Of Broken Bonds and Cursed Lineage

[Katumai]

"What do you think, Posh?"

Posh snapped her head up, turning to face her brother who had been talking to her. Truth be told, she wasn't really listening...

She shook her head, gesturing to him. He knew her well and long enough to know what she meant, and he just rolled his eyes.

"Figures-what I was saying was: do you think Tafune meant to kill Palace?"

Posh flicked an ear, mildly surprised by that. Was her brother crazy? Tafune had issues, but she would never kill her mate. Or at least, she hoped she wouldn't...

As if reading her mind, Hershey gazed over to where Tracker-Tafune and Palace's youngest child-was climbing all over Yewseed. Weirdly enough, he didn't seem bothered by it. Tafune had dropped Tracker at Yewseed and Crackle's paws and told them to take care of him-it was easy to understand why. She was afraid.

Posh sighed, and scanned their camp. 

Opia was talking to that weird wanderer again, Paradise, Rokir, and Atropa were all by the second tree, Tikere was sitting by the other tree, leaning his head against it with wide eyes as he twitched. He had been getting worse lately. Staja and Tafune were out hunting.

The camp was starting to feel empty with how many nichelings they were losing lately...

She stood up, turning around and walking towards the river.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

She looked behind her, jerking her head forward.

Hershey nodded, stretching out in the sun.  

"Walk? Alright, well don't stay out too long."

 

Posh easily leapt over the thin part of the river, and walked down the path that Crackle had carved out for her-she refused to even touch the tall grass.

It was quiet-but a comforting quiet, the type where all you could hear was the soft breeze and your own pawsteps. It was nice. She needed this after all that had been happening.

 

A rustle in the foliage made her second guess all that.

It was just a rabbil, maybe even a dodmingo, right? She was being paranoid. Nothing was there. She had to move past her stupid fears-for all she knew that day was just a dream.

But...if it was a dream, then why did it feel so real? Why did Staja's words still ring in her ears?

Why did Wisteria never come back?

 

Something caught her eye.

Just through the grass, in a patch where it faded into yellow, bright green eyes stared back at her.

What?...

Something cracked behind her, and she barely jumped out of the way as a figure flew past her head.

Looking back up, she watched as Tafune gathered herself again, letting out a furious hiss in Posh's direction.

Staja slowly step out of the grass, a smirk resting on his face.

It wasn't a dream.

 

Tafune striked again, and Posh avoided her by an inch, running as fast as she possibly could back home. If Tafune laid even a paw on her, she was dead.

She could hear them chasing her.

Several loud cracks split through the air, presumably caused by Tafune batting away berry bushes left and right to get to her.

She was almost there.

She was almost safe-

Something grabbed her hindleg, and she wanted to scream at the agonizing pain and the sickening snap as she fell on the ground.

Tafune held her broken leg in her jaws, roughly pulling her back and reaching forward.

With all her strength, Posh kicked her square in the face with her uninjured leg and stumbling to her feet.

Tafune hissed in pain, cringing backwards and allowing Posh to stumble away.

 

She ran as well as she could with a broken leg, hearing the voices of her tribemates up ahead.

She came to the river finally, and mustering all her strength, she jumped over it.

Her face hit the ground as she tripped, dragging herself the last few inches. Paradise noticed her first, and started running over.

 

Before anyone could do anything, Staja burst through the grass, directly on top of Posh. He dug his claws into her flesh, and snapped his jaws down on her shoulder. He...wasn't trying to kill her. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't-

Tafune came out next, flying past Staja and stopping in front of Posh, letting out a hiss.

Yewseed flew forward, knocking Staja away and pinning him down by his head as the other male hissed and writhed.

Crackle grabbed Tafune and dragged her back, resulting in the female whipping around and bashing him in the head with her paw.

The entire tribe was silent as Crackle fell on the ground, a large crack split through his head and bleeding.

Even Tafune seemed shocked.

 

A stone seemed to fly out of nowhere, hitting Tafune directly in the head. She fell over too, and Atropa-who presumably threw the rock-darted over and threw her to the ground, hissing in her mother's face.

Posh let out a breath of relief as Paradise and Opia dragged her forward, standing in front of her and facing down Staja and Tafune.

She spotted her brother in the crowd.

He didn't look at her.

 

That night, Staja was executed and Tafune was exiled. 

Posh could finally rest easy, couldn't she?

Well, with the look on her brother's face-she predicted that wouldn't be the case.

[flower]

4 minutes ago, Possum Girl said:

"What do you think, Posh?"

Posh snapped her head up, turning to face her brother who had been talking to her. Truth be told, she wasn't really listening...

