The man had been right about knowing when Talio was back.
I had rested and was in the kitchen downstairs sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal that the golden marked man fed me before the front door slammed open and Talio looked around wildly for me.
I stood up immediately and was basically tackled when he threw himself into a hug around me, only pulling away to check me over frantically.
"Where the hell were you?" he ran his hands over my face and wiped away my tears "were you hurt? Did you go on another Mission? What happened to you?"
"Let the guy breathe" the golden one laughed and pushed Talio down into a seat beside me "you can feed him while you ask him every question under the sun."
"Feed him?"
I lifted my hands slightly, only to have them droop downwards at an angle not even normally possible.
"Who did that?" Talio suddenly grew fierce and placed his own on top "was it that prick?"
"Not the hands, but it was because of him" I shrugged back to try and not make it too much of a deal "he tied me up and I managed to escape by doing this."
"After six days?" Talio breathed and reached for my face again that I leant into "you had me so worried. I had no idea where you were."
Six days. That would explain why Solanine left and returned so often and I was barely fed. I'd almost been on that bed for a week.
"How's my back?" I asked and turned so Talio could lift the shirt "did it get better?"
He didn't need to lift it too far before it rolled back down.
"It needs work" his hand patted my shoulder "I can rub some cream into it for you and help it heal properly."
I heard his chair scrape over and then felt his arms wrap around me from behind. Talio's head rested on my shoulder, turning towards my neck to make my insides jolt at his warm breath.
"I really did miss you" he whispered, pressing his forehead to my neck instead of his lips I was anticipating "I don't know what I would have done..."
I liked the way he was clinging to me and solely focused on making sure I was alright. Time hadn't been kind to Talio, and had only made his feelings burn brighter.
"I missed you too" I smiled back and leant my head on his.
"Get a room you two!" someone teased and chortled when both of us turned to him "unless you want company?"
It was one of the younger men of a group of three gathered around a small table with an obscene card game the others sniggered at.
He flashed his pointed teeth in a grin and puckered his lips towards us. Darkness swallowed his fingers gripping his cards and arms up to the shoulders. His long black hair melted into it and made it look like the darkness smudged across his brown eyes was one with the messed mop.
Talio tightened his grip around me and hunched over defensively.
"Shut up, Sparrow" he growled back to make the group mock thier brave member who turned back to the game.
"Ignore him" Talio muttered to me and dragged the cereal over so he could spoon up the mixture to feed me "i'll take good care of you."
"I honestly don't know any of these guys to even take a liking to them" I replied while Talio tried to keep me quiet with food.
"You'll like me" Sparrow chimed up with a wink "promise."
Talio put the spoon down so he could storm towards Sparrow who leapt from his chair with giggles and climbed over the others to dodge Talio's grabbing arms.
There were cheers from the others who egged on Sparrow fleeing up the stairs with Talio hot on his heels.
I heard crashing upstairs before Sparrow came sprinting down the other staircase and use my chair to hide behind.
"I'm just saying he's cute!" he defended.
"And I'm saying that you keep your hands to yourself" Talio glared and swatted at the teen who laughed then bolted for the others who did nothing to defend him.
Talio grabbed onto one of his legs to drag Sparrow down to the ground where he kicked out at Talio before being pinned down and having the crook of his arm wrapped around his throat. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlbqVdi0kh
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Sparrow slapped the ground to signal Talio to release him. When he did, Sparrow smirked and promptly spat a wad of something silver and dripping into Talio's face, sprinting away once more.
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His bright blue eyes looked to me with mischief, one of them gouged around with several scars covering the left side of his face.
"That'll really tell him whose boss" the other jabbed and stifled his laughter while sorting through Sparrow's abandoned deck to pick out the best ones for himself. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8LwmJ6ztm
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His grey eyes widened at the loot he slipped into his own hand.
Talio was annoyed with being publically humiliated. He returned to me to make sure I was fed, turning his back on the others.
I saw Sparrow poke his head from the stairs expectantly but pout when he saw Talio wasn't lulled into his game of ridicule.
"Are you forfeiting your boyfriend to me?" Sparrow chimed happily "is he mine now?"
