Vulnerable Stone

The rasselbock frantically searched for the blond-haired human.

It hadn't eaten anything since the initial raid its colony leader orchestrated, killing most of the humans around the area, so it was ecstatic to find untouched prey. Looking around however, the rasselbock was sorely disappointed.

The strange tree made of rock had many smaller pieces of wood inside, as well as a lot of plants, but there were no sign of humans. Rummaging through the stone spheres and rectangular wooden spaces, all it found were various bitter herbs.

Looking to the left, it saw its brothers and sisters furiously clawing at the wood that blocked the upper level of the mysterious tree. In fact, those delicious humans built many trees without leaves, but it couldn't figure out the intentions behind adding multiple sections.

It seemed like a waste of time. Why have multiple layers that each have one or two humans instead of stuffing every person into one big tree? It would certainly make the hunting easier.

Although irritated, the rasselbock wasn't one to give up so easily. Its brethren have an unspoken rule about "first come first serve," meaning if it couldn't find the human soon, the monster may end up scavenging the faint droplets of blood across the ground instead. The rasselbock has long been looking for ways to change this rule, but it wasn't particularly smart; It was only a colony spawn, after all.

In the simplest of terms, regular Rasselbocks have their intelligence and Psyche stolen from the moment they're birthed. This energy is to be absorbed by the Alpha Rasselbock, also referred to as the Colony Leader, who then commands each individual Rasselbock with a collective Psyche. This fundamentally changes the way the rabbit monsters behave, with most Rasselbocks being unable to solve even the simplest problems on their own. For this Rasselbock in particular, that means retaining even a shred of conscious thought was a miracle.

It wasn't even normal for it to have a name. On the day of its birth, Ur had accidentally slipped down the tree trunk where it was being born, avoiding the siphoning of the Alpha. This made it have a unique self-awareness normally only possessed by the colony leader.

Ultimately, the Rasselbock are a eusocial species. They're weak individually, but become unstoppable when in a horde of hundreds, all being controlled by a singular Alpha Rasselbock. Thinking back on it, the young rasselbock was quite jealous. It may have retained its intelligence, but any natural Psyche it had was stolen by the leader, and it didn't have any special abilities besides hunting and swarming.

If only it were an Alpha, the monster thought...

There were still more humans in hiding, so Ur opted to fly up to the top of one of the stone trees.

'FLAP'

Its wings weren't especially strong. In general, the bones in a Rasselbock wings weren't hollow so they couldn't fly in the air like birds, but it did provide an exceptional boost in jump height. Using the gust of wind beneath them, they let their small bodies ride the gale that their wings produce, jumping almost four humans tall. It was more like a long leap than anything.

'TWCH'

The nose of the creature quivered multiple times, sorting through the faint aromas and chemicals in the air. The smell of metal, wood, and Rasselbock fur was all over the ground, concentrated within the stone trees the humans hid in.

Ur enjoyed hunting humans just as much as its siblings, but it preferred to eat cleanly compared to the carnage of most Rasselbocks. This probably meant it was labeled as a weirdo by its siblings, but it didn't really care since-

'CRIK'

The rasselbock was interrupted from its thoughts and looked down. Along the dirt path, it could see a figure with dishevelled blond hair, tattered clothes, and multiple wounds, carrying a variety of brightly coloured plants in its hands.

It was the human!

Ur felt its mind cloud with red as it ignored any rationale. Screeching at the top of its lungs, the rabbit monster flapped its wings and gave chase to the human, attracting the attention of several siblings in the process.

Just an arms length away, it braced its body to lunge, outstretching its hind legs and baring sharp fangs.

One step.

Three steps.

'CRISH'

It was successful.

It didn't matter that the wound wasn't deep. Biting into the human's calf, Ur brought its prey down onto the grass, incapacitating him.

But this rasselbock was a picky eater. Recovering consciousness for a moment, Ur released its grip and moved towards the back of the human. It favoured the stomach, since it was tender and juicy, it was a much more enjoyable a meal for the monster.

Looking towards the gate, Ur realized it wouldn't have much time before the other rasselbocks would pick its meal clean, so it abandoned its plan and went for the kill.

The human called out to the forest, using an incomprehensible noise that the rasselbock vaguely recognized.

That's right, it had heard this sound countless times during the raid on the other humans. Why do they feel the need to make such a noise? It helped not save them from the bloodshed.

Ur didn't mind the human. Fangs bared, it lunged.

...And stopped.

Just before its teeth sunk into the human's neck, the vicious rabbit saw a monster with bronze skin and silver snakes for hair, the scales on her tail reflecting a pink sheen. It didn't know what the strange monster was, but Ur wasn't discouraged. The strange hybrid looked similar to a human, so the rasselbock just saw more prey.

That is, until it met her gaze.

Her bright rose irises contained a seemingly infinite amount of prismatic constructs that swirled and shifted in a whirlwind. Her slit pupils were sharp, as if a finely decorated blade aimed for one's neck; an entrancing predator that prey could not ignore. Like stained glass upon a grand cathedral, her eyes were unchanging and overlooking yet suffocatingly mesmerising.

It was a gaze that shook the soul.

The rabbit creature tried to flee, but found that over half of its body had already turned into a stone-like material, utterly immobilizing its legs.

