SupernovaSymphony

  Some lecherous behaviour from bandits.

  [colpse]Also big oof, left in a massive rewritten part, that should be removed now.

  “Gia on a level adjat to some minor deities,” Rava said with a deep breath, her expression turning amused. “And you wao ask, and I quote, ‘If you could have a little nibble.’” She shot a deadpan look at Vivienne, whose eyes were practically gleaming with excitement.

  Vivienne raised her tendrils in mock defensiveness. “Actually, I said I would ask nicely! I would never fet my manners. Not even when sidering a... snack.”

  Rava groaned, but a grin tugged at the er of her mouth. "A snack? Really?" She shook her head. "Well, at least you have your manners."

  “Maybe I should have chased down some of those vilgers while the titan turned her back,” Vivienne mused, her tone ced with wicked glee. A sharp, toothy grin—or rather, a series of grins—flickered across her shifting form. “Their fear was just so... delicious. I could have eaten it right out of the air.”

  Rava gave her a sidelong look, arms crossed. “Right, because nothing screams ‘great idea’ like pissing off a giant who could smear you into the age.”

  Vivieilted her head, mock thoughtfulness flickering in her many eyes. Her form rippled and expanded outward, mass twisting into a six-headed serpentine horror. She reared one of the heads ba a sage nod, her voice emanating in eerie harmony. “Valid,” she said simply, then tracted bato her more amorphous shape.

  Rava blinked, clearly baffled. “Yetting way too fortable with that whole shapeshifting thing.”

  Vivienne hummed, her tone light and satisfied. “Well, practice makes perfect. Plus, it’s fun.” Her eyes flicked to Rava, narrowing with curiosity. “You know, speaking of fort... you’re not afraid of me anymore. Not like you were, at least. I don’t feel it.”

  Rava raised an eyebrow, her tone caught somewhere between exasperation and siy. “Should I be? You’re uling, sure. A nightmare creature with a sense of humour is… erritory for me.” She waved a hand vaguely at Vivienne’s still-shifting form, her expression sharpening. “But let’s be real—during the fight with the soul wraiths, I’d have been dead without you. Hell, most of what was in that ruin could’ve killed me.”

  She hesitated, then turned fully toward Vivienne, her expression softening in a way that made the tension in her shoulders seem heavier. “What you did to those creatures was… terrifying. Truly. But—” Rava dragged a hand through her tangled hair and sighed deeply. “I’m sorry, alright? I was ag like an ass. You’ve been nothing but det to me, and here I was, treating you like some kind of monster.”

  Vivieilled for a moment, her many heads dipping in ption. Then, with a casual wave of her tendrils, she brushed off the apology. “It’s whatever. Pretty sure you were running on fumes—no magio food, no hope of escape—and your best shot was trusting a talking nightmare that, let’s be ho, has no busialking. I don’t bme you.”

  Rava grimaced, her ears flig backward as her arms crossed over her chest, a faint growl of frustration esg her. “I hate apologies,” she muttered, more to herself than Vivienne.

  Vivieilted one of her heads toward her, the rest weaving zily, her maws spreading into mischievous, toothy grins. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll treasure this rare gem for years.”

  “You’re an ass,” Rava deadpanned, narrowing her eyes.

  “Pretty sure you just admitted to being one first,” Vivienne shot back smoothly, her tone dripping with pyful smugness.

  Rava groaned, shaking her head. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t let it go to your head… heads.” She then shifted into a smirk. “Sure. Besides, you’re not half as scary as that giant was.”

  Vivienne scoffed, mock offence rippling through her features. “Not as scary as the giant? Please. I’m terrifying in my own way.”

  “Sure,” Rava replied, the grin tugging at her lips betraying her sarcasm. “Terrifying. Just let me know when you decide to el that into something productive.”

  Vivienne grumbled, her form briefly flickering with agitation. “You know, your sass is wasted on me. I don’t think you appreciate how unnerving I am.”

  “Oh, I appreciate it,” Rava said, deadpan. “It’s just fun watg you try to prove it.”

  Vivienne groaned dramatically, throwing an amorphous limb skyward. “You’re impossible.”

  “Better than being edible,” Rava shot back with a wink.

  Vivienne paused for a beat, then burst into overpping ughter. “Alright, fine. Point to you.”

  Rava’s grin faded, her ears flig toward the left as her expression turned razor-sharp. Her tail stilled, and she muttered low, her voice carrying a weight of quiet authority.

