AN: Happy Halloween, everyone! The second best time of the year, second only to Christmas. I was working the entire Halloween, so I couldn't go to any parties. But have a story. It is greatly inspired by Changeling, a World of Darkness roleplaying game setting. Hence the name, lol. If you get a chance to try it, do it. WOD is so much fun!
CHANGELING
. . .
Mustn't you wander into the pale virgin moon,
For it might cast you into doom.
Forest folk, the spirits of might,
They won't let you out of sight.
Once they've prepared a feast so great,
Beware, oh child, not to take their bait!
For spirit away they will your trace
And with a child of their own they will you replace.
The struggling feet rushed through the undergrowth, not waning, not stopping, not looking back. Twigs snapped under the heavy footfalls, betraying his direction.
Breaths came in shuddering puffs. The boy's heart was thundering in his chest, beating like it was breaking out of his ribcage. Loud enough for it to hear.
It was supposed to be but an innocent little prank. They'd break into the abandoned manor, spray a few walls with dick pics, have a few laughs and get out of there. And now Terra was dead, and what had become of his other friend, Ventus didn't want to think about.
He could hear its firm, steady steps behind him, and tried not to lose more hope as they gradually came closer. This had been a terrible idea. Why had he gotten them into this?
His eyes had begun to water, fuzzing what little he could see in the pathetic light of his dimming flashlight. Goddammit, why?! He had changed the batteries literally not three hours ago. Ventus's heart leaped as he heard a tree trunk splinter not too far.
'Help me…! Somebody…!'
Up in the guise of the tree the yellow beads watched him. The young face that contorted in panic, the stumbling steps that were already slowing down. Its nostrils flickered with the sweat and distress pheromones; lips stretched as it licked clean the stained fang-like teeth. This child smelled like prey. A low growl rumbled in its throat as it disappeared into shadows.
It sled through the darkness as if it grew out of it, creeping out further ahead of the near hysterical boy. Waiting for the child to come closer, it stayed just out of the flimsy light. It watched how the boy struggled forward in the heathland, tears running, his brow glimmering with the cold sweat. It knew the child was lost. He was headed deeper into the woods. It grinned as it licked its lip.
Desperation welled in him, pushing to overflow. He was getting exhausted, and his side stung with the lack of oxygen. He was running on adrenaline, and that too was fading fast. If that thing was still out there… Ventus tried not to cry harder on that thought.
The edge of the spotlight brushed over the undergrowth, when suddenly it rose up from the ground, outlining limbs, then some torso. And against the darkness, Ventus made out two ghastly, glimmering yellow orbs.
"Uaaagh!"
It was for merely an instant, but the reflex to blink as his body jerked away from the form sealed him into darkness. He stumbled blindly to find a footing, only to lose what little he had. As he tripped into the heath, he heard it taking a step.
Sky blue eyes snapped open, he scrambled to get up and defend himself, all the while waiting for the attack. Panting rapidly, Ventus peered into where he thought the form had stood, and heard rustling. Not daring to blink, he waited, fists balled and ready. Ready to confront anything that came behind that tree. Ready to fight for his life.
"Ven?"
A form crept at the edge of the light that was illuminating brightly again. It had an arm raised over its face, but it seemed larger than Ventus. And familiar.
"Ven!" Into the light stepped a lanky frame, clothed in loose sports garbs that made the frame look even lankier. Twinkling sapphire eyes were squinted into slits, but the flaming hair coruscated wildly. He flicked a wrist for a greeting.
"Lea?! Is that you?!" Ventus heaved a loud sigh of relief and shook his head. "Man, you scared me."
Not saying anything, Lea stepped to his friend and didn't wait for permission. He pulled the blonde into a tight, hasty hug. He felt Ventus grab him stronger than was necessary but didn't wince or pull away.
"You're alive..." The small murmur was filled with a newly found solace. Lea wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to hear it, but hummed reassuringly anyway and grabbed the other's shoulder to push him away gently.
"Yeah, I am. Likewise," Lea grinned but there was no joy in it. "… Are you OK?"
"I guess..."
Lea opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and turned to eye the ground, his expression darkening. He shook his head in silence, exuding grief. Ventus sighed a shuddering breath as he closed his eyes in the same sorrow.
