This thread was locked and I have been asked to re-open it, so here it is.
Black Fang

I am not a friend. I am not a friend of anything that hates me or loves me because both will cause me pain. I am only a friend of those who speak to me with a silent voice, a presence that no one feels, though it is always there.
I am a friend of the trees, the water, the plants, the grass. the sky, the clouds, the rain, the thunder, the lightning. I am only a friend of the black barn owl, that had saved my life. The only living thing I respect. More, the only living thing to humans.
I know that the trees are alive, the water, the clouds, the thunder, the lightning. All is with life, no matter the thoughts of "living things."
I cried out to the stars, the shining stars on their black table, serving the moon, the moon in its throne, watching the happenings of the earth and the heavens. I cried out to the night, with the silent wind, the never-ending darkness, the never-ending beauty.
I cried out to the black owl, with its heart-shaped face and smooth, patterned feathers.
I cried out to the trees, the wisest of all beings. I cried out to the mountains, the tallest and broadest of the world, no matter the comparison to the others.
I cried out to the hidden sun, blazing somewhere else, somewhere I could not see.
I called to the world and the world called back to me, whispered that it knew I was there, that its servant, its protector, its child, dared to acknowledge it.
That I was an existence in the world, that I was solid on its grounds, emotions inside me, and that I was no human.
That I was Urol Naminget. Black Fang.
The world hummed with the name that I was called. Black Fang.
And then, the wind whispered my name. My true name.
Abyss.
The black owl hooted. It screamed back with me, a child of the earth as well.
I narrowed by black eyes, no white at all, scanning. Then I saw her.
Rising from a patch of white flowers, Trwind Folyrei. Mother of the earth.
She was only a presence, a ghost of a life, a shadow, a moonbeam. But she was there. I saw her smile, the softest and most beautiful smile that could form on anyone's lips.
Black Fang. Her voice was inside me, an echo that did not come back, a ripple that did not move. Why is it that you call to me?
I looked down.
You hesitate. she said. ... Ahhhh.
Of course she knew. Well?
"If you already know, why must I tell you?" I asked her, biting back the sharp scorn in my words.
Her sigh was like the wind blowing through the branches of the elm trees that surrounded me. Do not ask me to grow it again.
"You know very well that I have asked you before you say I have not," I said. Her eyes flickered.
If you wish it to be so. She drifted past me, towards the small rock that I used as a stool to reach the black owl's nest. I followed her silently. I seated myself on its hard surface.
What am I asking Trwind Folyrei to grow again? The bone at the base of my neck that keeps me from turning into my true form. Every nine years it wears away, and I do what I do now. I beg the Mother of Earth to grow it back, fearing my true body. Her fingers brushed the base of my neck and the bone expanded under my flesh, creating a new pressure.
"Thank you," I whispered guiltily.
She made no response. And then she was gone, not a trace that she had existed.

Snap. My head jerked up. My body pulsed with energy as I lifted myself off of the damp leaves. I felt the back of my neck. The bone was there. The sound had come from a mile or two away, and it was the sound of a branch. No, not a branch...
I bolted. My fury added more energy to my body as I raced towards the sound. I heard it scream. Scream in agony, dying as I ran. The sound rang in my ears. I had to get to it.
I called out to it, asked its name.
Eko.
I pushed my legs harder, motivated by the pain that Eko had. I let out a war cry as I came upon the man, his fingers gripped around the handle of an ax in mid-swing. When he saw me he changed the direction of the blade, aiming at my stomach. I easily dodged the blow, twisting my thin body around behind him.
I leaped nimbly into his back and sank my black fangs into his neck. He screamed. Screamed like Eko, who had a nick in her thick, gray trunk, and was still screaming silently.
I released my jaws and the human dropped to the ground. I left him there, writhing in pain.
I leaned my forehead onto Eko the tree. "Eko," I whispered. "Are you alright?"
I don't believe so. I looked down at the slice in the bark. It wasn't deep, but it was near the roots and sap was already gushing from it. Not a trees behavior to the human eye. I put my hands on each side of the indent and pushed inward. The gap closed, although there was still a small scratch where it still had to heal.
