Post by Epic on Mar 13, 2017 18:20:42 GMT
Note: this is the original chapter. I kinda want to change it to clear things up and foreshadow more, but I won't because LMB archive. 
Chapter 4
It happened that very night.
G'loona had settled down on the small cot in her lean-to, and was just drifting off to sleep when a hand slapped against her mouth. Her eyes widened, then narrowed; but before she could catch a glimpse of her captor, a sack went over her head.
She screamed and flailed her arms and legs, but strong hands held them down and tied them together with a rough cord. Then a harsh blow landed on the back of her skull, and spots flashed in her vision. She stopped screaming abruptly and tried to breathe calmly, her heart pounding. After a short pause, her captor grabbed her tied ankles, pulled her off the cot, and dragged her along the ground.
There was another pause, and G'loona heard the door to the lean-to softly close.
Then she was being dragged again, over grass and pebbles and small plants.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked loudly, though she felt sure she already knew.
In reply, her captor stopped, forcing her head against a sharp rock. "Be quiet," an unfamiliar voice hissed.
G'loona couldn't tell whether it was male or female.
When she kept silent for a few more moments, her captor started off again, continuing to drag her.
As uncomfortable and unhappy as she was, weariness started to overtake her. The bumps and jostlings of obstacles fell into a steady rhythm. Her eyelids grew heavy underneath the sack.
Then she felt herself leave the ground, and at once she was wide awake, unable to stop herself from crying out.
"I told you to be quiet!" said her captor. "Dastak!"
Trying to slow her breathing, G'loona nodded mutely. She could only assume that an eagle or a phoenix was carrying her in flight: the accent didn't sound like a raven's, and the cold would have given a vulture away instantly. But this was disturbing behavior for a phoenix or eagle. Maybe drastic times called for drastic measures. Or maybe something was terribly wrong.
G'loona only hoped her captor wasn't Eris.
Quite suddenly, G'loona's head felt uncomfortably warm and swollen. Spots blinked before her eyes. She was hanging upside down, she realized, and the blood was rushing to her head.
The grip around her ankles loosened for a moment, and she gasped out loud.
Her captor chuckled audibly before telling her yet again to be quiet.
Several long, uncomfortable, and tense moments later, her captor set down. She was dumped unceremoniously onto a rocky surface.
"Get up," demanded her captor.
Shaking, eyes wide underneath the sack, G'loona stood.
"Now, get moving."
Something sharp prodded her back. Huffing in fear and anger, she started to walk, receiving more pokes in the back when she slowed. And as she walked, the air grew steadily warmer and stuffier. Occasionally she heard the crackle of a torch.
At last her captor told her to stop, murmuring, "On your knees." Then her bonds fell away, the sack was whipped off her head, and she heard a door slam heavily behind her. Sudden torchlight made her eyes water painfully.
"Well?" said a new voice, that actually sounded like many voices speaking at once.
Squinting, blinking the moisture from her eyes, G'loona looked up. And there stood a tall phoenix, his robes a brilliant (and eye-searing) scarlet, his unfurled wings ablaze, and his eyes a piercing flame-yellow. G'loona was forced to look away, her eyes streaming afresh. "F--Fluminox?" she said.
The phoenix tilted his head, trying (and failing) to look her in the eye.
"Yes, it is I," he said, in that same overlapping voice.
G'loona grimaced. "Was--was Eris the one who kidna--"
"I trust you had an uneventful trip?" Fluminox cut her off, smiling strangely.
G'loona's mouth fell open. "I--you--I was kidnapped! I didn't ask for this--"
Fluminox's smile vanished at once. "I was under the impression you had--you see, Laval, Eris, and Cragger have told me all about you. . . ."
"They have?" said G'loona sharply, though this didn't surprise her much.
"Indeed," said Fluminox. "For example, they tell me that you don't want to use fire Chi. That you seem afraid of it."
Well, they'd be half right there, thought G'loona.
"So," Fluminox went on, "I simply wanted to show you that you have nothing to fear from fire."
G'loona's eyes finally adjusted to the fire and light, and she turned to meet his gaze defiantly. "So you kidnapped me? You thought that was a good idea?"
Fluminox frowned at her. "Kidnapped? Really?"
G'loona raised her eyebrows. What was wrong with this phoenix? Had he not heard her?
Almost as if he had heard these thoughts, Fluminox suddenly shook his head as if to clear it, then smiled down at her.
And slowly, it dawned on G'loona that there was something wrong with his smile.
Something. . . .
But before she could think what it was, Fluminox strode past her and opened the door behind her.
"That's right . . . come with me," he said, gesturing with his flame-tipped staff and leaving G'loona no choice in the matter.
The phoenix continued to smile slightly as she stepped through the doorway, then shut it quietly behind them both.
