'Stay At Home', They Said

Exactly, what they were looking for in life was always unsaid as they refused to say it, let alone write the damn sentence on a piece of paper. They weren't sure of their task either. What made them run up the side of a mountain, in the middle of the day, after ,what, blowing up two people? The human race could certainly spare to lose a few. That was where it all started, after all. Weird ass kid... So… here we go…

It was a particularly cold stormy night, kept in the stale moldy basement, the family of brown mice in the wall squalling over the unwelcomed venomous spiders that seemed to just force their way in earlier that month. It was the middle of winter after all. Hasty cracks ran up and down the sides of the cobblestone walls, dripping cold water and some brown goo in which the smell was indescribable. Various spots of mold dotted the walls and made the air stale and foul. The cold stone floor was even rougher and the piles of dust that whipped around your feet when you moved was no stranger to the mess. Old ratty bookcases littered the walls with some ancient defiled textbooks, here and there. A single cracked tinted window was high up on the wall, the rain outside lashing against it in a blind fury. Nobody could see through it. Tried and true, escaping would only get you another beating. You gave a deflated sigh, wrapping your tiny arms further around your lithe body, cherishing what little body heat you had. It was pitch black and the foreboding clunks of heels against hardwood made you wince. It was always dark down here. They only came in to feed you once a week, maybe two if the favor was successfully completed.

Cloudy amber eyes, slitted against the sudden bright light underneath the mahogany door, a dull light beginning to fan across the floor.

You gave a small hiss of discomfort, scooting further away into the darkness. They were coming. Standing up stock still, with paws that were always open against your thighs, you waited silently, ears flattened with baited breath. Only bad things would come if the masters were visiting at night. They never fed you twice unless it was mentioned during the first feeding. It wasn't. Either that, or it was another woodshop lesson.

"Burk, I don't necc- Look I'm not here to argue with you! Jer, open the door, hon….I won't have you leeching off my daughter when she's already at rock bottom!" With a click of the lock, the thick mahogany door swung open with a hearty creak. Strong light from the basement hallway filtered in to shine on your form, which was nestled in the far corner. You were trembling. Hard. Jeremy, the masculine master of the household, stood holding the door for the feminine master. There were two masters. Each had similar strengths. Jeremy, although tall and gangly, knew his way around every tool, and was no stranger to the harsh texture of sandpaper and the piercing edges of a blade. He eyed your small frame with hungry cerulean eyes, yourself purposefully avoiding his gaze. You had wanted to do nothing more than to cower. He preferred any kind of sexual favor from you, in which you absolutely refused to do. Always a threat, after the horrendous lessons. He treated the prospect like a privilege. You treated it like a death sentence. You may be a slave to the two humans, but you weren't about to do anything of the scandalous and shameful kind.

The mistress on the other hand was to be feared. Her dark gray eyes were always two-faced: bright and happy to her son who didn't know about the monster child kept in the basement, and cold and uncaring to the monster who deserved none of it. The stony silence set in. Jeremy bowed gracefully at the door, closing and locking you and the mistress inside. Nothing stays really. The mistress had set her posh white handbag down upon a bookshelf, turning to face you with her scorching gaze. She slowly approached.

"You've still yet to answer me back for my husband's favor, you ungrateful whelp!" As you thought: there'd be no second scraps today.

The family who'd kidnapped you eight years ago, valued a monster like your kind. Your set of SOULs were significantly stronger than those who'd been sealed under the mountain ages ago. It was the one reason why your parents lived for so long. They'd been forced to murder countless humans who dared to harm their way of living, their home, or their souls. They waited until the humans forgot about them, which took hundreds of years, never passed down in families from childish fear and doubt. It was then, when the coast was clear, that they had you.

Their only child, which they wanted to have so badly, and after years of waiting, you'd arrived in a messy bundle. You could still remember your parents. Even at the young age of six, you were beyond intelligent, your father being a former royal scientist of SOULs and such, and your mother being the former head of the royal guard. Your father taught you how to read and how to do complex mathematical expressions, never settling for the lesser and encouraging you to do your best in everything. Your mother, taught you how to cook and hunt, showing you how to survive amongst the harsh world of the living. The two had even showed you their own magic when you'd shed your kitten fuzz..

