Campaign entries - Caspian: Eventide Ring, ch2 - the fox and the hound - 725 words

#1 The Fox

The sly little fox construct brings all sorts of trouble along with it. Draw or write your character meeting or interacting with the fox construct. Your piece must include your character and the fox construct.

 

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"No. Stop. Leave it alone. Puro! Bad! Sit! Play dead! Come back here and stay still!"

 

Caspian watched Kyy struggle with the saluki-like mutt from the nethers, trying to stay on its tail to the best of his abilities. The shifter rarely saw the troll-thing take any steps that could resemble running. This felt like a silly, and a very much pointless privilege he wasn't supposed to have in the first place. Caspian's arms lied crossed on his chest, back leaned against a stone wall behind him. Where the eternal's amused gaze followed the grey man, another pair of eyes followed his example. The two small flames crackled with alert interest.

 

Palo - a pitch black dog with a skull for its head and a small, white splotch on its chest - sat calmly next to the Athos, following the scene unfolding in front of them both. The whole happening felt like a horrendously wrapped bundle, that only waited to burst open from the badly taped seams. Whoever had scrambled it together was either in a hurry, or didn't give a flying squirrel's backside.

 

Even when being chased, the fox construct itself only seemed to enjoy the chaos it was able to raise. Cold light, akin to that of Luna, sprinkled itself in clear rays into the spire through its narrow, slit-like open windows. It dimly illuminated the circular space that was made entirely out of stone and chiseled bricks, highlighting the fox construct's bright and glowing, simulated fur. Trickles and spots of luster danced and twirled across the walls, as the cyan tod and black dog ran laps around the room repeatedly.

 

Kyy stopped, and stumbled into the middle of the room. He leaned forwards, hands firmly on his knees. He was out of breath. Caspian chuckled soundlessly.

 

"Calm down," he attempted to reassure Kyy, "it's not like it can maul a construct like that lifeless."

 

Despite the shapeshifter's factual point, Kyy only replied with a single, vexed huff. Yes, the head of the fox could be torn away from its immaterial body, but the magic would just pop into existence again, wherever the cranium had the audacity to go. It wasn't a fragile little bird or a rodent that hid for its life. Puro wouldn't be able to end its life - if it was alive at all.

 

Out of nowhere, the construct took a hard left. It beelined straight to Caspian, and quickly skittered up to his shoulder. The man didn't mind, only tried to pet its metallic head - but the horrified look on Kyy's face made him realize the weight of the situation.

 

Caspian looked to his right. The blazes held within Palo's eye sockets had considerably grown in size, and they followed each and every one of the fox construct's movements keenly. Extremely keenly.

 

He turned to look to the other side. The slender hound approached him slowly, almost as if ready to pounce. Caspian inhaled through gritted teeth. He fanned the fox with his hand to chase it off, but in vain. He tried to push it away by its cranium, but the head always floated back nearly instantly. Getting an actual hold of that metal-made skull was as hopeless as a grip on a bar of soap with wet hands in a hurry. The construct scurried from one point to the other constantly on the shifter's body, to avoid getting caught. It seemed to think that all of this was just a silly little game.

 

Caspian felt a hot draft on the side of his neck. Puro had moved to a snapping distance when he was busy with the fox. Now even Palo stood up. They both stared at the eternal like they hungered for a hunk of flesh to consume - or rather, they stared at the fox construct. At least they didn't salivate. Kyy had mentioned that his dogs didn't eat, but that offered very little help now.

 

Kyy watched Caspian struggle with the two mutts from the nethers. The trio - or quartet if one counted the construct as one - ran in a circle along the room's wall. Kyy stood in the middle of the tragicomic play, not even trying to follow it. He knew it would only make him dizzy. The grey man straightened his posture and stretched.

 

This would be an even longer day than he had imagined.