Face the Lie

The wind whipped and howled, ripping at his fur. But he couldn’t hear it.

The snow pelted him from every direction, blinding him. But he didn’t feel it.

The cold.

The cold bit into his skin, chilling his bones and freezing his blood.

And that? He felt.

Gabriel stared, seeing nothing, at the scene before him. A long serpentine MONSTER stood before them all. Many of the other teams of finley were also frozen in shock.

And then IT roared, a long drawn out screech that made your ears feel like they'd bleed. And everything hit him all at once.

His heart restricted painfully, fear gripping his throat tight. He staggered, the punch to the gut strong enough to make Gabriel drop to one knee. Breath and bile fought to have a place in his throat. 

Everything was too loud. The howling beast of a storm. The screaming creature frantically grabbing at anyone it could. The finley yelling and cursing, running every which way.

His hands were so cold. Odd, he thought. Why was he cold? He’s an ice draken. He’s practically impervious to the cold. But sure enough his hands were shaking, his claws hard to move. Gabriel tried to stand, but his joints didn’t seem to work right. And he couldn’t even feel his tail. Did he still have it?

A quick glance confirmed he did, but immediately made him feel dizzy. His surroundings flipped upside down and righted. As if his brain got the image wrong and then fixed it instantly.

His head pounded and off in the distance he could hear someone screaming for Teles. He gritted his teeth when he realized the sounds were coming from him.

Damn it.

Gulping air, Gabriel forced his rebelling body back under some semblance of control. He took two steps forward intending to join the others.

But then it turned. With no eyes and stared him down deep into his soul. 

Tears sprang to his eyes, freezing instantly on his fur. Everything went quiet as the image of Teles superimposed itself over the monster. Her voice the only thing he could hear. That and hollering nearby.

It raced towards him, claws outstretched. How it could move that fast in the cold, Gabriel couldn’t understand. But.

He should move… He should move out the way, right? He stared helplessly up at imminent death. The streams of tears now too fast to freeze. He should move. Wait.

What about Zyair? Gabriel’s eyes widen, a gasp escaping. He turned to jump out the way when something heavy barreled into his side.

The familiar scent of his brother hit him just as fast, and they clung together as they safely rolled out of the way of the monster’s body crushing speed.

Zyair smacked his shoulder, yelling at him. And it took a second for any of the words to register. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!! YOU IDIOT!!” He shook him deeper into the snow, as if being buried would perhaps bring clarity.

Gabriel shoved his brother off of him. An almost laugh bubbling up. “Zyair! Stop! Or else I’ll die before the creature gets me!”

“You’re not dying at all! Stupid!”

Gabriel saw the tears overflowing in his brother’s eyes and he sighed. “As long as we’re together, yeah?” He held his fist up.

Zyair bumped the back of his fist against Gabriel's. “Right.”

The brothers stood, shaking the snow out of their fur. Gabriel can feel the warmth steal into his body once again. He activated his magic using the one spell he knew. His TEG glowed, almost white in the snow. And his heart slowed to a calm state. Taking a deep breath, he nodded to his brother.

“Let’s get this done, or else no one’s going home alive.” Zyair nodded in assent.

Resolutely, the two walked a little ways into the trees. The thick snow storm dropped visibility to almost zero, but that’s okay. They weren’t trying to escape, not with the whole island possibly in danger. In the safety of the trees, Gabriel brought his clawed hand up and whistled, long and low.

They waited for a few moments before a brown Minkin slinked out of the thick of the forest. On top its head sat a very blank staring Hammin.

Zyair rushed forward to snatch up his bond, squishing the large round body to his face. While they got reunited, Gabriel knelt down to his Bonds level. “Terra. I need your help.”

He knew their bonds didn’t quite understand the words they spoke, but he liked voicing his feelings anyway.

“I need your tracking skills. With the blizzard so thick, I can barely see anything, let alone find anything to fight with.” His heart squeezed. He rubbed a fist over his chest as if that would make it stop hurting. “Like a fool, I didn’t come prepared. And I… She… It all..”

He finished none of his sentences. But he didn’t need to for Terra to understand the pain he was in. The minkin bumped his arm with its head, and made a low sound of comfort. “I know. I know.” He took a deep breath in before releasing it. “I can do this.”

