Big Book of Rythna One Shots

And The Universe Said (S)

TW: Angst ish

"Let me tell you a story," The storyteller murmured as he sank to the ground, one arm wrapped around his waist as if he was in pain. "It is the story of a monster that was born with the wrong soul. His body was designed for killing, long claws hung from his hands, teeth so sharp they pierced his own lip, a voice that could only produce the sharp click and guttering growls of their language. Any creature with eyes, ears and half a brain could tell he was a monster born from darkness. Black skin rippled with the muscles underneath as his glowing eyes illuminated the area around him. The ground around him seemed to suck up the feeble light whilst the darkness enveloped the pathetic rock they call home in a comforting blanket of nothingness."

"This was where they existed. They didn't live. Living was when life was exciting, full of emotions, and had others that made your life worthwhile living. The monster only knew this because he had seen it in others. He had never known what emotions where before the first time he left the rock. Mortals lived. They hugged and played, loved and were loved back, cared for and defended each other. That is what he wanted."

"While his body was that of a monster, his soul was more. As well as the eerie light, his eyes shone with an intelligence not seen in those surrounding him. His time in the mortal world was sat listening, trying to learn their language. It took him a long time, but he grasped the basic words, using what he knew about his own language to work out how words translated. Understanding was one thing, yet he remained incapable of reproducing the sounds he heard, let alone string them together in to recognisable words." The storyteller stopped telling his story for a moment, tensing his muscles as another wave of pain spasmed through his body. A hand gently stroked through his hair as a concerned looked crossed the face of the scientist, whose lap was currently being used as a pillow. Once the pain had died down, he continued his talking.

"The monster yearned for such a life. He wished to know what love and friendship felt like, but it was never an option for him. Others of his kind didn't recognise such things to be important, didn't see why he should wish to feel emotions. In their minds, if they needed them, they would have evolved with them. As it was, they had survived generations without and saw no reason to change now. There was one who saw the monster in another was."

"This was a new kind of creature to the world of monsters. It had lived among mortals for years, even took the shape of one of their males (despite having no gender itself), yet they had never ventured from their world. They saw differently from others, living creatures appeared as a glowing light that represented their soul. It was only once it knew the creature well enough would it be able to see its solid form. In this new world, it saw only dark shadows creeping round, all identical to each other. That was, until it saw this monster, who was a beacon on light, enclosed and trapped by the shadows around it. The soul looked much like one of a mortal and out of place in this world, yet was the same creature as the walking shadows. The soul seer noted this as an opportunity, approaching the beacon creature with as much caution as curiosity."

"The monster felt rather than saw them approach. They appeared from the void in which it had hidden itself, showing themselves to only this monster, and offered a deal. Ten years in the human world with a human body to fit its soul. Should the monster prove that it deserved to be human still, it would remain human for the rest of a mortal life span. The monster gazed in wonder at the floating saviour in front of him, and accepted the offer. A new darkness surrounded him, this one darker and more alone than that which had surrounded his home. Pain invaded everywhere, twisting, pulling and pushing his body into a new shape. The magic that flowed through his body supplying energy stuttered and confined itself to his blood. His eyes burned as they changed shape and had the colour pulled out of them, leaving mortal eyes of the deepest blue. The stretched smile of his mouth was fused back together into a smaller mouth, sharp teeth biting each other until they were ripped from their places and replaced with smaller, more rounded ones. Black skin peeled off and fell to the ground around him as new, tender, tan skin took its place. Soft, brown hair forced its way through his scalp and coated his head. Sharp claws retracted into fingers with short nails. The darkness around him rushed in and coated his body in dark clothing. With his bubble of privacy gone, the now-mortal-monster looked around to discover he was now in the human world. The soul seer floated next to him. It told him his name, then left. The mortal was tired, so he lay on the soft grass that felt so strange in his new body. It brought him the joy of new senses. He would have thought it smelt sweet, if he had known that's what the smell was called. All he knew was he liked it, that he wonder why he people had only evolved with four senses. Tiredness hugged his mind, dragging him down into the thoughtless nothingness that made up his dreams."