2 Encounter

The void in the creature's eyes felt as if it was swallowing the very being of my existence. Ice ran through my veins. The pressure of its gaze alone had my eyeballs feeling as if they would burst through the back of my head. My mouth was dry. My ears rang. My fingers felt as if every hangnail I'd had in my life came back at once.

Her haunting smile faltered, like a deflating balloon her features returned to that of the cute facade she'd worn moments before. She must have mistaken my crippling horror for stoicism. Confusion began to show on her now delicate features that hid the betrayal of what rested beneath the skin. The void in her eyes remained the same, seemingly a part of her relaxed state. I forced my eyes over her shoulder just slightly to break eye contact, after all, nobody around me had reacted to her horrific change.

'They can't see what I can right? So, I didn't see a damn fucking thing.' The A.I. was noticeably absent in response, but a weird pull at the back of my head gave me reason to believe she was doing the equivalent of hiding, for an AI with no physical presence, at least. Rain had started trickling down on the other side of the street. When I brought my head back around, I could now notice a nameplate above the creature's head.

Niy'uleth

Race: Eldritch

Danger: Immediate Death

'I can't see what they can't. I can't see what they can't. I can't see what they can't. I can't see what they can't.' My new mantra rang out in my head.

A dainty voice came out to match the small frame of the woman-thing in front of me, and the sound was so incredibly sweet on my ears, especially now with my enhanced senses.

"You are a curious one, to call out to one such as I. You do not possess the mark that which would make you prey, and yet I can't help but to feel that I want to swallow you whole, ugh, aside from your incredible stench. Spare me your reasons for odor, and tell me; why would you approach?" Now that she engaged me for conversation, I felt my chances of survival within grasp. Sure, she said she wanted to swallow me whole, but she hadn't done so yet, and I needed to work with that. I took this time to properly look at her; obviously, so I could commit her appearance to memory. This was not an encounter I wanted to repeat.

Her short black hair was cut into a bob around her head, her eyes an obsidian abyss that now replaced fear with an allure that forcefully held my gaze in place longer than I felt appropriate on the off chance I actually wanted to survive this encounter. Her leather jacket pristine; a direct opposite of her shredded and blood-stained sundress beneath, now visible with her body turned towards me. That'll teach me the importance of not missing massive red flags, especially when it's a blood-stained dress.

"I'm not sure I understand any of that stuff about swallowing, but I wanted to let you know it's raining across the street there, and before long it will be here too. You're wearing leather, and in case you didn't know, water will ruin it. I'm not sure how much you like that jacket, but if you don't want to get it all stiff and uncomfortable, you should probably find an umbrella or step inside somewhere." I finished with some extra stiffness added to my deluge of words to try and match the tone of the other people passing by.

"Hmmmmmmm." The long drawn out hum restored that fear I had felt as if I had already been trained to respond to it like a bell. The vibration in the air alone rattled the core of my stomach and pulled at my eyes to force tears. Her eyes locked with mine once more as she regarded my stature.

Suddenly, a tongue extended down from her mouth long enough to carry past her throat and between her chest. The thick part of the tongue moved over her lips, as if wetting them. She regarded me with a knowing glint in her eye, but made no move to act on any remaining suspicions.

"I will acknowledge and appreciate your gesture of kindness, I suppose." Her tongue for as slowly as it lolled out, disappeared into her mouth almost faster than my eyes could follow.

Almost.

A hand was placed on my chest before I could even begin to process how badly I had fucked up by following her movements, no doubt too fast for any regular person around here to see. My head snapped down to her hand, and only the thought of the 'Immediate Death' gave me enough clarity to decide I should relock my eyes with her own.

"The abyss stares into you. I am impressed you stare back." Her cheshire grin returned with a warped happiness. The hand pressed through my shirt into my bare skin and upon contact a boiling heat began at the surface of my skin, which just as quickly stopped. Niy'uleth removed her hand, along with the stretching of her features. Her appearance became that of a normal young woman again. Obsidian eyes that had never left mine for even a moment. I somehow managed no grimace, and this seemed to please her, seeing as I was still breathing.

"You are clever. Hmmm, I am fond of this apparel, yes. The underclothes have unfortunately been soiled, but that is of no matter. The prey I was hunting has clearly left this area, and thus I have no reason to stay. May as well that I not stand in rain for fruitless efforts. Arrakkin nurtheronp errukthuin."

Her last three words, if they could even be called that, had rattled something deep within me. I flexed every muscle in my lower and upper body to maintain a straight face. Adrenaline hadn't stopped pumping since the moment the sound of her footsteps had placed their vice on my head. Judging by the soft giggle that seemed only to exist in my mind, she was aware of her own and her words effect on me.

With a glance and smile a stranger would give a stray dog that had been friendly, as if she would consider taking it as a pet, she took two steps and vanished into a plume of black smoke. Her presence vanished along with her visage and immediate relief flooded into every corner of my being. It felt as if cracks had been formed in my organs that were corrected the longer she was gone.

[We survived.]