• Published 8th Jul 2015
  • 583 Views, 16 Comments

Filth - Vi



One of these Changelings is not like the others. What will happen when she is taken away from the only family and home she's ever known? Can she survive the new life she will be forced into?

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Observation

No one knew what to do with me.

On the first day, there had been many arguments between the strangers as to where I should have been sent off to. 'Should you leave a possible Nobleblood in the slums, or should you bring a commoner to the High District?' they would bicker. It was eventually decided that I would remain home.

Not that it felt like home anymore. Our store was shut down and filled with the strangers, rather than the warm, familiar smiles of our customers. They watched Mother and me for days. We couldn’t leave. We couldn’t see our friends or neighbors. ‘Observers’, was what they called themselves. Wanted to ‘document my transformation,’ they said. Apparently, there was a lot to document.

For one, those little black circles that showed up in my eyes grew into 'pupils'. The 'irises' started showing up a few days later. I have to say, I wasn’t really comfortable watching my eyes shift out of the natural blue I- well, the natural blue everyone else had. My mane even started to grow out in unnatural places on my head. By unnatural places, I mean everywhere on my head. To make it worse, it started growing and growing unbelievably fast, along with my tail. Out was my once nice and manageable mane and tail of gray. In was a long and stringy mane and tail, itching my face and dragging all over the floor. When the Observers decided they would take samples of each, I wasted no time in grabbing a Guard’s axe and slicing them both off to the base. They didn’t seem very pleased by the action, but I certainly was. They started keeping me on the table more after that one.

They kept Mother on a table too. When she wasn’t having her blood drawn, or her fangs scraped, or her birth canals examined, she was hammered by the Observers and their questions.

“Were there any unusual circumstances in the birth?”

“No, she was born just like any other changeling.”

“Where is the sire?”

“My husband passed on many years ago.”

“How did the sire die?”

“…Starvation.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. Yes, I am certain.”

“For how long did you know the sire?”

“Since we were both larvae.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, I am certain.”

“Have you ever been to the High District?”

“No.”

“Were you ever bred by a Nobleblood?”

“No…only my husband.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, I am certain.”

I could get used to the needles, and the cold hooves poking and roaming in uncomfortable places on my body. I could get used to the stiff tables, the collection of my bodily fluids and excretions, and the knowledge that a dozen strangers watched my every movement in every second of every day.

But out of everything happening over that seemingly infinte span of days, it was Mother's change which was the most disturbing. Gone was the sparky enthusiasm and over-the-top energy put into every task and conversation she eagerly took part in. In her place was a resigned and neutral-toned female changeling. She lay on the table, eyes pointed straight towards the ceiling of our home, tiredly listing off the answers to every invasive question into her life, wincing at the occasional needle being shoved deep through her carapace. They came endlessly and unforgivingly, the questions and needles, puncturing the deepest parts of her over and over again.

I could see each time she faltered. She would pull her eyes from the ceiling, and through the several Observers standing between us, she’d glance towards me, lying on a table farther away. And I could see, just barely, a corner of her lips pull up in a pained smile. Her eyes would close, and she’d inhale deeply. When her eyes finally opened, they would be once again firmly locked onto the ceiling above her.

I couldn’t help but feel guilty. All of this was because of me. But what had I done? What was I becoming? I wanted to apologize to Mother. She didn’t deserve to be here. I was the strange one. Why were they doing this? What was going to happen?

The questions stormed ceaselessly through my mind. I tried to be strong in the way Mother was. I thought about how much I loved her. But I was so afraid. What would happen if they took me away from her?