Wendigo Psychosis
Tahu walked down the street, watching Matoran go about their business, smiling and waving to them. He was swamped in Matoran he had never met; only a tiny fraction of the Matoran had journeyed to Mata-Nui where he had lived. He was always in a crowd of unfamiliar faces, but the original survivors always had a place in his heart, special to him.
"Hey Jaller," he said, nodding to the red and orange Toa going to other way.
"Tahu," he said, and raised his hand. Tahu gave him a high-five and they went on their separate ways. Tahu turned down a corner and walked away.
Days passed from his encounter, and soon all the Toa Nuva were summoned to the Coliseum to talk to the Turaga. They made their way from their respective Metrus, and congregated around the front door, talking and laughing, waiting for the Turaga to call them in. This had not been the way on Mata-Nui, but Dume had "rules" and very strict ideas about hierarchy, that Toa had to wait for Turaga, and he had total authority over everyone.
"Come in," Vakama's voice echoed over a loudspeaker, "and for heaven's sake, don't bow to Dume this time, it only inflates his ego." They laughed and the doors slid open, letting them walk inside. Tahu motioned Gali through, and as she passed, he caught a whiff of a strange smell coming off of her. He unconsciously licked his lips, and stayed close behind her as they walked down the hall.
"Hurry up, hurry up," came a wheezy voice over the loudspeaker, "I only have a finite lifetime. And don't forget to bow."
"Quick-Coming you're holiness," Lewa called up.
"Who's that? Lewa? Glad to see you've finally seen sense. Hop to it." They broke into easy jogs, Tahu easily kept up with Gali, but she threw him a funny glance and he regretfully fell behind.
XxX
The meeting was a success and he, Vakama, Nokama and Gali went out for a bite to eat afterwards. They all ate their fills and, when finished, felt distantly balloted.
"I'll never be hungry again," Tahu said, and the others laughed.
"You will," Gali said, "I know you Tahu-Karda."
"I have a finite life-span," Vakama said, "and that is winding down, I plan to fill every last moment with good food."
"Glutton," Nokama said.
"Oh," Vakama said and, creaking slightly, jumped up. Nokama jumped up as well and they began a slow motion chase, Nokama was forced to use the two canes that she kept with her, and Vakama wheezed like a rusty pipe. Gali and Tahu roared with laughter, and then Tahu caught a whiff of the same scent. Suddenly, he wasn't full anymore, he was hungry, starving in fact.
"I'm hungry," Tahu said.
"Hungry?" Gali said incredulously, "we just ate enough food to sink a ship. How on earth can you be hungry."
"I just am…" Tahu said, taking deep sniffs. Gali looked at him, and there was worry on her features.
"Tahu, are you alright," she said, concern in every syllable.
"I'm fine," he said, his mouth watering. Strange urges swirled around in the back of his mind, like malicious vapors. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, smell her, taste her…
XxX
That night, Tahu tossed and turned: terrified by the strange thoughts that he had felt in his mind.
"Gali is my sister," he muttered to himself, "sister, sister, sister…" He repeated that word until he fell into a restless sleep. He had strange dreams, dreams where he feasted and feasted, the meat was raw and uncooked, and he was so hungry. In his dreams, he heard a voice cry out that he must stop, but he couldn't. Then he turned and there was Gali. He rose and reached for her, and she cried and screamed incoherently, the scream became jarring and the next thing he knew, he was lying awake, the alarm clock blaring in his ear.
"Mata-Nui," he said to himself, and then resolved to stay away from Gali for a time.
XxX
Try as he might, his infatuation grew to the point of obsession. He wanted to be with her, all the time, he wanted to smell her and he longed for just a taste of her, her lips. He wonder what could bring them
together like that. Life, he realized, and death, the two portals that connected everything. With that in mind, Tahu-Nuva-Karda resolved to murder his sister, Gali.
He was careful, he would sit for hours and devise his scheme, humming tunelessly and jumping at small noises. When he had formulated the perfect plan, he went to find her. He knew where to find her, he knew of a secluded stretch of beach where she liked to come and sit, all alone. Borrowing a mask of concealment, he staked out the beach and waited for her, ready with his sword in hand.
When she came, and sat down, he made his move. Silently moving, he crept up behind her, and then plunged the weapon into her back. She didn't even scream, she merely toppled over, dead. He looked down at her, silvery blood beginning to stain the ground at his feet. It all felt unreal, he felt as though he was looking down at himself.
"Mata-Nui," he said and then, he raised his hand. It seemed to be twitching slightly, and he had a strong desire to swoop down and…and… He closed his eyes, screwing up his face. "No…no…" he said and then, with an amazing amount of self-control, burned her body into ashes, and then let the ocean sweep the ashes away, into the silvery nothingness.
