//------------------------------// // Mental Pictures // Story: Unforgiven Bloodline // by mr_minati //------------------------------// “Sis…. you can... slow down now.” Spiracles said through panting as he leaned against a tree and his tongue stuck out. His sister did as he said and dropped to the ground from exhaustion, her barrel rising up and down rapidly. They’ve been flying deeper into the woods intensively without taking any breaks, trying to get as far away from the raging gryphon agent as they could. “What a rush!” he said, still exhausted but with a hint of excitement still in his voice. “That was like a huge handicap for any changeling, but we still took him down! Wooo!” “What have I done? This isn’t something to be proud of at all," she sighed. "Let's hope that, Danaus --who ever he is, can help us clear up any more charges." They both laid down to rest with the melodic chirping of the birds and the distant cracking of the swaying trees to calm their hearts. Finally, the day seemed to slow down. Calyx rolled over to look at the canopy of leaves and branches above. "If he can really do that, must be some powerful changeling," Spiracles mused. “Can’t wait to meet him.” “What?” “I'm talking about Danaus. If Pa trusts him to get him free, he must be powerful changeling. Even more than Thorax!” “Nonsense!” Calyx moved to glare at him. “More powerful than Thorax? Noling. He and his brother run a whole hive, and they took down Chrysalis and her corrupted business.” “Yeah, but they don’t have influence in the underworld. Think about it, Pa never mentioned this ling before, later he commits a crime and now he tells us that’s the go-to ling. I believe that he’s the boss of the smugglers, living in this forest, Blood Oaks.” He said wiggling his tail in excitement. “ Such a fitting name for a criminal to be, don’t you think?” “No, you're exaggerating.” She turned her back on him and curled up in a ball. However, the silence of the forest allowed her to think about what her brother said.. Upon witnessing what her father buying from a smuggler back at the plaza, admittedly made her doubt a bit about meeting this stranger in the middle of the forest. Suddenly what her brother said could be more than nonsense. Feeling something poking her back, she returned to earth to find her brother was already up again. “Sis, where is this place?” he asked. “I kinda lost track of the trail.” “I don’t know.” She stood up and looked around, just as lost as her brother. “There’s no other choice than to go up again and see where we are.” “With the pissed off agent on the loose? No way, we'll be easy targets up in the open. We’re staying grounded.” He waved at her to follow and said, “Let’s keep moving.” Flaring his wings, he hovered deeper into the woods once more. “Uh-huh, keep on walking aimlessly in the woods, that way we’re definitely gonna get there in the next five years, and we sure do have the time, so it’s no big deal.” Her tone dripping with sarcasm, Calyx started up her wings and followed close. “Oh don’t be like that. I saw the place before we fell from the sky, it wasn’t that far off from here… probably,” he stated as he ducked and flew around the wild vegetation of the forest. “I’m sure we might stumble on it if we look.” Of course, almost immediately, they came across on a tall wired fence that stretched far and wide. Spiracles placed his hooves on it and shook it wildly. “Hah, what do you know!? You stick with me you’ll go places, nonbeliever.” Calyx rolled her eyes and took a peek herself. The otherside was no longer surrounded by trees and plants, but instead piles of parts from various materials and torn off sheets of metal covered the place. “Looks like a scrap yard, might not be the place since pah told us to look for a field. But still, we should go ask for directions. Some creature must live here.” She then turned at the sound of her brother clearing his throat. He was pointing at a signed stuck in the fence that read, Private Property, Do NOT Enter! "Looks like the owner doesn't welcome guesses," Spiracles said. Her ears dropped as she read the sign. The spikes on top of the fence made a lot more sense now. “So… are you just gonna give up?” “It's not wise to get into more trouble, Spiracles.” She trotted off on her way back into the woods. Suddenly, their ears flared up as a distant wailing screech from beyond the fence caught their attention. They both hesitated for a moment, until they heard it once more. Spiracles hopped over the fence to investigate. “Wait, Spiracles!” Calyx shouted. “It could be an emergency sis, come on!” “Aren't we also in an emergency right now!?” “Then that’s another good reason to go.” He flew into the scrap yard. Following the sounds of distress through mountainous piles of garbage. He kept searching and searching hurriedly until he noticed something groaning nearby. A slight rumble in a small pile caught his eye, and finally, he found the source of the sound. Shortly thereafter, Calyx landed at his side. “Hey