Give Me a Sword and a Thousand Words: [Battle Duocast] - "Snare"

7. “You don’t have to fear me,” says the Godspawn, who waits for you, but still circles like a predator. “We can remake you so you’ll never be afraid, and you can reject weak, mortal flesh.” Draw or write your character confronting this temptation—though you must resist it to win this battle!

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Out. Out, Paiko, out. Have to get out of here.

The forest warped and twisted as he ran, blocking paths and forcing him to take other ones. Branches cracked and crashed down around him while roots ripped themselves out of the ground as the trees relocated themselves, creating more than plenty of tripping hazards that the drakon now had to navigate.

He stumbled over one such obstacle and went airborne for a few seconds, before tumbling into a thorny thicket. 

There was no time to waste gingerly picking himself out of the plants. Dozens of woody claws tore at his clothes, his skin; he only hissed through gritted teeth and forced his arms through the brambles, trying to make contact with soil.

Not enough. There isn’t enough ground. It will not work with this little–

Paiko tried to adjust his position, digging deeper into the thorny snare, receiving more scratches for his efforts. He panted aloud, half-whimpering in frustration and pain, not even bothering to remain quiet. 

I am a sitting duck here, he realized, and redoubled his efforts to free himself. 

The thorny bush shook as its captive thrashed about, no doubt attracting the attention of anyone passing by.

“Hey, hey, you’re going to poke your eyes out if you keep that up.”

Paiko stopped thrashing and cocked his ear. The voice had come from behind him. He couldn’t turn his head to see the speaker, but he knew they were not the monster he was running from. “Please… help me…”

“How did you get so wedged in there? Gonna have to get a bit smaller-” The voice seemed to get quieter, though not more distant, “-to clear these away. There we go.”

Scampering along the branch just in front of Paiko’s face was a six-inch tall lizard-like creature. Blue with regions of striped teal, and a feathery white mane running halfway down his back. Paiko said the first thing that came to mind.

“You are… tiny.”

“The name’s Celaou. I’m a Protean-type Doppler. We can shift sizes. I’m normally much bigger, but to help you, I gotta fit inside this bush, see?” He gripped the thorny branch and raked his claws down the bark. “A little tough, but I can work with that.”

Paiko hoped the tiny Doppler wasn’t about to try to dismantle the bush using his bare claws. “I-I have something. In my pocket. A blade. Should be small enough for you to use.”

The blue Doppler scurried out of Paiko’s field of view, and the drakon could feel him checking his left pocket. “O-oh, the other one. Sorry.” He shifted to grant better access to the right side.

But before Celaou returned with the blade to start cutting branches away, a cold, creeping shadow settled on the forest like a noxious mist. 

=The tiny mouse has cornered itself into a trap, has it? A tiny mouse and its tiny friend.=

“Tiny? I’ll show you who’s tiny-” Celaou’s voice piped up from Paiko’s pocket, but the drakon boy made a shush motion with one shaky finger.

=You don’t have to fear me.= 

“We don’t fear you, creepy lady!” A pause, to contemplate the trembling, trapped drakon. “At least, I don’t. Let me at her, I’ll fight her.”

Paiko whispered back, “I do not think that’s a good idea…”

=Join us, Paliskobengar. Join us, Celaou. We can remake you so you’ll never be afraid, and you can reject weak, mortal flesh.=

To not be afraid? What the drakon of the past would’ve given to be fearless in the face of danger. To be free from the grasp of anxiety and paranoia, constantly checking over his shoulder, reluctant to head outside for fear of being attacked.

But fear was what had kept him on his toes. Had kept him alive, alert, and sensitive to his surroundings. 

Finding his voice, Paiko replies, “Fear has nothing to do with weakness. With mortality. It keeps one humble, and human.” He glances at Celaou. “In the sense of being a reasoning and emotional being, I mean.”

=Really? You would reject power and immortality for mere feelings?=

“It has kept me alive so far. And it has gained me friends.”

=What about you, tiny blue one?=

“Eh, my kind is already kinda immortal. I quite like the way I look right now, and by the looks of you–” Celaou scampers up to the top of the thorny bush to make a face at the hideous horror. “Yeah, no. I’m not letting you give me a makeover.”

=You think you’re clever and amusing? You are unwise to reject this offer. Now we will have the last laugh, prepare to feel our power–=

Without waiting for the eldritch creature to finish her monologue, Celaou shifted back into his normal size, crystal blade in hand. A gleam of quick, dextrous strokes; Paiko was freed from the snare and hoisted onto the Doppler’s back, and the two made their speedy escape.

“I kinda wish I could’ve fought her. I could’ve totally taken her on. But let’s get you somewhere safe first.”

“Thank you,” Paiko said. “You’re very brave. To even think about doing that.”

“Oh, you flatter me! Hey, what was your name? Palis-something?” Celaou asked, turning his head slightly to look at his passenger.

“You can call me Paiko,” the drakon mumbled, finally tiring out from the adrenaline of fear and exertion. “Y’know… I used to look like you… kinda…”

“Really?” Celaou chuckled. “Good thing we didn’t let her give you a makeover either, then.”

-

919 Words

 

Thank you ClickerFlight for letting me duocast with Celaou! I was conflicted between doing art and writing for this one because he has such a fun design, but I write so much faster than I draw >w< I'll probably do a doodle later and stick it as a cover image.