Chapters An Unfortunate Turn Of Events
I glide just ablove cloud level, the cool night air chilling my already cold, pail white skin. The wind ruffles my black cloak and the moon dimly illuminates the small town, coating it in a layer of cold.
I inhale trough my nose, allowing it to guide me to the unfortunate child. I desend effortlessly to a light blue Victorian style house, I gaze into one of the second story windows and sniff. I smile, my hands go for the window handle, I tug gently, opening the window. I float into the room, slowly I glide to the bed containing the slumbering child. I hold my hand over its chest, willing the soul to me, its not the best job but it's something. The child's eyes shoot open and his mouth twists into a silent scream, it coughs its blanket with its small hands and begins to whimper helplessly. A glowing white mist begins to asend from his small chest into my being.
The child's eyes roll back and glaze over, slowly I hear his heart beat fade into oblivion and its hands go slack, it let out a final whimper of pain and fear as it dies. I hiss as I head for the window. There was a loud crash as the door was broken down, I look back and hiss at the man. He looks to the child then back at me.
Rage floods the mans eyes as he charges me, I haven't a second to dodge as he stabs me in the heart with a red crystal all my senses are flooded as a sharp pain explodes out and I roar in pain, I tumble to the floor as I begin cough up thick, blackish-red blood. the next thing I see is the man looming over me as my vision flashes bright white for a second. I can feel my body convulsing as my demonic soul is inching toward the crystal, I growl, I only have one choice. I forcefully expel my soul.
My vision terns red-tinted as I ascend from my body. I circle my body in the mist dragging it up, will my soul to fly out the window and into the night. I roar as a bright flash blinds me and I accidentally absorb back into my body and I fall as my vision fades.
I groan, forcing my eyes to open.im in the forest then ' I think. Then I notice how bright it is, its the middle of the day.
I shakily get to my feet and look down, the crystal is still in my chest. I grasp it in my hand and inhale deeply "This is gonna' hurt like a mother fucker" I mutter to myself as I backup into a tree to balance myself. I get a better grip and pull. I roar in pain as the long crystal inches out of my chest, dark blood trails down my shirt and paints, staining them.
I stop to catch my breath for a second before giving it one final tug and with a fleshy squishing sound, it is fully removed, leaving a gaping, leaking hole in my chest.
I let out a pained, reptilian hiss. I don't know how long I sat there for just breathing trough the pain, but it felt like an eternity. My ear twitches slightly as a small gasp reaches my ears. I look over to the source and my eyes narrow.
Standing thare were three children. They stood upright on hind legs that had hoofs at the end, yet there front legs had hands and were more likely arms. They had tails and clothes. I tilt my head at the middle one who has slightly unfurled wings 'Are these children demons? ' I think and look to the one of the left who has a horn in the middle of its forehead. I blink slightly at the children who are just standing there like deer in headlights.
"Hello" I horsely great them, I still have blood on my chin but its dry now. My thought must be sore from so much yelling.
They just stared at me, panting in fear. The one to the right with light yellow fur and dark red hair stepped closer, she was wearing denim shorts and a white and red t-shirt.
She eyed me causisly "H-hi?" She said with a thick southern accent.
I looked her over a second with half lidded eyes, I was already losing conciseness "Hi. Hay, kids?" They look at me and nod "do you mind dragging my unconscious body up a tree so I don't get eaten?" I ask, they nod "great" I mutter, drifting into sleep with a tired hiss.
I wake up in a tree to the sound of talking.
"- and it won't just stay here! It will probably kill us all if given the chance!" Came a voice that I traced back to one of the children, she wore a gray sweater over a black t-shirt and green shorts she had orange fur and short purple hair.
I could tell they were female, from their clothing choice, I would say they are in the age range of eleven to thirteen.
"Ya' don't know that! What if it's real nice and don't wanna' hurt nopony?" Said the young southern girl who looked to be sizing up the orange child.
