In The Night
#3 of Literature
A little bit I wrote about the lioness character Holo I use. Comments are appreciated!
_Run as fast as you'd like...you will never escape us... _
_ Holo did just that. That's all she'd known how to do for as long as she could remember. Tears soaked into her blood-stained fur as she bolted through the valley. The valley she had once called her home, now painted with the blood of her family and friends, their bodies scattered across the ground. She had to escape. She knew that for certain. In the midst of thinking, her paw caught on something, causing her to tumble to the ground. She looked up and had to bite down hard on her lower lip to keep herself from screaming.
"M-mother...?" Holo stammered, looking down at the bloody lioness. She nudged the body with her paw, but didn't bother examining it further. Her mother was dead and she knew it. Everyone was dead. She had to get away.
With freshly hot tears stinging at her eyes, Holo began to run again, not bothering to look anywhere but ahead of her. Panting softly, she made her way out of her family's pride lands and into the rainforest surrounding the area. She'd never been into this part of the territory, but she didn't care where she was, as long as it was away from the death. After a while, she collapsed beside a small spring, the water crystal clear and giving off a faint blue light. Somehow, Holo felt as if the water were attracting her, pulling her toward it. Mesmerized, she weakly stood and padded slowly to the pool's edge, leaning forward to look at her reflection rippling back at her. Her ears folded back as she stared at herself, her eyes red with crying, her fur stained with the blood of her loved ones. Growling under her breath, she swiped her paw through the water, distoring her relection. Why hadn't she been able to help them? If she were more of a fighter, she could have stood a chance at protecting everyone. But instead she had wondered off and by the time she had returned...No. She couldn't think about that. What mattered now was escape. Her eyes scanned the water, searching hopefully for a fish or two. Instead, her gaze locked on a gem, shining bright blue in the currents.
"What the-..." Holo wadded slowly into the water and picked up the gem in her paw, noticing it was connected to a long, thin piece of leather, making it a tribal necklace. Holo's eyes went wide with wonder. She'd never seen something so beautiful. She'd see the healers in her pride wear necklaces and things for warding off spirits, but nothing this beautiful. She slipped the necklace around her neck and a pulse went through her body. She felt as if...as if the water was calling to her...she had always felt strange around water. Whenever in its presence she felt safer...stronger. Once when she was younger she had made the water in the river by her den bend at her will. Maybe now she could do it again...Holo closed her eyes and concentrated, raising her paw. As she had hoped, the water lifted from the spring and moved as she moved, gracefully through the air. She felt herself smile a bit, the only light in the forest being the glow of her necklace. She played in the water a bit before she heard a low growl and a rustle behind her...
Holo woke with a start, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. It took her a few moments to realize she was in a den, her friends sleeping peacefully beside her. It had all been a nightmare. Sighing softly, she rested her head on her paws. Every night since that day that seemed so long ago, she would have the same nightmare over and over. She wasn't sure what scared her more. The darkness in the forest or the darkness clouding her mind. Gazing down at her necklace, she let out another sleepy sigh. She needed to find out what had happened to her family. She also needed to find out who exactly she was. For some reason, the details in her nightmare were the only things she could remember about her life before meeting Keahi. She needed to find out. But she wasn't alone anymore. She had friends that cared for her. She just needed to figure out how exactly to tell them...but she would worry about that another time. Curling up between her friends, Holo fell back into a deep sleep._