Chapter One
Mirmil sank her teeth into the flesh of another, sickeningly sharp fangs cutting through skin and muscle with ease. Thunder bellowed from the darkening sky as rain pelted across the cat's atop the hill; as if the sky was at war, just as they were.
A second of light flashed from the midnight grey-colored sky with a crash, and she dropped the fallen enemy with a newfound haste, following up with a new target. The silver she-cat raised a scale-covered claw, barreling it down on an unsuspected foe; one who had been occupied, attempting to kill one of her own Clanmates.
The enemy fell to the ground with a dull 'thud,' blood oozing from the new wound on his head. A look of gratefulness glimmered in the eyes of the brown tom she had saved from the claws of death. His dark, scaly tail swished back and forth with the adrenaline that came with the still raging battle around them.
His mouth opened, silence flowing from it, and try as she might, she couldn't hear a single word over the sounds of war around them. Before she could ask what he was saying, he took off into the bloodbath once again, his large, dark brown wings spread wide as he pounced on a likely enemy.
Another crash from the sky seemed to drown out the cries of falling cat's for a moment, but only for a moment. Mirmil narrowed her pale purple-ish-blue eyes, a sad attempt to see through the heavy rain. A cry for help from someone familiar reached her ear and she turned towards the sound, terror clawing at her mind. She could only imagine which cat's she would never speak to again after this battle.
A protective feeling washed over her much like the rain that now drenched her long fur. She growled lowly, the sounds rumbling throughout her chest with a deep hatred for the cat's that began this fight. Mirmil arched her back, lowering onto her haunches with purpose. The gruesome battle before her would take many lives- but she hoped that she could save the one calling for her.
Mirmil's silver wings spread wide, her silhouette taking the form of the dragon that lived so long ago. She flapped the appendages, just about ready to take to the skies so that she could save the calling fighter.
"Mirmil,"
The she-cat froze at the sound of the cold, mad voice behind her. She couldn't move, despite the churning in her stomach and her mind telling- begging- her to save her comrade, to not pay attention to the oh-so-familiar voice that had brought her so much comfort as a kit.
When she turned, the sight of the dark grey she-cat greeted her. The she-cat was on the opposing side, and yet those were the eyes of kin. Even with the blood dripping from her lips- probably that of her Clanmates- and the madness that caused her dark blue eyes to dull, she still looked like family; she still was family.
"are you ready to end this?"
The she-cat's lips moved to the words, and yet that couldn't be true. Mirmil knew her sister, and she wouldn't have such a cold voice, much less the hatred that laced said voice. "Rasseth…" her name didn't seem to do anything to break her out of the trance- she wasn't herself, that was the only explanation.
Her sister's dark grey wings opened as her own drooped at the revelation that she was preparing to kill. Rasseth's claws unsheathed, and her sharp-scaled tail whipped side-to-side with the anger that filled her heart and mind.
The battle around them seemed to cease, as Mirmil couldn't hear any cries of howls from her comrades, nor the calls for help that she had wanted to follow, to find whoever was calling and save them. The rain seemed to lighten, and with wide eyes, she could clearly see the wounds that covered her siblings body, and the scales that had once only snaked up her paws now covered her entire haunches.
Mirmil felt a stinging sensation in her chest as her sister lowered into a battle position, and with an open mouth she called out in attempt to get through to her. It clearly wasn't working.
Rasseth pounced, lightning flashed and Mirmil flinched, waiting for the sharp claws to tear away at her flesh.
Mirmil awoke slowly, the imagery of the dream fading to a flurry of dark colors wisping together behind her eyelids. The light soon barreled in, causing a pinching pain to erupt from her brain. The dreamless- perhaps nightmare-less is a better term- sleep she had hoped to get was far, far from her reach now.
She cursed her brain for creating such a horrifying night terror that caused so many sleepless nights. She used to wake up in a panic, scared senseless and struggling to breathe, but now she simply begged her mind to gain some rest, even if the nightmares still plagued her sleep, every night before she closed her eyes.
