I.
It's tiny, was the first thought that came to Nestio as he cradled the small creature, and mine.
The thing was swaddled in his own blood, drenched almost. A prematurely born monster was impossibly rare, but to add to the fact that it was highly unlikely one would survive.
This creature, however, survived the impossible.
And it was his to protect, to nurture, to feed.
Nestio kept his offspring in his body until it grew to exceptional size, hidden behind the digestive area where it itself would get its fill as he does.
He will let it grow, and live, and prosper.
But first, he needs to hunt.
II.
The little one grew as time went on. Sparks of a new life gaining conscience made Nestio feel giddy inside.
It needed not to talk as its emotions told its sire what it needed, what it wanted.
The gigantic demon did what he had to fulfill it.
Days flew by, and the size of his offspring grew to a constant rate. The diet of cheap farm meat was tasteless and bland, but it gave the growth of his kin a start. It was an exception he has come to accept.
Maybe one day, Nestio and this little creature would taste the exquisite high-quality farm meat that the nobles keep so dearly to themselves.
III.
He can see its features. The identical three eyes that lined up perfectly on its face. The wide lip line of where the mouth should be. Dainty bony fingers and toes poked out of the red fluid.
Perhaps he can form a similar mask to his own when it is born.
He would need to find the right size, and measure the length of how long the horns will be-Ah! He knows what he can do. But first, the gender of his offspring will be the first step of figuring out the horn length.
Horn length and appearance of masks depended on the gender of a creature. Not only its gender but the shape, size, power and strength, and political standing of an individual. Royals receive the best of the best, as they are important and hold more power. Nobles and Aristocrats have something similar but are not as guaranteed as royals.
The strength of these shields goes on, the lowest and more fragile are children's mask.
Children masks were the same but it still signified the purpose of having one worn to keep in track of where the small giddy monsters are at all times.
A girl, he figured out, days later.
Immediately, Nestio travels to a town in search of materials.
IV.
She stops growing.
The time has come, Nestio realizes, but it is too early.
Is it because she was born too early? Did he balance out the diet correctly? Did he not proportion each meal for every day? ItwasallhisfaulthowcanhebesosTuPiD-
Nestio nestled the child further into his body. In the ancient language, he coos softly.
"My precious child…"
V.
Ravalima is what he names her. The name is loved by his child, perking and radiating the love when he says it.
He has come to love the name as well, as it derives from Queen Legravalima.
A name of a Queen to a benefitting and perfect child.
Ravalima.
VI.
Ravalima wiggled her body, head darting in every direction possible as Nestio cradled her in his arms.
Just hours ago she was born. A quiet morning it had been, only to be broken by a screeching mewl. It was the first time in centuries since he had been this… stressed.
He clipped on the mask with a pop, shielding the oversensitive raw face from the outside world.
Small tiny, three-fingered hands clawed at the newly placed mask. Nestio gently pulled the small hands away with his own identical hands.
Beautiful, Nestio thought while delicately picking up the thin white strands of hair, and mine.
VII. ?
Blurry. Unfocused. Why can't she see anything?
What was happening to her?
She choked out one final gasp for air in this deep dark liquid prison that was called the ocean.
A loud pop made her flinch and she took a large intake of air with a desperate gasp. The sound that came out of her mouth was neither a gasp or choke, but a strangled mewl of something that wasn't at all human.
What the fuck.
She opened her eyes, blinking. Her vision was insanely sharp. Like, sharp sharp, sharp to the point she can see the tiny critters that laid on the dead brown leaves far away from her.
'M-My hands!' She pinched her monstrously two fingers and thumb together, morbidly fascinated. 'What the fuck am I? What drugs am I on?'
She lifted her foot, staring at the skeletal bone that was her foot. Like a thin twig connecting to other twigs is all she could describe it as. They were shaped like bony chicken feet.
'Drowning. Drowning! I remember drowning and then-!' Immersed in her thoughts she made a small yelp as she was picked up. She looked up and saw a very intimidating demon that was four times her current size.