"I don't suppose you're talking about me?" I ask, jumping down from the tree, causing them to recoil in shock with a yelp.
The orange one growls at me "Alright, buster! What are you here for, huh?!" She demanded, eye twitching.
I look at her with a blank expression "I'll let you know when I find out, child" I growl.
She huffs and marches over to her friends.
I look them over "Huh... you don't smell like demons..." I mutter.
"Wait!" I hear the country girl call. I turn around "What's yer name?" She asks.
I smile "Arthur" I say, turning back to the forest and continuing to walk.
Next order of buses, find shelter.Be quick, be discreet, be careful. And most importantly, don't get caught ' now I see why it's bad to do just the opposite.
Author's Note
I tryed to go as In depth as I could. Sorry for any spelling errors and awfulness.
My first mature story. Woot-ah-woot. I hope you liked it.
This Is Probaly Not A Good Idea...
I walked for a good hour or so until I came across what appeared to be a dishevelled, abandoned castle. Most of the building looked completely destroyed and actually quite dangerous. 'not exactly up to code if I do say so myself, and I don't, I think it! Hells my mind is annoying today... ' I think, clicking my tongue and humming a rather upbeat tune, much to my own dismay.
'Oh well, at least it's not the 'Friends' theme song- wait, never mind, it is now... ' I think as I start humming the theme from Friends, "damn catchy 90s music..." I mutter bitterly as I force myself to stop humming catchy tunes from the 90s.
I walked inside and walked around for a bit -lots of walking- most of the furniture was in a sad state 'Looks like whoever used to live here left in a hurry... ' I thought 'well if nothing else this place would make a good storage aria. God knows there's no way in the nine hells im going to live here. I actually value my existence, thank you vary much' I growled, sniffing the air I could smell something, it was faint, A good smell, coppery... I smelt blood.
I tilted my head. 'why would I smell blood? That's just weird ' the only reason I think this was weird was because I don't smell blood, scratch that, i cant smell blood. I can smell souls but not blood, both a blessing and a curse of becoming a Collector. I look down at my half-healed chest, is that my blood I smell?
I run a finger over some fresh blood that oozed out of the wound "gross" I mutter, Bringing the bloodied finger up I sniff the blood 'no. It's not my blood I smelt. My blood smells like smoke and ash and like not actual blood. Why? I don't know, because reasons I guess. Life is insanity the world is burning and stuff like that ' I lowered my hand and continued walking but this time toward the sent.
I tuned a corner and was greeted by the disgustingly lovely sight of a dying rabbit. It's lower half was clawed open and it's organs were scaterd about. How it was still alive was a mystery to me.
I approached the bloodied rabbit, it looked like someone had just thrown it in a blender and hit 'liquify'. I looked the poor creature over 'At least I know someone's having a worse day then I am... ' crouching down I gently run my thumb through its slightly rough brown fur, it bagan making a high pitched squealing noise "Shh, calm down..." it stoped squealing and began breathing slowly again in long, raspy breaths.
I sighed. I have absolutely no idia how to help this rather unfortunate creature. I mean, I suppose most people would say 'put it out of its misery' and, yah, I should probably do that... but... I don't really feel like it. Well, might as well I suppose. I grab a rock from one of the various piles of rocks, 'seriously do people, like, sweep in here or something? ' I walk back over to the rabbit, crouching down next to it, I run my fingers trough it's rough fur, marking calming sounds as I raise the stone and bring it slamming down onto its head, killing it instantly.
I click my tongue with a whistle "Not exactly something I planed on doing today... well... more or less I suppose, depending on how you look at it" I say to... myself... yeah that's not depressing at all.
I look around the ruins of the castle and nod slightly "Might make a good Lair, not exactly vary creative, but if I find something better I can always move, safety be damned, I'm to lazy to keep looking for shelter. This is probably not a good idea..." I mutter to myself before chuckling a bit at how stupidly weird this all is. I sigh and readjust my position on the floor, opting for cross-leg it instead of crouched.
