A/N: Mother of God this was a long-ass chapter! I'm gonna have to take a long-ass break. And a cold shower. Enjoy.
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Sky Eyes jerked awake.
The dry feeling in her mouth was still there, but it no longer burned, it was just a dried out cottony feeling. Using her lips and tongue she tried to work off the gag, it was feeling looser. She tested her wrists against her bonds and was rewarded with muscle pain.
Straightening herself she looked cautiously around, no sign of the god, or anything else for that matter. Squinting, she observed the sky, no god there either; Grandfather Sun's position told her it was well beyond midday.
Sighing she continued to push off the gag and leaned back onto her stake. Her sweat was starting to cool.
I have to escape, she thought dizzily, and tried to reason, if the god didn't get her thirst, or hunger or wild beasts or enemy tribesmen would. She tugged at her wrists. Still tight. She could move about somewhat around the stake, even bend her knees and sit down, but she was stuck to it. She tried wiggling the pole, maybe if given enough time-days- she might have been able to shake it loose, but she didn't have that time. She continued struggling.
With a shake of her head she managed finally toss off the gag, it hung limply around her neck.
Sky Eyes looked around once more, an odd feeling of being watched coming over her. She began to tug more desperately on the ropes.
In what seemed like a great deal of time later, she began panicking, it was not yet night, but the barest hint of dimness was beginning to fall across the land. Soon she would be trapped and blind, she tried calling out.
She made the noise of a woman in distress, it was enormously risky but in her desperation she figured anything was better than this. Even if she attracted a hungry god or animal, death was preferable to waiting.
Still giving a high pitched wail she heard it, a soft subtle sound. She stopped and gasped, but heard nothing, she began crying again. The unfortunate woman struggled not to let tears fall down, knowing I would only exacerbate her dehydration.
When she heard the noise again she was able to pinpoint the sound, it was behind her, a thrill of dread running through she turned around. She saw nothing, she decided to use words.
"Please," she begged, "if you are a man or a god or a demon or even an animal please untie me, or at the very least kill me to set me free. Please." she whimpered.
She heard it again, a soft peal of laughter.
Instantly she knew what it was. Cheeks burning she cursed the warriors who must have remained, for what she didn't know, probably to insure she died properly. Any noise immediately ceased.
Sighing once more, she leaned back onto the stake and eased herself to the ground. Her mind was oddly blank and calm now, waiting for slaughter, excepting the inevitable. She continued to flex her wrists and shut her eyes.
A shadow passed swiftly over her…
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The "god" hadn't been to this spot in days, he saw little need for it. He had slaughtered a hunting party, they never saw him coming. He left one man alive; whom he could clearly smell was related to one of his other victims. The man held out his hands in a supplicating gesture and babbled something. The "god" ignored him, satisfied with is prey.
He very much doubted he would find anything here again, the blood from his last hunt was still there for humans to see, however he wanted to sniff around those cliff houses again. He heard it before he saw, or even smelled it. It was the noise of an animal in distress, he could smell human.
Now excited and drawn irresistibly towards Sky Eyes like a moth to a flame he saw an odd sight. A woman was tied to a long skinny stick in the ground; she was the one who was crying, now apparently done. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her pole, her wrists still struggling. He could easily see from his vantage point other humans who THOUGHT they were hiding, a group of young men and an old one. They kept their eyes steadily on the woman.
The monster did a quick mental assessment. No, there was nothing like this in his memory, very rarely he saw animals tied up then killed in an apparent religious rite. He only saw humans tied up when they were war captives, tied up and marched off to be slaves, but never to a stick, just left there. Waiting.
Then he had a flash of insight: Of course! This must be some sort of trap, a silly one, but a trap none the less. He goes for the helpless tied up human; the others jump out and try to kill him. He smirked.
Circling around once more he planned based on smell, the men, some of them at least were definitely prey, no doubt about that. One was really too old to use, the woman, well she smelled interesting, definitely worth checking out. He would do the bait last, she wasn't going anywhere.
Her blue eyes snapped open, awoken by the terrible screams, twisting around she could clearly see the source. The warriors had abandoned their hideout, running around like frightened birds. Wondering what was happening she quickly stood up.
It would have been funny if it wasn't so horrifying, although she couldn't quite see what was happening, she stood on her toes, the screams were starting to infect her with fear. She could now hear wails of pain also.
It was a man, biggest she had ever seen, he was wearing rags, he was chasing the warriors, killing them- no
Men don't have wings; his was still half opened as he killed lazily, Sky Eyes subconsciously tugged on her ropes. She saw his face, his face was opening.
Nooooooo, she wailed silently, it's the god! Changing her mind instantly she began to struggle. No, no please don't kill me, god.
It was as useless attempt as her previous ones, in her haze of panic she nearly strangled herself on the rope trying to get away. She saw men being killed, some trying to run others trying to fight, both were proving useless.
She saw the hateful old elder, the part of the group that wanted to kill her, kneel and plea to the god. He casually knocked him out of the way.
Sky Eyes might have given up then, fainted, when she felt something sharp jabbed into her belly.
The yucca knife! She had forgotten about it, it was still hidden in the fold of her dress. It would easily cut through rope; it was almost sharp as stone. She quickly realized her limits; she couldn't just reach in and grab it she decided to shake her dress loose.