Thank you.
I nodded to Eko. As I turned. I heard something whistle through the air. I didn't even flinch as I reached back and caught the ax by its rough wooden handle. I turned and glared at the man. He was standing up, pressing one hand to his bleeding neck. His eyes were slow to widen with fear when he realized the ax wasn't buried in my back.
"Get out of here!" I hissed. "Go! And if you send anyone at all, I will not let you live a second time!"
He didn't move until I narrowed my eyes and stepped forward, baring my teeth. He ran away into the woods. I looked down at the ax in my hand, disgusted that I was still holding it. I dropped it and it thudded into the dirt. Worms crawled up from under the earth and swarmed it, some getting cut on the sharp blade, and soon it was gone.
I went to the rock I had sat on last night and stood on it, and then my head peeked over the edge of a large nest, in which the black barn owl sat, sleeping. "Black Owl," I whispered to her. "Won't you tell me your name?"
The owl blinked her eyes sleepily and I could see the smile on her beak. No. She hadn't told me her name, so I only referred to her as Urol Frqu, Black Owl. A twin name to my own. I held out my arm and she gripped it with her beautiful talons. I climbed down carefully, balancing the weight of Black Owl with my own. I walked with her on my arm, peacefully among the undiscovered world to the humans, to even the animals(though I had granted Black Owl the power to hear them, too). It was my home, my haven. I could not even live with the snakes, which was the only creature I respected under Black Owl, but I would still lash out at them if they got too close.
I breathed in the air. It was fresh, though it carried every ounce of dust and dirt in it, it was as flawless as the still water. Black Owl hooted softly. I wish I could respect and love the animals as well, but I could not. It was not in my nature. Trwind Folyrei had made it that way. It was she that had granted me the ability to befriend the black barn owl that had saved my life. And she that had given me life in the first place. Memories suddenly flashed into my mind, and I staggered. Black Owl took to the air with a startled screech. She landed on a branch, her black eyes filled with concern.
Hello, child.
A voice spoke. She could not understand. Who was it? Where was it coming from? What did it mean?
Awaken, child.
She struggled to get the words out. 'Who are you?'
I am Trwind Folyrei, mother of earth. And you are my servant, my protector, my child. You are Abyss. Urol Naminget, Black Fang.
She opened her eyes. There was green. Lots of green above her. And bits of blue between the green. 'Leaves. Trees. Sky.'
Then a face. An indescribable face that was as beautiful as the moon and as sweet as a day lily. Moon? Day lily? What were those?
You belong to me, child.
Then I was falling. Falling through a dark chasm, falling and falling, gravity pulling me down forever.
She was older. Stronger. Bolder. She could fight, hide, run, move.
This looks like a good one.
She turned. Who was that? Who was speaking? Men. Hate seethed within her. She had only just learned of men, and she knew they were bad. Very bad.
I agree.
There was no more speech after that. I thought the men had gone away. I went back to studying the smooth pebble that was lying in the grass. It was strange for such a perfect pebble to be here in the grass, so far from the small giggling creek that ran through the forest.
Then, her arms were pinned behind her back and she was hauled upright. She tried to get loose, but then her attacker held a knife to her throat.
Don't try anything.
She nodded weakly. The blade was slowly lowered. She was forced to turn, and walk away from the trees. Then there was a terrifying screech, and a black barn owl, with its beak wide open in its heart-shaped face. It dove at the men behind her and then she was free. Then she was running away. Running and running from the screams and screeches of the men and the black owl.
"Stop!" I screamed. "Get out of my head!"
My mind stopped swirling. My head hurt. I stumbled forward, disoriented. I put my hand against the strong bark of a tree to steady myself. I muttered my thanks to it.
"I do not belong to you," I whispered. "You will no longer twist my thoughts. You will no longer control me."
The earth seemed to hum angrily in reply. "Yeah, whatever," I said, glaring down at the ground.
"I do not belong to you."