kids! Ow!" said a struggling black changeling lying beneath several pieces of metal pipes and a torn up machine. Only his head and left foreleg was peeking out. “Do you happen… to be with an adult…? I’m in a tight situation as you can see here. I heard a roar somewhere and everything started shaking." Spiracles glanced at his sister. "Uh, no, just the two of us, sir." "Ah piss, what am I gonna do now?" the changeling sighed. "Might as well tear me to pieces while you can for all I care…" "But we can help you out." Spiracles said, approaching the victim. "Hang in there, we'll get you out." The black changeling softly chuckled at him. "Kids, this thing on top of me weighs a ton, is no use." He gave it a few taps with his only hoof. "The whole thing is metal, you see. You two won't be able to do much with it." Calyx took a look at the mess pinching him and her eyes widened. "A TC 110, wow!" She turned to Spiracles who looked back, confused by her sudden excitement. "It's a love supplement dispenser from the industrial hive! It could've been a relic if it wasn't missing the condensator, motor, the reserve… then again… it should be way lighter now since it’s incomplete." The black changeling was amazed. "Then go ahead and give it a try, little lady." He glanced at Spiracles. "See for yourselves." Rubbing his hooves, Spiracles got in position while Calyx moved some pipes out of the way. Once ready, he nodded to her and both began to push. The machine did budge a little and as they pushed more and used their wings, he was astounded to see them getting some lift. With his only hoof, he crawled and later squeezed his rear legs out. Once free, the black changeling uttered a sigh of relief and the siblings dropped the metal trap in place. "See, wasn't even that- uuh," Now seeing him in full view, Spiracles was baffled at the changeling he just helped. Half of his chitin had a large white mark running on his side that ended with multiple streaks on his barrel. His body looked skinny and his legs were perforated. It made them wonder if the poor ling could even stand. "Are you alright sir?" Calyx asked with genuine concern and slowly approached him. Only to receive a glaring look back that made her freeze. "I'm fine and stop calling me that. The name’s Scarab, kid," he said in a raspy voice. Picking himself up and dusted off himself, he continued, " And in case you're wondering, because I bet you are, no, this ain't a stain, it’s just a mark. Just a damn mark!" Scarab turned to the machine that had fallen on him to inspect it. "Hey dude, there's no shame in that. We have weird birthmarks too, see?" He showed his left forehoof, a mark was hidden on the bottom that resembled a triangle with a diamond crossing its bottom side. "We both have it, the same mark and the same area. Almost like someling made it, but Dad told us that wasn't the case." "Pfft, that's nothing compared to mine. That's easily hidden from the public." Scarab crouched and dug through a missing panel of the broken machine. "And by the way, mine isn't a birthmark. I got it late and needed to get used to the change, and you don't have any idea of all the mockery and ridiculing I had to swallow over the years because of it." Scarab winced through a series of clanks and banging as he began messing with the machine. "You got it in the factory, right?" Calyx asked as the noises stopped. "I saw a couple pieces of the old equipment that was used there lying around. You used to work there, didn’t you?" Scarab paused for a moment and got his hoof out, holding a shiny metal piece from the machine. Chuckling at it, he turned to Calyx. "Maybe, but don't assume just from all the things scattered here. This ain't my place. None of this stuff is mine, this is Gawlfer's mess. So, thanks for helping but you two better get going while it's clear. If Gawlfer finds two little bugs wandering around, he'll squish you." "Two? What about you, pal?" Spiracles asked. "Me? Well, nothing." Scarab spun the shiny part around with a jovial smile. "He's my friend. I just help sort this place. He has his head somewhere else, but he keeps bringing in garbage from anywhere. So many things start getting lost and I just can't stand it, honestly." "Right…" Calyx said as she glanced at her brother. Spiracles just shrugged. "Anyways, we're off then. Bye dude." Spiracles waved and took off to leave the scrap yard. "Spiracles no!" He stopped in his tracks, wondering why Calyx stopped him. "We're lost remember! You don't know where you going and I'm not gonna follow you." She turned to Scarab, "Sir?" He cleared his throat and glared back. "Scarab, sorry, can you please help us? We're looking for Danaus and-" "Nope." Scarab cut her off. "I don't owe you two nothing so I ain’t doing any favors.’ "B-but all I’m asking is for directions!" Spiracles flew back down. "Come on, how can you be like this? We just saved your flank!" He stared stoically for a moment at Spiracles and took a deep breath. "I don't know him, sorry." Calyx ears dropped and she turned away. "Thanks…" "Thanks for nothing, pal." Spiracles glared and turned to his sister. "Let's go find Gawlfer, maybe he's not so heartless." Before they made it too far, Scarab ran after them. "Wait, hold up, kids!" It was then that a noise caught their attention. The crazed honking of birds started to grow in the distance. They glanced around to find what caused it, until from above, a skein of geese rained down on them, surrounding the trio as they landed, stretching their necks and honking wildly. "Aw crap!" Spiracles fixed his cap. "Where did they even came from?" "Gawlfer must've let them out," Scarab replied as he slowly backed away. "Just hold still kids, these birds will go away if we don't move." The kids nodded and did what they were told. They held their places as still as possible, but the menacing geese kept creeping in on them, some even flapped their wings in an effort to look more threatening. "Um, I don’t think it’s working, Scarab. Scarab?" Calyx turned to find Scarab running away. "That filthy worm! Why did we even bother helping him!?" Scarab flew with the part tightly in his grasp, ignoring the siblings bellow until three more geese showed up in front of him and he halted. "Alright, you caught me!" He released the part letting it fall back to the scrap yard. "See, I've turned it back. Now let me just- Aaaah!" The geese viciously attacked Scarab, relentlessly pecking him down, not even stopping as the changeling fell behind a pile of scrap and out of sight. "Oh my goodness! Is he alright!?" Spiracles quickly took two small pieces of wooden planks. "Question is, are we gonna be alright?" He tossed one to Calyx. "Swing it in the air, let's make them back away as we go through the fence." Calyx nodded in agreement and they both began swinging their weapons randomly, making the geese back away. Afraid but relentless, the geese just kept circling around honking angrily as the two pressed on. Any time one of the birds got dangerously close they warned back with a swing of the plank. Suddenly, a honk from above caught them by surprise. As Calyx looked up just as it was already too late. One of the geese dove and caught her defenseless. She screamed in pain as the pecks got through her chitin. Other geese took advantage of the situation to join on the attack, but a swift spank from Spiracles, knocked it back and kept the rest from approaching their changeling prey. "Sis, pick your plank up, I can't hold- OW!" Spiracles couldn’t finish as more geese attacked his exposed back. He kept hitting blindly and more feathers flew in the air, but there was no end to them. "Screw it, let’s get out of here! Aaahh" In a panic, Calyx picked up her weapon and swung blindly as she ran, Spiracles following close behind. As fast as they could, they zig-zagged through the heaps of trash piled in the field, the geese relentlessly chasing them down. Two geese managed to flanked the changelings, but only to meet a smack sending it flapping away. The endless harassment was all too much and Calyx couldn't take the torture any longer. “Just leave us be! We don’t wanna be here!” She yelled in a pained tone, but it was all in vain. One of the geese flew on top of her again and pecked at her head. Letting out a cry of rage, she trashed around and whacked the attacker off her back. Her brother skidded to a halt as he found himself surrounded once more. The large birds didn’t wait for a second and jumped at him all at once, overwhelming the poor little changeling who just curled up on the floor covering his head as best he could. Lucky for him, the attack subsided and all he could hear was every goose honking in distress. He peeked from behind his forelegs to see feathers raining down and Calyx panting and scared while the menacing geese fled in panic and featherless. “Damn, sis, you’re on fire today!” “I-I messed up again…” She said while taking back her breath. “Why do the animals hate us so much!? I don’t want to hurt them, but they always attack me! Why does this keep happening?” Spiracles took his cap off and brushed away some feathers. Hat straightened back on his head, he put a hoof on Calyx’s shoulder. “Come on, don't be so hard on yourself. That’s my job. You know those kinds of birds are inherently bad to anyling. You saw what they did to that idiot of Scarab, it wasn’t just us." “But that was probably our fault too! I don’t think they would’ve been so rowdy in the first place. I hope he's okay...” Spiracles snorted. “That dirty crook got what he deserved, hardly a loss, really. Now let’s keep on going, because there’s a certain changeling that needs us right now. Hopefully we’ll make up today’s mistakes.” Kshhhk! Beep! The siblings gasped as their little ears picked up the frightening and familiar noise. Not a second passed, the kids hopped the fence and ran back into the woods. What seemed like hours of intense galloping and the woods looked as if they’d never end. Their surroundings looked exactly the same in every direction with no sign of a