Fury of the Nightmare

[kryodrache]

The night was restless. Starless, its shadows fell across the terrain like a thick black cloak, the earth emanating an ominous rumble, the wind rushing across the terrain. Black ocean water crashed against rocky seaside cliffs, sending boulders tumbling into the water beneath, the wind howling past the ragged outcrops. At occasion, the entire landscape would light up as bolts of electricity ripped across the dark sky, illuminating the terrain below in a surreal manner.

One such flash of light illuminated a surprising scene alongside an otherwise deserted road. A car had careened off the road, slamming through the guardrail and lodging itself in a ditch. A human male was struggling out through the door as a violent snarling, barking noise emitted from within the car. Just as the man staggered out onto solid land, there was a loud metallic bang; and a massive dog sprang out of the car after the man. Massive paws struck the earth, powering the beast forward, crimson eyes blazing like that of a monster's through the shadows, jaws agape and fangs bared. Another flash of lightning illuminated the two just at the edge of the cliffsides, and when darkness again plunged, a hideous, rending scream tore through the air.

Relative silence fell, punctuated only by the rumble of thunder and the crash of the ocean waves. Within the darkness, the tibetan mastiff could be seen standing over a crumpled figure. Her broad head slowly lifted from the carcass, flesh trailing from her fangs, maw stained as red as her eyes. A vehement snarl erupted from her as she suddenly clamped her jaws again over the head of the human and bodily threw the man off the cliffside. The sounds of flesh striking stone were lost in the sounds of the competing ocean and sky.

Albtraum launched into a swift run along the cliffside by that point, fast in the way a bear was fast; a rolling gait, surprisingly swift-footed despite the bulky, monstrous form. The dog swiftly left the scene, moving steadily downhill towards the violent shores and further away from the road. Paws dislodged small avalanches of rock and stone as she made her ungainly way down the cliffsides, partially blind due to the blackness of the night, maw still twisted and wrinkled into a violent sneer. Soon, her paws were splashing through shallow water and wet sand, her head lowered, resembling that of a gargoyle as she loped along the shoreline, tongue hanging out of her jaws and no goal in mind due to the rage that blinded her.

[Kray]

There wasn't a single light in the sky as a dark form flitted quickly from tree to tree. As a glare of light shafted through a black sky a glint of metal shown out strongly and was gone as quickly as it had been. A second later thunder rolled directly above the island of Shikoku. The rocky soil grated and rattled against metal and there was a quiver that ran up the dog's body. Her legs and form were spindly and lithe, especially well adapted to this sort of terrain.

A piercing green gaze penetrated the night with a defiant look. Her desperate swim had shaken off the pursuit that had lasted many days. There was one in particular that she never wanted to face again. Meeting him had shaken her to her the very core. Metal claws extended anxiously and scratched up the earth. The disrupted soil filled her nostrils with the comforting smell of earth she had not experienced in so long that she hardly even remembered what it was like. Water was beginning to pool around the artificial paws that had carried her many miles and even farther through the ocean to this cursed island where she now stood.

As another flash of lightning cut through the air and made her hair stand on end, Radio extended her head and shook herself vigorously. A tremor started at the tip of her nose coursed down her neck, her back, her toes, and even her tail. Droplets and spray shot every which direction. New life and energy flowed into an already exhausted body. There was an exhiliration that came from being freed of a prolonged captivity. This captivity in particular had taken up much of her young life. Suddenly she shot forward and darted down a steep rocky incline in a beeline for the sandy beach below. Her headlong dash was halted as her paws dug in to stop herself from careening into a slide of scree that shot before her. If she had not stopped she would have been sent muzzle over tail down the rocky cliffside. But the small rockslide was nothing compared to the juggernaut that barrelled down past her at top speed. For a moment she was caught in awe as a monstrous dog with glowing red eyes passed only feet from her.

[kryodrache]

The shoreline in which Albtraum had arrived, given that it was at the base of a cliff, was heavily rocky. If there had been a vast expanse to run on, Albtraum may not have stopped running for hours. But the rocks that halted her progress from a full-on gallop also helped relieve some of her anger in the physical action and thought of jumping over rocks and climbing over boulders. Blunt claws scratched over the cracked side of a particularly large boulder with a relatively flat top, upon which the mastiff stalked to and fro upon, a growl still deep in the beast's throat. Her eyes still blazed crimson, but now she appeared somewhat confused, ears flattened back across the skull and head lowered, tongue hanging out of her jaws, puffs of mist exhaling into the chill night air.

The crashing waves kept sending explosions of mist up against the rocks and onto Albtraum, which helped in further cooling off her temper as well as dampening the fur, cleansing it slightly. Her muzzle and whole front had been crimson earlier with human blood, but this was being washed away the longer she stayed at the water's edge. It was a while before she had regained enough sense to become aware again of her surroundings; where she was at, the time of day, the status of the weather. Blinking, the dog lifted her massive maw up towards the sky, watching as sheet lightning crackled through the clouds above.

At this same time, as her nose was uplifted into the air, she caught a strange scent; something of a mix of flesh and metal. A sharp snort was given by the mastiff, claws clicking over the rocks. The scent spoke of living flesh, canine...Albtraum sniffed again into the darkness. As only a dog or wolf could tell, having among the best senses of smells in the world of any land mammal, a canine could learn aspects about a living creature that no human could by smell. It was through this reason that Albtraum became aware that another female dog was near, which was lucky - had it been a male scent, the anger would have returned in a violent surge to this dog, whose life had been spent doing nothing but spending time in a dogfighting arena.

