Naomi Finds Muddie
This piece features two of the minor characters in the Padma universe.
Muddie: A brown fox and prisoner of Arawan the antagonist of the story.
Naomi: An Ocelot assassin, who works for Arawan, in order to free her brother whom she is lead to believe is also in captivity by the evil dragon.
Naomi pushed the solid door open just enough to squeeze her agile feline frame through then closed it silently behind her. The room was dark, so dim it was hard to make out any distinguishing features. It was an exceptionally large room, even for a castle that boasted a dragon as its owner. The young ocelot slid around the massive pillars that held a ceiling so high that it could not be seen in the low light. She peered into the center of the room, something lay slumped over in the open expanse. She squinted, all she could tell is it was a figure, of what, she could only imagine. It would be risky going out into the open expanse of the room, but even in the slight chance that it was her brother made it risk worth taking.
She slid silently from the shadows creeping slowly towards the still form. She moved on all fours, like a cat stalking its prey. The figure was slumped over a dirty, oversized cushion. It smelled of blood and magic, acidic dark magic at that.
Naomi was nearly on top of it before she was able to clearly see what she was stalking. She cursed, it was not her brother. The more time she spent here the more likely Arawan would find her, and kill her and her brother. She was risking a lot by sneaking in here to begin with. She froze as the figure on the cushion groaned and moved. The shape uncurled into that of a muddy brown female fox.
The fox open an eye and peered up at Naomi with an empty expression on her face. She looked beaten and broken, but as if she_knew_.
"Where is my brother?" Naomi asked, unsettled by the strange foxes gaze on her.
The fox exhaled, as if even speaking came with great strain. "Your brother is dead." She hissed through half clenched teeth, "Arawan did not waste any time in ending him..."
Naomi growled, "You lie!" She exclaimed, pulling her knife from her sheath and pointing it at the vulpine. "I saw him last week, Arawan showed him to me!"
The mud colored fox paid no attention to the weapon brandished at her, simply keeping her good eye on the ocelot. "I have no reason to lie to you; Arawan has killed your brother."
Naomi fumed at the fox's indignation and pulled Muddie up by her hair brandishing the sword to her throat. "Tell me again he is dead, and I will slit your throat."
"Kill me then."Muddie spoke with the same hollow tone, "You would be doing me a favor by releasing me from this prison. I have never seen the outside of this room, nor the light of day. The dragon you serve purely out of fear brings me to the brink of death and heals me back at his whim. I know nothing of joy, or solace, so kill me, I welcome it."
Naomi stayed her sword, her shoulders drooping as she shook her head, "How do you know he is dead if you have never left this room?"
The vixen slumped as the blade was removed from her throat, "One cannot live around magic for so long without picking up a little. At least how to perceive it," she murmured, "I know what goes on in this castle, when He comes and goes. He is a master of deception; the figure you saw was a puppet and not your brother." Muddie slumped back down to the cushion. "Now go, he knows you are here, and you will not survive if he finds you."
Naomi's eye widened and she sheathed her sword, ducking back into the shadows as quickly as she emerged. "I will send word of you, should anyone see fit to free you from this prison it shall be so."