[ warning, there is a bit of gore at the end. 2168 words tho! <3 ]
Laughing, giggling, nips on hind legs, rearing up to pounce forward. Bent tails, long teeth, soft fur, sickly frames.
She was a child again, only two months, chasing her siblings to the best of her abilities. Melpomene laughed the loudest, keeping her wings close to her body. Astraeus was quiet but he had fun, too. Persephone could even remember Ouranos calling the shots, demanding that two of the healthy three square up, shouting who won in their short battles. She could remember the soft, subtle coo of Kady when she finally had enough of their messy playing and caught them each for a cleaning.
Time was much simpler. The sun would rise and fall without any acknowledgement of the princess inside the salmon striped ligress. She had dreams and ambitions, but she also wished to have fun with her brothers and sister. She was quick to obey and quick to nag - older sisters tended to be like that.
But simpler times became complicated. A month later, Ouranos would die, much to Persephone’s overworking him. Melpomene and Astraeus would leave in despair, and her parents would discard their own feelings to comfort her. Their last remaining child, their prodigy, their lump of coal that would become a diamond soon enough. Times became rushed as she staggered up the ranks, catching feelings and throwing them just as fast. She couldn’t risk falling for someone, not if she would ruin her chance at new positions. She lost friend after friend to this mindset and often felt alone in the world.
But, not in that moment. Persephone knew it was a dream, not only by the dead look in each of her young siblings eyes, but simply by how happy everyone seemed. Chasing them started easy but as the dream wore on, it became frustrating, sluggish. She was becoming tired, tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she grew aware of the situation. Her words didn’t come, as the world was silent beyond the excited giggles and odd shouts of ‘tag!’
Eventually, she collapsed, unable to move much further. Her siblings continued without her, suddenly forgetting she was there. She longed for the simple times, but her limbs felt like lead and sank into the nonexistent ground. Her eyes fought to stay open, to savor the moments though they remained sorrowful and bitter, but eventually shut. A feeling of falling overcame her, though fear did not accompany it. Pain did, the pain of hitting the ground held onto the form of her body, despite having yet touched it. There were no screams to be had, just arms wrapping around herself as her cub form grew and grew, pain surging in every new inch of her body, and before long -
Persephone opened her eyes. Pale blue orbs flickered around a cave, blinking subtly. She didn’t scramble to her paws, using her light elementals to light up the room a tad bit more. It was surprisingly clean aside from the blood spattered as they lined the ground, leading over to her. Perhaps it was the chill, but the girl hardly realized the pain that dully ached, her wing hanging limp to her side. No amount of will could move it, and she imagined it was far too broken beyond immediate repair.
A breath rocked through her, her paws pushing her to stand. The floor was pure ice, her claws edging out to grasp it, and her eyes continued to glance around for a way out. Light flickered deeper in the cave, though very unlike her own, a flame struggling to stay lit. Persephone’s fur raised in alarm, memories of the conflict hitting her suddenly. She must’ve let out a noise, as the flame moved positions, starling violet eyes peeking out from the dark cavern. Persephone’s breath quickened as the figure grew closer, revealing itself to be Halaliel, wings still lit but struggling to do so with the cold.
“Awake?” the other girl asked, a sneer on her face. Her claws, too, pierced the ice below them for stability, “Sad. Hoped for death in sleep,” she hissed, walking past Persephone and deeper into the cave. The ligress watched in silence and Halaliel brought herself around the hardly lit cave.
“I’m my father’s daughter. I won’t die so easily,” she said, finally, swallowing to hold herself together. Murder wasn’t on her agenda - frankly, being captured by a feral wasn’t either. Her choice of words caused the lynx’s wings to flare up, her purple eyes narrowing dangerously.
“If died in sleep, then Daddy won’t be so mad -”
“Gabe would’ve been mad either way, Hal! Don’t you see you’re a freak?” Persephone shrieked, taking steps away from the lynx, her working wing raising to defend herself, should the other try and attack. Hal approached her on achingly slow steps, the clacking of her claws against the hard ground.
“Once it just Hal, Daddy will be happy. Hal can make Daddy happy,” she insisted, rolling her shoulders back, “Hal just have to find way,” she muttered, her teeth clenched together. A sickening grin, her face unused to the expression, stretched across her muzzle, her shape shifting and changing. Eventually, the transformation was complete - Persephone was staring at a perfect portrait of herself, aside from the wings.
“Hal. You’re disgusting,” Persephone growled, tears lingering in her eyes though her face was twisted up.
“Hal can make Daddy happy! Daddy like you, so Daddy will like me more,” she explained it as if it was undeniable logic, “You just have to die. They think so, already,” it was an odd suggestion, Persephone’s throat becoming dry.
“Halaliel, how long have you had me here?” she asked, her done shivering with both the cold and fear of the woman. Hal ignored her request, looking at her new form in the ice, the reflection shoddy and smudged, “Hal!”
“Hal no know how time works. Sun rise twice,” Hal huffed finally, irritation coming back into her voice. Persephone hid her shock well, though her body began to shiver, the cold chilling her more and more as time went on.
“I’m going home, Halaliel. And you’re staying far away from it,” she growled, looking back towards where the other girl once sat. She took a few steps backwards, watching her mirror image stare at her, anger set in her dark purple eyes. The other took tentative steps towards her, wings rising and catching flame once again. Persephone turned quick on her heel, running as fast as her chilled legs could take her. However, it wasn’t good enough.
