Silverlight Terrace magefire

the snake left the hinterlands behind with a burst of energy that carried him over the stone plains between. he emerged into a place notched with evergreen and granite, and decided it was as good a place as any to stop.

with his decision to lay up for the next handful of days, asmodeus set about scouring the terrace for prey, as he had discovered the teekon was a sorry place for it.

Prey was what also drew Simmik from the forest. She was unperturbed by the snow as she searched for any sign of something to eat, blessed with a thick coat courtesy of her mother. She locked onto the scent of vole and followed it up to the terrace. She knew the area a little, having visited it a few times, but that turned out to be of no help once the trail disappeared. She sighed in frustration, ready to turn around and keep searching, but she paused as the scent of a stranger told her someone was nearby. She tracked the scent until she saw the man, the white of his coat making her heart race for the few moments that she thought she may have stumbled upon a family member. But her logical side quickly took over, reminding her that she didn't recognize his scent at all and then she noticed the lilac tint to his fur. 

She released a huff to announce her presence, her breath coming out in a white puff around her face. She wondered what he was even doing here and decided to find out, just to make sure he wasn't going to cause trouble for them.

he adored women. their eyes, their cries, their hips, their paws — all of them, all of that which was ineffably feminine and therefore divine.

it was, therefore, the reason for his disappointment when the scent on the wind and the sound to accompany it were both owned by a gangly girl-child. her eyes burned sunset and lanterned toward him; asmodeus returned the brilliant fire with his own colorless glittering.

whatever she wanted, he did not have. the man cared not for children, including the ones he had assuredly sired. they were a consequence of his most favored pastime. 

he roamed on, bored.

Unlucky for him, she was entirely too stubborn and entitled for her own good. He had acknowledged her presence with only a cold look before turning to continue on his way. She should have just let him go and gone her own way too, but his dismissal made her bristle. So she trotted forward. Why are you here? she questioned once she was close enough to speak to him. He didn't smell of pack and he was awfully close to the ones that settled here. He seemed suspicious, and she didn't like it one bit.

the plucky little thing followed, and asmodeus grew annoyed at the grating sound of her demanding voice

"because i can be," the snake told the girl, stopping to present a full-fledged adult's bristle, a threatening step taken in her direction. "now fuck off."

Her eyes narrowed and she remained where she was despite her instincts telling her to turn and run in the other direction; she was too stubborn and too prideful to listen. Her heart beat faster in her chest as adrenaline surged through her veins. No, she spat back, gaze locking with his. She should be afraid, but she wasn't. She just stared him down. My pack is close, so I have a reason to be here. You don't carry the scent of pack, and that makes you suspicious. It wasn't claimed land, and he honestly had every right to be here, but that didn't matter to Simmik. He was being an asshole, and so now she was going to be one right back.

"well no shit," he hissed, truly irritated now. black eyes bored into the kid. "you think a bunch of children can properly claim a place?" asmodeus demanded in reference to the borders he had scented and invaded all the same.

another step, a low, rasped growl. he would pass through, and she would allow it. else the ivory raptor might show her the one-sided fun of another game he enjoyed playing.

His jab at her ability to protect her home ruffled her further. Her eyes narrowed. We have so far, she spat back. It was mostly the truth...kind of. In all honesty, she hadn't had to really do any fighting yet, but that didn't mean she was unable to defend the territory. She hadn't ever fought anyone, sure, but it was mostly instinct, right? That's what she always told herself when she began to doubt her usefulness to Mal and the forest. 

He stepped towards her, a low growl rumbling from his chest. Every single cell in her body told her to run, but she was too stubborn to listen. Her lips lifted and with hackles raised, she growled right back. She stood her ground, legs firmly in place despite her body's plea for her to run the other way. She wasn't going to let this asshole push her around.

asmodeus didn't want her stupid territory, nor her company, nor anything she owned. but when the girl did not quail, when her own strong white teeth flashed in an answer to his challenge, a deep and primordial portion of the reptile was engaged.

he lunged at her, jaws snapping for blood even as long legs sought to encircle her narrow young shoulders, throw her to the ground. asmodeus was no murderer, but his temper ran hot, and this whelp had insulted him.

She talked a big game, but when it really came down to it, she had little experience when it came to actually fighting. When he lunged forward, she realized too late that she had no idea what to do. She was on the ground before she could even react, his teeth sinking into the side of her neck. Her blood stained her snowy white fur before dripping to the ground near her face where it steamed in the cold air. The smell of it brought her from her stunned state, and she writhed under him, trying to get her rear legs under him so that she could push him away. Her teeth snapped at the air, desperately searching for some part of him to rip into so that she could return the favor. He was heavy, though, and much stronger than she was, and she worried that no amount of kicking of snapping would budge him.

he scarcely had to try; the girl was down with the taste of her blood flowing across his tongue in the next second. she kicked vainly against him, attempting to twist from beneath his body; he would have mocked her had not the girl's teeth clicked solidly along the edge of his face.

asmodeus hissed, snarling loudly in the air above her ear. "stop fucking fighting or i'll hurt you more," he threatened. "stop fucking fighting and i'll let you walk away."

For a few moments, her struggling and snapping continued as if she hadn't heard his words. But the last thing he said, about letting her walk away if she stopped...at this point, that was all she wanted. She had pushed this way further than she was prepared to deal with, and now she just wanted to go home. For the first time in a long time, she actually felt like a child, and she hated it more than anything—even more than the hit she would take to her pride by submitting to him. But as prideful as she was, she didn't want to continue to act like a stupid child. So she finally went limp beneath him, head turned so that she wouldn't accidentally make eye contact. She fumed inside, hating every second of being made to feel inferior to him. But she wanted to leave and she didn't particularly want any more wounds she would have to explain. So she remained acquiescent, frozen in place until the second he would let her up.

the girl flailed only a moment more, but heeded asmodeus quickly. true to his word he backed away, putting several feet of space between himself and the idiot child.

"now you have something to tell the other kids," he mocked, though his demeanour was clearly one of defense now. if she would not renew her attack, he had no reason to stay. the snake half turned, black eyes resting upon her a long, observant moment before steps began to carry him away.

The second his weight lifted from her, she shot up and to her feet, whirling around to face him. His words were enough to stoke the flames of anger inside her but not enough to make her do something stupid. It was obvious this was not going to go her way, and she wanted nothing more than to never see his stupid face again. She was stiff and silent as he turned to leave and once he was gone, she turned and sprinted away back to the safety of the forest. If they ever crossed paths again, she would make sure she was ready.