Roaming the Sands

*The petite figure making its way slowly through the sand looked awkward to say the least. Oddly slender for a seal shaped hollow, it didnt appear graceful in the least, its body waddling from side to side, and flippers leaving scuffles in the sand. A long tail dragged behind, limiting her movements and slowing her considerably. Golden eyes swept the barren landscape, always active, always searching. Clearly, she had a goal in mind*


Its around here...I know it is...I can feel it... *she muttered to herself, and leaned back against her tail to raise herself off the ground slightly. Even with the higher view, all she could see before her was the endless sands, the occasional twisted white tree emerging from the landscape, and the dark soundless sky up above*

*Shaking her head from side to side, the hollow known as Rain decided that this slow method of travel, while it may indeed be easy on her energy, was simply too time consuming. Gathering her energy before her, she let her power tug forward, and shot off in a sonido, clearing a decent amount of ground, in but a moment's notice. She would find it..even if she had to search forever..*

*something was nearby, she could sense it. Rain finished her one last sonido, and came to a full stop, resting lightly upon the sands. Swiveling her head around, her golden gaze swept the landscape, scrutinizing it. Somewhere nearby, that candle flicker of life stood out amid the blank empty spaces of the desert, and her stomach growled in anticipation.*

Come out, come out, wherever you are...*she hissed in a low voice, flippers scraping the sand as she moved. Then, suddenly, there it was. Just beyond one of the nearby sand dunes, an oddly formed snake shaped hollow was winding its way through the snow white sands. Her jaw twitched, she wanted that hollow. His energy radiated off of him, beckoning her to come closer. Such willing, easy to obtain energy..how could anyone resist?*

*Eyes gleaming, she took careful aim at the winding hollow, calculating the trajectory and distance with her mind, as she opened her mouth wide. A yellow colored ball of energy began to form in her mouth, between her deadly jaws. No point to waste time, best to end this quickly, she was starving at the moment*

*And with greedy eyes, the seal shaped hollow shot forth a cero, aimed directly at the oblivious snake looking one not too far away*

*Sand flew into the air upon impact, and drifted back down lazily, giving the illusion of snow. Rain sonidoed forward toward the site, not bothering to wait for the sands to settle and see the result, her stomach and insatiable hunger simply over powered her.*

*Flippers resting upon the ground, she peered closer as the sands and dust began to settle, looking for her expected meal. But as she looked, something was wrong..there was no body, no corpse. Nothing here for her to consume*

I couldnt have been that powerful, could I? *she wondered aloud, bewildered. She knew for a fact, she hadnt put that much power into her attack. Not nearly enough to obliterate this weaker hollow*

*She was still puzzling it over in her head when a sharp sense of pain blossomed in the back of her mind. Whirling her head back towards her tail, she saw where the hollow had emerged from the sands where it had burrowed, and it now clamped its teeth onto her tail, attempting to rip away at her. Though it was weak, and its teeth could not tear her apart, the very notion of his trying, irritated her to no ends*

Why you little... *rain slammed her tail down against the ground roughly, resulting in a shock wave enough to ripple the sands and jar the weaker hollow's grip loose. Charging yet another cero in her mouth, she took careful aim, determined not to miss again, and fired*

*She felt the satisfaction of watching the lesser hollow cry out in pain as it took the direct hit, and fall on its side, twitching in agony, and writhing in pain as the scorch mark appeared very noticeably on its side. Rain turned towards it, and it rolled back to its belly, curling up like a viper, and rattling its tail in a warning, baring its fangs. Clearly, this little one knew its destination, and disagreed with it*

Oh stop your fussing *Rain drawled, twitching her tail as she spoke, kicking more sand up into the air* Im on a time limit, and your lack of cooperation is rather counter productive

*She slammed a flipper down on the ground just on the left side of the snake, trying to rile it, and rattle it. Even Rain knew that she want going to stick her face down so close, and risk a bite on the nose from this stubborn snake. Once more, the ground rumbled, and the viper slightly uncoiled*

