For the reviews on the last Tyrant's Tomb chapter:
To Imagine Coldplay- You do! My library is doing a click and collect style thing, I think you request a book online or over the phone and go and collect it? I don't know what other libraries are like, but that's mine :P
To 8Ball3- Yep, last one! I would love to send Lou to space. I literally had a random one-shot where she and the others had a temporary team up with the Voltron lot, just so she could punch a Galra XD Jessica has good taste! :P
To readingbooksforlife- Lavinia is amazing! I know Rick's finished the PJO/HoO/ToA lot, but I hope Lavinia's still about somewhere :D I think 'Lou' can, has and will continue to be an adjective ^_^
And now for the reviews- or shall I say, review- on this one!
To 8Ball3- Yeeeeeeppppp :3
"Lou! Lou, wait!"
"It's not safe!"
"Why is she so fast?"
"Come on, Raijin!" Ruby grabbed his hand and tugged him on. Raijin wheezed in response. They were losing sight of Louisa. She zipped through the forest like the trees were moving for her. They weren't having as much luck, desperately trying to follow her. Storm was also somewhere ahead of them, faster on her four legs than they were on their two. They could hear her whinnying, calling for her human. Ruby hopped a tree root. "Louisa!"
Lou, help me!
They could hear the boy's voice too, getting clearer. It had gone from calling to the runaway to crying for help.
"I'm comin', Arnie, hold on!" The boy screamed. Louisa took a sharp right turn, crashing through bushes. "Arnie!" Huxley poured on the speed, flinging himself to the right and heading towards her at an angle.
He found her at the edge of a sinkhole, peering over the edge to see how she would climb down.
I can't move! Help me, Louisa!
"Lou!" Huxley tackled her, somehow smacking her sword from her hand at the same time. They fell away from the sinkhole. She screamed and twisted, punching him in the jaw. He recoiled, white spots dancing across his vision. She scrambled away, calling for Arnie. Huxley lunged forward, falling onto his front, grabbing her by the ankle and tripping her up.
"Stop it!" She demanded furiously, kicking at his arm.
"It's not Arnie!"
"It is! He needs my help!" She tried kicking him again. He held fast. "I can help him this time!" She rolled, clawing at the ground to pull herself towards the sinkhole. Huxley got his feet under him, still holding onto her and pulling her backwards. "No!" She grabbed at the earth, snatching up handfuls of dirt and dead leaves. "Stop it, stop it!" He hugged her to him, trapping her arms to her sides. She screamed, tried to headbutt him, tried kicking and squirming and thrashing.
When 'Arnie' screamed, she froze. Her head turned slowly, glowering at him sidelong. Huxley stayed carefully still, watching the glow fade into existence. Against the Minotaur, she had blinked and it was there, a brilliant, searing green. Now, it gradually grew into that brilliance, seething. Green sparks crackled up her arms, dashing over his skin and leaving angry red welts.
Ruby and Raijin crashed in. He fell to his knees, gasping for air. Ruby picked up Louisa's dropped sword. There was a bigger flash and Huxley was thrown back, his newly healed ribs facing the onslaught again.
"Lou, stop this!" Ruby ordered. That green glare was turned on her. She held the sword with both hands, arms trembling. Louisa clenched her fists, twisting on her heel. A chill sunk into Ruby's skin- even with the weapon, Louisa didn't see her as a problem. She was more interested in the sinkhole. "Hey!" She called. "Lou, stop!"
"Lou!" Raijin rasped, struggling to stand, hands on his knees. "Lou!"
Surprise attack! Storm neighed victoriously. They had no idea where she had come from, but she was there, shoulder-slamming her human away from the sinkhole. Louisa staggered, falling over backwards. She rolled and came up in a crouch, snarling, the green light blustering around her arms. Storm snorted at her, head held high in challenge. You'll have to get past me!
Louisa ran forward. Storm reared and kicked at her, catching her in the shoulder. Louisa grunted, hopping back out of range. Her brow furrowed, green sparks inspecting the injury. Come on then! Storm whinnied. She kicked and bucked and slammed into Louisa, darting here and there and blocking her path at every opportunity.
"You OK?" Ruby asked Huxley, reaching down to grip his elbow.
"Great." He grimaced, rising stiffly. "We need to see what's down there."
"You want to go towards the talking hole?" Raijin breathed.
"Whatever it is, it's not this Arnie kid." He summoned his axe, shouldering it. "Raij, you keep an eye on them. Shout us if she gets past Storm." Raijin nodded dutifully. "Ruby, you good with that sword?"
"No, but I'll try."
"That's the spirit. Come on."
Storm saw what they were doing, kicking Louisa in the leg. The green glow sputtered, Louisa fell to one knee. She screwed her eyes shut, swaying. Storm didn't relent, headbutting Louisa in the chest and then lying on top of her, effectively pinning her to the ground. Ruby and Huxley ran to the edge. She had a flashlight from their supplies, the darkness in the sinkhole seemingly infinite under the night sky.
The light did not cut the shadows away completely, but enough to spill on the form below.
It was definitely not Arnie.
The monster seemed to smile up them, cooing and growling contentedly. It crouched. Huxley grabbed Ruby around the middle, yanking her out of the way. The monster leapt straight up, over their heads.
It was like nothing they had ever seen, an amalgamation of animals and features that sent fear prickling through them. Its body was that of a stag's, a lion's mane at its neck and a tail to match. It landed neatly on cloven hooves, turning to smile at them with a badger's head, its mouth opening right back to its ears. In place of teeth were two ridges of bone, top and bottom of the jaw. It seemed to grin at them, opening its mouth.
Lou! It called, Arnie's voice stronger and more desperate. It turned to face her, still squashed under the pegasus. You didn't save me, Lou. It accused.
