It took until the night sky exploded with colour for death's grip to loosen on Pretzel and Bee once more.
They glowed with health, thanks to the abundance of food around our new nesting grounds.
Pretzel hated the deer. She turned her nose up at the stringy rabbit too, and was far too old to be sustained on smaller birds. She did like fish from the river though. And even though it took hours of me standing in the waters to wait for them to edge closer, i still caught them for her to enjoy.
She loved the cooked food the family had every night too. The smell pulled at my senses and made me want to investigate the frying meat and its perfect layering of sweet sauce or fragrant herbs. Even the sound of the boiling vegetables was enough to make me take notice of what i was denying myself.
I resisted the temptation, for the family. There was no point in planting rules when they could be broken so easily. I couldn't risk it all just for the taste of a hot meal.
Pretzel was hard to snap from the temptation when it was in each breath we took and displayed in the open windows to the kitchen table. The family wanted us to come to them and discard the line. They deliberately made it hard by leaving out food just on the other side of it as offerings, or by letting their dopey dog out to run about.
It didn't understand boundaries and lopped itself straight over my line to sniffle at the flowers or come and investigate where we were. It reeked of the humans, but i couldn't fault it. It was their pet and didn't know any better. That melting hunk of fur was the most gentle and kind creature belonging to a human that i had experienced. Pretzel loved dogs, but she was absolutely infatuated with Butter.
Butter helped her in ways I couldn't. When she didn't want to face us, that silent, slobbering dog was her comfort. And when she was lonely, Butter was there to understand her tears in a way I couldn't express.
She still loved us, but she needed someone who understood her.
I hated to admit it, but I could feel Pretzel slipping further from us and closer to that line.
And when she regained her energy to chase Butter through the flowers, I saw that human I had fallen in love with. Pretzel was just like that human; troublesome and always planning something behind those giggles and smiles.
That human... she had been important to me, but I still couldn't find who she was. I know it all started in this flower field, but with who?
I had a whole new focus now. I couldn't be chasing ghosts when I had my life here.
Bee was my other half. She was the most resilient and caring demon I knew. I would be lost without her or our daughter.
It was all perfect. Sometimes, I kept waiting for the horrible surprise to rear it's ugly head and destroy my fantasy, but it never came.
The skies exploded, and nothing collapsed.
I watched the falling spirits with Bee from our nest of flowers. Her head rested on me as we both looked to the skies above and watched the fall of more lives into this cruel world waiting for them. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oKGvMUGaa
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Pretzel watched from the boundary with Conner, each on thier own sides of the line.
I had been with Bee and Pretzel now for my first year. Spring had escaped us and our plans for a family by now, since the effects of the past still had been gripping them then.
But it was summer now, and all the spirits were aligned to a bright future.
We couldn't wait any longer. We had to seize the opportunity while we had the chance.
So, with the spirits raining from above and the explosions fizzling out, I decided to take that leap.
I felt the electricity course through me at the decision. My heart pounded at the excitement of it all, and my senses all honed in on everything that was Bee. Anything else was a cloud of metal and fire that fouled the air.
I wanted to woo her before I took the plunge. That tiny sliver of humanity had the decency to not take advantage of her like a wild animal would.
I wanted to boast about my resilience to her under the spirits. To keep her eyes on me, and only me. I wanted to impress her and convince her that I was the right choice she had made in giving up everything to join me in our journey together.
I had no idea what to do. The beast inside pushed for me to lay it all out in a wonderous display of power.
"What are you doing?" Bee chuckled when I stepped out from our nest and walked out towards the field.
I felt so nervous. It was going to be all or nothing now.
Would she reject me after everything we had been through together? Maybe a new mate would swoop in to take my place if she saw how unsure I was in this.
"I'm winning you over" I lifted my head up and strutted with my wings held out wide.
I heard Bee laugh.
"After all this time?" she smiled at me, watching me turn and strutt back the other way "by all means, I won't stop you."
She liked what she was seeing. The confidence boost pumped up my feathers that frizzled outwards when she left the nest to approach me.
"My lady" I bowed to her elaborately, smiling.
"How kind of you" she chuckled and bowed back in the same way "shall I show you what you want?"