Dad had electricity magic, channeling strong electricity between his two pitch black paws, the intense, crackling magic always making you singed yourself every once in awhile. Your mother, on the other hand, knew a special brand of fire magic. Not just bland fireballs, but huge powerful beasts shaped from the sizzling embers of the hottest fires. Her entire aura was intense and training sessions with her always left you gasping for breath. You loved the two of them to death and back, your family being a unique branch of boss monsters after all. And cats at that. Yep, the whole nine lives shebang.

After the incident, every time you glanced at the sweater, her sweater, you wept a little inside. The ratty maroon and gold knitted sweater was the only thing left of your parents, the rest charred in the fire. It was way too big for you and drooped beyond your knees, but hey, you felt safer in big things. A vast expanse to hide away from reality. You wished for your parents to come back and save you. They couldn't anyway. The fire had burned them to mere ashes and those to be swept away in the wind. To you, they were never coming back. You waited through rain, wind, heat, and the bowels of nature. But nobody came.

You never noticed that the humans who committed the murder ( yes it was murder, as mom could absorb any fire but human-made fire, and we didn't cook with that kind) watched you daily. Until one day that is, after staying awake for more than seventy hours, you fell asleep near the scorched remains of your house. You never noticed when foreign calloused hands tranquilized you, picked you up, and carried you away to the hell hole that is this basement.

After the beatings and the abuse with the woodshop tools, you'd learned it's best to be docile and unwavering. Not that you had Stockholm's or anything. These people who kept you here against their will had almost killed you once or twice. Why did they keep you here? Merely because they were bad people. What they didn't take out on their young son, they took out on you, the monster. You loathed them and had tried to escape this basement multiple times. The broken ribs you'd received answered your frequent pleas for freedom. But nonetheless, the whip wasn't going to wait…

You lay quiet in the far corner, absentmindedly staring up at the ceiling. Three of the brown mice had decided to use you as their nest. Sadly, their bad decision had led to their gory demise. You slowly chewed the remains of the second mouse in your jaws, savoring the musky taste on your tongue. It was a rare treat if the mice dared to venture beyond the walls. With a moan of appreciativeness, you swallowed and ran your clawed paw slowly over the last carcass, its unmoving skin beckoning to be broken. With a tentative tug, you hoisted the small mouse in front of your muzzle, biting down onto its neck. Cold blood rushed forward, a metallic scent reaching your nose. You began to chew up the last mouse, savoring the crunch of tooth-on-bone as you devoured it. After licking your lips promptly, you fell back onto the cold cobblestone floor. A huge cloud of dust swirled in your wake, the bits of dead cells illuminated in the weak ray of sunlight that shone through. A sudden knock had issued at the door.

"Lion? Are you in there? It's me! Sue!" You gave a small mewl of hope and got to your paws. You quickly stretched out your back, the bones of your spine popping back into place. You slowly padded over towards the mahogany door, grabbing a burnt textbook, a few spare pieces of parchment, and some quills.

"I'm here. What's up?" You'd made yourself comfortable by the crack of the door, setting the corner of the textbook on fire. Bright orange light lit up the small room, the smell of burning paper wafting throughout the basement. You could hear rapid scrambling from the other side of the door.

"Mistress said that I'm going to school today, but it's supposed to be picture day today!"

"Picture day? What's that?"

"It's when you have to take a picture so that the school knows what you look like and stuff."

"Okay… but what's a school? You forget that I have no clue about what all this human stuff is."

"Well… a school is where many kids like me go to learn really boring stuff. Like math. Math is boring. Science is too." You raised your eyebrows in surprise, moving to lay on your tummy.

"Science is far from boring! Do you ever stop to wonder how microscopic we are to the multiverse? If not, then you're sadly mistaken. Science is awesome, and if you don't think that it's awesome, then I don't know you." You said, in a slightly affronted tone.

"No! No! Science is cool, but it's really hard to learn!"

