As a child, Noth had faced his own series of adversities, mostly due to his unusual heritage, and the fact that he was different than the other children in the surrounding homes. Of course, there were those who were good, and he could distinctly remember running amok through the wooded areas and farmlands surrounding the city of Etzos, playing and gallivanting and enjoying himself positively with those good influences who had deemed him an acceptable member of their cadre. Naturally, all things had their opposites: light and dark, plenty and little, good and bad, and where there were those young ones whose company the hybrid had enjoyed, there were also those who treated him with little more than derision and disgust.
One such person was named Tri. Tri was a boy who was a couple of arcs senior of the hybrid, and whose family had done quite well for themselves. At some point, the child had been given a hunting dog of sorts to accompany him through his woodland expeditions in order to keep him safe, and he had grown to adore the animal, teaching it many tricks and commands as time went on. He hunted often with his father, eventually growing to enjoy both the act of hunting for the sake of food, and also hunting solely for pleasure. An unrealized sadistic streak had begun to taint the otherwise normal activity, and at some point Tri began to consider that the birds he often hunted weren’t terribly different from the Avriel child who lived nearby.
Noth had run into trouble with the opposing boy and his dog many times, and Nicholas had gone through the effort of teaching him how best to combat a dog should a wild one suddenly attack. In truth, the hybrid had seen it as altogether unlikely at the time, but he adored his father, and so he had listened intently to the guidance.
In the end, it would save his life.
Tri decided one day to allow his hunting hound to chase after and attack the Avriel boy, though his motivations for doing so were warped and mad. The hybrid had suffered several bite wounds upon his arms and claw marks upon his legs, but eventually he had managed to wrap his hands around the throat of the large beast and press until energy began to fade from the creature, once it had weakened enough to desist its constant thrashing, he had twisted, silencing the animal forever.
It was not that the hybrid had wanted to kill, nor did he entirely enjoy the activity today. He had vowed to himself that he would never become someone like Tri, someone who took such great pleasure in the agony of other beings whether sapient or beast. No, Noth had never slain another living soul with the intent of causing as much pain as he could manage, because that simply wasn’t the person he had decided to become, and even when he had transitioned into a monster he had kept his vow. Aeon hadn’t been killed because he was hated by the hybrid, or because the Avriel was so wicked and cruel that he would slay others for the sake of doing so, or out of some desire for vengeance. No, he murdered Aeon because Aeon had attacked him, and because he hadn’t hesitated for a moment before doing so, and that spoke to the hybrid of danger to his life.
Crimson eyes gazed unapologetically at the woman before him, taking notice of the way that her stomach bulged outwards in the showing signs of pregnancy, the tears which drenched her cheeks, and beyond that… resolve. He could not understand her reason for crying for several moments, but a quick glance back at the blazing tavern; he was ensuring that Aeon had not survived miraculously, brought the realization to his mind. They had been friends? That was the only answer that made any sense to the hybrid, and he promptly returned his attention to the woman, half-expecting her to have made a sudden move for his throat whilst he was gazing elsewhere. Yet, she was late in her pregnancy, and it made her movements slow and draggy, and he recognized immediately that she would be unable to harm him.
She demanded something of him, and he took a step forward, compelled by an unseen force to obey for an instant before regaining control of his senses. He looked down at the child in the crook of his arms, the infant who would never know its parents. It was a miserable fate that it faced, and one that the hybrid could empathize with on a personal level.
“Its’ mother was crushed by one of the pillars.” He began, motioning his head backwards towards the fire. “I started neither it, nor the subsequent fight.” He spoke, absolving himself of any lingering guilt that might have clung to his system, his blood flowing with resolve.
He could kill her. He knew that it would take him almost no effort whatsoever to slay the accursed Hostess, the being who had acted as opponent to him in the Game. She was not as strong as his true rival, the other personage who had acted as his counterpart, Padraig, but he doubted she was without some trickery. Nevertheless, he realized that he would be unable to slay her on the basis of her pregnancy, because he would never again make a mistake such as the one he had made with Tei’serin.
“I considered for a while that you might not exist, but… here you are, and that means Padraig must exist as well.” Wicked eyes examined her for any indication of knowing of him; dreams were mysterious things at times. “Is this where it begins? Our struggle?” He questioned with genuine curiosity peeking through his vicious voice.
He stepped forward, observing her with caution before outstretching the child to her.
