Dahlia Wildflower

    It wasn't easy living in the Inferno...

    Clad in hellfire and brimstone, the Inferno was a ruthless, inhospitable place inhabited only by the foulest of creatures. The sky, if you could even call it that, was a smokey, ashen gray nearly devoid of all light. In fact, most of the light came from the hellfire that blanketed the land, which seemed to have a mind of its own. Scorched, black mountain ranges loomed in every direction, pockmarked with volcanoes that spewed superhot magma. The land itself was dusty and red, a literal, proverbial hellscape that spanned as far as the eye could see. Colossal monuments of all shapes and sizes littered the desolate landscape, some of which would rival the very mountains they are set against... And they were all built by hand. Amongst the hellfire, one could possibly make out the slaves that were being used to make these structures, as well as the... things... that were following them.

    A young woman no more than 100 pounds could be seen dragging a rather large, polished block across a hellish landscape, contrasting quite significantly against the woman's stark white fur. She was wearing practically nothing, just bits of scraps-- frayed and singed by the heat of this miserable place-- that barely covered her most intimate of places. Her snow-white fur was much in the same condition, burnt, twisted, and blackened in many places, giving her a dirty, ashen look as she continued to struggle with the giant stone block behind her. It suddenly stopped with a soft thud, and her heart skipped a beat.

    In this place, learning to control fear was... important, to say the least. The denizens of the Inferno could feel it... perhaps even smell it... And most lesser beings couldn't help but swarm to torment the poor, offending soul who dared showed even a sliver of fear. The demons, on the other hand, were much, much crueler, as they threatened things beyond any mortal comprehension simply for their own twisted amusement. The only thing that gave these creatures and demons pause was the Taskmasters, beings of formidable power that ruled over their wealth of slaves with an iron fist. However, as protective as the Taskmasters might be, if you were to ask a slave their opinion, if they were allowed opinions to begin with, on which side they would rather be on... each and everyone would choose to be eaten alive by the rabid amalgamations of the Inferno rather than be under the whip of a Taskmaster while pushing and pulling massive, chiseled stones. This was, quite simply, the law of the land; it always has, and always will be. The problem was... This white-furred woman was not of this land... She did not belong here amongst the demons and hellfire that threatened her on a daily basis.

    The woman held her breath, dialing back her fear. Just because her own Taskmaster was somewhere nearby didn't mean he would be willing to stave off any beasts or demons that managed to track her down... At least at first. The Taskmasters were well known to allow the creatures of Inferno to torment their slaves for a time, depending on the offending act. Showing fear was perhaps the lesser of these charges. Stopping for a certain length of time, no matter the reason, was often much, much, much worse. The reason why the woman stopped... The reason why her heart skipped a beat... Was that the stone block assigned to her was caught on something.

    She didn't have time for this, nor to figure out what happened; her only option was to push the block just far enough to move it around the obstacle. Except pulling with rope was much easier than pushing with your own weight... It seems like physics still apply, even in the Inferno. The young woman practically threw herself against the block, digging her toes into the ashen, red ground as she pushed and heaved with all of her might. She didn't have time for this. A few seconds passed. She attempted another angle and heaved once more. She didn't have time for this. She frantically moved behind the block. Perhaps she could use whatever it was stuck on as leverage to flip the block over the obstacle. No matter that it would now be on its side-- that could be corrected later. The important part was that she could not stop moving. She didn't have time for this. For a third time, she pushed with every fiber of her being, digging and breaking what was left of her nails towards the top of the block, as high as she could reach. It began to lift off of the ground, but it was simply too heavy. The block came down with another thud, nearly catching her toes in the process as the woman practically snarled and cursed at the object. She didn't have...

    The woman gazed up at her own reflection within the polished stone, twisted with pain, malice, and now... fear. Her once long, flowing silver hair was now all but missing, nearly torn from her head upon her arrival. They... The demons... Had never seen anything like it and wanted it for themselves. Her long, rabbit-like ears were twisted, gashed, and torn in some places. The demons might have taken those, too, if she wasn't saved right then and there. Her eyes, once a soft, mint green, now burn red with the same hellfire that covered this land. Her malice was... palpable, for there was now an additional figure intruding upon her reflection... Her savior... Taskmaster Minos.

    Minos was easily more than double her height, standing somewhere between eleven and twelve feet tall, not counting his bullish, intimidating horns... Not that the rest of him wasn't intimidating... Practically fit like a god in his prime, the bull-like Minos was quite the terrifying sight for both demons and slaves alike... And those that would dare stand up against him, his massive, double-bladed battle axe would be more than enough to scare them off... Or cleave them right in two, which the woman has witnessed first hand. He snorts rather loudly, covering the woman in spittle as he grins in twisted amusement at the sight before him... This was the woman's savior, and, quite possibly, her executioner.

