forum "And tell me why, darling, should I care for the abomination we call humanity?" (OxO) (Mature) (Closed!)

Started May 12, 2023 by @bleeding_hearts

tune

Many Moons Ago

Screams and echoes of pain rung through the air as fire spread. The air was thick and heavy, black as the darkest night as the scent of death grew stronger. Men, women, children alike, died one by one, painting the streets a muddy red. A woman sobbed as she carried her son in her arms, dashing away from the fire, from the chaos, trying to reach safety. No one had known where the beasts had come from. Some speculated that they crawled from the very depths of hell. Some rumored that they had risen form the dead. But that was not what the woman was worried about. It was to get her son out of danger. Even at the risk of her own life. Her partner had already died trying to save them from the wrath of these hellish creatures.

Finally- she reached the edge of the forest line, never stopping once to look back. The air was starting to clear, the night sky finally becoming visible again despite the spread of smoke. A trembling smile of relief fell upon her lips as she stumbled deeper into the forest, holding her son tightly as she did so. She prayed that she was far enough that those creatures couldn't find her.

But those thoughts were cut short when she heard a scream nearby. A hysterical, bone chilling, death bringing scream. Her breath caught in her throat before she calmed and looked around, carefully tucking her son into a mess of roots of a fallen tree. The baby cried before going silent as she carefully swaddled him for the last time. She whispered a name, but it was lost into the night. She grabbed whatever she could have used as a weapon.

The woman was found, a few hours later. Knights had come through the forest, searching for survivors. One found the baby wrapped up carefully in the roots of a tree. And another found a creature. Dead, human like. But… a creature from the depths of hell. With sharp teeth, pale skin, claws that could tear easily into skin… A branch driven through its heart.

The Scourge of the Vampires had begun.

Present Day, 21 years later

The Scourge of the Vampires lasted a decade. Monsters of all sorts began to walk freely… The vampires were the first to come through. Some creatures aligned themselves with the humans, aiding them to get rid of the vampires… and some humans- announced themselves to align with the vampires.

After some time, the world came to an unsteady peace. It was uneasy.

A creature of the night had been seen lurking near a small village. It had been terrorizing the place, and no one could catch it. All people know is that it wandered back into the forest before the sun rose, and they would lose another two to four villagers. So, naturally, the village put out a bounty for someone to kill this monster.

But when the bounty had been placed, the village had been placed into a never ending storm. A never ending storm with winds that broke windows, tore up homes, killed livestock… it was never ending. The storm calmed at night, but the village never new rest. Either the uncontrollable storm or the monster, the village was tormented nonstop. They were desperate.

(ok!)

Cain had lost track of the years a long time ago. Days passed, weeks passed, months passed, and he hardly paid attention any more. His jobs were the only things that marked the passage of time for him, and even then it was just from the beginning to the end, and the interim in between. He didn't pay much attention to anything outside of the things he did, didn't hardly bother to really keep track of politics or border spats, except where his money was coming from and who was lining his pockets. He just did this to fill the time. He was a monster now, not a human, and what he did hardly mattered.

This newest job, he had been assigned to track down some highwayman. A ringleader of a group. Kill him, get his head, bring it back. It was…almost normal, for him, that kind of request. He had done it before, and would likely do it again. Normally, he could take whatever magic, whatever weapons, whatever hurt, was thrown his way. But this time had been different. This time, one of the guys goons had had some sort of weapon he had never seen before, but by god it had hurt. He had failed, which was fine; he could always try again. No, the issue was that he was injured and bleeding. He had been hit in the side, just below the ribs, and he was struggling to patch up the bleeding. Now, stumbling through the woods with a hand pressed to his side and blood leaking through his fingers, he knew that if he didn't get some help soon, he was going to start to bleed out. He knew the symptoms, had felt them before. He could taste blood on his tongue, could feel himself growing lightheaded and dizzy.

But he could not go to the village. They were already plagued by rumors of a monster, by this beast that stalked them, and, well, he was having a hard time keeping his more inhuman form concealed. His irises were bleeding into his whites, and those dark gashes in his skin kept fading in and out of view, darkness pulling at his skin. It was nearing dusk, thankfully; the storm would abate and it would be easier for him to find somewhere to seek shelter. At the very least, if he could get some shelter, then he could do a patch job himself. He had done it before. Quick, rushed stitching to hold himself together until he had himself under control enough for real help. Then again, if he got a better look at this wound, maybe he wouldn't need help at all. He wasn't quite sure yet.

