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I exhaled deeply and plopped down on my ass. A mistake. The air was cool, but it had nothing on the stone. Too late now. Didn't have anywhere else to go anyway, and there was this mini-altar here. Held my fingers by the two candle sleeves and lit up my own sticks as well. The gentle breeze kept threatening to blow them out and it took good chunk of my time to position them just right.Crossed my legs and started weaving flowers together. Didn't want to go to Almoner's today. Paranoia told me I would be expected by the mob. Probably not and I could sneak away even if so, but just didn't feel like encountering a problem. Hoped the kid got away scot-free, but if he hadn't it was either too late now or I would be powerless to help anyway. Either way, I didn't want to know. The less I was aware of the less I needed to deal with.I told myself they all just forgot my aggravating shenanigans and went to sleep. It was early, even if already dark, but still. Probably enough time to cool their heads. Sleeping outside in the cold just wasn't all that terribly unusual to me. And if the monster decided to wander off and never come back I'd know first-hand. By the time I finished ruining the beautiful tulips most of my worries were either sorted or half-forgotten.I was entirely too much at peace for almost whole minute when universe decided to right itself."What a beautiful smile you got there," match struck behind me as someone came out for a smoke. I heard the voice somewhere very recently."Did you come to worship at the altar, too? Come, sit. Give me your bountiful offerings to twine into a works of art," I showed off my garland and snuck a peak. He shaved, and perhaps even washed, but it was undoubtedly the bore from earlier in the day. Props for that. Nobody could fault a man trying to better himself."Ye, I'll give you something to worship," he grabbed my slightly overgrown hair and stood over me, savouring the power. I grinned wider. Even when I was doing my utmost to avoid problems, they'd still find me. This had to be some kind of superpower.I kept smiling like a fool and caressed the calves. He accepted the gesture eagerly and the grip on my hair eased. This could end quickly with a simple blowjob but I was in foul mood. Stealthily I reached for candles behind him. The idiot didn't notice or suspect a thing over his massive ego and a fucking tiny dick. The loose sweatpants caught fire and silently crept upwards. It didn't burn quite as well as I hoped, nothing like the flames of the mansion. The cloth mostly just melted. I sighed resignedly. Whatever, it wasn't like I was trying to torch the man.The guy eventually figured out back of his legs were smoking and started trying to shake me off. I kept the candles in my hands, cackling in response to the blows to the head. It truly was all too funny for some cursed reason. My lean, aerodynamic physique was no match for the brute strength and he kicked me off far too soon. I'd done no damage and now I'll lose my teeth. Again. Typical. There were one or two curious people who popped up but nobody was going to risk their hide for an egregious outsider.His pants were ruined and still scalding so my unwanted suitor ripped them off, going straight towards me – but perhaps with different intentions now, if the flappy wiener was of any indication. I was both – still giggling and too disoriented to make it on my feet in time and bail. He grabbed me by the neck and I could not laugh anymore."You fucking slut," he cursed. "You tempt me and then do this?! Stop fucking laughing!"Apologies never worked anyway. I mean, they softened the blow, but at a certain point in the rain you just didn't get any more drenched. And I felt like I was about to overflow all the damn time. I guess this was it.He shook me, and shook some more but then it stopped mid-motion and his hands let go. I cracked my head on the rocks. It hurt, but I kept my whining in in the presence of that other, visceral agony. Animalistic screech that reached somewhere beyond comprehensive thoughts and communicated to the animal inside. One that made blood run cold and not dare look. The howls of the damned in the deepest pit of hell. The shrieks of people caught out outside the walls in the night. The terrible pitch that sang of purest pain. Sounds which never dulled no matter how many times I've heard them.There were some panicked shouts around. The locals were running in to defend but they all stopped and stood still somewhere just outside a perceived barrier – in the grass, bushes, other side of the street.The man's screaming was peeling his throat raw. He was hugging, then