Going for the weekend!

All right. It's officially the weekend, which means I'm off to visit a terribly sick relative in the hospital. I can only hope he's better by the time I get there, and not worse or dead. :(

well, I did promise myself that I'd post something to read besides these ramblings before I left, so here it is. The following is an original work of fiction, still in progress.

This is the first page or so of "Icarus no Niji"- roughly, "The Rainbow of Icarus". And no, there's no fangirl Japanese in this; I was listening to some excellent mood music which happened to be Japanese, and that spawned both the title and the general atmosphere of the story. It has aboslutely nothing to do with anything Japanese or fan-related. ^.^ Just thought I'd clear that up first off.

Without further ado, here's "Icarus no Niji".

The world was cold. And the Word was spoken into that silence. Not the word of God, who had long since abandoned His creation, destroyed by the cynicism of its people. Another Word, one of decay, of livid hate and malice. The world turned on its axis, slowly dying.

***

“In other news today, the riots continue to tear up Atropos, the last standing metropolis on the Southern Continent. It is a solemn day here on Icarus. Standing here, you can see the fires….” Maya switched off the news broadcast. She didn’t need to hear the troubles of the world. Maya could tell Icarus was grinding to a halt.

The living world was changing, dying. Plants were sickening and wasting away. Colors were not as bright as they had once been. Birds and other animals were vanishing, leaving the twisting woods in silent misery.

At one point, the planet Icarus had been something akin to paradise. Now, fruits withered on the vine, and children were born into the world misshapen and sickly. Maya sighed.

“Savage! Uncivilised! Come here!” Maya yelled out the kitchen window. Two large, sinuous feline forms leapt onto the outside sill. She sighed as their claws shredded the fresh paint. Even these…. Maya hesitated to name them as cats, even these felines were a sign, a visible reminder that things were not changing for the better. Bigger, fiercer, their bone structure twisted, cats were no longer friendly household pets. Most turned on their former owners yowling and spitting, claws unsheathed. A sort of fierce glee had overtaken the feline population, revelers at a festival of blood and pain.

“The Word…was spoken... And everything changed….” She turned inwards, thoughts cycling endlessly about the Word. The Word was good, the Word was bad, the Word was everything and nothing all at once….

The cats growled, eyes flashing at Maya’s outstretched hand. Savage slashed at it, drawing blood in jagged lines. Uncivilised also clawed at her fingers, slicing deeply. Maya glared at the cats, forgetting all about the Word as her body prepared to heal itself. There were some things that could happen simultaneously for Maya-- healing and thinking about the Word could not.

“Silly things. I feed you, remember?” Maya rubbed at the cuts with her other hand. The blood clotted and scabbed up as she opened the window fully, letting the two felines inside. They were drawn instantly by the smell of fresh fish, and found their dishes piled high with trout. She sighed as they chewed and savaged the fishes.

“It’s not very nice to slice up your auntie, you know?” Maya spoke conversationally, indulgently with the cats. The skin closed over the wounds, knitting together in a matter of seconds. “It’s becoming more difficult to heal lately, more taxing to my strength. You mustn’t do that anymore, okay?” She grinned upon seeing the pair of felines fighting over a fish head.

Suddenly unsettled, Maya cocked her head to the side. Her gaze was blank for a moment, and the cats approached with bristling fur. She continued to stare into space as their whiskers neared her calves. Maya suddenly nodded, the sudden movement sending the cats screaming out the window again. She blinked and looked for her felines. Wincing, she glanced at the kitchen clock. The hands were stopped.

“The Word…” Maya whispered. Sun streamed through the window, oblivious to its grim occupant.

“The Word… has gotten louder…” She sat down, and covered her face as the clock began to tick once more.

***
Let me know what you think, assuming there's anyone out there. ^.^
Ciao!