First, shelter. The feet of the mountains were close, and perhaps he could find a cave. Light a small fire in order to see, stitch himself up if he could. He stopped for a moment to lean against a tree, taking a deep breath and exhaling sharply. He needed, god, he needed to sit down. But if he sat down, if he stopped moving, he might not get up again. He knew himself well enough. If he kept moving, he would be able to keep himself awake, but if he sat down to rest, he would pass out. He was losing blood too quickly to sit. So he started up again, a faint hiss of pain leaving his mouth as he started to walk.

The forest, despite the chaos of the village below, was oddly calm. Creatures of all sorts moved throughout the forest, alive and well. The creatures of the forest seemed to freeze as they watched this stranger enter their forest. This, and the beast that had been terrorizing the forest nonstop-? The poor creatures went silent as they watched this person wander through their forest, injured and bleeding. The winds were softer up on the mountains edge, almost as if trying to guide this creature to safety. A creek could be heard somewhere nearby, but it was the faintest of noises, hard to follow. The moon was starting to peep from over the mountains, casting her rays to light the paths.

However- as the moon revealed herself, the shadows seemed to grow and the darkness began to swallow the forest again as the creatures went dead silent. A beast slowly made its way through the trees, weaving slowly and raising its head to sniff at the air curiously before moving closer to the smell of blood and pain. Its eyes were milky white, dripping a black smoky substance… in fact it appeared that the creature was made of smoke, only solid for a few moments at a time. After all- it was hunting time. But it was not interested in a broken and already defeated prey. As it came upon this creature bleeding out, it gazed at the man for simply a moment, before moving on.

Once the beast had passed on, life returned to the forest, and the shadows did not seem as long. The moon was up fully now, basking the mountain in light. Between two crevices of the mountain, a manor sat snuggly between them. It looked old, and uninhabited, but it looked like a safe place to rest for the time being. It wasn't far, revealed by the bright light of the moon and angle of which this person sat.

(Apologies that it's so short, I'm on a bit of a time crunch)

Cain's sense prickled as the creature came close, gaze finding it for only a second, before it was gone again. Normally, he might be more concerned about this. But for now, he was too busy, well, bleeding out, too do anything about it. For now, he just slowly walked through the forest, still headed towards the base of the mountains. When he spotted the manor, he inhaled sharply. That would be the perfect place. He could light a fire in one of the fireplaces, could stitch himself up in one of those rooms. Even abandoned, an old manor house was the perfect shelter for him to stay in. And it was close.

He grunted faintly as he kept moving, blood still pouring down around his fingers, those dark gashes appearing more and more frequently. Alone in the woods, he made no effort to conceal them, letting his form shift in and out of a normal appearance and the other, more monstrous one. After all, there was no one out here for him to pretend for. The wet leaves and dirt underfoot proved to be more and more difficult to traverse the closer to the mountains he got, the ground rough and uneven. Soon, he was beginning to stumble, blood-loss making it harder for him to recover his feet.

He was close to the manor when he slipped and fell again, a low groan leaving him. He just lay there for a long minute, panting and shifting faintly. Gods, he hurt. There was so much blood, he knew he had left a trail of it behind him, and his hands were coated in it now. His vision swam and his head was pounding, eyes straining against the dark to find the manor. Shaking, he forced himself upright, a cry forcing itself past his clenched teeth as he did so. Just a little longer. Just a little longer and he would be at the manor, just a little longer and he could begin taking care of that wound. His head spun as he came closer to the manor, half falling against the door, and he just leaned there for a very, very long moment, gasping. His fingers scrabbled against the door, searching in desperation for the handle. Once found, he went to try and open it, hoping he wouldn't have to try and break it down through brute strength.

He didn't have the brute strength for that, not now. If it didn't open… if this door would not open, then he would likely die here. Without a light and without shelter, he wouldn't be able to mend this wound, and without being able to get in the manor, he wouldn't have light and a shelter. He no longer had the strength to get any further. This was his last hope, now. He had lost too much blood, was too dizzy and lightheaded to go much further. If this door would not open, he was going to die right there on the steps of the old manor.

(no worries!)

Whispers filled the forest as he got closer to the manor. Warning him, hissing at him to escape. Run away. That there was something terrible hidden behind those doors. The wind whistled and moaned, trying to get him away from the walls of the manor. But otherwise, nothing tried to stop him. No monsters lunged from the shadows. The creature had already passed. And the manor looked to be abandoned. It was all probably just an illusion. Ones dying brain making assumptions perhaps? If one was paying attention to the manor, it could be seen that a light in the upper west wing flickered to life. But since Cain was down on the ground, bleeding, and most likely dying? The light was the last thing to be paying attention to.

