3.4|Feaster

 

3.4|Feaster

 

Her claws had torn so long at the pale ivory of her flesh that the bleeding had long since become barely a rash across her surface. Razor sharp teeth gnashing at the roots tangled around her in the crater, once so desolate, now the body of a larger garden for several hundred feet with an emerging spring. For Sway's long imprisonment upon this desecrated soil, wading within the bark and wood of the Algae Mama, she constantly considered eating her own flesh and consuming herself to end her very torment. The roots of the tree, whenever she chewed her way free or tried to go far, would grab her and bring her back, clutching her against itself like the loneliest plant in the universe. But no matter how much she tried to destroy it or herself, it was always there, her prison. Her salvation. It held her in place and forced her to grow. And after Sway lost herself for so long, it had become the only thing in the universe she knew how to love, atleast on the tip of her tongue and for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And she had long ago ceased looking like any particular color as the color of her skin left her, becoming paperwhite and hair melded in a kind of dark crystalline mosaic. The Algae Mama was her prison, jailer, and chef all in one. She was a mere scavenger, a termite on its mystical wood. 

After spending what felt like an eternity, Sway finally encountered something, or someone she had not seen before. A glimpse of light radiating in the distance, coming closer but just out of reach, a beacon of difference. A flicker.

Protas stood in the line of sight. The Zes-Lethiska hissed, hiding behind a rosebush. "Where, is here?" She asked, seeing a creature trying to hide as if they were a snake frightened in their very own garden of Eden.

Sway watched as the two figure walked closer.

"Gone! B'gone! S'no need for somethin' 'ike yoo 'ere!" She could smell the magic radiating from the women, her mouth drooling from afar.

But Protas was gentle and unafraid. She snickered to herself. "And who are you, young miss?" Sway looked up at the grown adult, trying to hide. When she couldn't hold back her instincts or hunger anymore, she put out her bravest face leapt out. "AHM STARVES 'S TH'WAT AH'AM!" and leapt forward, biting down on Protas's hair and clawing into her flesh. Protas chuckled. "That tickles.."

"Dis magic.. too thiick, eyy'd yuu 'ave ta be so thick? Much too s'icck to chew.."

Yet she continued to try, mouth gnawing at Protas's head.

"I'm so sorry to hear that.." She took out some pastries and handed them to the Zes-Lethiska, and started floating gently while sitting down crossed in the air. "I only brought these, care for one?"

Sway sniffed them, and could tell this women had some unusual empathy for

her. "Fine, gimee ah bite." She started to much down on them.

"I'm Protas! What's your name, you? You're interesting."

Sway didn't mind hearing that.

"Das' hard ta prooonounce." Sway chewed and belched.

"My name's Yavon Sui-kway. But.. Ah can call you Sway.  Ah'em Sway. And Ah have t'be very careful 'n'vus not to eat too many sweets ah make at this time of day, ya see?" She had finally gotten the food into her mouth, and had a little bit at that.

"But thoo that's not to say that you shouldn't juss reloox and enjoy all ta food

as long as 'chu can." She continued stuffing her face.

"Sway. Well, I think your name is lovely." She replied, taking in how young the

voracious girl looked.

"How'd yoo git here anywaii?" Sway asked.

Protas shrugged. "Flashed here. Flashed there. Sometimes I flash many places, not something I can explain. It's a feature I come with, just as I'm sure your appetites are yours." She met the girl's pure red eyes, seeing a hypnotic curiosity reflecting back.

"You know I can bake pies too back home. Care to stop by my place sometime? Won't find it as hard as most to eat the foods you like, though you may learn to like a few other things. Do you wish to?"

Sway giggled. "Wish to." She replied. She started munching on some more.

"Yavon, can I ask a question?" Protas turned around to face the girl.

"What's yoo question?" She inquired.

"Why did you stop eating this tree?"

"Why? I had never liked nonstoop 'eating'. It was 'njoyin'. It was 'njoyin' atleast. Just a force uv 'abit." She grumbled. "'Sides, this tree is keeping this moon 'ive. Without et, everything 'ies and I'd eat my 'hole habitat." Sway finished the pastries and belched. "I 'ad to proo'tecc et 'rom the 'vaders. The ones from the other 'ide of the mune."

"The invaders? From the other side of the moon?"

"Tis twat ah said." Sway fell back in the grass, feeling the dirt. "Dey were

superdooper sparkly.. used yummy moogic. Too sugary tho."

