• Mature • Fodder for the Crows

[Limbo]

27th Zi'da, 716
17th Break

Female, young adult, average height, average weight. Soft features, attractive, slight tan, titian hairs. Regular poise, revealing clothing, sexually adept. Highly promiscuous, inconclusive reasoning. Physical reasons, perhaps? No apparent signs of stress detected, so stress relief was discarded. Rather uninterested coitus, which excluded exercise-based reasons. Perhaps the reason behind her permanent sexual availability lied deeper within her psyche. Reproduction? Possible. Children often served to boost one’s social status. Love? Unlikely, as they had just met, which discarded commitment-based reasons. Anything related to undiagnosed psychological damage was also discarded, as no signs of insecurity was detected by Kovic in the rather short courtship performed to seduce the female.
Sex was by far one of the greatest mysteries Kovic ran across within the world. Performed so regularly and so widely across the lands, the Mortalborn was unable to grasp the amount of reasons one had for engaging in sexual activities with anyone else – especially if one wasn’t planning on reproducing. Having discarded sex as a method of effective reproduction, Kovic’s engagement in sexual activity only revolved around the pleasuring of his peers, which often allowed the creation of partial trust towards him. Having always believed that sex was the pinnacle of trust, some individuals worked hard to shatter said theory of his.

What was sex? Why does one engage in sexual activities? What is the psychological explication for such?

The inexperienced Mortalborn kept pondering on the question as his current sexual partner held on to her support, a tree’s trunk, and he held on to her in consequence. Mimicking her moans every now and then, Kovic wasn’t really paying much attention to the deed they were performing. Having discovered long ago his body’s needs for sexual release, he had gotten used to an encounter one in a while. The female, whom he had spotted engaging in sexual innuendo with a different male the previous trial, apparently did not share such large periods between encounters. Why else would she currently engage with Kovic?
As the deed progressed, Kovic feeling of complete inadequacy grew out of proportions . Looking around one last time, making sure nobody was around to witness the couple, a hand quickly reached onto one of his pockets. The shard of glass rippled through the air, and effortlessly punctured the female’s neck. Her strengths were drained immediately, inversely proportional to the quantities of blood that pooled out from her cervix. A chocked gasp escaped her, and she collapsed forth, delicate hands attempting to apply pressure on the puncture rather poorly. Eyes agape, confused, disturbed, peered up at the male, whom wielded nothing more than an expression of confusion. It was obvious that the unspoken doubts about sex’s nature were still troubling him.
Gurgled gasps for air begged for mercy, yet the desperate plea was ignored by the male. Using a hand to turn her over, the partially bare female now laid on her back. Her quickly waning strengths tried to offer resistance, and the few disorientated and weak flailing of her arms did, yet her attempts were nothing but futile. Quite neutral and stoic, Kovic, after pulling his pants up, straddled the female, and his two hands laid on the female’s cheeks.

He felt it, then.

Her life, her force, her ether. Like a vein, Kovic could feel it pulsating, waiting to be released, calling for him in the same manner it always did. Often he thought of it as his unquenchable thirst, which combined with his never-ending appetite constructed him as an individual. His thirst was far more manageable than his hunger, however, yet the morbid satisfaction was there nonetheless. Mouth agape, Kovic inhaled inwards with strength, his vocal chords being triggered by the air inflow; a inhaled growl escaping him. It was then when she began being drained.
From her features, her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and every pore of her flesh, a black mist escaped, and moved onto Kovic. Thick and magical in its essence, the Ether was released as the male flayed the female victim mercilessly. As it reached him, and penetrated his frame, Kovic felt that thirst quenched, satisfied at last, and with that he experienced the truest form of pleasure he knew. If only sex was as pleasing as the act of absorbing someone else’s Kovic, he could totally understand the sentiment.

Alas, the pleasure was temporary, as a dozen trills later there was nothing else to absorb. What had been the female was not a dehydrated carcass, of drained life and complexion. A dehydrated fruit, thought Kovic, as he touched the rough cheeks of the female. Now, once the flaying was over, the thirst was slowly beginning to creep back into the male’s brain. Standing back up with newfound strengths, and a spark fully refilled and ready to unleash it’s Ether Lure as much as the male wanted, he exhaled.
The small parchment of woods he had chosen were quiet once again. Afflicted by the cold, the trees too had lost part of their vivid colors, and now presented a unenthusiastic hue, which Kovic classified as a rather morose sight in the eyes of general human psyche. Looking back down at the deceased female, whose blood had turned black and thick due to the flaying, he bent forth and captured one of her feet. Despite her current disgusting appearance, she could still be consumed – task that cared not for taste, as Kovic’s jaws were rarely used for chewing victims.

He had to take her somewhere cleaner before he could do it, however. Yes, he did devour cadavers, but he wasn’t a savage.