He led her down a long, dark hall, lit by only four torches (two at each end). "You know," said Fluminox, his multiple voices and irritating tone causing G'loona to grit her teeth, "I sent my most trusted servant to bring you here."
"So it wasn't Eris," replied the gorilla flatly.
Fluminox tilted his head. "No."
"Well, when she hears about this, she'll—"
"She will do nothing. Several more weeks, and she might have brought you here herself."
"I...wouldn't be so sure about that," said G'loona, wishing she sounded more confident in herself.
Fluminox stopped, let out a strangely cold laugh that didn't suit him at all, and turned around to face her. "Well," he said, his voices dangerously smooth, "I would."
Then he did the strangest thing yet:
Fluminox hit himself over the head with his staff, coughed out a puff of smoke, and rolled his eyes in different directions. For a second, a cold, maniacal gleam brightened those spinning eyes; but then they righted themselves, and sanity returned to their centers.
G'loona closed her own eyes and took a step back, fighting to keep herself calm. She forced herself to believe that whatever was happening to Fluminox wouldn't happen to her, too.
"You look frightened," said Fluminox's voice after a while. "Let me assure you, there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Nobody is here besides you and I . . ."
Like I won't be afraid after you've said that, G'loona thought fiercely, but still she said nothing. If Fluminox himself couldn't tell that something was wrong, it would probably be better if they weren't alone.
Cautiously, G'loona opened her eyes to find the phoenix looking down at her with what seemed to be genuine concern. His wings were glowing slightly in the near-darkness. As he'd said, there were no other phoenixes or cat guides in sight, nor had there been when they'd entered the hall. But, G'loona supposed, they would have had plenty of time to get out of the way while she and Fluminox had been talking in the first room.
"Where are you taking me, anyway?" she asked warily.
Fluminox looked over his shoulder. "I thought I had told you. We are trying to find my son."
"Your . . . son? Why?"
Fluminox frowned and started walking again, beckoning for her to follow (she did, though with a nervous swallow). "Your friends have also told me that you and he--my son, that is--have met, and that you get on very well. If that is the case, though, and you are still afraid of fire . . ." Fluminox shook his head and trailed off.
When they reached the door at the end of the hall, G'loona thought to ask, "What's your son's name?"
Fluminox paused. "Flinx," he said.
Then he opened the door and led her into a new room, a room of fire and light.
Chapter 4
It happened that very night.
G'loona had settled down on the small cot in her lean-to, and was just drifting off to sleep when a hand slapped against her mouth. Her eyes widened, then narrowed; but before she could catch a glimpse of her captor, a sack went over her head.
She screamed and flailed her arms and legs, but strong hands held them down and tied them together with a rough cord. Then a harsh blow landed on the back of her skull, and spots flashed in her vision. She stopped screaming abruptly and tried to breathe calmly, her heart pounding. After a short pause, her captor grabbed her tied ankles, pulled her off the cot, and dragged her along the ground.
There was another pause, and G'loona heard the door to the lean-to softly close.
Then she was being dragged again, over grass and pebbles and small plants.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked loudly, though she felt sure she already knew.
In reply, her captor stopped, forcing her head against a sharp rock. "Be quiet," an unfamiliar voice hissed.
G'loona couldn't tell whether it was male or female.
When she kept silent for a few more moments, her captor started off again, continuing to drag her.
As uncomfortable and unhappy as she was, weariness started to overtake her. The bumps and jostlings of obstacles fell into a steady rhythm. Her eyelids grew heavy underneath the sack.
Then she felt herself leave the ground, and at once she was wide awake, unable to stop herself from crying out.
"I told you to be quiet!" said her captor. "Dastak!"
Trying to slow her breathing, G'loona nodded mutely. She could only assume that an eagle or a phoenix was carrying her in flight: the accent didn't sound like a raven's, and the cold would have given a vulture away instantly. But this was disturbing behavior for a phoenix or eagle. Maybe drastic times called for drastic measures. Or maybe something was terribly wrong.
G'loona only hoped her captor wasn't Eris.
Quite suddenly, G'loona's head felt uncomfortably warm and swollen. Spots blinked before her eyes. She was hanging upside down, she realized, and the blood was rushing to her head.
The grip around her ankles loosened for a moment, and she gasped out loud.
Her captor chuckled audibly before telling her yet again to be quiet.
Several long, uncomfortable, and tense moments later, her captor set down. She was dumped unceremoniously onto a rocky surface.
"Get up," demanded her captor.
Shaking, eyes wide underneath the sack, G'loona stood.
"Now, get moving."
Something sharp prodded her back. Huffing in fear and anger, she started to walk, receiving more pokes in the back when she slowed. And as she walked, the air grew steadily warmer and stuffier. Occasionally she heard the crackle of a torch.