I stared into the water of a clear pond, looking at my reflection. They were a strange thing, reflections. They too lived and breathed, like so many other things the humans mistook as simply there for them to use and admire. I didn't speak to it, just gazed into the depths of my pure black eyes, examined my dagger-like black fangs. I did this often, thinking and looking, tearing myself apart by seeing what I look like. And I knew I still belonged to those which I said I did not. I was still bound to my creator. Was I?
I do not like my reflection, but I can never take my eyes off of it. It intrigues me, like shattered glass. I do not know why I can't stop looking at shattered glass either. It just seems... interesting.
I was so lost that I did not hear. I did not see. I did not feel. All I felt though, was my soul painfully shredding itself into pieces, knowing that this reflection was not truly my own.
But then, I guess, this one is better than the other.
And so I did not hear the footsteps. I did not see the men.
I did not notice the second reflection appear next to mine, for I was so lost in my broken soul that I was no longer with the world.
Black Owl eventually awakened me out of my trance, as she always did. She screamed softly to me. She was right. I should eat. I drank from the pond and lifted my arm as she came to me from the Great Beech tree that hung over the water, forever staring at its reflection. She gave me a hard look with her dark eyes, making sure that I did not slip back into the deep pools of my own eyes. I stood and looked at her on my arm. "You can fly now, if you want."
Urol Frqu hesitated, and then spread her wings and took to the air. She soared on the wind and scanned the ground, her majestic curved wings beautiful as the carried her. Her talons clenched and unclenched, alert for any prey. I wished I could do such things.
Fly free from the world, independent from all existing things.
I knelt in front of some Bloodthorn and thanked it silently as I pulled it up by its roots. I sliced the sharp cones off of the stem and ground them into a powder with a rather joyful stone that jabbered on and on.
I had a bowl made from clay of the earth that Trwind Folyrei had made for me. I also had something like a fork, though with one tong, rather than four. I cracked the bumpy stems of the Bloodthorn carefully and poured the red liquid that it held into the bowl. I then crushed the remaining hollow shell into dust as well and added that and the thorn powder into the mixture.
Black owl returned to me with a large rat in her claws and a blade-leaved branch in her beak. I took the branch from her and picked off the Death Berries that grew on it. Only dangerous to humans. I pitted the large fruits and squeezed the juice out of it, throwing in the seeds after it.
This is what I ate, every day. I did not get bored of it, nor did I enjoy it, but it gave me energy and strength, as well as sustain my health. Without it, I would die. As the last seed plopped into the Bloodthorn nectar, the liquid fizzed and crackled, suddenly rising and forming into a maroon. bread-like substance. Not a drop of moisture was left behind.
I ate it, feeling the strange texture on my black tongue. I blinked as the new life coursed through my veins, suddenly giving me the need to run. And I did.
I ran and ran and ran, far into the fields, far into the mountains that towered above all else. Ran through a shallow river, flowing slowly and steadily, greeting me as I passed by. Ran and ran and ran until my lungs collapsed, and further after that. Ran as if to escape the earth, escape the people, escape myself. But I could not. It was always there. Always looming in the laughing shadows that never seemed to leave. Staring into my broken soul, into my pained heart. An unwelcome companion, that never left, even for a little while. Always there, as if it was my own blood and bones.
In my own shadow, my own gaze.
In my own reflection.

Woohoo I am so happy

I stood at the edge of the trees, staying in the shadows, outside of the ring of firelight that came from the torches that lined the great stone wall that surrounded the large human village. There were no guards in sight, but I dared not step into the light pooling over the grass.
Was I afraid? Ha. No. I was not afraid of them.
Then why did I fear to show myself?
Perhaps it was because of the fact that I was afraid of the humans, deep in my mind in a place that I did not venture to. Or the fact that I did not want them to flock around me at the sight of the dark demon of the woods.
No. It was because I did not want them to set a toe in my forest. I did not want them to harm a single dead leaf that lay on the ground. Stir the soil and the earth of my territory. Strip the place of its trees until nothing was left but dry dirt and sand, swirling at the faintest breath of wind.
I jerked my head around and tensed my muscles at the sound of quick, light footsteps coming my way. A song, a strange song, with strange words. It was only a child. A small girl that had wondered beyond the wall.
