In Silence, Death [Withoshiv's Adventures]

Darkness draped over him like a weight but it was comfortable. For a moment as he left the Den, Shiv closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the world exist for just a moment before he disturbed that shadowy calm. He shook himself out, checked over his equipment and then immediately moved into the underbrush, rubbing dirt and leaves into his fur and attaching them to the pieces of his armour to hide his sillhouette.

As he done so, the thoughts of what he done to that Chupacabra ran through his mind, pulses of fury mingling with the feeling of blood through his claws. So often had he enjoyed that feeling but now it brought him... Sadness? Perhaps. He shook his head and crouched low to the ground before heading off to the North, his body low to the ground.

It was time to hunt, time to kill, he would let the blood of others wash away the distaste in his mouth, the scent of meat would let him return to the beast he had been before, thinking was dangerous after all.

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As Withoshiv stalked his way through the rough terrain of the Norther forest, he'd come across an area of near genuine silence. It was a place where the trees became more sparse, ending their invasion of the hills and rocky mounds of earth rose, breaking through the crust of the world. It was in this expanse of in-between, this unclaimed limbo that Withoshiv would find a young horned horse, grazing idly on the sparse and dry grasses of the forest floor. It seemed not to have a care in the world. No fear or concern showed in the movements of this tranquil creature. It was, for all intents and purposes, at peace just as the world around it seemed to be; even if only momentarily.

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Serenity. Did Shiv truly know the meaning of that word? He lay in the dark, watching the Horse just exist, safe and calm. Shiv wasn't that old and yet he had fought every day of his life, blood had marred him so deeply he need only close his eyes to feel its warmth. Was it within his right to shatter such peace before him or should he instead sit and admire it? These new thoughts troubled him, when had he become a philosopher, when had he even learned what a philosopher was? It seemed that as his body changed so did his mind.

He closed his eyes for a moment and banished those strange, troubling thoughts. The Great Huntress had put this before him to test his resolve, to prove to her that he was still a warrior worthy of her gaze, her blessings. The purpose of the weak was to feed the strong, he had to believe that for it was the only ethos that made everything make sense. One hand found his Cobra Blade, the other brandished claws glittering with Nature Mana channeled through the orb in his nose. Blood was the only truth he knew and he would share it far and wide.

From behind the Horse, he speared out of the darkness like shadow made manifest, leaping up and onto the creature's back. His left hand swung around to drag his glittering claws through the creature's throat while his right stabbed in towards its ribs to open it up. At the same time he snapped his jaws in at its spine, aiming to clamp his jaws in, rending flesh from bone even as the creature yet lived.

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The horse turned as the first strike of savagery dug into its flesh. It let out a cry of surprise and pain, one glassy black eye staring at Shiv as he went to work tearing and slashing. It was a quick death, savagely quick and as painless as could be possibly given, considering the separation of the spinal chord. As the horse fell, letting out a final spasm of death, its cold, black eye continued staring at Shiv. The creature's own blood coated him now and the eye showed a depth of sadness. The question was, for who? Once more, Shiv was alone in the forest for the time being. The body of the young horse cooling with each passing second as he decided what to do with this recent kill.

OOC: Sorry for the short post, I'll roll an encounter next but I kinda like this vibe we have going and I want to keep playing with it here and there if that works for you.

Flashes of violence, the sounds of a beast, just for an instant. Blood stained the ground around Shiv, pooling across his feet as he stared down at his kill. Could the dead be judgemental? Could prey feel pity for the predator? As Shiv stared down at the corpse, tasting the metallic tang of blood in his mouth he realised that any answer to those questions would scare him. Why should he care about the thoughts of meat, they were nothing before him, crops before the scythe and nothing more and yet he did care. His eyes scanned around his surroundings, white pinpricks within black orbs. He was alone, always alone.

"Perhaps in another life, we could have been friends, dead one." He hissed out slowly, reaching down to close the Horse's eyes, he didn't need such pity burrowing into his mind. When had he become like this? When had the savagery given away to thought and sadness? He considered this even as he slid back into the shadows, letting the corpse of the Horse draw greater prey towards him. Maybe it was due to the challenge, what was the point of slaughtering beasts that could barely fight back against him?