"What's you do with them?" Protas asked.

Sway belched out a big golden wand and a tiara. "'orry, was just hungee when

dey came."

Protas floated there for quite some time. The trees whispered 'she' to her. And it felt safe. The sky of the moon was the brightest she had ever seen, the world she'd come from reflected back in the atmosphere.

"And you're just from the moon?" Protas had to say.

"Nuh. Was 'orn on a meteor as a larva, wiff my sisters. But, dey didn't 'ike me.

Kicked me oot! Such mean."

"I'm sorry to hear that. How'd you end up here, you?"

She looked over and saw the small girl's tears.

"I 'ave an addiction," Sway soothed.

"Addiction to what?" She was walking out of the flower garden and around the

 massive roots of the Algae Mama, a path already opening up before her.

Sway started teething on the roots of the Algae Mama. "Dis.." she curled up to it like a newborn. "Magic. Luv eatin' et." She sighed. "I foloowd the trail of magic to ah beeg stinky tower. Dug to 'ook for a tree, dis tree! But.. a girl sealed me in 'ere and telepooted me 'way."

"I see." Protas pat the girl's head.

The two were silent. The trees whispered to her, a wordless language she couldn't understand. But she felt a connection with the girl. The girl was like her, like them. And they wanted to care for her. "Me mum will be 'ere soon.. In this 'oord. In dis universe." Sway said, coughing and spitting out some bark. "She won't be happy if she doesn't git ta eats." Sway played with her own tail, sinking it between her tongue.

Protas stood up and turned to leave, but her heart told her to stay. "My home is a wonderful place. And you'll find other things to make your happy. Take your time. Don't fret over anything too much. Your mom will be there soon, and it's not the end of the world if she's not… tho it will be when she does." She floated up into the air and looked up at the Algae Mama, able to feel the abundance of magic from it.

"Good luck, Sway Sui-kway." She felt her body beginning to glow again.

Sway paced back and forth rapidly and then went towards her.

"w'AIT! Pleassh..

" She grabbed her hand.

"Cook me more uhv your pies, kk?"

Protas smiled.

"C'mere." She pulled Sway casually, and flickered out from the

Moon's surface.

 

 

"That's really horrible, I didn't know the Rainboyal's of Feyslayer were like that." Raelyn sighed, rubbing and washing the scars along Mercy's back with a soft gentle touch and a sponge from a soapy bucket.  Mercy had nothing to add to her comment. She knew the truth of her statement, though she did not like to admit it. Her life had changed in such a subtle way that it almost felt as if she had dreamed it and that now that it had happened it could never go back to being normal.

"What of you two, so you and mom were, in a war in this other world? And then you proposed and became 1 person? Until you split again? Physically?"

Raelyn nodded. "Alot to take in I know!" She still couldn't believe it herself, even after having lived this long.

"What's it like, when you two are, one?"

Her mother sighed. "Now that, I cannot really explain. All your memories are jumbled up but, you don't quite know how to separate your thoughts or think of yourself as two people inside of you. Our relationship was very tight, one always built on transparency and trust. Sharing emotions, memories and our identities, well that was just the logical next step I guess." She laughed. "Maybe that's why we still like, being one individual sometimes. Sure it was hard at first, but only when we had responsibilities. Without that there's not an issue, we trusted each other, we shared dreams and desires together, we shared knowledge. And in all of that, we were always on the same page."

She sighed, "This new world of ours though, even now it's the complete

opposite of everything I knew. Y'know Mercy?"

"I know what you mean, mom." Mercy told her, still not use to that name.

"Yeah, I bet you do." Raelyn hugged her tightly, using some waxy balm along her backside. "You need to be more careful, you have the same knack for danger as me and your mom."

Mercy smiled at her mother's comment and nodded in agreement. "Mom..

Raelyn, can I call you that?"

"Whatevers easy!" Raelyn beamed.

"Mom then, why was I given up and kidnapped? What happened to, my dad?"

She dropped the sponge. Raelyn got up and picked a towel, scrubbing to dry

the palm and soapy water instead.

"Your dad, well hmm.. that's a hard one!" She was still a tad unnerved from all her daughter's scarring. "I mean, he loved you enough to do what he did. To take you away when things to dangerous down here. But I can tell you this, me and your mom.. we wanted to have you, to have a kid! The idea of raising children was fulfilling once. The problem is we could share, while your dads.."

