It happened in a flurry. One moment she was staring at the form of her partner somehow distorting before her. The next she was pinned down in an iron grip, clawed hands pressing her into the bed hard enough that she couldn’t even squirm, tails lashed like serpents and fangs snapped near her throat.
“You’re the prey!”
Seeing fangs lunge at her neck, she couldn’t scream, couldn’t even make a sound. Her throat was paralysed in fear, death flashing before her eyes. All she could do was rely on the one thing that had kept her alive for so many years.
Instinct.
With a yell, she bucked her hips upwards, knocking the creature off balance long enough for her to gain control of her legs and with one loud scream, she lashed out. Her foot connected and the creature roared.
…….
Rodessa didn’t even wait to see what became of the creature as it crashed off the bed to the ground in a flurry of fur and toppling side cabinets, instead diving for the pillow to grab her guns.
Her hands snatched at air.
Nothing. No gun. She was unarmed. The monster was snarling. It was coming and she had no weapon.
Don’t panic, move!
Seeing the creature shift, amber eyes glinting and shadows thrashing as it righted itself, Rodessa snatched up the blankets, tossing them at the creatures head as it lunged, tangling it in cloth as Rodessa threw herself off the bed, rolling to her feet and bolted for the door, thudding against it as she scrambled for the lock, hearing the tear of sheets ripping behind her.
Cursing herself, she grabbed the lamp from the side and hurled it at the creature, hearing the ceramic smash as she finally managed to turn the lock and throw the door open, yanking it behind her as she bolted, her footsteps hounded by the sound of something colliding with where she had been moments before.
Not about to stop to see if that had been enough to keep it from coming after her, she flew down the corridor that stretched out before her, almost impossibly far as she heard the sound of wood splintering, crashing as it bounced from the walls echoing around her as if she was standing right beside it. Then there was heat, almost scorching from behind, the darkness alight with a haunting blue, throwing shadows up like clawing wraiths reaching out towards her with burning claws. With a yell, she ducked and ran towards the stairs. Close, so close, right by the window. The window with golden eyes glaring inside and white, blade like teeth opening wide, lunging towards her.
She hit the wall, pushing herself away and jumped the stairs several at a time as glass shattered behind her, shards flying passed her face, nicking at her skin, but she ignored it as she jumped the last half of the stairs, landing in a crouch before turning it into a roll, back onto her feet and running, grabbing decorative statues and sideboards as she did, sending them crashing behind her to block the creature that even now was hunting her, the blue lights still closing in, the guttural growls of a creature ready to sink its fangs into her throat.
The corridors twisted, forked like a maze, but she didn’t have time to think as she threw herself into another room, Slamming the door behind her. Panting for breath, she looked around wildly for anywhere to hide, any kind of weapon, finally landing on a large wardrobe that she darted inside, burying herself back into the coats and pressing herself against the back as she pulled it closed, just in time for the door to slam open. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she forced herself to still, not to make a sound. If she screamed, if she even breathed too loud, it would find her. Even now, it might find her if it looked hard enough. Her free hand felt back against the wardrobe, trying to see if there was anything close to her legs she could use as a weapon - wait, a hilt?
As the sound of something began to prowl the room, Rodessa glanced down, her eyes barely able to see in the darkness of the enclosed space, but she could see just enough to note what her hand had grasped. It looked like some kind of...bat? Baseball? It was hard enough and weirdly enough that if she swung it with all her might it could probably cave in a human skull. But would it be enough to smash the creatures.
The creature that had Huxian’s face?
She bit her lip, trying not to suck in a breath in realisation. Whether or not that was him or….or something that could change it’s shape, it had been years since she had even been able to think of actually harming him in any way bar jokingly. Could she knowingly send the bat crashing into his face, knowing she could possibly kill him?
Was it even him?
The sounds of clicking claws and growling snuffling stopped, before the sound of something slunk back out of the room once more, crunching through the debris of the door as it left, along with the swell of heat that it brought.
Rodessa didn’t move, didn’t dare to breathe. Was it a feint? She’d done something like that before with targets. Making them feel safe before taking them out while their guard was down. So she stayed, hears pricking for any sound, anything at all.
Minutes passed.
Nothing.
