#slay tuned | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

writingdevil · 29 days ago

Text

Tongues and Teeth PT.7 (STP)

"Monster!"was the only thing Skeptic managed to blurt out,before all hell broke loose.

Hunted immediately jumped to action,wings flared out to protect Contrarian behind him,and Opportunist,who swore as he got to his feet, bringing Paranoid with him,and began whispering intensely to him,likely calming the other down.

Cold did nothing.

Smitten had just enough time to pull Skeptic further into the campsite,before the monster launched into the clearing.Skeptic scrambled to his feet,twisting around to face the creature,still holding Smitten's hand desperately.

The monster was twice as big as him,reaching almost to the top of the trees.Its body was a dark grey,which would pulsate and have spikes protrude forth every few seconds.The front of the monster had a large,gaping maw,but instead of teeth,it had rows of wriggling hands,clawing and hungry for anything to tear apart.

He heard Contrarian start to giggle maniacally.

"Go!Fly now!"Hunted ordered,and Contrarian immediately shot up into the air,but still stayed back to watch the creature with curiosity,a playful grin on his face.

Both Skeptic and Smitten flapped their wings to fly, along with Opportunist,still gripping Paranoid's hand-but Paranoid wasn't flying.

Opportunist's eyes went wide in realisation as Paranoid's hand tugged him back down,and Smitten gasped and whispered,"Oh no,his wings," and that was when Skeptic saw the state of his wings-overpreened and incapable of flying.

Skeptic was about to start firing out ideas,when the creature suddenly let a piercing screech out, making all of them jump and wince.

Skeptic glanced behind him,to find Cold, brandishing a stick that was aflame from the campfire,and had thrust it into the monster's body with barely a blink.

Contrarian cheered,then waved the rest of them away."Go on!We'll hold him off!"

Skeptic didn't like the idea of those particular two fighting,but they also didn't have a choice.He sighed in frustration and looked back down at the others,just for Paranoid to say,"Go off and fly!I'll only weigh you down."

But Opportunist then dropped to the ground, scowling at Paranoid as he said,"Shut the fuck up and start running,Jitters."and then bolted into the forest with Paranoid in tow.

If they weren't currently in danger,Skeptic's jaw would be on the floor.

But then Smitten yanked him forward,boldly declaring,"We'll stick close with you,friends!"and then they flew after them.

Hunted ran on all fours besides them,and Skeptic couldn't help but ask,"Why aren't you flying?" Hunted just shook his head,eyes bright and focused as he said,"Can't-Won't.Wings can fail you-running can't."Skeptic wasn't sure how true that was,but now wasn't the time to dissect Hunted's decisions.

They ran further into the forest,where the trees and branches grew thicker and the sun was being blocked by dark leaves,casting them in a dim, shadowy light.There was no hole to hide in or escape they could take.

Opportunist glanced down at Hunted,voice and face eerily calm as he said,"You can take that thing, can't you?Once you've faced one Beast,you've faced them all,right?"

Hunted shook his head."No blade-left open, defenceless."

"Cold seemed to make due."

"A lit branch isn't the same as a blade,"Paranoid countered,yelping as he almost tripped on a rock, but Opportunist kept a tight grip on his hand and kept him moving.

'Why?'Skeptic thought in wonder.'Why help him at the cost of slowing yourself down?How does that benefit you?'

"Besides,"Paranoid continued while panting,"isn't running away better?"

"It is,"Skeptic insisted,"we can't solve anything if we're dead."

Opportunist threw him a look."We also can't do anything while we're being hunted for sport all the time."Hunted flinched at the blunt use of his name, but kept quiet.

"What?You want to fight that thing?"Paranoid said, ducking low under a branch,and Skeptic and Smitten briefly let go to avoid a particularly low and tough looking branch themselves,before Smitten was immediately reaching for his hand again.

Opportunist shot Paranoid a wink."Why not,Jitters?It might be worth it."

"Worth it?How?"

"It's not-"Smitten tried to intervene,but Opportunist simply ignored him.

Opportunist sighed,expression serious for a change as he explained,"Avoiding the monsters is good for a short term plan,but it looks like there's a lot of them out there.I don't know about you,but I'd like to not have to look over my shoulder and worry every second of the day."

Skeptic tried to argue,"We can't know for certain how many monsters are around-"but it was Paranoid who cut him off.

He looked over at Hunted with concern and fear in his eyes."Speaking of worrying,can you check on those two idiots and make sure they're still alive?"

Hunted nodded,then slipped into the darkness of the bushes.

That seemed to calm Paranoid down slightly,but then he squinted ahead and said,"Turn right!"before yanking Opportunist to the right,before they crashed into a huge boulder that was blocking the path.The two of them smoothly switched directions,while Smitten panicked,floundering and flapped his wings wildly as he attempted to slow down,and Skeptic grunted as he twisted his body to push him in the right direction without losing speed.