It cooed next to her ear softly, and she guessed it was supposed to calm her down but no it did not fucking calm her down, so she squirmed her head in every direction. All she saw was trees, trees, and- Oh, look! More trees.
'I drowned. I died. I got reincarnated as something that is not human at all.'
Then, something heavy and hard collided with her face albeit gently. It popped itself on with a soft click. Using her chicken feet hands she tried to pry it off her face.
Identical chicken feet hands gently grabbed her own, sharp bone grazed her.
"I don't know how I should feel about this." She spoke, aloud, however, only growls and soft chirps came from her mouth.
Is she in hell?
IX.
.
.
.
What was happening again?
.
.
.
It's so DaRk
.
.
.
I can't bReAtHe
.
.
.
I don't want to ḑ̷̨̧̧̧͓͈̠̪̤̘̯͈͔̫̳̺̰͍̠͈̝̦͔̯̯̝̀͌̆̂͒͊̅̈̉͐̎͂̿̍̽̅̈́̂̔͛͋̐̂́̑̑̂̑̉̏͐͝͝ͅi̵̡̛̭͎̟̩̣͚̣̜̰͙̯͖̼͔̙̲̬̠̳̩͔͔̲̲̭̞̻͕̐̃̇̍́͂̈́̏̑̈́̈́̓̌̍̈́̍̂̄͗̒̓̓̅́̚̚͠͠ͅë̶̢͉̯̫͇̘̘̻̦͔͇͙́̑̎̑̂̑̚͠
.
.
.
P̸͚͙͙̹̩͇̱̣̝͔͉̳̜̪̱̱̤̼̌̆̍̈́͆͆̒̽̈́͑̇̅͂̒̅͗͘̚͝͝ͅļ̴̲̖̠̱͓̦͙̞̠̘̹̳̭͚͓͇͙̻͉̺̩̜͔͍̻̬̙̼̲͋͗̇ͅḝ̷̢̙̤̺̹̰͕͚͉̦̩̹͙͇̥̻̭̪̝̯̝̥̟̪͕̟̓̍͋̓͐́͆̆̅́̌̈̔͋̾͐̾̂̊̅̒̿̚͜͜͝͝ͅa̴̢͕̤̭̙͚̼̮̞̮̗̼͓̯̱̰̖̙͖̘̣̺͇̜̩̻̦̜̪̼̠̦͍̤̗̎̾̌̄̀͌̓̽͌̏͗̍̌̋̅͐͠ṡ̶̢̧̧̡̜̣͔̻͚̙̖͔̩͙̣͕̜̼͉͕̐̿̚͘̚ȩ̵̧̜̠̙̦͙̤̰͉̹͔̪̘̖̣̟͔̫̞̟̹̠̝͒͆̂̈́͗͊̅̇̈́̒̎̒̊̓̅͌̚͠͠ͅ ̷̨̧̧̤̯̞̖̗̥̤̖̲̠̭̥̤̣̌̓͒́͑͗̆̔͒̀͜d̴̡̢̛̹͕̻̘͔̭̟̪̟̭̻̮̤̹͖̖͂̑͋̾͋̇̓͋͗̀́̑̊̈̐͋̄͊̑̿̀͗͂́̈͛̇̓͝͝͝͝͠ͅo̷̡̨̪̲̜̮̖͖̹̼̹͉̤̜͗̒͂̑̏̈̌̍̑̊n̷̢̢̢̡̧̺̱͔̻͔̙̜͔̞̳͚̮͊͒̽̓́͒̈́̇̔͆̈́̉͋̀͌̐̀̌͗̈̿͜͝͝'̶͔̥̾͆̏̽̅̇̔͂́̃̓̚͘t̷̛̺̖̞͑́̉͂̈́̋̃̂̿̓̋̂̄͌̔͊̀͛̿͑̿͛̽̈́̓̓̅̈́̇̉͌͌́̕ ̶̡͎͉͙̼͖͕͉̳͚͎̘̳̻̹͎̾͋̈́l̵̨̼̬͔̜͍̹̭̙̞͚̝͇͍̦̮̻̳̗̫͕̦̩͖̺̮̭͈̬̫͕̋̓̽̌̉́̏͗͛̎͗̓̀̕͝ẻ̴̟̈́̍́͆̊̄̍͋͊̈́̒̑͊̄͊̽̾̀̂̕͘ṭ̸̨̧̱̦̙͎̰͈͖̻͙̪̬̼̖̖̙̙͍͉̠̱̳̟͇͍̫̲̲͚̓̆̊͊̽̀̈́͂̊͗̏̍̎̒͛̕̕̕͝ͅ ̴̨͇̬̳̗̻̱̻͙͕̮̦͓̃̎͂̀̎̈́́̑͜ͅm̸̳̬̅́̊̏̆͐̓̽̐̾̄͑̚͠ę̴̧̧̨̡̧̯͈̩̣̟̤̲͖̰͍̱̘͔̯͎͓͕̗̖̰͖̓̍̑̏͑͋̈̒̌͂̐̀̽̋̀̏̍̅̌͂̈̎͑͐͊̆̕̕͜͝͝͝ ̴̡̨̲͉̭̣̹͚̰̝͉̙̞̗͎͙̎͆̿̍̓̽̀͆͂̇̊̒̏͆̾̈̉͛̈́͑̓͘͝d̶̢̼͖̹̠̬͈͖̈͊͌͊̆̿̒͋̃̕͠͝i̸̛̙̙̯͍̖̱̫͔͒̾̀̋́͐͊̉̀͐̍̑́̇̉̒̔̈́̏͐͛͛̀͂̄̐̄͆̈́͘͝ͅȩ̴̨̡̢̘̩̯̞̫͍̣̭̱͙̭͈̟͈̬̿̆̀̀̏͋͠ͅ,̶̧̗̥̝̳͌̈̐̐̅̃̎̄̒́͐̅̍͋̃̅̔̅̍͒̕̚͝͝ ̷̨̢̨̭͉͖͚̲͙̙̩̙͇̠̦͙̰̦̘͙̗̩̣͔̪̼̹͖̝̮̣̮͉̌̉͊̌̇̓͌̐̍̄̅̄͆̒̕̚͝͝͝͠à̴̧̡̡̡̧̺̹̲͍͖̞̮̞͖̻̺͍̝̼͍̭̝̬̜̮͗̈̉͂̿́̂̈̽̐͊̈́͂̈͛̚̕͜͝͝ͅg̸̨̧̛̦̭̙͈̪͔͌̎̄͛͋̈́̈́͌̈́̋̈́̑̃̅̓́̐̀̊̿̚̚͝͝a̶̡̧̨̡͎̱̘̥̘̭̺̰̭͍̲̗̱̬͚̓̅͐͂̐̌͒̓̽̓̽͋̇̐̀̌̐̊̂͒́̊͌͗͂̍̓̒̄͑͘̕͝͝͝ͅí̷̧̨̨̡̢͈̳̺͍̼̘̳̻̭̗͖̱̫̼̭̥͍́͌̍̄̐͐͝͠ͅͅn̶̨̡̧̤̺̻͓̳͙̣͈̣̖̙͈̺̹͖͖͓͉̣̖̫̞͔͛͐̇̆̈́͗͆̔̆͐̒̉͛͒́̆̇̃̔͒̽͂̊̉͌́̓͆͒̍̕̕͝͠ͅ
II.
Her humanoid but not human father, Ravalima noted, was a traveler.
He carried a few things in his bag of his. Wooden plates, cups, and some clothes that were mainly for her. The gigantic monster had seeds as well, for what reason she has no idea.
He hunts most of the time, leaving her on a trunk of a very tall treetop only he can reach to. He doesn't bring her, and she guesses it's not child appropriate to bring a five-inched child along to kill innocent animals.
She idly wonders how he can see through that two-eyed mask of his.
Considering how perfectly she sees out of hers, there weren't any problems.
But it was a tall joke!
X.
Ravalima tries talking but only the same quiet little chirps and growls come out.