Finally, she let herself take a shaky breath. It might not be there for now, but it could come back. She needed to get out of this place, find Violet, maybe even that stupid priestess and screw everything. She hadn’t signed up to the FBI for this shit!
However, just as she was about to open the door, something shifted behind her and, with a yelp, she fell back onto the….stone ground?
Blinking, she tilted her head back to find a tunnel, leading from the back of the wardrobe, and the air that was wafting from it was fresh. Fresh and absolutely freezing against her bare skin.
A way out. One that would bypass the creature stalking the halls.
...Convenient. Weirdly so.
Yet she found herself incapable of questioning it as she grabbed one of the long coats from the wardrobe hanger, wrapping it around her naked body before she made her way into the passage, her hand pressed against the wall as she followed the passage down, down, down….
And suddenly, white.
Wincing, Rodessa shielded her eyes, trying to blink out the tears at the brightness in order to make out what was before her. She was...outside. Great. Only….where was she? It wasn’t anywhere near the hotel. In fact, when she looked around, the tunnel she had come through was…
“Gone…?”
Shaken, Rodessa whipped around, trying to figure out what on earth just happened, where on earth was she.
Am I even on earth?!
The thought was bizarre, but at the same time, it wasn’t entirely foreign. Wherever she was didn’t feel….real, not in the way things had been before. The colours seemed...washed out, as if she had suddenly stepped into a watercoloured painting that had come to life. She was standing in the middle of what looked like some kind of woodland, trees swaying in a gentle breeze, a gently fluttering of early blossoms dancing through the air. As she followed her gaze upwards, she could see some kind of mountain range that definitely hadn’t been anywhere near the hotel she was staying at. There were no buildings around that she could see, bar one. A single house, two stories, strangely grand for being in, seemingly, the middle of nowhere.
Yet….do I….know this place…?
Rodessa took a step forwards, transfixed, only to jump at the sound of a voice. She couldn’t hear the words, but that was definitely a human voice.
Tearing her eyes away from the house and pulling the coat closer around herself, she quickly jogged in the direction of the voice, hoping that she could figure out what on earth was going on. Finally, breath coming out in sharp gasps, she leaned against a tree to suck air into her lungs, when she heard the voice again. A strangely familiar voice. This time, she could hear words.
“...scared me,” the voice was saying, with a strange tenderness to it. “I didn’t think I’d ever be able to find you when you ran off like that.”
“Kiddy…” Another voice, watery, as if holding back tears spoke up, this one young, much, much younger.
Carefully, Rodessa peered around the trees. There was a figure there, an adult with long flowing white hair and clothes that she couldn’t quite place, but had the like of look one might see from an old style painting, oriental in nature. But what stood out the most was tails. Nine tails. And, poking from silvery hair was pointed vulpine ears.
Panicking, she looked around for the source of the other voice (a child, oh god!) but she could only see a glimpse through the undergrowth, face obscured by the bows of the trees, though she could hear the sound of the...girl? Sniffing, as if trying to stem tears.
She tried to yell, to warn the girl, but it was as if she was paralysed. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t even move, could only watch in horror at what she knew was going to happen.
“You...you were a scary, kiddy....” The girl whispered. “You were so scary.” her head tilted, Rodessa couldn’t even make out her chin any longer as she looked up at the face of the creature that had hunted her. “Are you gonna make me red too. Are are you-”
Strangely, rather than the vicious look, or even a triumphant smirk, the creature looked stricken, ears folding back and tails practically trailing to the ground. “W-what…?” The voice….god, it sounded like Huxian. Like Huxian on those days that he seemed so distant, that it seemed nothing could keep his attention to the now. Or those days when they came across the body of someone with particular features and his tone would become thick with grief.
“No...pup, no…” The creature knelt down, reaching out towards the girl, only to flinch back, as if scared to touch her. He hid his clawed hands away, shaking his head. “You….you never have anything to fear from me,” he said finally, instead of his hands, one of his tails, white as his hair except for one strange hint of darkness at its tip unfurled, brushing the girl’s face with a tenderness that belayed everything else about it, those inhuman golden eyes filled with an infinite sorrow, yet deepest affection. “Little one...I will never, ever hurt you. You have my word. I could never make you ‘turn red’.” a sad smile crossed his face. “I’m afraid I dislike the colour. You look much better the colours you are.”