It came out easily falling to the ground. She squatted and tried to grab it blindly. In her panic she dropped it twice. Near tears she managed it on the third time and immediately began sawing herself loose. She could hear the screams of the dying, smell their blood.
Awkwardly she jumped up, she only needed to really cut halfway, with the strength born of fear she broke free on her own. She began to desperately kick and toss off the remaining bits of rope.
Involuntarily she turned around. She wanted to scream, it was horrid, and the god was winding down its massacre. Unexpectedly he shot a look to her, and then literally did a double take, staring straight into her eyes. She could only look back in paralyzed horror. Mouth open and still dripping with blood he started towards her.
Sky Eyes snapped out of her frozen shock, running for her life in the opposite direction. She didn't look back; sure the demon-god was right on her heels. Her heart was going to explode and her lungs were on fire.
Then-"Ahhhhhggg!" she screamed and something slammed into her. It was one of the few remaining warriors, his eyes were wild and he kept knocking into her in panic, impeding her progress! The demon was right behind her!
In a blind rage Sky Eyes lashed out, catching the idiot in the mouth with the yucca knife. Now his eyes bulged at her, staring with blank horror into her icy blue ones. "Son of a Whore!" she screamed/cursed at him, before ripping the knife through his cheek. He screamed and fell before her. She stepped over his body and ran, and kept running. She didn't look back, she didn't know if the demon-god got the young man. She didn't care.
She didn't stop running until she came to a stream.
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Sky Eyes collapsed to the ground. For a moment too tired to even think, then she immediately looked behind her, no vengeful god howling for her blood. She looked all around, even checked the sky for good measure. She had escaped…
She immediately fell into the stream, drinking greedily, never having been so thirsty in her life. She drank till the burning was gone, only pausing to pant in exhaustion. She drank till her stomach felt like a ripe gourd melon, nearly bursting.
The woman got up, and panted slowly, then immediately looked around again, she wanted nothing more than to rest, just lay down and sleep, but she knew she couldn't. Despite the calm she knew he could be lurking, hungry for her flesh. Setting off on a jog she continued to run.
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The monster was torn.
So hungry and this tasty little morsel was right in front of him. He was curled up in shock and fear. Felled by that woman.
He had ignored her, saved her last thinking she couldn't run, then he saw her loose. Then he had to stop stare in surprise. The woman was staring back at him with wide fearful eyes, in a color he neversaw before!
He had to get closer, had to examine her more minutely. Maybe even use the unusual eyes.
Predictably she bolted, ran in a completely opposite direction. No problem, he set off after her. Then he saw her confront, fight another human, she had stabbed him. It wasn't a deep would but he fell to the ground in terror, not used to dealing with vengeful gods and witches curses. He was positive this was the end, too scared to move.
Now the monster stood before the callow youth, debating if he should eat and store the corpses in his lair, or chase after the fleeing woman. The man at his feet was babbling, praying to the angry god. He felt a twinge of hunger. He could always pick her scent and catch her later.
Sky Eyes was sure it was a scream. A distant horrible one. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed forward.
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All she could do now was hide.
She was by a small creek, in a small niche in the rock. It wasn't a proper cave, but it was far better than nothing.
Despite her fatigue she had constructed a very crude lean-to. She drank from the creek. She managed to shove down a few sour sumac berries she knew were edible. She thought about building a fire, but there was no time to gather wood and tinder before the sun fell, and she had no fire-rocks with her. Besides it might attract the god.
Sky Eyes whimpered and cowered in her rude shelter, clutching the yucca knife, reliving the horrible things she had seen. She thanked Grandmother Earth for the haven, poor as it was, she prayed to all the gods in thanks and pleas, except one. She didn't want her prayers to draw him too her.
Predictably the woman didn't sleep, having never faced the total darkness alone. She heard coyotes howling and thought she heard an owl hoot. That was a bad omen. So she began to think, weigh her options, she had absolutely no place to go. The tribe she was born into grudgingly tolerated her, but now the whispers that had surrounded her all her life had boiled up into angry shouts, nearly killing her.
She couldn't help but cry when she realized she was cut off from her mothers forever. Her birth mother and the Corn Mother.
She couldn't hunt, she could only get corn if she raided someone else's fields, and that could get her killed. Maybe another tribe could take me in, intertribal adoption wasn't unheard of, but that was risky too, they might decide to kill her outright if not for her old tribe affiliation then for her oddness. And even if they did she wouldn't be useful as a wife because she was barren, she would be an outcast in that society too, little more than a slave.
Squeezing out a last few tears she curled up for warmth, chanting silently to Moon Goddess, begging her pale ancestor for protection.
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When she awoke again it was already morning, she gave another quick scan, offered her usual prayer to Grandfather Sun and took a quick dip into the creek. She did not take off her dress, she felt vulnerable enough without being naked.
The only pause in her day was when she grabbed nearby river rushes to weave a crude but functional basket. She filled it with the rest of the berries, two fire stones she found up stream and her yucca knife. She thanked Spider Woman silently.
As she walked on she realized what being cut off from the Pueblo rally meant, there was no signing, laughing, gossip no human voices at all. There was no corn she could lazily pick and eat. She was completely alone, only relying on herself. It was both terrifying and exhilarating. After a while she enjoyed it, no hostile stares or accusations anymore.
