The Lightness of Beings

The Lightness of Beings

    They hunched together, their damp breath spiraling in the cool air, their crimson eyes winking in the heavy darkness. The odor of decaying wood permeated their nostrils. Their empty guts twisted and cramped as they waited for their sire to return.

    “She will not be back,” the eldest, One, whispered. “The lighted beast killed her. We are alone.”

    “She will return. She outran it,” hissed Two, the creature in the middle.

    “Be quiet, it will hear you,” murmured Three, the smallest. It wriggled its solid, weighted mass deeper between the two.

    One groaned as Three’s talons scrapped its leathered hide. A puff of gray hair wafted to the rusted earth. If their sire did not return, One would have to lead the three on a hunt. The eldest tasted the metallic flavor of its fear. They were young and lacked skill against the creatures who worshiped lightness and sought sun rays. The lighted creatures would slaughter them, fearing their strangeness, and scorning their heaviness. The three siblings could not vanquish the lighted, like their sire did, nor feast on their soft, warm flesh that tasted of sweetness from the valley’s fruit. The lighted creatures’ meat was so much better than the stringy muscles from the prey under stones.

    A jagged rock skipped across the ground followed by a hovering light, its beams flickering over the rotting inside of the long dead giant tree. Three’s pupils snapped to razor thin slits. It and its sibling flattened their bodies to moist soil. Two beings approached, balanced on slender legs, whispering and giggling.

    Three’s frame trembled, its eyes growing wide. A thin growl slipped from its wide maw.

    The lighted figures paused. “What is that?” The taller one with slick, brown hair raised the torch while the slender framed one with glittering gold eyes slid a dagger from her belt.

    There were only two, and they were young. Three ground its teeth, fear stiffening its bulky mass. Its three nostrils widened, and it tasted the bitter odor of hatred emanating from the two on its moist grey tongues.

    “There’s three of them. So disgusting.” The girl lifted her dagger.

    “Maybe the spawn of the one papa killed last week.” The boy slipped his sword from its sheath.

    Sire would has whispered to be brave. Sire would have said they must fight. One’s hair bristled on its back. Its siblings’ tongue stroked its skin, tasting One’s drippings saturated with panic. Two and Three’s backs arched. One curled itself up and hurled toward the lighted beings, crashing into their legs.

    The figures crumbled; surprise etched over their delicate features. They slashed at One, and gouged trails of muddy ooze beaded across its back. Two and Three hit the lighted beasts, their incisors burying into their flesh. Sweet nectar washed over their oral cavities and the lighteds’ eyes got dark and large. One shook, flicking spray across the walls then pounced on the lighted, tearing into the pale flesh. Within minutes, only fragments of bone and cartilage remained.

    With bulging guts, the three siblings rolled into the inky depths of the tree, away from the sizzling torch on the ground. Contentment washed over the three. They piled together, purring rumbling from their vocal cords. Unable to resist, their lids drooped as sleep smothered them.

    One awoke and saw thin pale beams from the mouth of the tree’s opening playing in the dust. Panic scuttled over the ground and dug its claws into One. The lighted would be enraged that their young had been eaten. Though the lighted ate most creatures, nothing should consume them.

    One needed to flee with its siblings, but that meant leaving the soothing darkness and facing the shearing pain of the light. One bumped its siblings, who moaned and yawned.

    “We must leave. Come.” Six slimy legs popped from One’s sides. It stretched and wiggled each one, then planted them on the earth.

    “Where are we going? We should not leave the darkness,” whispered Three.

    “We have no choice. The lighted’s sire will come and destroy us.”

    Legs protracted from Two and Three, their gnarred, taloned paws digging into the soil. One licked the earth, tasting the substance of their spawning, realizing they would never return. Their lives would be unnatural now, residing in strange places, leaving the familiarity of their home. One took the lead and the three siblings’ bodies undulated toward the opening. One’s pupils stung as whiteness collided with them.

    A shadow blanketed them, providing momentary relief. One gazed upward to see a lighted beast looming.

    The lighted’s blond curls stirred from the two feathered wings rustling on his back. The lighted’s muscular arms clenched a silvery sword. His glass-blue eyes skipped over the three of them, then he crouched and entered the tree. A muffled roar reverberated from its depths.

    The three humped forward, their mouths panting, but they were of the earth, dark and with substance. Panic stiffened their legs and Three squealed. The lighted creature returned, his blade shimmering above them. One watched as Two and Three were sliced in half. One curled and crashed into the lighted’s legs, its body striking him. Bone crunched and the lighted tumbled to one knee. He snarled at One, then clumsily lunged.  

    A thought pierced the enraged fog of One’s brain. It flung its body at the lighted creature’s back, who slapped the earth. One’s legs popped out and its claws latched onto the lighted. One’s teeth sliced through the base of his wings, spraying them with blood. The lighted rolled on his back screaming, his wings lifeless next to him.

    One hopped off the lighted and undulated into the surrounding forest. His siblings were part of the earth once more and this saddened him.  But One made sure that the lighted would never be able to soar into the sun beams and would be bond to ground just like it. One took away the creature’s lightness of being, which would cause infinite suffering, and this was an apt punishment.