New story - April 16

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, my phone is especially acting up, and DD is being his regular awesome self, so here's something different - a new story, eh?

Kaleen did not just walk; he marched. Every step was a heavy thud against the sun-baked dirt of the hilly country, a rhythmic stomping that sent dust motes dancing around his boots. He ignored the rolling beauty of the boulders and the hardy shrubs that clung to the slopes. His mind was a storm of irritation, focused entirely on the path ahead—or rather, the lack of one.

 

He was passing a jagged fissure in the hillside, a dark mouth of a cave that smelled of cool earth and old stone. He did not glance at it. He did not care what lived in the shadows.

 

A sharp, melodic whistle pierced the air.

 

Kaleen stopped. He turned slowly, his brow furrowed in a deep scowl. Standing at the cave’s entrance was a woman. She was striking, leaning against the stone with a beckoning finger and a knowing smirk.

 

Kaleen did not move toward her. He did a double take, blinking as if trying to clear his vision, and then barked, "Did you see anyone else passing by here? Another woman? Looking rather like me? As Tall as I am? Trailing a scent of betrayal and bad decisions, perhaps?"

 

The woman’s smirk faltered. She blinked, her head tilting in genuine confusion. This was not the usual reaction to her lure. She gave a slow, bewildered shake of her head.

 

"Great," Kaleen grumbled. "Helpful."

 

He turned on his heel and began to stomp away again.

 

Whiz—CRACK.

 

A rock the size of a fist shattered against a boulder inches from his head. Kaleen spun around, his hand instinctively dropping to the heavy belt at his waist.

 

The woman stood there, her arm still extended from the throw. She looked remarkably sheepish, her expression a mix of "I can’t believe I just did that" and "don't you dare leave." She gestured vaguely, almost desperately, toward the darkness of the cave.

 

Kaleen sighed, a sound like a leaking bellows. "Do you need help or something?"

 

She did not speak, but her eyes held a frantic sort of pull. Grumbling under his breath about his own misplaced sense of duty, Kaleen trudged toward the cave and stepped inside.

 

The interior was vast, an amphitheater of shadows that stretched far beyond what the exterior suggested. Kaleen turned to ask what the problem was, but the woman was already gone.

 

In her place, a nightmare uncoiled.

 

From the waist down, she was a thick, muscular coil of emerald and obsidian scales. She hissed, her jaw unhinging to reveal long, curved fangs dripping with venom. She lunged, her movements a blur of predatory grace.

 

Kaleen did not scream. He did not even draw a weapon. He simply reached out and caught her by the shoulders.

 

The hybrid thrashed, her tail whipping against the cave floor, but Kaleen stood like a mountain. His arms were locked, keeping her snapping jaws exactly three feet from his face. He looked profoundly bored.

 

"Are you done?" he asked.

 

She hissed again, snapping her fangs at the air. Kaleen rolled his eyes and gave her a firm, two-handed shove. He stepped back, centered his weight, and took a deep, shuddering breath.

 

The air in the cave suddenly felt heavy. A low, grinding sound—the sound of shifting chitin—echoed through the chamber.

 

The snake-woman froze. Her slit-pupiled eyes widened as the man before her vanished, replaced in a heartbeat by a hulking shadow. A giant scorpion, easily twice her size, stood over her. Its carapace was the color of dried blood, and its massive stinger hummed with a lethal, iridescent glow.

 

The hybrid did not fight. She turned and scrambled for the nearest wall, her fingers digging into the cracks as she tried to scale the vertical stone.

 

She felt a weight beneath her. Kaleen—human once more—was grunting as he shoved her upward by her scaled backside, helping her reach a high ledge.

 

"Get up there then, if you're so scared," he muttered.

 

She perched on the ledge, looking down at him with a mix of fury and intense embarrassment.

 

"I'll ask one more time," Kaleen said, dusting off his hands. "Did you see anyone else?"

 

"No!" she snapped her voice high and sharp.

 

Kaleen nodded, satisfied in a grim sort of way. He turned to leave.

 

"Wait!" she hissed, her hand darting out to grab his tunic. "Did you... did you understand me? When I called to you?"

 

"Yes," Kaleen said, looking over his shoulder. "Why shouldn't I?"

 

"Because I whistle," she whispered, her eyes searching his. "People can understand. They just... come."

 

Kaleen groaned. "Is this some sort of woman-logic thing?"

 

"No," she said, her voice dropping an octave. "It’s part of my curse."

 

Kaleen went still. "Gods? Or some other magic?"

 

"...Gods," she admitted.

 

"Right. Figures. For my former companion and me it was 'some other magic.' A botched ritual, a temple collapsing... the usual mess. Well, anyhow—"

 

"Can you help me?" she interrupted. The aggression was gone, replaced by a small, fragile voice. "Can you break it?"

 

Kaleen looked at the exit, then back at her. "You tried to kill me."

 

"It’s my nature," she pleaded, her tail twitching nervously. "Besides... we are similar. Both monsters."

 

Kaleen’s expression darkened. "My former companion said something similar. Right before she abandoned me to deal with the fallout."

 

"Please?"

 

Kaleen closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Let's go, before the giant tortoise arrives."

 

The snake-woman paused, her head tilting. "Say what?"

 

He led her out of the cave and up to the crest of the highest hill. From there, the world opened up. He pointed to a jagged silhouette of ruins on the horizon—the place where his life had gone sideways. Then, he pointed down into the valley.

 

Moving with a slow, terrifying inevitability was a tortoise. It was the size of a small manor house, its shell covered in jagged moss-covered ridges. Its eyes were fixed on the hillside, and it looked—even from this distance—utterly, cosmically pissed off.

 

"It’s tracking us," Kaleen explained. "Don't ask why. It's just very, very angry."

 

The woman looked at the beast, then at the distant horizon where her own salvation supposedly lay. She explained the location of the shrine she needed to reach, but her shoulders slumped. "I can't get there in time. I am too slow. On the open ground... I'm slower than that turtle."

 

Kaleen looked at the giant tortoise, then at the snake-woman. He let out a long, weary sigh.

 

"Get moving," he said, gesturing toward the path. "I'll help you. But we have to move before that overgrown pebble catches our scent."

 

Therefore, the scorpion and the serpent began their trek across the dirt, two cursed souls walking away from one monster and toward another.

So, what are your opinions? Please share!