*Rain charged her cero once more, ready to finish off the snake, when a sudden shadow overhead, make her jerk her gaze upward, and fire instinctively at the massive shape looming over her*

*The large shape above her descended rapidly, and Rain sonidoed off to the left to avoid being crushed. She watched with intrigued golden eyes at the shape that landed before her. Looking much like a vulture, the hollow present here was huge, massive even. Its wingspan spread over the sands, blocking out the skies, as it touched down.*

*Slow moving, and almost dopey looking in appearance, the vulture hollow folded in its wings oddly, one at a time, as opposed to simultaneously, as if it could only handle the effort of one at a time. How aged it looked..as if it had been around for a very long time. Its eyes were fatigued looking, as if it were ready to give up on life itself.*

*She couldnt feel much pressure coming from this beast, despite its massive size. It looked battle scarred and beat up. Beaten down even. A hollow with more emotions might have even felt pity for it. Heck, Rain might have even felt pity for it. Until she saw it lower its giant head in an attempt to snap up the little snake hollow at its feet*

Back off! *she raged, not willing to allow her kill to be stolen. Charging forward, she aimed a cero between the incoming beak of the monster hollow, and hey prey, hoping to detain it, as she whirled, and slammed her tail into the giant foot of the bird, trying to knock it off balance*

*The large vulture stopped its movement, and turned slowly to face her. Its gaze was lazy, and empty, as if it stared right through her, rather than at her. Rain stared back, her gaze hard and belligerent. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the snake start burrowing into the sand as a means of escape. As much as Rain wanted to give chase, and the empty, hungry feeling in her stomach urged her to pursue the meal, something else kept her still*

*She wanted to know more, know more about this giant hollow and why it looked so dreary. Whats more..Rain felt a shiver run down her spine. Even though this hollow appeared aged and slow, the energy it held, was enough to make her yearning nearly overwhelming. If she were to consume this large monstrosity..oh, imagine the energy that would be hers...*

*She slammed her tail down against the beast's foot once more, though it didnt seem to have a reaction, even as the sand around it rippled in response. Irritated at the lack of damage, Rain tried a new tactic. First, she fired off a cero at the head of the beast, to prevent that large beak from coming any closer. Then, she charged a cero between her flipper, and slammed it down into the foot of the beast. No damage seemed visible, but then...it wasnt supposed to be*

*Rain bit down on the leg of the giant vulture hollow, sinking her teeth in as far as she could manage. Already, her mind had formulated a plan to topple this slow moving giant, and she planned to carry it out accordingly. While still clamped down on its leg, she charged another cero, and locked her jaw, ready for the kickback from the detonation*

*As it turns out, she needn't have bothered. The huge bird lifted both its leg, and Rain with it, off of the ground, and shook it, like shaking a pesky insect away. The combination of the movement, and the kickback from her own cero sent Rain flying backwards, and she landed on her back in the sands with an audible "oomph" sound*

*her vision swam for a moment, but she quickly rolled to her feet, ready to fend off any attack from the beast. Instead, it looked at her placidly, dull eyes seeming to stare through her once more. Blood leaked from the wound on its right leg, and it held it off the ground slightly as if it was incapable of supporting weight*

*Good. then her damage has been successful. Rain sonidoed up higher now, aiming above the ground, to hover mid length on the vulture. she shot towards the closer of the wings, and clapped the very tip of it between her flippers, attempting to jar the brittle bones that made up the wings of birds*

*Upon impact, the tip of the beat's wing shuddered a little, but otherwise remained fine. Rain sonioded down towards the beat's side as quickly as she could, already feeling the start of her speed picking up, before she began the sonido. She held her flippers out on either side, almost appearing like a plane at that moment, as she zoomed in quickly.*

*She pumped her tail, making a powerful sweep, to give her an extra boost, sending out shock waves rippling behind her, the sound lost in the emptiness of the desert. She slammed her head into the side of the vulter, just where the wing connected to its body. The large beast didnt yield at first, and in fact, had no reaction at all*

*At first, anyway. Then it wobbled, its one foot held off the ground making its balance difficult. Rain landed on its shoulder, and took aim for the side of its face with another cero, detonating it for the left side of its beak*

Topple...*she urged it* Fall, damn you...

