a thousand instincts (#1)

Eternity Ended (39)

Aeress

     Without warning or concern, she flung the handful of stones in every direction. Instead of banging against the nearest walls, they went straight through the surrounding structures like bullets, shooting with boundless speed. Her ears perked up and honed in on the sounds of the pebbles and waited for something irregular, waited for a clue.

     For hundreds of feet-what felt like forever-they simply went in a straight shot, until finally colliding with the outer walls of the arena.

     Except for one…

     Far right corner.

     Without wasting time, Aeress booked it, conscious that it was imperative that she remained silent.

     Her grace period didn’t last much longer. She heard the swipe of the claws before she saw them. Aeress leaned backward ‘The Matrix’ style, accept she continued to run forward. When she met the dead end wall in front of it, she kicked off it, barreling down on her next opponent.

     Diana.

     “Forgive me, Godhead.” They were almost silent and Aeress felt she had imagined those words until she saw the evanescent sympathy in her gaze. It was swiftly exchanged for a determined compliance.

     She saw the flash of the gun, kicked it away as she pulled the trigger. They went back and forth, mostly Aeress just dodging her attempts. Diana was a swift woman, filled with trickery and intelligence that demanded reverence. She validated her presence almost instantly.

     A few quick jabs passed before Diana managed to land a roundhouse kick straight to her chest. Aeress flew back, landing more than twenty feet down one of the many halls.

     Her skinned buzzed with some kind of alarm as she looked back at Diana.

     Diana didn’t immediately attack but instead stood there, concentrated. Her eyes were darkening, with pupils dilating and mouth widening. Her skin darkened and began to pump with energy.

     Aeress looked at her with awe as she realized what she was actually doing: transforming into her beast. It was difficult to do in haste, and the average werewolf risked losing absolute control when giving their body over to the other being within them. That was the reason she hadn’t seen once since the very beginning, because only the most elite are cable of accomplishing such a feet within seconds.

     There was a sense of pride blooming in her chest, a sense of motherly love. Her human features faded under the cracking and popping presence of her beast. Black fur sprouted, her mouth stretched painfully into an elongated mouth filled with terrifyingly razor sharp teeth. She let out a howl, leaned against the wall nearest to her as the rest of her body shed the shell of her human physique.

     When they made eye contact, Aeress was looking into the eyes of an animal. Her teeth were pulled back in a nasty snarl.

     Aeress came to a full stance, looking unafraid even as there was a slightest tense in her muscles, expecting the beast to charge.

     Unexpectedly though, Diana was not so quick to engage. She seemed to surprise herself by her own hesitation, but shook her head, as if to rid herself of whatever objection her other side had managed to put up. What child desired to kill their mother, especially when their bond was fresh, even after all of these years? Aeress knew that Diana's beast fought her orders.

     But Diana knew she could not defeat Aeress in the other form.

     Aeress decided to cut to the chase and ran straight toward her. Diana released a roar that shook the very walls of the maze, and proceeded to do the same. Their hearts pounded with anticipation, in unison. She could taste the fear mixed with excitement in the air.