Lianna
Pet Name: Lianna
Owner: Sciger
Theme / Type: Nightmare Cheran
Gender: Female
Battle Portal Stats
Hit Points: 4 / 4
Strength: 12
Defense: 1
Speed: 5
Intellect: 0
Misticpower: 2
Battles Won: 0
Battles Lost: 0
| Attached Weapons | |
Books Read
Books Read: None
Exotic Foods Eaten
Foods Eaten: 0/1254 [ View Foods ]
All those in the cheran nest knew the tunnels were off limits, no questions asked. Those that strayed too far often found being remotely near the forbidden area could hear horrifying whispers from within. It is described as another language, quick, chattering, disturbing. No one really knew what would happen if they entered the forbidden tunnels but no one wanted to find out. They were not an adventurous sort but only wanted to live out their happy lives with one another.
But not every life is happy.
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"Come back here, Ren!" a particularly annoyed cheran snapped at her youngest and pulled the rambunctious, tiny male back to her side. It had been such a short time since she gave birth to her beloved children but they were already showing their personalities. Her little girl insisted on being at her side at all times, while the little boy wanted to go off and explore the world.
"So young and already such a pawful," rumbled Lianna's mate as they bumped their heads together in greeting. The hunting party had at last returned with plenty of food to last them a short while.
"Welcome back, love." She replied, feeling a soaring in her chest as she was reunited with her mate so their family was all in one place. "I see the hunt was a success?"
"A wonderful success! Any luck creating more toys for the little ones?"
"Not really, I can hardly move without her squealing her tiny head off," Lianna bent her head and licked at her daughter gently. She squirmed slightly then fell still. "It's started to annoy some of the others but I'm sure it'll pass given time."
"Here, I'll get you something to eat."
They bumped heads once more as he walked off to fetch some of the best food they brought back for his mate. Lianna sighed and gazed upon the nest that she belonged to. Such a wonderful home, peaceful and hardly ever attacked by predators. What wasn't there to love?
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"Mom, pleeeease?"
"Yeah, please? Can we hear about the tunnels?"
"Wait for me, I wanna hear too!"
The chattering of the offspring of both hers and several other young cherai just about tackled Lianna in her bedding. Only a few female cherai remained in the nest as a majority of them were out restocking their food stores with berries, nuts and small prey.
An adolescent cheran yawned as though bored of the topic. "Aw c'mon, I've heard about the tunnels loads of times. What about that thing in Banshee Swamp that attacks anything that moves??"
"But I wanna hear about the tunnels!" protested Lianna's daughter, Shia.
"Quiet, all of you!" Lianna lightly scolded the bickering young, causing them to fall silent. "We'll discuss both topics if you'd like. What should we hear first?"
All the young ones called for the tunnels story while the only adolescent asked for the creature of banshee swamp.
"We'll start off with the tunnels. Now then, settle in. No biting, Ren!"
A few moments more of squirming, playful bites and yips and all finally fell quiet.
"Now then...they say the tunnels have been around for as long as any cheran who lived in this hollow can remember."
"Is there a monster in there? Tell us about it!"
"Hush now, Ryly, I'll get to that. As I was saying, no one knows just how it came to be. Some say a great battle between two armies took place long before the trees lived here. The lesser of the two armies knew that they were outnumbered and needed a strategy to defeat their opponents. They were cold and tired, not wanting to climb the massive mountain to the west. So, they dug a series of confusing tunnels, memorizing it as they went so they wouldn't get lost."
"But there was a monster!" protested Ryly. Another of the children shushed him loudly as Lianna continued.
"The lesser of the armies carefully tried to lure their enemies into the tunnels, while some of their own hid in some of the forked pathways, ambushing and killing their opponents in the darkness."
"But how did they see?"
"Were they frodrinn?"
It took a few moments for Lianna to calm them down so she could continue the story.
"No one knows what species they were though it is possible they were frodrinn. Now, the lesser of the two armies seemed to succeed in defeating the larger army and took over the territory. The tunnel, now no longer used for combat, was used by some travellers to avoid going over the mountain. However, within a short time, travellers began to hear voices while navigating the darkness. Some became frightened, thinking that angry spirits from the fallen army were trying to attack them and refused to take the tunnel any longer. Some dismissed it as folly and continued to use the shortcut. When travellers started going in and never coming back out, the tunnel's access was blocked off by ropes and fencing so no one would get lost again."
"Is that was the whispers are?" Ren squeaked from the back, his eyes wide as pommes.
"That's what they say, Ren. But it's just an old cheran's tail, no one really knows if that's true or not. Come now, go see your father, it looks like the hunting party is back!"
"But you said you'd talk about the monster from Banshee Swamp too!" protested the adolescent.
"I will after all of you get something to eat. Go on now!" Lianna chuckled as they stampeded away. What a silly story, though she often wondered if it was true.
Was it?
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"Lianna, dear? Where's Ren?" Lianna's mate quietly speaking in her ear gently awoke her from her slumber.
"What do you mean? Isn't he in the nest?" she mumbled groggily, barely able to register that her son was even missing.
"No! No one knows where he went!" His hiss of desperation woke her up entirely as she sprang to her feet, panic starting to grip her heart. Cherai were known for being protective of their young and their young known for almost never leaving their mother's side until they were around a year old. The fact that Ren seemed to have wandered out on his own was unheard of.