[Noth]

There was something about the way that the forest danced that Noth could never quite get over. It had its’ own splendid majesty, and though it was populated by a host of dangerous wildlife, that fact did little to diminish the beauty. The hybrid pushed through a set of bushes, the twigs on them catching upon his feathered hide, and yanking somewhat on them as he forced his way through to the other side. It was somewhat painful, though if one were to put every single possible instance of torture and suffering into a list, then it would rank ridiculously low. If there had been a worthwhile trail or path to travel throughout the entirety of the forest, then Noth knew he would have used it, but he had long since grown used to not having such commodities available for him, and he had adapted to suit the environment.

Whistling wind blew through branches, shaking them with a rattle that was far gentler than it had been upon one of his last journeys. The leaves had finished falling upon the ground, and the frostiness of the air was evidenced by the visibility of his breath, a single crisp puff forming into a floating cloud with every exhalation. Thankfully, Noth’s acquisition of clothing and gear had managed to keep him at least fairly warm thus far, and whilst he knew that the weather would become progressively worse, he had faith that he would survive the bitter cold without much difficulty. The looming threat of Cylus just upon the horizon, however, struck him with some fear, but he determined quickly to deal with that issue at a later date.

He listened to the forest, attempting to hear any sounds of prey within the woods, confident that they wouldn’t all have hidden away from the weather quite yet. His skill with the longbow had grown extensively since when he had first acquired the weapon, and his fingers nimbly played with the taut string, feeling the gentlest vibrations created by the soft movement. He had brought several arrows with him, all lethal once they had been coupled with the stringed instrument of death. Until he had further signs of nearby prey, however, he had determined to keep the arrows free from notching, and instead simply kept his alternative hand ready for the loading action.

There was a slight jingling noise that erupted outwards with every step that he took, a side effect of the chainmail tunic that he now wore upon him, plainly visible to the outside world. Perhaps it took away slightly from his intimidating visage, spoiling the effect of being a savage monstrosity, but it was incredibly practical, and in a way it likely caused even more fear in those who thought with rational minds; it was harder to fight an armored opponent. He had stored away one of his knives for use in field dressing any downed animals that would inevitably be shot as well, knowing for certain that the act of dragging a corpse halfway across the woods would certainly tire him, especially if it retained all of its’ innards.

The noise caught him offguard, and immediately Noth crouched low upon the ground, his knee pressing against a wet moss as he attempted to identify it. It was sentient, not animal. He couldn’t quite understand the noise from this distance, but the manner in which it was dispelled, and the general tone of it assisted him in that observation. Besides, he had not heard any noise such as that from any type of wild beast, and he had lived within the forest long enough to recognize those items of auditory sensation.

He set off, eagerly tracking down the people; for he now could hear two distinct voices, moving through the underbrush with surprising speed as he attempted to catch them unaware. If he could manage it, then there was a possibility that he might use them for information, or even rob them of their valuables if they weren’t simply poverty stricken farmers. As he neared, the noise suddenly died, replaced instead by quieter noises, almost beyond his range of hearing, and certainly impossible to truly distinguish. He continued on his path, listening to the last piece of a gurgling cry, a noise with which he was all too familiar

The sound of death.

He gathered together his courage, notching an arrow upon his bow with one hand, and gently prying away a few strands of vegetation with his other, intent to observe whatever interaction he had heard. Crimson eyes peered out from the bush, locating a young and burly looking man who now grasped hold of a corpse. Closer examination of the corpse seemed to reveal that it was incredibly aged, and he knew immediately what must be happening.

They were burying a body, or perhaps even concealing a criminal offense. Obviously, it had been within their possession for quite some time, or perhaps only recently discovered. He had heard two voices, but the presence of only an ancient victim and a singular man gave him all the evidence he needed. There had been a woman, but she had likely been murdered in the brush, a second corpse to be hidden away when finally the original deed had been committed. He had to admit to his prey that he had cleaned up nicely, and were it not for his untimely intrusion, it was unlikely that any living soul would ever have known.

Of course, there was no reason to reveal himself immediately, but he had few allies in the world, and the depraved were far easier to trust sometimes than those who put on an honest façade. He could count on the scum of Idalos to act with pragmatism, to act for their own benefit in a public manner, but such things could not be expected of the altruistic and the unfortunate beings born to follow moral creeds as though they were law.

Still, that didn’t make them friends, and Noth had no desire to leave himself open. He watched for a moment longer to ensure that no one else was turning up, and then pushed through the vegetation, arrow notched to the string, arm pulled back, turning the projectile into a fearsome tool.

Crimson eyes peered upon their target, eyeing him with an intimidating glare that threatened with every passing trill.
“What have we here?”

