We Live To Serve - Printable Version

And suddenly, there was... nothing.

It was like being inside her chrysalis again, except Dawn was VERY MUCH awake and thinking. Panicking, in fact. Where had everyone gone? Where was her twin, the one she was meant to protect? THREAT, blared the alarm in her head. THREAT THREAT THREAT. And we all knew what we did with threats: we became savagery unbound.

Dawn's jaws ripped open, her neck flailing wildly as she snapped her teeth and tossed her antlers. Her hooves, too, lashed out--but there was nothing to find purchase on in the void, no ground or air she could move through. And she was blind, too, and heard nothing but the click of her own teeth. The effect would've been rather ridiculous looking if anyone had been able to see it.

And Sentinel and Dusk would, moments later when Dawn dropped out of the void, still thrashing. Her hooves, having been kicking in every direction, shot out from underneath her as she slammed painfully into the ground. Her teeth snapped shut, narrowly avoiding being broken on a stray piece of rock. Ow, Dawn thought, dazed. She'd probably strained a muscle or too--ow moving that one leg really hurt her flank--

Her eyes widened in a panic. Someone was talking, and she knew that voice. There was no doubt in her mind that the Sentinel had done this, and that meant he was a threat, and SHE HAD BEEN MISSING WHILE HER SISTER WAS OUT HERE. Dawn scrambled back onto her hooves, relief flooding through her as she saw Dusk beside her and felt the touch of her twin's wing on her shoulder. "You okay?" she asked, one eye always on the Sentinel as she looked over Dusk. No blood, no burns, no signs of more dirty witchcraft from the Sentinel. Good.

Then she turned to face the Sentinel, honking loudly. There might have been the intent of some kind of magic behind the sound--a spell to augment the signaling effect, perhaps, something to signal mentally as well as audibly that this is a threat, everyone who's anyone should come fight him. Instead, there was a piercing flash of pain cutting through Dawn's skull, sending her stumbling again and shaking her head in a desperate attempt to make the pain go away.

Well. There went the plan of 'savagery unbound part two.' In all honesty, it was probably a good thing.

Dusk's ear twitched.

"Sending my sibling wherever you did to show... power, intent. Was that not a threat of what would happen should either of us step out of line again? How is that not harm when you can simply blink one of us out of existence?", she said slowly, "If you mean to deescalate then you are doing a poor job."

She looked to her sister again and stomped a foot, "I'm fine. But settle down before you get us both killed, we can't fulfill our purpose if we are dead."

Blunt, yes, but perhaps Dawn needed blunt to understand that now was the time to observe and watch instead of diving into conflict without a plan.

"Stay close, stay quiet, and stay alert," she whispered, "This might be our chance to get answers... and if anything, we can simply fly out ourselves."

Dusk walked forward again, "We will follow."

’The sooner we can leave, the better,’ she thought.

Dawn blinked hard, shaking away the last of the pain and dizziness. Then she lifted her head again, staring at the Sentinel in a none-too-friendly way but backing off at Dawn's command. This was her job. She would protect, and she would obey. No matter how badly she mistrusted the Sentinel, she'd never go directly against what she saw as an order.

So fine. He could get a pass for not actually hurting them yet, even if he was acting awfully threatening. (The biggest point in his favor, though, was Dusk.) She'd settle down, stay quiet and alert, and follow the Sentinel. Dawn walked beside her twin, sullen but calmed, keeping an ever-watchful eye on the Sentinel and their surroundings.

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas strode toward the call, and if he could have grinned upon seeing the twins, he would have. Well, he was; but it was more a permanent expression, wasn't it?

"GOOD!" he boomed. "You two--can you yet speak?--you are to serve as the guardians of the Cepheus palace! I will bring you there, to Aethril--if it is too far for you to walk, I will carry you, so inform me if you grow tired. I do not yet know what she will name you, or I would grant you your titles now," he added. "I am Master Vargas, and I created you both at her request. You understand all of this, yes?" he asked.

He then paused, to see if they understood what he'd said so far--if so, then they could set off.

Dusk didn't know exactly what she was expecting, but it was certainly not Vargas. He was giant, hulking even, the largest thing she'd ever seen and right on the edges of her comprehension. She stared in shock as he approached, finding her feet glued to the stone beneath her even as her heart pounded and her legs quivered with the urge to run.

"... We can speak," she said, managing to lift her feet enough to step back and behind her sister.

Was she scared? Perhaps, Vargas was huge with a lot of teeth (not as many as she herself had, which made her a bit less afraid), and larger than they. She and Dawn were dainty and he was big and heavily muscled, built for killing with those hooked claws. And yet she still felt like if he threatened either of them, she'd try her hardest to rip his face off.

Honestly she didn't really like that particular instinct, seeing as if she did try anything she'd be slapped into next week if she was lucky.

Somehow, this new Vargas was even more hulking and imposing than the Sentinel had been. If the Sentinel was powerful enough to destroy both of them, then Vargas could probably double-destroy them.

Dawn allowed her twin to step behind her, and stepped forward as she did so (albeit with much less enthusiasm than she had with the Sentinel). Once she was there, though, it seemed easy to stay put. All she had to do was stand still, and not moving her hooves was a lot easier than moving them. "Yes," she agreed shortly with Dusk.

But the fear almost seemed to... drain away with Vargas' explanation of their purpose. Dawn couldn't explain it. It just felt so right. Protecting the palace and obeying Aethril was exactly what she had always wanted to do, wasn't it?

She craned her head to look expectantly at Dusk, then Vargas. She was ready to go.

- THE LEVIATHAN -

"Good," Vargas answered, pleased, offering them both a nod. He studied them, briefly, and felt a flicker of irritation--nothing that was their fault, mind. But their gemstones didn't match. Had they been something subtle, it wouldn't have broken the effect--of the perfect, matched pair of guardians. These gemstones were anything but subtle, bright with hues of blue. One was a damn rainbow--he'd known that, of course, to begin with. But for it to be a part of the design, replacing the pristine white, rather than addition?

Damn it.

Ahh, well; if Aethril wanted them remade, she'd tell him so. "Come, then!" he told them, trying to regain some of his cheer. As for capabilities--well, that they'd have to wait and see. For now--they had a journey to make.