[SpartanAmethyst]

SpartanAmethyst | War | Male

Setting the stage: Daniel, War's rider, is sitting around a campfire with a bunch of kids. The night is quiet and clear, but no moon illuminates the shadows that lurk between the trees. The kids huddle together from both the chilly breeze and the eerie feeling that creeps up their spines; it almost feels like someone is watching them.
"It's always midnight when he comes," Daniel begins, deep voice haunting and somber. "The beast disturbs the ground and split the earth as he emerges, fire licking as his ghastly form, but don't try to listen- no, for even with his emergence, the only thing to follow is silence."
"Massive paws press into the ground as he frees himself, dark soulless eyes prowling the forest around them, looking for prey. Its maw drips lava, reflecting off Onyx teeth sharper than any blade known to man; its need to hunt? Powerful, unavoidable, unstoppable. Once it's chosen its prey, nothing will tear it from the hunt. Out of the ground it moves like a serpent, low to the ground with deadly elegance. Flames lick its body as it moves, reflecting off the trees and lighting on the dead foliage of its cursed home. The beasts' nostrils flare, searching the wind for its favorite treat; it doesn't take long for it to find it... CHILDREN!" He lunges dramatically, causing most of them to shriek. One in particular, though, only rolled her eyes. "It smells their fear, their panic, and it finds them. But fear makes their prey flighty, so instead, it finds the ones who aren't scared. Those are the ones less likely to run; they're the ones that are the easiest to catch." Daniel's eyes slowly settle on the girl, a young wolf anthro by the name of Jezebel. She's visibly taken aback, and he can see fear spark in her eyes. Behind her, a shadow silently settles into place, and Daniel grins.
"Once it's found prey, the fun begins. You see, this beast doesn't hunt for hunger, but hunts as a sport. He takes pleasure in the search and the 'take down', and will hunt for days until he finds just what he's looking for. Like a wolf, once he finds a group of children, a "herd", if you will, he quickly picks out the one he's after. Hidden in the shadows, he follows them for a time; makes sure there are no adults nearby, no other children to alert his presence. If they don't wander off on their own, he'll lure them away; sometimes by candy, sometimes by his voice; a strangely melodical sound,for a demon, that is. Once he has them alone, he snatches them and bolts into the forest, back to his home, never to be seen again. No one knows what he does with them, only that they never come back."
"There have been a few survivors, though," he murmurs, voice low and guttural. "The first thing they describe is a feeling of being watched, like you're not alone, even inside of a building where you know you are. You might every so often see the flicker of a candle, or a reflection of firelight, but only for the briefest moment and it makes you wonder if you're going crazy. Then comes the footsteps, or sometimes even soft growls just outside of your hearing range." Suddenly a few of the kids looked around, like they'd heard something, and everyone cuddled in closer. "That's the beast playing with you. Preparing you. Finally, right before she strikes, you might feel his heated breath down the back of your neck." Suddenly Daniel froze for dramatic effect, widening his eyes and looking around.
"He's here."
Suddenly Jezebel screeched in terror, and in seconds all of the children were bolting for their tents. Daniel couldn't stop laughing, and even War let loose a Flit chuckle. He raised his head from where he'd hidden behind Jezebel and blown down her neck, and obediently walked over towards his rider. Daniel hefted himself up and praised the Flit, rubbing his head. "Okay, I think we scared them enough. Let's hit it to bed and make sure no one is going to have a heart attack," he laughed, hopping onto War's back and descending down back into the campground.

[mackstarr]

Username: mackstarr - Flit's name: Grishnákh - Gender: male
named after an orc from LOTR
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There was a rumbling beneath her feet as a mother flit sat beside a campfire with her flitlings, dark stormclouds rolling in the distance. The younger one perked his ears up. She saw this as an opportunity to tell a story she had been told as a child herself. Her older daughter saw the glint in her mother's eyes and her long ears twitched. She had heard this before. She wondered how her little brother would react.

"Darling", the mother began. "Have I ever told you about the Grishnákh?"

He hesitated a moment before answering. "No mother."

She smiled to herself and began as the emerald leaves above their heads began to drip with a slow rain. They did not go inside quite yet, as their fur coats protected them and the fire warmed their faces and paws.

"Long ago, when the earth was not yet how we know it to be today, there were fewer creatures. The skies were always dark, so those who lived beneath them would often use fires for warmth and light. A few flitz became reckless one day. They left their fire blazing after they moved on to a new place. They thought they were quite clever, since they were not very kind, and many wanted to find them so they could be stopped. They said, 'if we let this fire burn, those who chase us will think we are nearby and not pursue us where we have actually gone.' They failed to realize however, that fire is an unpredictable thing. The small stone fire ring they had constructed was feeble compared to the orange flames. It licked the ground beyond the stones and soon it had spread miles. Homes and lives were destroyed, and many were left defenseless in the dark world.

An ancient god, perched atop a mountain, watched these two careless flitz as they sauntered away. He did not like this. He began to descend his stony perch, his large paws leaving firey marks on the ground where he stepped. He followed them for a while, watching as they left fire after fire burning, destroying lives. He decided he needed to do something. One night, he looked up into the dark sky and created a fire of his own. The two flitz sat beside a small lake. They heard the rumbling above their heads and looked up just as a blinding white streak struck the lake in front of them. They watched as it snaked across the water, searing the sand right before their paws. They glanced at each other, and then got away as quickly as they could. They avoided water now, no matter how thirsty, and would attempt to stay hydrated by eating plants.

The god watched this, satisifed with the fear he had struck into them, but noticing that they tried even less now to douse their fires before leaving. He watched them more closely now, hiding in the shadows just outside the glow of their camp. He wanted them to know they were being watched. When they slept, he touched them with his paws and then vanished, making them believe that hot embers from the fire had burned them. The fire in his fur glowed in the dark like red sparks, making them always unsure if they were seeing things or not.

He continued this for weeks, waiting to be sure they were intensely paranoid, as well as chasing them toward his mountain. Once they had finally camped at its base, he returned to it. He watched from the peak until they began to leave, their fire burning as strongly as if they had just made it. He stood, and from beneath him flowed liquid fire so hot it could be felt miles away. The flitz turned immediately, hearing the eruption, and as the lava rushed down the mountainside, they saw the face of Grishnákh roaring toward them. It whispered.

"You destroyed, so in turn, face destruction."

Their story spread, and now many fear Grishnákh. They look for him in the sparks and embers that leave their fire, making sure that none ignite. They never leave any orange coals behind. Because they know if they did, he would find them."

The young flit's eyes were wide. Another crack of thunder made him leap to his paws.

"Would you like to go inside now?" his mother asked him.

"Yes, I would," he replied quietly.

He stood still for a moment, looking into their flickering fire, before he walked through the rain around the side of their home. He came back a minute later, a metal bucket swinging from his teeth. Water sloshed over the sides. He carefully dumped it onto the fire until he was sure there were no more embers.

"Okay, now we can go," he said, looking through the steam.

The mother and her daughter met eyes and smiled. She would tell him later that it was not true, but she was happy she had taught him a valuable lesson so clearly. As they walked inside out of the quickening rain, glowing embers in the shadows blinked out slowly. Grishnákh was pleased, this time.

[myth;]

Closed for judging~~<3

[myth;]

This was so so difficult, but I've finally decided on a winner.... and two runner ups.

The winner is.... dragonmaster11!! Congrats!!

And the two runner ups are SpartanAmethyst and mackstarr!! Please PM me as soon as possible about the slight alterations you'd prefer your RU to have. c:

[dragonmaster11]

OH MY GOSH THANK U SO MUCH SC R E E E