FIRE IN THE SKY (SLAUGHTER)

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

Death Mountain was a wonderful place. A massive, imposing place with a belly full of fire ready to engulf all that was around it. The very concept of the place appealed to T.R., and while standing in Kakariko Village she stared in awe at the rising smoke coming from the very tip of the volcano. Oh how she wanted to be up there. Oh how she would love to see the fire in its belly and feel the heat. It was a wondrous place.

Except when all was said and done, it was still a mountain. As deft and nimble as she was, climbing a mountain was more of an endurance trip than anything. It required supplies, planning, camps and was a foolhardy thing to try alone. So T.R. was forced to stay grounded at the base in Kakariko Village and simply stare up at the mountain. It was so big, so tall and imposing, and T.R.'s eyes sparkled at the very sight of it.

But her attention shifted from the mountain to the village around her. It was alive with activity, from the clangs coming from numerous blacksmiths to the calls of merchants, the buzz of the crowds and the shouts of the children. It was much like Castle Town in that way, though one could assume most major towns and cities were like that on a market day. T.R. sat on top of a barrel with a perfect view of the mountain. What was in the barrel? It was hard to tell.

Her eyes instead turned to watch a couple street urchins running around. Hybrids, quite clearly. Cast out by their families, unloved by everyone except each other. One day they would know the taste of freedom, the taste of superiority, though. One day soon there would be reckoning and all would be made right again. T.R. could only grin at the thought of that as she watched the two hybrid children running around, playing with each other, and stealing a wallet or two as they did.

Cute kids.

[Slaughter]

An exhausted, patched up, and worn out Slaughter slowly made her way into this little village she had stumbled upon.
Where the hell . . .?

She didn't know where she had gone wrong in her travels, or how she had ended up here (which usually seemed to be the case), but what she did know was--

That is a bloody HUGE mountain!!!

She had never seen anything like it before; her eyes widened at the sight, so grandiose, so unfamiliar and unlike anything she had seen at home. Her body ached, everything hurt from travelling so much, but it was worth it to see magnificent sights like this.
Although . . . it probably wouldn't hurt to invest in a map sometime soon. She wondered if this little village had a place that sold things like that. She supposed it would be somewhat hard to come by, the people in this village seemed rather simple. She watched as a couple of kids frolicked by, seeming as happy as ever. For a fleeting moment, she wished she could be them. It might be strange, but she would give anything to have that stability they exuded. They were happy, they were at home here or in each other's arms. She wanted that.

And yet here she was, looking for something-- anything-- to fill the gap. A gap so great caused by one simple man and one simple woman: her parents. Who would anticipate that such sorrow, such chaos, can be caused by only two insignificant people.

Slaughter let herself collapse onto the earth as she reached for her tiny little pouch attached to her hip. Time to bandage up.

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

From her perch on the barrel T.R. had a nice view of the marketplace. It was crowded, as far as crowds went in a village. The people weren't tightly packed together or anything. The stalls had a good thirty to forty feet between each of them and the crowds around them only ranged from a few to a dozen people. But T.R. knew the village and she knew that this was a particularly crowded market day. That was what she liked; the woman enjoyed people watching and it was always more fun when there were people to watch.

And, as always, one or two stood out.

In this case it was a cute little blonde who parked herself practically where she stood. That was something peculiar, anyway, as most people in the market were rushing to and fro--even the children were running about. Only two people did not seem busy, did not seem like they had anywhere better to be, and T.R. was one of them. The other was now labelled as intriguing, meaning that cute little blondie was going to have an interesting day.

And then T.R. was there, in that way she has about her of being abrupt and surprising everyone. She was parked on the earth next to the girl, looking out at the crowd she'd just sauntered through. "Busy day," she commented simply, her eyes never leaving the crowds though her attention was almost completely dedicated to the blonde girl. T.R. liked to have fun, and more offput somebody was the more fun they could be.

[Slaughter]

Slaughter raised an eyebrow as she heard a voice apparently directing a comment at her. Busy. Was it a busy day? Oddly, she couldn't seem to decide. Everyday seemed to blur together. Her days might have been busy, but they were ultimately uneventful. "If you say so."