  “Hide. We’re not alone.”

  Viviened into the forest’s shadows without a word, her fluid form vanishing into the surrounding gloom. Her gleaming, shifting eyes blinked out, leaving only the fai ripple of dispced aether to mark her presence.

  Rava, standing in the small clearing, made no attempt to ceal herself. Instead, she adjusted her stance, feet pnted and arms loose at her sides. She exhaled slowly, sing the trees.

  They came like wolves.

  The first to step into view was a hulking man with a tangled beard and a rusted axe slung over his shoulder. He wore a patchwork of leathers, his broad chest barely tained by a threadbare shirt. His gaze flicked over Rava, and a smirk tugged at his lips.

  “Well now, what’s this?” he rumbled, his voice gravelly and amused. “Little dy, out here all alone? Not a stitch of armour—or anything else, for that matter. You’re braver than most.”

  He was fnking the left of a stocky woman clutg a metal banded club, oher side a wiry man with a wicked grin and a bow slung across his back. They fanned out, their eyes glinting with cruel i.

  “You’ve got two choices,” the wiry one drawled, his gaze lingering on Rava’s bare form. “Hand over everything you’ve got, or we’ll take it. And I meahing. I always wao quer a rge woman.”

  The stocky leader gave a low chuckle. “Maybe we start with ynity. How ‘bout you kneel for us, eh? Might even take you back to the camp if you behave. Let my boys have a go at ya.”

  Rava tilted her head, her expression bnk save for the fai flicker of amusement in her golden eyes. She took a step forward, unfazed by the leering bandits.

  “You wao kneel?” she repeated, her voice calm but ced with dry incredulity. “Actually, I have a better idea. Drop your ons, and you”—she poi the big man’s shirt—“surrender your clothes.”

  The bandits burst into ughter.

  The wiry man doubled over, clutg his sides. “Oh, she’s got a mouth on her! I like it. Re she’s lost her mind.”

  The broad oepped closer, barely eye to eye with Rava, his grin turning predatory. “You’re funny, but that’s not how this works. How about we take what we want, and you get to keep breathing? Seems fair.”

  Rava’s lips curled into a sly, toothy grin, her sharp es gleaming in the dim light. “Fair, is it? Let me offer you a warning, then.”

  The big man leaned in, his breath hot and rancid. “Oh yeah? What’s the warning, sweetheart?”

  Rava’s voice dropped to a low growl, her grin widening. “I unleash nightmares on anyone who pushes their luck. And trust me, you’ll wish I’d just taken your clothes.”

  The stocky woman snorted, hefting her club with a smirk. “Nightmares, huh? Big talk for someone so outnumbered. There’s more of us waiting irees, mutt.”

  Rava’s ears flicked forward, catg the fai shift of movement in the nearby shadows. Her grin widened, her es on full dispy, a predatlint in her eyes. “Vivienne,” she called out without looking back, her tone rich with teasing menace, “how hungry are you?”

  From the shadows, Vivienne’s voice emerged, smooth and low, carrying an edge that sent shivers through the bandits. “Ravenous,” she purred, the word curling like smoke through the tension. “I might even skip dessert.”

  The bandits exged uneasy gheir leader's grip on her club tightening as her fidence flickered. But before anyone could respond, a blood-curdling scream pierced the forest from somewhere nearby, shattering the uneasy quiet.

  “What was that?” one of the bandits barked, spinning toward the sound with wide, panicked eyes.

  The leader cursed, her bravado slipping. “Who’s out there?” she growled, trying to keep her crew from scattering like startled rabbits.

  Rava seized the moment, taking a step back to tre herself. Her voice cut through the chaos like steel: “Ct evmjtat olfh ae tatolucaem c, cu jev tat olujat mev!” The spell flowed from her with practised ease, and a surge of strength ignited in her limbs, coiling like a spring ready to strike.

  Using the distra of the distant scream, Rava lunged forward, her fist swinging in a blur of raw power as she struck the first bandit square in the chest. The impact sent him flying bato the others with a siing thud, knog them off band scattering their formation.

  The bandit leader snarled, raising her club. “Take her down! Don’t just stand there, you useless lot!”

  Rava didn’t give them the ce troup. She closed the distao the bandit with terrifying speed, her ented strength making every movement a blur. A heavy punch crashed into the side of a woman’s face, sending her spinning into the dirt.

