Ikatus and the Panther {Writing Entry)

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Floodtail
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Ikatus and the Panther {Writing Entry)

Post by Floodtail »

Hi! Thanks for reading! Hope this gives you the chills! :wave:

Spoiler
Ikatus didn’t think he was very special.

In fact, he knew he wasn’t.

He had visited the Stream once, but the sapphire liquid had yielded nothing-- like it didn’t want him to have an egg to raise for his own. Sure, he wasn’t graceful, but just because he had trodden on a baby Chimera once didn’t mean he couldn’t raise an egg.... did it?

He stared at the crackly old scroll he was reading by firelight. The smell of woodsmoke, roasting food, and sound of laughter came from other Magi trick or treaters in the cobbled street outside his cabin. He wanted to join them, but they all had partners, and the Direwolves, Gryphons, and... well, nearly all Stream born creatures scared him.

Stupid Halloween, he thought bitterly. I can’t even go out without shaking in my skin.
He had ventured beyond town once, and the experience had jarred him. The other town boys had jeered and thrown stones at him, calling him a half Magi. He fled after that.

So no, Ikatus wasn’t a hero.

He got an idea suddenly with a bolt of courage, and sprang up. He took a fine ebony powder and spat in it, daubing his eyes black and shadowy marks on his face. He took a black cowl and draped it upon his shoulders, and climbed into a black robe. Then he picked up his farming scythe, admiring himself. He looked scary. Like the Grim Reaper.

Then he opened his door and stepped out into the fall twilight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With all the trick or treating young Magi, no-one looked twice at him. He drew a small pouch out of his robe, lightly stepping out of the path of a manticore's giant wings. Taking a breath, he knocked three times on a door: knock, knock, knock.

A young man with cruel dark eyes opened his door, narrowing his eyes in approval at Ikatus’s costume. Ikatus shuddered as he saw a small Osath waddling behind the man, carking loudly.

“Nice costume,” the man grunted, and dropped an item into Ikatus’s pouch with a wink that somehow wasn’t very friendly. Then he slammed the door.

Ikatus peered into the bag, and almost dropped it. There was a small gray egg with black speckles inside. The Magi man had given him a Telvian Panther egg.... the one he feared the most!!

He approached the wooden door again, and almost pounded on it. “Sir!” he called angrily, tears of fear pooling in his eyes. He dashed them away with a trembling hand.
But the man did not answer.
Ikatus peered at the egg in a kind of terrified stupor. He could put it back in the Stream... but that was too far away, and he knew he could not kill it or pawn it off. No one would take it. No one liked the Telvian Panthers.

“Damn,” he muttered furiously.
Suddenly the egg began to shake violently, chips exploding outward, and he dropped it in horror.
The egg shattered and a cub with little gold marks tumbled out onto the street.
Ikatus backed away, and then darted forward and scooped it into his pouch, hurrying home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he got there, he released the cub onto the floor, watching it with some kind of fascinated terror. This thing could kill him with one swipe- and the long, wicked claws it had were already shredding his cabin floor.
He took out a yellowed scroll and read up on the information on the panther.

On Hatchling Telvian Panthers
“Bending down, you watch impatiently as this new egg begins to break. Chips of shell are literally flying off, and soon a small paw has emerged. You look on as the dark paw attacks the egg from the outside, and the hatchling finally frees itself. Exhausted, it yawns, showing off a pink tongue. The new youngling immediately curls up into a tiny ball and drifts off, giving you a cursory look first. You can see now that the egg held a small feline, dark in color and already boasting wicked claws. You lean down to pick it up, removing it from the uncomfortable pieces of shell it was lying on. It stretches as you move it to a more suitable bed, then tucks its head under an arm and falls into sleep once more.”

On Adult Telvian Panthers
“When in a playful mood, Telvian panthers can be hard to deal with. On your customary walk to the lake, you turn around a corner and shriek as your companion appears abruptly. Yellow eyes seem to laugh at you, and you can swear that the creature is smiling around its lolling tongue. With a glance over its shoulder, the feline bounds off, slowly disappearing. You frown after it, continuing on your walk with more caution. While seemingly gentle and harmless, you know better – this animal is nothing less than alarming when hunting. It may seem like a large kitten, coiled and ready to pounce, but the rabbit on the receiving end may feel a little differently. On most days, the large cat spends many hours in the forest, terrorizing local wildlife.”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Ikatus muttered, his heart racing as he read a small note scrawled at the bottom:
Dear Reader:
“To note: Telvian Panthers are loyal only to their taker. They recognize only the one who has taken them from the Stream as Master-- and will attack all else.”

He stared at the little cub, who was snarling and ripping up a raw piece of red steak from Ikatus’s icebox. The claws were tracking bloody marks on the floor, but Ikatus had other worries.
This thing would attack him. And yet, if he let it loose, it would terrorize the whole village.
He was torn-- his life or the others? Ikatus was not brave. He wasn’t self-sacrificing, either.

The panther cub stared balefully at him, its yellow eyes cold and calculating. It looked so harmless when those red claws were sheathed, like a big black kitten. But he knew better.
“Get away!” he said loudly, brandishing his scythe.

The cub yawned at him with huge yellow teeth and crouched on its haunches, springing up on Ikatus’s bed where it curled up to sleep. Ikatus didn’t dare move it. He sat on the floor, struggling to grasp his dilemma.
That man who’d given it to him knew! Knew. He wanted Ikatus dead.

Why? What the hell had he ever done to anyone in the village except make no trouble at all?
He started as a noise reached his ears: the soft padding tread of the Telvian panther. He jabbed his scythe out, and drew it back, thinking he was hearing things.
Big mistake.

The panther exploded out of the shadows with a roar that shattered Ikatus’s ears. A pink tongue, gold eyes, and white toothed whirl hit him, and he screamed.

The panther clawed him viciously, ripping through the robe like wet paper, blood pouring down. Ikatus feebly struck out, but collapsed. He lay in a pool of blood. Moonlight shone on his torn body.
Before Ikatus fell into eternal darkness, he saw the panther almost smirk, and leap out of the window, into the village.
Last edited by Floodtail on October 19th, 2013, 1:20:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Ikatus and the Panther {Writing Entry)

Post by faedemon »

Woah! That was creepy >.< It gave me chills~

One thing you might want to do: add more to it. Maybe more details? :yarly:
Image hey. looking for gender swaps.
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Floodtail
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Re: Ikatus and the Panther {Writing Entry)

Post by Floodtail »

I'll do that! Thanks! I'll make it so your like D:
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faedemon
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Re: Ikatus and the Panther {Writing Entry)

Post by faedemon »

:bounce: I liked it already, looking forward to the edited version~
Image hey. looking for gender swaps.
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Floodtail
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Re: Ikatus and the Panther {Writing Entry)

Post by Floodtail »

Done! Critique welcome~
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