She did what I had, strutting along before me with the wings outwards. When she returned, her beak snapped at mine briefly.
"How do I know you can fly properly?" she teased when she circled me "you could be all show and no go."
"Is that so?" I chuckled at her.
I leapt into the air to hover there. She watched from the ground as I climbed higher, waiting until I was several feet up to finally twist her way up through the air to me.
We circled each other there. I took in all of Bee's beauty now that I had the chance to. With us alternating trips, I hadn't had the time to really admire Bee in flight.
She was so powerful with each stroke of her wings. Her body obeyed her every command and adjusted accordingly. She was glowing with health that rippled over her body I stared at.
Forgotten feelings stirred in me, and I didn't try to hide them. I felt them jolt and tug at me, wanting to break free.
I had only felt this burning for River when I was still a barely mutated demon. He woke things in me that were emerging now for this georgous demon I wanted to be my mate.
Bee's eyes travelled downwards, and mine followed with surprise at the protrusion that had slipped its way from inside me.
The loss of my humanity hadn't destroyed everything after all. It really did enhance all the things that mattered.
"If you want me that bad, you'll have to catch me" Bee teased.
She took off, and I sped after her in the thrill of the hunt.
She dodged my grab at her and laughed when she spiraled down towards the flower field before leveling out and heading for the trees.
I felt the flowers swipe at my body when I veered up after her and made another swipe at her tail. Her face smirked back at me then disappeared downwards again towards the ground.
I followed, landing in the deer fields that the animals scattered from.
Bee giggled from behind the trees and took off running. I followed, trying to keep up with her body flashing between the trunks that helped disguise her.
"You don't have a lot of stamina if you can't keep up!" she called out and bolted out into an area where the trees thinned to betray her concealment amongst them.
I took a risk and forced my wings to take blows from the trees so I could catch up to Bee and snap my claws into her wings that she opened to try and make her escape.
She tried to spin around to face me, but I threw all of my weight behind my attack so that she fell to the ground.
"Playing hard to get?" I smiled down at her "I'll always catch you."
She struggled and laughed when she realised I had her. I released her wings so she could fold them back in.
"Well, here I am" she got to her feet, twisting her body around me as she circled "what now?"
I felt her nip my neck before wedging under my arm so she could have her body underneath it.
I didn't even have to think about what decision to make next. My body moved around hers to keep her where I wanted her.113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZRz1Xo6El
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I was dripping just at the sight and smell of her accepting me so easily.
My blood drenched her scent with my own when I snapped into her neck and shoved my way inside her.
It was rough and raw. I felt her quiver when my cock made itself known to her.
Instantly, the lust exploded within me. I wanted more of this climbing ecstacy that was forcing me to dig deeper and further into Bee with each feral, growling movement.
I wanted all of her. She wasn't going to escape me now that I had caught her. She was going to feel all of me and yearn for more like I was.
I could feel the tight warmth react each time I sawed into her. My claws stabbed into her to keep her pinned beneath me as I checked the surroundings for anything that could tear us apart.
Nature was cruel. We had to take this opportunity while we could. Other males would be able to hear Bee and try to make thier move while she was clouded by mindless yearning.
I wouldn't let them. My urge to keep her for myself only made my thrusts more vicious and desperate.
Everything intensified as the ecstasy climbed to its peak. The gripping warmth sucked me in and refused to let go as I shoved harder and faster to feed the hunger demanding more.
Then, every part of me exploded and shuddered in unison. The wave of lustful hunger spilled and jerked everything from me. Bee's body rippled when it took it all, begging for more when I pulled myself from her grip.
New energy pumped through me. I now knew what River had been feeling during our first time together in the sunflower field. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAeePKMkzy
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I wanted to never lose that feeling of pure bliss and roaring lust. I wanted to keep going again and again until I dropped from exhaustion. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97Bl0N4D6b
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It begged and pulsed through me for more. I wasn't going to deny myself this.
Demons weren't weak like humans. I should have listened back then if I knew I would feel like this.
I had to give us the best chances and make sure that our feral moment would work.
Bee didn't even move when I guarded her again so I could give her what her body was aching for and what mine demanded.
The events of the raining spirits bought us closer as we awaited the nest to be filled.