Smitten shot him a grateful look as they caught up to the other two.At some point,they has stopped running,but Skeptic couldn't tell if Paranoid's panting was from worry or exhaustion.

Skeptic and Smitten landed on the ground,just as Paranoid was wringing his hands together and glancing around the forest nervously."We won't win against that thing-we could barely stand against the princess most times,and that was with a blade."

Skeptic opened his mouth to speak,but was cut off by Opportunist,and Skeptic was in shock at how soft he looked as he spoke to Paranoid."I know Jitters,I'm not saying that we fight every monster we see with our bare hands,but running away won't keep us safe in the long run."

"I doubt fighting a creature like that will fare well for us either,"Paranoid argued,hugging himself."I can't tell if it's just a mindless creature or something sent to kill us specifically.Either way, attacking it will only make it more likely to kill us.Staying out of it's way is how we stay alive."

Skeptic was about to agree,when Opportunist took a step forward,keeping one hand behind his back and the other outstretched towards Paranoid."Yes, how we stay alive,but not you,Jitters."Paranoid gave him a surprised look as Opportunist explained,"We can fly away no problem-but you can't,and Hunted won't.If we keep running around without taking down a single one of these things, eventually one of you will get attacked,and we won't be there to save you."

It would get Broken and Cheated as well,Skeptic realised.Neither of their wings were capable of flying,and they had been lucky that they managed to sneak away whenever a monster approached, while with Skeptic and Smitten.

Skeptic's starting to understand why they had left, why they valued safety over answers.Wanting to discover the truth is all well and good,but if you can't manage to live through a single day,then what's the point?

He sighed,feeling guilt crawl up his throat.

"Fighting them is the better option,"Opportunist insisted,"just until we bring their numbers down enough so that we can live a relatively peaceful life, where you won't have another thing to worry about on top of your very long list,Jitters."

Paranoid let a small smile show,but his voice was still serious as he said,"Alright,but fighting them now is still a stupid thing to do.We need time to actually settle down and make weapons to kill them."

"I completely agree,Jitters."Skeptic saw the way Opportunist smiled at Paranoid,at how much more-relaxed he looked,as if he didn't have to try so hard to convince him of things.

Skeptic shared a look with Smitten,who was just gazing at the two of them in delighted astonishment,as if this was the best thing he's discovered since the princess.

What had happened since they've been gone?

Skeptic didn't get a chance to ponder further,as Hunted suddenly burst from the bushes,causing all four of them to shout in alarm.

"Goodness,Hunted!"Smitten exclaimed,clutching a hand to his puffy chest."Please don't frighten us like that."

"Sorry,"Hunted replied,bowing his head once in apology."Came back to tell you-monster's dead."

Silence.

"What?"was the first thing that Opportunist said, and Hunted just repeated,"The monster is dead.It's safe again."

"How?"Skeptic demanded,"Did Cold and Contrarian actually kill it?"

"No."

"Did you?"

"Not me,"Hunted said,then turned around and said, "Follow me."

They walked back to the camp in confused silence, until they got back and saw the monster dead on the ground,with scorched skin and ripped flesh all along its body.

Contrarian was busy poking the corpse,using a sharp stick to carve random doodles into the body, while Cold watched,right against his back,with his feathers a mess from the fight no doubt.

Standing in front of the corpse,was Stubborn, rubbing his knuckles and staring down at the creature with an unusually grim expression. Cheated was next to him,lightly kicking the body, with Broken grimacing at the mess from behind Cheated's back.

Cheated lifted his head just as they walked in,and the shit-eating grin he wore was enough for Skeptic to want to jump off a cliff."Oh,I thought you wanted nothing to do with the flock,Skeptic?"

Dickhead.

"Okay okay boys,let's calm down here."

Opportunist sighed as Cheated,Skeptic and Smitten were forced to settle down,the four of them huddled in a dark corner of the camp while everyone else got relaxed.

The relief of finding more of their flock was short-lived as Skeptic,Cheated and Smitten immediately began arguing,and Jitters ordered Opportunist to deal with it while he checked on the others, claiming that he didn't have the patience to deal with any more stress today.

Apparently,not every meeting had been as smooth sailing as theirs had been,and it was just making Opportunist feel awkward at this point,even with Contrarian trying to lighten the mood.

He expected Stubborn to have a more explosive reaction to seeing Hunted again,but he was more- subdued now,offering to drag the body away,and merely quietly asking Hunted if he wanted to join.

Hunted was cautious,but agreed,and after twenty minutes,they returned,and all had been forgiven, evident from the way Hunted took Stubborn's wrist and scented him.

"What fucking lie did you tell Paranoid?"Cheated demanded,and Opportunist smiled in that sugary sweet way that he knew pissed Cheated off."It is suspicious,"Skeptic agreed,"but not important right now."

Cheated groaned."How the fuck are you still on about this Hero to Long Quiet theory?"

"What theory?"

