The Thingy

Everything was blood and soaked with blood. 

Like walking through a vault of hell with no end in sight!

It was so hot that one could nearly feel their skin peeling right off...there was no sight of life anywhere in sight! 

Unless life now counted as dead animal bones alongside human ones.

Saph held the creature close to his chest, perhaps he should’ve chosen something more easy-going for the mortal infant.

For in this place? 

A place where you could hear the distant calls of crazed laughter and the clanging of a metal mug? 

It wasn’t the best place to be.

“Ha! You think that ugly thing is mine?!” The Goddess laughed as she sat in her throne of bones, decorated with skin that neither of the pair were eager to find out if it was human or not. 

“The day I create a mortal that’s so...squishy, is the day that I cease to exist.” She continued.

“We’re just asking so we can return him!” Saph said. 

“Well then, you two are fools for thinking I’d create something as weak as that little mortal infant.”

Saph’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, why did he even choose to come here in the first place? A voice in the back of his head had told him that this was a mistake! That this woman would never be capable of truly caring for her creations and actually focusing on something else rather than how useful or good they were in a fight!  It was despicable.

“Well, do you know if the other Gods have been creating something recently? Like Inigo for example?” Inno butted in suddenly, his tail forming to make a question mark before the Goddess tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully.

“Don’t waste your time on that strange man, he’ll chase you out as soon as you enter his realm. Last time I visited? He stated he was working on some ‘huge’ project, whatever that meant.” She grumbled before she turned her head away to face her mirror once more.

That along told the pair she was done talking, that is, if her taking a large sip from her mug wasn’t a sign in of itself. The Goddess had never participated in a war herself yet always prided herself in making creatures that were best suited for war! 

In all honesty?

When the two were alone that is, they had always gossiped and snickered to themselves that she didn’t even know how to handle a sword! That everything she wore and did, to the armor she wore on her body, to even her actions of shouting and laughing pridefully. Nothing but a huge performance it was.

But for this time only? They took the Goddess’ advice on avoiding the God who named himself Inigo.

After all, though he was one of the friendlier Gods of Creation, he was indeed strange!

If the monkeys weren’t a sign of impending insanity then they didn’t know what was. 

“Well, we’ll be out of your hair then.” Inno sighed, giving his partner a small pat on the shoulder before they continued on.

Traversing through different planes...usually, it was quite boring in Saph’s eyes!

 It was always for business. 

He didn’t have a friendship with none of the other Gods aside from his partner and even then? That was pushing it!

The guy was more reckless when it came to creating worlds, after all, their last creation? He was dead set on trying to make it a world where trees could come to life! 

“Reckless and stupid”, that’s what Saph called it but...though it was only for a short period.

His respect for his partner was growing more and more by the second, he was showing restraint. 

In his eyes? Inno could’ve easily stayed back and let Saph continue on by himself trying to find Thingy’s home all on his own! He didn’t have to suffer the wrathful, annoyed look of the Goddes of Chaos on his own back there. Much less butt into the conversation.

It made him chuckle to himself as soon as he felt solid ground underneath his foot once more before he looked down at the mortal infant.

Fast asleep. 

Were all babies this trusting? 

Much less this warm? 

The boy didn’t have too much experience caring for mortal infants...whenever he created the ones he did? They were already in their adult forms. But this?

This...he could get used to this, the feeling of caring for something small and watching them sleep peacefully within his arms. 

Or not. 

Who knows? 

“Took you long enough to get here.” Saph said jokingly as he turned his head upwards to watch a flock of doves land beside him before they merged together to form Inno.

A scoff escaped him as he began to look around. It was empty, was this even the right plane of existence? It should’ve been!

Pitch-black to the point you’d have to stand right next to someone to even have a chance of seeing them.

So quiet that you’d be able to hear a blade of grass fall onto the ground

And...cold.

The Goddess of Nightmares...her realm was already creepy enough seeing as it had ghouls walking around doing her bidding but for the first time?

The realm had started to send a dangerous, frightening chill down the pair’s spines.

“Where is she?” Saph questioned, following right behind Inno as he started to walk.

Slowly but surely, he took out his dagger in preparation. “Hiding in the shadows maybe? Just keep alert.”

His partner’s ears twitched at the word, alert?

Now that was new.

“Don’t worry little one, we’ll get you home before you even know it!” He whispered to the stirring infant in his arms, the sight of his tiny tail curling around his arm with a small coo making him giggle to himself.

Immediately, at the sound of a haunting bell, Inno stopped in his tracks, causing Saph to accidentally bump into him before the infant started its wailing once more.

“Hush that thing up!” Inno hissed.

“Don’t yell! It only makes Thingy cry even more!” Saph said as he tried the method that seemed to work from earlier.

What was it again?

Rocking his body slowly side to side? Singing a sweet, bird-like tune? Or was it letting the thing cry himself to sleep?

What was it?!

“You two are quite bad at handling mortals, are you?” Said a soothing voice, a black mist going through Saph’s body as it took the child with it.

Slowly but surely, the mist began to gain more form to it. The single sight of a red and white bell being attached to a lavender-colored necklace making the two boys narrow their eyes in remembrance.

Tall is what they immediately thought as the mist gained some color and form, a white fur-covered dragon’s tail sprouted from the mist’s backside while a pair of a black horns sprouted from its head! The it soon turned into a she as a face was given the voice, her eyes were sharp and had the colors of galaxies. Deep purples, light pinks and blues as well as hints of oranges here and there. Her skin was brown and fair but around her legs and arms? She had other draconic features attached to her as well!

Whether it was the draconic feet that tipped the ends of her legs or the scales that dotted her upper arms and thighs while needle-like claws tipped her fingers.

The ‘leader’ of all the Creation Gods. Goddess of Nightmares or, as she preferred to simply be called:

Numira

“W-We didn’t mean to disturb you ma’am, it’s just Thingy started crying and-”

“Thingy?” She said in disbelief. “Is that a name?” 

The pair nodded embarrassingly.

“What else were we going to call it? We couldn’t just call it-”

“You are to call creations, whether they are yours or not, mortals. That’s the rule. Don’t get attached to them.” Numira interrupted with a scolding glare in her eye before she looked down at the infant in her arms.

Unlike moments before, before the moment the mortal had begun to cry. It was awake and alert, looking up at the Goddess with a confused tilt of its head while she merely scoffed and shook her head.

Embarrassingly enough, she had dropped the child when she was in the process of creating it! She didn’t like how it looked, it was...a failed attempt at something greater, something more regal.

In her eyes? It could use a little bit of touching up here and there.

After a quick death that is.

“Hm, thank you for bringing my creation back to me you two. You may leave.” She sighed before turning to walk off.

Inno was happy to start the trek back home but...Saph couldn’t help but cock a brow.

The time was short but he had spent time with the tiny thing! He couldn’t just leave it now!

More than anything, he wanted to know its fate.