Leaves crunched beneath their feet, twigs snapped on their flesh and fur, the circus fell farther behind them. They ran frantically, unaware of the way to the Secret Land. That did not matter. All that mattered in that moment was survival, and they were in a world that seemed ever hostile.
A series of lights lured them through the woods, though they were cautious of traps. Every so often a pair of glowing orbs would zip through the trees before disappearing out of sight. Sometimes they were heading left, sometimes they were heading right. Always they came with the loud whoosh of shoved air.
Yet maybe it was a sign from the Great Ones. A path back home. Brrda crept ahead as another pair appeared not far off. The trees fell away, grass became hard stone. Gravel stuck between his toes and small pebbles raced across the cracked earth. The lights grew closer, larger, brighter. Something rumbled behind them. No, not rumbled. Something roared.
It was then that Brrda realized these lights were not the beacons of his deities, but the eyes of some terrible beasts. Its roar grew louder, deafening when combined with the air that pushed around it. Wind knocked the Savage Savior off his heels as the beast rumbled by, disappearing into the horizon as others had before it. Now, though, Brrda could see a pair of red eyes glaring back at him.
These are not beasts, he decided, These are demons.
He shied from the demon's path for some miles, but walked beside it as he had no other landmarks. Retsis, while loyal to her master, remained hidden in the nearby bushes, creeping along with her eyes glued to the path. Eventually the tangled woods opened into a field of tall grass which waved lazily in the humid breeze. Brrda continued on following the path, urging Retsis to follow with him. She was coaxed from the woods with some distance, but remained yards away from the path and crouched low into the grass.
The blue sky swam with pink and purple as the moon began to wane. In the distance appeared a dome of light bursting from the openings of stone towers. Not far ahead was a large monument illuminated by some inner light. It stood tall on a pair of metal legs and displayed a language Brrda could not read over the image of a woman relaxing by a square sort of pond surrounded all over by cement. It was so vivid that Brrda had at first mistaken the woman for a giant, but it was soon clear to be little more than a lifeless image.
A strange sensation overcame Brrda. It was something of nostalgia, yet more mixed in. He grew hot, tired. An annoyance at first mistaken for the need to urinate. With haste he was rid of the chaffing leather piece, but found that his bladder was empty. Deducing the image to cast some sort of spell he tried to look away, but he found himself mesmerized by the woman depicted. He found his eyes following the length of her legs, dipping into the curves of her hips. He drank deeply all details of her shape and studied curiously the sun reflecting off her sleek skin. He continued the journey up beyond her torso, stopping at her chest.
Her nipples could barely be made out from beneath the yellow clothing she wore. They brought him back to his earliest memories, when he was fed on his mother's milk. He found himself longing suddenly to suckle in a way he hadn't in over thirty years.
The threatening roar of a demon, larger and longer than the others he had seen, ripped Brrda out of his trance. He dove into the tall grass, watching through the blades until the monster disappeared into the distant temples. He snorted, glanced at the image again, then forced his gaze away. The image cast an addictive charm, no doubt, but Brrda was not a fool. He would not let himself be stalled by the temptations of demons.
Not far ahead he spotted a tortoise struggling to cross the rocky path. On most occasions this would not keep the Savage Savior's attention, but at this moment he spotted also a demon speeding toward the hapless animal.
This may not be my home, Brrda thought, but I am still a guardian.
Instantly he sprang into action, darting across the path with lightning speed. Retsis remained nearby, crouched in the grass and ready to pounce. The demon made no call to stop, but it squawked angrily as though to challenge the savage. Brrda, his patience with this strange world already gone, met the challenge and made his fists into the mouth of the monster. It crumpled and squeaked, bellowing smoke from the sides. A hatch on the side swung open and out tumbled a large man with fire in his voice. It was then that Brrda realized these demons to be nothing more than contraptions similar to the flying home of the treasure thief.
The man approached Brrda, but the savage ignored him. Instead he knelt down to the tortoise, which had shrunk to the ground in fear, and scooped it into his arms. The angered man grabbed Brrda's shoulder and made his hand a fist, but he was soon pounced upon by Retsis, who had also realized that the demons were not as they seemed.
Brrda placed the tortoise on the other side of the path, patted it on its shell, and carried on his way. Though he went on, he could feel her eyes gazing at him and then returned the desires of a boy. The strong want to suckle.