[Limbo]

The yanking on the stiff leg of the recently deceased female was halted immediately, the unexpected voice halting the transportation of the cadaver. Kovic glanced back, perhaps a bit too quickly, blue eyes fixing upon the intruder.

Humanoid, male, unknown age, average height, unknown weight. Dark feathers spawning across a large frame, presence of one visible wing which appeared healthy. Crimson eyes contrasted against dark feathers. Donned in a hauberk over loose, simplistic clothing, and armed with a drawn bow pointing directly at Kovic, the individual was obviously in charge of the situation. How much had he seen?
Although unexperienced in the analysis of the individual’s race, unsure of the characteristics of their facial expressions, and unaware of the cultural traits of its people, Kovic could still deduce many details about his current situation. Firstly, the individual had not killed him just yet, and had instead used his opportunity to establish a channel of communication. This could be interpreted as confusion, reluctance, or perhaps an opportunity to further apply psychological pressure onto Kovic. Secondly, it seemed that his presence in the woods was fortuitous rather than intended. Presence of filth and vegetation was seen in his garments, which implied a travesty through the wilderness. Hunter? Unlikely, for the hauberk would cripple one’s stealth capabilities. Mercenary? Possible. Robber? Also possible. The hauberk Kovic could not quite decipher, and so, for once, he felt at a loss in his analysis.

A thrill after the individual had shot his query, Kovic’s arms slowly rose, empty palms showing towards the avian breed. It was easy to see just how coated in blood they were, especially the right one, which had wielded the shard of glass. Kovic did not possess much time to properly figure out a profile to save his life, and so he used one of the first tricks he had learned – mimicking. Just like that, his poise slowly changed, and subtly became as dominant and authoritarian as his captor. His bearded features gained a soft smug of confidence and distaste, and his head tilted to the side lightly. It was safe to assume that showing weakness and pleading for mercy before such an individual, whom held so much leverage over the situation – or dominance, of one wished to be loyal to the truth -, was bound to fail.
“A man and his own private business,” replied Kovic, clear and unctuous voice making itself heard. A short lapse came before his next words. “And what are you, I ask, other than an intruding party?”

Fleeing was not an option. The bow and arrow was an effective weapon, specifically designed for the hunt of prey. Its uses in warfare had merely extended the concept to the hunting of humanoids. The unit’s prepared stance and the discouraging foliage of the environment would meant Kovic’s end. Although the channel of communication was still open, Kovic’s dynamics were shut closed due to one, single detail: the uncertainty of just how much the avian had witnessed. It was unlikely that Kovic could face such an individual in combat, and so he was forced to improvise.
“Least you seek the death of us both, intruder, I would suggest you shoot your arrow upon this,” a thumb would point behind him, palms still up. “… Creature at once, for whenever it rises no amount of fletchers would prepare enough ammunition for its demise.”
A lie.
“Whether you wish to rob me, arrest me, or shoot me afterwards is entirely up to you.”

Kovic kept his straight expression, the actor playing his improvised role as best as he could. It was up to the avian to judge his performance.

[Noth]

The man skidded to an immediate stop, his departure halted by the twilight hybrid’s harsh intrusion. He spun around, an almost guiltily quick movement, blue eyes meeting crimson in an analytical glare. Noth could immediately determine that the fellow was attempting to read him, the way that his eyes glanced about his entire form, noting every detail in an almost mechanical fashion was too obvious not to notice. The Avriel could have spent time determining more about the physicality of the man, but he cared far more for his mental state, for how he thought, and that required interaction as opposed to simple observation. He kept his grip upon the taut string tight, ensuring that it wouldn’t slip out from his grasp and accidentally murder the fellow, whilst simultaneously allowing him the option should necessity call for it.

The fellow raised his arms in a surrendering manner, displaying his palms outward to Noth. He took a notice that they were empty of threatening materiel, but he still remembered the sounds of death he had heard only moments prior, and he knew that somewhere upon his person lay a weapon. The type of weapon was also quite obvious from the amount of blood that had stuck itself to his palms, coating every inch of flesh in the red liquid; blade. Noth was fairly familiar with blunt instruments such as the mace that he often used, and he knew that whilst any wound would bleed, they wouldn’t spray that amount of viscera unless an inner piece had been severed. Maces and hammers simply didn’t sever internal organs like that.

A sword would have been detected already, which meant the man was clearly holding some manner of knife; whether manufactured or makeshift, upon his person. That also hinted that he would be difficult to fight at close ranges, especially since Noth himself was not experienced in fighting with bladed weapons, but he held the advantage for now, his arrow still directing danger towards the man. Noth observed the man, eyeing him harshly as his features suddenly softened into a smug, the hint of confidence suddenly splashing itself upon his face.

