Pet's ID Tag: 122
Name You'd Choose for It: Maybelle [A beautiful name- I love it]
Gender: Female
Species: Brittany.
Reason You Want It: The moment Trix donated her, I fell in love <3 There's something about Maybelle, that really connects with me. She's beautiful, and I'd love to have her. She'd be cherished, with her own thread and art ordered daily. I can't tell you how much I love her, words can't describe! She's amazing- totally amazing.
History/Background/Other:
--Note, Andromeda is a character of mine, and also a pet on CS. You can see her Here.
With a groan, Maybelle rolled over onto her back, breathing out a half-growl, half-sigh. Yet again she suffered through another sleepless night, and now she was bordering on the edge of insanity. Well, at least more so than usual. She frowned at the strange thought. Had there ever been a time where she had been truly sane? Perhaps even from the moment of conception she was forsaken to living a life such as this.
Rolling back onto her stomach, she looked forward into the dry, dreary night that surrounded her. Tendrils of light were beginning to grab into the darkness as the sun battled the moon for rightful owner of the sky. This wasn't the first night--or series of nights, for that matter--that her dreams had stolen any hope of rest from her. There had been plenty of night where the night-terrors overtook her, many of those filled by the same exact dream. Her sister, Andromeda, calling out her name repeatedly, and right before she could cross the great expanse to reach her, a great dark beast would swell up and swallow her whole. The beast would then settle into a mortal-sized being. And the being was always her, or what she had become, that was. A wry smile was permanently fixed on Maybelle's face, eyes not their typical bright, but blood red, and burning.
It was a short dream but it always stopped her from falling back asleep, for as soon as she fell back asleep it started again. Lately, though, it had taken on an odd twist. It played forward to the part where she would be staring into the other Maybelle's face, but after perhaps 30 seconds a look of pure pain would contort that face. An odd sound of agony would emit, followed immediately by a blast of blinding pure white light that obliterated this Maybelle. The first few nights that was as far as she got in the dream, not knowing who or what had destroyed the monster. Then a few nights later, she would catch a glimpse of a figure standing in the light before waking, and only this night had this mysterious being revealed itself. Stepping from out of the blast of light came the canine she had always loved, Andromeda, yet the one she must always forget.
She sat in silence, watching the sun climb higher, breathing slowly as to bring her racing heart back to a normal rate. Once accomplished, she allowed his mind to take her heart's place as it ran through ideas to come to a conclusion on the matter. She knew nothing of the girl, aside from that she was the only blood relative she had, still alive. She knew it as much as she.
But was it just that after all? She had closed the matter with no thought to it whatsoever, not wanting to contemplate it. Yet of course her mind was a demon all its own, stealing her sleep in order that she should find an answer. A pretty young dog, Andromeda was, perhaps not much younger than her. But what did that matter; on her travels to become herself again, she had played upon the hearts of plenty of lads, but none were family, they believing she loved them all before she either left or been chased another, stronger, more naive tail. Several times this landed her a one-way ticket right out of whatever group she had settled by, for she disturbed the males and aroused jealousy in the females.
So no, her relationships were not it. And she knew almost nothing of her personality, besides that she could be quite the spitfire. Then what the world was it about her that caused her to spend so many times with bloodshot eyes and a sluggish gait, wondering what became of her little sister? Frustrated, she stood then, groaning as her tired paws protested for rest, shaking the dust from her creamy pelt. She demanded answers so that she finally gain some peace. And the only way she would get those answers would be to find this princess. Perhaps even just seeing her would give her some sort of answer. In the early hours of sun, Maybelle ran towards the border of the small territory she had claimed for her own. She zig-zagged through the lands, catching scents where she could.
Maybelle stopped short of it, looking forward at the plains that laid at the feet of the grand mountains. She knew well that crossing this border could bring her death for the scent that she carried upon, but it had a long time since she had cared about any set of rules. What mattered to her was what she wanted at that moment, and nothing was going to stand in her way. Besides, she'd sweet-talked her way out of plenty of worse situations. She would manage. So she could take those first steps forward without a second thought, legs pumping as she trespassed full-force into enemy territory.
~~~~
"Pain is weakness leaving the body." Andromeda muttered to herself. Her body radiated with pangs of hunger, her acid churning in the deepest corner of her stomach. She could feel the acrid taste on the back of her tongue as her stomach threatened to drown out noise of the surroundings. It was night fall now, and she had watched the sun set, unaware that at its very rising a canine had set out in search of her. In her homelands she'd been "elevated" to the status of baby sitter. While she cared for her siblings, as was bred in her very nature to do so, she was more than tired of them.
