Hello! I don't really know where I'm going with this story, but I was thinking about it a lot and was thinking that it would partly revolve around Cynder (to make up for the fact that I killed her in Dishonored when she showed up like once-damn you, Silas!). So anyway, I hope you guys give this a shot cause I know it sounds retarded, but I just got an idea to work on it.
14 years before The Temple Raid...
A male ape opened his eyes as a loud explosion echoed through the air, the aftershock causing the ground to shake as several plates and eating utensils smashed to the floor. The ape shot up in his bed, eyes wide, alert as his chest heaved frantically up and down.
"Dost! Dost, what's going on?!" His mate cried in worry, panicking as the blast suddenly shattered their windows of the small wooden shanty. Glass exploded all around before settling on the floor, the air eerily quiet as the partners could only hear their ragged breathing. They couldn't hear any distress calls from their troop. It was utter silence in the night. Even the insects refused to sing to the moon.
"Dost...w-what was that? Dragons?" His mate asked, fear and concern laden heavily in her voice as she looked at the male.
"I don't know, Siruya. Stay here, I'll go investigate."
"But-"
"Stay here." Dost growled, his lips receding as they bared his large canines. Siruya fell silent as she watched her mate grab an old, crude looking sword. She didn't like the thing much. Filthy thing was always making a mess in her house.
Dost cautiously made his way outside the shack, closing the door as he observed the stillness of the night, the two moons shining their light on even the darkest shadows. Dost looked up into the trees, seeing several houses among them equally damaged, some of the branches that helped support the homes were snapped and broken. Only apes of higher ranks were aloud to build their homes among the trees. The only thing it wasn't safe from was dragons. There was always the risk of a dragon lighting their homes on fire.
Dost's eyes reflected in the moonlight as he saw a silhouette of another ape in the trees, the larger ape spotting the grounded male before bellowing loudly. The smaller male answered with a high pitched scream before the other male jumped down from his perch, landing in front of Dost.
"Casualties?" The larger male asked, face badly singed from a fight he had substandard against a dragon. The dragon in question was slain by the male years ago, and as a final, crude, insult the dominant ape had skinned the dragon and fashioned the black talons to strap ons over his own short claws. He also scalped the dragon, and made its horns a part of his helmet.
"None that I know of, Sacren." Dost informed, Sacren grunting in response.
"Good."
The pair noticed a group of apes rushing to them, ready to fight if need be.
"Wh...what was that? Was it dragons?"
"Dragons? Should we evacuate? They'll burn us alive!"
"There is smoke on the mountain! The dragons must have attacked our mining deposits!"
"You idiot! Why would the dragons attack their own source of-"
"Silence!" Sacren bellowed, the harshness of his voice sending the others into silence.
"I want search parties sent up to that mine. Find out what went wrong." Sacren ordered, pointing to a group of ten apes, one small ape looking as if he would soil himself.
"You! Scout the west. I want the surrounding area cleared of any threats." Sacren spoke, pointing to an ape that jumped slightly as the claws got near him.
"You will scout the east, you the south, and you the north." Sacren pointing to each ape respectably, Dost inwardly groaning as he got north, which was in the direction of the ape's mine. If anything was there, hopefully it would hit the search parties. But if whatever it was that caused the explosion was running around, he may very well run into it. Hopefully it wasn't a dragon, and the explosion was just his fellow kin that blew themselves up.
"And what if we do find something?" Dost asked, Sacren snorting slightly as a grumble escaped his throat.
"Kill it."
Some of the apes grumbled, but each party slowly broke off into their own direction, Dost readying his sword in case something were to come. You never knew in these forests.
Dost continued to scour the forest, eyes alert as his ears picked up no sound. Something was wrong. It was too quiet. In the past thirty minutes that he had been scouting, he heard not a sound. It wasn't natural.
Dost jumped slightly as he heard a moan ring through the forest, the ape turning in the direction of the noise. Dost paused, focusing as the low moan came again. The noise sent a shiver down the ape's spine. It sounded as if something was in pain. Whatever it was, Dost could tell that the creature was female. She had a hauntingly beautiful voice, even if it was just cries of pain.
"Hello?" Dost asked, eyes widening as the smell of blood suddenly hit his nostrils.
"Hello? Are you hurt?" Dost asked once more, the whole forest going silent, and the pained cries ceased to be.
Curious, but wary, Dost readied his crude sword and moved closer to where he last heard the noise. Fighting through the brush, the ape paused in shock as he saw the strange creature before him.