*But the monster did not fall. It regained its balance, steadying itself on its injured foot once more, causing Rain to growl in annoyance. Of course such a huge beast wouldnt fall so easily, she should have calculated better. It did seem, however, that she had succeeded in finally getting a ruse out of this hollow, as it turned its head, and snapped its beak at her in a slow, sluggish manner*

*Rain sonidoed out of the way, to the creature's other shoulder, and body slammed the wing joint. It may have been bigger than she was, but with the combined force of her sonido, and the shock waves from her body slam, she hoped to do more damage. She would topple this vulture hollow if it was the last thing she did, she staked her pride on it*

*Then the hollow did something she hadnt anticipated. Raising each wing, one at a time, just as it had folded them before, it pushed down, and propelled itself airborne. Rain's eyes widened, and she flattened herself down against the beast's back as they rose into the sky together*

Damn you! Get back on the ground! *She scolded, and shot a multitude of ceros at the back of its head for encouragement. Yet the vulture paid no mind, as if she were not even there, and began to make its way above the sands of the large desert, carrying with it, the unwilling passenger*

Im being kidnapped

*That was the first incredulous thought that made its way int Rain's mind, as the vulture flew over the sands in a lazy fashion. She remained crouched on its back, keeping still as could be, for danger of falling. Golden eyes peered over the bird's shoulder, and she withheld a gasp to see the magnificent height they had already achieved*

*Down below, everything looked so utterly small, yet in perspective now, she could see just how vast the desert was. Even from this height, the white sands rolled on endlessly in all directions, and she felt her spirits drop. There had to be more to this world than just sands, she had heard rumors of more, and had sought after them for so long*

*The beast jolted suddenly in the air, and she bit down to keep herself steady, and slammed her tail against the bird's back as if to punish it for such stupid behavior. Didnt it realize that a fall from this height could kill the both of them? She grumbled as the bird banked a hard left, nearly sending her scrambling across its back once more*

Stop it! *She raged, releasing her bite on its back, once it had leveled out again* Return me to the ground instantly! *she demanded, and started firing ceros at the back of its head once more, until her request was to be fulfilled*

*The bird, however, ignored her incessant barrage of ceros, and continued on its way, crossing the skies with a lazy ease. Frustrated, Rain overcame her fear of falling, and started to crawl her way up to the top of the bird's head. Maybe a direct shot to his eyes would gain his attention. There was no way she was going on a ridiculous journey to nowhere, while her stomach still ached for food, and her mind, for her goal*

Stupid bird...land already *she hissed softly, as she made her way up its sloped neck. Once more, the bird banked sharply and she slammed herself back down to avoid falling, and a ripple from her body slam sent a tremor through the vulture's neck. It gave an audible squawk in protest and she couldnt hide her satisfaction*

*She charged a large cero as she crawled forward once more, preparing to launch it the moment she was atop the bird's head. The red beam flicked between her powerful jaws as she neared the top of its head. Finally reaching it, however, she stopped short, and mis-fired the cero out randomly into the distance, overcome by shock. Because out in the sandy plains, far off still, but clearly visible, was a large white castle, sitting silently, as if waiting for her.

I found it..

*Rain continued to stare for several moments, awestruck by the fact the rumors were true. The castle she had been searching for...it did exist. And now there it was, just off in the distance. So close...so close she could practically reach out and just grab it..*

*The bird jerked suddenly to the left, nearly flinging Rain from its head. She dug her flippers into the folds and crevices on its skull and held on for dear life. The vulture turned away from the castle, and off in another direction. Rain felt a sudden burst of rage flood through her body*

NO! No, you stupid, useless bird! *she howled loudly, regaining her balance* Turn around! Go back! That way, THAT way! *She smacked its head repeatedly with her flippers, berating it for its utter stupidity* Turn around! Turn the heck around! *Amid the beatings on its head, she fired off ceros wildly, anything, anything at all to catch its attention*

