//------------------------------// // Raining Blood // Story: The Amulet of Anubis // by DemonWriterX //------------------------------// Daring felt the weight of the bracelet grow heavier as she stared at the unconscious Aila. She rubbed her arm slightly touching the cold metal of the band. She winced a bit feeling a sharp pain on her left shoulder. She glanced down to see the large, deep cut Aila gave her in their battle. It was a jagged cut, from the top of her shoulder down to the middle of her collar bone. She let out a shaky breath as the dark blood ran down her arm staining her dress and coat. Blood didn’t bother her, but the wound caused some concerns, and the pain was quickly shooting through her. Izel turned hearing Daring's rapid breathing, his eyes narrowed in a glare. Ahuizotl’s eyes widened slightly seeing a small pool of blood beneath her hooves. "Foolish mare-" Izel spat. "You are letting the wound fester, soon the flies will come, go and wash it out." He said waving her out the tent door. Daring let out a soft hiss taking a step back. "I thought your were a doctor, can't you fix it?" He turned his back to her, putting his attention on Aila. "I am busy with this one, I need to watch her to make sure she doesn't stop breathing..." "I shall look at it-" Ahuizotl said. Daring gave him a wary glance. "Are you sure you can fix this?" She asked. "I think I might need stitches...." "Izel taught me everything I know, and I am steady with a needle. Come....before the tribe sees you, an injured mare is a dead one." He said darkly heading to the exit. "What do you mean by that?" "I mean that anypony can challenge you even if you are injured and take your place." She scoffed as she followed him out. "Your people are very lovely." ------------------------------------------------------------- Ahuizotl placed a needle over the flame of a candle, sterilizing it before he could begin sewing her cut. Daring sat in front of him holding a wet moss over her wound, acting like a sponge and relieving the pain. They both sat in his room, away from the prying eyes of the tribe who might try to seize an opportunity to take her place. She blinked slowly, feeling drowsy. "Stay awake, Miss Do… or you might just go in a coma." He chuckled. She gave him a glare, and removed the moss once he threaded the needle. "Just make it quick." She snapped not sharing his sense of humor. He shrugged as he went up to her wound going to the collarbone first, where the cut was not as deep and to work his way up. "Would you prefer a stick to bite on?" He smirked "This might hurt." She raised her chin up, holding a harsh frown. "Just hurry up and do it!" He didn't waste time driving the hot needle through her flesh. She let out a grunt biting her tongue from keeping herself from crying out. She heard Ahuizotl let out a chuckle seeing her pain stricken face he was holding as he sewed up her skin as if it was a piece of quilt. While fighting with pain she couldn't help but notice how still and nimble his hand was when he sewed. It was a surprise. "Did Izel teach you how to do this?" She asked. Ahuizotl let out a sigh, his hot breath hitting against her shoulder. "Yes, when I was younger he taught me how to help the injured, as well as healing myself from deeper wounds, my salvia can only help in small cuts." "How long was that fossil with you?" She smirked, Ahuizotl let out a small chuckle as he bit down on the string, cutting it. "Since I was a mere babe." He answered, moving his head back to examine his sewing pattern. He toss her the moss, making her place it over her shoulder. "That long? ....was there another Ahuizotl before you that I should worry about?" She questioned with a smile. She always did wonder if there was more of his species out there. This was a perfect time to ask. He placed the needle down on a piece of cloth, holding a small frown. "No..." He muttered. "They were killed off when I was a newborn pup." Her eyes shot wide open. "Killed off?" "Yes, I do not know the reason, but Izel found me underneath my dead mother..." He swallowed, his eyes narrowed as a distant memory flashed in his eyes as he continued. "He raised me fairly, I come to know him as a father." He said holding a stoic frown. Daring bit the inside of her cheek, it is what she has suspected, there was no other like Ahuizotl. It made her feel pity for him, just a little. After all she couldn't forget the times he tried to kill her. "I am sorry." She sighed. "Losing your family like that..." He suddenly let out a snort of laughter, making her whirl at him in surprise which grew into anger. "What's so funny?!" She demanded. "Forgive me.." He said stifling out a laugh. "You are being too sentimental, such things, they are in past, I do not remember my people, my mother or the killings and yet you feel sadness when I do not." "Don't you miss them?" She asked giving him a scowl. "Your mother at least? Who probably gave her life protecting you?" She said with a hint of anger from his lack of emotion. He shrugged. "Do you want me to weep? I did not shed a tear when Izel told me when I was a child, yet sometimes I do long to see another one of my kind...but I know that is for naught, why hope? When you know your people are dead?" He paused for a moment. "You ask me if I miss the female who gave birth to me, I do not, you might think of me as heartless but I did not know her, I do not remember