clawing at himself. Something like a bulbous worm ripped through the clothes and buried itself back in the flesh. Were those his organs? The man kept on bawling, twisting, trying to catch the monster surfing round and round through the meat like water.More people came out and shouted something too. I wasn't overly concerned. Sure, the sight was absolutely alarming and probably dangerous, but I was somewhat concussed and mostly worried about the other, bigger monstrous presence looming over me. And I wanted to touch him so bad.My monster completely ignored fussy surroundings as though he wasn't a part of the chaotic scene and definitely not the cause of it either. He was so close. Tentatively I reached out and my fingertips brushed that ridiculous claw sticking out of the boot. I sighed in relief and closed my eyes. There was not a trace of previously experienced pleasure. Not even a shiver. But it soothed the craving to run my palms down his skin. Now if only I could stop myself from grabbing the oversized nail with all my might next, that would be nice.I did feel something, I realised. The fog lifted and throbbing in the skull eased. He noticed, then. I removed my fingers immediately and pretended it didn't happen."Can you do your thing little less loudly?" I rubbed my temple with one hand and waved in the vague direction of the screaming spectacle with the other. Man's raspy screech cut off almost immediately. He still gurgled and wheezed, worm squelched and sloshed, but I was able to think. I exhaled and discarded any unnecessary ponderings."Did you have fun?" I asked with a smile, pretending to be somewhere else entirely and talking to normal people."No. Their effort was pathetic. Some just ran. Mouth is dealing with those," the growl sounded terribly inconvenienced. I resisted cringing or rolling my eyes."Well that's what you get for playing with your food!" I chastised monster from my dignified crumple on the ground, still in the presence of inexplicable pain. Somehow I wasn't all that daunted. More surprised. This was in direct assistance to me, right?"But that makes it so much more worthwhile," deeper growling made goose bumps rise and I finally managed to remember that that's all I was to this exotic animal, too. Entertainment. Food.The monster bent down – actually, like a human – and his hand landed on my sore face. I tensed up, but not exactly out of fear. The move itself was confusing as fuck. He never moved if he didn't need to - unless it was for show. Sure, I felt my injuries mending, but he could have whipped out a tendril, touched with the foot or just waited for me to get up.I looked away from the darkness of the hood. I don't know why I kept affixing my gaze onto it, not like there were eyes to meet mine or even a face. Well fine, maybe some face? I had no idea, but for sure none of it was functional anyway. Should I be looking at his chest instead, where he kept the voice?In actuality I should not be sitting right under this oppressive presence."Oh, a cigarette!" I was thrilled to find the still smudging stick on the ground and reached out, scuttling away. Put it in my mouth. Disappointingly, half of it gave out. The candles were all kicked away and trampled. What a waste. "I don't suppose you got fire?" I asked the demon half-heartedly.The creature crouched down on his haunches. The human hand went up again and each finger lit up in different coloured flames. There was neon green, aggressive pink, wispy blue, dim purple and even dimmer violet. "Ooh, pretty! Impressive, meat monster."None of the digits were getting damaged."You find this impressive?" The scoff in the gruffness was obvious. Priest was right. The monster must have wanted to show off with the juggling of organs on the live specimen or the slaughter of fully equipped contingent earlier. But I, after all, already seen people sliced up open and unable to die. I held back the eye roll and scrunched up my lips in a thoughtful manner instead."Hmm. A little disappointing. Why are there two purples?" The lights flickered and all of them shuffled into different shades. "No, no, now most of them are yellow. That's boring as fuck."Instead of slapping me or putting them all out in annoyance, the monster ticked quietly as if pondering. It went back to how it was before. "Which ones are purple?" the blind bastard asked.I shuffled closer, leaned in to light my tired cigarette and inhaled extra deep. The haze was fantabulastic. The gurgling man smoked some potent shit. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully and pressed two fingers to monster's knuckles. These definitely had to be someone's real arms. There were scars on the skin and bones underneath were abused. Not unlike Ruby's. Hands of someone who talked with their punches.The shades flickered and I shook my head, "No, now it's green like here." After couple more failures I couldn't hold back the spice in my tone, "Oh, if only somebody had eyes.""I do have eyes and the colours you describe are already different. I do not understand."I snorted. Purposefully confusing the blind man would have been fun, why didn't I think of it?"You've eyes?! Lemme see!" I reached for his hood but was caught by enflamed appendage. Unlike his, my skin sizzled. I didn't immediately feel it, but when the pain hit me the night turned bright.A warning? Or was this almighty being sadistically inclined? Chances were it was so, as with most self-important assholes. I wouldn't mind putting up a show to display my misery if it pleased my newest master so. Or would he be the type to get inappropriately enraged over display of weakness? Did he even understand that humans felt intense feedback from injuries? The disfigured man flailed around wildly. Would the monster helpfully just burn me to crisp? So many questions, so few answers.Instead of screaming like my damaged forearm required, I sucked on the cig and huffed in monster's face. Forced those thoughts down. None of that mattered."I was literally all the way inside your maw and you're shy about a face?" I asked in my firmest, non-trembling voice which I loaded with scepticism. Easy, because after all any sort of timidity I might have had was lost to the tides of time. Modesty was something I was unable to understand.Flames extinguished and skin mended. Mastery of all things meat was very impressive, but I wasn't going to tell him that. In the absence of pain, my muscles relaxed. I hadn't even realised I'd become so tense. Should have just screamed, I was fooling nobody."I don't have a face," monster growled sharply."Then what are you being so bashful for?" I was hoping to push some buttons, but this started to feel like an argument with the kids. Am not! Do too! I waited for the defensiveness."For you to realise I'm entirely inhuman."What does that have to do with anything? Clearly, the thing with looming crown of horns stood no chance of being mistaken for a real boy. "You need to pop out those eyes of yours more often. Perhaps walk by a mirror or two," I suggested."You think you comprehend it, but you do not," sharp rasp informed me."But... what about... Then... You really think?" I was at a loss for words. This rarely happened. The audacity of this creature! I breathed and smoked and then shouted, "There's no way I ever thought of you as human! You literally just unzipped your stomach that time. You're fucking growling."Monster shrugged with one shoulder as though to say he wasn't the one making the rules. It was time to employ second stage of arguing with a prepubescent. Brute force. Fine, so perhaps I was the childish one – but that still counted.I launched my other hand towards the skin masquerading as fabric. Unsurprisingly, he caught that too. I just needed to pull on it a little. It was an iron grip, could not budge it forward in the slightest. Squirmed with effort some more. Nothing. Launched my teeth forward and a new, skinless hand split off from one of his and grabbed me by the throat.I choked and coughed out, "See, you do shit like this and keep expecting to be seen human?""No," monster said as though I was not getting it. I wasn't. I strained my neck towards the cigarette stump. It still had some life left in it. Success. I would have launched the ember into the mysterious darkness, but unlike me the creature felt no pain so it was a waste of good cig. I exhaled smoke into it instead."Do you have a nose?" I inquired."My skin," monster replied pithily."So no nose-nose. But you've eyes now? In there," I pointed at the hood."Not anymore," he said gruffly and I sighed. He was so infuriating.Chewed on my lip and gave it a big think. In the trek he had said that the incomprehensible instilled terror in us mortals. Was he apprehensive of innate human reaction? The creature took form of a human. He even made lips up for me to kiss yesterday. This boneheaded oaf cared.And I kept looking, expecting to see something under the hood. Meanwhile there was... nothing? Was that startling, under normal conditions? Probably.But if he was so considerate, why was there a grotesque lump of meat crawling around? I narrowed my eyes. Nope, I had no clue. Different approach. Maybe some other, limited exposure would work instead?"Can I touch your face?"Tick tick tick. "There is no face," monster replied eventually but relaxed grip on one of my hands.That wasn't a no. Progress!