  The remaining bandits scrambled, their bravado repced by panie of the rger men, likely emboldened by his size, charged Rava with a raised axe.

  Rava ducked the first swing with a fluid roll, twisting around his side. "You’re a big one," she muttered, her grin fshing even as she pnted an uppercut into his gut. He staggered back, wheezing. "Mind if I borrow your outfit when this is done?"

  Before he could reply—or retaliate—another scream tore through the forest, closer this time. The sound was guttural, desperate, and abruptly cut off, leaving an eerie silen its wake.

  The bandits froze, their eyes darting toward the shadows where Vivienne had vanished.

  “What the hell is out there?” one of them whimpered, his on trembling in his hands.

  “Nothing good,” Rava replied, her tone calm but edged with amusement. “But if you’d like to find out, feel free to run.”

  The leader’s eyes darted between Rava and the darkness. “Stop pying games! Everyone, regroup and—”

  From the shadows came the whisper of movement—too fast, too fluid to follow. A shadowy form streaked through the er of their vision, apanied by a wet, guttural ch. One of the bandits at the edge of their group colpsed, clutg his throat, his wide eyes refleg a nightmare none of them could see.

  Rava tilted her head, watg the chaos unfold with a bemused expression. “I did warn you about nightmares,” she said lightly, crag her knuckles. “Though I’d say yetting the express version.”

  Another bandit turo run, only to be yanked backward into the dark by something unseen. His scream ended abruptly, leaving the remaining attackers wide-eyed and frozen in pce.

  Vivienne’s voice echoed from the shadows, sing-song chorus. “Would you like another ce to surrender? My friend is menerous than I.”

  The leader spun toward the voice, her knuckles white around the handle of her club. “Face me, monster!”

  Vivienne emerged from the shadows slowly, first a single serpentine head, then ahen ahen another. Her body flickered like smoke in the moonlight, her heads raised up, randomly snapping at disjointed intervals. Her teeth glinted in a series of wicked, overppiical grins. “As you wish,” she said, her voice a low, reverberating purr.

  The leader sightening her grip on her club. "Enough of this! You think you intimidate me, creature?"

  The leader snarled, her eyes snapping from Rava to Vivienne, who was now fully out of the shadows, her form shimmering and flickering like a mirage in the night air. Vivienne’s heads snapped forward, as if testing the bandits’ resolve, eae darting toward different targets. Her eyes, glowing like molten gold, were fixed on the leader.

  Vivienne’s smile widened, her form twisting, the serpentine heads hissing and snapping as she swirled around. “I don’t o intimidate you. I simply o make you uand something. The moment you decided to attack, you gave up your ce to walk away.”

  With a flick of her heads, Vivienne shot forward with terrifying speed, and in the same instant, the remaining bandits screamed as they were torn from their feet, yanked into the shadows by unseen forces. The air vibrated with an unnatural hum, a force that seemed to emanate from deep within the earth itself.

  Vivieilted her head, her eyes gleaming as she surveyed the leader, who now stood alone, eyes wide with panic. “You’re the st one,” she purred, her voice dripping with dark amusement. “It seems your friends aren’t very loyal. I suppose I’ll take that as a pliment. They left you for me.”

  The leader, breathing heavily, stumbled back. She gripped her club tighter, her knuckles white as she tried to steady herself. “I won’t go down without a fight!”

  Vivienne’s grin widened, her gaze narrowing, and the shadows around her seemed to deepen. “Please do. I’m not the one who’s going to be suffering after all.”

  The leader, desperate now, swung her club at the darkness where Vivienne had been only moments before. She missed, the air cutting through with a hiss as Vivienne’s figure reappeared in front of her with an impossible speed. The bandit froze, her pulse hammering ihroat.

  “Do you really think that will stop me?” Vivienne’s voice was a low, velvety purr. “You’re already marked. My shadows are hungry for you.”

  The leader's breath caught ihroat as one of Vivienne's serpentine heads flicked forward with deadly speed, just barely missing her face as it s the air. A sharp, eerie ugh echoed from the darkness around them.

  Vivienne, her eyes glittering with amusement, leaned closer. “That was a warning. The ime, you won't be so lucky.”

  The leader's eyes darted around the clearing, looking for any escape, but the shadows were closing in fast. A brief scream escaped her lips, but it was cut short as Vivienne’s form blurred, shifting and twisting, aying in one pce long enough to be targeted.