    "Problem, Rabbit?" He asked simply, impatiently crossing his arms.

    "Dahlia," The woman responded flatly, meeting Minos' steel gaze as a form of defiance while wiping the spit off of her face. "My name is Dahlia."

    "Your name is whatever I deem it to be, you should know this by now, Rabbit." Minos retorted, frowning some before twisting itself back into a maniacal grin. "How about Twig because I can snap you in half? Or perhaps, if you prefer a first and last name..." He licked his lips some, leaning down to get right in Dahlia's face. "Stew... Meat. Now, what's the problem, Miss Meat?"

    Minos chuckled to himself, and to be honest, Dahlia didn't even know he was capable of laughing, nor did she find herself particularly caring at the moment. If Minos desired to kill her, he would have done it long ago. No, the brute was keeping her around as a... pet. "It's stuck," Dahlia practically seethed through her teeth, narrowing her gaze at mention of stew meat.

    The bull quirked a brow and shifted his yellow gaze to the block, studying it for a moment before snorting once more. The block was large, even for Minos, but he didn't seem to be particularly phased by this predicament. "And...?" He paused, pulling himself upright as he taps his fingers against his chin as if he was expecting an answer.

    "And..." Dahlia deflated some, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She had figured out over the... months... perhaps years... that she could get away with acts and things that others would immediately be killed and discarded for. They might have broken her body, but her soul was still as explosive as ever. Still, Dahlia had to be careful, particularly with her words. "And it's too heavy for me to move. The laws of physics don't change just because you lord over me, Minos."

    Minos quirked the other brow, unsure whether to be angry or amused at the little spitfire before him. He chose... neither, opting to stare the Rabbit down instead. When it became clear that Dahlia was in fact serious on standing her ground, Minos grumbled and shakes his head. "That's Taskmaster Minos to you, Rabbit. And is this the hill you wish to die on? Physics in Inferno, a land of magic that you yourself came to? Voluntarily, I might add?"

    "THAT WAS A MISTAKE AND YOU KNOW THAT!" It was Dahlia's turn to retort. It was not the first time Minos threatened her with death, nor would it be the last... Probably... She inhaled to steel her nerves, looking the bull right in the eyes. "I botched a summoning spell and got pulled through the portal. Get it right."

    Minos laughed... A terrible, deep roar that shook the very ground itself. He reached for his massive battle-axe, now poised to deliver a blow to the now terrified Dahlia... She knew that Minos would only draw his weapon if he planned to use it... And she knew, in fact, that this was the hill she was to die on. Dahlia curls her lip in a snarl, now crossing her arms as if to shrug the entire ordeal off. If she was going out, she was going out on her own terms.

    "You should have known better than to play with fire, Rabbit!" Minos bellowed as he reared his axe to one side, winding up for a strike. "Haven't you ever heard the rest?" He grinned. That terrible, terrible grin. "You might get burned!" He heaves for a colossal strike at Dahlia's head. Dahlia closed her eyes. A terrible, loud crash echoed throughout the area...

    Dahlia expected it to be swift, but... She was still here... Is this what death felt like? Nothing? Was she finally free? Dahlia opened an eye, only to see Minos staring down at her with that shit-eating grin. Her heart panged in grief. She was not dead... She was not free. The only thing Minos did was destroy the stone block behind her, pulverized into dust with one, massive, deliberate strike.

    "Go fetch another and start over, Rabbit," Minos taunted, rubbing a finger along the edge of his axe. "I may not be the death of you... But your wild overconfidence in your abilities will. That is why you're here in Inferno in the first place, no? All because you wanted to... what... prove to your peers? Prove to your masters? Prove to yourself?" Minos snorted, now turning away from Dahlia as he began to walk away. "Where did that get you, Rabbit? Right here. With me. Forever. Now go fetch another before the demons get feisty and play with your ears again."

    Minos' words cut deeper than any axe would. Dahlia sighs, casting her gaze towards the ground as she began to shuffle off into the distance with Minos. She knew he was right. She was stupid to attempt such a high-level spell without the help or input of her former master. And it sent her Inferno, where she would likely be trapped for eternity.

    Dahlia frowns... No, she thought. There must be a way out. The Taskmasters have a way to traverse planes at will, although she's never seen how... She just has to watch long enough to find out... And then make her move, even if it kills her.