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Mune gasped, head tilted back with a silent scream ghosting his thin lips along with the sickening sight of red droplets drizzling down his chin. His eyes rolled and suddenly he was choking he couldn't breathe choking choking and there were distant screams of Mune! Mune! And turning his head he saw figures (friends?) smeared shades of red and orange and beige and why couldn't he brea-
A startled gurgle of rose leapt from his throat as there was a lurch of movement, something pulling but stabbing and slicing his insides outwards- and then he was falling. Where? Squinting at the world around him, his brain made out the bright glow of (Sohone?) lava beneath him. Was he falling towards the lava? The lava which was burning and grazing like elk on grass at his skin, bubbling and threatening to reach and sink into his singing flesh and he tried to bring his drifting mind back to consciousness but he was falling too fast. Or was the lava moving? He couldn't tell. There were tears and blood and so many regrets as he clashed with the burning red, screeching, back arching as it overtook him, fur sizzling and skin melting and (friends?) screaming in the distance and there was nothing he could do but join them as he died a terrible death from the outside in.
With a violent twitch Mune awoke to an empty Temple. Gazing blankly at the polished floors of his home he let out a shaky breath of air. Breath. He could breathe. He was fine, just another nightmare. Didn't make it any less frightening, though.
Mune pushed himself up onto shaky limbs and silently made his way over to the spiders silk tree. They were all in their eggs aside from one who gazed at him lazily, waiting. Reaching towards the dreads he started playing the tune that would get the Temple moving, the melodic sound drifting through the quiet bellies of the beast and with a groan, it rose to its stubs to start its long tread through the brisk night. The spiders crawled out from under their eggs with chirps of joy as their leader smiled down at them.
Mune tilted his head back (blood dribbling past his lips and screams of utter terror-) to watch the stars up above through the sunroof, the silken threads that wove their way around the moon gleaming brightly in the light of the dark.
Mune sighed for probably the thousandth time that week as he turned and made his way out of the Temple, hands and hooves pawing over top the entrance of the realm of dreams as he did.
Now on the back of the beast, he gripped loosely onto fur, trusting his night companion not to throw him off. Slumping back onto his furry bottom, long legs stretched out before him, he gazed longingly at his forest. His forest. It was still sort of strange, calling it his. It was his forest but he couldn't live in it. When was the last night he's gone down there? 7 weeks, at most. The kindness of his people caused them to bring food up to him every day, it was a sort of way to worship him without distracting him from his duties. They'd climb up the Temple legs early night when they wake or early morning before they slept, when the beast was still and silently leave fruits and other forest foods by the door. And if he was lucky, they'd start up a conversation with him.
But they never do. Perhaps they were still angry about him losing the moon. His voice was rusty and unused. If he tried to speak now, his throat would only let out squeaks and chirps, as if the temple itself sucked the voice right out of him. But it wasn't like he was using it anyway.
Mune's lazy eyes shined with the stars above, zoning out. So much so that he didn't notice the figure making its way up the side of his Temple.
"Yo! Mune!" He lurched upwards onto too long limbs, back arched and a hiss leaving his curled lips. "Woah, dude! Its just me, the almighty Guardian of the Sun, your best friend Sohone!" Sohone grinned devilishly with a hint of concern in his eyes. "Sorry for not visiting for a while. The Temple chains had some issues, ya know?"
Mune perked up as he realized it was Sohone, chirping joyfully and proceeded to crouch calmly. He opened his mouth to greet his friend but all that escaped was another chirp. Ears lowering, he grumbled. Glancing up at the still tied moon, he made his way over to Sohone. He could do nothing but smile up at him before his eyes trailed over to a bug buzzing in the wind.
("Mune!")
He startled. What- huh? What was he doing again? With a jolt the faun realized he was back in the Temple, alone. What? Wasn't he just with Sahone?
("Hey bu...d...")
("Why aren't........talking?)
("I'll......Glim")
Furrowing his brows, he tried to recall what had happened before he ended up here but he couldn't, thoughts turning up blanks with little whispers of (melting fleshburninghurting) doubt.
Noticing the daylight starting to shine in through the skylight, Mune made his way back over to the tree. The spiders were just about ready to go for their daily nap, all of them underneath their eggshells but still gazing out at him, silently awaiting their King to slow the Temple to a stop for the day.
Before he knew it, the eggs were dropped and the Temple was silent once again. It was going to be a long day, he thought, as he slumped down and devoured some fruits.