Admittedly, it was somewhat disconcerting, but Noth felt fairly confident in his advantage nonetheless. Criminals and scum often thought themselves more powerful than they truly were, and the war veteran had learned that men were easy enough to kill if one had the tools for the work. The answer to his initial question came, identifying the fellow as a man who was interested only in his own business. In short, the answer given didn’t resolve a single one of the questions that flooded the hybrid’s mind. The murderer attempted to convey his apparent confidence, asking who Noth was, implying that he was simply a nuisance.

“Armed.” The answer came quickly enough, the Avriel jerking his bow slightly to refocus the fellow’s attention upon it. If he had carried a different tone, the answer might have given some hint of humor, but no ounce of joviality carried itself with his words, instead he remained grim and serious. He hoped his answer would make the man begin to explain who he actually was, and what his business pertained, but instead he received a curious response from the fellow.

He jerked his thumb backwards towards the rotting corpse, stating that unless he wished for both of their demises, he would fire his arrow upon it. That seemed utterly ridiculous at first, though another examination of his face seemed to indicate a strange genuineness, as though it truly were a threat. Noth moved his eyes off of the man, keeping him within sight of both himself and the bow as he glared upon the body. It seemed uninteresting upon first glance, but he certainly didn’t want to dismiss the idea that it was some manner of beast.

He very nearly released his shot upon it, but stopped himself short, suddenly determining both an imperative that needed to be given, and an interrogative that ought to be asked.

“Sit upon the ground. Keep your hands under your weight until I say that you may move, otherwise I shall send this arrow piercing through your heart.” He growled, intentionally amplifying the threat as he waved the bow once more.

“You state that this is some manner of creature which may survive more arrows than could even be carried, that it possesses some unnatural toughness?” He questioned, his voice losing some of its grumble, and taking on some curiosity. “If that is so, and it now slumbers, how then were you able to defeat it in battle?”

He paused, daring the man to answer with some manner of ridiculous lie. He couldn’t write off the corpse as being simply a corpse due to the man’s genuineness, but he certainly didn’t need to take him at his word without question.

“I heard the noise of death, the gurgle of blood. Your companion is dead, and your hand scarlet with color. I doubt this body could possess such.” He spoke, nodding his head to the corpse. It wasn’t a direct accusation, but it might as well have been.

[Limbo]

Cooperation in this scenario was essential. What had been a desperate lie for murder was slowly revealing a notion Kovic certainly did enjoy: the avian gave him the impression of not having witnessed anything, and that his ignorance towards the arcane was as limited as Kovic’s. What had been initially thought as the end of Kovic’s free life – or life, in general – now offered a chance to spin the mind out of the trouble. As such, and with a hint of faked contempt, Kovic rolled his eyes and dropped himself on the ground, quite unceremoniously. Afterwards, he’d slide the palms of his hands under his butt cheeks, extend his legs, and split them open – compromising his balance and capacity to recover.
“Are you a satisfied armed intruder now?” would ask Kovic, rhetorically. Social cleverness was not as easy for him as it was for the avian, apparently.

It did not take long for the avian to start asking questions regarding Kovic’s statement, and the lies were already being threaded within the male’s mind. Magic, being so abstract and mysterious, was a perfect excuse for every troublesome situation in life. Least one was a bad liar or too dumb to spin lies with ease, magic could justify everything. Kovic was not a very good liar, but his knowledge in psychology helped in the waving of credible information. At least, that was his assumption. For the moment, Kovic abstained from elaborating on his tale, and instead forged the story by satisfying the avian’s need for answers.
“Who said I defeated it in battle?” replied Kovic, with a question of his own. “Unless you’ve seen many of these creatures strolling down the streets of a settlement, which I’m sure you have not, then you’d have to assume they hide their identity.” Pause. “Which would be a correct assumption. Will you shoot the body now?”

Kovic took the time to further study the individual before him, and to revisit the information learned until now. Cautious, armed, protected, clever, perhaps mistrusting – quality one couldn’t just give to anyone that had stumbled upon a lone male dragging a corpse in the woods. Personality-wise, Kovic was a bit of a loss. The dominant attitude of the individual did not convince him for whatever inconceivable reason. There was something odd about him, perhaps, which confused Kovic the further he tried to categorize it. However that may be, time would tell, and the current direction of the exchange hinted towards plenty of time remaining in Kovic’s life.
An exasperated sigh escaped Kovic, growing on apparent frustration with every question that reached him.
“You said it yourself. The blood on my hands is fresh, yet the only corpse you see is as old as it looks. Does that seem normal to you, intruder?” Kovic cursed under his breath, and his tone grew in volume and intensity. He tried to fake some fear, emotion that still proved to be difficult to display. “Will you just shoot the fucking body already!? We’ll have plenty to chat afterwards!”