Bee was overly affectionate towards me, and I loved nothing more than to cuddle up with her or watch our daughter running around with Butter.
Bee was happy that things were looking prosperous. I was excited that I could finally be a father.
It was only three weeks into the new year when the first egg made its appearance. That was followed by another, and another.
Five eggs in total sat in the flower nest. My body swelled with pride at the light aqua shells and thier small black spots peppering the tops. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKtBLVQ4Ul
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We both had our heads resting on each other's as we smiled down at the beginning of it all.
Five of them. Five little souls. And they were ours. I had kids.
I was a father!
I couldn't contain the excitement of it all. The noise that escaped me did startle Pretzel who calmed down when she ran over to see what had caused it.
There was one thing....
"What are we going to name them?"
Bee's smile turned from the eggs to me, where it faltered.
"Name them?"
"These ones will fly" I beamed at her "we should think of names before that happens."
"They haven't even hatched yet" Bee breathed in astonishment "I've never had to think that far."
I saw Pretzel running her hand over the shells and cuddled into Bee, crooning.
"We had better get to thinking. How long does all of this take anyway?"
"For them to hatch?" Bee responded, tucking them away under her so she could settle down "with my old mate, it was two months. Then seven for them to fledge. But it'll be different with you; your genes aren't weak, Teddy. You'll be able to meet them in no time."
Instantly, I felt guilty for the old demon I had replaced. I had torn his chance of family away from him unintentionally and had wedged myself in his place. Where I had wished for him to take my place in the beginning, I would kill the old demon if he showed up near my family now.
I wasn't giving this up for anything. I had something much more precious to protect now.
"What do you think are good names, Pretzel?" I snuggled her face and drew her close so she was resting between us "something.... sweet."
"Something bold" Bee added as she adjusted herself.
"Can I name one of them Pancakes?" Pretzel peered up at us "Butter needs a friend, and Pancakes would be the best. They could play together and everything before they leave."
"Pancakes" I chuckled "Pancakes is cute."
Bee rolled her eyes but didn't disagree to the name. She accepted it with a rustle of her feathers.
"Surely, you have a name you've been saving?" I pressed "a very special one?"
"We can't be getting ahead of ourselves" Bee fretted "what happens if they don...?"
"Bee" I laid a hand over hers "you've got to have some hope. It's okay."
She saw Pretzel watching her worried face, and straightened up.
"Bobby. I've.... always wanted to use Bobby. A demon named Bobby helped me out when I was thrown in the pits, and it's all because of him I found my old mate and escaped with him. Neither of us knew our names, but he; he kept his close."
"Bobby" I played with it and saw her avert her gaze "it's a very important name. We should do it justice."
Bee lightened up then slapped my side with her wing.
"How about you? I know you would have had a name saved away somewhere. What is yours?"
I had to smile at her question. It wasn't one I had personally saved, but rather one that was being saved for me in another lifetime.
It was the name of the ideal person I had wanted to meet when I sat on that seat with River and discovered about what was waiting for me.
"Dandelion" I bubbled up inside at it surfacing once more "when I go, I was hoping there was a human waiting for me named Dandelion when I returned as a falling soul. She would have been my perfect match that never hurt me. Now she can be the name of the daughter who will be more than perfect."
Bee's face tilted to the sky and she watched the clouds above, pondering.
"I think that's very sweet" she said when she faced me again "I really like it."
It had been saved within me for the longest of times. But why had I chosen the name of a little flower? Did it have some sort of resemblance to the human I had loved once?
"We still have two more" Bee spoke proudly and confidently now "Pretzel, you pick another."
"Oh, me again?" she piped up but suddenly got nervous "uh, well, I.... Wanted to name one.... Rory."
Bee was astounded. She lifted her head back and saw Pretzel hide herself behind Bee's wing where she played with the feathers. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMIr4z81tp
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The name had deep meaning to Pretzel. Bee knew it well too, while I was confused.
"Ah, Papa, I never told you, but I ran away from my home five years after I turned eight again" Pretzel mumbled up to me while playing with the feathers she had dragged over herself to shield her "my human Mama and Papa said they didn't want me anymore because I couldn't 'be normal'."
I saw her eyes grow teary at the quote.