Deep down he considered that maybe it was something else... Maybe part of him had truly changed as he witnessed the friendships of the other Kobolds. They were scared of him, they did not worry for him, care about him. Would his child follow the same path as he did? Did he even want that for her?

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While Shiv waited, alone with his thoughts, a faint breeze seemed to stir the trees. Branches in the area groaned quietly, leaves scratching against one another...but something felt...odd about it all. If Shiv was paying attention, he'd notice that it seemed to only be the trees to the left of him and at that, it wasn't any of the trees in the distance, simply a few in a cluster nearby. Suddenly, a dark form dropped to the ground beside the corpse of the horse, the creature seeming to drip and break off from the night sky. An unnatural shadow moving from two dimension and into three. The creature had bat like features, its wings tucked close to its body, like an enveloping cloak as it inspected the corpse of the horse. It seemed to ponder this beast, wondering what would have killed it so savagely but left it mostly in one piece.

Out here, this far from the civilized settlements, few things hunted for sport. It looked about the area, sniffing the air with cautious curiosity. For a moment it seemed to stare at the area Shiv was hiding, but it paid this section of forest no more mind than it did any other that it inspected. Finally, it settled down near the corpse, its left side facing the area where Shiv hid. Its wings extended as it positioned itself, fanning out and revealing, even in the darkness a beautiful underside of thin skin. Colors and hues not found naturally in most creatures made a mosaic of beauty that simply didn't fit with the nightmarish appearance of this creature. It was haunting. The creature knelt down and, producing two large fangs, pierced the horse's neck and began drinking happily.

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A creature just like him, a beast of the shadows, of feral force and savagery. Shiv spent a few long seconds lying in the undergrowth staring at this specimen. There was a beauty to it, the colours dancing across it, the way its fangs snapped out. It fed on blood but it needed it for sustenance, it did not need that to fuel its purpose, its desires. Why did this creature get to exist without worry, why did it hunt without considering emotion? Why did it deserve to be so free, so pure a hunter?

"Why can't I be free? Why can't I be beautiful?" Shiv's thoughts snarled at him. Perhaps it was best to just give in to it, allow himself to become the beast that he truly was. It would not cure his loneliness or the new emotions that burned through his mind but he could at least distract himself for a while anyway. He tensed his muscles, mentally asked for guidance from the Great Huntress and then he struck. He'd drown those thoughts in blood if he had to. He aimed to slam his body into the Camazotz's side, trying to bring it down to the ground under him, he'd toppled larger beasts than this!

With that done, his claw lashed down, mana channeled through his orb to dig into and cleave through one of the Camazotz's wing joints, while his fang blade lashed around to try and stab into the creature's throat, digging in and wrenching it out to try and squeeze every drop of blood he could from the beast. Let it wash away his sadness.

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As Shiv broke from his hiding place, the creature moved with him. It screeched in mild surprise, or perhaps even warning, considering Shiv had interrupted its meal. Its wings bat the air, stirring up small dust and dirt cyclones around the desiccated corpse of the horse as it half jumped, half flew backwards into the air. Its impressive speed and dexterity far out maneuvering the large Witherling. The creature landed on a bare branch, some twenty feet above Shiv. It paced on all fours, digging in and looking over at Shiv below, studying its strange attacker with a curious, cocked head. Its colored wings were up and out, fanned behind it like a colorful bird warding off a predator. The creature let loose a strange sound, almost a hushed scream, high pitched and eerie but not terribly loud either. Was it attempting to communicate or simply telling Shiv to buzz off and it couldn't be bothered with such an interruption.

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Claws bit dirt instead of flesh, grass sprayed out around him instead of blood. Shiv stopped and snapped his head up to the creature, giving out a roar of fury. "NO! Prove your superiority to me! Show what makes you a true predator! I am lesser until I show otherwise, prove this to me!" His voice was manic even though he spoke in Beast Speech to try and actually talk to the Camazotz and he let out a roar, channeling his frustration into it before he moved forwards. His claws bit into the tree and he pulled himself up, cackling to himself as he done so before he leaped up and out, swinging his claws and Fang Blade at the Camazotz's face, his claws going for its throat while his blade slashed out across its nose. This thing was bigger than him, it should be more powerful, it should tear him apart and show him the folly of his ways... Why wasn't it?

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