I, at last, caught sight of her. She looked around seven years old, but I could not tell. Tan curls and rosy, round cheeks. A pale red dress, adorned with lace and beads. She held a doll in one hand, with identical brown hair. Her green eyes looked sad, as if she had lost something, but could not remember. Her song sounded familiar to me, but I could not recognize it. Maybe it reminded me of birdsong, sweet and beautiful.
The girl stopped singing and sat in the grass, her back leaning against the gray wall. "Oh, Maddie," she said to the doll. "Your the only one who loves me."
She hugged the doll, "Maddie," to her chest and sighed a deep sigh. I was curious, though I did not reveal my presence. She did not seem like an evil creature, like the ones I had known. There was something in her face, in her eyes, that just said... sadness. No anger, no cruelty.
Then there was a low growl. The girl sucked in a breath and held Maddie closer. Her eyes were wide with anxiety. She stood and scanned the trees, fear stricken on her round face.
A cat stepped out of the shadows, one with spotted fur and huge paws. It bared its teeth and growled again, stalking towards the girl, who was pressed up against the bricks, breathing short and quick. The cat lunged, and she screamed.
Quicker than lightning, I was there in front of her, springing at the leopard, showing my own fangs. One of the cat's big paws reached around my body and clawed the girl's leg. She shrieked. I slammed into the cat and knocked it back and then I was on top of it. I bit at it and scratched it and it slashed at me. It pinned me down with one paw and snarled menacingly. I fought to get up, but I couldn't force the paw off of my chest. I kicked both legs into its belly and the cat howled and released me. I managed to sink my teeth into its furry foreleg and I held on. It struggled to shake me off, but I didn't let go. I would not let it kill this poor defenseless girl that no one seemed to love. No. I couldn't.
I finally released my teeth and blood streamed from the fang marks I had left. The leopard whimpered and cowered, backing off. "Get away!" I screamed at it. The cat scampered off into the dark woods.
I turned to the girl, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. Her leg wasn't cut too deeply, but it was still bleeding rapidly. I took a step towards her and she shrank away. "Don't hurt me!" she wailed.
"I won't harm you," I said softly. "I just want to make sure you're alright."
"But," she sniffled. "You hurt people. Men go into there and they come out screaming about a demon with black fangs. And they are always hurt badly."
I shook my head. "They hurt me," I told her. "They go in there and try to hurt me, and try to hurt the forest. Everything in there is alive, you know."
The girl frowned. "But trees are just trees and rocks are just rocks. They aren't alive. They don't have feelings."
"But they do." I thought for a moment. "Let me show you."
The girl hesitated, and then allowed me to come to her. "What is your name?"
"Pryll," she said.
I touched her hand and put into her the power to hear all of the world, all of the earth. Pryll's eyes widened. "The trees are whispering," she said, awed. "And the rocks are talking to each other! And the water is wondering what is happening."
"You can speak to them, too."
"Stream?" she asked the stream. "Can you hear me?"
Yes. And who might you be?
"I'm Pryll, and I think you are very beautiful."
The stream laughed but spoke no further.
Pryll looked up at me. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"It's fine," I said. "I can defend myself. I just wish they would leave us alone."
We went silent, and then there were men shouting. "That Demon! That black-fanged demon is hurting my daughter!"
I cursed as people holding torches and wielding blades came around the curve of the wall, dogs snapping and snarling.
I fled into the trees, not looking back at the barking dogs and the angry men. "Kill it!" shouted Pryll's father behind me. I could hear Pryll screaming, "No! No! Stop!"
I prayed that Pryll would be okay and that the dogs wouldn't follow me to the place of the Yuryl Drune, the Dark Tree. I did not know if I would survive myself, but I had to try. I looked ahead to the darker trees, darker than the darkness itself. I ran into it and the air seemed to close in on me, tugging at my long black hair and crushing my lungs.
It would not be enough. I had to go further.
The world seemed to slow and it felt as if I were trying to walk against the strong current of the oceans.
The dogs and men were still coming after me. I moved my legs faster.
And then I was there. In front of the Dark Tree.