"They replaced me with thier own kid before I left, called Rory. Made it known he was better than me because he was a perfectly normal little boy. For years, I hated him so much. Running away was the better option before I did something bad."
"She hated and blamed herself for so long" Bee added "I could be someone to help ease the pain, but she had to figure out the rest. She couldn't understand me."
"It took me too long to realise that I was blaming the wrong person. Rory wasn't the problem in this; he had no idea. He'd be a teenager now, and I wouldn't have a clue where to start to find him. I want to love everything that is Rory, by starting with accepting his name. So... if that isn't too heavy, I would like to name one Rory."
"I never knew" I whispered to Bee "she's been through so much more than I thought. She's a brave girl."
"That she is" Bee agreed when she licked Pretzel's cheek and I shuffled around so I could replace Bee's wing she gripped with my own head.
"And, uh, to lighten the mood" she sniffled "how about we call the last one.... Flower?"
I let out a laugh that both stared at.
"I had a human who kept an orchid praying mantis named Flower" I snorted "I kept it alive for him until it died. I had no idea what I was doing back then. You know they only live for nine months? I had no clue."
"Well, I can assure you, our babies are going to be around for more than nine months" Bee giggled with me "should we start over with your own little Flower?"
"I would like that very much" I nodded and looked up at Pretzel "you have a good knack for this sort of stuff."
"Thanks, Papa" she beamed back and snuggled down under my head "I love you."
"And I love you too" I snuggled down beside her for the night "I love you too, Mama."
Bee smiled at my name and tucked her head in towards us both.
"And I love you, Papa."
Papa. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1C7oIrNHj
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That was going to be my name! I was going to be an actual dad to these babies.
I shivered in excitement at it all, and felt the warmth of my family radiate through me.
If this was a dream, please don't ever wake me up.
Bee was the one who nudged me awake the next morning and welcomed me with her purring head against mine.
Pretzel was already awake and carefully marking the eggs with the names we had chosen. The black marker glided over each surface so easily as I watched her add drawings from under the cover of Bee's wing.
"We need to take turns hunting" Bee pulled my focus to her "someone needs to remain on the eggs at all times. We can't let them go cold at all."
"So, no more chases of our own?" I hinted with a smooth nip at her neck.
"Unfortunately, not" Bee smirked as she carefully got up and shook herself off "your turn, Papa."
What did I do? Was there a special way to this all? Would I crush them?
"Gently" Bee directed when I shuffled over into the indents where she had been resting "your legs go around them, and your feathers do all the work. Place them closer to your chest at the front. There's a thinner patch of skin there that will help keep them warm."
Pretzel watched with amusement when I lowered myself down and let Bee move the eggs into position. I felt the shells press against me and instantly start drawing the warmth from me.
The bubbles within my gut returned when I huddled down. I knew right then and there I would risk my life to protect something I hadn't even met yet.
Nothing was going to come near my babies while I was here. Nothing.
"I'll see you soon" Bee admired the view of us together before taking off into the sky.
"I WANT FISH!" Pretzel called out when her mother lifted herself over the treetops and out of sight.
"You know she can't stand around for that long to catch them" I replied to Pretzel's dishearted face "we have other things to take care of now."
"I know, I know" she muttered and shuffled under my wing to continue her drawings "I was just hoping. I really like fish."
"I know you do" I pressed my wing around her "and I'm sorry. They are very slippery and cunning little things."
Perhaps.....?
I saw the blinds of the house open as the family inside woke and began thier day with the clinking of bowls for breakfast.
It was a risky move. If anything happened, I would be risking all of these lives for hers.
But she would be fed and satisfied. I had seen how happy she was with Conner and Butter. The family was a nice one; I was just far too wary and distrusting of humans in general.
I could see the verandah from here. It should be fine, just this once?
We would have to start taking these steps now to help her thrive when our attention would be focused on keeping my babies alive.
Conner waved from the window, but Pretzel had her back turned to him. She was far too focused to notice the branch I was extending.
"Pretzel" I pressed my head into her side "did you want to go join them?"
She didn't know this sound. She frowned at me but stopped what she was doing.
I tilted my head to the line that she followed. Then, I pushed her in the direction of it.
"Wait.... really?" she gasped back at me.