The young vice leader was able to catch a glimpse of the outside, the snow that blanketed the world, the constellations that decorated the sky, before she felt nails rake down against her back, throwing her deeper into the cave once more. Jaws snapped, larger than before - the lupurca form that Hal had taken before she grabbed the ligress. Persephone screamed in pain as long, canid teeth grabbed the base of her broken wing.
It was one tug, one pull, as the wing was torn clean off of her form. A cry permeated the silence of the cave, blood spattering the wall. The wing was dropped several feet in front of her, violet eyes staring daggers into her blue ones, now lined with tears, before a punch knocked her out. The light in the cave dimmed as Persephone fell into another deep slumber, the white ice being dyed red with her blood.
“Dumb cat,” Hal hissed, shifting back into her lynx form. Her plan was ruined, simply because she had to tear the wing off of her sister. The girl decided just as quickly to pick up the discarded wing and soar out of the cave, dropping the wing off in BlizzardClan territory as a gift. She allowed the remaining blood to drip, in hopes that those BlizzardClanners would come to save their precious baby. On her land, on her grounds, would be where she would exchange the ligress for her father. It was plenty more steps, but it made sense to the lynx.
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Her sleep was dreamless this time, the pain in her shoulder radiating and reminding her of the waking world she just couldn’t reach. She could hear the footsteps and flickers as Halaliel paced around her, however couldn’t jostle her body enough to wake up. It was frustrating, it was painful. She imagined she only lived so long because of the vines she bound her side with. Her powers were uncontrollable and frantic, however she was able to hone them just enough to close up her massive wound. Maybe that exerted her beyond belief, maybe it didn’t.
Eventually, teeth grabbed scruff. She could feel the ground shift beneath her as she was dragged without care. The air became cleaner, free of the metallic smell of her blood. Paws shook her shoulder, waking her slowly from her stubborn sleep. Halaliel stared deep into her eyes, frustration lining her features.
“Daddy come soon. Will trade,” she huffed, ears turning, “Need you awake,” she then said, shoulders hunching over as she stared off into the sky, waiting for the boats to move, waiting to watch several figures trek across the Tundra to save their princess. Persephone shivered, breath uneven and eyes unfocused. Hal’s plan changed, though Persephone was unaware if it was for the better, or for the worst.
“What happened to killing me?” the younger girl asked, wincing as she pushed herself to her paws. She kept an eye on the winged lynx, however felt an emptiness on one of her sides. Hal didn’t bother to look to her, however, her voice coming out in angry chirps before trying some words.
“Plan changed. Shut up,” was all she said. Persephone had half the mind to continue to taunt the insane lynx, ears drawn back. Her mind was fuzzy, perhaps due to the blood loss, but she tried her darndest. She looked in every direction of the desolate expanse, thought of every routine she could muster up to simply get away from this. Had she had her other wing and it wasn’t broken, she could just run, be free, but it wasn’t that easy anymore.
Persephone took a deep breath, looking back to Hal, who was focused on the islands still. There was one chance, she figured, and she should get to it now far before anyone reached here. Hal would be more alert, and should this go south… Persephone didn’t want anyone to watch her die.
The ligress closed her eyes for a moment, praying to whomever above to give her strength where she lacked. She doubted this would work any, but hell, anything would help, even if it was a damn placebo effect. Once she had herself settled, she looked towards Halaliel, and pounced, claws extended, mouth open and teeth bared.
Her first attack hit the other with more than just surprise, her own claws digging into the other’s side and her teeth sinking into her wing. Hal let out a surprised yowl, immediately turning on her and pushing the weak Persephone away. Ears twitched as Hal launched next, Persephone turning and smacking her away with her wing, similarly to how she had done to Jonas weeks before.
The fight ensued, one becoming more tired with each attack and block. The fresh air became salty and metallic with their mixed blood, featherless wings bore new scars while her lingering one remained virtually untouched. Aside from battle calls or frustrated growls, the girls didn’t speak to one another, taunting being far beyond Hal’s reach and beyond Persephone’s grasp.
Eventually Hal had the weaker girl pinned, though Persephone held her back, paws on the other’s chest, shoving upwards as the other snapped crazily towards her face. The ligress cried and cried, screaming so loud she figured her throat would give far before her arms. She began flailing, eyes closed, ears turned back. She felt her claws catch fur, skin, fur again, Hal’s chin, fur, and kept going. Eventually Persephone thrust her paws upwards, claws grabbing the lynx’s throat, and without a second thought, ripped it violently out of the feral girl’s neck. Persephone felt thick blood splash on her and heard the gargling as Hal sputtered. It didn’t take long before the woman collapsed on top of her, dead within seconds, her innards stuck in Persephone’s claws.
Persephone coughed, tears running down her face and the back of her throat. She shoved the dead woman off of her body, sitting up to violently throw up on her other side. She shook her paws free of the blood and gore, though they remained stained with the rest of her formerly pristine body. Her voice became raspy as she sobbed, over and over again, eyes focused on nothing before she eventually fell over herself, the shock of her murder and her new injuries draining her. Blue eyes closed as the girl remained unconscious, however violet eyes stayed open in shock just nearby.