*But even despite her efforts, the vulture continued on its course, and there was nothing the seal hollow could do about it*

*She sat quietly now, having used up much of her energy already, and laid still on the back of the giant bird. Where it was taking her, she did not know, but she did not posses the power to alter its course, and she had been forced to accept that. Now she could only watch the black skies above contrast the white sands below as they moved through the sky*

*As time dragged on, she grew sleepy, fatigued by the power she had exerted already, and the incessant hunger gnawing in her belly. Her eyelids drooped, making her golden irises appear like glowing half moon crescents, and her right flipper dangled from the right side of the vulture's head*

No...I must stay awake...*she urged herself* If I fall asleep, I shall surely fall to my death...

*She raised her right flipper, and smacked her own cheek, startled quite suddenly by the shock wave that followed. Pain tingled through her face and neck, but even that soon subsided, and her body went limp once more. It was no use, not even pain could keep her awake any longer. With a feeling of worry slipping away from her, Rain felt her mind cloud over, as she lost consciousness*

*When she awoke, her initial feeling was of disorientation. The second, was shock, as she realized just why she was disoriented. Inside a large nest, built from the bones of hollows long deceased, she lay on her side, wide eyed and startled, as the vulture from before loomed nearby, hunched over with its wings tucked in neatly*

*She stared at it for a moment, before she realized it was, in fact, not looking at her, bur rather, over the edge of the nest. Crawling quietly, so as to not attract attention, Rain moved to the opposite side of the bone structure, and peered over as well. Immediately, she gripped the edge of the nest, curling her flippers as best she could. Heights in general, had never frightened her. But their location certainly came as a bit of a shock to her now*

*Below them, way, way down amid the darkness, was the menos forest. Screams and bellows of rage and agony drifted up, muffled by the sheer distance between the nest and the ground. She had never been so high up in the forest before, she hadnt even been aware that all those white trees had treetops somewhere*

*Looking up now, she felt herself go rigid. Above them, the sky was blocked off, by a solid wall of sand. A roof, sealing her in. And the branches around her, continued to shoot upwards through the ceiling of sand, likely to poke through the barren landscape of the desert. How was she ever going to leave this place..?*

*From behind her, came a noise, and Rain whirled around to see the vulture's beak closing in. How the large sluggish beast had managed to move so quickly and quietly astounded her. As a reaction, she rolled to the left in a sonido, away from the edge of the nest, and closer to the monster's feet. She fired a cero up at its belly so high above her, but it seemed to do no damage at all upon collision*

*The bird turned its head once more, to keep her in its sights. She bared her teeth in response, and slammed her tail down on the bony floor, making the nest rattle and quake. From the edges, several bones gave way, and crumbled down into the darkness below. The large hollow seemed to hesitate for a moment upon this, but soon drew closer again*

Go away! *she shouted, and charged another cero in her mouth, however, this one being different than any used prior. Forming the shape of an orb, it hovered for a moment just before her face, glowing red in color and pulsing as if it were alive. Rain raised her left flipper, prepared, should her adversary continue to draw nearer. And so it did*

*She released the orb shaped cero, detonating it directly onto the incoming beak of the large enemy. A satisfying "crack" resounded through the silence so high above the menos forest, and Rain sonodied to the right, in an attempt to escape the monstrous jaws before her. How surprised she was, when her sonido led her right into a thick mass of bony feathers*

*She gasped audibly and tried to flail her way free of the vulture's wing. How had he even managed to block her path so quickly? He had been so slow moving before, now it seemed as if he could calculate her moves before she made them. She slammed her body weight around, crashing into the bone feathers, and leaving behind long cracks and fissures from her shock waves*

What do you want from me? *she howled in frustration, firing off ceros, which shattered several feathers, allowing her to see out into the rest of the nest. She dove for the opening, desperate to free herself from that blinding prison. She didnt see the incoming jaws, until it was far too late to dodge them*

*the jaws of the vulture closed around her, clamping down directly around her mid section. A perfect aim, a perfect grab. Rain struggled uselessly against its firm grip, slamming her flippers repeatedly against the sides of its beak, to no avail.*

Release me! *she demanded, still insolent even though her mind told her that she was not in control of this situation* Return me to the white castle in the desert, before I render your beak useless, you mangy decrepit bird!

