Better as Bones

pelt - XXXII

Nyx

Malo had confronted me when the sun had risen. The soft bell of the opening dung. I grimanced with the thought of him seeing the blood, seeping out the door. He would think of either two things. One was no better than the other.

He burst in, fearful. His eyes were widened as they landed on me, his jaw locked in place. He panted. His shoulders slumped as he recognized my flushed face. Then he tightened, his eyes slowly raking to her.

She was laying still, the blood dried. Her skull had crumpled as an autumn leaf. As hollowed out sweets. Malo screamed a throaty noise. He fell back, body rigid. Screaming. I stepped over her. I took up his jaw, shutting him up. Malo ripped away my wrist.

"Get out." He threw me away. I shook my shoulders beside him. "Get. Out."

"She can be cleaned easily," I recall muttering. Malo spun to me. His face was hard.

"Get. Out. Now." Our eyes met. Malo didn't move. I gritted my teeth, pressing my fingernails into his shoulder. He smacked my face. Breath caught from my throat. Malo hit me.

My spine clicked. I chuckled. Airy. "You'll regret this." I pointed at him. Malo scoffed. His face was pale.

"I doubt I could regret kicking out a monster like you. I'll regret more allowing you to stay." My eyes had burned. Malo stood steady. My jaw tightened. "Now leave before I go call the neighbors." The threat was as good as any. Leave before I call up arms.

Heat burst. I glared. My throat burned a scream. Malo's fingers twitched. I rose my jaw, pursing my lips against his words.

"Fine." I was hot with fury as Malo's eyes traced my leaving. Pounding. It filled my ears. Every look was glares. Each person lacquered in blood. Hot. Sticky. Filling their lungs.

Gravel turned dirt. Turned moss and limbs. The sky burned.

"You fools," I seethed. Leaves ripped with my fury, my fingers tearing holes. "Fucking Malo. Fucking girl. Mother and Cassius. Die. Die. All die." Air was humid in my lungs. I heaved. My body shook each rib. With it something burned in my face. It boiled to my eyes. I tapped my cheeks, rabbit-swift fear pattering my heart.

What was this? That wetness on my cheeks? I had not experienced anything of its sort prior. It was warm, soft, comforting. I growled, swiping it away.

"No," I muttered, hands curling around my ears. I crouched, my eyes straining against the water. "No. Don't. You're a god. You can't feel like this." My body trembled. "Stop. No."

It was almost as if Mother was there then, peering through the leaves. As if Cassius was behind me, his brotherly smile soft on his face. As if Malo was holding my shoulders.

"Don't mock me." I swatted my hand outward, raking Malo's face. "DON'T MOCK ME!" I growled, a scream rising as I raked hot fingers across my face. They were mocking me. Mocking. Teasing. Pulling.

Something hitched in my throat. I rose, glaring through the fog.

Snapping. I spun, eyes digging into the trees. Searching. Where was it? Where was it hiding? I would find it, I was sure. I had too. I wanted to see its blood.

Furry, it sat. I shivered, my own fur rising to flesh. Back I was. My paws thrummed the softened earth as I crept towards the rabbit. It sniffled undergrowth and bracken, its paws scratching. I kept my tail still with excitement. There it was. Dumb and unknowning.

I bit down, my fangs seeping into its flesh. It tasted like metal. It tasted like sweat. Flesh ripped in my mouth as I tightened. The rabbit thrashed beneath me, kicking my hindlegs. I hissed into the grab, sinking my body deeper onto it as it struggled. Still, I unclenched my teeth. The rabbit was warm. Still. Glassy.

I didn't bother with pleasantries. I sunk my teeth in, ripping apart its flesh. The fur was chapped on my tongue, the blood pooling warmth down my throat. Tissue and muscle beated still, the body barely brushing death.

I ripped away. The rabbit's eyes were glass. Yet its body still twitched with life. Those damn nerves. The muscle would be alive in my stomach.

I flicked my tongue over my lips. Metal. Funny, isn't it? How blood taste like that? A twinge of sour and warmth and sweetness. The honey of our life and yet so many despise it so. Pathetic little humans, scared of lineage. Frightened at the sight of it alone.

My body thrummed. I laid. Nose tucked into the rabbit's fur. It's pelt would be my bed that night.