"No…" Louisa croaked. The green glow disappeared as she began to cry. "No…"
It's your fault. It's your fault I'm dead.
"Leave her alone!" Raijin threw a rock. It struck the monster in the cheek. Huxley pounced, axe in hand, as the beast turned on the younger boy, growling lowly. Ruby was a close step behind him, lobbing a knife from her sleeve. The monster screeched in agony at the blade in its eye. Ruby slashed with Louisa's sword, opening its flank. Huxley swung down with his axe, lodging it into the small of its back.
Help me! It pleaded in Arnie's voice. Louisa, help me! Louisa wailed, hugging Storm desperately. The foal was clearly talking to her, ears flicking, head bobbing, licking her face reassuringly. It did nothing to quell the trembling. The monster was undeterred. Lou, hel-
"Shut up!" Ruby demanded, stabbing forward. Huxley freed his weapon and struck at the same time. The monster lost Arnie's voice when it lost its head.
"What the hell was that?" Huxley blustered, staring aghast at the pile of ashes.
"Evil." Ruby said quietly, visibly shaking.
"It's gone now, Lou." Raijin promised, scrambling to kneel by her head, stroking her hair. "It's gone now." Storm shifted, lying beside Louisa, the hug unchanged. Louisa hid her face in the filly's neck, sobs descending into violent hiccups.
The sun was just beginning to shine over the horizon. Louisa sat in a tree, as high as she could climb, watching the glow rise. Raijin squinted up at her. She had not moved for nearly an hour.
Calming her enough to get back to their campsite had been Ruby's doing this time. She talked Louisa through it, step-by-step, catching her breath, getting to her feet, one wobbly step at a time, Storm positioning herself on her other side, supporting her. Ruby talked to her all the time, remarking on how well she was doing and how near they were to their base. Louisa swayed between her and the pegasus, eyes fixed ahead of her unseeingly. Whether she understood what Ruby was saying to her, they didn't know. Maybe it helped her to know she had help at hand.
She was in the tree to clear her head. Storm stood guard at the bottom, restless. Her tufty wings fluttered and she huffed, rising on her back legs, front hooves on the trunk.
"You'll fly one day." Raijin told her, petting her shoulder. Storm sunk onto all fours again, grumbling. Raijin scratched her behind the ears. "I think your wings have grown a little bit." He encouraged, offering a feeble smile. Storm's eyes flicked to him, a fed-up gratefulness behind the dark hues, and then looked back up at Louisa. "She'll come down when she feels up to it." He continued. "Why don't you come and get something to eat? I think she has some apples in her pack." Storm pawed the ground, shaking her head. Raijin raised an eyebrow at her. "OK, who are you and what have you done with Storm?"
"What's going on?"
"Storm said no to apples."
"Oh my gods."
"I know right?" Raijin marvelled. Storm headbutted him, snorting, clearly arguing. Raijin went along with it, nodding seriously, supplying 'Oh really?'s and 'How dare you?'s where he thought necessary. Ruby sighed, leaving them to it.
"What do you think it was?" She asked Huxley. He was sat on a log, stoking the fire.
"The monster?"
"No, that thing that looked like a pinecone."
"I think that was an acorn." The corner of his mouth tipped up, the closest thing she had seen to his smile. "Maybe a conker." Ruby sighed, batting his knee with her foot.
"Of course I'm talking about the monster."
"Mmph." He scrunched his nose. "I've heard about monsters imitating voices before. Lure people in and then eat them. But I've not heard about or seen anything like that before." He wiped away a speck of dirt from his knee, blaming her sneaker, sighing. "Do you… it said that she didn't save him." He glanced over his shoulder, up at the tree. Louisa still hadn't moved, but he lowered his voice anyway. "Guess that explains why she freaks whenever his name comes up."
"Poor kid." Ruby agreed miserably. "Wonder what happened."
"I'm not asking her. She's already blasted me with green stuff today."
"Oh yeah. How are you ribs?"
"Thrilled that they're an afterthought." He grumbled. Ruby swatted his arm and he produced a tired half-smile. "I've had some nectar. I'll be alright."
"Ow!" Raijin yelped, making them both jump. Storm whinnied, almost laughing. "You can't bite me, that's rude!" He flailed his non-injured hand at the pegasus, whisking it away when she tried biting him again. "Lou! Control your horse!" Storm's humour died, offended. She bounced, stomping the ground. "Sorry, what was that?" Raijin cupped a hand around his ear, leaning towards her teasingly. "I don't speak horse. Ah! No! Bad Storm, bad!" He raced away. Storm was hot on his heels, chasing him in a circle around the camp. Raijin tried losing her by weaving around trees and bushes. She would go the other way and cut him off with a victorious snort. "Help!" Raijin requested, tackling Huxley frantically. They landed in a heap behind the log Huxley had been sat on, Raijin squirming around him, using him as a shield. Storm towered over them, head held high in triumph.
"Storm." The pegasus turned her head, ears pricking. She whinnied delightedly and trotted off. Louisa held her hands out, taking the foal's head in her hold. Storm licked her face, snuffling curiously. Louisa scratched her under the chin, though it was clear some of her thoughts were still caught elsewhere. Her eyes had darkened with tired shadows. Her shoulders slumped, her movements listless and automatic.
"Here, Lou." Ruby called kindly. "We made breakfast." Louisa glanced over, Storm licking her hair now, trying to clean her up. Ruby wriggled the can invitingly. "We have beans!" She declared cheerfully.
"We need to go shopping." Huxley interjected, finally prying Raijin off of him, who gave his most angelic smile. Huxley grunted. "My ribs are never going to heal with you lot around."