A lair, pfffft! How stupidly cliché, a demon with a Lair. Well, could call it multiple things I guess, like a Den, a Resadincy... a... yeah, no, I got nothin'. How underwhelming... yea, imma' gonna' with Lair ' I look around and am suddenly very glad I took that Shifting class as my minor in uni.
'And... yes, it does still sound dumb that demons have to go to university. And I'm realy starting to regret deciding to have chosen Collectorisum as a major, mum said 'Chose Shifting. Being a Collector will only bring problems, Arthur!' Yeah, I see what she meant now ' I shake my head, getting up and walking around the castle some more, looking for a good aria for a nest.
"Always listen to you mum, Arthur, she knows best," I start talking to myself... again "What was I glad about again? Oh! Shifting, yes, that will be vary convenient..." I trail off as I reach what appears to be a cellar, I hadn't even noticed I had wandered into the lower levels.
I walk into the room, looking around. The doors were still on their hinges, a couple dozen of empty shelves covered in dust... low-ish ceilings, mostly intact, could use new support beams.
"This'll do!" I chime, trotting down the stone steps "if I move some of these shelves out into the hall and line a corner with animal pelts, it is the ideal aria for a nest" I hum in thought.
Working my way over to the corner, I sit on the cold stone floor, listening to the occasional sqeek of a rat or the creaking of the old support beams, the smell damp and earthy. Closing my eyes, I breath in deep, sighing out the air. It was perfect. I highly doubt I'm getting out of this disgustingly bright haven of a world any time soon, and if I ever do get back, I'm quitting my Collecting gig and going into the Shifting biz. I open my eyes again "Oh, yeah" I whisper.
Shifting was honestly a saving grace, if those girls alerted their family's of my presence there'd be a fucking witch hunt. In of, it would be a good idea to shift into a cute, fluffy, unassuming Forrest critter. A deer, perhaps... no, this forest had some nasty carnivores if that rabbit was anything to go by...
I snap my fingers "Ah ha!" I exclaim, again, to myself "A stray, a dog. Maby something like a German shepherd- or is that to obvious? I may have to rethink this, a stray would be a freakin' magnet to any animal lover... but that may be a good thing, free food, sure it's dog food but I've eaten worse" I say - well, it's a bit rambly- as I straighten up agenst the stone wall.
"I'll escape when I don't feel like living with them anymore and while I'm there I can think of a long-term plan..! You're going crazy arn't you, Arthur? Well, I don't see anyone else making any suggestions, me!" I point in a random direction. Lowering my hand I look over at a rat that is scurrying across the floor.
"I need to get a friend..." I say in a sad tone. I find my self wondering how my sisters are doing, I haven't seen them in a while and most likely won't for a vary long time- if ever, not to mention mum or dad.
I sigh "Fuck" I mutter as I bang the back of my head against the wall dully.
'Isn't this something, me, all the sudden longing for the frustrating company of my parents and sisters. Might as well, I have to solidify whatever memory's I have of them, their names... this is stupid, I haven't even been gone twenty-four hours yet! Stop being dramatic, Arthur. So, next order of the Business, figure out if it's yay or nay to the stray dog plan, not my most creative ideas, sure bu- '
I am pulled out of my thoughts as a wave of pain hits me. I groan, looking down at the hole in my chest. Sighing, I rise my hand above it and pour my energy into repairing it.
Flesh mends and skin re-grows, nerves repair and bone snaps back into place. I grit my teeth in pain but continue nonetheless.
I sigh as the hole mends completely and leaves me with a hole in my shirt, dried blood and a fresh scar in the middle of my chest.
I wrap my black silk cloak around my self tighter. Running a hand through my ebony black hair, I acsadentaly remove the hood of my cloak. I grab the hood and pull it back over my head, growling at a rat that was getting a little to close for comfort, it promptly ran. Smart.
I sigh, curling up on the floor I close my eyes as the exhaustion of the healing catches up with me.
