Fleas - Songs of the Gnolls I

SHATTERED TIES 6.6

A violent jolt tore her from the dream. The haze of the dream world gradually cleared as she noticed the exaltation in Zeppel's voice. Without patience, the Beast picked her up by the scruff of the neck like a puppy and carried her to where everyone was gathered. It was night, so she assumed something must have happened. When she saw her mother's lifeless body, she struggled to escape Zeppel's grasp and ran to her side. A trail of blood indicated that it had not been a natural death. Her eyes, wide open, conveyed an inexplicable peace. As if she was looking at the stars. Kkelea burst into tears. Not even the crickets dared to interrupt her wailing.

Kkelea turned her to look at her back. She had been stabbed so many times, it might as well have been an entire legion, or a single being with the wrath of one. Humans? No, they could not have approached without her hearing them, and her scream would have alerted everyone. Kkelea slapped her cheek.

"Come on, stop joking," she laughed as she cried.

Her mother did not answer. She slapped her again, harder this time.

"Wake up at once! You are Kkrya the Toothless, you can't die that easily!"

Zeppel grabbed her again and pushed her away. Meanwhile, Kkelea babbled and stirred.

"You bastard, you can't leave me like this, not like this!"

Zeppel, who had remained calm, snapped at the sound and punched her in the stomach. Kkelea fell to her knees and gagged. Zeppel turned and returned to her mother's body. Kkelea tried to stand but could not. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was her father. He was smiling slightly, but he was also crying. He hugged her tightly. Kkelea did not accept it, she could not accept it, she had too much anger, but she could not get out of her father's hug that held the storm in her chest. Kkelea screamed to the sky, releasing all her frustration, and her voice broke.

The rest of the species left the hyaenids to perform their ritual in peace. Around them, they built bonfires and placed some human bones. Kkrya was laid on a mid-sized stone. No one spoke, it was a silent prayer. A sign of respect for the most important matriarch the tribe had ever had. Kkelea stepped forward and looked at her mother's face one last time. Why did she seem to smile? Why did she look so peaceful when she had died so horribly? She raised her hand and bit off three of her fingers. She chewed them as tears fell over her limp body and swallowed them down. Then she ducked her head and retreated, looking no further than the ground beside her paws.

The rising sun caressed her fur. She had taken shelter behind a bush. She wanted to be alone, but at the same time she didn't. It was strange. Fizkwik's scent, carried on the light breeze, warned her that she was approaching.

"How do you feel?"

"Confused. I don't know what to feel."

Fizkwik sat down beside her.

"Her death was a blow to the entire tribe. We may have had our differences, but we all do. It is only when death separates us that we realize they were not insurmountable. How stupid we are."

"I'm just... I'm so angry. I didn't want her to die like that. There are so many things I wanted to say to her, so many insults, but also so many words of love."

"She didn't speak to you then. It will be my duty to pass on her words."

"What are you saying?"

"This is what happened..."