oh wicked scythe [ open

[River]

GORE WARNING

Cathedrals were holy places, even if the humans building them had dedicated them to a pagan god who could not protect them when the cloud of ash came. Still, they were made clean by the fact that the humans who had made them often labored for years because they were motivated by goodness. Once it was built, they would fill it to worship. Those who were so truly dedicated would often try to live the best lives they could, not motivated by greed or sex or the other filth in which all other species became washed up. For that reason the Reaper had sought to make his home there.

Yet today he was not alone. Thunder crackled and boomed outside the stained glass windows and a poor, timid hound had sought to get a break from the storm. Jonas would not let him in with the taint, and he could not stay unless purified. "Do you consider yourself a holy man?" The collie mix asked, prowling around and getting a look at every angle that the hound had. He was small for his breed, just under Jonas' height, and sickeningly underweight. Clearly he was not getting the best end of the deal. It was usually those who were driven to accept Arktos in the end. The ones who had every worldly pleasure imaginable could not imagine why they would need a god, but the suffering ones would latch onto anything if it explained why their lives were so terrible. The hound, meanwhile, could do nothing but shake his head.

"What a pity," the Reaper shook his head. "You would have made such a good acolyte." There was nothing more to be said. Jonas was not a prophet or a preacher like his father, the kind of man that stood on a pulpit and told everybody why they needed Arktos in their life. Preaching was the want of a benevolent god. Arktos craved action and suffering. So Jonas threw his body out and connected with the hound's face, pulling out an eyeball and spitting it to the ground. The poor dog screamed and squealed but did not say anything about repenting, so the other eyeball came next. Then each ear. The blind hound thrashed about, trying to get something of Jonas. The Reaper laughed and decided to take a paw instead. It would be wrong to say that he did not like the sight of a hobbled creature wandering in circles, looking for something with eyes that did not exist. "Call for a god and he will answer," Jonas suggested in a level voice. His friend did not oblige and so the throat was tainted. It must be removed.

When the deed was done Jonas looked at what he had wrought and was sickened not because of the blood that strew the floor and all of the pieces that had to be picked up but because there was such filth in his home. The dog took the main body out first, dumping it in a puddle of mud, and then made trips back and forth with each eyeball, each ear, and finally the paw. It would be a deterrent, he thought, to all the other tainted ones who wished to join him.

543 words.

[Deleted]

WORDS: 685

TAGS: Jonas/Reaper

Many would say that the strange yearling had not so much of a mind for adventure, but one for trouble. And they would be correct. Houdini was the kind of dog that just wanted to see the world suffer in the "prettiest" of ways. And by the meaning of pretty, she would tell you burned bodies littering the ground and watching the survivors with limbs missing crawling around the battleground. She just had a taste for such things. The female listened patiently as the thunder cracked over her head and she found herself prodding along through the storm. She wasn't exactly looking for shelter, but not passing up the offer if one happened to come by. Suddenly, shrill yelps and pleas for mercy filled her ears, and being the sinister little dog she was, she drew her head up with wide excited eyes and turned to follow in the direction of the terror. 

She wasn't exactly fascinated by another dogs pain, she was rather sweet under the chaotic need to watch the world burn. She didn't like to see others in pain, but rather admire their blood and bones once they had left the world she called home. It was with these thoughts wide in her mind that she found herself at one of the humans creations, a home of the spirits and the gods that they believed in. But, as already described, Houdini was not swooned by the beauty that most dogs in her gender would be. She preferred a platter of enthralls and a sickly thick, red wine. She was on the scene rather quickly, her paws flying over the ground and the rain dripping from her long, strangely patterned coat. Even in her state of absolute curiosity, she knew better than to race into an area where such horrible cries had been heard. 

She was excited, yes. But, she was also cautious. She didn't know the canine who was responsible for such a lack of mercy. But, oh, she was dying to find out. The brown speckled canine stood off to the side in a bush-like area, listening to the rain drown out the cries of the canines inside. The master of sinister that she had been waiting for didn't keep her out in the rain long - such a gentleman and she hadn't even said a word to him yet. She watched as he brought out a battered body of an overly thin canine. He looked almost sickly, but she was more interested in his missing eyes and ears. The young female found her tail wagging excitedly behind her, but she waited until the males duty was done. 

He returned with the eyes and ears, even a paw of the dog he had just brought out and once he had set them down, Houdini could no longer hide her presence. If he hadn't already noticed her, she slyly pulled her way out of the undergrowth, her ears pulled forward and eyes wide with admiration. If only she had the lack of mercy and experience to do what this young male had just done. It was a miracle in the making. "Hello." She murmured sweetly, her long-furred tail sweeping gently behind her as she approached the male.  Her body stance wasn't exactly submissive, but it wasn't dominant either. Somewhere a little under equal, making him her authority. 

Her tongue ran lightly over her lips, and she bowed her head, turning her dark gaze from the kill back to the male before her. "I am Houdini." She said again, her voice still sweet, but a little more firm now that her excitement over the whole situation. The female didn't state her admiration of the work on the other canine, her dancing eyes and the beaming of her fur said it all. She was both amused and ready to learn from such an experienced canine. She wanted to do exactly what he could do. And her wagging tail told him that she was ready to do anything he pleased to get that experience and knowledge.

NOTES ;
"Houdini is speaking." #7a1906

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