her face so why would I miss her, if I had not seen or feel or felt love from her?" "To show others that you have a soul!" She snarled, going to her hooves. He let out a sniff as he put a hand to his chest. "If only-" he smirked. "But...I would have liked to meet her, perhaps in the next life." He said waving to subject off. She let out a snort. He was still the same, cruel and ruthless. She pressed the moss against her and growled in irritation seeing that it was sapped out of its moisture. She reached out for the bowl of water beside her to dampen the plant. Ahuizotl pulled it away swiftly. "What the hell!" She yelled out slamming the moss down. "You will loosen the stitches if you continue showering yourself." He explained with a glare. "It. Hurts." "I have medication for you to eat, that should lessen your pain." He explained reaching his tail out behind him towards some mason jars. He reached inside taking out a small dried leaves . It was brittle to the touch when he brought it over to her. He placed the leaves in a small bowl of hot water. With a stir with his finger the leaves turned the water yellow. He placed the bowl into her hooves. She sniffed it uncertain of the smell. "Swallow. It is a pain-killer." She placed her lips on the bowl right away, but it was no miracle, it would take an hour for it to take effect. "You should rest, the medication will make you drowsy, I must go and tend to my tribe." He said getting up. "You mean give orders?" She replied snarkily. "Of course. I am their leader. " he respond cooly before leaving her be. Daring fell on her back staring up at the tent ceiling as she tried to get comfortable with the many pillows resting beneath her. She couldn't help but think of the killer, so far she was hitting dead ends, no witnesses, no suspects and no evidence. She was starting to think this was a lost cause when she closed her eyes. --------------------------------------------------------- Dark. Everything was dark. Daring walked through the darkness trying to find a source of light, but it felt as if she was in a cave and her hoof steps echoing around her. She stopped abruptly to take her bearings. Black. Black. Nothing but black, where was she? How did she even get here? Suddenly there was movement. She whirled to her left, only to see a dark form dart off heading in front her almost like a shadow. As she approached it she went into a crouching stance, she felt the hair in the back of her neck stand up, her breathing quickened as the form slowly stood up, liquefying itself. It looked like oil, as droplets fell to floor as a pony's head formed, just a head attached to snake like strand puddling beneath it. She let out a shaky breath at the monstrosity before her as she watched it tilt its head to the side and opened its mouth revealing rows of sharp teeth. "W-what-!" It tackled her with a demonic scream, pushing her onto her back. Its mouth snapped at her as she struggled against it, punching and kicking which went through it like she was hitting nothing . She punched at the head actually making contact as the face sunk in, only for it to ripple and form back letting an ear piercing scream. What she could describe as a tentacle appeared behind the beast forming into a sharp point, the beast positioned it above her chest and drove forward. She let out a scream of pain as the beast retracted the tentacle out of her stomach to give her another stab before she suddenly woke up. --------------------------------------------------------------- "Daring! Daring Do! What happened? Wake up! Who did this?" He demanded, almost screaming at her. She looked at him with blood-shot eyes and immediately looked down and saw that she was covered in blood, from a stab to her stomach. "Y-you stabbed me?" She stammered, in a almost a horrified whisper. She immeditatly pulled herself away from him stumbling in her attempt to escape. "You stabbed me. You stabbed me!" She shouted. "Daring Do stop!" With just a few steps she fell forward, clutching her stomach trying to stop herself from bleeding out. He reached out to her. "Don't touch me! Y-You stabbed me! You stabbed me!" She accused him as she was spitting out blood, the taste of iron almost made her want to throw up. "I did not attack you, Miss Do!" He shouted reaching out her again. "I found you this way! Do you remember what happened?" She shook her head as the room began to spin. "N-no you stabbed me...I know you did, you stabbed me when I was...was..y-you.." "Daring! Wake up!" He let out an array of curse words as she went limp, struggling to be conscious. He pushed her gently onto her back, ripping off the dress to assess the wound. It was a deep wound going in at three inches. He grabbed the ripped up dress bundling it and pressed it against her wound. He yelled out for Izel who rushed to his aid and began to help. "What in the name of Tartarus happened!" Izel shouted, taking out his needles. He began stabbing her abdomen to stop the blood from flowing out. "Move!" He commanded to Ahuizotl who had his hand pressed against her stomach. "I need to press against it!" He argued. "You fool! You have done enough! Let me do my part!" Ahuizotl seethed and reluctantly pulled his hand away, taking the pieces of cloth as he watched Izel stabbed the needles around the wound. "Hand me a knife..."Izel began peering inside it. "I fear it might be far damaging then we realize."