It's still so dangerous though; there was the god, wild animals, and enemy tribes. If those didn't get her she could fall to starvation, or disease, or even a simple accident. No one would be there to help her. Still she continued to push on.
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Later she rested.
It wasn't dark yet, but she could see it was getting there. She rested by a pond, drank and washed the dirt and sweat from herself.
Sky Eyes was in good spirits, no sign of the demon, or anything else harmful: no people, no predators. She once saw a bobcat slink shyly away in the bushes; she knew she was too big and healthy and strong for it. She felt elated.
She ate some her berries, wondering what else she would find for food. The woman had seen acorns, but she had no proper way of preparing them. Then she saw the glint of small silver fish, resting in her shadow. She laughed in delight.
Sky Eyes stared, wondering if she could possibly catch one, she stuck her hand into the pool. Instantly in a silver cloud they darted away. She felt disappointed, but something about what her husband mentioned came back to her, you had to be still.
She stopped her hand from moving. Sure enough the fish came darting cautiously back, she tried to grab one, her hand was slow the fish were not. Twice more she tried this, and then gave it up as foolish. She never heard of anybody catching fish with bare hands, it was impossible. Regretfully she turned to her basket.
Her basket…she stared at it. It was not water proof, it was far to hastily made for that, it had lots of small holes, almost like a net, she considered.
Carefully removing everything and setting it on a flat rock she dipped the basket into the pool, the fish darted away, and then casually swam toward it again. Already they forgot it was there. Then to her surprise some fish swam into it! She saw a berry was left inside, lodged in one of the small cracks of the basket. Some fish began to nibble curiously on it.
Jerking her arm up she yanked on the basket, tugging it with all her might, the water made it heavy, fish began to dart out in panic. Some were small enough to swim through it. They practically flew out. One fish was too big and too slow.
Sky Eyes shrieked in triumph. She did it! Sky Eyes the mighty hunter! She gigged at that silly thought, delighted with herself, proud. The fish flopped helplessly, she smashed it with rock.
It gaped at her with sad stupid eyes; she felt a twinge of pity. She thanked the fish's spirit for its sacrifice and once again thanked Spider Woman for teaching women to weave. Then using her yucca knife she cleaned and gutted it.
She held the gutted fish in her hand, should she risk a fire? Or choke it down raw? She scanned the sky. No sign of the demon god all day, maybe she lost him. Inhaling deeply she gathered some tinder and a few scraps of wood. It would be a small fire. She struck her fire stones.
The smell of sizzling fish was wonderful. It wasn't that big, about the size of her hand but it cooked quickly and tasted delicious. She loved the fish eyes and greedily sucked them out.
When she was done she curled up and sighed, a nice warm full feeling emanating from her belly. She found no shelter, I should keep the fire going… but she felt tired, almost lazy, she yawned, the sun was beginning to set. Reluctantly getting up and stretching, Sky Eyes began to hunt for more wood.
A small shadow flickered distantly.
Sky Eyes reacted with instant instinctive terror. Turning around swiftly as the bobcat she scanned all horizons, maybe it was nothing, just a bird, then she saw it.
It was in the west flying rapidly, maybe it was just the bird, but it circled closer. It was the demon god, spiraling in circles. Dropping lower then shooting upward. He looked like a vulture, her stomach twisted around the fish. She wondered if, like a vulture, he was looking for carrion. He wheeled in a wide arc, circled lazily and came closer. She thought she could almost see his eyes on the ground, looking, searching, searching for her!
Sky Eyes reacted in a swift panic, she ran, then remembered her belongings; she tried to run again but remembered the fire. Fortunately she was clear headed not to throw water on it. Water made steam. She scooped shovels of Earth onto it, blessing herself for making it so small.
She ran, Grandfather Sun's rays made his shadow appear longer than it already was. It stretched across the Earth, spurring her on faster.
She ran, already tired, not knowing where she was going.
She ran stumbling along until she saw a briar bush.
Sky Eyes stopped, panicked. Then dithered slightly on the spot, she could keep running or-
A childhood story came back to her; she could hear her mother's voice, the clever rabbit who outwitted the coyote by hiding in the thorn bush. She decided, as long as her clothes or hair didn't get stuck.
Cautiously inching her way in she squeezed underneath the bush, brushing aside the thorns that caught in her skin. Thankfully there was a small opening she could squeeze into, if she made herself very small.
Sky Eyes cowered in the bush, hoping to stay hidden. She thought she saw his shadow once or twice…
Fortunately she was not found. But unavoidably she could not sleep either, any small movement poked her skin, and as it grew dark every shadow and noise seemed to be him. She closed her eyes and tried not to whimper.
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So there was no warm fire, or feeling of safety. She couldn't leave her thorn haven for anything, not even to relieve herself. Whatever sleep she could manage was just so filled with nightmares that it seemed little different than reality, she couldn't even scream.
At least the moon was waxing, the moon goddess shined benevolent light upon her descendent, although she thought she saw, or dreamed a shadow occasionally flitting across her face.
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Sky Eyes wasn't even sure if she was awake.