"Well, how about this? If you start using your head instead of using those wimpy human explanations, then you'll start to understand more. I can help you if you want. It's really not that hard to understand."

"Really? You'll help me with my homework?" You scoffed and turned up your nose.

"Homework? Again? What's the point of humans assigning other humans homework, when they don't even understand the concept?" You'd accepted the small piece of paper that'd been slid underneath the door. You loudly read off the questions, using the inked quills to correct Sue's answers. If not for your help, he would've failed spectacularly.

"Wow! Thank you!" You slipped the cheated homework underneath the door, setting down your inked quill. You heard more rustling from the other side of the door.

"It's not the hard if you learn how to do it. Trust me. My father taught me all of this stuff when I was a kit. I practically tore my hair out. If you ever need help with your homework, either ask me or just slip the work underneath the door. Okay?"

"But that's cheating…"

"But doesn't your "school" support that kind of thing?"

"I don't know. Thank you, anyway. Oh. Master's coming! I better leave before he catches on... Bye Lion! I'll be back in the afternoon! Gotta go to school!" You heard an assortment of heavy rustling before light footfalls ceased sounding.

… What was it that they always said? "Stay in the basement and make no noise, whatsoever?" It was an average day indeed for you. The family had once again warned you of trying to escape and had promptly locked up the basement before taking their son to boarding school. What they failed to remember was that the new maid they'd hired that had no idea that you were down there. So guess what happened when the careless maid decided to snoop into the basement…?

Claire was the new maid of the house, her kind and caring shtick landing her a concrete job in the massive household. What killed her the most about her job was the numerous tight and dark spaces that the family greatly inconvenienced her with. Going into dark broom closets gave her the chills. Not to mention that the so warned basement made her shit her pants on a daily basis. Basements were a no go for her. Who knows what could be down there?

Claire was snarky and most of the maids saw through her act, avoiding her and her scolding tongue. She spit at the homeless, stole from the rich, and let's not forget that time that she once stole a whole shopping cart full of expensive chocolate. Claire was a bad person at heart and she enjoyed every bit of it. But where did that get her? Oh yeah, that's right. Here.

After touring the massive marble mansion yet again, inspecting every nook and cranny, she scowled and whipped her head around to glare at the banister. Her outfit was much too tight and made bending or stretching in any manner, uncomfortable. Her long black hair was pulled into a tight bun, a few strands hanging. Her spectacled glasses shone from the intense light of the foyer, brilliant green eyes gleaming.

"You peasants clean the basement?" She growled. Small giggles ushered from the top of the stairs, now from the three maids at the overlook. The two of them gazed down at her brute frame mockingly.

"Uh, no. We were hoping that you could take care of that for us, Claire." Louise. The blue-haired bimbo stood mockingly at the top, that bitchy smirk on her face, as always. That and the fact that Claire could see her lacy red panties. Disgusting. She always wore her outfit too short, giving more panty shots than needed. She liked to kiss up to male master. Pathetic weakling.

"Yeah! You always get done so fast! We're still up here laundering the blankets and stuff. Say...If you take care of the basement, we'll be home free!" Then there was Der, the only male maid in the house. He was a pervert, always checking out the mistress, and between breaks, commented on how sexy the mistress was. Crude humor always followed. He had short spiky purple hair and dark hazel eyes.

Claire flinched. From the corner of her eyes, she spotted the trio smirking at her. Why those little- patience Claire, patience. Forcing a crooked smile, Claire gave a slow nod and slowly turned her head towards the dimly lit hallway. The only one that was yet to be traversed.

"If you're too scared, I'll do it for you. Just let me fold these towels." Louise mockingly called from the banister.

"No! I've got it!"

"Well damn, okay." Fern, the last maid, was an okay one at that. She was small and quiet, being completely docile in every way. She was the oldest of the maids and had been with the family for years beyond count. Her short gray hair had curled upwards just below her ears and bobbed when she walked.

"Sorry, I-I'll just take care of it. On my own."