Her head tilted down to nuzzle against the fur of the tail. As she did so, Rodessa could see the smile at her lips, shaky, yet it wasn’t a fearful smile. Rather sad, as if she wanted to cry. Cry for the creature before her. Slowly, she stepped forwards into the fur, cradling it against her as if it was a pet as she closed the distance. One arm still wrapped around the tail, she reached out to take the creature…..man’s hand in hers, so much larger, rougher than hers, claws in the place of human nails, yet she held it without fear, bringing it up to her cheek.
“Kitty,” she crooned softly. “Your hands’re so warm...so strong…”
The large hand was practically limp in her grasp, as if scared that pulling away would upset her, the yellow eyes wide, and his face transfixed as the girl obviously looked up to meet his gaze.
“You’re meant to protect, not harm,” she continued. “You’re a good boy. And good boys don’t kill ‘less it’s a reeeeeally good reason to, right?” She tilts her head, both innocently, yet pointedly, wrinkling her nose a little, as if it wasn’t exactly what she wanted to say, but didn’t know any better words. Finally, her cheeks puffed out with a huff, obviously unable to think of anything else. Finally, letting out the air from her mouth, she perked, before an almost cheeky grin crossed her face.
“Iiiiif you give me kisses, I’ll forgive you!”
The creature….man...Huxian blinked, before suddenly curling forwards slightly, a spluttering breaking from his lips as he tried not to outright laugh at the girl’s bold request. With a free hand, he wiped his eyes of mirthful tears.
“That easy, huh?” he teased.
The cheeks puffed again before the girl jumped forwards into his arms. “KISS!!!”
With a laugh, Huxian caught the girl, the wide sleeves making her seemed half buried in cloth as she fell back in a flurry of fur, hair and laughter to bright that it made Rodessa’s heart race. Had she ever heard Huxian laugh so freely, even if, at that moment, he somehow had furry auditions. He looked so happy….So happy…
Why….why did it feel she was seeing this wrong….from the wrong angle? She….shouldn’t she be…?
Reaching out, she stumbled from her hiding place, reaching out towards the happy, cute interactions, but they seemed distant, so far away-
A sharp hand, stronger than any humans, clamped onto her shoulders and her heart almost stopped as warm breath danced over her neck as lips brushed near her ear.
“Come on…” the voice was Huxian’s. There was still that edge of a growl to it, but it wasn’t vicious, only like a throat that was more used to sounds that a human couldn’t create under a tone of gentleness. “We shouldn’t linger…”
And then, they weren’t. It was as if what was before them swallowed up into light that grew brighter and brighter until it was blinding and then finally, it faded, dispersed, leaving her blinking, once again in the lamp-lit room of the hotel, gentle hands on her shoulders, the same hands as the one that the girl had cradled in the….vision.
Gasping, she pulled away, whipping around, clutching the coat close to her as she looked up at Huxian’s face, still marked in an inhuman way - amber eyes with pupils that were more oblong than circular, hair the colour of white gold, fox-like ears perched on his head that pricked up at her movement. The flicker of tails behind him. The hint of fangs when he opened his mouth to speak.
She didn’t let him, questions tumbling from her mouth like a flood, stumbling over each other in their rush to make themselves heard.
“What are you-? Who-? Are you-? And that girl-?!”
Huxian stepped forwards, pressing a finger to her lips. She froze, half expecting the claw to nick skin, but the brush of it against her nose made her realise that the claw was closer to a dog’s talon than a cat’s claw, smooth, strong, yet blunt. It would only do damage if he really wanted to.
Eyes wide, she flicked them back to Huxian’s face once again, meeting his eyes, eyes so different from the Hazel ones she knew so well, yet there was something unspeakably Huxian about them that she couldn’t help but listen.
“What I am…” he said softly, earnestly, “Is someone who would never hurt you, no matter how it might look, no matter what it might seem. I will never hurt you. That’s all you need to know.”
“Then why…?” Rodessa tried again. “Why all this? What you did before? That chase?”