An emergency meeting awoke all the adults as they gathered together to discuss what to do. Lianna barely heard a word of it, listening as they discussed what to do. Then, it went to a vote on what they should do: risk injury from night predators and go out looking or stay in the nest and search in the morning. An overwhelming fury filled her chest as the vote barely stood for searching in the morning.
"That's my son out there!" Lianna shrieked, "he could be hurt, he could be attacked, we can't wait until morning, we must go look NOW!"
"Majority vote rules, Lianna. We're staying here," another male firmly growled to her before going back to his nest. Slowly, each of them in turn returned to their beds. Poor Lianna, even her mate shook his head and took their daughter back to bed. She could almost feel her heart shattering in her chest. Her baby boy, out there in the big wild, helpless to any predators that were sure to devour him.
She tried to curl up in her nest but she was wide awake. Her conscience nagged at her and slowly, she stood.
If they wouldn't, then she would.
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"Ren! Ren!" Lianna ran through the forest noisily, going to the first place she thought to go: the tunnels. She had told them the story she made up about it and she feared he went to go see for himself. She neared it and immediately, she heard the whispers that were always told to accompany being near the forbidden territory. Gulping, she slowly drew nearer, ignoring the tiny voice in her mind telling her to flee. Bending her head, she saw tiny pawprints leading into the tunnel and her heart sank as she recognized the scent. Ren had gone inside.
Shoving away all fear, Lianna broke into a sprint into the tunnels, her terrified voice echoing as she tried to find her son. The voices were loud as ever, whispering in her ears in a language she couldn't decipher. She easily ignored it as she desperately searched for her missing son. A couple times, she was certain she heard him calling for her but whenever she grew close to the noise, he wasn't there. Minutes turned into hours as she slowed to a walk, feeling an amount of exhaustion beginning to grip her. The darkness caused her to constantly bump into walls. She began to wonder how long she had been down in the tunnels.
As hours stretched on, she was sure she'd feel fatigued soon and sleep. Alas, despite the fact that she was utterly exhausted, she feared that if she slept, the voices would invade her dreams. Every so often, she was certain she saw movement but when she approached, it would move farther away. While she was fairly certain that the movement she was seeing wasn't really there, she couldn't be sure and refused to stop moving.
It felt like days since she had last seen daylight. Her paws could no longer hold her and she collapsed where she stood, her eyes sliding shut. Hunger gnawed at her belly, thirst parching her mouth. Lianna was sure she was going to die down there, perhaps if she at last rested, she'd die peacefully.
But death did not claim her. Her dreams were filled with bloodshed, death, anger. Eyes, so many eyes, staring down at her. Everywhere she looked, there were eyes watching her every moment, her every breath, her every scream that fell on deaf ears. She felt like the nightmare went on for a lifetime until at last, she awoke. She felt strange but oddly enough, could now see the walls, ceiling and floor of the tunnels. They were perfectly carved, as though intentional. Lianna shook her head and started to walk but felt very strange. It was almost as though she could see in all directions now but knew which way she was going.
The scent of the tunnel began to change. It smelled more fresh, like plants and animals. She was almost out!
"Ren, oh Ren!" Her lost son came to mind once more as she began to run, following the scent to find a blinding tunnel exit. She closed her eyes, barely able to see for the light was so bright. Each time she tried to approach, she felt blinded and couldn't stay in it for long.
"What's wrong with me?" Lianna whispered, curling up on the floor of the tunnel near the edge. Even looking at the light made her eyes ache and she laid down her head. It felt like only a heartbeat until the sun had set and at last, she was able to set out.
Her mouth still parched, she approached a pool of water to quench herself. However, as she did, a horrifying beast stared back at her and she shrieked, which frightened her even further. Did that terrifying roar come out of her?? Why couldn't she see where the water was from her head?? What was wrong? Why were things everything where they shouldn't be??
Summoning up all courage, she approached the pool of water again. Timidly, she looked into the pool and her jaws fell open. The beast that she had seen was her own reflection. She lowered her head and realized that lowering it did no good for her eyes were no longer where they should be. She lifted a leg and saw her vision change. There were eyes on her left foreleg as well as on her right shoulder. She turned her body and saw how she was seeing in all directions, as eyes dotted her hind legs and hind quarters.
"What am I now?" Lianna gasped, the shock slowly sinking in. Her protective armor had scattered about her back, some shoved upwards into spines where there shouldn't be. Her fur took on dark purple hues, her mane a brilliant shade of red. She opened her mouth and observed the vicious, long fangs that jutted out of her gums.
Then, she heard the sounds of other creatures. Feeling oddly ashamed, she dove into a bush and hid herself.
"Are you sure? I heard Lianna here, just moments ago! See? Her scent! It's fresh!" Her beloved mate had approached the clearing, possibly having heard her calls for their lost son.
"But didn't you hear that monster? Surely it must have gotten her by now!" protested his company.
"It can't be, we must find her! I don't care that she's been gone for days and days now, she's alive and I know it! C'mon!" He hissed and tore through the forest.
Lianna felt every one of her eyes well with tears that she couldn't explain. Somehow, she knew.
She could never go back now. She was the monster.
To Be Continued...
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