"Well alright then, suit yourself." And with that, the old lady was gone, sauntering down the hallway with a fresh stack of bath towels in tow. Claire breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't have those maids look upon her like some lowly peasant. Gathering herself, Claire stole another glance at the dimly lit hallway before striding off towards the broom closet. Candles were one thing but flashlights were her ultimate savior. Better take some batteries, just to be sure.

It wasn't that Claire was scared of the dark, but she was afraid of what was in it. As a kid, her older brother, whose name escapes her at the moment, always read her horror stories before bed, and forced her to watch bowel evacuating movies of demons and paranormal happenings. Now, she can't look out the window at night without fearing jumpscares and serial killers looking back at her. What a curse.

Heels clicking on the hardwood floor, Claire slowly made her way down the hall, her heart beating out of her chest. As she got closer, sweat began to drip down her face, silent tears of fear pooling at the corner of her eyes. She began to tremble when she spotted the door. An old mahogany door stood at the end, frayed with paint chipping in various places. The crack under the door had been sealed with rubber, for what purpose, she hadn't a clue. It was now or never…

Clicking on the flashlight, Claire took the gold keys out of her pocket. Stalling on which was which, she finally came to the correct key. Inserting the key into the lock, she turned the key, ever so slowly, until the door was unlocked. Upon taking out the keys, she fumbled, dropping them on the ground. Stooping to pick them up, she stared into the darkness, whimpering silently to herself.

"Hmm, probably some satanic shit going on in here or something. Whatever the hell it is, I'm getting the hell out of here as soon as possible."

The clicking of heels and the jangling of keys woke you from your crude daydreams. You stumbled to your paws, craning your head this way and that way to search for the disruption. What? It's not like you were a kid anymore. You were fourteen for crying out loud. And it's not like your masters weren't quiet during their sexual cannodles. Amber eyes searching in the dark, you recognized a scent that didn't quite match up with the masters'. With a click of the lock, the door swung open, faint light filtering into the darkness. Clank. The maid had dropped her keys. Heh.

"Now what's down here?" The maid, still not recognizing you in the dark, stepped straight into the room, missing the light switch next to the door. She was clearly horrified, her knees threatening to give out at any moment. You stood quietly in the corner, eyeing her bulky frame with distaste. You knew of another maid with gray hair. That one knew of your presence and did not talk to you, but you could clearly see the pity in her eyes. How you hated it.

On one hand, you could be mistaken and this could be a test by the masters. If you tried to escape, they'd be at the doorway and you'd surely be denied food for a week or so. Perhaps a new woodshop lesson, too. You shivered. Definitely not another one of those. On the other hand, this one was foreign and probably didn't know you existed. You could easily overtake her with speed, but the other maids could be out there too. But they were weak, just like the others.

The maid who'd now taken out a flashlight and began waving it around, had yet to notice you. You'd made your decision. It was now or never. Moving with utmost silence, you'd tiptoed up to the maid, hiding behind her back in waiting. When she was the furthest away from the door, you gave her a hearty shove, sending her tumbling into the bookcases. At once, heavy footfalls sounded from could be your only chance at freedom. You, not giving any shits, turned around and took off out the door.

"What the hell?" Freedom. Fucking freedom. Pictures of people you couldn't care less about whipped by, the plush carpet pointing your way to freedom. The maids from above were now hollering loudly, trying to throw anything their hands could latch on, at you. You dodged the vases and towels, eyes slightly hazy from the sudden movement and bright lights. The front door sat straight ahead, filtering natural light in. It was morning. Nothing could possibly go wrong with this escape. But you were wrong.

You threw open the door, the warm drafts of summer somewhat there as you took off. The driveway flew by, your brown paws slamming against the hard cold concrete. Your long brown hair, that was severely unkempt, shone in the sunlight. You'd stopped to gaze at it. For eight years, you'd waited to see the sunrise again. Eight damn years. Remembering your situation, you barreled down the street, dashing out in front of a car and passing confused onlookers. The intimidating silhouette of Mt. Ebott wasn't very far. Home was almost within reach. Even as a loud explosion went off behind you and sirens began to blare, you kept running, adrenaline coursing through your veins. Finally. Freedom at last...