Slaughter looked up and met the peculiar girl's gaze. She didn't look like everybody else in the village, there was something strangely alluring about this one, and yet equally as off-putting. Maybe it was the way she approached her, or her seemingly careless demeanor. Maybe it was something else entirely.

Regardless, after responding Slaughter resumed her sifting and eventually pulled out a small roll of bandages from her satchel. She gingerly unraveled the roll a few feet and began to wrap her sore and scratched up ankles. Wandering about sure did take its toll on a person. And for what? She was in no better shape than she was when she left, and the only thing different now was that she never even knew what day of the week was. Were it not for the changing color of the leaves on trees, she wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between spring and fall.
"Where is this place?" she asked quietly, somewhat ashamed of herself for being so clueless, but too exhausted to care.

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

T.R. watched curiously as the girl sorted through her things, producing her bandages and wrapping her feet. Oh the volumes that spoke, topped only by the question that popped out of her mouth next. Where is this place? T.R. could only gawk for a moment at the question, catching even her strange mind off guard. Where is this place? How could one wander in without knowing they had found . . .

"Oh my, a lost little lamb, wandered away from your flock?" she cooed, then giggled. What fun this will be. It was all the better when they were naive, as they walked right into the games. It had been a while since T.R. had bumped into a less-than-world-wary individual, so it was refreshing. Kind of like your first drink after a long trek. Actually, this girl would probably experience that soon, by the way her feet seemed to bother her.

"Well you're in Kakariko Village, at the base of Death Mountain. Splendid, isn't it?" T.R. asked, gazing up with awe sparkling in her eyes once more at the imposing mountain. She fell sideways and rested her head on the girl's shoulder. "This is one of the busier communities in Hyrule, comparable to Castle Town in a way," she explained, leaving her head on the girl's shoulder as if it were nothing. "But you must be a far way from home to not know that," she added with an innocent enough giggle.

[Slaughter]

Slaughter sighed just a little bit as the stranger rested her head upon her shoulder, but did not make any motion signaling signs of discomfort or agitation. Perhaps it was simply a farce-- a defense tactic. After all, one could never be sure who was friend or foe around these parts so it was probably best to just play it safe and wait until an actual threat.

Slaughter stayed perfectly still and simply looked over at the girl via her peripheral vision. Something was formulating in that female's head, she could feel it. "I do not have a flock."

Whatever this girl was trying to make her out to be, Slaughter thought she was getting just a bit ahead of herself. The blonde haired belle wasn't one to victimize herself, nor was she one to complain. She switched her gaze and stared down at her ankles. She supposed she could understand where one might get the idea. However, Slaughter was only taking preventative measures, mostly. The girl had an iron will that was not about to collapse at a moment like this.

She looked again at the girl, still resting on her. She had an appearance almost as equally peculiar as her demeanor. Her hair was pulled up in frantic, uneven pigtails, and a seemingly arbitrarily placed braid in the back of her head. Her clothes resembled that of a jester and Slaughter wondered if perhaps that is indeed what the girl was. She certainly seemed to have a personality that fit the position.
"I do believe I came from that castle town." She was tempted to admit that she was indeed a far way from home, but thought it would certainly behoove her if she kept her mouth shut until she knew more about this female.

"Are you from here?"

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

Her words were muted, solemn. At least that's how T.R. read them, and so that's what she worked with. Solemn was good. Lonely, maybe? No, lonely people tend to talk a lot when they finally meet someone who will listen. Words that built up in the silence for far too long would flow out. Though sometimes they blocked themselves in, too many words flowing at once. This was something T.R. had seen before with hermits and their type. They had been silent for so long they forgot which way the words came out.

"You believe you come from Castle Town? Cute," T.R. murmured, then giggled. "And I do believe I'm from the moon. Whether or not that's true is a different matter. But why do you believe this instead of know it? Maybe amnesia? Hard bump on your head? Brains scrambled? Maybe it's magical. Mental barrier, memory wipe, you're going to have to be more specific than that," T.R. listed off the various means of memory loss and counted them off on her fingers as she spoke.