Nevertheless, a low growl did emit from the mastiff as she leaped down from the rocks and stalked more towards the cliffsides, following this unexpected scent. It came as no concern to Albtraum that she hadn't sensed it earlier; she was often used to occurrences like this, when someone simply seemed to show up. She was used to it by now, as her berserker rages rarely granted her any memory of the blood fury while it lasted. At the base of the cliffsides, where a side of the cliff had collapsed into a pile of rocks, Albtraum stopped. This was climb-able, but would be difficult to do so. Nevertheless, the scent of a fellow dog was growing stronger. Though she could barely see in the night air, save for when lightning flashed, Albtraum gazed up in Radio's general direction, eyes narrowed.

[Kray]

It took a few seconds for bewilderment to wear off. The dog had blazed by Radio as if she had been just another rock amongst the many she had knocked down the cliffside. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was grateful that the other dog was so disoriented that her prescence had gone unnoticed and she was able to gather her own wits. There was a scent in the already humid and heavy air that caused her hackles to slowly rise. The scent of the other female did not match any of the smells she had picked up in the surrounding territory. They were both on neutral ground that neither fo them had claimed. Under the circumstances this was the best possible scenario. She would prefer that the heavily built animal would at least come to before she figured out that Radio was staring at her.

The spume and moisture from the crashing waves coated the large hairy form below her. As more lightning lanced across the sky she could make out a crimson tinge to her fur that did not strike her as natural. During the next flash of light she confirmed her suspiscion, blood coated her chest and throat. A change in the wind brought her the familiar metallic tang that was the smell of blood. By the strength of the scent she guessed that there was a copious amount of blood and water dripping to the ground. Radio continued to observe and noticed there was a returning sanity to Albtraum. It seemed that the crazed tension that had been there was being replaced by a cooler and more in control prescence. When she had run past Radio there must have been some part of her consciousness that was absent.

Now that her senses appeared to be returning it would be more difficult to keep her own form hidden from Albtraum. No doubt her scent would be caught by the other female soon enough. One advantage she would be able to hold and use were the boulders and rocks. For once her small size could be played to her advantage. Many of the surrounding boulders were easily as tall as she was and crouching behind one would be as simple as taking a nap. Rusty instincts that had not been used for over a year slowly began to reawaken and quiver as they were finally given a task. While she brought her body low to the ground she slunk and froze. A growl rumbled up towards her and her fur shot up all along her back. With a turn of her head she gazed steadily down the cliffside into the face of Albtraum. Radio wondered if her own wary features was visible.

[kryodrache]

Albtraum gave a violent shake of her body, sending salty ocean water out of her coat and splattering the surrounding rocks, large paws staggering slightly with the action as she was perched rather precariously among the tumbled boulders. Though the waves still crashed into the cliffsides, odd rumbling still disturbing the island, the storm seemed to be slowly relaxing in velocity. As all storms normally would, at least those of lightning and thunder, the unrelenting sky-rending violence only lasted in high abundance for a while, before it seemed to settle somewhat, consisting mainly of sheet lightening. However, it also started to rain; one moment it was relatively clear, the next, the heavens had opened up, rendering Albtraum's fur-shaking virtually pointless.

The rain also washed away Radio's scent. Albtraum scowled a bit, nose twitching as she attempted to detect the scent again. All she got was a nosefull of rainwater, however. Casting a deft glare up towards the black, cloudy skies, she turned and slunk along the cliffsides, searching for relief of sorts from the rain. Her search was hastened when, both ears pricking up, she heard the rumble of another car on the road. Instead of passing by, however, the car seemed to stop quickly, likely to investigate the scene above, currently out of sight. A low growl almost subconciously in her throat, Albtraum slunk under a jagged overhang of rock, shook out her fur again, and decided to wait here until the rain had let up.

Yet, she knew she probably wouldn't be able to stay here long. Ears remained poised, listening to the shower of the rain and the muffled sound of frantic voices above. Injured humans seemed to attract more, as Albtraum had learned, and their insufferable need to know exactly what happened in any incident would likely lead to a search of the surrounding area. But for now, there was plenty of time to dry off...and cool off. Getting angry like that often tired Albtraum out, and she laid her head down, huffing slightly and attempting to rest for a moment.

[Kray]

((OOC: Sorry for this puny post. Things have been a tad busy lately))

What happened next took her by suprise. While she had crouched hidden amongst the rocks Radio had expected the hulk of a dog to proceed up the slope in search of the scent that she had caught on the breeze. Instead there was a rumble of one of the human's cars on the road above that set Radio shaking violently with anxiety. Her tail shot ramrod straight behind her body and her ear was clamped firmly to her head. With painful slowness her head turned and she saw headlights shining off into a grove of trees. There was no way that she could let a human come anywhere near her ever again. Up the hill was her greatest fear and down the hill was a possible rival who could scoop her up and have her as a midnight snack. Radio's choices were few and far between but she had to make a desicion quickly.

Radio's hackles raised high and running from the base of her shoulders and down her spine. The humans were becoming far too curious. More lights flashed erratically across the angry sky and voices rose shrilly in the night. She flinched at the exclamation of horror that erupted from a human female up on the road. That was the snapping point for Radio. With as much speed and caution that she could muster she flew down rocky slope with as little noise as she could manage hurtling down the hill. There was only the metallic cling of rock on metal that might alert anyone to her passing. She did the best she could to give the overhang that Albtraum had disappeared under as wide a berth as possible. It didn't seem like she could make it to the bottom fast enough but a bit of relief flowed into Radio as she reached the beach.