Chapter 2 - Science part o2 - Spider
Submitted February 21, 2007 Updated April 29, 2007 Status Incomplete | Umm ... see the coverpage for full description, here. This thing wouldn't let me type it all ...
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Chapter 2 - Science part o2 - Spider
Chapter 2 - Science part o2 - Spider
Part two of the Science paper. See part one if you're confused. Note: this is a later point in the story, so if it doesn't make sense ... hey, you were warned.
Spider
August woke up in the cell. His first thought was that he had died and was in the afterlife, but he quickly dismissed that. Firstly, if he were dead, surely he would not be caught in a cell again. And secondly, his arm hurt like hell.
He pushed himself up groggily. There was another crude bandage around his left forearm. 'What ... happened?'
'Stupid Human, you poisoned yourself on fang. I saved your @$$. I say, Human don't taste very good at all.'
'But ... I saved you too ... right? That thing had you. We're even.'
'Fool. Demons immune to poisons that kill the Humans. Snake's poison couldn't kill Demons.'
August frowned. 'Fine. I owe you one.'
The demon snorted. 'You owe me more than one. You stink. Human needs a wash. Or several.' August was struck by a sudden similarity to something Kitsune had said, back when he lived at the complex in Central and was the company's heir.
It was then that the whisper on the back of his hand distracted him, like the soft touch of a feather. He twitched his hand, but the feather persisted, twirling up his arm and back down. He giggled uncontrollably at the tickling sensation the feather imparted. 'Hey. Keep your wings to yourself!'
'Eh?'
'Don't be stupid. I can feel your feathers on my ...' But then he realised that the touch was on his right hand, and the wall to which the demon was chained was on his left side. He lifted his hand, shivers suddenly running along his spine. He lifted it up so the chink of torchlight fell across it.
There, on his hand, was a big, shiny, eight-legged black smudge. His heart skipped a beat, and he shook his hand with a soft scream: 'Augh, Spider!' he squeaked.
'What? Hold still! Don't squish it!'
August, who had been trying and failing miserably to shake it off, froze in terror. The spider whispered down to the ends of his fingers, where it dropped to the cave floor on a gossamar thread. The blonde man let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding.
He heard the demon whispering to the arachnid in what sounded like the demons' tongue, though he didn't catch the individual words. He shuddered. He hated spiders with a passion. He had no idea why, but every time he saw one he froze up, too terrified to get close enough to kill it. How the demon could be so calm was beyond him.
'Hey kid. We escape tomorrow.'
'What? I'm not a kid!'
'How old are you?'
'Twenty-one.' The demon snorted. 'What's so funny?! How old are you?'
His cellmate snickered, as though laughing at a private joke. 'Wouldn't you like to know.'
'Alright. So what's the plan?' August grumbled. He was still annoyed about being called a child.
The demon grinned. August could see his teeth flashing in the dark. 'Just wait and follow my lead. But you should sleep, Human.' August slumped to the ground. After lying in the dark a while, he rolled onto his back, turning his face to the demon.
'What's your name?'
'Hah. How Human of you. What is a name, really?'
'Come on, we're friends, right? I'm August.'
'Friends? Maybe ...' he sounded doubtful, but continued, 'well, I don't have a real name. I forgot it a long time ago, if I even had one in the first place. But my ... friends call me Shruikan.'
Satisfied, August rolled back over, promptly drifting off. Shruikan ... that's a weird name ...
'Hey, Alphonse! Get up, they're almost here. You might want to grab those foods of yours; we won't be returning here.'
August sat up, stuffing the leaf-wrapped packet into his pocket. 'Did you call me ... Alphonse?'
'Your idea,' the demon reminded him.
'It's August, not Alphonse.'
'Whatever, Agate.'
The demons came in, one of them grabbing August, the other two going to unchain Shruikan. August noticed that his captor, too, wrinkled his nose. Demons, it seemed, had a very keen sense of smell. Maybe Kitsune .... No, not a chance. His former bodyguard didn't have wings, for start.
The demons threw them into the cage, the door clanging shut behind them. August noticed that the arena was even fuller than yesterday; the leader-like demons were present in the uppermost tier. 'Leiterden,' He heard a voice cry in demon above the croud's noise. 'Menskh na kampfh de.'
The Zhar-ptitsa sniffed the air, then promptly pulled something out of his pocket, taking a huge bite of it. He offered it to August. 'Want some?'
'What ... Is that an onion?'
The demon glanced down at it, shrugging. He did so oddly, more of a movement in the wings and shoulder blades then the shoulders themselves. 'Yeah. What of it, Ariel?'
'It's August. And you must be mad, eating a raw onion.'
'Well, you'll regret it.' He took another bite as the stone scraped aside.
It was then that a wall of the worst stench August had ever smelled struck them. It was like rancid meat, bad eggs, vomit, rotten broccoli, and burnt feathers all at once. Now he knew why Shruikan had been eating raw onion. Smell and taste were connected; his intent had been to kill his sense of smell. August's sense of smell wasn't close to that of a demon, and it still made him want to puke.