The girl asked a question of her own. T.R. couldn't help but giggle again, her head still resting on the girl's shoulder. Truthfully it was comfortable, and T.R. wanted to see how long the girl would take it. It was a test of a variety of things allowing T.R. to learn the woman. "From around here? I suppose. I'm from around everywhere, girly. From here, from there. From Castle Town and from Kakariko Village. I'm even from where you're from, wherever that might be," she said in response and nuzzled into the girl's shoulder.

[Slaughter]

"I don't know where I am because I don't know where I'm going," she said simply, beginning to hear that familiar frustration in the other girl's voice. She must have been bothered by how few words Slaughter spoke, but though both the girls were unaware, she had hit the nail on the head. Slaughter didn't know how to make the words come out and flow right anymore. It felt as if they were all clogged up in her throat. She didn't trust anybody, didn't feel as if making friends had a point anymore. She wished she could just close her eyes and when she opened them she would be a new person-- royalty maybe-- but definitely somebody beautiful, somebody irresistible, instead of the plain, young struggler she was now.

However, that might have been just a bit too much information to divulge to a perfect stranger, and so Slaughter simply laughed. The noise came off as incredibly forced, so instead Slaughter tried to concentrate on how to respond to the girl's strange words. Surely she was just trying to confuse, or tease Slaughter. But she knew this stranger's type. The type that bathed in attention from others, and masqueraded as somebody who cared, but then they just left whenever they felt like it!

"I don't need to know where I am really. I've got everything I need and everything I need is enough for me." Slaughter peered down at the girl as she made such affectionate contact. Surely she was like this with everybody she met, that much was a given.

"Sorry to seem so cryptic," Slaughter said, a remnant of a smile spreading across her frail visage. She supposed if she was going to start healing and rebuilding her life, now would be a good a time as ever. "My name is Slaughter. What's yours?"

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

Well this girl was peculiar. Which was something coming from T.R. She didn't know where she was because she didn't know where she was going. "Surely those two things aren't related. I never have any idea where I'm going and I'm right here in Kakariko Village!" T.R. exclaimed perhaps a little too loudly, though she didn't really care. Let the puppets mill about and give her strange looks. There was more to the world than their opinions. There was always more to the world.

"Then again I suppose if you don't know where you're going, you don't care where you are beforehand. One place to another with no real care!" she mused with a sudden giggle. Her head lifted off of the other girl's shoulder and she studied her, though still remaining still within her personal space. "So what're you running from?" she decided. "You're definitely not going somewhere, as you yourself just said. Which means there's something behind you." She would find out in due time, she had her own processes, but contrary to popular belief T.R. did occasionally ask.

"My dear, cryptic is my absolute favorite!" T.R. added with a giggle, before resting her head back on the girl's shoulder. "I am called Tabula Rasa, though that isn't my name," she said dismissively, then giggled. "Slaughter. What a delightful name." T.R. immediately ran through all sorts of puns she could use, though she didn't see the need. "I think I'll enjoy knowing someone with that name."

[Slaughter]

"Thank you," Slaughter said in response to the girl's remark about her name; it was obvious she was not picking up on Tabula Rasa's humor. "But you think you'll 'enjoy' knowing somebody with this name? What a peculiar thing to say."

"And I'm not running from anything," she added. It was the truth. After being sheltered for so long under the care of her father, now that he was dead there was just nothing else to do. She had no place to be after she buried him that long night under the black sky-- no place to go either. However, everyday she still woke up. Everyday the sun still rose and every night the sun still set. So, she figured she had to do something. Dying prematurely wasn't an option-- unless she was killed; she had too much pride for that. It would happen when it happened, the time was not now so she figured might as well occupy her time doing something.

She supposed she could go into the story of how she had a vague goal in mind, to find the city where the winged angels reside and maybe try to learn about the other half of her hybrid history. However, she wasn't entirely sure that was what she wanted to do anymore. Maybe she would find happiness with just constantly wandering. Maybe she would just never find anything worth staying put for.