Her eyes seemed half opened already her whole body was so stiff even unclenching her hands was an effort. Her first coherent thought was wondering why he was tormenting her. She tried to sit up, and then was reminded of the thorns. Stupid she said sleepily to herself and untangled her hair. The bush trembled.
She paused, wondering if she was being irrational, it was probably just her, but with the hideous god demon nothing was certain. She forced herself to sit completely still, more still than she thought possible. She heard nothing unusual.
So slow it was agonizing she made her way out of the thorn bush, scratching herself every inch she crawled. She was filthy; she reeked of dirt and urine. She clutched her basket and yucca knife. The whole process made slower by her desire to look and listen. Sky Eyes saw or heard nothing unusual. Torn, that's how she felt, literally and figuratively, she wanted to run but ease out cautiously. Her skin was scratched up.
When she finally did get out she did not run, she walked quickly and carefully, keeping low, maybe the demon wouldn't see her from the air.
The woman pushed herself farther, harder than yesterday. She had gotten lazy, she had been imprudent. Sky Eyes knew the demon was much faster than her, she remembered his massive wings. She had to keep going, go farther and faster than ever before, in the slim hope she could shake him.
She only paused to wade across another pond, drinking then washing the filth off. Looking ruefully at the fish she regretted not having the time to catch one. Instead she stuffed a handful of berries into her mouth and continued onward. She hoped the water washed away her scent. It cooled her from the burning sun, she did not mind. She thanked Grandfather Sun; he had warned her about the demon, exaggerating his shadow so she could see him.
Sky Eyes continued on, jumping at any unexpected movement and continuously scanning the sky. She had no idea where she was going.
When she had time to think she thought of heading south, for some reason the idea vaguely appealed to her. The big gleaming cities and pyramids she was told about, and she remembered a strange southern trader with facial tattoos and a colorful talking bird on his shoulder. He had looked into her eyes and babbled excitedly, with no fear. Maybe she could find acceptance in his tribe, whoever they were.
However the indistinct plan proved difficult to put into practice. She did not travel in a straight line, but constantly zigzagged, dodging boulders and arroyos and other natural formations. When the day was once again was ending she realized she was heading east, the sun was behind her back.
I'm going home, she thought dizzily. She had the weird idea her strange ancestors would greet her in the east. She imagined everybody had blue eyes there.
The hunger was almost too much. A day's march on nothing but a handful of berries. She felt shaky and almost delirious. She decided to stop, find a safe place and finish off the rest of her berries when she saw it.
It seemed like a shadow at first, which made her instantly wary, but after only a seconds observation she saw smoke, a steady stream rising over a tiny valley.
Smoke meant fire, fire meant people, and maybe people meant food.
Heedless of the danger she immediately ran toward it, dreaming of filling her belly. Of kindness and companionship. Hunger and loneliness had clouded her judgment.
The smoke was rising from a cave, her joy increased, a safe dry place for the night, like a Pueblo. She clambered over boulders and scrabbled up. She peered inside cautiously.
"Hello?" Sky Eyes called out tentatively.
Something burst from the cave, yelling. Sky Eyes screamed and retreated, cowering. Her heart felt like it was going to burst. She stared wide eyed at the cave dweller.
His hair was wild and unkempt, he looked dirty, he smelled dirty, but he looked well fed. Sky Eyes could smell something cooking. It seemed delicious. He barked something at her. It took her a while to understand, his dialect was rough sounding. He told her to go away.
"Please," she said to his retreating back. He ignored her and limped back into his cave. She tried to clear her voice, hoping he could understand her. "Please, I'm very hungry." She begged. She stepped cautiously into the cave.
Something was cooking, rabbit, her mouth watered.
"Please let me have some." She said desperately. He glared at her. She pointed at the roasting rabbit to emphasize her point.
He sneered. "What have you got to trade?" he demanded.
Sky Eyes looked at her basket. He had fire stones; she needed her yucca knife, so she scooped up the last of the berries and offered it to him. With shockingly bad manners he scooped them up and swallowed them whole, without even chewing, like a duck she thought with disgust.
But she was happy, this meant rabbit for dinner, she sat down in exhaustion and began tearing meat off the still hot animal. Her manners just as bad as his.
The strange man stared at her; he gave his sneering smile and spoke again. "You'll starve to death." She blinked and looked up, not knowing if she heard correctly. "What did you say?" she asked politely, in her clearest voice.
He smirked and gestured to the rabbit, "you only eat that you starve, no matter how much you eat, and I've seen it." He pointed to some roasted quail. Sky Eyes shook her head. "I don't eat birds."
He looked bewildered, "wha-?" he demanded. Sky Eyes shrugged, "I like birds, they're like my relations, so I don't eat them." She paused, "especially quails, they make me laugh." She took another bite of rabbit. The man sneered again and shook his head.
She ate about half the rabbit, feeling wonderfully full, and then gingerly set it back on its stake.
Sky Eyes studied him quietly from a lowered head, as a proper woman should. She got a bad impression. His cave was filthy, he was filthy. He limped around muttering to himself and barking out strange things to her she could barely understand. She looked down and noticed one of his feet was deformed. Club foot.
She wondered how she could stay here. She had nothing else to trade. And she doubted it would be from the kindness of his heart. But she didn't get up and leave. She wondered where the demon was.
