RENEGADES - Horizon's Story

[MysteriouslyMaple]

RENEGADES

CHAPTER TWO

    The stone walls of the Temple were unnaturally long as Horizon followed after his father, trying to keep pace with the feline as much as he could. Horizon's ears were pricked as he walked, his gaze focused on the sights ahead as he tried to contain his excitement over attending this trial. My first Trial! Horizon thought, nearly tripping over his own paws as he continued forward. However, the scent of blood made the devil halt in his steps and his heart skipped a beat. Somebody's hurt! Horizon glanced around, trying to see if he could find the source of where the smell was coming from.

    A harsh nudge made Horizon move forward and the devil briefly glanced back to see Caesar's War General, the orange-faced she-cat named Foxgaze. The slender female gave Horizon another harsh nudge with her paw, her orange ears flicking. "Get a move on, Horizon." Her words were like ice and Horizon frowned before turning his attention back to the front of him. He started walking again, although any excitement he felt was replaced with worry. She doesn't seem too concerned over it. Horizon noted, thinking to himself. Then maybe you shouldn't? Even so, this entire situation was making his stomach twist and Horizon almost wanted to vomit.

    "Dad?" Horizon whined to Caesar, whose only respond was to look back at him with what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. Despite that, Horizon couldn't help the feeling of worry that was rising steadily through his body. Shouldn't he be worried that somebody's injured? This person was apart of his Kingdom! Shouldn't he be helping them and tending to their wounds or at the very least making sure a Medic was around? Now that I think about it, Horizon realized. Do we even have somebody who can heal? Surely they did. Caesar was a good Emperor, he wanted his Kingdom safe and happy! So why did he act like he didn't smell anything?

    Horizon bit his lip as he continued forward, following Caesar until they reached a stone platform that overlooked a sandy arena. Horizon noted that Foxgaze hung back but the devil barely had any time to react before the entrance was sealed by a boulder. Horizon jumped at the noise the boulder made as it closed the entrance, closing off any sort of exit that he could have made. Horizon started at the former entrance, his eyes wide and heart pounding inside his chest. Something's not right. The scent of blood was much, much stronger here and Horizon could practically feel dread in the air. Still biting his lip gently, Horizon turned back to the arena in front of him and looked around. The ground was made of sand, which contrasted heavily against the foliage that covered the walls of The Temple. Horizon wasn't sure how the sand got here in the first place but it definitely struck him as odd. Huddling close to his father, Horizon peered down and surveyed the arena once more. There were two animals on the ground below them - one of them being Dante and another he didn't recognize. It was a smaller creature than the hybrid that was walking towards it, a smaller breed of dog by the looks of it. His muzzle appeared to be smashed in and Horizon wondered how he could breathe, or if it was difficult at all for him.

    Horizon watched as Dante got close to the canine, digging his claws into the smaller male's shoulder. Horizon realized that this was where the scent of blood came from; the poor guy was covered in scratches and bleeding heavily from the one on his side. Horizon felt a pang of pity for the canine, wondering why Caesar didn't stop Dante. The devil looked up at the bigger savannah cat, opening his mouth to call out to him. However, he never got any words out as Caesar had already started speaking.
    "How do you plead?" Caesar's voice was cold and Horizon flinched at the sound of it. Caesar had never once spoken to him like that; in fact, the devil couldn't recall a time Caesar ever spoke in that tone. It was frightening and unnerving to hear his father speak in such a monotonous, dark voice. Horizon looked back down at the dog after Caesar spoke, watching as Dante backed off and allowed him to stand up.

    "Not guilty." The dog growled back, glaring up at Caesar on the platform. He barely seemed to notice Horizon, although if the devil was truthful, he was glad. He didn't understand what was going on and he didn't want to see the canine outside of The Arena, just in case the guy decided to lash out just because he had been there with Caesar.
    "Dad, what's-" Horizon started speaking once more but again was interrupted by Caesar as he placed his tail over his son's mouth. Caesar still didn't look over at Horizon but he could still see the icy gaze he was giving the prisoner below.
    "Oh?" Caesar continued speaking, this time in a mocking tone. "Then explain this." The savannah tossed a silver ring towards the sandy-colored dog, a slight smirk forming across his face that made chills go down Horizon's spine.

