《Energy》Energy 15: Dawn
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It appeared in a cave, as it would have wanted if it had any real capacity to ‘want’. Things would have been inconvenient if it had appeared anywhere else, but it could probably manage. At least, it thought so.
Where most creatures were blind in the level of darkness surrounding the cathid, its massive eye captured even the faintest traces of light. Where that wasn’t sufficient, a friendly, bioluminescent bacteria residing in the fluid that lubricates its eye generated just enough light for it to make out a small space in front of it. The cathid also primarily ate dead things. Hunting those was relatively safe from the cathid’s perspective. Dead things tend not to eat you back.
All in all, the cathid was very proud of how well suited for its environment it was.
The only issue was that this world was so new that nothing had really gotten the chance to die yet, and the cathid was hungry. It had wandered the caves for hours, trying to find food and get a grasp of its new home. The fruit of its labor was only a few bites of some small wall plants and a bit of water from the moist cave walls.
Though the cathid cared little for the day/night cycles of the outside, it did get tired, especially when it was hungry. And it was hungry.
It found a small indentation to curl up in and passed into worried unconsciousness. It could not go on forever without real food.
Some time later, the scratching of some of its fellow creatures shuffling across the floor woke the cathid. It held very still, doing its best to avoid being noticed. The fellow creatures were not all nice. The cathid avoided all of them, just in case.
The creatures appeared to be heading toward a specific destination, however, and while the cathid didn’t like interacting with fellow creatures, it did like the food they left behind when they hunted.
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So it followed.
The cathid watched, skulking in the safe darkness, as the creatures succeeded in providing a meal for it, but not in the way those creatures probably wanted.
The cathid cared little for the combat, but the predator that took its fellow creatures on was quite formidable. It managed to take a lot of damage without succumbing itself. This was slightly displeasing to the cathid because such a creature would have much more food in it than its fellows could possibly want, so there would be plenty for the cathid.
The cathid did not expect the predator to ignore the food left by the creatures that attacked it. The predator seemed to care nothing for them.
The cathid, however, did.
Once the predator left the cave, the cathid took its chance to dig into its less fortunate fellows. So great was its desire to eat that it did not notice the predator come back into the cave and step in its way.
The cathid did not blame the predator for then protecting its food, and quickly scurried off rather than risk further damage. It did not need food badly enough to die for it.
The cathid would, however, risk continuing to watch.
The predator huddled up and stopped moving after a few more minutes, appearing to have gone to its own unconsciousness. It had, however, left the pile of food untouched. It wondered why the predator had protected the food once but not then eaten it. Perhaps it was left for the cathid?
Confident in its understanding of the situation, the cathid crawled over and dug into the fresh food. It ate until it was satisfied.
Then it ate more.
It stopped when it hurt to move.
The cave was cold, too close to the outside and too far from the heat of the home. The cathid went to leave through the hole it entered through, but was surprised to find it could not lift its food laden body to the hole anymore.
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The cathid became alarmed! And if it had any capacity to believe it had inferior intelligence to anything else, now would be a strong point of evidence in its mind. However, it did not, which was part of the reason it decided that, rather than waste the food by throwing it up, that it would curl up on the predator. The predator was very warm, and this pleased the satisfied cathid. It quickly fell into unconsciousness, far less worried than before.
----
The cathid did not understand the predator very well. The predator was clearly afraid of something, but the cathid could not figure out what. What could possibly cause fear in something that could get beaten so much and still live? Nothing the cathid wanted anything to do with. The cathid *did* know that the predator could possibly continue leaving food in its wake, which would be a good thing if the cathid was nearby. The cathid decided to follow the predator, and fortunately for it, the predator allowed the cathid to ride on it!
The cathid felt very safe being protected by the predator.
It tried to help as best it could. The predator could fight, but it could not climb very well.
The cathid could. The cathid helped.
---
The bright, painful ball in the above had only gotten more painful as they descended. The cathid didn’t like it very much. Too much light was much worse than too little. The cathid knew this.
But, the predator interrupted its suffering by asking a strange question. The cathid barely understood its meaning, but the cathid knew the predator would protect it, so it agreed.
The cathid did not understand what happened next. It felt that it had lost a part of itself, but that what had replaced it was something greater. Better.
The cathid had changed, but understanding had come with it. Understanding of the predator, understanding of itself.
The predator had seemed angry with this one, but the it passed quickly.
This cathid could communicate with the predator now. It could explain. It was happy about that. The predator asked some difficult questions that this cathid couldn’t answer. It was sad about that.
This cathid resolved to help as best it could. Perhaps this cathid could grow further with the help of the predator. It just needed to prove its use.
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Rise of the Immortals
A broken man loses his last thread of faith in humanity in a world filled with bloodshed. As he breathes his last, he curses the living before he dies. And with this, the first Immortal was born. Author's Note; Cover art not owned by me, credit goes to whoever owns it! (Whenever I put it in) This is my first fiction-- feel free to criticize any flaws that you see in my work! I'll try to post whenever I can, which is relatively frequent. Enjoy!
