Falling Inside the Black

By Arushitomo

He was alone. The jungle was a moist barrier between him and everything, but it was anything but silent. Insects chirped, birds cheeped, monkey hooted or screeched, and all the noise made him feel safe. Noise may blur his hearing, but it was the silence that you needed to be concerned of. Only danger stalked silently, if you could hear it, it wouldn’t hurt you..-too much.

He couldn’t see the stars for the trees, but it didn’t matter. It was solstice, summer, and the sun would rise soon to end the shortest night of the year. And by then the stars would fade.

Striped hooves waded quietly through the marshy grove. He stepped around a lonely fish swimming in circles in a slowly shrinking pool of water before stopping to watch it. Normally this animal inhabited the river and tributaries. It must have gotten trapped there in the days flood. He doubted the water dweller knew its predicament, that its life was now a race against time and the elements; whether the pool would evaporate before the midday rain.

He could relate to the water creature, his own world was shrinking.

As a foal the world had seemed so large, so full of promise and wonder and light. That misconception didn’t last long.

He’d been shunned and ostracized for his looks; given little choice as to what his world had made him. Now his world was evaporating around him, slowly shrinking. And he didn’t know if his proverbial mid-day rains would come in time to offer his needed escape.

In the midst of his musings he noticed the change around him. The forest quieted till the only noise left was the buzz of insects. His ears flicked out of reflex from the sound, even though there was no bug to chase away. Haunches, back, and shoulders tensed, and he raised his head. He had no protection, no one near to aid should he call, and his current posture only made him more venerable; easier to see over the foliage and ground cover that might protect him.

The dry hiss of scales gave him comfort, as he turned his patterned body to face the sound.

“Show yourself!”

He called out more bravely than he felt. The fish began to swim in faster circles, as if it too could hear and feel the threat. Who was he to judge, maybe it could.

The hiss in the trees continued, unconcerned with his attention. “I know you’re there.”

“You think that will sssave you?”

The voice was low, but melodic, and that surprised him. Somewhere in his mind he’d always assumed that evil should sound gravelly, dry and well..evil.

“I have a chance if I know your coming.” Great, now he was conversing with it. Why did he constantly feel the need to provide more fodder for those who would ostracize him?

“So you ssseem to think.”

His head darted to follow the sound, and he caught a brief glimpse of his tormentor, but to his night limited eyes it only looked like a willowy dark shadow. And it moved off like a wisp when he turned toward it. “Itsss a full moon tonight. Do you find the parody entertaining?”

“Do you always talk to your food?” The hunter was circling him, trying to get him to panic. It was working wonders on the fish. The little creature was swimming with a will, straight to nowhere. Again the parallels between him and the river inhabitant taunted him, annoying him with the satiric irony.

“Sssometimes.”

He turned to face the voice again. Hoping that he looked calmer than he felt, inside he was frantic.

“What have I done to warrant such esteemed attention?” His query went unanswered.

The shadow chuckled, a low reverberating sound that echoed off the trunks, and made his eyes droop. The plot of water warned him not to let his guard down, and he forced his eyes open, and his posture alert.

His little fishy friend was idling in the water, also facing their common threat. Its dorsal fin was protruding from the surface of the water. The frantic swimming must have displaced some of the water in its little pool, at this rate it would not last the morning.

Then the shadow predator seemed to tire of the verbal play. One moment the forest was quiet, a dark blend of shadows, but in the next he watched a piece of the shadow peel away from the rest.

It was then that the moon decided to tease him even more. It’s light was not as strong as it’s orange counterpart, but it filtered through the leaves in patches. He knew the white on his coat must be lit up like a beacon to the nocturnal predator. The flash of metallic reflective eyes pulled at something primeval in him.

He watched as it slinked toward him, but his knees where locked.

His body jerked reflexively, not giving up on life like his feet seemingly had. His mind screamed at his legs to move, but his hooves stayed planted, like they were caught in the mire that would normally have no hold over him.

And all he could see where long fangs. A body seemingly alight with moonlight and blood saddled scales as the ultimate night predator lunged at his flank.

Silver eyes snapped open. It was that dream again. Memory, more truthfully. Moonlight illuminated the calm sleeping bodies next to him. The moon. Tsoulus sneered up at it; this forest was nowhere near as dense as his home. The trees seemed to open up and embraced the hanging ball. Letting its light filter through and illuminate all to night prowling eyes.

Tsoulus

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