*She twisted awkwardly in its mouth, trying to aim her body differently. She fired a cero right for its eye, hoping that blinding it may cause it to release her. The vulture shook her back and forth in its jaws like a doll, rattling her skull and jarring her teeth so her mouth locked in an oddly uncomfortable position. The fired cero only grazed the corner of the beast's eye, singeing it slightly, but doing no further damage*

*It threw her down, slamming her into the nest of bones and making pain shoot through her spine. Her vision swam for a moment as she fought to clear her mind. When her vision did clear, she could see the talon descending from the air, aimed right for her. Her mind was still spinning, her back in too much pain, and the incoming hollow was just moving way to fast for her. She did nothing*

*The talon landed directly on her, slamming the oxygen from her lungs in one swift motion. She gasped for air, pinned beneath the immense weight of this hollow. On either side of her, claws bit into the bones of the nest like they were paper, and she couldnt even find the strength to struggle. There was no way she could free herself from this beast. Not anymore*

Just....eat me....already....*She gasped out the words, though it took a great deal of effort. The giant bird lowered its head, coming closer and closer to the helpless seal hollow. Rain stared back up at it, unwilling to close her eyes. Even as the dread of her life ending nudged her senses, she couldnt help but feel intrigued at what would happen next. What would dying feel like? She hadnt remembered her death from the human world. This time, she would be sure to pay close attention*

*The beak drew closer, and opened wide, just before her face. Rain readied herself to pay close attention to any and all feelings that might course through her body int he next few moments. But instead, all she felt was shock, as the giant vulture gazed down at her, and started to speak*

"If you struggle like that, you're only going to hurt yourself"

*Rain froze. The vulture's voice threw her completely off guard for two separate reasons. First off, it hadnt even occurred to her that this beast might be intelligent, let alone know how to speak. From its slow moving nature, and lack of a reaction to most of her attacks, she had assumed it to be a dumb, sluggish animal, and nothing more. And then, there was the second reason...*

"You're a girl?"

*The vulture tilted its large head back in a soft laugh, the elderly feminine voice still making Rain stare in utter shock. It had a slight, aged rasp to it, but the voice emanating from this monster was clearly feminine, and oddly gentle, like the voice of a caring grandmother. She just couldnt seem to shake her surprise*

"I dont understand..* Rain stammered out, still struggling to form words with such little oxygen being allowed into her system. The beast seemed to take notice of her efforts to speak, and the pressure on her chest lessened slightly, air rushing back into her lung, and making her sigh with relief*

"What do you want to know?"

*A million questions tumbled through Rain's head all at once. What did she want to know? There was a heck of a lot she wanted to know. But there was one question that seemed to take a slight priority over all of the rest, given the current circumstances, and so that is the one she selected.*

"Are you going to kill me?"

*Again, the vulture threw back its head in the raspy, gentle laugh, before turning its attention back down towards her*

"Little one, if Id wanted to kill you, you would have died back on the sands."

*She had several arguments against that statement, but she swallowed them down. Now wasnt the best time for a debate*

"Why did you bring me here?" *asked the seal hollow, still trapped beneath the talon of the mighty vulture*

"Now...you are asking the right questions."

"Before you answer.." *The smaller hollow began, squirming slightly* "Since you dont intend to kill me, dont you think its a fair assumption you can free me now? Before I mold into this very structure and Im part of your home forever."

*The vulture seemed amused at this comment, and raised an eyebrow*

"What makes you think that is now how all the others got here?"

*Rain stopped moving, glancing out of the corner of her eye to the long femur bone just to her left. Who knew what poor soul it had been apart of before it suffered this fate.* "Fair point." *She said, and lay still once more* "But Id have to think I'd be dead to become part of your nest, and you said you didnt intend to kill me."

"Accidents happen."

*She shut up*