  Vivienne’s ughter bubbled up again, cold and cruel. “You ’t outrun your fear,” she purred, her voice rolling like a dark lulby. “And you will fear me, even if you have to beg for mercy.”

  Her words were barely a whisper wheruck again, another head darting from the darkness and coiling around the leader’s wrist. It yanked her off her feet with terrifying ease, and her club fell from her hand, nding with a hollow thud on the forest floor.

  The leader’s chest heaved in panic, but she had no time to react. Vivienne’s voiow came in a chorus, ethereal and otherworldly, filling the air. “Do you wish to fight, still? Or shall I show you what nightmares truly feel like?”

  The leader’s eyes flitted around in a final, frantic search for salvation—but it was too te. Vivienne’s heads shot forward in unison, encirg the leader and drawing her into the crushing embrace of shadows. The leader let out o scream before it was swallowed by the night, her cries fading into eerie silence.

  Vivieood among the motionless forms of the bandits, her grin fading into a satisfied smirk. She gnced over to where Rava was finishing her own task, then looked back at the trembling figure still held in her grip.

  “sider this mercy,” she murmured, her voice low, but carrying an undeniable edge of threat.

  Vivienne released her hold, letting the leader crumple to the ground, unscious but alive, the lingering traces of fear still pulsing in the air around them.

  Rava walked over, a look of quiet approval on her face. “Nice work,” she said, giving Vivienne a nod.

  Vivienne smirked, tilting her head. “I didn’t kill them. Just had a snack.”

  Rava gnced down at the fallen bandits, her lips curling into a small, satisfied smile. “Well, I guess I’ll leave the ‘snag’ to you. I’ll hahe looting.”

  “Don’t mind if I do,” Vivienne hummed, her voice thick with uraihusiasm.

  With a flick of her heads, Vivienne’s serpentine forms slowly dissolved into her formless, shadowy self. Her presence flickered like smoke in the moonlight as she moved toward the unscious bandits. Each body was left in a sprawled heap—perfect subjects for her experiment.

  Vivienne hovered over one of the fallen, her many heads flig with quiet excitement. Rava had mentioned before that nightmares caused bad dreams, that they fed on the fear aether left behind. Now, with so ma subjects, it was a veritable buffet awaiting her.

  Her formless body swirled around the first bandit, her touch barely noticeable—more like a cold, suffog pressure than physical tact. She could feel it—the rising pulse of fear beh the surface of their minds, like a simmering pot ready to boil over.

  Vivienne smiled, sharp and wicked. “This... is going to be delightful.”

  The first bandit began to tremble. His breathing quied and became shallow, his body jerkih the weight of the nightmare Vivienne wove into his mind. His eyelids flickered beh the weight of his dreams, caught in a vision of terror only Vivienne could jure. She felt the fear roll off him in waves—rid intoxig—and with a slow, almost deliberate motion, she absorbed it, sav the power that surged through her.

  As she moved from one body to the , she noticed how fear varied from person to person, but the essence was always the same: a potent, fear-filled sweethat fueled her hunger. It was like a fine wine, rich with tension, power, and the raw pulse of life ging desperately to its mortal coil.

  Behind her, Rava was already pulling treasures from the bandits' bags, her movements swift and effit. Vivienne, however, took her time, each bandit a new opportunity to experiment, to drink deeper of the fear that flowed so freely from them.

  With each passing minute, Vivienne's form seemed to grow more fluid, more powerful. The nightmares intensified, and she revelled in it. One final twist of her hand, and the st bandit fell limp, his body twitg as the remnants of his terror g to the air.

  Vivieilted her head back, basking iermath. Her hunger had been sated—for now.

  She turo Rava, a wicked smile curling at the edges of her lips. “I’m feeling... much better now,” she purred, the satisfa clear in her voice.

  Rava didn't look up from her task but gave a brief nod, her lips twitg as she tinued looting. “I’ll bet you are. Though, try not to overdo it. We’ve still got a long way to go.”

  Vivienne gave a casual wave with her tendrils, as if it were no big deal. “I’m not overdoing it. Just... experimenting. Oh you should have seen the sights I gave that leader dy. Sublime.”

  Rava didn’t respond, but the smirk on her face grew ever so slightly as she tinued her work. The stillness of the forest was deafening now—only the fai sounds of Vivienne's humming and Rava’s methodical rummaging breaking the silence.