The urgency of the matter was transmitted, and so Kovic was slowly pushing the male against a figurative corner. The mind was as powerful as the individual that wielded it, and if one learned correctly, the man with the bow can feel trapped whilst the cornered puppeteer felt as powerful as ever. At least, that is what Kovic thought, and perhaps secretly hoped.
“Don’t let it wake, do you hear me? Don’t you let that thing wake!”

[Noth]

Noth couldn’t help but feel as though he didn’t quite understand all of what was going on. It was a prickling notion that ticked away at the back of his neck, causing a couple of feathers to raise themselves in suspicion. It seemed almost impossible to tell whether or not there was truly any threat being created by the corpse, and yet if he simply ignored the idea, he could supposedly risk his life out of sheer ignorance. It was the most valuable thing he had, the ability to think and breathe and feel, and he had no desire whatsoever to see it ended over a foolish mistake. On the other hand, if he was being deceived, then it could be that this man was simply waiting for him to drop his guard. Dying from the lying behaviors of fellow scum certainly wasn’t in his plans, and so he wasn’t entirely sure what he ought to do, how he might proceed.

The man complied with his orders, dropping himself with an irritated expression crossing his eyes for only a fraction of a trill. He unceremoniously fell upon the ground, almost as if though he were a sack of dead meat being dropped, and in a way, if he disobeyed he would certainly have suffered that fate. He continued following instructions, tucking his hands away under his own weight so that he was completely at the mercy of the hybrid. That allowed Noth to loosen the tension on the taut string, letting his arm rest from having held it back for such a long while. He had needed it completely drawn before, but now he knew that it could be fired in less than a second, and as long as an arrow was notched, he would have no issue hitting the stationary target. The man replied, asking whether he was a satisfied armed intruder, an apparently aggravated take on his prior statement. The hybrid simply nodded his head in acceptance of the gesture.

Noth had questioned how the fellow might have beaten the beast if it was as powerful as he stated, but that idea was shattered when he made it clear that he had not defeated it in battle. That meant that he would have had to catch it unawares, but it seemed ridiculous that such a creature would still be resting unless it was suffering from some manner of affliction. Perhaps it could not awaken during the sunlight? That was utterly ridiculous, and yet there were few explanations that would allow for a monstrosity to remain asleep whilst it was dragged around like a pull-wagon. The man mentioned that the creatures were quite accustomed to hiding themselves among settlements, apparently adept at blending in with the locality and carrying out their sinister plots behind the mask of humanity.

That still left the question of the fresh blood. The beast did not appear fresh, and so the blood that now coated the man’s hand simply could not be its. The fellow never answered that question, instead asking his own and then questioning whether it sounded normal. If it had sounded normal, then he wouldn’t have asked the question in the first place, and whilst Noth was about to correct him about his action, he detected a hint of what he thought was fear seeping away from the fellow. He cried out with a strange sense of urgency, suddenly almost zealously asking him to pierce the corpse with his arrow. There was something wrong, however, that drew the Avriel’s attention. He couldn’t quite be certain, but he had an excellent proposition for how he might test his hypothesis.

The man was exerting an awful amount of fear over a body, and that was understandable if it was truly a monster. If he was falsifying his act, however, he might respond differently to true fear, he might show his truer colors if he was exposed to something truly terrifying. With a savage shrieking noise which seemed to reek of a feral anger, the twilight hybrid screamed to the man, “Enough! Enough! Be still you wretched little imp! Enough!” He exclaimed, risking the revelation of his position to any others hiding within the brush. As he exclaimed, the dark wing that had lain fairly still near his armor suddenly shot itself upwards to full height, raising the profile of the dark bird by several feet. Foam gathered itself into his mouth, making his final words somewhat harder to decipher, but adding to the feral look that he wished. Crimson eyes glared hatefully down at the fellow, arms tensing as though ready to strangle the life from him, even at the distance they still shared, fingers played across his bow, grasping the string and bringing the weapon to bear upon the fellow once more.

He would tell once and for all whether there was a ruse afoot, and if he saw no reason, then he might be inclined to comply.

[Limbo]

Fear was nothing but psychological responses to incoming danger, and if one was aware of what Kovic was, they would be certain that danger was unknown to him. Having been bred to be danger incarnate, and having been molded by a short life plagued with prying eyes that threatened his unique existence, most dangers had become obsolete for an extremely logical and intelligent mind like Kovic’s. Threats were recognized and analyzed for measures to be taken to neutralize them. Whenever he encountered that hypothetical threat a second time, he would be prepared. However, in the woods he now sat in, lying to a violent avian, Kovic felt fear. It was beyond his act, which had perhaps disappointed him in its performance. Instead, it was the fear of the creature that hid past Kovic’s array of masks – his own fear.