Evil pulsed from it. I could feel it grab hold of my conscience, wrap its dark fingers around my mind. I could not escape. I could not free myself from the horrible feeling of fear and hate. The Dark Tree was so full of it that the feeling began to boil inside my own self, the evil pouring into my soul, filing it with the foul stench of death and decay.
Then suddenly, it let go, and I was standing there, staring at it. I backed away but stopped when I heard the snarl of a bloodhound. It sprang, and then recoiled and whimpered as the Dark Tree tore its mind to pieces, until there was nothing left of it but bones and ash. The men fell to there knees screaming as the were attacked and were cut off, one by one, leaving there bones amid thousands of other skeletons.
Then there was silence.
I turned and ran from the tree. I was afraid of it, and though I was curious, I did not want to know how it had been made. I had known about The Dark Tree, as had everything, but I had never confronted it before, and it was something I never wanted to do again. Unless I could figure out some way to help it....
I shook the thought away. No. There was no helping that... that thing. Its soul was beyond repair.
I reached the edge of Yuryl Drune's domain and stepped out of it. Weight was lifted from my shoulders, and I felt lighter than a feather. I breathed deeply as my mind cleared. I looked back. It was gone. Everything I had just run from was gone, whisked away like a dry leaf in the wind. I do not think that I would ever find it again.
No, you will not. Probably.
I turned and saw Black Owl sitting on the branch of a smaller Elm Tree, staring at me. You will only find the Dark Tree at your darkest hour. Perhaps you will have need of it again, but I should think we do not wish that to be so.
"No, Black Owl. Definitely not." I was surprised. Black Owl had never spoken to me before, at least not directly. I was slightly honored to have such a beautiful creature be my friend. "I wish I could thank it in some way, help it."
We may be able to do so in time, only in time.

OKAY! So, now we are changing perspectives here. I am Not going to say who's but I bet you can all guess.

I watched as the so-called "Demon" raced away into the woods, disappearing into the darkness. I had never even learned her name. The trees and the rocks and the world were still whispering to me and one of the biggest trees fed a name into my mind. Abyss.
"Kill it!" shrieked Daddy.
"No!" I screamed. "No! Stop!"
The men and dogs ran after her anyway. The Dark Tree! The Dark Tree! She goes to Yuryl Drune! the forest chanted.
"No, Daddy, stop," I pleaded. "She wasn't hurting me! She saved me, from a wildcat!"
Daddy only waved me off. "Bah!" he said. "The wildcat was probably working with it."
"No, Daddy, she wasn't! And she's a she, not an it!"
"Just get back inside, Pryll," he said gruffly. "You know you're not supposed to be out here."
I huffed and stalked back to the big black gate that guarded the entrance to the village that was surrounded by the big wall that kept out people that wanted to attack us.
No. It wanted to keep everyone out.
I did not understand. Why did they think Abyss was mean? Why did they have to be mean to her?
I walked along the dirt path that led to my big-wooden-house-that-was-bigger-than-everyone-else's-house. I stopped in front of it and looked up at the big shadow that stood in front of the moon. I didn't like it in there. It was too fancy and too big. I would rather play beyond the wall, beyond the barrier. I wanted Daddy to love me and Mommy to care.
I wanted to be like Abyss, part of the outside world, a friend to all. Or, at least everything out there.
But Daddy doesn't love me and Mommy doesn't care about anything. All I have is my stupid, useless toys and the stupid, useless silence.
My maids don't talk to me unless I ask for something and my dogs don't understand a word I'm saying and usually growl when I talk to them.
I have nothing, and no one.
I pushed open the heavy oak doors, the doors that used to be living, and breathing, and thinking. I gave the door a pat as if to say sorry, though the tree was long dead by now.
Then I realized that the house was speaking! The walls whispered and the wilting roses were crying painfully. The walls were made of stone, and they were talking to each other and whispering and some laughed. The voices of the roses were so loud in my ears that I wanted to cry with them, I mentally shut them out, and I couldn't hear them anymore. Then I told all of the voices to stop speaking and the world went silent.
It was just me standing in the dark house with moonlight filtering in through the open door, dust swirling through the air. It frightened me, that one moment everything had been full of the thing called life, and then have it disappear.
