N I M U E
we have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins,carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains.
93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames,
we are all just stars with people names.
- nikita gill
The blood that usually ran hot and wild through her veins slowed, frosting over with shards of ice throughout her entire body. Inhaling oxygen became a needy chore - a necessary one, though her lungs cracked and heaved as if made of frozen glass. The water surged upwards over her small body, the mare's legs pumping tiredly to keep her head afloat. From where she began, the stretch of water hiding in the maze seemed like a short swim, however now.. she quickly realized how wrong she was. Through the smoke and mirrors and illusions of the shaman's mysterious maze, the realization that she now was in the heart of a small pond or lake dawned on her.
The cords of the mare's muscles burned in the icy water, her breath puffing in thick clouds in front of her as she panted. She was at least halfway across the depths before the deep black of the surface broke far in front of her. In a blink a little creature bobbed above the water, diving into the fathoms before surfacing again, swimming parallel to her. From the corner of her good eye, the little thing looked harmless and even cute as it chattered and muttered to itself in some language she did not care to guess. Nimue turned her head to look for only a moment's breath -- damn her curiosity -- before she choked. The thing peered at her with large pupil-less ebony eyes.. although it was not it's gaze that had the witch gasping. As it reached towards her with a slimy, webbed paw, all of her focus laid on the wicked smile of rows upon rows of tiny sharp incisors.. teeth as white as it's pale body; the same ivory of freshly picked bones from the crows.
Her stomach rolled, and she coughed, head dipping below the water line. Surging upwards, one by one, more pale bodies appeared around her. Encasing her in a predatory cage as she struggled through the cold waves. Silently they watched her, the air vibrating with their hunger. Gulping, Nimue pushed forward, only a few meters away from the water's edge now. Her shoulder tensed suddenly, a hair's breadth from one of the creature's touching her with a wickedly sharp paw... before SLAM. The water surged in a rush of pale bodies around her, the rise and scream of their chatter in a language she could not understand. Her ears rang as she pumped her legs harder and harder, their slimy bodies rolling across her back and under her stomach, and around her limbs. Scratching and biting with the sting and bite of the cold and the heat of their knife-like mouths on her delicate body. Her head dipped below the water completely with the weight of them all, icy water filling her lungs instead of oxygen, slowly choking her as she fell beneath the waves.
She did not give up. It was not in her nature to do so. In all over her wanderings and watching of the world, Nimue refused to fall into the clutches of these mere creatures. Pulling upwards in a last surge of strength, she broke the surface with a determined scream. Almost there.. only a meter now.. their chatters rising to an unbearable volume as she bared her teeth in anger. Her hoof struck the sloped ground, and with a relieved sigh she threw herself onto the shores. Heaving, hot breath rushing through her nostrils, Nimue looked back at the inky waves behind her. Slowly, the creatures dipped into the deep, until one stopped and turned to look at her with those eyes. It smiled wickedly at her, it's mouth ringed in red. With a curse, she spat at it, her mouth tasting of copper and bile. "Damn you." She could swear the thing's grin only grew larger before it dove, disappearing at last. Her legs shaking, the rosy mare stood, taking her time. With a slow inhale and exhale, she shook her head, her rage broiling white hot and her words rolling out in flames: "Come out you bastard! Show me your face and tell me the truth of this maze."
