Music filled the air along with the smoke from the fires and the smell of grilled meat. People laughed and drank and ate in celebration of the harvest. It had been a good year and the livestock had grown fat. Tonight would see many neglected needs satisfied. Already there were muted sounds coming from the barns where young couples had sneaked away to love in the hay.
In the heart of the town, around the fire in front of the chief's house, the dancers were dancing the troika. From its hiding place high up in the trees, the monster had its eyes locked on one dancer in particular. The dancer had long hair, unbound and falling over his shoulders like a river of stars that was waving happily around his head as the dancer changed partners. The monster was transfixed. The silver dancer was more graceful than the others, and would sometimes jump up on the table reserved for the offerings and dance a tribute.
Like he did right now.
The monster sat perfectly still with its tail wrapped tightly around the branch. The townspeople might be drunk tonight, but there were still a number of guards that weren't, and the monster preferred to stay out of their sight. If they spotted the monster in the trees, the monster would have to run, and there was no telling when it would get the chance to hear music and see dancing again.
The music changed as the dancer raised his arms above his head, looking to the sky, and the monster liked to pretend the dancer looked up at it and smile. Like they shared a secret. Of course there was no secret, and the smile certainly wasn't for the monster, but it liked to pretend. Liked to dream. Dreams of the silver dancer singing and dancing with the monster were a nice change from the silence of its den.
Ever the nervous creature, the monster tore its eyes away from the silver dancer for a second to survey the area, make sure it was still safe. It was unlikely that anything would attack the village tonight, what with all the noise that was unpleasant and uncomfortable for any wildlife, but humans were a skittish race.
Finding the its own hideout and the village safe, the monster quickly turned its eyes back on the dancer finishing up with a spin and a reckless, heart-stopping jump into the air which he landed so lightly as if he was a fairy.
The crowd applauded, the dancer bowed, and a woman ran into his arms.
The monster's heart broke at the sight. It knew, of course, that Silver had a mate, that his love and life belonged to her. She only shared Silver at nights like these.
It was no use staying any longer. The moon had already passed its zenith and more couples were disappearing to mate. The silver dancer would join his woman in their nest and the monster wouldn't see him before springtime. So the hiding beast unwrapped its tail, took surveillance again before it climbed a few branches down, making sure not to disturb the red and yellow leaves. It jumped from tree to tree until it couldn't hear the music anymore. That's when it finally put its feet back on solid ground.
Its clawed toes stretched out, felt the earth and moss and left tiny scratches as traces as the monster moved between the trees and rocks, back into the mountains where it lived.
Winters were merciless in this part of the world, and Viktor Nikiforov both loved and hated it. He loved the snow, but hated the cold that settled in his veins. He loved how the air became so clear and seemed to glisten when the sun was out, but he hated how short the days were and how deep the darkness could become, especially during the months the sun didn't rise at all.
He loved to be out in the snow, to plough through it, make figures out of snowballs and to go down to the frozen pond, put on his blades and dance on the ice.
He hated how the snow pushed up against the doors of his home and locked him inside with the woman who had handed herself to him and was to become his wife. The chief had already blessed them.
Don't get him wrong, Inna was a catch. Beautiful and good around the house and in the kitchen, brave and strong. Viktor just didn't love her. The pleasure they shared was shallow to him and he had failed to make her pregnant, no matter how much she moaned encouragement and love as they came together.
At the moment Viktor sat under the roof of his house by the highest window and looked at the dark morning as he combed and braided his hair. It had been a new moon and the stars glistened in the sky, promising another bitingly cold day.
A heavy sigh sounded behind him and Viktor turned his head. Makkachin, a brown dog of unknown breed and curly fur, was leaning tiredly against Viktor's back. He'd been up a lot during the night, nervously sniffing around the doors and walls. Once he'd started barking hysterically for several minutes. Inna, Viktor's fiancée who had never come to an agreement with the dog, had threatened to cook him for dinner if Viktor couldn't get the mutt to shut up.
Maybe that's why Viktor failed to love her. It might have been a lot easier if the look of disgust or annoyance would stop appearing on Inna's face whenever she heard or spotted Makkachin.
Viktor finished braiding his long hair and gathered the dog in his arms. It was in times like these he missed Yakov, his foster parent, with a passion that ached. But the world had simply become too dangerous, the old world of the humans having collapsed two centuries ago, and only the coldest parts of the world stayed somewhat safe from the new creatures that had developed and swarmed the earth.
