The Stray

The Voltcage, Pt. 2

Timothy slowly came back to himself, trembling in pain. His arm... he looked at it, and he had to look away. The skin under his fur wasn't supposed to be that color. Or that texture. He looked like the kinda meat you left behind after a hunt. Bile rose in his throat. There was a metallic ringing in his ears, and his nose was clogged with the scent of his own cooking flesh. The pain felt distant, like a roaring sea held away from him by thin glass.

The Voltcage looked almost disappointed. "WHAT, DONE ALREADY? COME ON!"

Timothy coughed and tried to sit up, but by now his muscles had just about given up. He found himself flat on his back once more. So much for tryin' to play hero...

"...YOU'RE TOO QUIET." The Voltcage suddenly said. "COME ON, SCREAM FOR ME LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! I KNOW I DIDN'T HIT YOUR LUNGS." Timothy tried to say something, but all that came out was a scrambly whine. The pain was seeping in, splintery and wet. The fairy just groaned and shook his head. "...AWW, BORING. AH, WELL, YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO MAKE IT UP TO ME. I'VE SAVED A SPECIAL PLACE INSIDE ME FOR YOU!" And it smiled that same, horrible, gashed in grin.

The Voltcage lazily floated before him, a twisting and crackling ball of lightning the size of Timothy's head forming above its finger. With his one good arm Timothy tried to raise a dirt wall, or a shadow barrier, or anything, but the magic wouldn't come. He was cornered. He refused to close his eyes, though, even as he shook with pain and strain, he glared at the Voltcage.

"My death curse will haunt you forever." He hissed.

Its grin only grew wider, splitting its face open grotesquely. "GOOOOD. I'VE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS." And he pointed his finger at Timothy.

Then, he heard a whistling from above, like something crazy heavy falling from the sky. The monster looked up—

Only for a pink and brown meteor to crash out of the canopy in a shower of branches and leaves! Timothy caught a glimpse of a wildly grinning face for a split second before it slammed into the monster's head, and right to the forest floor in an explosion of dirt, flashing electricity, and glowing blue ectoplasm. The Voltcage never had a chance to react. Timothy just stared, as the smoke and kicked up dirt cleared. It was a dragon-- a full grown one, with the same scale color and eyes as Meri. She was clad in thick bug chitin armor, a bright blue, short stole over her shoulders, all of which seemed redundant over her tough, gleaming scales. She was huge, like a living statue, with broad shoulders and big, strong muscles all over. Four of him, maybe five, could fit inside her huge frame with room to spare. A pair of heavy, stone-like ram horns grew from her head, and he could tell they packed a terrific wallop. She made him look like the toothpick he was, with her sheer, stout bulk. He wasn't even sure he'd come up to her broad chest. She didn't even skip a beat after diving through thick branches and one of the most terrifying monsters in the Deepshadow. She just grinned wildly, crossed her burly arms, and all but shouted a booming laugh. "That's what you fuckin' get!"

And sure enough, Meri's arms were wrapped around the big dragoness's (really thick) neck! "Timothy!"

Timothy's jaw just hung open. Meri had gotten away— then come back for him? She could have gotten away, but she chose to get her sister to-to save him? He couldn't believe it. "Y-you splatted the Voltcage!" Like it was just a pile of jelly and not the worst monster in the woods! His head was spinning worse than ever.

The dragoness shot him a cocky, carefree grin. "Hell yeah I did. Name's Valencia, an—" The words cut off as she stared. "Holy shit!" In an instant, her eyes dated from his bad arm, to his many wounds, and... to the brand on his forehead. He was pretty sure it was active again, too. Emotions from shock to confusion to disgust flashed through her face.