He looked so happy with his own suggestion, like he had won a trophy. His eyes glinted at me and his face split into a smile I tried not to be amused by.
The men around here really had no boundaries. They took what they wanted and played just as rough while doing it.
I wonder if Sparrow really did want me, or if that was just all talk to rile up Talio?
"Don't make him clucky again, Sparrow" the scarred man tutted with a smile to me "we don't need two mother hens around here."
"Fuck that, one is bad enough" another replied from a nook he poked his head from.
That would explain the nest and added details of flowers and crystals into it. Talio really had be yearning for me more than I knew while I was gone.
He looked embarrased by being outed so openly. His eyes dropped from mine and he laced his fingers together.
I thought it was cute the effort he had gone to to make sure I was going to be comfortable in there. He knew what had worked for us in the past and wanted to add to that now in a place unfamiliar.
Now that Talio was laying it all out so plainly and obviously, I felt guilty for not recipicating my own feelings I had squashed deep down since my arousal for him after the dance.
God, he was adorable.
I slid my hands across to him with a pleading look.
"Help patch me up? So I'm not completely useless?"
There was a small smile and he shuffled closer to them so he could start threading webs from his mouth around them.
At least he felt like he wasn't completely useless to me. I didn't know what else I could do to show him that. I felt worthless without being able to properly touch him or fend for myself. I was nothing more than a liability while I was like this.
"You know, you still have to teach me to walk when these aren't so broken" I started while Talio lifted my hand to weave around it "I'll need daily refresher courses."
"Is that so?" he grinned with a lifted eyebrow before severing the thread accidentally "shit."
He pulled out more to continue where he was while I giggled at him.
"You have to teach me to do the fire thing too" I added "so I can make it rain!"
He laughed, breaking the thread again. He snorted and pointed a finger at me when he realised I was purposefully trying to liven him up.
"Stop" he giggled.
"I'm just saying that's what you need to do" I defended with sarcastic innocence "teach me to walk, teach me how to make it rain on these jealous hoes, and how to dance like you did with the crazy leg circle thing."
He shook his head and finally moved to the other hand.
"You know, I don't think you can do anything like that" he started "the embers I mean. You didn't have anything that would suggest you have fire within you."
So I was useless? I was just a big spider after all?
"It's not a bad thing" he quickly stated to my crestfallen face "i think it's quite nice that I've got nothing to compete with. You might let it all get to your head otherwise."
"So, you just like me plain and predictable?"
"You said it, not me" he smiled and started to weave again.
He really did like it when i relied on him for help. I think he was swelling with pride at his ability to protect me even from others just like us that filled this room.
"For now, I don't want you doing anything crazy" he spoke sternly to me "actually, you probably shouldn't leave the room until you can move your hands again."
I laughed at the absurdity of his request.
"I still have Missions to do" I pointed out.
"I'll bring them to you and I'll help you do them" he stated "if not me, I'd rather one of the others here go with you so you are safe. I don't want you to go missing again."
I understood his worry but I could feel the bubbling of annoyance strike me at every loop he tightened around my wrist.
He didn't think I could do anything at all without supervision. Like a child.
"I can handle myself" I bit back and softened at his glance "look, I can. I got myself out of the mess; I think I can handle it if Solanine gets daring again."
Talio finished the loops then placed his hand on top of mine with a sigh.
"You shouldn't have to. I want you to be safe."
I was aware of the audience I had peering from around the room and slowly rose to my feet.
"Thank you for helping me" I mumbled down to him, looking for an excuse to leave the room of eyes "I think I might go lie down."
"I can help your back" Talio offered as he went to get up too before I held out a hand "I can patch it up for you."
"No, I'm fine" I insisted "I... just need some rest."
Read through the lines, dude. I don't want you around me. I don't need you to baby me around all these judging men. You are already setting thier opinion of me in stone before I have even done anything.
"Ah, alright" he lowered himself back down uncertainly.
Thank fuck.
I quickly walked for the stairs, aware of every movement being watched. Reaching the top, I slipped into Talio's room and made a beeline for the bed I curled up on gratefully.
No eyes. No judgment. No-one could see me here.