But the smell of blood had caught something… or rather someone's attention. In the halls, a shadow lurked. Their footsteps were light against the marbled floor. They weren't rushed as the sound of a heartbeat caught their attention. It had been a long time since someone had wandered to their halls. Magic coated every inch of the manor, keeping it safe from the average human eye. So what creature, wounded and bloody, had stepped to his door? The footsteps paused when he heard the weak scrambling against the thick oak door separating the two creatures. The door was heavy, there was no hope for a creature that was dying to try and open that door.

Yet, they swung open easily, dropping the creature into the grand foyer of the lavish and well kept manor. No. It was definitely not abandoned.

Standing against the soft light of the candles lining the halls was a man. Beautiful and unsettling all at once. Dark curly hair fell into sharp pale features. Startlingly golden eyes seemed to sear into the creature that had fallen through the door, framed behind thin round glasses. Freckles stood stark against his moonlit skin, getting thicker along his neck and shoulders before disappearing behind soft looking fabrics. His shirt flowed against his skin, not in the slightest restricting. It revealed a fair amount of his chest, revealing the tip of a scar. A black skirt that reached his ankles with a slit down the right side.

"Well well. What do we have here?"

The smell of blood was so strong- so tantalizing… but he did not acknowledge that hunger. Not yet at least.

When the doors swung open, Cain lost his balance, falling to his knees for a moment and catching himself with his free hand, the other still pressed ot his side to try and stem the bleeding. The sound of a voice made him look up, gaze flashing faintly as he sought the source of the voice. He had thought this place abandoned but now, with the doors open, he could see that it was not.

Well, shit. "I didn't know this place was… was inhabited." he said slowly, voice a little strained as he spoke. When he had heard the voice, he had automatically tried to exert control over his appearance again, but he had only partially succeeded. Those black cracks were still partially visible, as shadowed lines pulling at his skin, and the blacks of his eyes looked soft, bleeding out into his irises which, in turn, blurred into his sclera. Try as he might, he could not completely control his form, not with as much blood as he had lost. Not with the way he was struggling.

He needed to apologize for the intrusion and pray that the person in front of him would assist him. Or at least allow him to mend himself up. "I am… deeply sorry for the… for the intrusion," but he could barely speak, each word taking far more effort htan it should have, just to say it. "But I cannot… I ask only for shelter for the night, and room to mend my… my wounds." he only needed a small room with a fire. That was all. "I can pay you, if necessary, or do…do anything, I just…" he broke off, hands still pressed to his sides. The bleeding still was not abating, and he was running out of time. "I am running out of time, please."

He hated to beg, hated to have to beg for his life like he was some kind of animal, but he needed to survive, and the onyl way he could survive was if he practically threw himself on the mercy of…whoever this was. He coughed faintly, still on the floor. He hadn't had the strength to pull himself upright, not when he didn't know if he would be allowed in. If he was kicked back out into the rain, he knew he would not survive the night. His injuries could not go without attention, not with the way they were bleeding, and he didn't have the strength to go much farther. Even now, he could feel himself fading, and knew that he didn't have much longer before unconsciousness would claim him. And once that happened, death would not be far behind.

Zephyrus regarded the creature curiously, before a small hum left his throat at the mention of allowing this person to stay the evening. His interest was piqued slightly, and he wondered what the creature… person…? was in order to see through all of his magic shields and wards and manage to get to his door. "Most people don't know this place exists at all." He quips, though there was no malice behind the words. He carefully moved to the person's side and inspected the wounds. "Oh this will be quite an easy fix." He hums in satisfaction before standing. "Now. Do you wish me to help you, or are you a 'no touch' type of person." He hums before a laugh slipped through his lips. "Payment? Darling I doubt you have something I'd like." The blood was tantalizing, but the last thing he wanted to do was scare off someone who had interested him. No no, he wanted to understand just how this being managed to find him.

(sorry it's so short!! I'm at work)

(i am,,, so sorry for the wait, but uhh here you are ahaha)

Cain couldn't suppress the faint almost growl that left him as the person got closer, staring at them with distrust glittering in his blurred eyes. But he needed t he help, and much as he loathed the idea of someone else being close to him, he was weak enough that he was no longer sure he could adequately patch himself together. "I… think that I need some help." he admitted, through gritted teeth. At the laughter about payment, his eyes narrowed faintly. "Perhaps not…coin, but I have other…skills." he had been wandering, had done so many things. There were many things he was capable of, things he could do. He was still on his knees, bent with one hand bracing his body on the floor and the other pressed hard against his side. Blood was leaking down around his fingers, beginning to drip onto the floors, and as he shifted, his head spun, and those dark cracks in his skin widened again. It was only with a deep pull of effort that he managed to get them back under control, fading them down to lines again.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself upright, still on his knees and staring up at the figure before him. "I can do whatever you have need of me for, in repayment." whatever that would entail. He was used to it.