Her attempts attracted the wildest of things she's ever seen in her life.
Animals she's seen and recognized came out squeaking in response. Except, they either had one eye like a cyclops or many other eyes around their whole body.
She distinctly remembers the time she fell out of a tree when she saw a bird with too many eyes snug on its tiny head.
Memories fade every second
She also remembers the warm blood dripping down her fingertips when she saw the corpse of the many-eyed bird flattened to a pancake, eyes popped.
XI.
Nestio came back to his temporary nest for the day.
He came back to the sight of Ravalima staring at the bird in her hand, the red fluid coming onto her clothes.
How did she get down from the tree?
Nestio knelt down beside her and lifted her up. The fallen bird fell from her hand with a splat.
A small purr, one little chirp, and soft growl were emitted softly as she tried to bury herself into his body. He responded with one similar.
Then, he grabbed her bloodied hand and lifted his mask. A large, long black tongue protruded from underneath and cleaned most of it off of the small hand.
She squealed.
XII.
Ravalima thinks she's in another world.
She didn't think much of it but seeing her father and herself, they weren't exactly human.
She always entertained the idea that her father and she were the only ones of their unknown species, wandering the vast land that was still unknown to her.
Well, she was half right.
Unknown vast world? Yes.
Two individuals of an unknown species? No.
How does she know? Well, good question.
Next thing she knew, she finds herself in a bustling city. With people like her.
They all had masks, too. Like her father and hers. Some of shorter horns, others had theirs longer.
The monsters came in all shapes and sizes, too.
She hears laughter and the normal-everyday voices of people talking. Like a city.
Her father tugs her away to a nearby stand. They had several knacks that she didn't recognize or couldn't see.
Though, she did see something that made her blood freeze.
Like an advertisement on full display, tubes of branded human limbs, heads and many more were out on the front. The vendor they stood in front of opened one of the tubes and proceeded to slice one arm and put it on a stick like a kabob.
...What?
.
.
.
Please, whoever sent me here, I-I can't-
She quietly gagged on her spit, forcibly swallowing the vomit that came up her throat.
VI.
"Hey, hey, wanna play?"
"Hey, hey, you look lonely. Wanna play?"
A clawed hand nudged her arm. She looked up to see a delicately designed mask of a slightly taller boy. Or, that's what she thought.
She was getting sick of everyone hiding behind a mask.
The masked child held up a ball, "We can play with my big brother! Come, come!" The kid tugged on her insistently. "I don't want to," Ravalima replied with a chirp but was widely ignored.
No one could understand her, anyways.
"Guzhou!"
She is lost once again in the midst of a bustling city.
XIII.
That's not normal
.
.
.
Those limbs could be party props to scare children.
.
.
.
But…
.
.
.
Those dismembered parts were on display like meat in a package.
Like a roasted pig sitting on a plate waiting to be eaten.
.
.
.
Instead of pigs being eaten, replace them with actual human beings.
.
.
.
What are we?
XIV.
Year ?
Ravalima already knew that the development of young monster children was much more different than a regular human child.
She only produced babbles instead of actual words, even though she looked like a five-year-old in human years.
How old is she, exactly?
Her teeth were abnormally sharp and shark-like. Her chicken feet hands had claws that can cut through shrubs branches easily. Everything seemed fine, albeit strangely far more unusual, but her voice.
The first time she managed to say a word was when her father introduced her to a peculiar ritual.
She was atop on his shoulders, his high posture towering over everything and she felt like she was at the top of the Eiffel Tower again. Ravalima held on tight, her eyes wandering to the archery bow her father held silently.
A thunk, and a small animal cry. The young monster looked over her father's shoulder.
A silver arrowhead pierced through their morning feast's neck.
She gasped quietly.
"When you are old enough, you will be able to hunt." Her towering father knelt down by the side of the struggling animal. "That is why I will teach you what you should do after neutralizing your prey."
He held out a weed, to which she took it carefully, marveling over the sight of it. White flowers decorated the weed.
Fascinating. Pretty.