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

Peculiar? Yes, many people thought that of T.R. The word only really managed to bring a grin to the face of the peculiar woman and another of her plethora of different giggles. Peculiar, yes. Not just the things she said, either, but the woman herself. But that was something for Slaughter to find out on her own time, as T.R. was now attached to her; there was no getting away until T.R. got bored. Problem was when T.R. got bored a lot of people suffered because of it.

But that's neither here nor there~!

"Well you're certainly not running to something, unless perhaps you were given a bearing and a will to move. So which way are you heading? North? West? East? South? Up? Down? Let's hope it's one of the former, as there isn't much downward that's worth your while unless you were a goron," she cooed and giggled. "Then downward is a veritable feast!" The topic was dismissed with a bat of her hand as she nuzzled into the girl's shoulder, getting comfortable--apparently she wasn't planning on leaving any time soon.

"It seems to me you lack something," T.R. concluded. "Obviously you lack somewhere to be, but that's not it. Perhaps it's somebody. Perhaps it's something. Perhaps it's somewhere. No, you seem like a somebody more than anything. If it was somewhere you'd be looking, if it was something you'd probably be searching, but someone can't be replaced when lost. So who was it, girly?" she asked, giving the girl a sidelong look, the best she could from her comfortable position against her shoulder.

[Slaughter]

A little chuckle escaped from Slaughter's dry, pink lips as she listened to Tabula Rasa try to make sense and logic out of what was a rather simple thing to her. She definitely thought the girl was overanalyzing; there was nothing special about her situation.

"I running from nothing. I am running to nowhere. I am just simply
running."

Why was that so difficult for the other female to understand?

She considered the Tabula Rasa's final question, but once again her mind was running anti-parallel to the other girl's. Sure she had lost somebody. But everybody loses people in their lifetime, many people who can not be replaced. However, that did not make a great impression on where she was going or why she was going. it simply cemented the idea in her head that she had to go. Not for anything or anyone, but just simply because there was nothing else to do. If anything her father had been a catalyst, but not exactly a reason.

For some unexpected reason Tabula Rasa's comment stung a little. She wasn't lacking anything. She was having a hard enough time just surviving, existing on her own right now, so why did she have to worry about all those other details right now?

"I''m not sure. I don't believe I have met them yet."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

T.R. mused on her companion for a moment in silence. Then a grin spread across her face. "Seems we've met a mutual ghosty friend," she said out loud as she went over all that had appeared in her mind. The grin slipped away and she shrugged. "You two made a cute couple." She giggled at that thought and lifted her head off the girl's shoulder, falling back and spreading her arms so she lay sprawled out on the ground beside her new friend.

"Lost your father, mother abandoned you, same old story. Why not seek out your mother, though? Wouldn't that be a good place to run to, one so sheltered as you?" she asked, a sudden uncharacteristic concern showing in her voice suddenly. Of course it would: Slaughter was now identified as a hybrid, and T.R. looked out for the hybrids, in her weird, psychotic way. She watched the clouds swirl around the top of Death Mountain while on her back.

"My dear Slaughter, it is so strange to encounter one running without a place to run to nor a place to run from. What you need is a home, methinks, a place you can either run from or to to your heart's content."

[Slaughter]

"H-how did you know that?" Slaughter sputtered out, beginning to feel slightly unnerved. How could this stranger possibly have known about the ghost girl she had met? She supposed there were a myriad of possibilities, and she was probably just getting worked up for nothing.

She gave a dismissive wave of the hand, as if to void her previous question and decided not to dwell on it. Perhaps she had been there in the forest as well; one could never tell, she was just sure there were eyes everywhere and she had to remember that.

"Plenty of people's fathers and mothers die, and I know that. I'm not looking for shelter. I'm not looking for anything. I'm just trying to figure out what it is that I do want."

Slaughter peered down at Tabula Rasa in her sprawled out position for only a few moments before bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them. Maybe this girl didn't mean any harm, but for a total stranger she sure was curious. But that wasn't so bad was it? Maybe that had been what Slaughter really wanted all along: a friend. And that phantom girl had been so mean to her in the woods and at the ball! She called her such horrid names and treated her poorly after laying dormant in her body! Surely, that girl wasn't her friend; surely, she didn't care about Slaughter. But just maybe this girl and she could become friends.

