Trickey #9
"Forgive me for disturbing you," you stammer, unsure of how to avoid an attack: how could you win a fight with this brute anyway? "But I was sent to retrieve a key from you, if you would be so kind as to hand it over? Please?" You add as an afterthought.
"No," the chimera answers calmly, angling its body so that something behind it is blocked; the goat head stares at you silently. What is it hiding?
"Ah, why not?" You ask, edging quietly to the side and taking note of an unidentified mound behind the animal, which has a flattened '˜nest' in a patch of longer grass where the chimera may have been sleeping recently. The mound might be the remains of his last meal - that could be promising if he is not likely to attack out of hunger. The chimera snorts and shakes his mane, the snakes thrashing and hissing, infuriated.
"Why should I give it to you?" He challenges, stepping forward defiantly. "It's my key, is it not? It is mine and not yours."
"But it will help me escape from here," you cajole, employing every ounce of your cunning and looking down despondently, one paw trailing a sad circle over the ground. "I've got to get home, you see... There's family and friends wondering where I am. What if they think I'm dead? They'll never see me again if you don't give your key to me and help me go back."
Seeming to consider this carefully, the chimera tilts his head, the snakes arching over its back like a scorpion's poisonous tail. It kneads the earth between its large paws - which are even larger than yours - and you wonder, if it does come to a fight, what will the outcome be? Does he have the typical male strength that you now, perhaps, lack? You won't know until the moment comes and you will either be an even match or hopelessly outclassed.
He is not the same as I... You think, warily keeping an eye on the chimera, which looks torn between multiple courses of action. Maybe...he is weaker...or has a weakness... I hope so.
"No," the chimera says at last. "The genie never lets anyone go. You'd do better to give up now and find somewhere to make your own."
You growl in frustration and pace back and forth while the chimera merely watches you with a smug expression upon its feline muzzle. You do not feel tired any more - your body is pumping with energy and your limbs feel supple, strong and ready for action. Taking in a deep breath, you steady your nerves and resolve to trust your instincts. If you wish to escape from here, there is only one thing you can do. It's not going to be easy.
"Well, if you will not give it to me, I will simply have to take it from you," you growl with false bravado, hoping the chimera does not notice the tremor in your voice. The chimera laughs and bats a paw dismissively at the air.
"You?" He snorts. "You're nothing more than a cub here. Obviously not good enough to be transformed into a male either, just a lowly, little female. What do you think of that, lioness? Think you're stronger than the mutated king of the jungle?"
Written by Amethyst Mare on 09 July 2012