"Hold it with care, Ravalima." He sighed once he saw her bending one of the stems. "Though the flower is common and widespread, it is a very special kind of weed."
"And it is why you don't simply ruin these."
She chirped sheepishly.
He acknowledged their breakfast lazily but watched her movements sharply. "This weed is called a Vida, a plant that is said to be gifted by the gods. You must pierce the chest of your prey with it."
She fidgeted with the flower, her fingers rubbing the sharp end of the plant. What a weird method. Is this some kind of vampire flower?
She didn't know of many flowers, their special effects, and types. She only knew of the iconic flowers that everyone knew about. Violets, roses, daisies… Those kinds.
"Present your gift to the gods. If they accept, the flower will bloom. Only then it is acceptable to eat the meat." Her father hummed thoughtfully as if thinking on what to say next. "It also helps with draining out the blood."
"Now, remember what I've just said, dear child."
She knelt down by the motionless animal, the bloodied arrowhead right in front of her. The young child patted the soft hair of their to-be food. Shakily, she raised the weed.
It's still alive, she whispered quietly in her mind, seeing the little movement it still made. Its eyes slowly losing its life, and here she was putting it out of its short life.
The animal's small black pupils stared at the hesitant youngling, who swallowed nervously.
Stop it! Stop staring at me like that.
D̴͈̼̑̆́̎̔͝ő̶͍̲̼̃̊̃̚ ̴̡̖̰̻̑ͅͅņ̴̫́̋ͅǒ̷͔͈t̸̤̖͖̮͛͗̎͗͠ͅ ̸̜̝̟̜́͘w̵̭̝̰̖̅͂̊̚o̸͉̾ṟ̴̢̧͕͍̣̼̔̌͆̆r̷̨͖͈͔̭͙̯̀͋̆y̶̱͖͇̜͎͑ͅ,̵̠̬̯͍͈̤̃̀̎͑͗͝͠ͅ ̶͍̠̙̈́͊͒͋̃͆̅i̷̛̭͕̳͓͉̰̬̔̄͊̽̓̚ť̶̳͎͙̖̉̅̒ ̴̺͋̅w̸͉͈̪͔̤͒̽̐͝o̸̢̻͚̰͖͖̍̈̾n̴̖̝͍̳̼͇̉̃͋͝'̶̧̞̠͇̖̙̎͝t̵̡̝͖͈̼̻̺̂̈̇ ̷̧̗͕̃͛̀͋́f̷̨̗̬̎͂͗̉è̶̢̧̮͈͓̽̒͊͜ȩ̴̨̪͓̰̠̞̽̋ĺ̵̛̹̯̔̌̐̏͘ ̸͙̘̟̞̩̓̄a̷͎̺͕̯̥̻͇̋͌̓̂n̸͈̯̥͒̍̓͑̈́͌̕y̶̥̲̖̘̑͊̓͠ ̶̢̣͆̽̀̂p̴̢̣̍̅͂͗̌ả̴̟̪̫͚̙i̶͈̟̖̽̓̆͒̚ń̷̲͓̙̟̔̿́̐
Ravalima put down the flower on the ground, presenting it to watching the audience. She folded her hands in prayer, silently watching the slow panting breathing of the sacrifice, and in one fell swoop, she pierced the weed.
The flower bled into a dark red.
"There is no turning back once you make a choice."
"Is something the matter, Ravalima?"
"I will accept anything that comes my way, as there is no coming back from anything."
She quietly uttered, "It's nothing."
XV.
Year 2026
There was no turning back.
She was out.
She's escaped.
The human girl let out a strangled sob of relief and anguish. The relief of having escaped the farm that was going to ship her out in two months time and the anguish of having to leave the home she's spent all her life in.
And her memories with- with-! She covered her mouth, trying to muffle the incoming chokes. The alarms rang in the distance.
She spent all her time in the library, decoding every book that was left there. Every gift that was donated to the orphanage by a wealthy power in the outside world.