She shook her head, gesturing to him. He knew her well and long enough to know what she meant, and he just rolled his eyes.

"Figures-what I was saying was: do you think Tafune meant to kill Palace?"

Posh flicked an ear, mildly surprised by that. Was her brother crazy? Tafune had issues, but she would never kill her mate. Or at least, she hoped she wouldn't...

As if reading her mind, Hershey gazed over to where Tracker-Tafune and Palace's youngest child-was climbing all over Yewseed. Weirdly enough, he didn't seem bothered by it. Tafune had dropped Tracker at Yewseed and Crackle's paws and told them to take care of him-it was easy to understand why. She was afraid.

Posh sighed, and scanned their camp. 

Opia was talking to that weird wanderer again, Paradise, Rokir, and Atropa were all by the second tree, Tikere was sitting by the other tree, leaning his head against it with wide eyes as he twitched. He had been getting worse lately. Staja and Tafune were out hunting.

The camp was starting to feel empty with how many nichelings they were losing lately...

She stood up, turning around and walking towards the river.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

She looked behind her, jerking her head forward.

Hershey nodded, stretching out in the sun.  

"Walk? Alright, well don't stay out too long."

 

Posh easily leapt over the thin part of the river, and walked down the path that Crackle had carved out for her-she refused to even touch the tall grass.

It was quiet-but a comforting quiet, the type where all you could hear was the soft breeze and your own pawsteps. It was nice. She needed this after all that had been happening.

 

A rustle in the foliage made her second guess all that.

It was just a rabbil, maybe even a dodmingo, right? She was being paranoid. Nothing was there. She had to move past her stupid fears-for all she knew that day was just a dream.

But...if it was a dream, then why did it feel so real? Why did Staja's words still ring in her ears?

Why did Wisteria never come back?

 

Something caught her eye.

Just through the grass, in a patch where it faded into yellow, bright green eyes stared back at her.

What?...

Something cracked behind her, and she barely jumped out of the way as a figure flew past her head.

Looking back up, she watched as Tafune gathered herself again, letting out a furious hiss in Posh's direction.

Staja slowly step out of the grass, a smirk resting on his face.

It wasn't a dream.

 

Tafune striked again, and Posh avoided her by an inch, running as fast as she possibly could back home. If Tafune laid even a paw on her, she was dead.

She could hear them chasing her.

Several loud cracks split through the air, presumably caused by Tafune batting away berry bushes left and right to get to her.

She was almost there.

She was almost safe-

Something grabbed her hindleg, and she wanted to scream at the agonizing pain and the sickening snap as she fell on the ground.

Tafune held her broken leg in her jaws, roughly pulling her back and reaching forward.

With all her strength, Posh kicked her square in the face with her uninjured leg and stumbling to her feet.

Tafune hissed in pain, cringing backwards and allowing Posh to stumble away.

 

She ran as well as she could with a broken leg, hearing the voices of her tribemates up ahead.

She came to the river finally, and mustering all her strength, she jumped over it.

Her face hit the ground as she tripped, dragging herself the last few inches. Paradise noticed her first, and started running over.

 

Before anyone could do anything, Staja burst through the grass, directly on top of Posh. He dug his claws into her flesh, and snapped his jaws down on her shoulder. He...wasn't trying to kill her. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't-

Tafune came out next, flying past Staja and stopping in front of Posh, letting out a hiss.

Yewseed flew forward, knocking Staja away and pinning him down by his head as the other male hissed and writhed.

Crackle grabbed Tafune and dragged her back, resulting in the female whipping around and bashing him in the head with her paw.

The entire tribe was silent as Crackle fell on the ground, a large crack split through his head and bleeding.

Even Tafune seemed shocked.

 

A stone seemed to fly out of nowhere, hitting Tafune directly in the head. She fell over too, and Atropa-who presumably threw the rock-darted over and threw her to the ground, hissing in her mother's face.

Posh let out a breath of relief as Paradise and Opia dragged her forward, standing in front of her and facing down Staja and Tafune.

She spotted her brother in the crowd.

He didn't look at her.

 

That night, Staja was executed and Tafune was exiled. 

Posh could finally rest easy, couldn't she?

Well, with the look on her brother's face-she predicted that wouldn't be the case.

Kat,, Kat why

[Katumai]

3 minutes ago, Flour said:

Kat,, Kat why

why what? i killed Staja-

[flower]

Just now, Possum Girl said:

why what? i killed Staja-

you almost killed Posh and now Tafune is an almost murderer- I just want them to be h a p p y :’)

[FawnCat]

Talk about things going pear-shaped. I don't know whether to be happy or afraid... what are you planning...