road. In the still of the woods, Spiracles heard something as they galloped. The soothing sound of the flowing water. Following the noise, it eventually led them to a stream that snaked through the forest. “Haha! Now we’re back on track! I remember seeing a river close by. So let’s go upstream!” Spiracles pointed. Calyx looked skeptically. “You saw that too? Considering what happened last time you ‘remembered something,’ I think I’ll keep skeptical..” She replied with half closed eyes. “This isn’t even big enough to be a river, idiot, It’s a stream! We’re lost Spiracles, admit it! This place is way too big to keep on wandering around like this!” “We’re not lost!” He tapped his head. “I took pictures of the scenery with my mind before that agent took us down. But, since you don’t believe me, why don’t you go up and take a good look for yourself while giving our position away? You heard pretty clear that that agent is still around, didn’t you?” Calyx stared at Spiracles, but had nothing to say. “That’s what I thought. Now, upstream we go!” Spiracles went onward, and Calyx frowned and sighed. "Whatever you say, chief.” Sitting at the stream were a couple of boulders next to one another. The sight spurred an urge in Spiracles. He licked his lips and hopped on the first boulder, then jumped to the second. With one final leap, he jumped, splashing into the stream. “Quit messing around! You're gonna get us caught,” Calyx warned keeping her distance from the as she passed. Spiracles kicked up more water as he galloped faster in an attempt to catch his sister, squinting his eyes as the cold water bathed his face and soaked his chitin. However, Calyx has stopped for some reason.. Following her line of sight, he spotted a conspicuous white plastic barrel sitting right in the middle of the stream. Taking to the air, they both hovered to inspect the plastic cylinder. “Was this purposely placed here...?” Calyx asked spotting little holes punctured at its bottom where the water flowed through. Curious, Spiracles lifted its lid. “Ouch!” Calyx yelped as something smacked her flank. Spiracles dropped it, and glanced around. His sister was rubbing her flank when he spotted a slender black changeling on the other side of the stream. The stranger's purple eyes glared at them and then it threw another rock at him. He ducked in time to dodge, missing a potential hit in the head. “Leave it alone you nosy-lings!” the stranger yelled. “Did you just throw a rock at me!?” Calyx exclaimed. “Stay away from my fish!” Calyx raised an eyebrow. “There's fish in this stream?” “Ooh!” Spiracles lifted the lid again and they both looked inside. The stranger flew towards them. “Yes and they're mine!” “Nope, nothing but water there, ma'am,” Spiracles replied, disappointed. “If you leave it alone there will be soon,” the stranger said grumpily as she opened it herself. She took a quick look inside before shifting the barrel while murmuring to herself. “What do you do with the fish you catch, anyways?” Calyx asked. The stranger paused and licked her fangs. “I eat them, of course.” She saw the look of shock and disgust on the siblings and couldn't help but smirk. “What, you don't like it, little-lings?” she said in a mocking tone. They both shook. “We’ve never met any-ling who does…” “Then you two are missing out, it's brain food after all and it does the body go-" She paused and eyed their scraped up chitin. “Looks like you’d need some. But you're not getting any of mine, though.” “Don't worry, we don't want it, ma'am.” “Good,” she flicked her hoof. “Go away.” Finally taking a better look at the stranger, Calyx noticed that she wore a red wing cover and a belt. “You know, it wasn't very nice of you to throw rocks at us.” “And it wasn't nice of you two to touch what isn't yours,” She bickered. “Alright fair enough, sorry,” Calyx replied. “We were told of a road that leads to Danaus’ place. Can you tell us where it is so we can leave.” The stranger eyed them from top to bottom. “What’s your deal with Danaus?” Spiracles clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Uh uh uh, that's not of your concern, ma'am.” “We're just delivering a message! N-nothing suspicious or anything, ma'am,” Calyx quickly added with a sheepish grin. The stranger frowned. “Call me Toxidia, no more ma'am, and it does concern me. He's my neighbor.” Calyx raised an eyebrow. “You live here and still wear that?” She pointed at her wing cover and belt. “That’s the old factory uniform. Weird to see one being worn right now and in decent condition.” She smiled. “Very observant, little-ling,” and tapped her belt. “I kept mine just because it’s useful and has endured the test of time. No creature has a problem with it here, after all. That era is long gone now...” “Useful, huh...?” “Yes... You two certainly are an insufferable little pair, but surprisingly not quite as ignorant as some others. Tell me, what are your names?” she asked lowering her head meeting them eye to eye. The young-lings slowly backed away as soon