Suddenly he was in her face; she smelled rank breath and saw missing teeth. She hastily scrambled back.
"What's wrong with your eyes!?" he demanded in his weird dialect. He even waggled his hand in front of her, as if to test if she was blind.
Sky Eyes drew back in annoyance, and before she could stop herself she demanded "what's wrong with your foot?"
Club Foot's eyes grew wide and owlish, as if shocked. Then they narrowed to slits and he began pacing again muttering angrily.
Sky Eyes mentally kicked herself. She was not endearing herself to this man. The woman sat half in half out of his cave. She sensed something was wrong with him but the sky outside was darkening rapidly, vengeful gods lurked about. And she was tired, and cold. She edged in closer.
"This is my cave, mine." He spat at her. "Ever since exile it's been mine." He sighed bitterly.
Sky Eyes instantly perked up. He must have seen the sympathy on her face, he continued. "I am a great hunter, no one is better than me with a sling, with a net, with a snare. My father is a chief, I come from the oldest line of hunters and warriors and leaders." He boasted to the stranger. The woman digested this, thinking. He was obviously good enough to catch all this game, it was probably the only skill he had. With his foot he wouldn't be able to hunt bigger swifter game, let alone fight. His birth must have been a huge disappointment to his family.
He saw her eyeing his deformity and he began cursing her angrily. She averted her eyes and looked into his. He was pulling at his hair and muttering. She voiced a question cautiously. "You've been alone along time haven't you?" He ignored her.
Sky Eyes edged in closer, and tried to establish a bond with him, hopefully he would allow her to stay for at least the night. "I've been exiled too," she said in her clear voice. She gestured to her unusual eyes. "Maybe we can be friends?" she added hopefully.
Club Foot just sneered again.
Sky Eyes found him both frightening and odd. It seemed like a spirit possessed him. He often had violent outbursts of temper, with her barely understanding his curses. Every time he did this she would back away, edge out of the cave, and then slowly return when he began to ignore her. It was unnerving and exhausting. She just wanted to sleep, but she didn't know if she was welcome to stay, yet he did not physically attack her or chase her away.
When night was beginning to fall and she was nodding off, Club Foot abruptly turned on the strange woman who attached herself to him.
"What tribe are you?!" he demanded suddenly.
Sky Eyes felt a twinge of dread; and tried to evade the question.
"No tribe," she said simply. "Exile remember?"
He didn't take it. "What tribe before then?!" he demanded, looking at her eyes suspiciously.
The woman steeled herself and gave him their name.
The man screamed the name back at her. Howled it in outrage. Too late Sky Eyes recognized him as an enemy tribe member. Despite his exile status he seemed fiercely parochial. She tried scrambling out of the cave.
He grabbed her and shook her.
"I'm not one of them anymore!" she screamed at the madman.
He threw her disdainfully back in the cave. Sky Eyes inhaled deeply. Despite her fear of him her fear of the demon was greater.
"Please let me stay." She begged. "Let me stay in your cave, I wont be a burden."
"Coward" he spat, "Pueblo dweller." He said this as an insult. He shoved her back again. "What good are you eh? What good are you?!"
Sky Eyes struggled to remain calm. "I-I can, ummmm" she looked around the filthy cave, "clean!" she said. "Cook, um sew, weave." She was becoming more confident. "I make fine baskets, gather more berries, and roots for you." She promised, guessing by the way he had devoured her berries he was starved for something other than game. "I can fish", that was stretching it, but not a lie. "I grind corn."
He exploded again. "No corn!" he gestured to the valley behind him. Sky Eyes reassured him, "I can grow corn too!" she argued.
Club Foot shook his head disdainfully, "Pueblo dweller, no seeds." But he urged, "go on."
Sky Eyes blinked, she was running out of assets to list. So she just pleaded some more. "I'm an exile like you, and outcast." He stepped closer. "I can help you, please." she begged. He closed the distance between them and grabbed her, but not harshly.
The woman closed her eyes as she felt his hands running over her. He was greedy, with no finesse. She guessed it was to be expected, but she hoped she could avoid it. She could live here, tolerate his oddness if he tolerated hers. Indeed she was grateful he didn't just kill her. She thought of her husband, her vows to him, but he had left her, probably remarried already.
So she decided to allow him, she would be fed, and have a fire every night, maybe even protected to a degree. Living as the lonely tribeless wife of an equally lonely crazy outcast. She wondered if she should tell him if she was barren before he started.
However before he could start she heard a familiar noise. She snapped open her eyes and looked behind her. The starlight from the outside was extinguished by the silhouette of a dark figure.
Sky Eyes began to panic, Club Foot was far too preoccupied, he tried to hush her. She managed to choke out a warning.
He saw her disconcerting eyes looking in horror behind him. He tried to turn but was far too slow.
Her screams echoed off and out of the cave. She saw Club Foot being savagely grabbed and pulled away from her, the fire light distorting the already nightmarish vision and the cave exaggerating and echoing their shrieks and snarls.
Sky Eyes felt her knees go weak. Club Foot may have not have been fast but he was strong, still the demon was clearly stronger. He was being ripped apart like a corn husk. Rallying her last shreds of strength and she fled screaming past the horrific fight, she thought she saw the god's head turn, before he re-focused on his still struggling victim.