[Katumai]

Just now, FawnCat said:

Talk about things going pear-shaped. I don't know whether to be happy or afraid... what are you planning...

: )

[FawnCat]

1 minute ago, Possum Girl said:

: )

Scariest thing ever.

[Katumai]

This was more unexpected than she thought it would be.

Posh sat by her brother, gently running her paw down his back as he lay still in the nest.

A ball of sleek white fur rest against his stomach, softly breathing. That was odd, most of the time they cried out like goddamn dodomingos.

Hershey was silent, though she could tell he was alive. His eyes were open and he was breathing, but he didn't utter a word. Just stared at the baby.

Slowly, a few moments later, he dragged himself out of the nest. He flopped down next to Posh, and the baby in the nest made a surprised mew from the loss of warmth.

Posh gave her brother a look-why was he doing this?

Everything was silent, until-

"Orcene."

Posh blinked, wondering if she heard him right.

Hershey didn't look at her or the child, just at the ground.

"That's his name. Posh..."

She leaned forward, nudging her brother as he finally looked at her. His eyes were empty. Devoid of any emotion. It...scared her.

"Take care of him, please. You...you know I can't. I can't look at him every day. I can't stand even being around him right now-I'm going crazy, just-take him. Please, sister..."

What did he mean?

Could he really not stand to look at his own child? All because of Staja?

Well...even as Posh looked at the innocent, helpless baby in the nest...

She felt a tinge of fear, too.

 

[Katumai]

just a heads up: im gonna put updates for this on hold for maybe a week? i've been trying to find a stopping point for ages but i was trying to get all the ideas out while they were still fresh-im nOT ABONDONING THIS, I JUST. NEED A BREAK, theres only so much energy you can spend on a single playthrough at once, and i need a while to refresh my brain juice (that...sounded better in my head) youre supposed to enjoy making a playthrough, and if youre tired and dont have any energy for it, then whats the point?

BUT. i am going to start another one in a while (shhhh i know i already have some but this one is just. one where i intend to relax) because a lot of my ideas at the moment would fit better in that kind of playthrough. again, not abandoning this or BIL, just need a break

[Katumai]

On 7/26/2020 at 9:46 AM, Possum Girl said:

just a heads up: im gonna put updates for this on hold for maybe a week? i've been trying to find a stopping point for ages but i was trying to get all the ideas out while they were still fresh-im nOT ABONDONING THIS, I JUST. NEED A BREAK, theres only so much energy you can spend on a single playthrough at once, and i need a while to refresh my brain juice (that...sounded better in my head) youre supposed to enjoy making a playthrough, and if youre tired and dont have any energy for it, then whats the point?

BUT. i am going to start another one in a while (shhhh i know i already have some but this one is just. one where i intend to relax) because a lot of my ideas at the moment would fit better in that kind of playthrough. again, not abandoning this or BIL, just need a break

'i'll be back in a week' i say as i dont come back after several weeks

i actually have an update half written, i'll get it out soon srdtyfughi haha, sure Kat

[Katumai]

"Tikere?"

Why, why, why, why, why, why, why-

"Tikere, are you okay?"

I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it-

"Answer me!"

Why would he do that, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why-

"Hey-"

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Tikere whipped around, shaking violently and letting out a blood curdling scream. His brother stepped back, his words of attempted comfort falling on deaf ears.

"IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP, STOP, STOP-"

Still screaming, he stumbled to the side, repeatedly bashing his head against the tree. Paradise could only watch, still too terrified of hurting his brother to pull him away.

After a few heartbeats, Tikere stood up, bolting away to the grass. He tripped, momentarily falling into the river and climbing back out like nothing happened. 

Paradise chased him, but he was already gone.

 

 

After minutes of running, Tikere collapsed in the grass, shaking violently. All the mixed emotions and thoughts that burdened him every second slowly faded away, now that he was far from home. The migraine from it all was starting to leave.

Sucking in a breath, he just lay there. Relieved.

In the silence, his own thoughts came easily.

"Why?"

That's all he could ask. Just, why?

Staja was his brother, his beloved brother-

Why would he ever do something so horrible?

He was all he had left-his parents were dead, Crackle, his friend, was dead-even Palace was dead. She was like a sister to him.

All that remained was Paradise.

Overwhelmed, he cried. Just, cried.

He cried for his family, for his friends, for the disgusting monster that was his brother, and he cried for himself. For being a disappointment. For being a burden. For being so screwed up.

He hated it.

He hated it all.

He just wanted to be normal. To live in a world where every other nicheling wasn't cursed.