His ears drooped a little - funny, how Huxian could sometimes be unreadable to her, yet those ears were practically like a Huxian mood indicator - his lips a sad smile as he reached out. She stiffened, but his hand merely brushed her cheek.
“I wanted to help you, the only way that I could,” he admitted quietly. “If I had more time, it would have been different, so much different….but….” His eyes closed, expression pained for a moment before he forced himself to meet her eyes once again, as if knowing that she would be searching his gaze for any hint of a lie. “Roza...the missions you’re on now are simply an introduction to a world that you have not been able to know. While it is true that Pandora will be monitoring you and will jump in if things get too complicated...the mystic world is not somewhere that one can ever be complacent. One wrong move, one misjudgment, and it will swallow you whole. If you are too eager to brush things off as it being a coincidence or purely mundane, and you get caught off guard….”
He bit his lip, fangs digging a little into his skin, before he forced himself onward.
“Roza, I want to protect you. But we’re so far from each other. This is all I could do...to help prepare you….so you can protect yourself where I cannot.”
His thumb brushed against her cheek gently. “I’m sorry,” he crooned mournfully. “I’m so sorry that I scared you. I never, ever, wanted you to look at me in such fear...I’m so sorry, Roza…”
It felt like her heart had been twisted. The remorse in that soft voice...It matched so many quiet memories of the man that meant so much to her. So much so that whatever lingering fear she had crumbled, leaving only the need to comfort.
Subconsciously, she cupped her hand over his, nuzzling into it. It felt familiar. A little rough, calluses in places that she knew should be there, yet….it was as the little one had said, his hands were warm...so warm. Comforting. Strong.
It could be a trap, she reminded herself. He said it himself. But….it didn’t feel like a trap, or a ploy to get her to lower her guard, even when she tried to suspect it. And if it was….it….no, his face, the one that matched Huxian’s, it was sincere.
Her instinct told her that the foxlike man was speaking no lies to her.
Maybe it was some kind of phantom, nightmare or twisted delusion, but...she didn’t think she could disagree with her instinct. And she couldn’t bring herself to feel mad. Not when his voice seemed moments from cracking and tainted with unshed tears.
Looking up at him, even with those other exotic features, it felt like her Hue was looking back at her.
Damn him….
She should be afraid. He hunted her down, after all, frightened her to death, but she couldn’t feel scared. What did she feel from him? A protector? The child’s protector?
Heh….that fit. It always seemed like that from the moment she met him. He had always watched out for her, like a guardian angel (imp?) whether on missions or in their day to day lives. And even in this strange form, it still felt as though that same Huxian was watching over her, ready to protect her once again.
“I….forgive-” she started, before cutting herself off. It would be easy to forgive him. So easy. But if she did it just like that, she’d never find out if this Huxian who looked crossed with a beast was her Huxian. Frowning, she grasped her courage. “No. Tell me this, first. Who are you, really? Are you my Hue? Or are you some….twisted, beautiful rendition of my affection made up in my mind to accept this hocus pocus crap? I’m scared, and you….with you….you’re frightening. Beautiful, but frightening....yet….” she stepped forward, her fingers dancing over his face, wanting to touch, yet afraid what would happen if she did. “Why does it seem like you belong to me?” she whispered. “I don’t know...that dream within a dream….fleeting...like a faded memory from a dream….Why? Why does it feel so foreign, and yet so nostalgic? I don’t….I...it’s like I can almost remem-”
“Don’t.”
Huxian grasped her shoulder, shaking his head sadly.
“It’s not….not yet time,” he whispered, handing his head, ears drooped, as if it pained him to even suggest it. Breath shaky, he leaned forwards, his forehead resting against hers. I’m sorry. But I….no matter how I look, I’ll always be the Huxian you know. I’ll always be...your Hue…”
His eyes looked so sad….above all, they were filled with a kind of longing that she couldn’t quite describe. If this really was her Huxian, like he said...like she was beginning to believe then her first instinct, as always, was to help him, to rid that pain inducing look from his eyes.
“You’re hurting,” she murmured, reaching his face once again. “I...I want to…”
Slowly, slowly, she finally crossed that last distance and her fingers brushed against his skin. He didn’t poof into smoke, disintegrate or fade away. Instead, her fingers touched familiar warm skin. As she did, his hand shifted, the bad of his thumb brushing across her lips, his eyes fixed upon them. She had an idea what he was silently asking for.
