In one of Fiore's many forests, A lone deer grazed in a clearing, having been separated from it's herd. The snap of a twig soon made it freeze and straighten up, looking around to see what had caused the noise. Then, a black liquid tendril cut it's life short and dragged it into the foliage. Once Fredrick got a hold of his new prey, he tore a limb off and sank his teeth into it, desperate for any kind of nourishment. The second he swallowed, however, he felt the same painful churning in his stomach as he always did when he ate anything other than human flesh, and immediately vomited onto the ground. After he was done, he stood up, eyes watering from the burning pain in his throat and stomach. He made his way toward the path that cut through the forest, still coughing and gagging from the meal.
A merchant guided his horse-drawn cart down the path under the moonlit sky, with textiles and clothing in store for tomorrow's sale at the next town. Grinning at the profit he was sure to make, his wild daydreams of becoming rich at long last
were cut short as the cart came to a sudden halt, the horses neighing in terror. Looking about to see what had spooked them, he saw a boy slouching against a tree as he staggered onto the path. He looked so frail and thin, like he hadn't eaten in days, and he was dressed in rags. As the merchant got a better look at him, he also noticed the long white hair and sunken red eyes. Such a strange individual..."Um...hello there. Are you okay?" he asked nervously, getting the boy's attention. The only response he got was a small growl from the boy. "Do you need any help...and maybe a change of outfit?" He gave a sheepish laugh, but again recieved no response. Getting off the cart and approaching the ragged teen, he laid a hand on his shoulder...only to withdraw it with a yell of pain. The horses' frantic neighs and whinnies only grew louder as the boy's growl became more distorted and demonic, and upon looking at the newly rekindled hatred in the boy's eyes, the merchant realized this boy was what frightened his animals so much. Then, he felt something burning at his feet and looked down to find himself standing in a puddle of tar-like liquid searing off his sandals. He let out a scream which was momentarily silenced via a tendril of the liquid through his chest. Sitting down at the fresh corpse, Fredrick steeled himself to eat his dinner...
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"Alright, dinner's on me!" Jeanne said with a smile as she and her companion Cyrus sat down at a table at the Opium inn. "Here's to a (hopefully) fresh new start tomorrow at the guild!" She cheered, raising her mug.
"Well, someone's certainly excited." Cyrus said with a chuckle. "I gotta say, though, it feels nice to be following in my old man's footsteps." As he said this, he looked at the necklace he wore around his neck, his eye resting on the shooting star engraved on it. A bit of melancholy welled up in him, but he pushed it back. Mourning wasn't going to fix anything. After a hearty dinner, the two young magi were shown their room. It was a somewhat spacious place with a nice floral decoration and two beds, and a bathroom to the left of the entrance. Jeanne made her way into the bathroom to change while Cyrus looked out the window to observe the town. It seemed pretty peaceful, all things considered. Once Jeanne was in her pajamas, she took the bed closer to the door. "Let me know if you get cold overnight. I might find a way to keep you warm." he said smugly, earning an icy glare from Jeanne.
"Try anything, and I will punt you out that window." She said coldly. "I mean it."
"Sheesh. And here I thought after knowing each other for ten years, you'd actually trust me for once." Cyrus quipped, looking up at the ceiling as he laid on his own bed.
"If I learned anything about you from those ten years, it's that I can't trust you at times like this." Jeanne retorted. She then let out a yawn and turned to face away from him. "G'night..." she muttered before allowing sleep to take her over.
"...'Night." Cyrus replied, though he didn't feel the slightest bit tired. If anything, he had about a dozen questions going through his head right about now, all revolving around the events surrounding the past few days. What was that monstrosity? What did it want with Joulaire? These were questions that had hidden their answers well, and it wouldn't be easy finding those answers. With that in mind, he turned toward the window and slowly drifted off to sleep.
