Originally posted September 9, 2009
((This post was my goodbye to City of Heroes; A little bit where I could tuck my main character away for a while. I had decided to take a break from MMORPG's to focus on my table top efforts. The break lasted nearly six weeks, then a friend introduced me to Champions Online. As I write this, I have not brought Shiv over into Millennium City, preferring to play through her children, Weekah and Riobhca.))
They had been watching. They had always been watching. The Countess had needed time to make arrangements. With the supply lines intact, its assets secure, Crey could take its revenge. They had been watching, waiting for the opportunity.
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“Un-normal Mother,” called Wayatch gesturing. “Wide space, here. Hard leg fish.” Cradling Weekah in her arms, the transformed Shiv maneuvered to the patch of dirt by the pond. Eespan twittered a bit as she gave space to the choice hunting ground. Siobhan replied by deftly yanking a crayfish from the smaller raccoon’s mouth and biting it with solid crunch. Next to them, Wayatch exhaled in the raccoon equivalent of a chuckle.
Siobhan settled on her haunches and released Weekah to the space between her crouched legs. The young mother watched as her pup reached into the water to begin a search for food. The human part of mind struggled to against a muzzle that could not smile. It settled on a series of clicks, one of the raccoon calls between mother and kit expressing right action. Shiv took a portion of her stolen snack and fed it to her child.
“Good eat,” commented Wayatch. “Big kit.” In her hybrid shape, Siobhan towered over the other raccoons, outweighing the largest by more than two big rocks. Weekah already matched the rest of the gaze in size. “Kind matron,” Shiv replied.
The water on her hands felt cool and the tiny crayfish darted to escape her grasp. Watching her daughter struggle to capture a snack, she directed a few of the creatures towards the smaller hybrid’s hands. Weekah chattered with glee as she caught one in her nimble fingers. She delighted in feeling and “washing” the hard shell beneath her pads before popping it into her mouth. Siobhan twittered and clicked to the kit.
Wayatch watched the two with approval. Un-normal Mother had learned the lessons and brought some new ways. Time for her to join the gaze. “Un-normal Mother,” Wayatch began….
The impact drove Siobhan forward into the pond, a gout of blood spurting out over the water. When the sound of the shot reached the gaze moments later, the group scattered. Wayatch did not even spare a look back for the “un-normal mother” she held in such high regard. She fled.
Siobhan struggled to right herself, to struggle against the wound her magics were already healing and to pain her body never grew accustomed. She needed to roll over. She needed to free Weekah from the weight of her body; to save the kit from drowning in the shallow water. Her hands grasped for the small body as her mind screamed for escape. The second bullet struck her, shattering her pelvis, driving her deeper into the mud.
Siobhan sunk her fingers deeply into Weekah’s fur, firming her grasp. Her mind and spirit worked the spell to open the portal. Blindly, the mother and daughter fled, leaving no more of a trace than blood on the water.
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