as they smelled her fishy breath. “Calyx.” “Spiracles.” Both replied holding their breath. As soon as the stranger heard the names, she pursed her lips and shook her head, leaving the two with quizzical looks. “Ugh, terrible names they picked for you two. Whoever gave you those didn't care at all. I almost feel pity,” she said with half closed eyes. They both furrowed their brows and halted their hovering, planting their hooves on the water with a slight splash. “Hey!” Spiracles called annoyed. “What's so bad about our names?” “Oh, nothing much. Those are the names given to the heirs back in the industrial hive. The two cursed children of the last Executive.” She replied in a bitter tone. “Heirs?” Spiracles asked, suppressing the urge to laugh. “What are you talking about?” Calyx glanced at her brother. “There's no such thing, the last Executive had a cursed and couldn't have changelings of her own.That was her mother’s revenge, every-ling knows that, you're making this up.” Calyx crossed her soaked forehoofs and scowled at the older-ling. Toxidia laughed. “Every-ling? And who are they to prove me wrong?” Spiracles put his dripping hoof on his chest. “We're from Thorax's hive and we’ve, nor any-ling, ever mentioned that, not even our dad, and they all came from that factory. Who are you to say that’s true?” Toxidia let out a heavy sigh and turned to her side and pulled a badge out of her pocket. “You might know about the uniform, but what about this badge?” Calyx took a look. It was a silver badge with Toxidia’s name printed on it, but she shrugged. “No, all I see is a common badge, but in silver. What about it?” Toxidia smiled. “Well, you’re going to learn something new. These ones are handed out by the Executive herself, for special duties. Only a few others had them, and all of them were from the high table. Me being the exception, of course. My duty was to take care of the heirs secretly while she was busy setting up her schemes for the industry.” “Oh, and you're proud of that?” Spiracles asked. “Of course not! I hated every single day that I spent with those horrendous hatchlings! Every day was torment. But… even now, I can't seem to throw this away.” "If the last Executive did have two changelings, as you say, what happened to them during the revolt?" Calyx asked a bit intrigued. “You don’t seem worried or bothered at all.” "Then you know the answer..." she smirked, her eyes shifted to the barrel in the stream and she tapped it a few times. "Though can't confirm it, I assure you, they didn't make it out. Those two were hidden in the sharp tools plant, the only one that got burned down. The last Executive didn’t have a chance to save them, she was... too busy being executed, and with me as the good caretaker that I was, they were left to burn with it!" Toxidia burst into laughter, going so far as to slap the barrel like it was her knee. “The workers had no idea of the huge favor they did by burning down that plant. Such a pleasing sight back then!” The scene couldn’t have been more uncomfortable for Calyx. The unsettling laughter went on without pause until it really started to hurt. Actually, something had stung her in the leg. “Aaah! Ow owow Ooow!” she let out I cried in pain making Toxidia flinched. Calyx jumped and jerked her foreleg out of the water to find a smooth blue rock with two claws clamping on her. “WHAT THE HECK IS THIS THING!?” She tried to shake it off but the rock creature clamped tightier. Spiracles quickly buzzed off to keep his legs away from the stream. “Ha, look what came out to say hello!” Toxidia said and rushed to her. “Don't move or the crab will only pinch you harder!” Biting her lower lip to numb the pain, she held her hoof still. Toxidia grabbed her foreleg with one hoof and with the other she grabbed the rock creature. With her muzzle up close, she bit down the creature's claw and yanked it free. Toxidia tossed the creature back to the stream, then inspected Calyx’s hoof. Apart from some tiny bite marks, there didn’t seem to be any real damage, but a peculiar looking scar under the hoof caught her eye. “Hmm…” she squinted to get a better look at the scar, and it seemed to be a triangle with a diamond on its bottom side.. “That’s just my birth mark,” Calyx admitted, quickly taking her hoof back and massaging it. “I’ll be fine...” Spiracles saw her sister hold back a tear as she continued to rub the bite. “This whole place really sucks. This whole day really sucks. Can you just tell us where the road is so we can leave?” He begged the bitter stranger.Toxidia gave them a bone chilling glare, but simply pointed back to the woods. “Keep going straight. In five minutes or so, you'll find the road.” With a simple nod, they flew to the given direction. Spiracles looked back to see the stranger standing motionless, that dark glare still on her face.. Unable to discern what was causing it,e ignored her and faced forward. “What's gotten into her?” Calyx asked. “Not sure… Maybe fish aren’t so good for the brain after all.”