The blond was the first to break the silence. "You… you saw it too, right?" He didn't need to specify. The dark claw struck through Terra's abdomen. His inconceivable expression as he looked down at his own intestines, draped over the foreign appendage. His blood gushing out of him like he was a fountain.
Lea's response was only faintly louder than a whisper. "Yeah. I saw it, alright." Ventus heard the small hiccup and a sniffle the redhead was trying so hard to hide.
"Lea..."
As if the pitying tone had snapped something into place in Lea, he perked up a little, wiped his eyes frantically and forced a determined face. "We can't stay cooped up in here! Who knows who might be watching us." Pausing as if to consider whether he should say something or not, he added, "We don't wanna end up like Terra."
Ventus nodded, still shaken but very much eager to get out of there. The image of Terra slumping onto his knees, then to his side as the offending limb was torn out of him plagued his mind. He would grieve, but it would have to be later. There were other things to think about. Like getting out of there. He didn't want to end up like him. He wanted to go home. It took significant willpower to stone his heart, but Ventus knew they were far from safe. Terra would have to wait.
They tried to determine the direction from the last visible stars and their phones' meager GPS locating. Satisfied with the best they managed, they headed northeast towards where they hoped the edge of Radiant Garden lied. The sky speckling through the treetops was turning lighter blue already as dawn approached.
"What time is it?" Lea asked, aiming for casual but falling short, coming out as timid and anticipating.
"Half past four."
"Oh great, Ma's gonna be pissed at me again," Lea forced out a small laughter and scratched the back of his head.
"How's that possible? We came here at, like, eleven. We can't have been in there for five hours!" hissed Ventus, bewildered. The only answer he got was a tense grunt. Ventus raised an eyebrow behind the other's back but didn't say any more. If the redhead didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't push him.
Something bothered Ventus, however, he couldn't keep quiet about.
"Lea?"
"Yeah?" he replied nervously, pulling his hand through his hair.
"What're we gonna tell Aqua?" Ventus's voice shook.
The green eyes narrowed. "Nothing. As long as this night is concerned, Aqua will never know. Got it memorized?" Lea accentuated the last part.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Ventus snorted. "She is his fiancee! Don't you think she has every right to know?"
Lea shook his head in defeat. "Know what, Ven? That Terra was… was murdered… butchered..." The blue eyes widened. "Is that what you want to tell her?"
"I..." His breath caught. The last he saw of Terra was the brunet on his side on the ground, his gut torn open. His mouth was bloodied, a desperate terror in his dimming eyes. Fighting the taste of bile that rose into his mouth, Ventus shook his head. The flashlight slipped from his grip into the undergrowth where it cast an eerily dim light against the vast shadows of the forest. "No. No, it isn't," he spluttered. He fought the rising tears again, and this time he let them overcome him. Terra was gone! He best friend was gone, dead. Murdered. Slaughtered. The iron band choked around his heart and his neck; his breath hitched.
Ventus felt himself being grabbed, then shoved forward. "Ungh!" He collided with a firm warmth and felt a tight grab steady his shoulder. Lea's free hand padded him into the back a few times, and Ventus heard another voice sniffling.
"It's okay, Ven..." Briefly Ventus noted that he had never seen Lea like this. This lost, confused and hollow voice didn't suit him at all. "It's okay. We'll miss him. We'll always miss him. We'll tell Aqua that… that Terra lost his footing on the cliffs or something. Or that a bunch of wild dogs attacked and ate him. Or I don't know, that green little aliens came to abduct him or..." Lea babbled on quietly, grabbing Ven's shoulder tight enough to hurt. He winced.
"Lea… you're hurting me."
Like he had received an electroshock, Lea jolted away from him. "Uhm, sorry." He scratched his neck, eyes downcast. "You okay?"
Taking in breath after a shivering breath, Ventus willed away his tears. "Am now. Thanks." He flashed him a small smile. Genuine. The first one in god knows how long. "How you holding up?"
Lea forced a characteristic smirk. "You know me."
"Lea..." Ventus's tone made it clear he wasn't fooled.