    What's going on? Horizon whined to himself. Why's Caesar acting like this? Something about this entire situation made Horizon's skin crawl and the devil shifted uncomfortably beside his father. He didn't like how ominous the air seemed to be, nor the dark expressions Dante and Caesar held. The dog below them didn't hold that much of a horrible face but Horizon could see the fear in his eyes despite the furious look he had.
    "It's a ruse!" The dog's bark snapped Horizon back to reality, his voice teeming with alarm. He kept glancing down at his paw and then back to the ring, as if it should have been there and not on the ground in front of him. "Somebody stole that from me!" Horizon could hear the snicker that came from Dante, though Caesar didn't seem to notice it. The demon hopped from the platform, leaving Horizon alone on it. The devil instinctively crouched down, eyes wide as he watched his father prowl towards the canine.

    "I'll ask you one more time." Caesar snarled, tail lashing as he slowly neared the dog. As the canine backed up whenever Caesar drew closer, Dante sprang forward and pinned him down.
    "How do you plead." This time Caesar spoke slowly, his words a harsh statement rather than a genuine question. The yellow feline peered down at the prisoner who was trying to cower away from him and it was silent for a couple of heartbeats as the dog refused to answer Caesar. Eventually, the feline raked his claws across the canine's face, causing him to let out a howl of pain. Horizon flinched at the slight, lowering himself closer towards the ground so his belly touched the cold platform beneath him. Dad! The devil mentally cried out, knowing that Caesar could hear his thoughts. Stop it! Why are you doing this? If Caesar could hear him, the demon showed no signs of it and simply continued to ignore Horizon, which in turn only made the young devil more worried. What was going to happen? Why didn't Caesar respond to his mental cry? Why was he hurting this person who claimed he was innocent? What did this guy do that even warranted this punishment?

    "Did you or did you not break into my Temple and steal one of my possessions?" Caesar spat, holding a paw above the dog's face as he spoke.
    "I did not." Once again the canine spoke, though it was clear in his words that he was afraid. He was speaking the truth, or at least that's what it seemed to Horizon. But there was nobody here that could prove that and although Horizon desperately wanted to, he couldn't. But the sheer fear in the dog's voice made Horizon believe him. The tasmanian devil wanted to stop Caesar from whatever he was going to do but he was frozen to the platform out of fear and worry, just like the prisoner below him.

    Caesar let out a hiss of annoyance and immediately brought down his paw to grab the canine's throat. The prisoner let out a yelp of pain, trying to get out of Caesar and Dante's grasp. Dante dug his claws in deeper into the dog's shoulder, leaving him at Caesar's mercy. To which the Emperor did not offer; almost as soon as he grabbed a hold of the dog's neck, he ripped back and pulled skin along with him. The dog fell limp in Dante's paws and the hybrid looked down at Caesar and grinned. Caesar was looking down at the prisoner's body, his tail moving back and forth as he waited for the blood flow to slow down.

    Horizon only stared in shock at what happened. The tang of blood was strong in the air now, making the devil gag and back up, his ears pinned to the back of his head. He was so perplexed by the prisoner's body that he barely noticed Caesar and Dante making their way back to the platform. Horizon trembled from where he laid, earning a disgusted huff from Dante as he passed.
    "Horizon." Caesar had a more calm, caring tone to his voice now but Horizon barely recognized it. The voice almost sounded more surreal and fake and it took a couple of seconds for the devil to pull his gaze away from the now-dead prisoner to look at his father. "It's time to go." Caesar nudged Horizon to his paws, ushering him away from The Arena and back towards the dark temple halls.