The house had went up in flames, from what, you hadn't the faintest idea when you were young. As you wisened, you realized the events of the tragedy. As for the other thing that exploded, was the masters' car in which you dashed in front of in your mad pursuit of freedom and glory. The look on their faces as they watched you book it down the street only for them to collide with another car, which had such a high momentum going that the two cars just exploded, and you gave no fucks.

The sound of Ebott City, busy with traffic and the distinct call of mockingbirds made your mad dash home even more renewing. The lush pine trees of summer that dotted the sidewalk were slowly wilting and falling to their death. Autumn was coming. Taking the time to remember, you slowed, drawing out your souls. Your parents taught you how to do it years ago, the first time comparable to being submerged in icy water. You'd gotten the hang of it soon enough. Strangely enough, you'd been born with a mutation of the soul so you had two. One was a monster soul, being born a monster and all. The other was a human soul, coming from being born on the human surface devoid of a monster presence. Simply put, you were born normal but because your parents were boss monsters who'd killed many humans, during your development you'd absorbed the aura of the human souls, giving you another soul to deal with.

Technically, you could survive with one missing. If your monster soul was taken, you'd be stuck as a human with no magic. If your human soul was taken, you'd be stuck as a monster with your physicality all but lost, magic being the only thing keeping you together. However, you preferred to keep both. It made you more powerful than most, being able to draw power from the human soul to power the monster soul. You held your own souls within your paws, gently cradling them.

The human soul was not actually solid, being dense tendrils of golden flames contained by a glassy casing. It gave off a warm glow and made you feel distinctly different. The monster soul was a dark gray which came with the sin of killing humans. Your parents had forgotten that it passes down in offspring. Every now and then, you had night terrors, reliving the many murders that your parents had committed before you were born.

The masters who were most definitely dead, hadn't sent out any 'lookers' which meant that you could do anything you wanted. So naturally, you returned home, albeit, having to become a temporary ninja and jumping from roof to roof.

The woods, which were dark and dreary went perfectly with the legends of Mt. Ebott. After all, those who wanted to climb the great peak had to successfully get past the maze that is your home. Of course, you grew up here as a kid, so you were a master at mapping out the place. The claw marks on the trees were old and the tree was starting to grow new layers. Growling, you unsheathed your claws and dragged them roughly through the tree. It felt heavenly. After years of being dulled, you could finally sharpen your body. And your stomach, because you hadn't eaten in days. Except for those mice.

You were slowly strolling through the dark forest, your natural monster body out in the open. The dark pines glistened with morning dew that failed to drop or evaporate. The undergrowth was back at it, bushes growing wildly with unharvested berries ripe for the picking. The fronds never swayed as the wind never reached below the canopies. It was quiet. It hadn't been quiet, in your sense, for years. There it was. The burning scent of wood. Your home. Your old home, the burned remains standing there, a sad reminder of what your life used to be. Old wooden beams stood lonely against the dim sunlight, vines of snapdragons reaching the forest floor. You looked up. Dark gray clouds were sweeping across the sky, drowning the sun amongst their depths. You smiled. The heavy smell of rain promised a good thunderstorm and heavy showers all day long. How you yearned for the rain, had been another reason to escape.

Rocks had littered the ground around your former home. The old swing from the birch tree had broken down, and hung pitifully still. Large tendrils of ivy and moss crept up the sides.

What you cherished most were the lilies that your mother used to make you tend to. You loathed plants, how if you didn't tend to them, they'd attract gnats. Those flying fuckers annoyed the shit out of you, and if you left any food out for one second, you'd come back and there'd be a dead fly in it. Gross. Not to mention, your parents laughed at you when you attempted to swat them down. Hey, you killed some of them, right? Ugh. Regardless, you had a black thumb and killed every plant life you touched. Did you care? Nope. Too busy kicking over dumb perennials and buttercups as a kid. Now, the lasting tulips of your late mother's care, stood falteringly, slightly wilted, but beautiful nonetheless. You weren't gonna cry. You stopped crying when you realized that life is a beautiful lie and death is an awful truth.