At the next moment, Ur felt its brain throb.

Vision fading...

Thoughts... slowing...

Death.

...

Lysandra was pretty confused, to say the least.

When Karlos had cried out for help, she thought maybe the villagers had retaliated against him for siding with a monster, how could anyone have guessed what these ferocious beasts even were?

They look similar to the rabbits back at the cavern, but these creatures look much more ferocious... Who knew the surface could be so dangerous.

Sweeping her eyes across the rest of the Rasselbocks, she systematically converted the rabbits into statues, one by one. They fared no better against her gorgon eyes. Each one turned into a hideous statue and fell to the ground, dropping like flies.

After confirming there were none left, she fastened her blindfold once again and bent her tail into a kneeling position.

"You can open your eyes now."

Karlos slowly relaxed his eyes and saw Lysandra looming over him, now donning her blindfold woven from cave grass.

Glancing behind him, Karlos saw the corpses of all the Rasselbocks, each one a glistening sculpture made of stone. The one on his back was a hair's breadth away from biting his neck, the hideous fangs on its jaws looked to be sharper than most blades.

Suddenly, he felt an immense pressure on his body.

Karlos clutched his chest. His breathing sped up.

He felt dizzy, like his brain was spinning. He felt time seem to slow down as he watched the leaves sway in his peripheral vision. The environment was blurry, everything seemed so far away and too close at the same time.

No matter how much air he took in, he still felt like he was suffocating. He felt beads of sweat racing down his face, hair, and clothes, the uncomfortable grass stabbing at his wounds. He couldn't help but hyperfixate on the teeth of the rasselbock, at the bite mark on his leg.

Lysandra noticed something off, he wasn't moving.

"Karlos, are you all right?"

He was unresponsive. Karlos clutched his chest even tighter and his breathing became ragged, his eyes were opened wide and his pupils dilated.

"Karlos. Are you alright? There are no more rabbits, you're fine." Lysandra was highly concerned by this point, it had been multiple moments since her question and he hadn't answered. She grasped his shoulder and tried to calm him.

"Are you having trouble breathing?"

He still wasn't speaking. Staring at Lysandra, he mumbled something, something too quiet for anyone to hear.

"...Sêlafrien..."

Lysandra had no idea what to do. To her, the wound on his leg shouldn't have warranted such a reaction, but Karlos seemed like he was in immense distress.

Venom, maybe? No, I don't sense anything like that from his body...

She first thought of forcibly pushing on his chest with her tail to make him breathe, but decided against it. It was just too dangerous. Going through hundreds of thoughts, she finally settled on something.

'Hm~'

She began humming.

It wasn't the typical humming someone would do to relax. As she sang, Karlos felt his racing thoughts slow down, as if her singing had a hypnotic effect to it.

He was overwhelmed by a sense of reminiscence, and the pressure on his shoulders loosened. He felt the air pushing on his lungs once again and he regained feeling in his chest. The hysteria that plagued his nerves slowly dissipated as his mind was overwhelmed with calm.

Eventually, Karlos slowed his breathing and took deep inhales, taking in the cloggy smells stained with metal.

"...Thank you."

Lysandra stopped humming and gently asked once more.

"Are you alright now?"

Karlos winced. He took another deep breath.

"I... I think that too much has happened lately." He began.

"I keep having these strange... Feelings. Like I've experienced this exact situation before. Sometimes, it doesn't seem like I'm in control of my own body, but it got even worse when I went into that cavern.

I was hit by that boar and broke my arm, and then... Kassel..."

He felt his eyes burn with sorrow.

"She... Betrayed my trust. Those five years I spent living here in the village... I won't ever get them back, will I?"

Teardrops fell uncontrollably from his face. 

He clutched onto the grass, his hands turning white from the pressure.

"Just...

What do I have left?"

"..." Lysandra listened in silence. She had similar feelings.

Her parents were killed when she was young, and now she's experiencing a sense of loss she's never known. It wasn't grief, remorse, or even frustration. It was an emotion she had never felt before

But she couldn't cry.

Why couldn't she feel as emotional as Karlos right now? Was it because she's a monster? Was it because she never really knew her parents? Was it because she was practically isolated for years?

She was just forced to leave her cavern, the one thing she knew for most of her life, something she could call home.

So... What did she have left?

"...Do you have a home to go back to?" She blankly asked.

Karlos turned his head. He remembered Sêlafrien, his caretaker and pseudo-mother. Alphonse, who always supported him and acted like his grandfather. All of his other 'servants' were more like found family, and yet...

They're all probably dead.

...What? That isn't true...

He would have never thought of something so negative and cruel, so why was that his first thought?

It's because I'm weak.

It's probably true. He couldn't do anything against Kassel, or against these monsters. He always had to be saved by Lysandra, isn't that correct?

She's a monster too... She can't be trusted either, she'll kill me.

Karlos's eyes darted.

No... What am I thinking? She's saved me, and I helped her too back at the cavern, I'm not useless, and I can trust her... Right?

This is all... Just a bad dream.

His mind was fractured. Karlos tried to clear his mind, but pessimistic thoughts flooded his conciousness. His sense of reason was imbalanced.

Eventually, he focused his eyes and remembered her question.

Do you have a home to go back to?

No.

"...Yes."