"I'll continue thinking over that stray dog... plan... thing later" I mutter to myself and prepare for an uncomfortable nights sleep... or afternoon, I'm not sure.
I slowly drift into the dark abyss of my subconscious as sleep over takes me.
Author's Note
Well, here ya go. I got bored and now it's 2:00 am and I'm posting this, i need help.
I do apologize for any spelling errors and such, I tend to be bad with those things.
And, yes, demons do go to uni, they chose witch demonic career path interests them and take classes for it. This is my story and I will do as I damn please no matter how ridiculous!
Anywhodoole! Hope ya liked it, I'm sorry I'm terrible! Good day!
Embrace Your Inner Tube Dude
I blink open my eyes to almost complete darkness, the cellar I decided to nest in only light has being filtered trough the odd missing stone or small crack in the higher walls. It's dawn, the light is pail.
I sniff absentmindedly, it smells like rain. growling at the stiffness of my muscles. I arch my back, yawning, stretching and cracking my joints.
I sit up quickly and immediately regret it. Nausea grips my stomach and my head is pounding with a skull splitting pain. I whimper pathetically and lower myself back onto the mercifully cool floor.
It must be the amount of energy I used to heal myself 'I suppose it makes sense. I've fallen out of practice an- oh, hells! Thinking is agony! ' I groan at the trivial pain pulsing trough my skull.
I haven't had a head ache this bad in decades...
I clutch my cloak in between my fingers. Raising my hand to my head I send a pulse of demonic energy trough my fingers, the pain slowly subsides and I can think clearly again. I release my cloak with a huff of annoyance.
'Ow. Wow, yeah, that hurt, I mean... ' my thoughts trail off and I focus on the empty ness of my stomach. Strange. I haven't felt hunger since I was small. I yelp in pain, a tugging in my chest a contracting of some sort... oh.
Oh. No. This complicates things.
Collectors like me are wraiths, we are basically the undead of demon kind. And I haven't had a heart beat in years . It's kinda... tingly.
Experimentally, I raise two of my fingers to my wrist. A pulse.
"Oh no" I mutter in a silly tone. In the words of the Good Doctor, this is, indeed, a bit not good.
I run my warming hands trough my messy black hair. I'm fucked. And not in the fun way.
The pain in my stomach is persistent however. it demands sustenance. And it shall have it... as soon as I remember what demons eat.
'What was it mum always fed my sisters and I? 'L' something... Lamb? No. Lobotomy's? No. No, that... no. Uhm... Leaches. Yeah! Oh. Eww. Mummy, why?! No. She fed us other things. I'm certain '
I shrug, stretching more. I heve myself of the floor and make for the stairs. By the time I'm up the seven steps of the stairs I'm positive I haven't conveyed how monumentally fucked I am.
I'm so fucked I'm in tomorrow and yesterday at the same time. That didn't even make sense! I'm so fucked my metaphors make even less sense the they normally do!
I sigh, trotting to the middle of the corridor, I try to remember how to shift. It has been awhile.
"Right,"- I mutter to myself, or the rats, that's less depressing... No. No, that's more depressing -"I haven't shifted in awhile, and after that Hunter shoved a Soul-shard into my chest, I'm probably weaker then normal. Sooo... this is gonna hurt like a mother fucker. A term I find myself using rather frequently" im not quite sure why I'm saying this. Like, Arthur, who are you benefiting with this?
I roll my eyes at my stray thoughts, I'm still trying to rein them in, rowdy basterds they are. Then I pause. Hunter? Soul shard? Yes, that makes sense now that I think about it. That man was not a relative of the child, -or was, not sure- he was a Demon Hunter. No doubt the Hunter somehow anticipated the collection of the child's soul. It also explains why the red crystal drew my soul to it. Or he was a a relative and just happens to keep a Soul Shard at arms reach at all times... for some reason.
I pull out the crystal from my trouser pocket. It has an angry glow to it and appears to be pulsing with light energy. I shrug and pad back down the stairs, -what with my lack of shoes- gently placing the Crystal onto a random shelf.