It wasn’t the avian’s shriek what scared him, his menacing stance or how rabid it had presented itself from the first moment. Instead, it was the utter incapacity to predict his motions, to analyze his personality and psychological measure him correctly. In a moment of doubt, Kovic lost confidence in his mental capacity to escape the situation, and so his logical psyche was shattered in that split thrill of insecurity. And as it shattered, fear grew within him like a fire.

Almost instantly, the undisciplined Mortalborn found his most notable ability attempting to take over, to start violently mutating in order to save his own flesh. It was as intense as what any child felt near a pastry, when the saliva started building up and the brain demanded its consumption. Kovic’s temptation was beyond psychological, but also physical. Like an addict, Kovic felt his will’s strength fading, and sweet whispered promises of safety started flooding his mind. It was difficult to resist. Thankfully for his own survival, his mind refused to cooperate with the temptation, as instead it told him what would really happen; the moment he mutated, he would be shot and killed.

Closing his eyes with strength, Kovic tried to calm his breathing. Vaguely, his situation was repeated within his mind, over and over again, in attempts of fighting the urge to mutate. Incapacitated, unarmed, exposed, alone. Arrow aimed at him, lack of maneuverability, adverse terrain. More convincing arguments followed shortly after. An individual aware of his nature, the possibility of the knowledge spreading, the end of whatever façade Kovic could organize and the need to migrate once again – mental arguments that returned moderate calm upon the male. It was unlikely they would work once again if the avian’s treatment did not improve.

Eyes opening once again, and the act slowly returning into the stage, he’d exhale sharply and fix his eyes upon the avian. It was difficult to ignore his monstrous features, or the shivers that ran up and down Kovic’s spine because of their presence. Kovic’s eyes lost focus because of this, blurring out the avian and thus avoiding immediate attention – a risky choice, perhaps, yet the Mortalborn’s options were running out. Silence came between the two, or at least when referred to the act of speech. The birds still sang, the wind still whistled, and the avian’s throat growled still. Twenty silent thrills later, Kovic finally spoke.

“Okay,” he began, his voice calm and softer in volume. It was also bereft from that arrogance that Kovic assumed had irritated the avian. “Let me explain, please. My name is Paplo Ynush. I am a sort of hunter. These things,” he nodded towards the body. “Are my prey. I don’t know what they are, but I do know how to find them. I feel them when they are near. I trick them out of town, and I kill them. When they die, they release… something, and I absorb it. They end up looking like this one does.”

Storytelling was not Kovic’s forte, as he was far more ignorant than he appeared, and so mixing fact and fiction allowed the forgery of more appealing stories. Of course, he couldn’t dismiss the details already spoken, for the Avian would feel tricked for being lied to, and trust would be unreachable. In consequence, so would be survival.

After a moment, Kovic spoke again.
“When they die, sometimes they wake up. I’m not sure why, as it doesn’t happen every time, but when it does… It’s scary. Corpses that wake and walk… they don’t die. They are already dead, and so putting them down a second time is a challenge.” Pause. “I’m no warrior, intruder. Least we speak of my manhood, I am unable to wield no sticks nor swords. This one I stabbed in the neck with a piece of glass whilst we were intimating.”

A pause. So far, the story seemed to be rather complete. However, Kovic believed an argument was missing.
“Shoot the body, and let me go,” he said at last. “And I’ll show you how I do it, so that you can do it too. You’ll feel the power, and you’ll grow stronger.” Now, Kovic improvised some lies to sweeten the deal. An idea came to mind that could even benefit Kovic himself. It was perfect. “If you eat their flesh, you’ll age slower. I am far older than what I appear, intruder, and that is because I consume their flesh whenever I encounter them.”

Another pause. The argument and the deal was spoken. Perhaps now he needed some final details to convince the male.
“Do not feel pity for them, intruder. Think of them as worms, and we all know worms are meant to be squished under our soles. Spare me, and I shall teach you.”

[Noth]

Fear was nothing more than a tool. A psychological effect that rendered the strongest man weak, and the fastest animal lame. True, there was a reason that nearly every creature in the world felt some measure of fear, and Noth was certain that those beings that didn’t feel any fear were simply in for aggravated bouts of suffering, but that didn’t make it any less of a tool. The twilight hybrid wasn’t the greatest warrior in the world, but he had learned to use his appearance to his advantage, to make himself seem rabid and vicious, to intimidate and falter the will of his foes. Now, he was simply putting all that he had learned to effect, testing how it worked in a real world scenario without any of the hypotheticals that he commonly attributed to such psychological attacks.

It appeared as though the fright he wished to inflict was successful. The man silenced himself, shutting his eyes to the outside world as he evidently attempted to calm himself. If Noth were some manner of torturer, he wouldn’t have allowed for the brief interlude between their talking, but for the sake of retrieving viable answers that weren’t simply incoherent babbling, he allowed it. The moment that the fellow’s eyes shuddered themselves to the outside world, the archer released some of the tension that he had lain upon the bow, allowing it to point towards the ground, and for his muscles to rest from their exertion. People often didn’t consider how truly tiresome it was to threaten someone with a bow, and the hybrid was thankful that he had the stamina and endurance to perform the act at all.