What kind of gods did this to them?

 

 

"Are you ready?"

"Obviously-we're here, aren't we?"

Were those...voices? All the way out here?

"I'm just making sure, your friends would probably wage war on us or something if you got killed."

"...are you serious about that?"

"No. No I am not."

"Wow, you're just a real funny person, aren't ya-"

"Enough talking. You know why you're here."

Tikere slowly crept forward, peering through the grass. A brown striped nicheling stood in a clear spot, seemingly...talking to himself? Or at the sky?

"Of course, it's not like your egotistical leader said it a thousand times or something."

"Don't say such things about him. Now, get going."

"Fine, fine."

The nicheling let out a sigh, turning around and freezing. Uh oh.

Tikere stared back, blinking.

Silence fell over the two for a few moments, before Tikere bolted straight back home, ignoring the calls if whoever was back there.

Probably something he didn't want to find out.

 

wOw, im not dead

i also started putting the spoken text in bold so that the eye-bleeding colors dont hurt to look at as much rdtyfhgjuhk

[Cloude]

9 minutes ago, Possum Girl said:

"Tikere?"

Why, why, why, why, why, why, why-

"Tikere, are you okay?"

I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it-

"Answer me!"

Why would he do that, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why-

"Hey-"

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Tikere whipped around, shaking violently and letting out a blood curdling scream. His brother stepped back, his words of attempted comfort falling on deaf ears.

"IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP, STOP, STOP-"

Still screaming, he stumbled to the side, repeatedly bashing his head against the tree. Paradise could only watch, still too terrified of hurting his brother to pull him away.

After a few heartbeats, Tikere stood up, bolting away to the grass. He tripped, momentarily falling into the river and climbing back out like nothing happened. 

Paradise chased him, but he was already gone.

 

 

After minutes of running, Tikere collapsed in the grass, shaking violently. All the mixed emotions and thoughts that burdened him every second slowly faded away, now that he was far from home. The migraine from it all was starting to leave.

Sucking in a breath, he just lay there. Relieved.

In the silence, his own thoughts came easily.

"Why?"

That's all he could ask. Just, why?

Staja was his brother, his beloved brother-

Why would he ever do something so horrible?

He was all he had left-his parents were dead, Crackle, his friend, was dead-even Palace was dead. She was like a sister to him.

All that remained was Paradise.

Overwhelmed, he cried. Just, cried.

He cried for his family, for his friends, for the disgusting monster that was his brother, and he cried for himself. For being a disappointment. For being a burden. For being so screwed up.

He hated it.

He hated it all.

He just wanted to be normal. To live in a world where every other nicheling wasn't cursed.

What kind of gods did this to them?

 

 

"Are you ready?"

"Obviously-we're here, aren't we?"

Were those...voices? All the way out here?

"I'm just making sure, your friends would probably wage war on us or something if you got killed."

"...are you serious about that?"

"No. No I am not."

"Wow, you're just a real funny person, aren't ya-"

"Enough talking. You know why you're here."

Tikere slowly crept forward, peering through the grass. A brown striped nicheling stood in a clear spot, seemingly...talking to himself? Or at the sky?

"Of course, it's not like your egotistical leader said it a thousand times or something."

"Don't say such things about him. Now, get going."

"Fine, fine."

The nicheling let out a sigh, turning around and freezing. Uh oh.

Tikere stared back, blinking.

Silence fell over the two for a few moments, before Tikere bolted straight back home, ignoring the calls if whoever was back there.

Probably something he didn't want to find out.

 

wOw, im not dead

i also started putting the spoken text in bold so that the eye-bleeding colors dont hurt to look at as much rdtyfhgjuhk

Hehhehehhehehehehhehehehh coughs violently while schlorping

[Pancake]

Is this still happening?

this was a cool story and I want to read more!

but if it’s not continuing that’s cool too-

[Cloude]

2 minutes ago, Pancake said:

Is this still happening?

this was a cool story and I want to read more!

but if it’s not continuing that’s cool too-

Kat just needs time to schlorp brain juice, don't worry.

[Pancake]

Just now, Foxy Kaza said:

Kat just needs time to schlorp brain juice, don't worry.

S o u n d s

g o o d 

: )

[Katumai]

14 minutes ago, Pancake said:

Is this still happening?

this was a cool story and I want to read more!

but if it’s not continuing that’s cool too-

it is, this and BIL just take more brainpower for me to write updates xfcghj

[Pancake]

2 minutes ago, Possum Girl said:

it is, this and BIL just take more brainpower for me to write updates xfcghj

N i c e