Their own mother had abandoned them, taking up pack duty versus raising them. While the eldest, Solon, often accompanied her on her duties, that still left four other rambunctious youngsters in her care. To condemn a five month old pup to the confines of the dens was torture on their curious nature, and so made Andromeda's job as difficult as possible; she was responsible for knowing their whereabouts at every minute of every day. She was worn very thin, broken of her spirit by being forced into a role prematurely; she had not wanted chicks, not wanted to care for any other but herself, and not the weight of four other lives depended on her.
The lithe female continued along the open plains, trying in vain to keep her thoughts from running over pack matters. She did not want to think of Maybelle in such a precious moment of solitude, and so forced her thoughts on something else. Andromeda looked up to the night skies, searching the stars for faces of her ancestors... such a silly notion, talking to such far away things which were probably dead anyways. While the pack believed the sky held all of the souls of those long gone, Andromeda rejected such a notion...
...but the longer she stared, the more she felt a tangible pull in her heart. She stared at one star, glittering more brightly than those around it. The female wondered the soul's name, wondered if she knew it, or the ghost's past. But the longer she stared, the more the surrounding twinkles took shape. What was once a random array was now the stern face of her protector. She slowed to a stop and looked at the face... he had saved her, but why? Maybelle, that was her name, she thought. In her dreams, the few she had, she had seen her, watched her from afar. She had always called out, a lonely howl echoing, asking for the end of a searing pain, and after reaching her there was a burst of white light... then she woke up.
What was there to it, this dream? Could she not even help even this strange female? Andromeda again growled, shaking away the stars, and sprinting through the grasses. Her amber eyes shut as she ran blind, feeling the long blades pass with her forelegs... but as her claws clacked against hard stone, she slowed, stopping yet again. From ontop of the rock a wind rushed past, ruffling her patched pelt; it was one of those warm, balmy summer breezes, the kind which cooled one to just the right temperature. The sweet blossoms of the mountain flora mingled with the scent, and the crisp, icy waters could almost be tasted on the air.
It was such a perfect night, one of the countless in this paradise... and it seemed Andromeda's eternal curse to share it with not a soul. But to all the surrounding crickets and birds, she raised her face to the heavens and released her lonely song.
~~~
The steady rhythm of her paws against the dirt was the heartbeat of the land in that moment. Muscles moving like a well-oiled machine, Maybelle soon put the wastelands behind her, soon feeling the brush of a breeze underneath her stomach. When flying, Maybelle could forget. She could forget everything. Yet what respect had she for life anymore? More of a contempt for it. She had learned that it could be taken just as easily as it could be created. Speaking of creation... The wind that swam through and around her body--another sensation she was ill-accustomed to now, for the air was always so still--carried a myriad of scents towards her, some from far away and others closer by. The smell of pups was the most intoxicating, as it came from several different directions, as was to be expected.
The irony seemed to pile onto this situation. While the presence of pups shouldn't have bothered her so, with thoughts of Andromeda so prevalent in her mind lately, it drove a stake into the angry wound where her heart should be. So often she remembered her speaking of pups and her deserve to have her own one day. They were still but pups themselves back then, and yet she spoke with such passion about them. Maybelle couldn't have cared less about pups or a family, after what had happened to her own. But for Andromeda, she would've done just about anything.
Maybelle hadn't even noticed night begin to fall above her, and as the stars lit up the sky, she hung his head back to take them in. She had become so malicious, so cold, sometimes it even shocked her what she had turned into, what life had forced her to be. Yet if there was one well-meant wish she had left, it would be that Andromeda was not there among those stars, that even with what she had done to her she had been able to go on with her life and fulfil that wish of having a family. She deserved an untainted life, which she had already ruined her hopes of having, but perhaps it could continue happily past that point
On many of her sleepless nights, she had searched the stars for answers, believing for a time, as many dogs did, that one's dead ancestors resided among the stars. She had soon found the practice to be ludicrous. She had always been left just as lost as before, if not more so. And what answers could his ancestors give her anyway? Maybelle knew very little of them, but from the information she had, they were no better than her. The cream coated canine growled to the sky, even if there was no one to answer back. There was never anyone to listen to her frustrations anyways. She was always alone, and always would be.
She was about to turn away from the heavens when a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. A shooting star trailed across the sky, pulling Maybelle's attention with it as it disrupted the tranquility of the aerial landscape. The phenomena only last seconds but left behind its disappearance was an image outlined by its still brethren. Maybelle scrutinized it carefully.