The fellow’s eyes opened once more, fixating upon the monstrosity that lay before him. He continued to be silent, apparently still organizing his thoughts, though it was clear that he had calmed himself to the point of answering. Noth took a brief notice of the chirping birds that continued to flutter overhead, apparently unbothered by his threats. He wondered for a trill whether they were unafraid of him, because they recognized him as some form of bird, or whether they were simply animals, uninterested in the workings of thinking men.

Unimportant, he determined, his eyes glaring interrogatively upon the fellow as he uttered his first word, an accepting word that seemed to indicate that he had changed his manner of speech entirely to a far more submissive state. This assumption of submissiveness was supported when the next thing he asked for was that he might be allowed the opportunity to explain himself. His name was Paplo Ynush, a name unfamiliar to the hybrid, though that certainly didn’t mean anything. He mentioned his role as a hunter of some manner of beast, the same type of beast that supposedly lay beside him upon the ground. Noth made a note that Paplo could ‘sense’ the creatures, immediately growing suspicious as to whether the fellow was one of the godling’s experiments.

He further mentioned that he consumed some manner of material from the corpses when they were killed, and that the bodies were transformed into the same terrible visage that lay before them. There was a brief pause, the Avriel locking his eyes upon the corpse for some manner of identification, attempting to note something that would tell it apart from a normal rotting corpse, but he found nothing of the sort. The man continued, stating that sometimes when the beasts were deceased, they would arise anew, and continue their activities of mayhem. It became apparent that they were more difficult to eliminate in this state, because they were technically already dead. Noth supposed that the dead had no moral qualms over enacting their will, nor were they burdened by the ever-present sensation of pain which troubles and stumps the will of the wounded.

The fellow was no warrior, that much had been clear from the beginning. He wore no fanciful armors, nor any practical ones, and he wielded no clear weapons upon his body. The assumption that the blood had been spilled using some manner of bladed instrument had been correct, though the Avriel would never have suspected a shard of glass as being capable of dealing such an exquisite level of damage. Of course, he doubted that he would ever have found it necessary to use such a fragile weapon as opposed to one of the knives he used for hunting and gutting prey.

Gradually, everything was coming together, the story that the man told seemed genuine enough, albeit extremely strange. Despite that, Noth had no intentions of raising his weapon towards the fellow once more, at least so long as he continued regaling his tale. He pleaded that the body be shot, and that he be released from the captivity of the avian, stating that he would show him how to gather the same energy from the beastly corpses as he did. That made him incredibly suspicious, and his eyes immediately twisted to make this known to Ynush. He had a book filled with many legends and stories, and he had read through it many times, and yet he had never heard of a being whose flesh could be eaten to restore youth, or that could be so easily drained of raw power. He had the terrible urge that he was being lied to once more, but he had no discernible manner in which to prove his suspicions.

The final words he spoke identified him in exactly the manner that the hybrid had assumed. He was exactly the type of person he had assumed when first he had seen him, and for all of his strange quirks and rumors, that made Noth far more trusting of his personality.

“You are a predator, as I am a predator. We gaze upon the world and see only red meat. Now, you offer me to feast alongside you, and how could I possibly refuse so delicate a meal. Know this, however, that I shall defile my stomach with neither worms nor the flesh of men, but I shall allow you to stand if you show me this secret of yours, Ynush.”

“It is as well that I should make myself known, you may have heard of my escapades in the dark of the woods if you have stayed near Etzos for a long while. I am Noth.”

[Limbo]

Closing his legs, bending his knees, and removing his palms from underneath his rear, Kovic was finally allowed to stand. And so he did. Standing tall, and offering an amicable smile, the male patted his rear in order to clean his clothing.
“Noth,” he repeated. “I am pleased to see how our similarities have overcome our differences. My word is my bond, and so I shall respect our agreement, for my heart still beats and my lungs have not been punctured. Now, let me finish pending task with haste.”

Moving back towards the body, Kovic would crouch near it, a hand reaching towards the shard of glass incrusted into the cadaver’s neck. He did not pull it out, as instead he began cutting the flesh, which proved to be far more difficult than it appeared, as the shard of glass encountered bones too hard to overcome with such a fragile weaponry. What had been an attempt to decapitate the body for the sake of a story’s consistency had failed. Using the female’s clothing to wipe off whatever blood he could, Kovic rose up once again, and glanced back towards the Avian.
“This body is drained,” he stated. “I drained it whole just before you got here. If you wish to witness the power I spoke off, then we should seek for another of these beings.”