I flipped the switch in my mind and the voices were speaking just as before as if they had never stopped. They never had stopped, I realized. I had just been shutting them out. I picked a brick on the wall and walked up to it. "Brick?" I asked it.
What?
"Um... do you know where Abyss is?"
Who?
"Abyss."
I haven't the slightest idea who that is. One moment.
A ripple seemed to go through the stone walls, and I heard over and over, No. No. No. It went to the forest to the stones, the boulders, and the pebbles of the woods.
The rock grunted and said, Nobody knows, at least no one here. Ask someone else somewhere else.
And then, like a far off shout that was quieted by distance, the trees said together, Urol Naminget. Black Fang.
I asked the rock that instead. "Do you know where Urol Naminget is?"
Let me ask. And again, the question rippled through all of them, until the ones of the forest all said something.
She is in a dark place, child. a very dark place. She is with Yuryl Drune, the Dark Tree. She could be in the greatest of dangers, or the greatest place of safety. She may come out unscathed, or her bones may lie there forever. Stupid but clever. A human will not survive an encounter with the Dark Tree. That is all we know. Do not ask me anything else. And the rock closed its mind to her.
Should I go after her? It was dangerous, I knew, but what if Abyss was in trouble? What if she died? What would happen then? Nobody would love me. I would be alone, so alone.
It's fine. I can defend myself.
But the rock said that it didn't matter. She would either die or she wouldn't, that she was at the Dark Tree's mercy. I went to the highest room in the house and gazed out over the vast expanse of trees. And then the men began to scream.

I walked with Black Owl on my shoulder, tense and afraid. There was something tingling in my conscience, something that told me, You are not safe. Not safe!
I could not leave these woods forever, for the Mother of Earth had bound me to them. If I went too far, I would wake up the next morning and I would be back on the rock below Black Owl's nest, back in the same trees that I had always known. I had tried many times to run away and see another piece of the world, but to no avail.
Something told me I was finished.
Something told me that I was already stepping into the dark void of Death, being whisked away from the real world, only to wake in darkness, where there be no light for millennia, stranded there until time ended.
Then I stopped, breathed for a few moments.
Black Owl darted quickly off of my shoulder.
I screamed and screamed, screamed in fury, screamed in sadness, screamed with pain. I screamed my anger to Trwind Folyrei.
I screamed my pain and my boundaries in her wretched face that was the world, I cursed her, I pierced her with my words. I screamed and screamed, unable to stop. I screamed until my throat was empty, and still, I shrieked and howled, angry and furious.
I was a caged bird that could flap its wings and made it to the air, only to be yanked back by the chains that weighed me down, tied me to this burden, intertwined my soul to this great rock called Earth.
I was finished.
I sank to my knees with tears streaming from my black eyes, my mind broken. I begged and begged to be set free, to be let go.
I called to the world, and the world did not call back to me, did not reply, did not answer.
I suddenly felt alone and broken, a useless heap of skin, bone, and flesh. Nothing but a dead soul in a dead body, controlled by the will of another, one that is not me.
I was only a pawn, a tool. Trwind Folyrei used me to protect her. I was her unwilling servant, and she my unwelcome commander, and the world only a place to keep me down, a place to keep me contained.
I had not been this before, and yet, I am now, and I will be for good.

so cool the more the better

I was starving.
But I wouldn't eat. I wouldn't drink.
I would sit on the rock below Black Owl's nest and rot away until my corpse dissolved into the ground. I would make sure my body poisoned the earth and didn't make it richer.
I was surprised that Trwind Folyrei did not pull the rock underneath the surface. Perhaps she felt pity for me. I scowled. I did not want her pity. I did not want her. But here I was. She had created me, but taken control of her own creation. She wouldn't let me be free.
Black Owl called down to me softly. She shared my sorrow, but she did not like the way I was acting. She didn't want me to die and continued to try and keep me alive. Eat. You have to stay alive. What you are, who you really are... You are important.
"Then why do you not tell me, Black Owl? Why do you not tell me who I am?"