I felt the tears rolling down my face when I peered at my patched wrists and hands, wondering if they would ever return to something destinguishable under all the padding.
Maybe I would be shaperoned everywhere for the rest of my life? I'd be the baby of the family; lesser than what I had been before I had been kidnapped and bought here.
Was there someone lesser than a checkout bagger losing his life behind the registers and routine for a pay that would never be above homebrand living?
I wanted to be someone.
A soft knock on the door interrupted my swirling thoughts and bubbled up the anger of the cause of them.
"What?" I snapped "I'm trying to sleep."
"We both know that is a lie" a soft voice came before the door opened.
It wasn't Talio. It sounded like Sparrow.
His head peeked into the opening at the end of the bed and he quickly crawled in before I could snap at him again to leave me alone.
"I don't need you here" I grumbled and turned from him when he laid down behind me.
"I know" he spoke to the roof instead "but I figured you could use some company while you 'sleep'."
"Talio set you up to this, didn't he?"
The irritation was obvious. I wasnt trying to hide it anymore.
"I just came to try and ease things" Sparrow sighed back "I know what it's like to feel like you aren't been taken seriously."
Him? With the way he acted, I wouldn't doubt it.
"My brother is the other 'mother hen' of the group" he continued "he wants kids and can't have them so he broods away in his room wishing for something that will never happen. I'm his baby. I climb in there with him every night and hope that he let's me go to bring back food the next day. The others see me as Tor's baby, and that's how it always will be as long as he keeps to his room."
I rolled over so I could see Sparrow still gazing up at the flowers and crystals. One leg rested across the other lazily.
"Resolve gave Talio those" he gestured to them "he thinks crystals all have magic powers for things like love and wellness and good futures" he rolled his eyes "I think they are just a bunch of pretty rocks. They don't have powers, but I'm not going to rain on his silly obsession."
I smiled at his dismissal. My mum would have thought the same thing as his brother if a fancy crystal book told her a rock could cure illness and make her love life prosper.
"About earlier" he rolled to me, resting his head on his hand "I was only playing. I don't actually want you as my boyfriend. I just like it when Talio gets all riled up. It's funny."
"I got that" I snorted back.
"Although, I think he should be more worried about Carrion" he pointed out "he likes to fuck around."
"W-who is that?"
"You know" Sparrow twirled his wrist to try and jog my memory "'weak genes' guy? Made a big show of it when you turned up? He's always trying to be between the queen's legs first."
The... queen?
"You really have no clue" he smirked at my confusion and got comfortable on the bed "okay, let me give you a run down."
"You want to be careful around Carrion; weak genes guy. He's got this thing in his head that he's the top shit around here."
The guy made it quite clear he wasn't here to make friends. He would be easy to hear coming with his thick- headed bragging.
"Blight is the one who was with you earlier; the gold markings guy. He's the queens right hand and is hard to get away from her side. He's the one to compete with if you ever want to stand a chance in getting her attention."
"For what?"
"Fucking?" Sparrow replied like it was obvious "there's always a tonne of guys to one female with spiders. It's like, the way things have always worked for us. You compete against the others, make her favour you and breed with her, then you have your little genes running around out there. You're telling me you don't even want to fuck the queen?"
I grimaced and shrugged.
"I mean, she's pretty."
"She's..." Sparrow repeated in disbelief and shook his head "okay, that's off the table; she goes by Misery, but everyone here calls her Shie. It's nicer."
It was nicer and seemed to suit her. Shie. I wonder if she was shy?
"You won't see Torture unless you go into his room two that way" he pointed to the wall opposite us "he stays in his natural form in his nest. Don't bother him and he won't bother you."
Don't go poking nests. That was an easy one to remember.
"You know Resolve; I told you about him. He usually hangs at the table in the kitchen or is out on Missions. Got his head in the clouds and his mind on rocks."
He would be easy to win over then. It would be nice to have more friends here.
"The scar guy I was playing games with is Dashiell. Usually he's super serious and likes to prove himself against Carrion. He looks mean but he is super nice."
Talio had scars down his face almost i the same fashion. I didn't doubt for a moment that Dashiell would be one of the sweetest ones here.