The terrified woman stumbled, still screaming. She felt her sore body bounce sickeningly on the rocky hill, before sliding down to a stop. She sobbed, and did not move.
Get up! She screamed to herself. Her muscles churned; she staggered upward and tried to check behind her. The screams had died down. The god was standing at the mouth of the cave, she couldn't see his face, but she could see his hands. It was a full moon and she saw the light glinting off the blood.
For a moment the two stared at each other, then without waiting to be chased again Sky Eyes promptly turned and ran off hard as she could.
The "god" didn't chase after.
He smiled slowly. He was well fed right now, the sky was clear; the wind blew into his face. The monster sniffed deeply, yes he could smell her, she was still running ahead, very frightened, his smile grew wider.
He had tracked her. It was easy enough, but her scent was getting stale after nearly two days. However he was able to tell by other signs, foot prints, trails, he found her crude little lean-to, smelled it carefully and tossed it away.
The second day he had found where she had slept. He ran his fingers through the ashes of her fire. He could smell cooked fish. Then he tracked her to the thorn bush. Carelessly ripping it up he saw the indentation of where her body was. He could smell her, fear, and dried urine. He carefully sniffed the few strands of her hair remaining in the thorns.
Now he had tracked her to this tiny uninhabited valley. The fact that the area she was wandering in was so sparse of humans had helped. If he understood correctly the people who lived in the cliffs and the people close to them disliked each other. This area was a sort of a no mans land.
He saw/smelled the smoke. Waiting carefully he saw eventually saw the woman leave then return to the cave. Then do this several more times. Finally a man jumped out and shoved her ruthlessly back in.
Mystified, and aided by the darkness, the monster began to explore the cave. He heard noises, they sounded angry. He assumed they were fighting already.
No, just the opposite he mused, but he couldn't THAT tolerate either. He moved toward them sniffing loudly. The woman cried out the man turned. In his homicidal frenzy he noticed her leaving but he focused on his killing. The man fought like a rabid animal, he wasn't worth eating.
Now he stood on the brink watching his quarry slip away. He was well fed, he could smell her. The "god" was slowly drawing to a conclusion. Maybe she is… He wasn't totally sure, but he felt fairly certain.
Let's play a game.
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She was so tired. More than anything she just wanted to lay down and sleep. To give in.
But she knew she couldn't, the god was sure to be after her, but she knew she was reaching her physical limit. Sky Eyes pushed herself further.
Suddenly he was in front of her. Not too close, at a fairly safe distance in fact. He was standing side ways to her, leering.
Instantly she turned and ran again, panicking. She set off in other direction. Away from him, not towards the cave. She shuddered thinking of Club Foot.
She hadn't gone too far when to her shock she saw him in front of her again. He sat casually on a boulder, smiling at her. She fled again.
Is there more than one? The woman thought terrified. That would be the epitome of horror, a group of angry gods. Sky Eyes gasped and slowed no he's just quick. That made more sense; she slowed to a walk, checking timidly behind her. He didn't seem interested in chasing her.
Sky Eyes stopped completely, peering out in front of her. Sure enough he was there, but he seemed to be ignoring her. He saw her but he walked away.
She caught her breath, thinking. He was visible in the moon light, his silhouette standing out eerily. A seed of hope took root in her heart, maybe he doesn't want me. No, that didn't make sense, why would he chase her all this way then? She shook her head, reaffirming her belief in the incomprehensibility of the gods, but she still had hope. Maybe he just doesn't want to kill me.
Feeling better than she did in days the woman stepped carefully further down the valley. He continued walking around, almost at random. Now very curious, and against her better judgment, she followed him.
The god was still very far away, if her turned on her she would have plenty of time to turn and run, and she knew if she started trying to run in the opposite direction again he would be waiting there. He was a god.
Still, it made her feel uneasy. He wants me to follow him? Where? He was still determinedly ignoring her; she slowed and increased the space between them. The god strode on. Sky Eyes began to wonder why he walked on the ground like a man, why he did horrible things, where the hell he was going.
Quietly and continually checking on his position Sky Eyes fell behind. She was still descending further into the valley, but veering away from him. Hopefully she wouldn't find him waiting.
The monster checked over his shoulder, when he no longer saw her he took to the air. She was trying to escape, and trying to hide, her scent rose up to him. He folded back his wings and dropped. If he landed on her he would have broken her neck. Instead he plummeted to the Earth right next to her.
Sky Eyes screamed and tore off running before she even fully comprehended what was happening. The monster laughed and took the air again.
Now only held together by adrenaline Sky Eyes began to panic again, thinking there really was more than one, or he just appeared wherever he wanted to. She barely had time to wonder this before he came bursting out from he right.
Now completely hysterical she blindly ran to the left.
The monster was enormously happy, not having so much fun in years. He swooped down
to her once again, causing her to stumble forward. She spun around, looking everywhere desperately. Every shadow, every bit of movement could have him. He was everywhere and no where. Her whole body trembled, more than she thought possible, tears poured from her eyes, he could be anywhere…
She felt a breath on her shoulder.