I walk into the centre of the nest room, more fitting then the corridor any how...
Unhooking the strings of my cloak, I toss it to the far corner, I untie the knots of my shirt next, pulling it up and over my head and tossing it after my cloak. my trousers are the next to go and soon I'm standing their in just my underwear. Normally, I would strip those too... but the rats are looking at me... Their eyes judge you. Besides, when I transform they should just fall off any way.
I take a deep breath and settle on the animal I wish to become. Charging my energy to my newly-beating heart, I release the spell.
I roar in pain, doubling over, my bones snap and reform. I can feel the skin splitting for the fur, a bit of a change for my mostly hairless body. I was right at least. This does hurt like a mother fucker!
After a full minute of agony, I am fully transformed. Woohoo.
I stand on four shaky legs. I try to step forward, only for my legs to flail about uncontrollably like I'm one of those fucking tube dudes outside car dealerships. And fall on my ass in a rather ungraceful manor.
'fine, if this is how you're gonna be. Well guess what? I'm going to fukin' embrace my inner tube dude! ' I bitterly think, as, well... my vocal cords aren't in to forming words at the moment.
Ether way, I'm nothing if not determined. Besides, I sacrificed my dignity years ago.
Standing once again, I take another step, and this time I manage to move some before my long legs collapse under my 'overbearing' weight. Like, cmon'!
After a few more attempts, I have the ability to stumble about in a manor that looks more like an intoxicated newborn deer ridding a unicycle on ice. It was a good thing I had some practice with 'walking' in a quadruped form. If you can even call it that.
I sit for a second to examine myself. My fur is a silky black and I have no doubt my eyes are the same reflective icy blue as normal. As for the animal I chose, a cougar seemed appropriate. Anyone who saw the black fur would most likely wright it off as a melanistic cougar and nothing more.
Besides, it's not like anyone's going to be like, 'Oh, that animals fur is an unusual colour for its pieces . Well, the only explanation for this is the animal is a demon in disguise! Obviously!' they'd be chucked in the mad house before they could say 'conspiracy'.
Huffing, I stand and continue my stumbling's about. A rat scurries up to me. Eh, needs must. I swipe it up with a clawed paw and toss it into my maw, not bothering to kill it first. I chew it a cople times before swallowing. It's fur was greased and tasted dirty, the only saving grace was the tang of the blood on my tongue, strong enough to drown out the overall taste. Not awful but not something I'd be rearing to do again. New food source required then. I should also get a cat. Or owl.
Luckily the pain in my stomach is fading. A sharp stabbing sensation on ether side of my forehead however...
'Oww! What the hell's? What's wrong now?! ' I bring a paw to my forehead and finch in pain as one of my pads makes contact with a sharp, bony... thing ! I never said I was creative. It cut my pad and made the stabbing worse. Only then do I notice some of the fur on my head feels sticky. I'm bleeding. Why am I ble- oh. I manage a face paw, somehow, with the less-then-flexible limb.
'Oh! My Collector traits are draining and my genetic traits are comeing back! My horns are growing back in! ' I know deep in my mind skull that this is not that good, but I can't be bothered to care. I grin... somehow. And untie the magical tether to my animal form, flowing into my human-like form. Unlike the first, the transformation back is a seamless, painless one.
I hurry to get re-dressed, eagerly hooking my cloak strings back into place. I haven't taken it off in years and am rather attached to it. Not to metoin how bloody cold it is.
By now the pail light of pre-dawn was a dark storm. I hadn't even noticed the thunder...
I shrug and get to work. This castle needs some serious work before it can be considered a lair. And I need a new shirt... and a cat apparently.
Author's Note
Hullo! It is I! Yah, yah ok you don't need to throw things! Anyway, I hope ya like-did. Sorry for my errors. But I my self am an error so I'm not sure what you expect.
Have a nice... time... thing... I don't know.