A song interrupted this pour of outrage. The sound was exquisite, pulling at her heartstrings towards its source. Once again the wind wafted scents towards her, and one so familiar floated to his nostrils. She had found her. Her body returned to motion, following the musical notes to where they first made birth, finding the dog which shared her blood and heart standing like a beacon in the night." Out alone once again, I see." Maybelle forced herself to remain causal.
~~~~
How long she sung her tune the dog could not definitively answer, but what she did know is that her howl echoed long after she had stopped singing. Her blue eyes looked across the dark plains, watching as the grasses bent under gentle summer breezes. It seemed that with her cry left her despair, disappaiting on the wind somewhere, along with the sound. Now she stood under the starlight, looking at everything almost as clearly as if it was day. The moon was full in the sky, illuminating the dark with a soft, opalescent glow; everything seemed a shade of blue, a fuzzy, milky hue surrounding every edge. And here in the mountains... it was as if you could leap of the highest of the mountain’s peak and sink your beak into the moon itself.
”Out alone once again I see. The voice was smooth, charming even, and nothing like the bitter tone of their parting. She drew closer, and she stared down at him from her boulder, blinking, trying to make sure this wasn't a trick of her mind. Maybelle’s form did not waiver or blur, the blood which coursed through her veins was as real as that which pumped through hers... and how fast her heart was now beating. She looked into the face of her wildest dreams. .
And like star crossed lovers the two now stood, not knowing of the irony in their meeting. Though neither was a Montague or Capulet, the stakes were just as great and so the rewards well worth it. She thought she was charming, and while the flutter of pulse indicated this was true, Andromeda made sure her countence revealed nothing. With a coy elegance, the younger female leapt from the great stone, meeting the ground with a soft thud. She stepped forward, coming close enough to the if either so desired, a single lunge would allow them to seize the other's throat.
At this proximity, one was either extremely confident or extremely foolish, and it was not apparent to Andromeda which one was exactly which. She responded with a casual air, but kept a certain regal coolness to her tone. "I am not alone, for I have the stars, do I not?" She smirked, a playful smile gracing her muzzle. Andromeda circled around Maybelle, tail swishing against her body. Drawing up alongside her, she brushed against her shoulder before walking off a ways, calling over her shoulder dismissively. "Why have you come, sister?" Despite her bold words, tears burned in her eyes.
Actually, Andromeda wasn't even sure Maybelle could win against her wishes, she could probably persuade her to leave. She could lie, and say she despised her. Resting against the stone, neck stretched out, her hackles bristling with mad desire to hold her sister to her, and pain, she stared into those smouldering eyes. Maybelle swallowed hard, trying desperately to numb the burning pain radiating from her throat. And just as quickly as she glanced toward Andromeda, her wide eyes turned their gaze elsewhere, as she lengthened her strides, displaying the full height of her body as it softly glowed under the moonlight. She was taller than Andromeda, much like comparing an antelope to a munctjac. It was not that Andromeda was stout, but her sister was much, much taller.
Andromeda watched her go. Something inside her chest tore into shreds, like a ravaged beast wanting its own end more than survival itself. Her eyes widened, the expanse of pupil concealing her irises in a declaration of her terror. Andromeda began choking. “No...No Maybelle, don’t walk away from me!” She lunged forwards after her, using her anger to her advantage.
Andromeda snatched her flank with her muzzle, leaving a furious red welt.
The grey and cream marbled canine began to growl, a threatening rumble from deep in her throat, merely fed by the pain in her heart. “Who do you think you are?” She hissed, leaping away from her with a graceful competence. Her tail flicked with the cool irritance of an angry feline. Her flaming eyes bore into the younger, their souls so close that they may well have been touching; despite the barrier of hate and betrayal that danced between them. Andromeda prowled forwards. “I’m you...” She stated, a desperate softness overtaking her voice, something that would’ve melted Maybelle a few years ago. Not now.
“You are nothing like me!” Maybelle shrieked, her normally smooth vocals cracking in sheer agony. “I used to know you, I used to love you- you were my sister.” She was sobbing now, and Andromeda clenched the dirt beneath her in her paws.
Maybelle turned.
”Maybelle, please. We can put the past behind us. Just trust me.” Andromeda pleaded, her tail pressed to her hindlegs. Maybelle softened; one revolutionary moment, and the long lost sisters were clutching each other, sobbing and howling the grief of their departure, so many years ago.
I understand that by adopting this creature I take full responsibility for it. Definately <3
Permission from Gwen Trix;