The demon broke off a piece of onion, offering it once again. 'You sure you don't want it, Australia?' August didn't bother to correct him, silently taking the piece of onion.
August's first sight of the thing was hair. Long and matted, far too dirty to discern the colour. Its body was slung between five long, hairy legs, each of which ended in a club-like foot. The wild, tangled fur obscured everything else: its eyes, mouth, and any other external organs were completely concealed, if it had them at all.
Under normal circumstances, August would never had eaten an onion raw. He didn't particularly like onions. But these circumstances weren't normal at all, and anything that would white out that stench was fine with him. He ate the piece of onion, popping the entire thing into his mouth at once. It burned his mouth and made his nose and eyes run, but the onion still tasted good in comparison to that vomit-inducing stench.
'Alice, take left!' the demon shouted, running right himself.
'Zhar-ptitsa na essen vas da?' one of the demons in the stands cried. August was almost glad he didn't understand. That made it easier to ignore.
He grabbed another rusty sword (there seemed to be rather a lot of those: Shruikan also had one) and charged at the foully-stenched beast. However, they hadn't been fighting long when a shadow began to fall across the amphitheatre. He squinted up at the noon sky. A shadow was just beginning to pass over the sun. He counted back to the last time he'd seen the moon: a few days ago the moon had been a waning crescent. It was a solar eclipse, an event in which the moon passes between earth and the sun, and thus the moon is new, because the other side was lit by the sun. Also, August remembered that the new moon was in the sky during the day, though it could not be seen as it was not lit by the sun.
But the strange phenomena's distraction didn't last long. They were soon brought back to earth by a roar from the creature. The sky continued to grow darker as the two prisoners faced off against the beast.
August glanced up at the sky again. The sun was obscured completely save the corona, the outermost layer of the sun that looked like little more than a flare of light.
But then even the corona was gone. Wait. That wasn't right. Even in a total eclipse the corona remained visible. But then he realised that the dark was caused by a figure crouched on the cage's top. It was dressed entirely in tattered black, with long black wings. But when it shifted so that the sun was behind its right wing, August realised that this wing was like a shadow: he could clearly see the ring of corona through it, though it was a bit dimmer than it should have been.
The figure placed hands to the bars, and there was a bright flash of black-violet lightning. The air seemed to shimmer with energy, and the bars began to move, twisting out of shape. August watched, mesmerised, as they bent and twisted, like a giant, invisible hand was crushing them.
'Hey! Andromeda! Time to go.' The demon grabbed his elbow, snapping him out of it.
Spider
August woke up in the cell. His first thought was that he had died and was in the afterlife, but he quickly dismissed that. Firstly, if he were dead, surely he would not be caught in a cell again. And secondly, his arm hurt like hell.
He pushed himself up groggily. There was another crude bandage around his left forearm. 'What ... happened?'
'Stupid Human, you poisoned yourself on fang. I saved your @$$. I say, Human don't taste very good at all.'
'But ... I saved you too ... right? That thing had you. We're even.'
'Fool. Demons immune to poisons that kill the Humans. Snake's poison couldn't kill Demons.'
August frowned. 'Fine. I owe you one.'
The demon snorted. 'You owe me more than one. You stink. Human needs a wash. Or several.' August was struck by a sudden similarity to something Kitsune had said, back when he lived at the complex in Central and was the company's heir.
It was then that the whisper on the back of his hand distracted him, like the soft touch of a feather. He twitched his hand, but the feather persisted, twirling up his arm and back down. He giggled uncontrollably at the tickling sensation the feather imparted. 'Hey. Keep your wings to yourself!'
'Eh?'
'Don't be stupid. I can feel your feathers on my ...' But then he realised that the touch was on his right hand, and the wall to which the demon was chained was on his left side. He lifted his hand, shivers suddenly running along his spine. He lifted it up so the chink of torchlight fell across it.
There, on his hand, was a big, shiny, eight-legged black smudge. His heart skipped a beat, and he shook his hand with a soft scream: 'Augh, Spider!' he squeaked.
'What? Hold still! Don't squish it!'
August, who had been trying and failing miserably to shake it off, froze in terror. The spider whispered down to the ends of his fingers, where it dropped to the cave floor on a gossamar thread. The blonde man let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding.
He heard the demon whispering to the arachnid in what sounded like the demons' tongue, though he didn't catch the individual words. He shuddered. He hated spiders with a passion. He had no idea why, but every time he saw one he froze up, too terrified to get close enough to kill it. How the demon could be so calm was beyond him.
'Hey kid. We escape tomorrow.'
'What? I'm not a kid!'
'How old are you?'
'Twenty-one.' The demon snorted. 'What's so funny?! How old are you?'
His cellmate snickered, as though laughing at a private joke. 'Wouldn't you like to know.'
'Alright. So what's the plan?' August grumbled. He was still annoyed about being called a child.
