Aranel Galeantara

'Cause I'm Scared To

• Hate Me
  by Chen Yuan Wen
  
  Hate me, despise me,
  But know that you will never be rid of me.
  
  I am the wretched beast inside your heart.
  I am the very weight of your insecurity.
  I am the feeling of dread that binds you,
  Slithering through shaking veins.
  
  To me you are but a simple host,
  And while you suffer, I will grow.
  Feeding off the pain that tears you apart.
  I'll put into words and call it art.

  
  

  

• Crowler's Carnival

  
  Aranel had been gathering supplies for Rift Castle by walking through doors and willingly subjecting herself to unknown lands. After returning from a particularly depressing Rift, she rested and prepared for a second day of Gathering. The moment she stepped into the Rift, it took her by surprise. This was mainly because she wanted to prepare a bit more and fetch a companion so she wouldn't be alone and unsafe. Fortunately, the Rift as it was had been fairly tepid thus far.
  
  Optimism was her best bet and the woman immediately felt nice to be alone for a change. It was like a vacation away from the Castle and she was happy for this! Her mood steadily increased as she discovered a circus for the first time, watching the introduction in awe. After the introduction completed, she approached the ringleader (which had been staring from afar for some time) to ask about showtimes. Some talking later, and she wound up following him back to the tents, convinced she'd be an excellent addition to the evening's show. She expected it was simply for an assistant role, but the ringleader seemed to think otherwise.
  
  He was thin and average in height with greasy hair and some scruff. He walked without a limp, but used a cane. His demeanor was often charming aside for strange lapses into irritability, but she got over it fairly quick. He introduced himself as Conall Crowler and she would soon learn to despise this man.
  
  Aranel was given elaborate clothes to change into. They were referred to as belonging to a woman named Terra, but she never found out about her. It didn't much matter.
  
  She was given instruction to simply be bright and smiling and to sip tea once it was poured for her. Most importantly, she was told not to scream. Thinking nothing of it (since carnivals were chock full of crazy things), she simply nodded and walked into the cage set up for her. It had a gorgeous tea table with two chairs as well as a teapot and two glasses. The chairs themselves were abnormally large, but she could climb on them decently enough.
  
  It was covered by a curtain shortly before the show. Conall entered and they were wheeled out, but while she was inside, there was an awful snapping and cracking. To her surprise, when the curtain was removed and she could see, something different sat in front of her. Not quite human, not quite wolf, but a strange mixture of both. She managed not to scream, but was clearly shocked and offered fake smiles to the crowd. When the show concluded, they were wheeled back behind the curtains and the door to the cage was locked.
  
  Conall picked her up and hugged her close, dancing with her to the carnival's music. One moment she was trying to wiggle free from the weird dancing, and the next she was wracked with pain as his teeth sank into her shoulder. She fainted from the agony.
  
  The next time she woke she was in the same cage, nude save for a red cloak curled up nearby. She wasn't alone in the cage, however - there was a half-eaten corpse of a child keeping her company! How lovely. Conall was nearby and promptly explained what happened.
  
  Over the next night or so, she was referred to as two separate entities. Alice was Aranel as she was, an adventurous girl too naive to know when not to be curious. Red was an ironic name given to the second form she assumed. When she was referred to as one person, it was always Red Alice, which disturbed her more since the alias given to her for her normal self was put second.
  
  On the night of the full moon, the little girl's father came searching for her. He was allowed in the cage with Aranel and the girl and promptly began to attack her. Unfortunately, she changed soon after as the sun set and the moon came out. She was released and on that night, she slaughtered five carnies as well as the father of the girl she learned was named Angela. When she woke up next, she learned she was going to be put into a dogfight.
  
  The dogfight was only one fight, but with another of her kind. It was a struggle, but she managed to come out on top. By then all the bodies she killed were piled up until her cage, though when she woke it had been emptied out. She earned a right to a bath and some clothes, or so Conall said, so when they returned to camp she was able to do just that. He picked clothes out for her and decided she'd have lunch with him the moment she was through, which worried her, but thankfully she got out of it.
  
  Or, rather, the moment she exited the tent the tub was in, she walked right back into the Castle.
  
  She was home again, but now faced the probability of attacking her friends on nights she could not control her transformation.