You couldn't wait to dance with death. They had your parents in their sweet embrace. You weren't suicidal but considered it with great depth. No more of that. What were you gonna do now? With given sense, you could build another house out in the woods, but the thought of living in the dark scared you. What could be lurking in the wilderness? Your parents had always been there to protect you, but now, they were gone. They'd always said that if they perished, to go to the mountain. For what, they never told you and you'd rather not end up imprisoned again. Selfish, yes, but surely you could be free for just a little longer? Sure you could kidnap a human and take their soul to the king, but you could never bring yourself to physically nor magically take the life of another. You weren't about to sacrifice your human soul either. Not to somebody you didn't know, king or not.

But, it wouldn't hurt to inspect the mountain, right? After all, you had to go beyond the barrier to become trapped. You couldn't become trapped with your two souls and all. How does one not notice falling into a mountain? Never mind. Heavy rain had begun to fall, the cold water refreshing. You stood quietly, grinning wildly and ran your paws through your hair. It was already soaked. You were quickly getting drenched. You decided to stay a little longer. It surely didn't pour under the mountain. You had rested upon one of the fallen beams, zoning off to the sound of a distant clap of thunder. Those poor monsters, trapped underground. You wondered if they were still alive. It HAD been hundreds of years ago and only boss monsters survive for a long amount of time. Your parents hadn't mentioned any boss monsters, except for the king and queen. Did they have food there?

It got darker, rain coming down harder now, bits of hail pelting you from above. You didn't care. Should you visit the mountain or not? It didn't matter really. The only danger being a monster taking away your human soul and trapping you there. Your parents had told you of how the barrier could be taken down. Seven human souls. You wondered as to whether the monsters thought that the surface was a land of glory. You sighed. How wrong they would be…

You'd made your decision. Getting to your paws, you started off towards the north, leaving the remains of home behind. They wanted you to do this. You'd be safe there and they'd protect you. A place where you wouldn't be threatened by the mere existence of humans. Perhaps you'd just be another burden to the monsters. You were scared. How was this supposed to go? The dark woods seemed to fly by faster as you were now at the edge of the woods. A dusty trail was barely there, marked by stray pebbles and debris. You followed, seeing as how your parents never took you up here and this could be a trail to the barrier.

You'd been wandering for hours.

The terrain was so slippery that you had to crawl up the mountain on four paws. Claws desperately digging into the soaked soil, you hoisted yourself off of the rock wall. The hard floor of the cave greeted you, the black depths a sure sign of something odd. You were soaked down to the skin. Getting up, you took off your sweater and wrung out all of the rainwater. You did the same for your shorts. It was time to take a break. You took your sweater between your paws and concentrated. Wisps of fire sparked out from your paws, a warm orangeish magic flowing into the beaten sweater. It suddenly puffed out, all traces of water gone, the sweater warm and begging to be put back on. You did the same for your shorts, warming them up to be worn. You never got sick, rarely so, but that didn't stop you from taking precautions.

You'd then stuck your paws on your head, heating up the remains of the water and fluffing out your hair. Ah. Your namesake. Well, not really. Your parents had given you a name but your hair was always so infamously unkempt and poofy that they referred to you as Lion. You liked the name. It went well with your horoscope and that it was your favorite animal. It also went well with your power, too. You looked over into the darkness. Your amber eyes slitted against the dark background. The cave went far back. Getting to your paws, you padded further into the abyss, the outlines of many vines creeping into your vision.

There it was. A deep hole in the middle of the mountain. The top was covered with hanging vines of ivy and basil. A vast light filtered in from a hole at the top of the mountain. So there was little sunlight down there, huh. Good thing you knew two magic brands that gave off light. You peered over the top, anchoring your claws into the deep soil so you wouldn't accidentally fall. There was no bottom. At least, there hadn't appeared to be one. You stood up, weighing your chances of jumping into the hole. There was nothing down there. You lowered your head, your long ears pricked towards the hole. Listening... Not a sound. This was what your parents wanted, right? But you didn't jump. As you got to your feet, a hard impact to your back sent you flying over the ground, and into the hole, the force knocking the breath out of you. And as you fell deeper, you fell unconscious, unknowingly falling through the barrier and into the depths below...