Most of the year had already passed when we had made our way here and I had set up that boundary line out of fear. She hadn't been waiting long, but she had still been restricted unessesarily.
I nodded and pushed her again.
She hugged me and ran to it. Her feet stopped right at the sludgy darkness, and she checked on me again, before she stepped over it.
I smiled at her and let her go. I would have to learn to trust eventually. It made me so nervous to see her excitement as she ran further from me and towards the house she called out to.
Maybe I was more scared of losing what I considered to be my own family than the thought that all humans were the same hurtful creatures?
I didn't want her to leave. It filled me with fear and sadness, but I knew it would be cruel to keep her tied to me her whole life.
She was more than the little girl she looked. I had to keep reminding myself she was twenty now; a woman old enough for her own path.
But I still felt responsible for her. She was always going to be my baby.
It was only breakfast, Teddy. It's not the end of the world.
I watched Pretzel rush up those stairs and wave through the window. There was a chorus of welcomes but Pretzel didn't enter the door opened for her. She looked back to me and shook her head at them.
At least she was setting some boundaries for herself. She was still considering my situation and not pushing her newfound freedom too far.
The human woman there looked just like mine had; smiling and warm. I couldn't even remember her name. I know she was 'Mama', but who was she?
And my own Dad. I know he was the one who had pushed for me to have this life for my own good, but I didn't remember him either. Thier faces where just black blurs, along with thier daughter who had been my whole world.
I had run up those very stairs myself after her. I had lived in that house and had been happy like that family was. I remembered the emotions, but not the faces behind them. Things had been good here. It was when we moved and I had grown older that things had become different and darker.
The human had hurt me deeply. Eventually my family had too. But without that move, I wouldn't have found River or his human.
I loved them still, very much. I just couldn't remember the other half of what my heart missed.
Pretzel was my everything now. She was the one who filled the place that human had torn through me. She was my daughter that I would give anything for.
And these babies. I had waited a lifetime to make it this far. I was going to see them come into this world because of my new mate that had devoted herself to me. She was the reason I was still here.
I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for those two. Probably still at that house with the old blanket in my mouth, literally dying as I waited for nothing.
"PAPA!" Pretzel called out, to snap me from my thoughts "THIS MAMA WANTS TO BRUSH MY HAIR!"
"ONLY IF THAT'S OK WITH YOU!" she added quickly "AND I HAVE A SHOWER HERE TOO!"
She did need a proper shower. I know she had complained to me before about the old toilet blocks only having a single bent shower head that squealed as cold water ran through it. And washing in a cold river with a podium of curious humans here was not her ideal of privacy. I had to shield her with my wings to make sure she could wash herself properly.
A hot shower. She would be jumping at the opportunity of that. And having hair that wasn't tangled with debris. She would be feeling, and smelling, like an entirely new person.
"JUST STAY WHERE I CAN SEE OR HEAR YOU!" I shouted out and smiled at her excited squeal "DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS, OK?"
I heard her shout her thanks and jump her way inside for that tempting shower. I heard her voice sing out from what I guessed must have been the bathroom. She was still letting me know she was safe through her loud songs.
Bee returned when Pretzel got out of the shower and perched herself on a chair on the verandah to have her hair plucked and brushed.
I saw Bee raise her head up at her daughter sitting there and drop the fish she was carrying.
"Its fine" I soothed her tense posture "I let her join them for breakfast. She was quite happy to have that with them."
"I don't like the way the other mother is hurting her" Bee muttered back without breaking eye contact with the humans. Her feathers flicked up and I heard a low growl come from her when Pretzel cried out in pain.
Pretzel was whimpering and complaining about having her hair restrained after years of abuse and neglect, but didn't pull from the care. She wanted it, no matter how painful it was.
"She's OK" I smiled to Bee "if she's in danger, she will let us know. She's not dumb."
Bee sat beside me so she could strip the fish she had caught. It was a small thing, barely able to feed herself, let alone anyone else.
"I scouted out the area. There's fishers a few K's from here where all the other seabirds gather by the breakwall. And just past the river is a large town with all sorts of weird human things outside thier homes and shops. And past the deer field there is another demon nesting. I didn't see it, but it had a cave dug into the ground. It didn't smell right; like stale dirt and rotting moss."
