Cricket Creek Bog i.xi : who was ground down in the end

{dogs}{part one, episode eleven}

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pit, pat
pit, pat
pit pat pit
pit-pat-pit-pat

 

pit pat pit pit
pit
pit
pat

breathe -- you are alive

Maybe.

The crimson droplets from her ear slowed with her steps, mingling with the tears of rage that stained her cheeks. She came to a halt in the bog and flung herself down, jaws opening in a silent scream.

She hated them. She hated them!!!!

They killed Miraak and they killed Cicero and they broke her family apart AND THEY WERE GOING TO KILL MOU

i'll have your brains for breakfast

FUCK THEM ALL!

Fuck the Redhawks.

They were no better than who they opposed--in fact, they were worse. They were godless, brute, striking without thought, unable to comprehend words. Filthy, stupid savages

She was going to slaughter all of them.

their bodies aren't made for rotting, they're made for eating

Maegi pressed her face into the shallows of the bog, deeper and deeper----her ear stung but that was no matter---eyes closed tight against the chill. Down, down, down

until burning lungs brought her up for air again, gasping and spluttering,

And there stood Sithis on the bank, patiently waiting,

and she knew he didn't come for her. Not yet.

set right after the Redhawks thread

He chased her.  And as he did, he heard nothing but the blood pounding in his ears, the shock of what had just happened lending both speed and ferocity to his steps.

Don't ever come back.

Months he'd spent searching.  Months he'd spent thinking her dead, his own little sister, only to find out that she wasn't.  And now, in trying to finish that search, he'd lost everything else.  The pack.  Finley.  His nieces and nephews.  Worst of all, her.  The second wolf to hold his heart and the second to tear it in two, only this time worse because it had been her choice to do so.

He'd never been so angry.  But he did not accept ultimatums.

He ran until his own lungs protested and then ran more, hoping maybe if he ran hard enough he'd stop thinking.  But he couldn't.  He couldn't stop hearing her damn words, over and over.... 

She stopped.  He saw her standing and pulled up, his chest heaving.

"Hey! Please, I need to know.  Where is she?  Where's my sister?"  He called it out, but didn't approach any closer.  He didn't want her to run.

She whirled like a snarling, feral cat, back arched, eyes narrowed to slits. Go away, Maegi shot back, splashing backward. In her rage, she had completely forgotten this was the guy who had saved her from becoming Redhawk dinner. She saw no reason.

Don't fucking touch me, she continued, breathing hard. I know they're behind you. I know you came here to kill me. Well, I'll kill you, I'll kill you!

you killed my father

Go away.

you killed my uncle

Please, Maegi begged, voice breaking on an angry sob. Just go.

you destroyed my home

He was the enemy. And if they weren't going to listen to her, she wasn't going to listen to them.

This couldn't be for nothing.  He wasn't about to let it be; he was desperate, and it showed.  I just want to bring her home.  Then I can forget this place.  He'd started over before.  He could do it again.

"Please," he asked again, this time moving closer.  "I don't want to kill you.  Just tell me.  Where is she?"

One thing.  Just one, and he'd leave her to it.  If she attacked him, fine.  He could handle that.  But please, please don't disappear.  Not without giving an answer first.

Maegi stepped back as he stepped forward, growling. I don't know, she insisted, eyes widening, then narrowing again.

W i  d   e    n      i          n                 g                 

n          a        r     r   o  w ingagain

I don't know, she repeated, the slightest bit calmer, this time. We went t-through the tunnels to get her out. It put us in some forest. I didn't see her after that. A sigh left her, deep and tremulous; it rattled her chest like a cough. She was alive when I last saw her. I swear on every god, she was alive.

Now she was becoming frantic again with the need to explain herself, like she had been with the golden woman. We didn't take her, Mou did, Maegi explained. Blackfeather is innocent. Whatever crimes we committed in the past are--we're not like that, anymore. We keep to ourselves. And now Mou is dead.

She cast him a baleful look. Mou is dead, but your sister lives.

Colt breathed as she spoke, closing his eyes.  In that moment, he felt his age; all of almost 6 years of life fell on his shoulders, and he sat, shaking.  What a fuckin night.  She was alive, and even with that, all he felt was hollow.

"I don't care about them.  I never did."  He said, tired.  He'd fought them, sure, but even then, he'd been torn.  He'd met one of them once, befriended them almost, climbing the cliffs.  They had the right to choose to be left alone.  He just wanted Ceara back.

"Can you show me where?"  It was a longshot, and he wouldn't force her.  He couldn't really, and he'd had his fill of fighting tonight.

She found that notion incredibly hard to believe. He'd been one of them, the demons that had came into her forest, tore everything apart. Why go without conviction? Why live without conviction?

