I couldn't feel less alive.
It's another sleepless night. I want to just close my eyes and shut out the world; disconnect from everything. Is what I'm doing making any difference or are we simply humoring ourselves?
By all means I should, and would, have curled up and retreat from the earth, like the turtle inside its shell. Alas, it's never that easy. Nothing's ever simple anymore. A mundane task like falling asleep I can't do because my brain is firing thousands of synapses per second.
There's a reason why this place has never fallen. Got to be. No other explanation. Someone in this wretched place has to know.
"Mother?"
She's not responding. Lying out on her side, clutching something that glitters in the moonlight.
"Ma?" The young beast asks again. No response. He moves closer, placing his paw on her shoulder. She's unnaturally cold.
It figures, the beast reasons with himself. Times are hard. His mother said she was a merchant; he often didn't see her until dawn or dusk, when she was already headed out again.
"C'mon," he mutters, bemused. Shaking her back and forth. "You can't just... Sleep out here."
The mother vixen says nothing.
"Ma?" The beast grumbles, trying to wrestle free the strange glittering trinket from her grip. "What's so special about this, anyway? It's a..."
His expression of exasperation turns to horror.
I can't let this happen. I'm letting myself and everyone else down if I don't battle on. Letting my family down. Remember what Dantalion said.
Late night, dark out... Which way was the church? It's so cold out. Why is it cold?
Stumbling back up into a crouching position, I crane my neck at my surroundings. I can make out a clearing up ahead, though I don't remember if it's the church's path.
Against my better judgement, I move forward.
"Ma? What's this?"
So very quiet. The answer never came.
The youngster rolls the knife around in his hand. Sharp. Wet. Violent. Nothing he wants to do with. He sticks it in his belt like the father he barely knew used to do. Kneeling, he does the only thing he really knows how to do; he hugs his mother.
Mid-embrace, he weakly barks out, "Mother."
No response.
He had reached the end of innocence.
I heard something. Something rustle. It might be a beast, it might be the wind, but my heart is in my throat.
"Who's there?" I hiss, readying my blade.
It's a must these days.
Oh, hell, not you again.
"Again? Interesssting, we have never met. Not on my terms, as it is."
I think my spine just jumped out of alignment.
"Show yourself!" I demand, with only a fraction of the calmness I wanted to show.
"You wish the world you know to end, no?"
"Just... Who are you, what are you, and what do you want?"
"I go by many names. You may refer to me as Elaphe, although I doubt you'll need to. I'm... Bored."
"Bored? Then your idea of fun must be bollocks."
I'm a little pleased with myself at this statement, but my chuckle turns into a gasp as Elaphe slithers out into the moonlight.
"You're a snake," I stumble over my words, more or less stricken with fear.
"Ah, yes, wonderful observation skill. I was told Seers were naturally smart."
"What do you want?" I say again. The reptile raises up and if I didn't know better, I'd say he was smiling.
"For me, daydreams aren't as bright as they used to," Elaphe muses. "I'm often alone. You and I are not so different in that regard; unwanted, unloved. Ssso much time alone makes a beassst curiousss."
Elaphe's red scales seem to glitter in the moonlight, and for a moment I think of the bird, Aerien, the one who went from sentinel of Mossflower's skies to mincemeat in a day.
I think to myself, I am Aerien. I awoke as a beast wanting to find his place in a world that wants nothing to do with him. I'm going to end up dying unceremoniously. And even worse than the thought of dying is dying so pointlessly. Here lies Landeskog, came for change, died chasing a snake.
"So tell me, fox," Elaphe says, clearly amused by the fact I'm wide-eyed and trembling, "what bringsss you to Mossflower?"
"C-change," I begin, trying hard not to think of the words poisonous, or biting. "I came here with many other beasts to change the world. Where no one has to suffer because they're of the wrong species."
This elicits a thoughtful chuckle from the snake. "A noble tasssk. Are you planning to take Redwall?"
"Yes," I answer, trying hard not to think of the words fang, or searing, or venom.
Elaphe laughs.
Have you heard the sound of a snake laughing? It sounds like death.
"And you will fail, like so many before you," Elaphe twitches his tail back and forth, as if regarding an old family story. "Yesss... Many beasts have tried to break down those crimson walls, and none of them succeeded. There isss a reason for that, fox. Do you know? It isss watched over. By a guardian. By his sword, none shall passss.
"Do you ever notice it, fox? The slipping of the grip of your blade at the worssst time. The tree falling before you in a thunderstorm. Critical failuresss, but why? Luck, perhapsss."
Then, his slitted yellow eyes lock with mine, and what I assume passes for a grin stretches across his face.
"However, fox, I've seen many seasons upon this land. I have seen the unthinkable happen, thingssss somebeasts don't see in a lifetime. It is simply something more."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Elaphe "winks", before starting to slither away. Before he disappears from view the snake turns around one more time, looking me in the eye again with those Goldenrod eyes.
"I'm warning you to get out while you ssstill can, fox. Walk away. Redwall Abbey will be end of days if you don't."
And just like that, he's gone.
The church doesn't feel like sanctuary anymore.
"Oi, Lander?" Rask slurs, the ferret wiping sleep from his eyes. "Wot're you doing 'ere?"
Then he looks at me again and tilts his head to the side.
"'N why're you trembling?"
All I can do is grimace and shake my head.
a/n » have you ever started a story and it ends up going in an entirely different direction that you had planned?