For The Better [1]

Chapter 6: The Ritual

Once mostly everyone had filed inside, except for Nira, since she was too big for the door, we gathered around the large pool in the room. The water had been drained from the structure, leaving a cement pit in the center. Vore and Sebastian stalked forward, the crowd parting to let them through as they shoved Morph into the pit, hitting the ground with a thud. It made me smile, seeing Tom get what he finally deserved. This was the closest thing I would be getting for revenge and I didn't dare take up the chance. As I stepped up to the edge of the pit, the crowd parted to let me through as they all loomed over him with judgemental eyes all around. "Since we cannot have him here, I will use you as an example," I said to him, shifting into a large tiger and sitting down, wrapping my tail around myself as everyone looked to me, all silence as I began to speak. "For many years, I have kept humans away from us to protect our lives and make sure we live in peace. When I met Tom, I thought that he was different, that he understood us better than the ones before him. Joseph, Tobias, even Luna didn't understand our ways and for once, I thought I could find peace between humans and hybrids, let us further farther than this world that I created. We invited him into our home, gave him food, a room of his own, affection. We treated like family and only a few of the ones here with us were able to see his treachery. He called us unapproachable, cowards, unstable creatures that needed to bulk up. The man known as Tom Therrien is no longer a man of this family and is dead in all our eyes from this day forth. If he ever shows his face around us again, kill him on sight." There was an uproar of growls and hisses of agreement as we banished him from our home. "I now address the next person that is guilty of a crime - Michael 'Morph' Hermite." With the mention of his name, we all looked down at the creature in the cement pit, who snarled at us, shifting into his normal wolf form. "Morph, we gave you life, we gave you a home to live in. You could've turned good, you could've accepted us as your family, but you choose to follow Robin's path. You've tried to kill me and several others here multiple times before, you've verbally abused all of us for as long as we can remember. You manipulated Henry, Vore and even the twins, Charlie and Freddie." I said, my words echoing around the room, "I know that I should've had this trial done long ago, but somehow, I had faith in you - I thought Vore could change your coldness, seeing how you two spend so much time together. I see now that I was wrong." I stood up, looking to my right and left at the creatures beside me, them meeting my gaze before I looked to Morph once more. "Do you have any last words?" I said and there was a wave of silence that went around the room.

"Fuck you, fuck all of you and burn in hell." He barked at us and I shook my head, giving a light chuckle, "Very well." I remarked, "Commence the ritual." With that, the creatures that gathered around the pool began to stamp their paws in sync, glaring at Morph with pure hatred towards the creature. "Hello, Hello, Hello... How low?" They began to chant, making me smirk as this began. I had watched the movie known as 'Pan' long ago and had this idea for a long time. Of course, they had all been informed and this was going wonderfully so far. "Hello, Hello, Hello... How low?" They continued, making the wolf's ears go back against his head, "With the light's out, it's less dangerous! Here we now, entertain us!" They continued, "I feel stupid and contagious. Here we are now, entertain us! Hey!" Ryuu and Henry, in their wolf forms, howled in unison to the chorus as I leaped down into the pit, a wicked grin on my face. I looked back up at Henry, who I gave a curt nod to and he nodded once, lifting one paw and slamming it on the ground, the outer rim of the pool lighting on fire and lighting up the empty pool in an orange glow.

I swayed my head slightly, listening to the chant around me with my eyes closed for a moment. "Hello... Hello.. Hello.. How low?" I said, slightly quieter than all of them, the howls ringing in my ears as I smiled and began to slowly walk around Morph, who scowled and followed my every move with his yellow eyes. "And I forget just why I taste." We all sang as I paced around him, "Oh yeah, I guess, it makes me smile. Oh well, whatever.." I got closer to him and smirked, "Never mind." I murmured into his ear and hummed to the beat, "Hello... Hello.. Hello.. How low?" They all sang around in beyond the ring of fire that surrounded us. I laughed at this and abruptly shoved Morph to the ground, looking up at the creatures with a proud smirk. "With the lights out, it's less dangerous! Here we now!" I look down at the cowering Morph, "Entertain us! Yeah!" And with that, the chanting pulled back slightly and I backed away from him, to which he only looked at me in confusion and irritation in his expression. "Kill him!" I commanded and in a flash, multiple animals from Ryuu to Sebastian to Henry to even Vore leaped into the pit and went straight towards Morph, sinking their teeth into him and scratching him without mercy. There were pained, angry howls and yelps of pain in the bloodbath and I could oversee the event with a wicked grin on my muzzle. "Show him no mercy!" I encouraged them, agreed barks and yowls coming from the upper grounds from the ones that did not join in. It was a sight not for the faint of heart and the whole scene would be apart of my memory until the end of time, with my single red eye burning with malice and rage towards the ones who had done us wrong.