At last her captor told her to stop, murmuring, "On your knees." Then her bonds fell away, the sack was whipped off her head, and she heard a door slam heavily behind her. Sudden torchlight made her eyes water painfully.
"Well?" said a new voice, that actually sounded like many voices speaking at once.
Squinting, blinking the moisture from her eyes, G'loona looked up. And there stood a tall phoenix, his robes a brilliant (and eye-searing) scarlet, his unfurled wings ablaze, and his eyes a piercing flame-yellow. G'loona was forced to look away, her eyes streaming afresh. "F--Fluminox?" she said.
The phoenix tilted his head, trying (and failing) to look her in the eye.
"Yes, it is I," he said, in that same overlapping voice.
G'loona grimaced. "Was--was Eris the one who kidna--"
"I trust you had an uneventful trip?" Fluminox cut her off, smiling strangely.
G'loona's mouth fell open. "I--you--I was kidnapped! I didn't ask for this--"
Fluminox's smile vanished at once. "I was under the impression you had--you see, Laval, Eris, and Cragger have told me all about you. . . ."
"They have?" said G'loona sharply, though this didn't surprise her much.
"Indeed," said Fluminox. "For example, they tell me that you don't want to use fire Chi. That you seem afraid of it."
Well, they'd be half right there, thought G'loona.
"So," Fluminox went on, "I simply wanted to show you that you have nothing to fear from fire."
G'loona's eyes finally adjusted to the fire and light, and she turned to meet his gaze defiantly. "So you kidnapped me? You thought that was a good idea?"
Fluminox frowned at her. "Kidnapped? Really?"
G'loona raised her eyebrows. What was wrong with this phoenix? Had he not heard her?
Almost as if he had heard these thoughts, Fluminox suddenly shook his head as if to clear it, then smiled down at her.
And slowly, it dawned on G'loona that there was something wrong with his smile.
Something. . . .
But before she could think what it was, Fluminox strode past her and opened the door behind her.
"That's right . . . come with me," he said, gesturing with his flame-tipped staff and leaving G'loona no choice in the matter.
The phoenix continued to smile slightly as she stepped through the doorway, then shut it quietly behind them both.
He led her down a long, dark hall, lit by only four torches (two at each end). "You know," said Fluminox, his multiple voices and irritating tone causing G'loona to grit her teeth, "I sent my most trusted servant to bring you here."
"So it wasn't Eris," replied the gorilla flatly.
Fluminox tilted his head. "No."
"Well, when she hears about this, she'll—"
"She will do nothing. Several more weeks, and she might have brought you here herself."
"I...wouldn't be so sure about that," said G'loona, wishing she sounded more confident in herself.
Fluminox stopped, let out a strangely cold laugh that didn't suit him at all, and turned around to face her. "Well," he said, his voices dangerously smooth, "I would."
Then he did the strangest thing yet:
Fluminox hit himself over the head with his staff, coughed out a puff of smoke, and rolled his eyes in different directions. For a second, a cold, maniacal gleam brightened those spinning eyes; but then they righted themselves, and sanity returned to their centers.
G'loona closed her own eyes and took a step back, fighting to keep herself calm. She forced herself to believe that whatever was happening to Fluminox wouldn't happen to her, too.
"You look frightened," said Fluminox's voice after a while. "Let me assure you, there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Nobody is here besides you and I . . ."
Like I won't be afraid after you've said that, G'loona thought fiercely, but still she said nothing. If Fluminox himself couldn't tell that something was wrong, it would probably be better if they weren't alone.
Cautiously, G'loona opened her eyes to find the phoenix looking down at her with what seemed to be genuine concern. His wings were glowing slightly in the near-darkness. As he'd said, there were no other phoenixes or cat guides in sight, nor had there been when they'd entered the hall. But, G'loona supposed, they would have had plenty of time to get out of the way while she and Fluminox had been talking in the first room.
"Where are you taking me, anyway?" she asked warily.
Fluminox looked over his shoulder. "I thought I had told you. We are trying to find my son."
"Your . . . son? Why?"
Fluminox frowned and started walking again, beckoning for her to follow (she did, though with a nervous swallow). "Your friends have also told me that you and he--my son, that is--have met, and that you get on very well. If that is the case, though, and you are still afraid of fire . . ." Fluminox shook his head and trailed off.
When they reached the door at the end of the hall, G'loona thought to ask, "What's your son's name?"
Fluminox paused. "Flinx," he said.
Then he opened the door and led her into a new room, a room of fire and light.
I'll look around. 
Sig by Sam
Now he can change his status to, "Semi-depressed." 
Is everything my parents ever told me WRONG!?!?!? AM I LIVING A LIE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