“Is that what you need?” she asked. “Will it help for now?”
He moved closer, his lips ghosting against hers. “To be close to you,” he breathed, “Is everything that I could need...Roza…”
She barely needed to shift to close that final distance, even as she felt the fur of his tails curl around her, not like a trap, but a warm embrace, as if Huxian was all around her. She fell against him.
“Hue…”
And nothing more needed to be said. Their lips were too occupied to form any more words.
Time seemed to blur as she felt herself lifted into strong arm and moved onto the bed, gently laying her back onto it. She shivered ever so slightly, though whether it was from the coat falling open once again, or the feeling of Huxian’s heated skin pressed against hers...it was strange, to feel both a rush of adrenaline that was certainly not fear, yet the deep, warm, comfortable heat that made her want to relax and drift, like a warm bath after a long hard day. She whimpered. She didn’t want to go to sleep, not in the middle of trying to soothe him, but he hushed softly, nuzzling his cheek against hers, kissing her gently as he murmured sweet nothings to her, even as her consciousness finally gave out and she felt herself drift off into slumber, surrounded by his caring, gentle embrace.
It was only once he knew that she was fast asleep that Huxian rolled over to lay next to her, his face resting on the pillow, watching his partner as she slept, a faint frown crossing his face.
“Familiar...huh….” Sighing, he closed his eyes. If she felt that what she saw was familiar, even if just like the memory of a dream, then that had to mean that the seal in her left eye wasn’t as strong as it used to be.
“That seems to be the case,” hummed a familiar voice. Huxian didn’t even bother to look up, knowing that he wouldn’t see anything. The Goddess didn’t need to be within the room or in a dream physically to get across her desires. “If things go the way they are now, we’ll have….oh….maybe a few months until it breaks fully.”
Fully breaks….Huxian cradled the sleeping girl close, a strange, eclectic mix of feelings rushing through him. Should he feel happy? Scared? What would happen once the seal broke. Would she even survive the change? Would she remember everything? If she didn’t, would he be able to handle seeing a past version of her that didn’t recall any of what he knew that form of her should know. And if she did remember everything…
What would happen to the Rodessa of now?
Dammit….
“Well, as much as I hate to say it…” Venus said finally. “But this is all the time we could afford you here. Hope you managed to do what you needed, cause time’s up, little bro.”
Blinking, Huxian sat up, opening his mouth to respond-
Only to find himself blinking, back in his own room once again. Gone was any hint of the dreamscape - he was awake once again. Rodessa was nowhere to be seen.
Not nowhere, Huxian reminded himself, rubbing a hand over his face, the tiredness that had been removed from him for the purpose of the dreamscape crashing back down onto him like a punishment. She’s just in her hotel room in Izumo...At least, I hope she is…
But after the revelation of the seal...he couldn’t be sure.
Ignoring the fact it was a ridiculous thing to do, to use his power when he was already draining it so the barrier would remain up, he swiped a hand through the air, leaving sparks of blue to shimmer and shift as they formed into a kind of hand mirror, which he lifted to his face. However, rather than see his own face, he instead saw into the hotel room that he knew Rodessa was last to reside and….he let out a breath in a rush. There she was, curled up, fast asleep. She was fine. Safe….at least for now.
Only for now…
Three months, he reminded himself. I have three months. I need to crush this menace on my territory in three months.
Ignoring his weariness, Huxian pushed himself from the bed, grabbing his clothes and was about to grab his communicator from the sideboard when his eyes landed on a strangely decorative pouch. Blinking, he picked it up and opened the silken drawstring, tipping a few of the contents into his hand.
Pills. Peach pills. And a note in a decorative hand.
Use them well. You will need them,
Parame
Before he could think, could do anything else, there was a knock on the door, causing him to jump, scrambling to tip the pills back into the pouch and draw the string closed.
“Yes?” he demanded.
“Forgive the interruption, Agent Yin,” said the voice of what he recognised to be one of his underlings. “We came to inform you - the reinforcements from Pandora. They’re here.”
And just on time.
“Excellent.”
[END]
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