"Look, let's just… drop it for now, ok?" There was an edge in his tone Ventus couldn't quite pinpoint. Was it fright? Or just discomfort?
"Right..."
"Let's keep moving. I don't think that whatever-the-hell-it-was is still out there, but I wouldn't like to stay here and find out." Picking up the flashlight and pushing past the flabbergasted sports maniac, Ventus went to push on further. He was pleased to hear the other jog after him not a few seconds later.
"Well, someone got a new fire going," Lea smirked.
"I don't think I'd fancy being chopped up by a serial killer. You?" Ventus smirked back, their shock taking on the masque of ridicule, if only to allow them to delay facing the truth at least a little.
"Nay. I think I'll pass. Redheads taste terrible, you know."
"Who said the guy is going to eat you?!" Ventus laughed. They chuckled at it for a few moments before it died down, and the heavy silence settled over them once more.
The small circle of light painted out their path. A few times they stumbled onto tree roots or undergrowth, but otherwise they walked in silence, on the edge and jumping a little at every snap, rustle and scrape. Their eyes had gotten used to little light, but they still couldn't see but only the edges of the spotlight and dark sky filtered through the trees. Every once in a while the light flickered a little as the batteries ran on lower power, but either they didn't notice it, or didn't want to think about what would happen if the batteries ran out.
"You know, this is weird," Ventus stated later.
"What is?"
Ventus checked his phone for the time. "Isn't it odd that we've been walking, like, over an hour already, and the sky hasn't lightened up at all. In fact, I think it looks even darker than it did before. I can't even see the stars anymore. It's just black, although we saw the first blue dawn ages ago, didn't we? And we should have reached the forest edge heatherfields by now."
A shock flashed in Lea's face. "No, wait! Don't say it!"
"We're lost."
"Darn it, Ven! I told you not to say it!" Lea let out a theatrical moan as he pulled his hand through his mane, completely ignoring the comment about the sky.
"You shouldn't swear."
"What difference does it make? We're lost! We could be anywhere! And this stupid thing isn't helping," he cussed as he tried to refresh their location in his GPS. The marker on the screen moved about constantly, its focus area spread wide and vague and provided little success. Lea sighed in frustration as he pulled a hand through his head, eyes cast to the skies. "Well, the signal is shifting, but I think we've come a little detour but are not too far any more. I say let's just keep going and we should get there soon."
"I hope you're right. Despite this all, well, I'm kinda hungry," Ventus said sheepishly as his stomach made a small gurgling sound. "See?"
"Well eat some berries, they're ripe enough," Lea leaned down to pic a few blueberries to demonstrate, only to spit them back out in an instant. "Alright, well maybe not quite ripe enough," he grumbled.
"Come on. The faster we're out of here, the better. My parents are probably worried sick, and I'm not too happy about that sky. I don't get it, why isn't it getting any lighter? Are those storm clouds? Getting caught in a storm would be the cherry topping for this disaster," Ventus grumbled, glancing at the pitch-black sky above as he headed into Lea's pointed direction. "Plus," he added grimly, "I've gotta talk to Aqua."
"You really make a fuss about it, you know," Lea replied uneasily.
"What do you expect? She's my friend, Lea. She's yours, too! And they were supposed to be married in three months, for heaven's sake! So if you don't care, fine, but excuse me if I want her to know!" Ventus snapped sharper than he had intended. A look of hurt flashed on Lea's face but he said nothing. It made the blond's heart sting.
"Look, I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that," he muttered in shame.
Lea's reply wasn't instantaneous. When he spoke, it was strained, like he didn't want to say what he did. "Hey, don't sweat it. It's not like you meant for this to happen, right?"
That hit a mark. Anger welled in Ventus, made him spin around, those clear blue eyes ablaze. "What was that supposed to mean?!" Before he knew what he was doing, he had grabbed the taller boy by his collar, roughing him.
Lea ignored the tough guy act, and instead gazed down at his furious friend. Ventus could see the hurt, the betrayal, the loss in his eyes, and his hold relented a little.
"I mean, it was your idea, wasn't it? Going to the manor?" he said, his voice but a whisper.
Ventus's eyes went wide, his mouth hung agape. He let go of Lea like the boy had suddenly burned him. His hand frozen in mid-air, his mouth moved but nothing came out. Lea's small words had opened a floodgate inside him, and he was plunging.
