story writing is fun what can i say
The last one had a somewhat happy ending and not enough trauma. gotta up the ante

still Karramtasla/Tasla, afab she/her, straight
though she goes by Karram until bAd tHiNgS hApPeN
This story takes place on a planet of mine with made-up species, so if i mention “santleem” or any other made-up word, yeah, it's one of those species. Also the “Aenile” mentioned is the god of darkness.

WARNING!!!!
bl00d and d3ath!!! and sack of ricing! and some VERY bad parenting for good measure!

Karramtasla snarled at the santskyon that loomed over her, the massive shadow all-consuming.

“GET AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Tasla screeched.

“Karram- please- I just want to help you.” the santskyon groaned.

“HELP me?! THAT'S A LIE, YOU JERK! I TRUSTED you, and look where THAT'S landed me!” Tasla shrieked in response.

“I… I'm sorry, Tasla. I never meant for it to end that way. I am your friend, I swear it.”

“You are NOT. No friend would leave me to suffer like that. I almost D!ED, Xarecha. In fact, I am dy!ng. All because of you.” Tasla flicked up her withered front leg, blackened and shriveled with sickness.

“Karram, I mean it, I never meant to hurt you!”

“Perhaps you didn't mean for it to happen, but it did.” Tasla's voice was as cold as ice.

The santskyon sighed, and turned away. “Maybe you're right. Maybe you're better off without me.”

Tasla cast her mind back in time, thinking about what had happened…

-flashback-
Karramtasla had been alone, struggling to survive in the endless night of Faelinea's dark side. The ice seeped into her body, making her feel like an ice statue, not even a living creature. Her stomach hadn't even felt hollow anymore, so used to its emptiness that she was. She'd almost been eaten multiple times, so she was constantly on edge, never trusting any Faelinean no matter how friendly they seemed.

If only she could leave the eternal night.

But she couldn't. It was the one place where she would never come. The night was too bitterly cold for her. Tasla wished more than anything that she could have been a proper mother, instead of a demented follower of Aenile who'd wanted to sacrifice Tasla from the moment she'd been born. Even the thought of her made Tasla want to run away and never sit still again. How could someone be cruel enough to sacrifice a CHILD?! Especially their own child! It was an enigma that Tasla hoped she would never understand, for that would mean she would be as terrible as her.

But it was this that gave Tasla the will to stay alive in the shadow-coated dark side of the world.

One day, Tasla was swimming, wondering if she was any better at fishing than hunting, when a sudden pain jolted her tail. Bubble spilled endlessly from her mouth as the lesh-flinix that had grabbed her pulled her to the dark deptgs below. She struggled viciously, desperate for air, but the lesh-flinix's beak held tight. Her oxygen-depraved mind flickered, and a sudden idea struck her addled mind, one she never would have thought of if she hadn't felt so doomed. She flicked out her claws, turned around, and began sawing at the base of her tail. She ignored the bright sting of pain it caused, and kept hacking away until she burst free. She turned and quickly blasted upwards, the lesh-flinix still confused, too confused to follow. She slammed onto the shore with a gasp, and promptly fell unconcious.

When she awoke, she found herself in a cave with another Faelinean.

“A-am I dead?” she managed to croak out.

The other Faelinean jumped and turned around.

“Oh- uh, no! Why would you think that?” the Faelinean said.

“Because I passed out bl33ding like, a lot?” Tasla responded.

“Right. Uh- well, you're not dead. I happened to find you. So, you were very lucky.”

“…Ah. okay.”

Tasla started to get up, ready to leave. For she still didn't trust anyone, even someone who'd supposedly saved her life. To her suprise, the larger Faelinean didn't try to stop her from leaving, which have her pause. If the other Fae was dangerous, she probably wouldn't be able to leave right now.

Maybe she'd finally found someone trustworthy?

“…What's your name?” asked Tasla.

“I'm Xarecha! How about you?” said the Fae.

“Karramtasla. But call me Karram. Would you… want to… travel… together?” Tasla asked uncertainly.

“Sure!” replied Xarecha.

The two spent time together, slowly becoming friends. It seemed like Tasla really had found someone who didn't want to kill her all the time. But that all shattered soon enough…

“Hey, want to meet one of my other friends?” asked Xarecha to Tasla.

“Uhhh…” Tasla said, unsure.

“Come on! She's really nice!”

“I really don't know…”

“Trust me on this, it'll be great!”

“Fine…” Tasla finally conceded.

Xarecha grinned (well, as much as a mouthless creature can).

The duo walked for a long time, Tasla slowly becoming wary as the night turned to dusk, then to day, and her surroundings gres familiar. Finally, they stopped at a run-down encampment.

“Oh no… No, no, no, no!” Tasla screamed. She tried to run, but Xarecha stepped onto her, preventing it. Tasla's scream only grew louder when she saw a familiar Fae walking towards her. It was… HER.

“Here's my friend! She really wanted to meet you. She said I should bring you here. I don't know why though.” said Xarecha.

“I wanted her here so that she could be… rewarded. You may go, Xarecha.” said the figure, her voice an evil-sounding rasp.

Xarecha nodded, leaving Tasla alone with her mother. Her mother grabbed her, making sure she didn't run without Xarecha to step on her.

Then her mother raised a dark stone. Nocnodr. The legendary rock that supposedly could channel the power of Aenile…

“Since you escaped so long ago, I've been plotting to find you and finish what I started. But then I decided sacrifice was too good for you. Instead… you shall slowly die, cursed with the incurable Aenilean Plague… enjoy.” her mother said with a cackle. Then the stone an eerie glowing black and Tasla suddenly felt weak. Her mother smiled coldly, and walked away.

Tasla began to sob.

-return to the present-

Tasla watched Xarecha leave. She felt both melancholy and joyful at the same time, sad to have lost a friend, but of course, Xarecha wasn't really her friend. She should have never talked to Xarecha, never have left the endless night. She stared at her weak body, most of it wrapped in cloth to conceal how withered it was. Ink-colored tears fell from her eyes, another effect of the plague. Tears that would soon fill her eyes, turning them black and sightless. And once that happened, her d3ath would be imminent.

She was so young. She thought she could have maybe one day had a good life, maybe even find a mate and have her own children. Children who she would treat right. But now it would never happen. Thanks to Xarecha. And she suddenly made a vow to herself, to make Xarecha suffer.

With a new determination filling her body, she ran after the santskyon.

…the end…?