The demon grinned. August could see his teeth flashing in the dark. 'Just wait and follow my lead. But you should sleep, Human.' August slumped to the ground. After lying in the dark a while, he rolled onto his back, turning his face to the demon.
'What's your name?'
'Hah. How Human of you. What is a name, really?'
'Come on, we're friends, right? I'm August.'
'Friends? Maybe ...' he sounded doubtful, but continued, 'well, I don't have a real name. I forgot it a long time ago, if I even had one in the first place. But my ... friends call me Shruikan.'
Satisfied, August rolled back over, promptly drifting off. Shruikan ... that's a weird name ...
'Hey, Alphonse! Get up, they're almost here. You might want to grab those foods of yours; we won't be returning here.'
August sat up, stuffing the leaf-wrapped packet into his pocket. 'Did you call me ... Alphonse?'
'Your idea,' the demon reminded him.
'It's August, not Alphonse.'
'Whatever, Agate.'
The demons came in, one of them grabbing August, the other two going to unchain Shruikan. August noticed that his captor, too, wrinkled his nose. Demons, it seemed, had a very keen sense of smell. Maybe Kitsune .... No, not a chance. His former bodyguard didn't have wings, for start.
The demons threw them into the cage, the door clanging shut behind them. August noticed that the arena was even fuller than yesterday; the leader-like demons were present in the uppermost tier. 'Leiterden,' He heard a voice cry in demon above the croud's noise. 'Menskh na kampfh de.'
The Zhar-ptitsa sniffed the air, then promptly pulled something out of his pocket, taking a huge bite of it. He offered it to August. 'Want some?'
'What ... Is that an onion?'
The demon glanced down at it, shrugging. He did so oddly, more of a movement in the wings and shoulder blades then the shoulders themselves. 'Yeah. What of it, Ariel?'
'It's August. And you must be mad, eating a raw onion.'
'Well, you'll regret it.' He took another bite as the stone scraped aside.
It was then that a wall of the worst stench August had ever smelled struck them. It was like rancid meat, bad eggs, vomit, rotten broccoli, and burnt feathers all at once. Now he knew why Shruikan had been eating raw onion. Smell and taste were connected; his intent had been to kill his sense of smell. August's sense of smell wasn't close to that of a demon, and it still made him want to puke.
The demon broke off a piece of onion, offering it once again. 'You sure you don't want it, Australia?' August didn't bother to correct him, silently taking the piece of onion.
August's first sight of the thing was hair. Long and matted, far too dirty to discern the colour. Its body was slung between five long, hairy legs, each of which ended in a club-like foot. The wild, tangled fur obscured everything else: its eyes, mouth, and any other external organs were completely concealed, if it had them at all.
Under normal circumstances, August would never had eaten an onion raw. He didn't particularly like onions. But these circumstances weren't normal at all, and anything that would white out that stench was fine with him. He ate the piece of onion, popping the entire thing into his mouth at once. It burned his mouth and made his nose and eyes run, but the onion still tasted good in comparison to that vomit-inducing stench.
'Alice, take left!' the demon shouted, running right himself.
'Zhar-ptitsa na essen vas da?' one of the demons in the stands cried. August was almost glad he didn't understand. That made it easier to ignore.
He grabbed another rusty sword (there seemed to be rather a lot of those: Shruikan also had one) and charged at the foully-stenched beast. However, they hadn't been fighting long when a shadow began to fall across the amphitheatre. He squinted up at the noon sky. A shadow was just beginning to pass over the sun. He counted back to the last time he'd seen the moon: a few days ago the moon had been a waning crescent. It was a solar eclipse, an event in which the moon passes between earth and the sun, and thus the moon is new, because the other side was lit by the sun. Also, August remembered that the new moon was in the sky during the day, though it could not be seen as it was not lit by the sun.
But the strange phenomena's distraction didn't last long. They were soon brought back to earth by a roar from the creature. The sky continued to grow darker as the two prisoners faced off against the beast.
August glanced up at the sky again. The sun was obscured completely save the corona, the outermost layer of the sun that looked like little more than a flare of light.
But then even the corona was gone. Wait. That wasn't right. Even in a total eclipse the corona remained visible. But then he realised that the dark was caused by a figure crouched on the cage's top. It was dressed entirely in tattered black, with long black wings. But when it shifted so that the sun was behind its right wing, August realised that this wing was like a shadow: he could clearly see the ring of corona through it, though it was a bit dimmer than it should have been.
The figure placed hands to the bars, and there was a bright flash of black-violet lightning. The air seemed to shimmer with energy, and the bars began to move, twisting out of shape. August watched, mesmerised, as they bent and twisted, like a giant, invisible hand was crushing them.
'Hey! Andromeda! Time to go.' The demon grabbed his elbow, snapping him out of it.
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Trinity_Fire on March 28, 2007, 6:39:49 AM
Trinity_Fire on
(spider<3, btw, much spider<3) Alphonse. Agate. Andromeda, lol! XD Heh, he's about as bad with names as I am. If not better. XD;
Cool! I really like how this is going so far...
Keep it up! Post more!!! :C
::wubwub::