"The other one with us was Noma. He's actually called Melanoma, but he hates the full name so we just call him Noma for short. He's one of the ones with a wondering eye and tends to hook up with Dashiell or Plague, depending who he feels like. They can get a bit rowdy so I suggest getting earplugs."
"I'm just trying to get over the fact the guy is named after a cancer" I gasped out in disbelief.
"The worse the name, the better your chances" Sparrow laid back down "he's got some pretty good chances."
"I'd say" I muttered and laid down with him so we could stare at the roof again.
"Plague was the one who bought you back here" Sparrow counted on his fingers "he's really into his Missions and hooking up with some other woman rather than the queen here. Uh, and, the guy who left to get Talio earlier was Rush; funnily enough. He's kind of the nosy one who likes to delve into issues too big for him. Thinks he's all that."
"Oh, so, like you?" I joked.
"Ha ha" he rolled his eyes with a smile back to me, folding his hands behind his head "maybe..."
"That's all of them then?"
"You've still got Stone, Havok, Ransom, and Arson, but that's about it. I don't think there's anything about those guys you should worry about. Just keep your head down, pull your weight, and don't step on any toes. You'll be fine."
Sparrow looked pleased that he had been the one to initiate me to everyone. He let out a little sigh and closed his eyes with a smile that faltered a little.
I watched him sit up with a groan and look to me.
"I've got to go" he grumbled as he started to slide off the bed.
I was confused at how sudden his mood had changed. It was as if he was being called by something I couldn't hear.
Did I just not hear it? Everything here was so quiet.
"Where are you going?"
"She's hungry" he jerked a thumb "we go hunting so she doesn't need to. I should go and grab something for Tor anyway so I don't need to later."
He could tell when she was hungry? Did she have a set routine when she was fed? I couldn't see a clock around here to tell what time it was.
"Can I come?" I gasped out and dragged myself to the end of the bed.
"Uh, you aren't exactly.... your hands are broken" he pointed to them.
I didn't want to be stuck in the room while the others got to have fun outside. I needed something other than lying on my back all day waiting for my useless hands to heal again.
"I guess?" Sparrow said unsurely, turning his head to the quick knocking on the door that passed.
"If you want to come, you better hurry" he spoke and rushed for the door he left open for me.
I slid off the bed and chased after him already bolting down the stairs to meet the group of three already waiting by the front.
"I want to come!" I gasped excitedly when they greeted Sparrow into thier party "I'll be good, promise."
"What about Talio?" Dashiell looked around in concern.
"It'll be fine" I reassured him "he said that as long as I went out with someone then I could."
"The guy needs some sort of entertainment rather than looking at webs all day" Sparrow defended me.
There was a snort from one of the other younger men who leant against the wall with his arms folded. His grey eyes flecked with darker tones were hardened although his face wasn't. This one had short brown hair and skin like diluted coffee.
He looked like someone who liked to bake in the sun for hours just for that perfect shade.
"You'd know all about that" he jeered to Sparrow playfully.
"We should get going" the other, Noma, muttered while keeping his eyes on the staircase and opened the door "don't want to keep her waiting."
"Heavens forbid" the young man muttered under his breath.
He didn't care that Noma shot him a glare as we all gathered once more outside the room and started to walk for the stairs at the end of the level.
"You're the new guy" the young man noted as he slowed to my side that wasn't flanked by Sparrow already "has Shie seen you yet? Does she know you are even here?"
"Ransom, quit pestering him" Noma grumbled from our front with Dashiell "Shie has her reasons, whatever they might be."
"I only got here" I piped up to the men at the front "I don't think she's had the time..."
"Oh, she's had time" Ransom snorted "she got Talio all buddy-buddy with everyone as soon as he came knocking at the door. That's before he told her about you."
Didn't he like me? His face was playful but his tone was so serious. I couldn't tell if Ransom was prying to find my faults or a reason why I was even here amongst his family.
Did he feel threatened by someone like me?
"I think it's nice that he hasn't been merged in yet" Dashiell mused with a quick glance back to me "to not be feeling all these different things all the time would be refreshing."
So, they did feel whatever she did? All of them?
Dashiell's arm gently guided me for the stairs we all marched down. He came up behind me now while Noma kept at the front.