Kovic realized something in that moment. Was the avian truly believing what Kovic had spoken, or had he looked past the lie and understood the gist of Kovic’s motives? The way he had spoken left him uneasy, and the vagueness of his assertions required some deciphering. Was the Avian aware that Kovic was simply a murderer, or did he believe in Kovic’s forgery? One thing was quite certain, however, and that was the social incompetence of his new partner in crime, or in his primitive outlook on the world. It was hypocritical and ironic to mentally judge him, for Kovic was, in his own way, completely akin.
“Since you wish not to enlarge your livelihood by consuming these creatures, then I suggest we part ways for the time being. It had taken me a large effort to convince this individual to follow me, and you must understand that wasting its flesh would be quite disrespectful.” Pause. “Are you certain you do not wish to feast with me? Living a few trials longer is never unappreciated.”

It was undeniable the fact that Kovic had made a major mistake. His story had now made him into a cannibalistic murderer, details that his avian accomplice would never forget, and so Kovic’s safety had been reduced. Unchained from pride, Kovic was well aware of the need to improve his act, his capacity to maintain calm, and the improvement of his storytelling if he wished to tie his loose ends. In that sense, Noth was one of them, although there was still an abyss between the murderous façade Kovic had presented and the monstrous truth that hid within.
“Or perhaps do you wish to retire your promise of honoring my safety by urging me to show you my harvesting? It is certainly possible, Noth, and if you feel such way then I’d suggest we avoid threats and scout for other worm disguised as men.” He chuckled. “Trust is yet to be established between us, is it not? Because of this, I shall leave the decision for you, as you are, technically, the overseer of not only the remainder of this trial, but of my very life.”

[Noth]

Ynush took him up on his offer to arise quite quickly, apparently having grown tired of sitting upon the ground. He gave a grin towards the Avriel, wiping away at any clinging specks of dirt that had decided to join him upon his standing. It seemed as though Ynush was of the same mind as he was, that they need not focus upon their differences, but rather their similarities. He attempted to assure the hybrid of his choice, stating that his word was his bond, something that was utterly meaningless to the twilight creature, but supposedly of some worth to honorable sorts. Honestly, it was a ridiculous notion. If your word was your bond, and yet you betrayed that bond, who would be able to say that you had deceived them? Surely not the dead.

The fellow mentioned finishing his task, and Noth simply nodded as he went to work. The corpse still needed to be dealt with, but Noth was fairly satisfied that he had spared himself the cost of an arrow. Ynush’s body did well to obscure much of the gory work that he partook in, but it troubled his mental faculties little to discern that the man was finishing off his prey, ensuring that it would not arise from its eternal slumber. Admittedly, the hybrid had expected something far more dramatic than a simple hacking upon its neck, but he was no expert upon strange beasts, and if Ynush spoke the truth, then he assumed it was enough to keep it in its place.

He spoke of having only just recently drained the body of any of its energy, and that there was none remaining to supplement the Avian’s power. That was truly a shame, because he had been somewhat eager to learn the trick, but he supposed there were later dates for such things, and besides that he didn’t truly trust the fellow yet. The man offered to depart for a time so that he might continue his consuming of the body; something that was still utterly disgusting to the hybrid, but Noth didn’t quite want him to disappear, never again to return, and so he offered a far different idea as he began discussing the hunting down of other worms disguised as men.

“It is dangerous for you to consume your meal in so open an area, is it not?” He cast a glance around the woods, motioning towards the foliage. There was little doubt that it could hide some manner of observer, and whilst he was simply trying to make a point, he did begin to scan the horizon for signs of watchers or guards. “You offer to go hunting others, and yet I believe I might have something of curious intrigue for you to see. In short, I have two offers, and since you so solemnly place me as the overseer of your life for the duration of our encounter, I suspect you are unlikely to refuse.”

A thin smile creaked its way across his face, hidden behind the veil of feathers that covered it. They were incredibly useful for hiding information, especially when some manner of emotional trauma found itself burrowing into his skull. Tears and blood were both absorbed by the downy feathers, and though this meant that it was somewhat harder to keep himself clean, it was still a decent tradeoff, and one that he would eagerly make any trial.

“I have a home not far from here, and whilst I shall not show you my place of residence so quickly, I know the area there far better than here, and am thereby far more equipped to keep watch lest your dinner be interrupted. There is something else too, that might tickle the desires of your mind. See, there were intruders who stormed upon my home only a few Trials ago, and their remains have been preserved so that they are not feasted upon by maggots. You say that you can sense these shapeshifters, these changelings even in the midst of men? We shall see whether these beings are men or beast then, and determine once and for all the validity of your ‘power’” He spoke the last word with clear suspicion, almost an accusatory tone that seemed to hint at hidden knowledge.