XxX
That night, Tahu lay awake and stared at the wall, feeling dread and fear. The same desires continued to plague him, Gali was dead, but they continued to whisper into his ears:
"Hungry…kill…love…hungry…" they seemed to say, and no matter how many songs he sung, no matter how many sheep he counted, they continued to speak, the echoes of their words bouncing around inside his skull. Tears flowed from his eyes, but he never slept.
XxX
There were the inevitable questions as to Gali's whereabouts, then the revelation, and finally the funeral. This whole process took days, and all the time Tahu touched no food. Nothing appealed to him, it all looked unappetizing and dry. He had a strange craving for meat, he needed it, he was dying without it.
"Tahu," Vakama said seriously, walking up to him as he picked at the assortment of little appetizers at the reception, "you must snap out of it, you're becoming emaciated, I order you to eat." Tahu just stared at him, and then walked away without a word.
Later, he looked in a mirror and saw Vakama was right, he was very thin, his mask didn't seem to fit right, and his armor was slightly too big for him. I need food, he realized, and I know what I want, he thought. As the funeral ended, he saw Hahli walk out alone, followed by Jaller and Kongu. She was crying and the two Toa seemed unable to comfort her. Tahu sniffed deeply and walked up to her:
"Hey," he said. Hahli only sniffed and looked at him. "I know it's tough he said, but Gali wouldn't want you to cry." This just made Hahli sob harder and Tahu reached out a hand and comforted her.
"I don't know what I'll do," she confessed, and Tahu understood. Gali had been like Hahli's mother, and now that she was dead, she must feel very alone.
"Don't worry, it will all be better," he confided to her. You'll be with her soon, he promised silently, and then it will all be alright. "Do you want to come with me to pick out a memorial sight for her?"
"Yes," she said and they walked off.
Tahu kept trying to lead her away, but she seemed to think that the squares and city centers would be the best places. Finally, they came to the secluded beach where Gali had meat her end.
"How about here?" Tahu asked, "she loved it, we could name it after here and make it protected land." Hahli began to cry again and sat down on the sand. Tahu smiled.
"Don't worry," he said, "it'll all be okay." Then, in one fluid moment, he impaled her as well. She fell over, just as Gali had done. Hunger roared like a dragon in his stomach, so great and powerful that he felt momentarily blind. Suddenly, his body seemed to remember that he had eaten nothing in over a week. His hands twitching slightly and a muscle in his jaw jerking around, he gently removed Hahli's armor, and then carved large chunks out of her flesh.
XxX
Jaller Mahri was panicked, he had not seen Hahli in hours, and with Gali's death, anything seemed possible. He ran all over the city, up and down back alleys, he talked to Matoran, questioned the Turaga.
"I do not know where Hahli is," confessed Nokama, "I saw her wandering around with Tahu some time ago. They were headed for the beach where Gali used to sit." Nokamas eyes filled with tears at the mention of Gali and turned away. Jaller thanked her profusely, and then ran off. Back down the streets, but this time he had a real goal in mind.
XxX
Macku was wandering around the woods near the beach where Gali used to sit, mulling over her heroes death and trying to have happy thoughts in her fog of sadness.
"Who's there?" a voice called out, and she jumped. It came from behind the bushes, and cautiously she crept over and looked through. What she saw stunned her, it was Tahu…but….
The sword plunged into her mask, cleaving her face in half and she fell dead. Animal-like, Tahu walked over and dragged her back to his little pile.
XxX
Jaller burst in on the beach, yelling for Tahu.
"I am right here," Tahu called back, "beyond the bend. What do you want Jaller?"
"Have you seen Hahli," Jaller called, running all the while.
"Yes, she's with me," Tahu called. Relief flooded Jaller, he slowed down and rounded the bend at a slow trot. What he saw shocked him, Tahu was squatting, his legs, hands and face smeared with silvery blood. His eyes where alert looking, and at his feet where mounds of bloodied armor, and dismembered body parts.
"Tahu," Jaller said, nearly overcome by the grizzly spectacle before him.
"Here's Hahli," Tahu said conversationally, holding up a dismembered arm, but off at the elbow. Then, using his sword, his sheared off a large piece of flesh and put it in his mouth. He smiled slightly, seeming to enjoy the taste. Having swallowed his meal, he then picked up a piece of armor and began to gnaw on it, letting blood and juices dribble down chin.
XxX
Jaller threw the blade, and Tahu made no move to stop it. The moment the blade left his fingers, Jaller fell into a dead faint. Tahu was impaled in the chest and he fell over dead. His eyes rolled and he thought he saw a bone-white Toa stare down at him, a scythe in her hand.
"You monster," said Azrael.