Life nowadays was primitive. There were villages like this lining the edges of the safe parts of the world, and there were travellers like Yakov and his troop. Travellers were often entertainers or merchants and trained fighters in one. Viktor too; he knew how to hunt and was a master in hand-to-hand combat, he was just more priced as a dancer.
Viktor sighed and buried his whole hands in Makkachin's thick fur. Yakov's troop had been ambushed by a small tribe of monsters using simple weapons and combat strategies that had killed half of the troop. Yakov had been gravely alarmed that the monsters were intelligent enough to develop something that looked roughly like guerrilla warfare. That's when he'd taken a detour and left Viktor and a couple others in this village, hoping to protect them as well them spreading their knowledge to the able-bodied men and women of the village and that way create a safe enough haven for everyone.
That was seven years ago. Yakov still passed through once or twice a year, sharing new knowledge, ensured Viktor and his fellows hadn't slacked off and proceeded to beat them all up. No matter how much Viktor worked to improve his dancing and fighting skills his mentor was still so much stronger, always landing the three of them on their butts. Not that it should be surprising; Viktor and his friends had grown up watching Yakov take down bears with his bare hands.
A window opposite of Viktor's opened and the dancer's face lit up. Georgi had apparently gone stir-crazy and was now jumping out into the dark and cold. Viktor reached for his furs hanging on a hook below the rafter he sat on, upsetting the dog on his lap and called down to the first floor.
"Inna, I'm going out!"
He heard her yell something that sounded like disapproval, but wasn't listening. Georgi wasn't the only one who hated being holed up inside. His old friend was on his way to the pond, lantern held above his head and Viktor hurriedly tied the snow-walkers on his feet to catch up. Behind him, from the window he had left open, he heard Inna call his name in fury, but Makkachin was jumping around, happy to finally be out, and lifted his leg against nearest available hill of snow with a face of immense relief. Viktor wanted to hurry on, but apparently the dog had been holding it for quite some time and couldn't cut it.
Forty seconds ticked by before the dog was done, and by then Viktor was torn between amusement and great pity.
"I'm so sorry, Makkachin. I wish it was easier to take you out during winter."
The dog nudged his human, forgiving him, and trotted on. The dog had wide, flat paws that were perfect for walking in the snow and he ran ahead to join Georgi as Viktor struggled a little to walk and secure his cloths around himself at the same time. At least his old friend waited.
"So you decided to brave the cold as well," Georgi said, a statement more than anything, and smiled under his big hat.
"You know me," Viktor smiled.
"Yes, I do," his friend sighed and just started walking again. That's what Viktor loved the most about Georgi; he didn't need to explain anything.
The two of them had belonged to Yakov's troop since childhood, the only difference being that Viktor had been found with his father and Georgi had been found alone and more dead than alive. Viktor's father; Nadia, had quickly become a second father all of the youngest of Yakov's troop and the only grown-up with soft hands. Unfortunately he had died to protect the children from a monster that had made it past the defences when Viktor was fifteen. Today he and Georgi were twenty-five.
A glob of snow hit the ground a few feet ahead of the duo and the both stopped for a second. Few were the monsters that strayed this far north, but there were still those who did. There was even one kind of monster that came from the north, but Viktor had only seen those once, and the darkness of the winter hid them well. It was still better to be safe than sorry.
"I've been restless all night," Georgi confessed as they started walking again, lifting his lantern even higher in hopes spreading more light.
Viktor frowned and threw another look around the trees. "Makkachin was worried too."
"We didn't see any traces around the village during reconnoitring yesterday, I haven't seen a flyer since before Yakov and that was way south. The only creatures that climbs trees that I know of that could come this far are the tails."
"But the tails are reptiles," Viktor muttered. "They hibernate, or move further south during the cold months."
"Hopefully I'm just overreacting," Georgi sighed.
"We should take an extra turn around the village during reconnoitring later anyway, just in case," Viktor decided and his friend agreed.
By now they had reached the pond; a large flat area of snow disturbed only by a couple of traces of familiar nocturnal wildlife and Makkachin jumping around where the snow was a little shallower.
"We dig and dig to keep the area clean and there's still more snow every time we return," Georgi sighed and moved to the heap of snow by the pond where they kept their shovels and put the lantern down.
"At least it will keep us warm," Viktor said optimistically, grabbing a shovel for himself. Unfortunately Georgi didn't find it funny.
The dancers were halfway done clearing the ice when they saw a light coming towards them from the direction of the village. It only took them a short while to recognize the little pile of furs and they both stopped what they were doing to wait for the boy.
"Even if the chief says we don't have to worry as much during the winter, it's not safe to be out alone," Georgi chided.