I liked feeling so protected nestled in the middle. I wasn't even worried about Solanine with two of the biggest men here forming thier shield around us smaller ones in between them.
"So, which car are we taking?" I began when we headed for the tunnels "I know how to drive."
"Cars?" Ransom scoffed and laughed at me "you've hunted before, right? You don't run over the thing you are stalking with a car."
"Although, that would make it a hell of a lot easier" Dashiell giggled.
"Hasn't Talio taught you?" Sparrow mumbled to me in concern now "you kind of need to know these things."
Noma opened the tunnel for us to file through.
"He was still trying to teach me the basics" I admitted "I'm still trying to get the hang of where to put my feet."
"You don't know how to walk?" Sparrow cried out.
His voice echoed in the tunnel, making me cringe under the silence that followed from everyone else who stopped in thier tracks.
"What do you think you could offer here if you can't walk?" Ransom shot first.
"Perhaps, it'd be safer if you just headed back" Dashiell added softly "it can get pretty full-on out there."
"I'm good! I don't need any special help, ok?" I grumbled back to everyone's silhouettes surrounding me "I'm crippled, not useless. I'll figure out something."
"Fiesty" Ransom growled with a smile playing in his voice.
I kept walking, bumping into Noma who I slid past.
"Let's just keep going, alright? I'm not going back to the room just to stare at those damn walls again."
Everyone followed behind and all made sure to glance at my glares when I held open the other side for them to spill out of into the bright afternoon sun.
"So, we usually Turn here" Noma spoke up unsurely as he looked to me "what are you going to do?"
"I'll run" I shrugged and waved them off impatiently "just do your thing and I'll catch up."
"You really are an idiot" Ransom shook his head with a grin "I was hoping to see what you looked like."
"Another day, cowboy" I smirked back and turned around so I didn't have to watch all four men tearing apart thier skins all at once.
Watching Talio had been wierd enough. I was worried I would be showing my feelings again for strangers if I witnessed it again and one of them struck me like he had.
He had been a stranger and I had fallen for him so badly. Would I do the same for one of these?
"Do you think we take forever?" Sparrow joked as he crept around to bend down and look into my face with his.
He had short pure white fur covering his slender body. His long arms and legs had five curved claws at the end of each one that resembled hands. Even the back ones were pulled out like slender fingers rather than stumpy toes. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fB9RX23eD
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With all of them dipped in black like his human form, they really added to the intimidating form smiling at me through pointed teeth spread wide and black eyes glinting back at me.
Even with his long limbs and agile body streamlined into a point at the end, he was still much smaller than Noma and Dashiell standing off to the side.
I wasn't sure if Sparrow was even a real spider. He had the right number of legs for it, but everything else just didn't seem normal.
Noma shook off the skin from his long brown fur that had broken white rings spread along the top of his abdomen and to his face where they looped around his wide grey eyes that looked like jagged rocks. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7OWyoPFTZ
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I noticed that his thick legs were patched with more white along them that looked like old moss than the other markings. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkT9tYhv9c
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They didn't seem to bother him as he tore off the stubborn skin with help from Dashiell.
"Why would you look at him when you could lay your eyes on a real man" Ransom bragged as he tried to block the view of both giants behind him.
His fur was a reddish-brown shade compared to Noma's behind him. Each of his legs splayed out had stripes up each one that shine like flickering flames being held within them. Spots speckled around the striped with the same mesmerizing effect that spread to the flap of skin resting on his abdomen. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sSK74dyz5
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He had black markings swiped through his brunette fur that were so dark they didn't seem real. Semicircles almost meeting each other ringed his forehead and around his grey eyes, branching out with elaborate lines and circles around each joint.
Jeez, he really was a sight to behold. The fire alone was making me remember the spectacle Talio had made me fall for when I had first seen it.
Maybe Ransom had the same ability to harness fire?
I was jealous that he would be able to recreate the embers in the sky when I couldn't.
Rather than Ransom bidding for my attention, Dashiell hung back to help Noma.
His brilliant blue eyes translated into the spider I peered at. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5UC9Ku5hf
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True to his human form, this face was also gouged and reformed by the scars down his left that cut through most of the speckled eyes there.
