A melody of angry growls, a counterpoint of painful howls

[flower_power]

WHO| Rapunzel and Some
WHAT| OKAY, WHO TRIGGERED THE MONSTER TOONS. DARN IT, RAPUNZEL.
WHEN| Week 2, during the night
WHERE| Toon Town
WARNINGS/NOTES| Your worst nightmare

The thing that woke her up was the feel of something small and soft, with sharp skritchy nails, running across her. It was too heavy, and too soft, and its claws were far too sharp to be Pascal, but there were so few rats in the tower that she couldn't think what it had been. It was enough to pull her into wakefulness - and that was probably the only thing that saved her.

Another two rats ran by, as she sat up, her hair pooling by her feet as it slid off her body, and a few seconds too late she cringed away from them a little. It didn't matter, they hadn't been running from her, and hadn't touched her anyway.

Which, Rapunzel's sleep-fogged brain slowly worked out, meant they were probably running from something.

Rapunzel was not used to being in the open, and the vastness of the sky scared her here more than it probably would have at home. A roof had felt safer, more enclosed. More like home - or, at least, as close as she was likely to find here. And the floor had even been soft, somehow. Like everything else thus far, it hadn't been ideal, but surely it would do. Now, though, that roof meant that it was very dark inside the little building - but still not dark enough that she didn't see the splashes of color moving closer, as the rats squeaked and ran.

Rapunzel stumbled to her feet, hands full of her hair, and started backing towards the exit, more slowly than she maybe should have. But nothing had tried to kill her yesterday, nothing had tried to kill her yet.

"No," she murmured, voice soft and full of horrified denial as she backed away from the patches of color, "no."

Reflected moonlight glinted in through the doorway in a brief instant, maybe because the clouds had parted, and glinted on teeth and claws and open mouths and blank, staring eyes of huge animals, wearing tattered clothing, their eyes on her, their jaws open, red tongues-

"No!" This last word was more scream than word, and then she was running, running as fast as she could, down and away. She was in good shape but her heart was still pounding, from fear as much as anything, and the hair that she wasn't holding flew behind her like a banner.

Comments

[flower_power]

She looked at him.

He'd saved her.

She barely knew him - although, if he was to be believed, he knew her considerably better.

"They seemed fast enough," she said quietly. "Are you... are you sure it's safe here? They-" She took a breath, steadying herself, trying not to think, trying not to remember. Some had protected her, right? "I don't think I'd have woken up in time the first time, except for the rats. I don't know I would if I went back to sleep again."

[gruesome]

"I- I'm sure it's safe right now..." It was the best he could do. But he didn't hear anything near them, so he was fairly sure.

"And I slept all day. I won't sleep now."

[flower_power]

She couldn't look at him easily, not right then, with the positions that they were both in, but she still tilted her head and looked up at him at his words, and then wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself close, tight against him. His fur felt odd, wet and soft, but she hugged as hard as she could. He'd saved her. He was protecting her. Part of her wanted to cry.

He wasn't human, and his teeth were pointy, but he wasn't a ruffian either. He'd protected her.

"I'm glad we used to be friends," she tells him, voice almost lost. "I think I know why we were."

[gruesome]

Speechless, he cupped her head against himself, trying to find words. It took him a while, his chest hitching.

"Rapunzel..."

He swallowed, and let his fingers comb through her hair a little.

"When we are both back in the city, will you let me tell you a little about her?"

[flower_power]

It felt... nice. Almost familiar - Mother used to finger-comb her hair like this. Rapunzel tried not to think of it.

"Well she's just... me, right? Only... I don't remember it. It'd be nice. to hear about it. Her. Me. I don't know quite how to say that."

[gruesome]

"Very like you, only... she was brought to a City, and I met her when we had both been there some time. Not the city here, but another one."

[flower_power]

"The... the city here?" This didn't seem like much of a city, and even if there had been people earlier, surely that didn't qualify? There'd barely been any of them, she'd seen more here, and that...

It just didn't seem big enough.

[gruesome]

He nodded, shifting to try to make a more comfortable hollow for them both. "They call this one The Capitol. It is where the people watching us live, and we'll go there when- when we're done with this game."

[flower_power]

"... oh." Rapunzel looks down again, hands twining together. "I'm... not sure I... want... to go there. Not if they...." did this. All of this.

[gruesome]

He understood, he did. "It's better than here," he murmured. "There's good food and- and they- there are parties... no one's even allowed to fight there."

[flower_power]

"Is that why they make us fight here?" Rapunzel asked. There was almost an edge of bitterness in her voice, but mostly she sounded tired. Drained.

Some mentioning food didn't help too much - Rapunzel, as should be expected, was hungry.

But, of course, she was alive. That was what mattered more.

[gruesome]

"It might be." He hadn't thought of that. "This is something to do with a war they fought, a very, very long time ago... We're here so they don't have to make their children fight anymore."

[flower_power]

"Why does anyone have to fight?" She sounds like she's pleading, even if she knows she's talking to the wrong person here.

"I wish..." But there was too much to wish, maybe, and so Rapunzel fell silent.

Want to wrap it?

[gruesome]

"I don't know." And it was the truest answer he could give.

He put another arm around her, rubbing her shoulder gently.

"When we all find out, maybe we can stop it."