A threat. We would have to treat the field with caution if that was also it's hunting ground. Anywhere past it would be strictly off-limits.
"Do you think it would come this way? We aren't far from that field at all."
Bee looked to the boundary fencing longingly.
"Set up a barrier, just in case" she advised "if we mark it out plainly for it, it should abide by the rules of nature. We don't go near it; it doesn't come near us."
I nodded and promptly switched places with her so I could do just that.
The blood I laid down was thick and obvious. It splattered right by the fence and up towards the nest. I ran a circle around our flowers, just to make sure the message was clear and my warning was prompt.
There was no way I was letting anything unknown come this close. If it did, I wouldn't hold back.
"I'm going to check it out myself" I pressed my head to Bee's lovingly "stay safe for me until I get back."
"Don't be long" Bee worried as I sprinted off for my launch into the sky.
Past the deer fields. That's where it was. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTMur4cVQR
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I flew the whole way there, not wanting to be caught by surprise on the ground. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXo2EoCcuP
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If it was a burrowing demon, I doubted it had the advantage of flight like I did. But, I had also been a burrower to better protect myself form the elements. This other demon could just have the same mindset.
I spotted the dirt encrusted ground from above. It darkened the whole area outside the mouth of the cave that sloped downwards into the earth. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEFlGjq4ky
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A path had been cut through it where something had been dragged down. From the width and scattered hooves, it was most likely an unfortunate deer. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GZZNIZWv7
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The accompanying footprints were bigger than my own. They dipped inwards at the top like a sea bird's would, but had small indents of claws.
I landed just outside the bare patch to observe. The trees around the cave were gouged with three-clawed marks in a halo around the area. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7w2ysutKrx
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It didn't use blood like I did. Perhaps it wasn't as mutated as I was?
I rubbed my face on the closest tree to stain it with my blood and give the demon my own warning. Then, I approached the bare ground cautiously.
I could smell that it wasnt a fresh cave. The exposed dirt was old and stale, like what Bee had said. It had the sharp acidity of old piss mixed with a soft earthy wetness like Pretzel's soaked clothing when it rained.
I couldn't smell feathers. There were none around the cave mouth that I snuffled around to try and commit the odd scent to memory.
I did pick up the moistness of the air within the cave mouth. It felt heavy like expecting rains from above. There was a tinge tangled in it that was like the seaspray of the old cliffside by the clearing.
Something in there had burrowed deep enough to strike water. The creek wasn't far from here, so that wasn't entirely impossible.
But what kind of demon needed to coexist like that? I had dismissed mutations so quickly when I should have been acknowledging what was obviously there.
I felt my body tense as I pressed my beak to the dirt to inhale the sharp fur of the panicked deer that had been dragged below. I already felt all of my muscles tightening and screaming for flight as my head barely dipped past the mouth.
I felt the air around me spark and hiss just moments before I leapt back from the cave; wings ready to take me away from there.
The hundreds of protruding teeth that had snapped down where I had been sent a shower of dirt into the air. The brightly lit electric blue eyes snapped onto me as the face of the creature rose from its cave.
It saw the mess I had made in its territory. Black blood contaminated it's grounds with new scent that it refused to accept. It's scaled body was caked with muddy water dripping down its bulging face that split open to let out a screech that tore through my insides. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOewsUBggAt
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It was like the rushing of waves and a noisy jet had collided to become the voice of the beast crackling with light throughout it when it shook from the force of its threat.
My breath caught in my throat that tried to swallow it down. My body was jolted from the power of the scream that refused to let my wings work.
I was frozen there in panic while the creature dragged itself from the cave, slapping down its three webbed fingers and toes when it did. Four arms splayed outwards to make room for the four legs behind it. It was enlognated and bent like a distorted centipede.
But, there was something strangely familiar about it all. 113Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVMPawBcBt
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The teeth snapping in the air tried to drag me down as I hopped around them to force myself into flight again. They snagged a few of my tail feathers that were broken within the glistening skewers when I finally threw myself upwards and placed distance between us.
I peered down at the creature still fizzing with electric light beneath me, and felt it all click.
It wasn't just any mutated demon living safely in the darkness of its underground swamp.
That was Angler.
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