8 261Flawsome
>> Featured Staff Pick on Tapas.io! “Imagine someone who likes you so much, they make you like yourself.” Looking at sixteen-year-old Neo Favre, there isn't anything to point out that would explain him being heavily bullied. He has loving parents, a healthy amount of sibling rivalry to overcome every day. He can be funny, he is nice, he isn't an annoying know-it-all nerd. He's just like any other teenager attending Haven Highschool. Except one thing; Neo suffers from OCD, and his irky habits are solely the reason for his classmates to make fun of him. But as much as he tries to hide his annoying habits of counting literally everything, entering a class without touching the floor right in front of the first desk, tapping light button's to the beat of "we will rock you" and any other small tic, his fellow students know, and they use it to bully him endlessly. Neo just wants it all to end, but right when he worked up the guts to put his actions where his mouth is, Calo show's up to save the day, and maybe his week. And who knows, maybe even his life.
8 209Epoch of Ruin - (A GameLit Apocalypse)
It wasn't every day Cain was able to enjoy a relaxing drive through Montana after a vacation, even if the scenery was a bit on the bland side. It also wasn't every day he crashed into the side of a highway and got immediately beset upon by wolves. With every passing moment, Cain's understanding of the world unravels bit by bit, as strange books, fantastical powers, and bloodthirsty creatures become a part of a typical Tuesday afternoon. Cain must adjust to this new reality quickly, and lend a helping hand to those around him, lest the ever-increasing horde of monsters begin to win in their blossoming war against humanity. ~~~Updates Tuesday, Saturday ~~~ Cover art by insspirito, from pixabay.
8 105The Shadow of the Moon
In the boundless place,from which mere glimpses emerge,striking only the corner of the eye. Where the immobile frolic and dance,and the silent whisper,sweet songs of mute beauty. The favoured haven,of forgotten memories slipped on silver scales,from the minds of the innocent. There lies the shadow of the moon. A collection of fantasy short stories Cover art by https://www.instagram.com/chari_sweetsourtofuu/
8 90A Tragedy for a Demon Lord
In a world created from the love of two goddesses exists endless possibilities. The children of the two goddesses were given the gift of mana, a tool that can weave miracles through thoughts. Yet, with unlimited possibilities, prosperity was the first that disappeared in the world.While there was no difference between the two faction except for the fact that they were born from different mothers, conflict eventually arose out of that single disparity. The children of light saw the foreboding darkness within the heart of their enemies, yet they, who were born in the light, did not realize that they had stepped into the darkness. Because of the desire to eliminate the proclaimed heretics, the world was plunged into chaos and war.Those born to lead the children of the darkness were originally kind hearted souls. Their sole desire was to live in order to worship their mother and goddess. When the thought of war arose, they were the first to reject it. Even though they were born from darkness, they understood how beautiful the light, and the gift of life they received, was. However, after losing everyone and everything, their heart were eventually plunged into darkness. Without anything to live for, without anything to hold them back, they allowed themselves to be consumed by hatred. Cursing the Goddess of Light for the death of their family, those born from the darkness turned away from the light. From the chaos, the demon lords were born, and the cycle of chaos began. Long into the future, where those gifted with the ability to manipulate mana existed in few numbers, a child, fated to be consumed by chaos, was born. The child, born on the horizon that separates darkness and light, was given the blessing of both the Goddess of Darkness and the Goddess of Light. Because he did not exist within either side of the horizon, he was alone. Kept hidden within the castle of his father, he saw little of the world. But, he was content with the life he was given. He had loved his mother and father far more than he loved the world. As long as they were beside him, he did not feel alone. But, when the fated day arrived, his life was shattered. Broken and in despair, a child, born from the love of a demon lord and a human, sought for revenge- the sole reason he continues to live within a cold and merciless world that would never accept him.
8 177Falling (A Sam Evans Fan Fiction)
"Is it true that you are a burden to many?" asked JBI. "That depends." Haley replied not making eye contact.Set in Glee Season 2 and onward until Season 6.Disclaimer: I only own Haley's dialogue and occasionally some of the other character's dialogue. FYI deals with some mature topics: mental abuse, mental health issues, and some more difficult topics.(#1 in Gleeks -January 25, 2021)(#16 in Sam Evans-January 25, 2021-was number #1 a few weeks ago)(#32 in Glee-January 25, 2021)(#11 in Sam Evans-January 30, 2021) (#22 in Glee-February 10, 2021)(#9 in Glee-Mar 6, 2021)(#6 in Glee-Mar 25, 2021)(#5 in Glee-April 1, 2021)-no joke.(#5 in Sam Evans-April 1, 2021)-also no joke.
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