His fur, unlike the brown hues of Ransom and Noma, or the white shade Sparrow sported, was deep blue.
Each joint was tinged black and dotted with white at the top of each leg that almost looked like blazing eyes. The whole middle of Dashiell's body was white in contrast to his blue abdomen that had a ring of black around it.
I saw tiny streaks of yellow on the two front legs shielding his face that he quickly cleaned of Noma's skin.
What a brilliant colour that was. I would be surprised if he wasn't a favourite with the queen back in the room because of it.
Sparrow shook himself out and jittered when a shriek tore from him into the sky.
All four beasts remained silent until Sparrow clicked and took off along the grass ahead.
"Come on" Ransom circled around behind me and scooped me onto his body with his head while Noma and Dashiell thundered behind him.
I couldn't even grab into his fur whipping below my tumbling body. I was about to fall from his back that dumped me onto the ground once more so he could patter ahead into the field the other three were spread in.
The grass here was tall enough to tickle Noma and Dashiell's legs but almost swamp Ransom. Sparrow's lengthy limbs kept his body out of the sea so only the bottom of his chest touched it.
I waded my way through the grass to a nearby tree dotted within it. I was able to stand up on the roots to watch the stalking creatures before me.
Sparrow took the lead further out to the left, scoping out the quietness cautiously.
Ransom paused a few metres ahead of him and flipped his fan up slightly to signal the others who immediently stopped in thier tracks.
Everyone was frozen in the grass. I felt the tension in the air from everyone who kept thier heads low to watch for any movement in the dead sea around them.
Sparrow tensed up and dug all his hands down so another scream could tear through him.
My eardrums vibrated from such a primal noise, flexing uncomfortably. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0Xj069gXL
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I felt it pass through my blood and into my heart that didn't respond how it should have been to something developed to invoke terror.
The grass sprang to life at the noise and carved trails where the hiding creatures had been taking refuge beneath the blades.
I heard the crunching of bones and the snapping of teeth just as I saw Sparrow throwing back what looked like a grey rabbit into his mouth.114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJuy0CTI5r
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It was still trying to gobble up the first body when more of the creatures bounded along blindly, hitting his face.
Ransom snapped to action ahead, crushing one under the grass that his mandibles stripped the skin from greedily.
Noma was doing the same method as Sparrow by using his head to throw the creatures down his throat. He had two dangling that he gobbled up while trying to catch a third.
Dashiell chased after the sea of bounding bodies for the ones that slipped past him, crushing one his head dipped into the grass to tear apart.
"Here"
I tore my eyes from Dashiell to see that Ransom had bought me one of the creatures that he laid at my feet.
It did look just like a rabbit with its long ears, thick grey fur and strong hind legs, but also had a billowed throat pouch of fur that reminded me of that of a frog. The cotton tail was also split down the middle to form fluffy twintails.
"There's plenty here" Ransom picked it up to offer it to me again "Sparrow flushed out a whole bunch of them."
He dropped the body at my feet again that rolled down into the grass.
He really wanted me to take it.
"It's easier if you Turn" he suggested "if you only broke those two, you can work around that. Best eat what you can before all the others get to them. There won't be leftovers."
I looked at the others pulling the guts from the hybrid rabbits to snap down the entrails. Noma even crunched down the skull of one in one bite.
Would it be different if I Turned?
I saw Sparrow dart ahead in the direction the swarm had gone to try and startle them back into the path of the others.
I closed my eyes and decided to focus on myself so i could get this over with as soon as possible. Taking deep breaths, I really honed in on the image of the black spider that had torn me apart.
It was glorious though. Compared to the others here, I was proud mine wasn't going to be the most forgettable. The glossy black fur and fan of the beast made sure it was a sight to behold.
There was only one set of eyes I wanted it to grab most of all. Once I learned to dance, I'd put on a show just for Talio, once he realised that I could do it without him constantly worrying about me.
I'd Turn now without him and prove I actually could. I'd eat that gross dead rabbit and keep it down so I could brag to him about being in the hunt and not actually being a hindrance.
I felt my front two legs buckle as soon as they touched the grass. When others spread out to catch me, I knew that I had successfully Turned once more.
