I Got Trapped in a Darkness

[Qit'ria]

Saun 24, 696 immediately following this

The little girl with dark hair and dark, watery eyes stared at the tree in front of her. The same tree she'd just pulled the javelin from. The same javelin, perfectly sized and balanced for her small build, that was in her hand now. Her hand was shaking, the forest scared her, especially with all this fog around. She could barely see the sun through the thick canopy, making it effectively dark here.

She brought the javelin up against her chest, gripping it tight against her, both hands squeezing it so her knuckles turned white. She had to hunt something so that she could come home. Her face still stung from the bruise where her mother had backhanded her earlier. Qit had caught insects before, but she'd never hunted anything. Not really. She didn't even like killing bugs. They were gross.

Tears streamed down her face as the little girl wandered the dark, foggy forest, little sobs escaping her lips, as her bare feet carried her over mossy stones and slick tree roots. Unknown to the little girl, her mother leapt silently in the trees above her, watching over her, seeing the decisions her cub made. Qit was aimless. She didn't know how to navigate the forest, or even find her way home. She kept going forward, for she didn't know anywhere else to go.

Her eyes searched the ground, unable to see further than her own mudstained toes. As Qit came around a tree, a loud screech filled the air, causing the little girl to cry out in panic, wetting herself in the process. Qit pushed against the tree, crouching down into a little ball, her heart racing, her eyes squeezed shut, her eyes stinging from the tears trying to escape them. It was too much. Too scary. Too hard. She just wanted to be home with her dad, she didn't want to he out here in this darkness.

Her mother looked on smugly at her daughter, having finished mimicking the panther's cry. She smelled the girl's urine even from here. The girl was afraid, but that was good. That would keep her alive.

Eventually Qit managed to calm down just enough to open her eyes. She looked into the gloomy fog, wishing to beg someone, anyone for help. The more she stayed there curled in a ball, the darker the forest seemed to get. She yearned for the family's fire in the center of their hut. She liked watching it while her dad was busy snoring, while holding her baby sister. It made her feel safe. Just like when Yeye would hug her.

Movement, in the corner of her eye. Qit's head swiveled to the left, seeing light glowing orbs in the fog. They began to bob toward her, and she continued trying to make herself as small as possible, holding the javelin in front of her, so that the monster might be afraid and not eat her. Her breath was held in her chest the entire time, and her lungs were threatening to burst.

Musical Inspiration for this series

[Qit'ria]

Date

A small swirl of wind brushed away some fog, and the fireflies were now seen by the little Sev'ryn. Her eyes grew wide in surprise and she let out a gasp, sucking in the moist air rapidly, relief flooding over her. The fireflies bobbed and weaved and danced in front of the little girl as they came closer. They were so pretty, some were yellow, others blue, some green, purple, red. So many different colors of lights fluttering about. A smile coaxed itself onto Qit's face.

The fireflies all glowed green at this, and they all fluttered toward the girl. They alighted upon her dark skin, tickling her as insect legs often do. Soon, a laugh eked out of the girl. The fireflies took off from Qit's skin, and fluttered off away from her.
"Wait!" She dropped her spear in her haste, and ran after the fireflies, slipping on the mossy stones and wet roots.

Up above, her mother hid a deep snarl, seeing her child's lack of discipline. Hopeless girl. But still, being a good mother, she followed and watched over the little one. She wasn't alone though, and she could see that now.

Qit slipped and ran and stumbled after the fireflies, who were constantly changing colors as they led her deeper into the forest. Every time that Qit thought she was getting closer, the insects seemed to fly faster away. "Wait! Please!"

The swarm did stop, coming to a hover just ahead. Qit ran after them, when she suddenly found herself falling. There'd been a small rise in the land, one that dropped off suddenly. The child landed face first in the thick, oozing mud of the bog, a loud slapping squelch upon her landing. She flailed and floundered, getting herself upright, wiping the muck from her eyes. She slapped the water around her in a frustrated tantrum. She looked pointedly at the fireflies.

"You're mean!"

