just ahead of you. You were almost there! You were going to make it! Just a little further--!
Something barrels into you from behind, sending you spirling into a stalagmite. The force of the hit knocks the wind out of you and you hear something crack, which you would soon realize is your rip breaking upon impact. You gasp as sharp pains drum through your chest and you slide to the ground. With the remainder of your strenght you manage to turn, only to see the mother-creature stood over you, her blazing eyes boring into your soul.
You whimper as you try to scurry back, but its to no avail. The mother growls again before she lunges, your agonizing and blood-curdling screams are the last anyone would be able to hear from you before your remains are found days later.
Never invade a Mimeck nest. There's no guarantee you'll make it back out alive.