Cheated pointed at Smitten and Skeptic and said, "These two idiots believe that Hero is the key to getting back to the Decider-"

"-and our beloved darling!"Smitten added passionately,a determined glint in his eyes that Opportunist wasn't looking forward to fighting,but he just smiled politely,studying both sides acutely.

He glanced at Skeptic."You were looking for Hero specifically?"

"Yes."

"No,asshole!"Cheated protested,"Tell the truth!You didn't even try to look for the rest of them!"

"It wasn't like I didn't care about them!"Skeptic argued,motioning towards the rest of their flock."I didn't think there was any point in wasting time in searching for something that wasn't going to solve what happened to us!"

"What if Hero is just as clueless as us?"Opportunist asked,and he saw a flicker of doubt and worry in Skeptic's piercing eyes,but he still said,"Then we keep searching until we find them."

"What if they don't want to be found?"Cheated asked,and Opportunist saw the way Skeptic's doubts grew,and he went in for the kill.

He shrugged casually,gazing out at the rest of their flock as he said,"There's no harm in wanting answers.I myself would like to know how we got in this position.But if you're gonna go out in a forest full of fucked up monsters,it might be in your best interest to see if anyone wants to help out.Besides, Skeptic,what if Hero had been with us,and you were just avoiding us,until a monster came and ripped those keen eyes out of your head?What would be the point in all that avoiding?"

Skeptic scrunched his face up in confliction,but Smitten was the one who argued,"We didn't mean to abandon you all-we were just worried about the love of our lives!What if they're out there,waiting for us?"

Cheated rolled his eyes."I told you,they don't care about us-"

"She has to!"

Cheated flinched at Smitten's desperate plea,terror in his glimmering eyes.Skeptic had put a comforting hand on his shoulder,but Smitten still said,"She loved us in that cabin!We deserve to be together-who knows what will become of her otherwise?"

Opportunist caught movement ahead of him,and he looked up to find Jitters gazing at him in concern,taking a pause in preening Cold's feathers. Next to them,Contrarian was lying on the ground, talking about something very animatedly with his hands,while Hunted kept inching closer,attempting to preen his head,but not wanting to interrupt Contrarian.Stubborn was nearby,poking the fire every now and then,with Broken watching the flames next to him.

His attention was brought back to Jitters,who was giving him a worried look,then mouthed to him,'Is everything okay?'

Opportunist smiled tiredly,nodding his head,and that seemed to be enough for Jitters,but that frown never left his face.

Opportunist needed to wrap this up quick,so that they all don't kill each other.

He turned to look at Smitten,his face a mask of understanding and sympathy,because in all honesty-the princess's feelings were never his top priority. "Smitten,I get it,I really do.You want to be there for your one true love."

Smitten nodded frantically."Yes!More than anything!"

Opportunist smiled gently up at him,taking his hand in his."The thing is,Smitten-He loved her too, and now they've gone off together,because they're free."He paused to let that sink in for him,then continued,"The princess is with Him now,and he definitely loves her,right?"

"Yes,of course,I can absolutely tell you that he does."

"Yeah,so she's definitely going to be loved for as long as He's with her,regardless if...we're with her." Smitten's eyes were losing that sparkle,and even Skeptic lowered his head in doubt.

"They chose each other,Smitten,and all you can do is pray that they're happy.Maybe it's time that we choose someone else."

Instinctively,his eyes darted to Jitters,who was chatting to Cold with a small smile on his face,and Opportunist was glad that he could do this for him, that he could help keep everyone around and do what's best for the flock and-wow,when did he get so sentimental?

While he was busy trying to sort through his feelings,putting both hands behind his back in comfort,Skeptic took over in the conversation, softly going,"Smitten,maybe-maybe we don't need to worry about the princess right now."

That hit hard for Smitten,who was blinking back tears and ducking his head low,but after a few seconds,he let a shaky breath out,and nodded his head.

"Great!"Opportunist said cheerfully,clapping his hands together and making the three of them jump."Well then boys,I'm glad that that's all settled, and feel free to make yourselves at home."

Skeptic shot him a wary look,but still guided Smitten to a spot near the fire.Cheated,on the other hand,glared at him and said,"I'm on to you." Opportunist just gave him a completely innocent smile and replied,"Let me know when you find something worthwhile."Cheated sighed and walked away.

Eventually,they all managed to get settled in for the night,sitting around the campfire and catching up with each other.They talked about how weird everything was now with their own bodies,and how they had to worry about things they never used to before.

They talked about-how nice it was to not see that cabin again.

Opportunist didn't speak,but he was happy enough to sit and listen,and bask in the soft peace he now felt with being around his flock.

But their flock wasn't complete yet,and that absence could be felt all around.

Hero.

Hero wasn't with them yet.

But as he looked around his flock,he saw that determined glint in everyone's eyes that he himself felt in his heart,and he knew.

Nothing was stopping them from getting their Hero back.