The woman on the treeline remained quiet and still as he approached, and it was unsettling more than anything else. Xerxes cocked his head, watching her as she noticed him and listened to his words. For a moment, he was hesitant, and considered turning tail and running back home. But surely nothing would come of this except, perhaps, an unpleasant conversation. He smiled as she came closer, but his smile soured quickly when he noticed the strange, calculated movements she was making. His ears folded back against his head-- she was almost like a predator hunting prey. Something within him told him to run, as fast as he could and as far away, too, but he couldn't will his legs to move. They shook beneath him.
A hope grew inside of him at the look in her eyes-- poisonous, but there was a sort of kindness there. She still did not speak, but with the wag of her tail and a smile, Xerxes relaxed slightly. Maybe she was just... strange. He gave her a hesitant grin, his jaws parting as he moved to speak again, but all that came out was a choked gasp. All he could feel was pain and fear, and the feeling of not being able to breathe. The boy tried to twist his head around to bite at whatever he could, but it made no difference. Her teeth had sunk into his throat and he was no warrior.
Xerxes moved to pull himself away from her grasp, but it only served to hasten the process, severing more of his vital arteries and his windpipe. He began to grow still, his body slumping in her jaws. His eyes began to flutter closed as he tried, in vain, to push her off of him with his paws, scrabbling uselessly against dirt and fur and flesh. "N-no..." He gurgled, his eyes opening for a brief moment. Everything looked so beautiful-- the sunshine, the trees-- and he wanted to remember how it looked. He felt the feeling of grass on his fur and as painful as it was, the feeling of teeth in his neck was beautiful, too. Because he was alive.
His eyes forced shut by his waning consciousness, Xerxes began to daydream about his family, about the boy he'd met at the ball, about all the poetry he'd thought of, the songs he'd sung and danced to. There was just so much left to do... but perhaps, for now, he would rest. There was no fear in his gaze as his eyes opened for a final time, fluttering closed again as his breathing slowed. For now, he would just... sleep.
| XERXES
asteraia | one | viserys x ankh | |