The woman twisted around as fast as she could, she only made it half way before she felt a pair of incredibly strong hands grab her. She screamed but was soon brought in close to the demons face. She whimpered. He began sniffing. Now she was just like the other hapless victims. She let loose a stream of worthless pleas, kicking helplessly. He licked her tears away.
Sky Eyes screamed in horror, knowing she was about to be eaten.
The god pulled her to Earth; he smelled her face, neck, breasts, all over. He drew a deep shuddering breath over her lower body. She saw his eyes grow wide; he licked his lips and let out a long sigh, a loud "ahhhhh" sound.
Then he ripped off her deer skin dress. The woman let out a small shriek, more in shock then anything else. The demon licked away at her scraped skin. I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, she thought slamming her eyes shut. She tried to steel herself, hopefully it would be quick.
The demon god plunged his tongue inside of her.
Sky Eyes felt like her eyes would explode out of their sockets. She managed to shakily raise herself up to see if she was hallucinating. There was a god, kneeling patiently on the ground in between her legs, running his tongue over-she blushed. The demon winked at her and continued on.
Her breath was coming up in shallow gasps, not really believing. But something was blossoming inside of her. She felt oddly warm; the demon pulled her legs open wider. Sky Eyes moaned. She began to worry vaguely about those vicious teeth she saw earlier but the physical sensations began to drive all thoughts out.
The tension began to build in her, Sky Eyes began deeper gasps, trying not to moan or scream. The god began to speed up as he lifted her pelvis up slightly, like when her husband drank soup from a bowl. She felt a long tongue withdraw and run over, he found a soft spot in her.
This time Sky Eyes did shriek, unable to control it. The demon-god gently ran his tongue over the minute button that he had nudged out. Sky Eyes screamed again in ecstasy. Now ruthlessly exploiting it he worked even more rapidly. The woman sobbed in complete, wonderful surrender, her body convulsing against her will. The demon god often teased her. Slowing down, then speeding up, playing her as skillfully as an instrument. Sky Eyes prayed it would never end.
Then suddenly she came. Her body convulsed once more, however this was far more powerful. She felt her legs jerk uncontrollably in the god's powerful hands, he buried himself deeper into her. Her body felt like it had come undone as a powerful wave had crashed over her, and she released herself into his mouth. She gasped in shock as much as she did in pleasure.
The god didn't seem to mind; in fact he seemed to become excited. He groaned and pushed his tongue in once more, desperately licking and sucking. As if he loved the taste of her. Sky Eyes simply lay their quietly in shock, enjoying the sensation.
When he was finished he rose up from his position, still running his long tongue over his lips. He leaned forward and hovered over her. He sniffed the air between them, Sky Eyes wondered if she would be killed now.
The god smirked as he looked into her wide eyes. He held her face and twisted it around, observing from every angle. She wondered what was happening, why he was inspecting her. Then she realized, her unusual feature has caught the gaze of the god himself. She looked into his eyes; they were a shade of light brown.
Why couldn't she just be normal? She blushed again and tried to close her lids; the demon let out a harsh call of complaint and shook her head. Sky Eyes opened them again. Now he was just inches away from her studying her closely, she tried not to blink.
He leaned forward and began sniffing, his nose above her right eye. When he was done he moved to her left. He's smelling my eyes? The woman was bewildered. He stopped sniffing. Shakily she tried to raise herself.
Instantly the demon was on her again, pushing his weight on her again. She resisted the urge to squirm in discomfort. He was on her, licking her face now. She felt a clawed hand drift lazily from her arm to her breast; she started to struggle for breath again. Seeing this he toyed with it some more. Sky Eyes felt her back arching; his body was rubbing against hers now, mounting her fully.
She wasn't really surprised, she understood what he wanted. She signaled her willingness by pressing more of herself to him. The demon moaned. Sky Eyes smiled.
But the demon also seemed to become agitated, he rubbed against her more, licked her face. Then stopped. Then started again. He finally got off of her, growling in frustration.
The woman felt fear again. She must have done something wrong. Would he be angry, would he kill her?
Abruptly he picked her up; his eyes were wild, lustful. It scared her a little, never having seen anybody look at her like that before. She jumped in surprise as his wings flew open, and gazed in shy astonishment at them, real wings. Then he took off.
Sky Eyes screamed as the Earth tilted away dizzily from her. But at the same time she couldn't help but feel elated. Who wouldn't? Flying! She thought in a happy alarm.
Before she could get over excited or frightened however, they arrived at their destination. He had taken her back to the cave. Sky Eyes smile vanished.
Club Foot was still there, but the fire had dimmed. She could still see though. She shook her head and tried to back away. The god pulled her in. He looked greedily at her and rubbed against her some more. She began to feel little afraid again, looking directly at the results of his anger; she prayed this god was not like Spider Woman, she didn't want to be eaten afterwards. Or during.
The demon followed her gaze to the corpse. He grinned, and pushed her down again hovering over her.
She watched in astonishment as the god sniffed the body, and then stuck a hand to it. I don't like this. She grew even more uneasy. The god reached down and held a bloody mass, gulping it down. He did this once more. She squirmed away as he grinned at her.
Something was stirring underneath the rags he wore. Sky Eyes knew what, but something was different. In sudden bold curiosity she pushed them aside. He growled as he thought he saw eagerness, but the woman was gaping in shock.