In fact, she found it all hard to believe. Maegi shook her head slowly, peering at him with incredulity plastered over her slim face. Why should I trust you? she demanded, though her voice was soft, barely audible over the white-noise murmur of the bog. Why wouldn't you just get me out to the open and kill me? Why wouldn't you get me to lead you to Blackfeather Woods, so you can slaughter my family?

She laughed, the sound completely without humor--the corners of her mouth didn't even turn up (well, the one did, but it did so always). Why should I even believe she's your sister? After all, she had came all this way coasting on a lie. Why would he be any different?

Why should I trust you? she asked again, fixing a gimlet stare on him.

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Off in the distance, hovering on the cool air came a frantic, pleading howl. She'd run past the borders, following the trail left behind by both Maegi and Colt. He had followed her path directly and Niamh hoped for one foolish moment that he was perhaps actually going to fill hre request- kill Maegi and come back with proof...But that scathing look he'd given her had said otherwise. She'd bolted on Quixote, tearing herself away from Towhee's side even though making that choice wounded her deeply. She didn't know how to choose- she wanted both. And even if she would lose them both by chasing in two different directions, it was better than staying in one place and doing nothing. 

She would never do that again. She would never put herself in a cage again. 

So she called out for Colt, pleading with him- knowing that her voice would reach much further than she could run, hoping that at least he was still within earshot and that it might give him reason to pause. She would continued pursuing his trail, but was already so far behind. If he kept moving, she might never find him again- and might lose her home at the same time. 

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She asked why she should trust him, and for a minute, he didn't really have an answer.  She didn't know him, he didn't know her, why should either of them trust the other?

Following the vein of his earlier thoughts, he looked at her.  "I met one of you, before.  She had a face like yours.  She was nice to me, and not everyone thinks of a pack as a single mind."  That's a Redhawk thing, he thought scathingly, then regretted it as he remembered everything he was leaving behind.

"If she wasn't my sister, I wouldn't be here.  I wouldn't leave for anything short of family."  If she chose not to accept this, then he'd have to try to work it out himself.  But he really hoped she would.  What was the harm in showing him a forest?

At that moment, a soft call rang out, and Colt's ears twisted back.  Niamh.  For a second, his heart warmed; it was too accustomed to finding happiness in that sound.  But then he remembered, and his ears flicked forward, once more looking at Maegi.  He needed to do this, something that Niamh obviously didn't understand, and now her following risked losing this lead he'd found.  He wanted to believe she regretted what she said, but her words had cut too deep for that, and Colt knew better.

"You don't want her catching up."

She listened to him, wondering if he could be speaking of Relmyna. If so, that warmed her to the man, if only by a miniscule amount. He seemed more reasonable than the women--or made a good show of it, at least. She would have dug her heels in deeper had she not heard the guardian's call, and her instinct to flee kicked in.

Let's go, then, Maegi muttered, exhaling and jerking her chin to the side. She took off at a quick hobble, not even glancing back to see if he followed. He'd catch her up in an instant, anyway.

Do you know the island, just off the coast? she asked over her shoulder, slightly out of breath already. Gods, she was exhausted. She could sleep. . .

sleep, and die

I gotta find my way back there, or close. Otherwise, I'll get us lost.

She was going to take him.  Again, Colt tried to feel triumphant in this; and again, he just felt empty, Niamh's frantic and faint voice resounding in his ears.  What the fuck was he doing?

Finding his sister, that's what.  Maybe she could leave her brother for dead for the 'good of the pack', but Colt had never been that selfless.  He was a Blackthorn; he'd been raised with a ride or die family mentality that was practically bred into their genes by now.  If she loved him, had ever truly, then she would eventually understand.  And somewhere along the line maybe he'd decide if he was going to go back and give her that chance.

Because he wasn't quite sure yet.

"I don't," he said, rising and following at a brisk pace.  He'd let her set it, though he was itching to run.  He'd not seen much of the coast.  But if it was an island, then likely it would be easy enough to find.  The coast was a pretty straight shot after all... only two options for travel.

Well, shit. The coast, then, Maegi retorted, her voice acerbic. Just-- She stopped, wheeling around to look at him. Look, I'm bad with directions and my ear is bleeding all over my fucking face, she snarled. Can you just--can you lead the way, please? I'll follow.

Later, she'd wonder if it was because she didn't want him behind her, out of sight.

She was pleasant wasn't she?  But he just shrugged, nodding.  He'd do it her way, and then they could part ways for good, her to go back to her woods, him to go... where the fuck ever.  Wasn't her fault Towhee was a jackass when it came to her pack, though again he regretted the thought, thinking of his accidental knockout.  He hoped she was alright.  Niamh's call after could really have meant either.

"To the coast."  He took the lead, knowing at least which direction led to the shore.  The direction after, however, would be on her.