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

Many people were caught off guard by Intuit Manipulation. It was an unnerving ability, especially for those who had something to hide. Unfortunately for T.R. this one was relatively normal, which admittedly was a little disappointing considering how cryptic her answers had been, but T.R. was also used to getting far too much useless information. It was about knowing how to sort it, which is what would break most minds. But T.R.'s mind was unique like that. She could analyze a lifetime in mere seconds and pick out the useful bits.

"I can see how such a sheltered life leads you to not knowing what you want for yourself. All your life other people tell you what you want, your father, your family, and now you're free of all that. You're free and you're not used to freedom. Don't worry, my dear, I was once like that. There's a simple solution," she started, but didn't finish the thought. Not with words, anyway. She had something a little more fun in mind.

With not so much as a grunt or a shift, T.R. sat straight up. Her legs whirled and she was on her knees, the she pushed Slaughter to the ground and was on top of her. The exact method of how this was done was impossible to truly follow, as T.R. tended to be, but the end result had T.R. straddling Slaughter while giggling, drawing a few glances. But no one paid attention to two hybrids, just like the children running around.

T.R. leaned in close to Slaughter, to her ear, and breathed her next words. "You need to experience the freedom before you can learn what to do with it." She giggled and pulled back, planting a hand on either side of the girl to support herself while she looked down upon her.

[Slaughter]

Slaughter let out a small grunt as she was suddenly swept and thrusted down upon the ground. Even for one as in tune with the actions of others as she, she had to admit, it definitely caught her by surprise.

"W-what are you doing?" was all Slaughter could manage to force out of her mouth. Her brain was in a whirl, hastily trying to analyze the situation, understand how she had gotten herself into this position (literally!), and what she was going to do about it. Surely Tabula Rasa wasn't trying to hurt her or anything; surely, she was just a bit peculiar in demeanor and the way she went about things, but she wasn't going to hurt her!
...Right?

Slaughter's blonde hair unfurled in a tangled mess on the ground; her fingers trembled slightly as she felt the weight of the girl's body on her. She didn't do things because her father told her to-- at least she didn't think so. She simply did things because she didn't know what else to do. She had no zeal, no passion for life! It wasn't that she didn't know how to live, it was just that she didn't know why.

"D-do you want to be friends?" She suddenly posed, turning her head on the ground to avoid eye contact.

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

What are you doing? That was what the girl had stammered out after T.R. found herself on top of her. T.R. could only giggle in response, throwing her head back to do so. She returned to that too comfortable position she was in, face merely inches from the face of the blonde girl, with a devilish grin. "Proving a point to you and myself," she said with a wave of her hand.

You and I are very alike, little girl. We both have mixed parentage, we're both a very special breed of person. Thing is the world looks down on those like us. But one day not too far in the future, as I've seen it, our half-blood will be our salvation." She giggled wickedly, drawing a hand to the side and, oh so gently, dragging one of those razor sharp claws along Slaughter's cheek. Enough that Slaughter could feel it, but not enough to tear the skin. "And then we won't be lost little lambs anymore, then there'll be a place to go."

The claw found Slaughter's chin and then dragged downward to her neck, still moving oh so gently. "This is the part where you call me crazy. Many have. Many will. I know how I sound to most, but I don't care. My job is to prepare us, so I'm giving you the word, so that you may take it as you please." She stopped and pondered the girl's question. "Now that I've said this, and now that you know who I really am since I know all there is to know about you, do you still want to extend that offer?" The claw was drawn away from her neck and the hand found the ground once more as T.R. hovered very close to Slaughter's face.

[Slaughter]

Slaughter didn't know what was going on; all of the sudden this Tabula Rasa person that she thought was her friend, wasn't acting so friendly anymore and she spewing all these words and fragments about salvation and being lost!