What had once been the unfortunate man's was now his. She watched as it grew swiftly as a vine from a nest of messy white hair. Everything. All of it. Exactly like a man's except it matched the god's odd skin color. Sky Eyes was completely frozen. Staring.
With out hesitation the god mounted her again. She flew to a panic. He growled and pinned her down.
"It's a dead man's!" she screamed in near hysteria while trying to wriggle away. The demon snarled in rage, wrestling with her to hold her still. He continued to smell and lick her passionately. She screamed and tried to fight. The god bit her.
The woman gasped in surprise and pain. It wasn't fatal, or even deep. He ran a tongue over the wound languidly.
Nothing in my life, in my dreams, she thought wildly. How to deal with...? He seemed angry at her refusal; I don't want to be killed. The woman thought in terror.
She remembered something her mother told her about, something women could do. She told it to Sky Eyes when she married. If her husband ever got angry or even violent there was something she could do that would almost guarantee him to calm down, but she had never done it before. Never needed to.
Slowly, with trembling hands she lifted the god's raggedly loin cloth. Her hand easily found what it was looking for; she wrapped her shaky fingers around him and rubbed gently, gradually. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.
The god did not look displeased.
Sky Eyes continued to caress him, growing more confident with each stroke. Teasingly she sped up her movements, and then slowed. Just as the god had done to her. He howled with pleasure. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride, she stroked him faster.
Suddenly he grabbed both her hands and pinned them down. For a moment she was horrified, thinking she had done something wrong. He continued to look at her with a burning hunger. He pushed himself into her.
Sky Eyes inhaled deeply, for a moment trapped in the unrealness of her situation. The moment was shattered by the god's thrusts. She gasped again; he spread his wings and beat them furiously. It reminded her of the frenzy of a bird mounting its mate. The animalistic lust began to stir that wet heat within her again.
He sniffed her again, bending down to smell all across her body. Whatever he smelled began to excite him more. He moaned, then drew a long wet tongue over her skin. Sky Eyes felt her heat throb faster. He then removed his hands from her arms, running them languidly down her body, exploring. Taking note of the reaction he received when he ran them over the soft mounds of her breasts. She felt her flesh rise as his claws scraped gently over them.
Next he lowered his hands down to her legs, scraping his claws lightly over them again. Sky Eyes could feel her muscles tense in excitement again, knowing what would happen next.
The god-demon grabbed her thighs suddenly, lifting her whole lower body up to meet his. He rubbed himself against her tiny pearl again. Sky Eyes could only try to suck in more air, and could only manage an "oh!" of surprise. He grinned, encouraged, and began to plunge himself in more deeply. The woman held onto her god, feeling like she would fly off the face of the Earth.
Nothing in my life, she thought dizzily again, pleasure obliterating any coherent thought. The demon continued propelling himself into her with a raw passion she didn't think imaginable. She clung to him more tightly and screamed her pleasure loudly for what seemed the first time in her life.
"Ohhhhh god", she prayed to him. He lifted her body to him once more and she felt the first oncoming wave of pleasure wash over her. She felt her body convulsing, squeezing him eagerly. In response she felt a burning flood her. The god's wings snapped open and beat in another frenzy. god seed she thought in awe as her mind returned to her. He finished with a grunt, and then dived down again. Desperate for the taste he worked so hard for.
Sky Eyes felt him licking her hungrily again. Obviously he didn't mind his own taste either. Another wave of unrealness washed over her. Mating with a god, her old life in the Pueblo seemed years and years ago.
Her body reminded her, none to gently, that she had just spent the last two nights and days in sleepless adrenaline soaked terror. Her arousal settled and her hunger filled she began to rapidly drift off. She thought the demon wanted more, he nuzzled her face and tried to open her unusual eyes. But she was far too gone. A sleep so deep washed over her it almost felt like fainting.
Sky Eyes was in the land of dreams, the spirit world.
She saw dead men, the ones the demon killed, but she was not afraid. When they spoke to her their speech was backward.
The woman looked down, her clothes were so odd. She was wearing heavy furs totally unsuited to her arid region. But this wasn't her land. Huge hairy beasts with long curved tusks roamed the landscape. Cougars with teeth like hunting knives prowled around her. Large deer with no antlers and tails like a woman's hair galloped away.
It was strange but not frightening.
Then the flood came. She began to drown.
She knew this story, her mother told it to her when she was younger. It was when Grandmother Earth was young, and strange beasts roamed over her. The gods sent a flood, and a maiden was trapped in the swirling waters.
Sky Eyes smiled when she felt a hand lift her up. She sputtered and choked out water but was rescued, just like she knew she would be. She rose from the Earth and was flown away.
According to the tale, The maiden had caught the eyes of a spirit. He loved her and made her his wife.
Sky Eyes smiled again. She always loved this story.
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A/N: Ho-ly Crap! 33 Reviews! Do you know what that means? Of course you don't, that's how much Child of the CREEPER got, of course she did it in three chapters, it took me fourteen T.T Anyway in celebration I offer another pic, a scene from Chapter 12 (no not THAT scene) redplanetes sent it to me for my birthday, it's so incredibly, wonderfully supercalifragilistic awesome. Y'all know the drill: review, e-mail and request it.