The creature snapped her head towards him, the strange creature appearing almost ape like in build, yet lean and slender. Lacking any hair except on her head, which was dark in color, she appeared to be a naked ape. Yet she had no snout like the apes had. Such a strange creature she was, very pale, very frail, very beautiful in a disgusting manner.
The female's dark eyes locked onto the ape, to which the male noticed that she had no pupils, no iris, nothing. Her eyes were completely black. The creature opened her thin mouth in a soft, weak hiss, revealing a set of large fangs as she shrank into herself, holding a bundle in her arms close to her chest. It was then Dost noticed the large amount of blood that had spilled from her abdomen, the liquid staining her odd clothing and a bloodied dagger that had lain near her.
She had given birth, but not only that, she had cut the baby from her very own womb. Looking at the bundle, Dost could not see the child within, but noticed that the mother had used a scarf to hold it. He couldn't believe how this creature was still alive much less conscience with all the blood she had lost.
The creature trembled slightly, brow creased in worry and perhaps fear as she dared not move from the strange thing before her, perhaps too weak to move herself.
Dost noticed the creature eyeing his sword in suspicion, and upon observing that the female was no threat, sheathed his sword. He could see the creature visibly relax at that moment, yet she dared not break her hold of the child.
"Are you alright? Where did you come from?" Dost asked, the creature looking at him with confusion and skepticism. Slowly, Dost approached the female only to have her hiss shrilly, the creature spouting strange words that the ape did not understand. Her tone sounded harsh, almost as if she was forcing her beautiful voice to sound threatening. It almost sounded like she had a very thick accent, and Dost could swear that he could make out some words, but they were spoken so fast out of her mouth in that strange tongue that he knew he was only fooling himself.
The hair on the back of the ape's neck rose as he backed off, keeping his distance as he stared at the creature. She seemed much more concerned about her offspring than the wound on her body.
Dost remained quiet, watching the creature coo at the baby in the bundle, debating. He was ordered to kill anything in this area, but he didn't see this strange creature and her infant as a threat. And surely she had nothing to do with the explosion in the mines. Dost briefly looked at the two moons in the sky, and upon looking back noticed that the creature had done the same.
"What is your name?" Dost asked softly as not to startle the creature. She only scrunched her nose at him, as if sniffing the air before speaking in her strange tongue, shaking her head. At somewhat of a loss, Dost placed his arms on his chest, pointing to himself briefly.
"Dost." Dost spoke, the creature's black eyes looking at him oddly, almost in innocent curiosity.
"Dost." Dost spoke again, pointing to himself before pointing to the creature. She remained quiet as Dost motioned towards her. Slowly, a smile graced the creature's lips as she motioned to herself as best she could.
"Kaja."
"Kaja?" Dost asked, the creature nodding.
"Kaja. Dost? Dost?" The creature asked, motioning to the ape who simply nodded in response, "Dost. Kaja." She then motioned to herself again.
Kaja? What kind of name was Kaja? It was such an odd name.
Without warning, Kaja tried to rise to her feet, using a tree for support as she cried, falling to her knees as she held onto the bundle tightly. Kaja then spoke swiftly, sounding almost desperate towards the ape as she looked upon him. Dost shook his head, not understanding.
Kaja then spoke some more, voice sounding as if she were pleading as she struggled to crawl toward the ape, her bloodied arms extending as Dost realized she was offering him the infant.
"What? Oh, no, I..." Dost shook his head, cut off as Kaja now spoke rapidly, almost forcefully as tears began to run down her face, black eyes boring into the ape. But the tears were too dark to be water. It was blood.
Dost shook his head, but found the bundle forced onto him as she smelled the creature's strange scent. Kaja smiled sadly at the ape before her, Dost struggling to hold the baby right. Kaja placed a hand on the infant nestled inside the scarf, and smiled at the male ape.
"Nikita." Kaja spoke softly, Dost looking at her with confusion.
"Nikita." Kaja spoke again, kissing the bundle before backing up, her movements unsteady.
Dost looked at the female before turning his gaze to the infant in the bundle. It didn't make a sound. Was it even alive? Pausing to check, Dost moved the scarf to get a better view of the infant, nearly dropping it as he was what it was.
Inside the scarf was a small wolf, wrapped tightly in the warmth of the fabric, eyes closed and fair fur slightly stained with its mother's blood. Dost looked back to the woman, and panicked upon finding her nowhere in sight. The blood and knife were still there, but Kaja herself had vanished.
Dost groaned inwardly to himself. How was he going to explain this to his mate?
...Tada?
