Week 7, Title: Of Gods and Monsters
Jan. 29th, 2016 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swirlsofpurpleShe watches her former charges stand in a line, their woman-child bodies stretching upwards, waiting to see who will be chosen. Some look at the floor, some straight ahead, some of their heads tilt down with their gaze straying towards him. One turns to her, she holds the gaze; she owes the girl this much. It’s said that the one who stands before them, eyeing these offerings, is a God. Some of the girls are believers and some are not; she’s still unsure which is best for them. Her chest aches from weariness and her eyes sting from too much time. Her joints groan against each other and her fingers, resting on her walking stick, throb.
The audience are indifferent. They have been raised with this yearly ritual. It is separate to them, doesn’t touch them, they are inured. She remembers long ago when they would look upon her with disgust and fear and misses those days; the days when the younglings they gave up still affected them.
For decades she raised these children to give them away.
The one making his choice may be a God, or he may not be. But she knows one thing for certain: he is a Devil too.
*
She remembers the beginning. There was a demon haunting their village, leaving bloodied corpses in its wake.
The first time the self-named God made his offer they all balked at the insanity. Who would give up their children for an idle promise of safety?
But none could even touch the demon, powerful as it was. And it left more bodies, seeding the village with fear, and the offers continued on. Until, eventually, they tiredly began to negotiate.
Still, no one would give up their children.
She found a solution.
They made a deal with the God and the demon was defeated.
She gathered together every foundling child, and raised them away from the rest of the village, thus letting everyone forget. She always knew it was wrong. She always knew she had to do it. She couldn’t leave this soul-rending job to someone else.
She’s pulled back to the present by Unika being chosen. The girl looks him right in the eye. She knows every one of the girls’ beliefs, what they think of this, whether they want this. But not Unika, this one has always been a closed book. She thinks the girl may just surprise him.
She prays for her.
*
They are alone, sitting across from each other. He does enjoy the strong, assured ones, especially those without bluster. The girl, Unika, is still staring, but now smiling slightly. He looks forward to taking her apart.
“And what is so amusing,” he asks, grinning.
“That you forget me so quickly.”
“Well, humans are forgettable. We’ve met before I take it.”
Her smile is smug, she stands and walks towards him, “A long time ago.”
He scoffs, “You are far too young to understand long ago.”
She moves to straddle him and grins, “I’m a lot older than I look. Did you think you would be rid of me so easily?”
He laughs. “Oh, this is delightful. You want me to believe you are that demon creature, to what end, that we might find comradery? I would know if she had possessed you.”
“That’s exactly why I possessed no one. I am this girl. I grew from a babe, this is my flesh.”
Eyes narrow, he leans away. “That is not possible.”
She runs her fingers through his hair before grasping a fistful, “Are you really so surprised? These humans are forever making deals to rid themselves of their demons.”
He realises he cannot move as her mouth opens wide, and wider, and wider still, a hundred thin sharp teeth gleam as they close in.
She bites off his head.
The audience are indifferent. They have been raised with this yearly ritual. It is separate to them, doesn’t touch them, they are inured. She remembers long ago when they would look upon her with disgust and fear and misses those days; the days when the younglings they gave up still affected them.
For decades she raised these children to give them away.
The one making his choice may be a God, or he may not be. But she knows one thing for certain: he is a Devil too.
*
She remembers the beginning. There was a demon haunting their village, leaving bloodied corpses in its wake.
The first time the self-named God made his offer they all balked at the insanity. Who would give up their children for an idle promise of safety?
But none could even touch the demon, powerful as it was. And it left more bodies, seeding the village with fear, and the offers continued on. Until, eventually, they tiredly began to negotiate.
Still, no one would give up their children.
She found a solution.
They made a deal with the God and the demon was defeated.
She gathered together every foundling child, and raised them away from the rest of the village, thus letting everyone forget. She always knew it was wrong. She always knew she had to do it. She couldn’t leave this soul-rending job to someone else.
She’s pulled back to the present by Unika being chosen. The girl looks him right in the eye. She knows every one of the girls’ beliefs, what they think of this, whether they want this. But not Unika, this one has always been a closed book. She thinks the girl may just surprise him.
She prays for her.
*
They are alone, sitting across from each other. He does enjoy the strong, assured ones, especially those without bluster. The girl, Unika, is still staring, but now smiling slightly. He looks forward to taking her apart.
“And what is so amusing,” he asks, grinning.
“That you forget me so quickly.”
“Well, humans are forgettable. We’ve met before I take it.”
Her smile is smug, she stands and walks towards him, “A long time ago.”
He scoffs, “You are far too young to understand long ago.”
She moves to straddle him and grins, “I’m a lot older than I look. Did you think you would be rid of me so easily?”
He laughs. “Oh, this is delightful. You want me to believe you are that demon creature, to what end, that we might find comradery? I would know if she had possessed you.”
“That’s exactly why I possessed no one. I am this girl. I grew from a babe, this is my flesh.”
Eyes narrow, he leans away. “That is not possible.”
She runs her fingers through his hair before grasping a fistful, “Are you really so surprised? These humans are forever making deals to rid themselves of their demons.”
He realises he cannot move as her mouth opens wide, and wider, and wider still, a hundred thin sharp teeth gleam as they close in.
She bites off his head.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2016-01-30 01:55 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2016-01-30 07:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-30 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-30 07:06 pm (UTC)I was planning on making it longer, I might do a longer re-write at some point.
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Date: 2016-01-30 07:38 pm (UTC)He looks forward to taking her apart.
The woman who raises the foundlings is right, then. The self-made god is also evil. It is a thin line, really, when what makes you a god is merely power.
What a terrible and practical solution, to give away the girls who belong to no one, though it also relieves the villagers of having to look for a better solution.
That the demon was clever enough to hide herself in a real girl for a time (and demons are so terribly clever) was a wonderful twist.
I found myself rooting for her, simply because neither of them was good but the man-god was smug and pretended that he was not also evil.
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Date: 2016-02-01 03:48 pm (UTC)Yep, power and perceptions. Also he wanted people as payment, so that's never a good start.
Glad you liked that twist :).
I did hope people would root for her. Now there's just the worry of what she does next ;).
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Date: 2016-01-31 10:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-01 03:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-01 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-01 03:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-01 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-01 06:47 pm (UTC)It's very sad that these things continue to happen.
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Date: 2016-02-01 07:55 pm (UTC)Anyhow, great piece.
This piece made me think of my favorite insect. Here's a song about that insect.
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Date: 2016-02-01 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-02-01 10:08 pm (UTC)~
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Date: 2016-02-02 05:57 pm (UTC)