"Dads?" Mercy clutched her head.

Raelyn nodded. "Your dad and we wanted a kid, but he couldn't have one. So we went to someone else, with a long difficult and yet, close relationship with and used them as a surrogate. Your biological father. The problem is.. we didn't exactly tell him we were using him to have a child for the other father. We had to pretend we openly wanted a kid with him, instead of the other guy. He really was smitten by the idea of having a child too, so this created a rift between us. We couldn't raise you properly without him finding out, so we gave you to the other adoptive father who initially wanted you. Buttt, and I'm still fuzzy on this part, apparently at some point he tried to commit suicide and Amity, who he was dating took you instead while he was, recuperating. Then the Rainboyals kidnapped you from Amity."

The blond's head felt like it was going to twist into a pretzel. "W-what? So I have.. let me get this straight, a Parent triangle? Err, rectangle? 2 moms and 2 dads.. does Amity count? Wait mom- I mean, the Khepri q-queen raised me too, sorta almost. So.." she started counting on her fingers and whispering '4 moms.. 2 dads'.. "I have 6 parents!?!"

Raelyn was smitten by her daughter's sweet little deductions.

How easily could this girl think?

"I know it sounds a lot to take in, but think about it, it's not that big of a deal."

She put away the bucket, starting to do Mercy's hair.

Mercy considered this, her little head going around in circles.

"Why not? I'm kinda.. confused about alot of stuff."

Her mom smiled and started to comb her hair. "It takes time, you know." She

pulled the brush through Mercy's hair a few times. "If there's nothing else... go rest."

"I will, mom."

The room flashed and the figure of Protas returned. "Heeeey! You guys aren't going to believe what I brought home." She smiled and introduced the imp like figure crawling on the floor, it rushed to the walls, the ceiling and then dropped on two feet, her horns pointing ahead.

"M'names Sway!"

Mercy's eyes twinkled with interest and she giggled.

Protas smiled. "Mercy, this is your new.. adoptive sister! Or dog, is she a pet?"

"Dear we didn't discuss pets." Raelyn said with a huff.

"H-hello Sway! Sunshine bless you." Mercy saluted, purely out of habit. "I'm Gertrude- I mean, I guess my name is Mercy. Cannot it be Gercy? or Mertrude? Sorry, it feels very uncomfortable to abandon a name I've had my whole life.."

She looked to her mom. Raelyn tilted her head, her eyes still twinkling. She smiled. "It's okay Gerty, you don't have to keep the name you're using, or what we decided, settle on whatever feels right."

"Now that seems a little too much freedom." Protas folded her arms.

"Don't just let our daughter go renaming herself like that!"

Mercy, Gercy, Mertrude, Gertrude, the princess, Protas and Raelyn's daughter

gave a deep bow.

"I hope you'll come to accept me as your s-sister, Sway.." She said.

Sway gave her a deep sniff, then started chewing on her arm playfully.

"O-owaaaaaaah.. hahaha.. please don't, I have a bit of bad experience with, the

thought of being eaten."

Sway hissed. "Uggh, too sugary. Ya smell just 'ike the giggly 'vaders I ah'te."

Everyone in the room, save Mercy giggled.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "We'll be right back." Raelyn and Protas slid on their necklace, and Protlyn went to go open up. On the other side, the metallic Monarch stood. He looked worn, as if toiling and in need of repair through the ages.

"Hello." He waved. Protlyn was silent.

"No, we won't be letting you in!"

She tried to slam the door on him.

He caught it, seeing the basket over in the corner.

"You didn't tell me you had more kids?" He stepped in.

"It's no business of mine if I want to. I'll have 9 billion kids thank you."

She pushed his chest in. "Monarch, you LOST our child."

"You left her to the whims of the Rainboyal family. Who, by the way, have a history of being complete asses." Protlyn said with a slight huff. "What are you doing here, now that you've lost her?" He folded his arms. "Excuse me. I also helped Amity rescue her. Besides, I brought in some additional help.." A series of nuns behind him soon rushed in, gushing and elated at the sight of the two infants and Mercy.

"Nannies."

Protlyn took off her necklace. Raelyn and Protas, looking at each other threw

 up a shrug.

Protas gave a short laugh.

"I get it." Raelyn rubbed the back of her head.

"I guess we've been through quite a ride. Who couldn't use some more help

nowadays?"