"F.A.R.M"
"H.A.R.V.E.S.T"
"M.O.N.S.T.E.R"
Her eyes shined with a resolve. The premium brand pushed herself to run farther, away from her beloved house and siblings.
"I will survive."
("What a pretty melody! Let me hear more of it!"
"Huh?" An indecisive look. Fingers clenching the instrument in hand. A smile.
"...Okay." The look was still there. A whisper, "But it's kind of embarrassing so don't tell the others, okay?"
The sound of a mandolin sang in the wind, forever imprinting a memory of melancholy.)
"For you, I will stay strong."
("I can't change the world. What would my death do?")
XVI.
Ravalima slept on without a care in the world.
Her ears twitched once her father's footsteps faded out.
Or, well, that's what her father thought at least.
She scrambled out of her blankets, carefully tiptoeing her way out of the camp into the wilderness.
She threw her hands up into the air, "Finally!" After days of her father keeping her inside, she had the chance to actually come out unattended too.
For what matter on why her father was keeping her away from the bright blue sky's eyes, she didn't know. Ravalima idly skipped around with a Vida in hand, waving it around. Everywhere she stepped, footprints were left behind.
Exactly like a chicken.
The compulsions of having a child's body meant having the emotions as well, she noticed. Ravalima gave into the childish excitement coursing through her veins and jumped around, running through shrubs and Vida flowers.
Her feet gave her an extra boost to the point she was running at a speed she's didn't think was possible for her.
She couldn't help but let a high pitched squeal escape her throat as she just ran around in many directions.
With all this running around, she's probably not even near the camp anymore.
Then, she bumped into something. Ravalima yelped. The thing she bumped into shrieked as she herself yelped when she fell on her bottom.
"Hey! Watch where you're-" Her words died on her tongue, her eyes widening at the sight in front of her.
"You- You're one of those demons!" The human girl stuttered, gripping her bag straps tightly. She was dirty, and dried blood painted her legs. The fearful scrutiny made her step back.
The only response Ravalima could muster was a small, "What?" as she tilted her head in confusion.
A real human person! Her human side celebrated in happiness. Here, right in front of her, was an actual living human being!
And this girl definitely wasn't hanging like a pig for sale.
This deflated her giddiness in an instant.
If humans were at the bottom of the food chain, would that mean she and the others like herself were at the top?
The ones that ate everything on the chain, connecting everything and anything.
"You're an actual human person!" Ravalima blurted out excitedly. The human girl sent her an affronted look, her hands going into a defensive stance
Ravalima noted the numbers 73584 imprinted on the girl's neck. For a second, she was whisked away into her mind, her human side fluttering with familiarity.
"I…" The girl swallowed visibly. "I have to go. Don't follow me. Don't hurt me. Please don't…"
"Why would I do that?" Ravalima grazed the sharp end of the vida idly. She wiggled her three toes, watching them in feigned interest. The girl didn't say anything, her mouth twitching as if she wanted to say something. In fact, her whole body screamed her noticeable anxiety.
Ravalima blanked out for a second, a whole new facade appeared behind her mask. "Hey, hey you're running away, right? From the farm?" Her mouth ran on, her childish playfulness no longer there. "You should try to avoid some places. Like, my dad. He's around somewhere. You should be careful."
Ravalima was shaken back to reality, and she stood back up. She waved to the human girl-73584-with the pretty weed in hand.
XVII.
"Where," His mouth went dry. He adjusted his hat for the millionth time. "Am I?" He was shaken up terribly.
He thought he was finally being adopted by his new family but instead, he was met with darkness before waking up in the middle of an empty town.
Then, after that, music started.
A sign, he remembers faintly, read: "Rules: Music. Monsters. Survive."
The girl who dragged him here, to this windmill, heaved a large breath. Her bright blue eyes contrasted nicely with her dark skin and light hair.
"You're in Goldy Pond. A secret hunting ground for those monsters."
Cross-posted from AO3. The focus of the fic will mainly be on archive of our own, as that is where I am mostly spending my time on.
The only difference here is that I combined all three chapters (plus the newly published chapter 3) into one chapter.