That plea to her mind had never been answered.
A yawn tore from her throat as she took notice of the plush pillow beneath her; the very one she fell asleep on. Mirmil rolled, just enough so that she was at the end of the magenta-colored bed, and stood up on the cold- not as cold as the ground in her dream- ground.
Her foggy purpel-ish-blue eyes, still foggy with sleep, glanced over the arrangement of toys, dens, tubes and food bowls that their housefolk had gotten for Rasseth and herself recently. Though they have been with them for a long time, it seemed as if they were just realizing they were living under the same roof.
"Rasseth…?" she called out, her voice hoarse and dry. Tiredness clouded her mind and her heart panged with the annoyance, fear and anxiety that came with her sister not being in the same bed as her when she awoke. These feeling came mostly after nightmares like the one she had.
No sound of pawsteps filled her ears as she listened, and she chose to ignore the emotions swirling through her as she padded towards the water bowl. Her tongue lapped up some of the clear liquid that quenched her seemingly ever-lasting thirst.
"Mirmil,"
The silver she-cat froze, mid-drink, and with wide eyes she tensed. The crazy scene that she had experienced the night before replayed, and she turned slowly, half-expecting to see the scaled version of her sister.
The smile she wore was tense, and despite the calm look in Rasseth's eye she couldn't help but feel overwhelming terror grip her at the moment her sister came into view. A flash, like the lightning that filled her dream, hit her as the cat in front of her flickered in and out of the beastly form she had taken in her nightmares.
"... Is something wrong?" the tentative voice of her sister brought her back from the dream and she let out a sigh, as no wings sprouted from her sisters back, and no scales snaking up her legs.
"No, nothing, Rasseth. You just surprised me, is all." Mirmil replied coolly, raising her chin just enough so that her violet collar showed from under her long, silver fur.
And as much as she hated lying to her one and only sister, it was all she could do at the moment. Explaining what a monster she feared Rasseth was, like the dark grey she-cat within her dreams, would cause more pain than the lie.
Rasseth shrugged with a sigh, turning to the side despite her gaze not leaving her silver-furred companion. "I just wanted to know if something was bothering my dear sister, but if you don't want to tell me…"
Mirmil simply nudged Rasseth's shoulder playfully, a small, fond purr vibrating from her chest, and she strutted past her with a glance, towards the window that was so conveniently place by a stool for them. It was probably vice-versa, when it came to which one was placed first, but it was there for them to see out into the garden either way.
Hopping up quickly, the bell on her collar gingled, and as she sat down she twitched her tail. It was a silent offer for the open space next to her on the large stool- the one which was soon filled with her sister's dark fur. As much as she wanted to flinch away, she didn't.
"I wonder why they don't let us out in the garden." Rasseth mewed, eyes tracing over the variety of plants that were just outside the thick glass that kept them within. Mirmil groomed herself, only giving a hum as an answer to her. She pawed at her ear once, then twice, before cleaning it properly.
Dark blue eyes flitted towards her, the fur above her nose scrunching up as if she were some grotesque creature that she had just seen. "Why do you always do that?"
"Do what?" Mirmil replied, chewing on a knot of fur that was sitting on the top of her right paw. "That! Groom yourself. You seem to do that all day long, everyday of every moon."
"That's an exaggeration, and I do it because my fur is long- unlike yours. You got the good genes." the silver she-cat huffed, rolling her eyes as she continued her daily work. It was true- her father had such short, manageable fur while her mother had the long pelt that she inherited.
Rasseth purred, and Mirmil blinked at her, as if questioning if what she said was really that pleasing. And when she did she noticed how sharp her sister's fangs looked- it took all her will and strength not to cringe.
Her sister looked back out at the garden and something foreign shined in her eyes. Like she was missing something, and Mirmil had a feeling in her gut that told her that look, that longing look was going to cause her trouble today.