But hadn't Slaughter just explained to her that she wasn't a lost lamb at all? Was the female even listening to her? Or was this all just an act?

Something inside of Slaughter's brain felt as if it had mechanically rotated and clicked as she once again went into auto-pilot. As the girl began to drag her sharp claws along Slaughter's face, she felt a strange pang of a long lost emotion inside of her: betrayal.

Suddenly Slaughter's hands shot up from besides her and constricted around Tabula Rasa's neck, stopping her from being able to breathe in Slaughter's face any longer. The young girl kept tightening her grip, pressing her thumbs down firmly on the girl's trachea. She was petite, but deceitfully trained to kill; nobody was going to stop her from reaching her end goal.

It felt as if all the sound around them had disappeared; all Slaughter could hear was a muffled version of herself breathing, shaky from the adrenaline, in and out. Inhale, exhale.

"You're not crazy. You have a passion for life that I wish I had myself, and yes, I still want to be your friend. Now, get off me and tell me what's going on."

[Tabula Rasa]

x x

As the girl's hand clenched around T.R.'s neck, a wicked grin spread across the prophet's face. The only reason she didn't start giggling was because she had better use for the air left in her lungs than to waste it like that. A manic look spread across her eyes as she glared down at the girl that was under her, fighting back. The girl wanted to live, that much was certain, which presented itself as the greatest weakness in this case: T.R. didn't care.

Showing amazing will under the pressure of being choked, T.R. lifted both of her hands off the ground, her stomach going taut as the muscles picked up the role of supporting her. Both hands moved over the girl, the tips of the claws pressing against her own neck, this time enough to prick her gently, to make her ever so aware of their presence. "Feisty," T.R. said with whatever air was left in her lungs, her voice strained from Slaughter's hand. "If you don't let go, my weight pushes my claws through your neck. I'll fall unconscious before I die. You won't."

Of course there were other methods of escaping the girl's lousy grasp. Killing her outright, for example, or severing some tendons in her arm. Maybe severing the arm altogether. Any sort of painful would would probably leech away the girl's strength long enough for T.R. to pull the hand away. But the thing was T.R. liked fun, and throwing this ultimatum at Slaughter, that was fun.

[Slaughter]

Want to test that? was all Slaughter heard ricocheting off the walls of her cerebrum; she could hear her heart palpitating in her throat.
Why had Tabula Rasa become like this all of the sudden? Slaughter thought that things had been going well between the two of them; she couldn't help but feel a sting of disappointment breaking through all the adrenaline and pandemonium rushing inside of her. She thought they could have become friends . . .

Slaughter could feel her breathing becoming more strained, heavier. But her overwhelming pride was commanding all of her neural circuits; she could feel no pain, she hardly even noticed as Tabula Rasa penetrated the skin on her neck.

What am I going to do? Isn't Tabula Rasa my friend? Hadn't she said that I was somebody? Hadn't she treated me nice? Hadn't she said I was like her? I don't understand why she's doing this! I don't understand why it has to be this way! I don't understand it at all!!!

Suddenly, it felt as if time had froze within Slaughter's body. She could feel the pressure of the lone wing on her back, pushing itself through her shoulder blade and exposing itself. Her body started to feel light and airy, and for an ephemeral moment it felt as if she were separating into the tiniest of particles.

Was this death? Had Tabula Rasa killed her? Perhaps she was so out of her mind that she simply didn't feel the woman's sharp claws as she slashed her pale throat.
But no---

This was something different.

Slaughter let out a rather abrupt shriek as she suddenly disappeared from underneath Tabula Rasa and teleported to a nearby tree.
W-what the?
She didn't miss a beat, and reflexively pulled out her katana in a flourish as her head tried to make sense of what had happened. She had just transported from one place to another without any physical movement. How was this even possible? Was this the magic of the other half of the heritage?

Regardless, none of that mattered right now. If Tabula Rasa should come near her again, this time she would be ready. She held her gleaming blade out in front of her at a 180 degree angle, ready to plunge it strait into Tabula Rasa's intestines if she attempted to attack her again.

"Why?" was all she could manage to force out of her mouth.