𝒥𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓉𝒽's Den

Wandering further than you ever had before, you're forced to rest from near exhaustion. Laying down, your vision begins to warp at the corner of your eye, trees twisting and gnarled but returning to green and cheerful the moment you truly focus on them again; grass tangled and overgrown, but short and soft under your claws as you look down at it; even the birdsongs are repeating in a maddeningly perfect loop, despite there being no feathered morsel anywhere to be seen. The air here tingles on your tongue and tickles your nose, like a sneeze that refuses to commit. Your ear twitches as you hear a collection of voices, purrs and cheers from somewhere up ahead, further through the trees, further from the safety of what's familiar.

You rise, forcing yourself forward and an odd shiver runs down your spine, like some important choice has just been made. You shrug it off, blaming the heat and the dehydration for the way the greenery seems to bow out of your way, creating a near effortless path forward—never so far as to see the end—before closing back behind you. Every so often you think you can see a flash of purple feathers or glowing blue eyes, but they're gone before you can blink. It feels like only a few steps before you near a clearing, but one glance back suggests you have been walking for miles. You clearly need rest. Brushing through the bush to emerge into view, you see a collection of lionesses and cubs, all sprawled across the ground with berry juice staining their paws and noses, or bouncing around like hyper hyenas and cackling just as loudly. Something about their movements seems unnatural.

"Hey! Hey look!" One calls through her fit of giggles. "Someone new! Hey New, are you hungry? Give the New some peaches." Another lioness lying on her back lazily bats a round, fuzzy thing toward you, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth and pupals blown wide, unfocused. You are starving, and lean down to sniff it, but before you get close enough there's a snap on your nose like static and you jump back, twitching it nervously. The females burst out into more laughter. You get the feeling maybe being hungry was better than whatever eating that thing would cause, and you instead ask about the leader of this pride.

"Oh! New wants the King!" A cub pops up, and they all look at each other and murmur, tails flicking mischievously. They go on like this for a few minutes, largely chanting as if that would summon their leader or perhaps take you to this nameless "King", and you turn to leave, only to find a tall, stone cliff behind you where the jungle once was. "Oh poor, silly New....you can't leave the way you got in!"

"Not unless you got in the way you'll leave," Another adds sagely, licking at the discarded fruit's flesh in a jumpy manner. "You really should keep track of things like paths, New. They run away so easily...."

"Unless you're clever," a voice purrs at your ear and you jump. She wasn't there a minute ago! "You can't leave without the King's permission, New....you'll have to go to his den, in the Center."

"The Center! The Center! The Center!" The group repeats eagerly and you shiver as their voices seem to all blend together a little too harmoniously, you can't even pick a single one out of the bunch. The one at your side nudges you forward.

"Go through the labyrinth if you can....best not to stop for anyone. You only have until the sun goes down." She bares her fangs in an almost smile, but even that seems somewhat off. "After that the maze will close, and you'll be stuck here. With us."

Before she can even finish, you break out into a run, fatigue long forgotten as a new urgency fills your veins, urging you on desperately. Chunks of earth are tossed behind you, dug up by your claws in your rush, and your heart is pounding so hard you can't hear your own sprinting steps over it. A shadow passes overhead, large and winged and blotting out the sun for a moment. The sound of cool, smug laughter fills your mind instead of your ears as it passes you by, racing ahead to dissappear over the high stone walls. Better hurry, there isn't much time....



// Amazing story by Andalite #206060 !!!

King Dynasty

Pride Dynasty

Achievements

Showcase