Standing again, he scooped Terra up, and trotted past Zyair and Rock-it, his brother’s hammin.

Gabriel came to a stop. He kneeled down, and placing Terra to the side, started digging through the snow. He cleared as much as possible, so Terra could feel the earth with her claws. In the very near distance, the sounds of battle.

Of metal and bone.

Rang through the snow field. A very discordant sound that stripped away one’s nerves. And under it, a voice. Almost hypnotic. Calling for the battle to cease. To come to her. Where there’s peace.

Come into my arms.

There’s need for such worry and fear.

I am all you need.

Almost like a lullaby.

THUD!

The thunk of Terra’s tail on the frozen ground had Gabriel snapping his head towards them. He clenched his fist, keeping his focus on his bond instead of the battle. There was no telling how it was going from here.

He waited, with every pause Terra checked her surroundings ‘seeing’ with the sound waves they produced. Before long, they took off through the snow powder. Gabriel called Zyair to join them. And between the three of them. Rock-it supervised with great attention. They collected various rocks, large frozen sticks, plentiful snowdrop flowers and some wild garlic.

“Garlic???” Zyair’s nose twitched and Gabriel laughed.

“I’m hoping the strong smell can create some confusion for the monster. With no eyes, I have to assume it has other, stronger senses.” He glances at Terra. “I’m hoping one of those is smell.”

Zyair nodded. “And the pretty flowers?”

“They’re called Snowdrops. They’re toxic when ingested. I’m not sure how we’re going to get it in the monster’s mouth though…”

“We could mix it with some garlic, and make garlic grass balls?” Zyair tilted his head in thought.

Gabriel chuckled. He ran his claws gently across his brother’s head. “Of course. And then we can chuck them at the creature. We’ll try your idea.”

Their game plan set, the brothers made various grass/dirt ball combos. Some were just garlic, others with garlic with snowdrop bulbs hidden inside. There were a few that hid rocks. At Rock-it’s discretion.

Armed and ready, all four headed into the battlefield.

And what a bloodbath it had become. Zyair stumbled back, the horror of the many wounded bringing their reality to ground. This wasn’t some fantastical battle. This was truly life and death. If the monster wasn't slain, they’d be killed. And likely everyone at the villages as well.

Gabriel swallowed, apprehension weighing his steps. Their bonds clung to them, insistent on life. Of survival.

Terra threw impressions of determination, of loyalty, of fun times without so much danger. It had to be done.

Rock-it granted Zyair the impression of an unmoving rock. Stuck in the ground, no thoughts, just remain. It didn’t mean do nothing, but rather don’t give up. He understood the intention despite how unintentional hammins usually are.

Once again slowing his heart with magic, Gabriel took off, letting Terra bound away to safety. Until needed.

The bitter cold whipped through his fur, but the heat of his body brushed it aside. The monster thrashed in the snow, throwing finley away, knocking aside weapons and magic attacks. He grabbed a garlic ball from a pouch he took from his backpack. Getting as close as he dared, he chucked it. Hitting the monster on the side of the head.

It shrieked. Not in pain, but more annoyed. Turning towards him, fog appeared to curl around his body, like hands trying to cajole.

A bump against his legs, Terra of course, prevented him from losing focus. He launched several garlic balls before switching to the toxic combo. He landed several between the creatures teeth. One or two went down the throat.

He grabbed Terra and ran. This was going to be a test of patience. With such a large size, it’s possible the creature wouldn’t even notice the poison at first. But hopefully, with enough success, Gabriel and Zyair could slow it down enough for others to attack it.

Zyair was on the other side, chucking rock balls. Another team stood by his side, using his distraction to their advantage.

Gabriel was breathing deeply of the cold air. They could do this. They could do this!

A slow grin spread across his face. Not of happiness but of sprouting rage. Gabriel took a deep breath before shouting at the top of his lungs.

“TELES!!”

The wind snatched the sound around, but the monster turned anyhow. He met its non-existent eyes, a cold glare to a face full of teeth.

“You’re not leaving this mountain ever again. I promise.” He spoke quietly, not caring if the beast heard him or not. He raised his head before sprinting towards the monster again. His body no longer fighting him, but working in sync. His bond running and dodging at his side. Being there as a focus, but out of the way.

Never again. Never again will this happen. He’ll make sure of it.