You wouldn't understand.
"Why not? I am sure you can explain."
The barn owl looked down at me with her sad black eyes. No, I mean you really wouldn't understand. It would sound like gibberish to you. But... I can try.
I looked up at her. Black Owl opened her beak and let forth a stream of sounds, making it sound like she was angry and pained, I jumped to my feet and immediately regretted it. My muscles were sore from running and my bones ached from sitting down for so long.
I told you, you wouldn't understand, Black Owl said sadly.
Suddenly, a sharp twang came from miles to the right. I looked towards the sound expectantly. I did not move, though I knew what was coming.
I watched the arrow in slow motion as it impaled my thigh. I could not hold back a scream as I collapsed to the ground, my leg spasming. I heard a triumphant shout, still miles away. How could they have shot me from so far away? I didn't care, however. Black Owl screeched, sharp and loud. "Leave!" I wailed as pain racked my body and my vibrant gold blood stained the moss at my feet. "Get away from here!" If I was to die, I would not let her die as well. Black Owl took flight, and as the barn owl flew away, I heard a name ring through the air. It rippled through the forest, shaking the branches of the trees and flattening the grass.
Anden tr Faad. Wings of Death.
"Black Owl," I whispered. "You... you are Anden tr Faad. Wings of Death."
As I lay there on the ground, gold blood soaking the earth, I thought one word. A word that my beautiful friend had put into my mind, a memory.
Snake.
Then too much of my blood spilled and I blacked out.

I woke up to pain.
It was dull and throbbing and it was everywhere. Nothing on my body had escaped it, even my hands.I shifted, my eyes still closed, and nearly cried out. My leg exploded with terrible pain. I opened my eyes somewhat and saw that the arrow had not been removed and was still impaling my thigh. I was lying sideways, and the shaft was not broken. The floor was slick with gold and I was covered in it.
I opened my black eyes fully and looked around the interior of my cell. It was dark, of course, and small. The bars were made of bronze and the back wall was made from limestone.
Though it was hot and terribly humid in the room, I drew my bloodied cloak closer around me. I heard footsteps, and I closed my eyes again.
"She may already be dead," said a smooth voice I did not recognize.
"No." That was Pryll's father. "That black-fanged demon is difficult to kill. It's going to take a lot more than an arrow."
"Her blood is gold," said the unfamiliar voice. "Do you think it has any value?"
I should have expected that. Men are always looking for wealth. The smooth-voiced man was stupid to think he could use my blood for anything. It was like acid to humans. I heard a small shuffle of feet as he crouched down and Pryll's fathers sound of warning, followed by a cry of pain as my blood burned him. My lips quirked into a smile.
"Blast, it's awake!" said Pryll's father angrily.
I opened my eyes with a cruel smile, showing my dark fangs. "I'd say you deserved that," I said, looking at the smooth-voiced man. He did not look anything like I had expected him to. He was fat and short with so many folds in the flesh of his neck that he was likely hiding six or seven feasts within it. He clutched his burned hand and his beady eyes squinted at an attempt of a glare. "Shut up, demon!" he yelled, his voice bouncing off of the prison walls.
"I admire your intelligence," I said disgustedly. "Your stupidity is matchless." No matter how smooth this fat man's voice was, I was silver-tongued, even if it was actually black. I kept pressing him for information as I talked. "And how many bloodscars did you earn, Father of Pryll? Certainly not enough to pay for all of your crimes."
He quickly pushed his sleeves down and pointed a shaking finger at me. "You--- you stay away from her."
I spread my hands. "I've nowhere else to go than to the opposite side of this cell."
"I will enjoy watching you burn."
Of course. They were going to burn me. Fair enough, I suppose. "And I will enjoy doing it. Why do you think I did not step aside as your arrow flew towards me from miles away? Why do you think I watched it go all of the way through my leg?"
"You are begging to die, devil."
"Precisely."
Pryll's father huffed with frustration and stomped back up the stairs, the fat man clumping behind him.
The child of the earth sat in her blood and leaned against the wall. I sighed in sorrow. I did not want to die, but this was the only way....

woohoo thanks :)