Inner Demon
#3 of One-shots
A bit existentialist, but eh, who cares? Certainly not me.
'What is this place?'
An unending field of dead grass stretched out as far as the horizon. East, West, North, and South, it stretched, and potentially further.
In the distance, he heard laughter mixed with howls. However, he felt like it came from all around, and it chilled him to the bone.
He heard soft and rapid impacts coming. Or was it going? When he felt an immense force push him to the ground, Skyclaw only reacted enough to not having his muzzle smack against the dirt and grass. When the pressure got off of his back, with a growl, no less, Skyclaw stood.
And what he saw was nearly beyond his explanation.
A male wolf-like fur was crouched in front of him, wearing nothing more than a loincloth. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, his coat nearly black with orange stripes and markings almost.....
The markings are in the exact same place as Skyclaw's own!
The eyes were black on the outside, grey circle with a white slit. The pattern on the imposter's chest was green, with maroon insignia that translated to "chaotic." Due to his own irregular chestfur pattern, he learnt the language of it so that he could understand it. And thank the Great Fur for that.
"Who are you?!" Skyclaw barked, although he had a sneaking suspicion of what this creature is.
"I am you, yet not. Everything you don't stand for, yet do," the creature cryptically said, beginning to circle Skyclaw.
The orange with black tiger-wolf began to circle in the same direction of the other, keeping it in the centre of his sights.
"Doesn't tell me anything. Don't beat around the bloody bush, and tell it to me straight!"
It laughed, sounding like the mad supervillains from those cartoons he watched as a pupten.
"I am you, but the mere opposite as well. Your shattered dreams, your suppressed desires, and your darkest emotions. I am the call to the wild that burns within you, who's flame you keep snuffing out."
'A little bit clearer, but still as vague as Nostradamus,' Skyclaw thought.
"What do you want?" Skyclaw asked, emphasising each word with anger to the point of rage-inducing.
The thing laughed once again. "I want you. Your body to take over, your life to ruin, and your very civilised soul to burn as you did to this wild spirit."
It lunged at him, sharp teeth bared and claws extended, which glinted in the lightless space. Skyclaw ducked underneath the leap, curling his paws into fists.
'It'd better not rip my shirt. If so, I hope it has a damn good dentist.'
Skyclaw turned to the thing, seeing it land amidst the dead scene on all fours. It twisted as fast as he did, snarling and growling like a feral would.
It's claws dug deep into the dirt, and the thing began to sprint towards Skyclaw on all fours. Skyclaw jumped before the thing could reach him, and began to spin in midair. When he began to fall again, Skyclaw readied a punch, which only ended up with him missing the thing and punching the ground.
'That was an odd sound for dirt to make,' Skyclaw thought. 'Sounded like a pane of glass cracking.'
"I see you deny the gifts that nature gave you," it said, finishing with an insane laugh.
"And become you? Not in your most sensible dreams, mate," Skyclaw responded, using some of that Australian wit to his liking. He even cracked a smirk, one that he hasn't done in a long time.
"A coward for not using everything to your advantage."
"A wuss for not challenging yourself."
The two charged, the thing on all fours again and Skyclaw on two. It leapt up, claws at the ready, but Skyclaw matched it enough to get them into a clash, paw locked against paw. Skyclaw struggled to keep up the strength needed to keep it back, while it had no trouble pushing against him. It leant into their struggle, leering into Skyclaw's eyes as a hunter would to prey and sneering at the potential smell of premature victory.
"All those times you've been sullen, all those times a dream of yours shattered before your very eyes, those lovers that left you and left you wanting nothing else anymore other than your own self pity and rage, all fuel me." It jeered, while Skyclaw could only glare back in anger.
"And what have you got to strengthen you? Passion? Your drive to achieve just a single goal for once? Your shaky confidence, despite the many times that has been the root cause for disaster?"
Skyclaw felt his knees buckle as his strength began to wear down more and more. It loomed over him, white fangs and slits, and orange markings all over a black figure. His paws kept giving way to its own, eventually with Skyclaw's own being right beside his muzzle.
It flicked out a digit, the claw atop scratching deep into his muzzle, causing Skyclaw to flinch away. It leant in further, their noses almost touching.
White slits.
Orange markings.
Chaotic.
"Do you remember Adrienne? I do. Such a lovely girl. Shame about those hearts, though. That regret and sullenness that you felt for weeks afterwards, only fuelled me ever onwards," it continued to jab. "Face it. You are weak, weaker than the wild that ever beckons you."
Skyclaw could only growl. /No one/ would dare screw with his memories of Adrienne. As much as she did to hurt him, he couldn't bare to do anymore harm to her ever again. He felt his strength return, pushing back up to his feet.
Anger? He didn't feel it at all. Pain? Again, didn't feel it.
Then what was it that drove him so?
The two eventually switched positions, with Skyclaw looming over it. Instead of making its mistake of jeering, Skyclaw merely kneed it upside the muzzle, making it fall back onto the grass and dirt.
Guessing that whatever was underneath the dirt could break completely, he began to stomp hard beside its head.
One crack.
It began to whimper.
Two cracks.
It tried to reason with him.
Three cracks.
It began to sob.
Upon hearing the sobbing, Skyclaw stopped his footpaw at its highest point, placing it down gently.
'Is this.....?' he thought to himself.
Skyclaw knelt down beside it. Upon merely touching its shoulder, it jerked away.
That's when he felt himself somehow...... reconnecting with something. It was partial, but it seemed to be there and he definitely felt it.
He went up to it, and pulled it into a hug. It tried to fight back, trying to rent his arms apart, trying to push away. However, all that happened was for Skyclaw to hug tighter. A blinding light enveloped the two as Skyclaw felt a full reconnect happen within his mind.
[C]~ ~ ~
Skyclaw woke up in his own home. Looks like he just passed out on the couch.
At least it was clean.
But, by the Great Fur, did his neck and tail hurt. What did he do?
'Was it all a dream? Felt real, though.'
Skyclaw absentmindedly itched at the side of his muzzle, but pain snapped his mind back to attention. He looked at the paw that he used to itch it, the tips a shade of red against the green pawpads.
Skyclaw ran to the bathroom and looked into the mirror.
The scratch was there.
'So it wasn't a dream after all.'