"Then you better let me stick around, since nobody else is out," the boy retorted.
Viktor couldn't help but smile. "Well then, you might as well grab a shovel and clear some ice with us. I suppose you brought your blades?"
The boy showed the two pieces of hardened, polished wood before pocketing them again and fetching a shovel, his lantern joining Georgi's in the snow. Makkachin looked up from where he was digging a temporary den for himself before he returned to the task.
Little Yurachek Plisetsky, or just Yura, was thirteen and the son of the town whore. He was a beautiful boy with clear, green eyes, a feminine face, and it sickened Viktor how many men were throwing their eyes after him, just waiting for the child to pick up his mother's business even though Yura was male. The women were worse. In response, the boy himself had become distant, angry and only hung around Viktor and Georgi in hopes of them teaching him how to protect himself against humans rather than monsters. The chief had forbidden them to take Yura as an apprentice though, and the look in his eyes when he gazed at the young boy was what really turned the dancers' stomachs.
That's also exactly why they turned their backs and ignored the boy was there when they just so happened to be talking about their defensive techniques or practicing moves. If Yura picked anything up, Viktor and Georgi certainly hadn't taught him anything.
The three of them spent the morning and early noon on the ice, the two dancers practicing their moves and flexibility while Yura stalked around them and imitated their moves when they weren't looking. Georgi caught sight of him now and then, and because there really was only the three of them out, he wordlessly adjusted Yura's posture, pulled his leg a little further out and arm a little further back. Viktor kept watch at those times. After all, there was a third dancer of Yakov's troop in the village.
Sure enough, when the three men decided to stop and return home for food and their other duties, Mila came trotting from the village, followed by two other women.
"Oh Viktor. Georgi… you're leaving?"
Viktor smiled charmingly at the girl who he had once considered a friend of his own mind. "Yeah, I skipped breakfast. Inna was in a bad mood this morning."
"I heard her," one of the girls behind Mila giggled. "You should leave her, Viktor. There are better women in the village."
"That won't do," the silver-haired dancer disagreed. "I'm a faithful man. If I left her for someone else, wouldn't that make me unfaithful?" he leaned a little closer. "Or do you like it when your men are two-timing?"
Mila saw the trap coming from a mile away, but she had also caught sight of Yurachek.
"Yura!" she cried in delight and wrapped her strong arms around the boy before he could jump away. "You shouldn't be out today! It's cold and what if you got hurt? Did Viktor or Georgi sneak you out?"
"I walked out by myself, bitch!" Yura snarled and fought against the hold.
"Why didn't you ask me to take you? I could have…"
Georgi grabbed one of Mila's arms and pulled firmly enough to surprise the woman and release the boy who quickly ran off. "You shouldn't force your company on others, Mila. They might not appreciate it as much as you think."
Viktor abandoned his game with Mila's friends. "I'll go get him. You should return to the village," he called to the group and followed the young boy fleeing between the trees, Makkachin hot on his heels.
When the dancer caught up with Yura, the boy was still shaking. "I can take care of myself!" he yelled at the older man when Viktor fell in beside him.
"I know, just to be safe," the dancer replied easily.
"I'm a man, for Christ sake! I don't need a woman to treat me like a lady!"
"True."
"Why won't they stop?! I'm not that weak! I can fight and join the guard too!"
"Of course."
By now Viktor had the boy collected in his arms with Yura beating against his chest in frustration. He was so close to tears, and that's when Makkachin suddenly barked sharply.
Viktor quickly pressed Yura hard against his body to silence him, eyes widening as his gaze followed where his dog's attention was pointing.
There, a movement between the trees, and Viktor realized with a start why there hadn't been any traces left by this monster; it moved underneath it, and the only weapons Viktor had on him was his skating blades, a hunting knife in each boot and his own body. Hopefully it wasn't something with a shell.
The monster lifted its head and butted it against a tree, lifting several little legs to grab hold of the trunk.
It was… a caterpillar! A giant, snow-white caterpillar… thing, with a wide mouth, long tongue and it appeared to have a hardened, layered skin. Its body was as thick as Viktor's and in the snow it was hard to tell how long it was. It didn't have eyes though as far as Viktor could tell. Not even antennas. So how was it navigating?
The caterpillar turned its head towards Viktor and Yura and Makkachin started barking in earnest. Unfortunately that set the monster off and it roared and lurched forward, aiming for the barking.