"A black one" Ransom commented and waited for me to peel my eyes back open as I curled my broken legs beneath me "it'll do."
I smiled back, too scared to make a move.
He bent back down to pick up the rabbit once more and hold it in his mandibles rather than offer it to me again. His eyes focused on mine that peered down at the limp body then to him.
I flushed with embarrassment when I went to grab it from him with my own but realise that I would be getting far too close to his own mouth. He knew this and still held strong, waiting for me. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡady08ZYJM0
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I didn't want to swat it from him either. I'd just have to suck it up and grab it as quick as I could.
His head turned and pushed the rabbit into my mouth when I returned again to take it. Ransom peeled back as I clutched it and it's bony body in my grasp.
"Eat it" he chuckled at me "it's not going to bite."
Why did I do this? Feeling the body and how it bent made me regret even thinking about attempting this.
Ransom grumbled, tore the rabbit from my mouth to beat it against the tree and hold it back towards me expectantly.
It was bleeding and pulverized from the brutality. The neck Ransom gripped it from was dangling at such an angle that it looked like it was dangling past its arms.
I could do this! It was just meat.
Snatching the beaten rabbit, I threw it back like Sparrow had, trying to suck it down my throat so I didn't have to bite it.
The noises sounded like I was choking. With no breath, I didn't need to worry about that risk that concerned Ransom as he watched me closely.
Finding that I'd never be able to gulp the hairy mass sliding along my throat, I snapped my own mandibles into the skin to slice it apart and crunch at the bones furiously.
I wanted it over as soon as possible. I could feel things splitting and busting in my throat with warm lumpiness that congealed like cottage cheese along my recoiling tongue. The fur itself was stained with urine that I only tasted and gagged at when the torso of the animal severed from the top and dangled towards my stomach by the tough, ropey guts.
The ears were the worst. I choked them down, trying to chew the damn things into more manageable pieces as I went. In the end, I just forced down the mashed rubbery things and hoped for the best.
Blood, bone, guts and saliva dribbled from my mouth and collapsed into the grass. My fur was dripping from the gore that only made Ransom swell in pride.
Then, it was done. I actually ate a raw rabbit, guts and all.
Ransom grinned at my achievement and rushed back to the swarming grass to gobble up another and kill the one beside it to bring it to me.
He held it out for me and I beat it on the tree to really soften it up before throwing it back.
"Don't bite around the belly if you can help it" Ransom warned when I tore through the skin again "you don't want to pierce anything you'll regret."
Sounds like he knew from experience. I pushed it to the back of my mind and forced down the rest of the body before really crunching on the legs.
I actually liked this. The way the bones sounded the same way a hard lolly did when I chewed it. It was as if I was hearing it inside my head in the same satisfying way.
Other than the sharp taste of the scared creatures in thier last moments, the sharp grassy taste of the soft fur wasn't that bad. The insides were flooded by blood that tantilised my demon through the warm copper flooding my mouth. I felt guilty how much I was enjoying the taste that was so ingrained into my brain as a human to hate. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqD3yw0muk2
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Drinking blood and eating raw meat was not normal. But while I was like this, I could do what I wanted. I was adapted to this gross, mushy lifestyle because I wasn't me anymore. I was a creature that had most likely eaten much worse than this before i had fed it my soul.
How had I not realised how hungry this thing was? It got a taste for the fresh meat and wanted more of it. 114Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOHZD2CiKr
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My own gut tore at itself as it demanded food that hadn't passed it since before I had met the creature.
The grass was swimming with the creatures Sparrow hearded to thier deaths. I watched them helplessly from the sidelines until Ransom returned with more to feed me.
I was really starting to like this guy. He showed his affection in a way that sounded like he was being mean, but I could see from the way he made sure parts of me touched him and how he killed the creatures with flourish while I watched that he wanted to be close like how I already was with Talio.
He wanted me to notice him and be impressed. And I was. He had me excited at the possibility that he could mean something to me in the same way Talio did. I didn't even know him, I knew I was doing something wrong, but I didn't care.
I'd lean into this guilty pleasure while Talio wasn't here, just for a while.
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