The Display
#1 of Stories
**_The Display
By: Ainoko Ironrose_**
"Sssshhhhhhh!" Said a soft voice from the darkness; from amid the soft padding of bare paws.
"No, you hush!" Said another voice.
"No you!" Followed another, and another, and yet another.
"QUIET!" The first voice hissed loudly from the darkness, "If we get caught this time we'll have to start from the beginning with the beginners."
Just as the voice finished speaking, the darkness vanished as the large room suddenly filled with a rich, warm, golden light revealing numerous cubs frozen in midstep.
"Well, well, well..." Said a large female dragon as she stepped from around a large, stone obelisk, grinning mischievously. "What have we here? Cubs breaking curfew, sneaking into the hall of judgement, up to only the gods know what."
Immediately the cubs began to proclaim their innocence, claiming that they were forced to come, they were dared to, I was following so and so, etc. "SILENCE!" Roared the dragoness angrily. "I don't care to hear any excuses or lies you want to tell me to avoid getting sent back to the start of your training, all I want to know is what and why you all felt that breaking curfew and coming here was worth the risk."
"H-h-headmistress." A small pup stuttered confidently. "If we are to advance to the next part of our training, we felt that it was only right to observe what happens to those that come here to learn their fate. I, I mean we, will keep on doing this until you and the other teachers allow us to do so."
"It seems that we misjudged the lot of you." The dragoness said with a soft chuckle. "You cubs may observe one of the proceedings that are going on in few moments, be sure to remember what happens as there wil-"
Just then the great hall gave a mighty shake as a soul wrenching wail reverberated off the walls. The cubs cowered in fright as the dragoness roared in a fit of rage. "NO! I will not let these cubs sit in on this particular judgement. I won't allow it!"
Suddenly the dragoness calmed down before looking at the cubs. "You will remain here until I return." At that she ran off towards a door the cubs never seen before.
"I wonder what happened?" a small doe said tentatively, afraid to speak above a whisper. "As long as we have been here, I have never felt or heard anything like this, and it scares me."
"It scares me too." Cried a small kit with its tail tucked between its legs and ears laid flat in fright. "I think that this is something that we aren't ready for this."
"Hush." Said the pup, hugging the kit tightly. "We are more than ready for this. The headmistress knows it. Whatever just happened, is something that we are going to have to observe, ready or not. Agreed?"
Soft cheers answered his statement letting him know that he was right about his friends.
"Look!" Cried the little doe as a crystal box slowly filled with a bright, golden light, before quickly fading, revealing a strange creature.
"Who is she?" A kitten asked softly. "She's beautiful! I have never seen a creature like her before."
"Quiet Felton." The pup said urgently. "Look at the crystal. She left too early, her judgement has already been made."
"What do you mean, Jorge?" The doe asked.
"Shal, she took the long walk. She, she, she did what I did long ago." Jorge said softly, as tears streamed down his muzzle. Look, I didn't want you all to know the real reason why I was here. We all came here because our lives ended too early. Shal, you were killed by a lion before you had a chance to live life. Felton, your brother took your life after he took your innocence by force so that no one would learn about his crime. Neesa, you fell from a tree into a deep hole, never to be seen again. Socar, you came here through no fault of your own. As for me, I drank poison to escape the horrid conditions I was made to live in. This girl left her path when she had everything going for her. Her spirit is destined for someplace less pleasant than here."
Suddenly, Socar grabbed a hammer off one of the statues next to where they were standing and ran to the crystal box, where he began hammering the box trying to break it open.
"Socar what are you doing?" Shouted Jorge in surprise.
"Jorge I won't let her go there." The rabbit grunted between swings. "If you were given a second chance, why not her? She deserves one just as much as you do, it is only right."
"He's right you know." Said Neesa as her, Felton and Shal picked up hammers and joined their friend in chipping away at the box, digging out chunks of crystal. "It would not be right for her to go down there without getting a chance to earn another shot at redemption."
Picking up the one remaining hammer, Jorge began delivering hard blows to the box, sending large chips flying in all directions.
"You're right. It would only be fair if she could redeem herself, if not, then I will take her place so she can go on."
A blinding white light exploded from the crystal box just as Jorge completed his sentence, freeing the young hybrid from within.
"W-w-where am I?" She asked weakly, looking around at the five cubs.
"You are in the Hall of Judgement. I am Jorge, this is Felton, Neesa, Shal, and Socar." He said as he pointed to each one in turn. "You are here because you decided to leave your path before you were supposed to."
"I know." The brown and black furred girl said. "I was hurting deep inside and I chose to leave on my terms. I couldn't take it anymore. I know where I am going, I welcome it as I don't deserve anything else."
"You are wrong you know." Said a deep, soft and commanding voice from behind the cubs, making all of them jump and yelp in fright. "Bree, Jorge here saved you from something far worse than eternal punishment. You would have been sent down into the belly of the beast, never to be free again for violating your spirit the way you did. The cubs here were going to be sent back into limbo for disobeying the rules set down for guardian angels in training."
Turning around, they saw not only the dragoness, but four of the high ranking angels looking down at them with small smiles.
"Jorge, the actions of you and your fellow cubs have saved you from going back to the beginning. As it is, you all will be advancing to the next level of your training. Bree, unfortunately you can't stay here. That means you are getting sent back to the mortal plane until it is your proper time."
"But..."
"Bree, you aren't going back to your old body." One of the angels said. "You are going back as a hybrid feral. Just to let you know, your new life won't be easy as you will be a one of a kind species. But you will have five guardian angels at your side in times of great need to help you make it through. Sleep, and when the next time you wake, you will be in your new body."
At that, the emale hybrid drifted into a deep sleep, as a new crystal box formed around her body.
"Jorge, Shal, Felton, Socar, and Neesa, you are going to be Bree's guardians when she returns to the mortal plane. For now, she is going to be on display here in the hall of judgement until your training is complete. Study and train hard cubs, as this will be a new start for all of you."
At that the angels and their headmistress vanished as quietly as they appeared.
"Let's get back to the dorm." Jorge said softly as he watched the crystal box pulse softly in time to their heartbeats before leading his pack out of the hall. "I have a feeling that things are going to get very interesting soon."
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This both a Thursday Prompt and a short tribute to Aheria Please, I want no one to spam this with posts about how you suspect that she might be faking her death. I will block anyone who starts trolling me, my commenter s or this submission (this goes for everyone). Please be respectful and keep all comments related to the story. Thanks you.
Bree (C) Aheria