Viktor threw Yura behind him. "Run!" her ordered sharply, pulled out his hunting knives and ran forward, going for the monster's neck as it chased Makkachin who was expertly dancing out of the way, still barking. The dancer had never seen this kind of monster before, but all monsters have weak spots. Surely there was soft skin under the hard shell around this monster's head. Unfortunately it was a lot more agile than its size suggested and Viktor had barely gotten hold of an edge of shell before the monster jerked violently. He heard a cry that was not his own, and to his horror he saw the monster turn from Makkachin and towards Yura.
Yura hadn't run. When Viktor threw him away he had lifted his head and seen a monster for the first time in his life, and he had frozen on the spot in horror. The monster threw Viktor like he was a doll, and Yura didn't realize he screamed. Not until the monster suddenly turned on him, mouth open to a dark hole.
Then the monster started twisting and turning again. Yura saw how Makkachin had latched onto one of the hundreds of legs.
The child closed his eyes.
"Yura!" a harsh voice breathed in the child's ear, and all that stopped him from yelping again was the hand that covered his mouth.
Viktor was by his side, alive.
"I promise I'll be right behind you, Yura. But you need to run back to the village. Now," the dancer promised in a hurried tone.
The child nodded, then they heard a sharp yelp of pain from Makkachin. Viktor stood and ran back to the monster, calling one last "run" over his shoulder.
The dog had lost its grip on the monster's leg when it hit a tree. Viktor sacrificed a blade, throwing it at the opening between the monster's head plates with a loud cry.
Hearing Viktor's voice the monster jerked again, the knife harmlessly bouncing off the protective shell and it lurched for him with its body flailing behind it, knocking Makkachin back when he tried to bite onto another leg.
Viktor tried to jump out of the way, but the snow was too deep and his jump not nearly as far as he'd hoped. The only luck he had was that he avoided its mouth, but the hard body slammed into him with the force of a battling ram.
The last thing Viktor knew was that he was flying through the air before pain exploded in his head.
The monster had been looking for the missing stone-biter all morning, keeping to the trees so to not leave trails in the snow. The white beast had never left the mountains before, and she had left her young larva behind, which worried the monster greatly. Now it had finally found the mother, engaged in a fight with a dog and a human. The dog was knocked away as the stone-biter threw herself at the human who tried to dodge, only to be hit by the young mother's coils.
The monster in the trees hurriedly released an arrow into the tree closest to the stone-biter's head.
The package of iron and ammoniac burst, and the young mother froze, confused. The monster let out a few chirps, hoping it would calm the stone-biter, let her know she was safe and that the monster would lead her back home.
The stone-biter let out a few sad grunts, then obediently walked up to the smell, licking it off the tree.
The monster shot another arrow, and then took a closer look at the dog and human. The latter lay motionless in the snow, but the dog was there, licking the human's face. The dog's body spoke of anxiousness and worry. It trembled and seemed torn between waking and protecting the human against the stone-biter.
Another arrow with ammoniac and iron. The stone-biter was moving steadily. They weren't that far from an entry into the mountains, or the human village for that matter. Surely more humans would arrive soon and by then both the monster and stone-biter better be back into the caves.
A spot of red near the human's head caught the monster's eye. That couldn't be good.
Releasing another two arrows to lead the stone-biter, the monster carefully climbed further down the tree. The dog looked up at it and whined, pleading for help.
The monster looked back towards the young mother. She was near an entry now, but lay completely still under the snow, waiting for another lead. That's why the monster carefully climbed down. It had tied pieces of leather around its toes so it wouldn't sink into the snow.
The dog wagged its tail hopefully. The human was bleeding through his furry hat, and the monster carefully removed it, finding a braid of silver hair and froze.
"Silver?" it whispered, unsure. It had never seen the silver dancer up close and didn't know him by anything but the hair and movements. The dancer was now wrapped in thick layers of fur and leather, so this could be someone else.
The dog nudged the monster's hands, begging now. The monster looked around quickly, ears twitching, but it didn't sound like any humans were on the way and Silver would surely die if he stayed in the snow like this.
Steeling its nerves, the monster took off its bow and arrows and carefully hoisted the human up on its back. He was a lot heavier than the monster had thought, but still wrapped its tail around one of the human's legs, secured the bow by the hip and grabbed its arrows.
"Come, but be quiet," the monster told the dog and ran up to the waiting stone-biter.
Author's notes.
Hey everyone :) Since I finished Old World and realized I only had one actively updating story, I debated with myself for a while before deciding to update this experiment. It shouldn't be longer than fifteen chapters. However, as usual, the fate of this story is in the hands of you, my readers :) Please leave me a comment if this is a story worth finishing.