The swarm shifted to a soft blue, sagging in their flight as though they were ashamed. The swarm spread out more, their soft blue light revealing that the fog from earlier was not in this swamp. Qit'ria could see more clearly here. They had helped her. She just wasn't listening properly, just like Mama always said. She stood up, seeing that she was just on the edge of the swamp, noticing all the reeds and water. It was quiet here, serene. And it stank. It smelled so bad. Qit's face seemed to be in a permanent crinkle.

She looked at her glowing friends, feeling bad that she'd yelled at them. "I'm sorry. You were just trying to be nice." The fireflies looked a bit invigorated, changing to a more purple glow. As they did, Qit saw movement across the bog, as something jumped into the muck.

[Qit'ria]

Date

An animal!

Her friends were truly being the best! Now she could hunt something and get home to Yeye! She just needed her... Qit's eyes grew wide. She didn't have her spear! She looked all around, wondering if she'd dropped it when she fell into the bog. Her Mama was going to be so mad. Qit knew she'd be slapped again, more if she didn't get it back. Qit's eyes bounced from the bog to the direction she'd come from.

Another splash behind her made up her mind for the tiny huntress. She'd have to hunt without the spear first, then go back for it. Turning toward the bog, she looked toward the edges where the splashes had been. She wondered what had done it. She sloshed through the mud, heading for the opposite side. Another splash to her right, but her eyes were to slow to see what it had been. Face scrunching up in annoyance she pressed on toward the reeds, the water rising up over her hips. The fireflies hovered close, over top her, changing to a bright yellow.

A loud croak rang out from the reeds, and Qit peered in. There it was. A feral smile came over the girl's face, the same exact smile upon her mother's face in the tree branches above, seeing her cub move in for her first kill. As the girl closed in, the frog turned away from her, prepared to leap away. As Qit closed in, so did the fireflies, coming down close to the frog. One danced in front of the frog's eyes, taunting it.

The frog's gaze moved from the creeping little girl to the insect, back and forth, again and again. Then the tongue shot forward at the glowing bug, just as Qit dove forward. The tongue passed harmlessly through the Anak, as Qit's tiny hands closed around the frog. She squeezed tight as it tried to scramble out of her grasp, as she spluttered about in the mud. She just laid there in the muck, staring at the wriggling frog in her grasp, watching as it calmed, seemingly accepting its fate.

She stood up slowly, refusing to loosen her grip on the frog even a little bit. She needed to... she needed to kill it now. She gulped, looking around, not sure what to do. She'd seen cats catch frogs before, carrying them in their mouths. She looked down at it, her stomach getting queasy, as she brought the frog closer to her face. She squeezed her eyes closed and opened her mouth as wide as she could. Gripping it as tight as she could, the frog began to panic again, but she held firm as she fed the head into her maw.

Then the little girl bit down as hard as she could, her teeth sinking into the flesh, puncturing organs, tearing muscles and breaking fragile frog bones. The creature stopped wriggling as Qit's mouth filled with blood. She swallowed it down, opening her eyes as more tears flowed down from them. She looked at the fireflies, frog still in her mouth, as the glowed blood red, before they disappeared, leaving her alone once again.

She was a huntress now.

[Pig Boy]

Comments

I felt the need to go back to the previous thread in this series, to get some context, and I'm very glad I did. Qit's Mom is the best. She just wants her baby Qitten to be the best and strongest. A real tiger Mom. I wonder what kind of mom Qit will be.

That aside, this is a wonderfully written thread. Flows very well, and you can see more clearly that her mom was doing what she did because she loves Qit. Her encounter with those firefly spirits was a fun development, and made the young huntress' catch of the frog more believable.

I hope Qitten enjoys frog soup and frogs legs for din din.

Points

10/10 these points may not be used for domain magics.

Knowledge

Acrobatics: Diving after frogs
Detection: Seeing fireflies in the fog
Detection: Seeing an Anak of Fireflies
Hunting: Catching a frog
Resistance: Getting bog water in your eyes
Running: Chasing fireflies over mossy stones and wet roots

Loot

n/a

Wealth

n/a

Renown

n/a