The Creature.

It was staring. It wanted to eat her, she was sure of it. Two soulless, lidless eyes gazed directly into the depths of her, sending shivers down her spine and chills from the crown of her head, to her soles. They were two, emerald orbs protruding from scaly gray skin- No, scaly wasn't the word to describe it. Gnarled, maybe. Reptilian, perhaps, but with a thin layer of mucus that glistened egregiously and smelled sickly sweet and slightly metallic. This was the creature she was to be bound to for the rest of her life. Aynira put on her best poker face, forgetting to relax her flared nose and raised brows.

It had been two weeks since Aynira's adventure in the garden, and the orb she'd found under the cypress tree had hatched. The palace was elated. She was not.

"Awww he likes you! How adorable is that?" Lazina, her eldest sister said, squeezing the ugly thing even tighter. It's mouth was like a puckered anus with barbed, fleshy, fingers that popped in and out constantly, occasionally stretching the hole wide open to reveal a ring of jagged teeth and another, inner mouth with human-like lips. The creature responded to the hug by gripping her sister with three of it's mouth fingers, (its 'cilia' as her sister called it) and pulsing it's entire body.  A milky film spread across her sisters arms and wet the tips of her braids as it did so."Do you want to hold him?"

Aynira wretched before she could stop herself, then coughed theatrically in an attempt to hide her bodies natural reaction to total and utter disgust. "No, ehem thank you," she said shaking her head firmly.

Lazina dropped her usual cheery countenance and gave her sister a stern look."Aynira, this a high honor."

"I didn't forget," she sighed, eying the hideous creature. It's bright green marble-like eyes, never stopped leering directly into Aynira's soul, not even as it squirmed in her sisters slender arms. She was sure the little monster wanted to eat her. It was probably just sizing her up, trying to see if she was digestible or not.

Lazina grabbed the creature under its stubby front legs and held it out towards Aynira, coffee-toned eyes peering over large oval spectacles. It was clear she expected Aynira to touch that thing. Aynira shuddered audibly.

"This viyulis is a gift from the ancestors. He is a rare blessing bestowed only to a high ruler, you. YOU were chosen. I'd expect you to be happy about that," said Lazina, glowering.

Lazina, despite her petite frame, had a piercing glare that could make anyone shudder. Her molasses-toned eyes, were warm, rich, and usually squinted from poor eyesight, laughter, or both. Her shapely lips were usually curved into a soft smile. She was all around beautiful, the pretty sister, and a constant jab at Aynira's self-esteem with her round, dainty, bridge-less nose, high cheekbones, and an all around good attitude. Her usual cheerful countenance was a large part of the reason why she was so unsettling when angry. Aynira had seen the most fierce and the most brazen of their acquaintances break under Lazina's glare. At this moment, Aynira felt herself crumbling under her sisters harsh gaze.

"I-I want to be happy about it," Aynira stammered, trying not to puke at the sight of the white, gooey strings attaching her sister to the monster "it's just ... gross. I'm sorry. It's gross."

"He" 

"He's gross I'm sorry."

Lazina rolled her dark brown eyes. "You were gross as a baby too, Always slobbering over everything."

"That's not the same and you know it-"

"You grew out of it though. You still sit with your mouth hanging open quite often, but at least you figured out how to keep the saliva in instead of letting it rolling down your chest."

Aynira instinctively looked down at her chest, and saw nothing but a flowing chartreuse shirt with gold necklaces dangling, gold sandals and the hem of her chartreuse skirt. A gray and brown blur suddenly entered her field of vision, and as her quick reflexes caused her to fold slightly and raise her arms to protect her organs, a warm, sticky something was pressed firmly into them.

She swung her head upwards at a speed that rattled her brain to behold her sister, wearing an expression of pure horror. Lazina's brown skin and white dress were both covered in milky ooze with a slime string trail that led directly towards Aynira. Aynira's head began to spin, her stomach dropped to her feel, her skin went ice cold. This must be what betrayal feels like, she thought, bitterly.

"He likes you, he's like you and he's yours," said Lazina, the faint smile returning to her face. "You should name him."  Lazina wiped her sticky hands on the sides of her dress, swiveled on her heels, and strolled towards the exit. Her steps were smooth and even, it was as if she was gliding towards the door instead of walking, her long braids swinging behind her from atop a tall, fabric headdress. She paused suddenly, adjusted her oval glasses, and glanced over her shoulder, causing her large earrings to swing at her shoulders. "Also, make an effort to carry him around more often, he makes you look good."

Aynira gaped, eyes wide, mouth hanging open as her sister disappeared behind the curtain, leaving her alone and holding it. For a moment she refused to look down, even as she felt the demons eyes burning into her skin. She refused to look, even as the wet, pulsing mass squirmed, and stuck her flowing top to her skin with sticky residue. It was soft and warm underneath, hot even, while it's gnarled, leathery back was extremely tough and cool in comparison. She found that it was surprisingly lightweight.

Aynira swallowed. This can't be so bad, she thought, trying to relax her tense body.

The creature suddenly began to make a strange and ugly noise that nearly made Aynira jump out of her skin: a soft, throaty hum. It's purring, she thought. That's kind of cute... After a while she found it's warmth to be comforting, and the purring noise it made to be quite soothing as well. She decided to steal a quick glance at him.

She peeked. His horrific mouth was spread wide by the cilia, exposing it's ragged teeth and ugly inner-mouth. The lips of it's inner-mouth were moving, sucking in, which was making the purr sound she'd previously thought was so cute. Aynira released a blood curdling shriek and flung the sacred creature across the room.