Maybe this was all his fault. It had been his idea – and his idea alone – to trash the place. The others had been against it, had said it was a sucky idea, but he had talked them into it. And now Terra was dead. Terra was dead, and Lea was so obviously blaming him for it.
But how could he have possibly known? No. No, it wasn't his fault! It had been that horrific madman. The murderer who had struck Terra and left him to bleed to death. It was his fault, he had done it! Ventus couldn't have… he didn't... "It wasn't..." Ventus took a shaky step back, his legs like spaghetti.
"It wasn't my fault," he whispered. "It wasn't! I never knew this would happen. If I had, of course I wouldn't have..." Lea said nothing as he observed his friend coming undone in stoic calm.
"You didn't mean it to happen, Ven, but the truth is, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for you." He left unvoiced the obvious conclusion: Terra would still be alive if it weren't for you. He knew those were no words of comfort, but he wasn't out to offer him any. It had been a grave mistake to come here, and it was time Ventus dealt with the truth.
"I didn't-" he whispered. "I didn't know this would happen." The blue eyes turned to the sea color, looking lost. "Terra is dead because of me, isn't he?" Lea said nothing, only nodded.
"I see…" Ventus trailed off. His posture had fallen slack, eyes cast away. His hair had moved to hide his eyes; the boy looked so fragile that a mere pinprick might have crumbled him. "So what are you saying? Do you hate me? Are you gonna report me to the police?"
Lea looked troubled. This wasn't exactly what he had aimed for. "Look, man, I don't hate you! You never wanted this to happen, none of us did! As for the police… I dunno, Ven. I guess I should, but… I don't know if I want to. And what would I tell them? That hey, we were on our merry way to, well, trespass when suddenly some wacko sla… killed our pal?" Ignoring his own faltering voice, Lea waited for the blond to say something, but he had cast his eyes away and said nothing.
"Listen, uhm," Lea was trying to find the words, "I-"
"I get it, Lea," came Ventus's beaten response. "You don't need to say it."
Lea scoffed a grunt. He wouldn't get anywhere with the blond like this. They'd talk later.
"Anyway, let's just go."
"What?!" Ventus blurted out incredulously. "Are you serious?! You still want me to come with you?"
"Of course I do! Look, I don't hate you, man. You're still my friend!" Ventus's dumbstruck face said enough. "What, you wanna stay? 'Cause I freakin' don't! It might rain any second as you said, and I am D-O-N-E with this forest. Let's go home and think about it in the morning."
"It is the morning."
"What?"
"It is the morning. It's, like, almost eight already. I can't believe how but we've been here for nine hours already."
"Sheesh," the redhead forced a chuckle, "Time flies, huh? I couldn't tell, it being so dark… Anyway, let's just go." At that, Lea grabbed the flashlight and went to stomp forward. Ventus watched his back for a few more seconds, feeling a strange, foreboding sense of alarm. Something, he couldn't quite tell what, was off about the redhead. Maybe it was the way he forced his cheerful facade, when he so obviously wasn't feeling it.
"Hey Lea?"
"Yeah?" he answered without looking behind him.
"Are you OK?"
This time he turned around. He settled into a happy-go-lucky pose he thought looked cool, hands in his pockets, weight on one foot, his head tilted backwards slightly, and hollered, "Hey! Since when have I ever been not OK?" The redhead flashed a toothy smile. So like him, and yet so strange, and Ventus knew for certain that Lea was lying to him.
Ventus followed him, but an instinct told him it was the best to keep a little distance. His eyes glued onto his friend's back, Ventus kept constant three steps behind him. If the redhead noticed, he didn't announce it. Perhaps he was feeling emotional, despite displaying the cool front, and didn't want Ventus to notice? Ventus didn't mind, he didn't feel like talking, anyway. He wanted to get out of the forest, go home and be done with the by far worst day of his life. He would talk things through with Lea later. Him, and Aqua. She would be mortified, and he didn't have the strength to cope with that right now. Now, he just wanted this to be over, and would worry about everything else later.
They kept going, waiting anxiously to see lesser trees, open heatherfield, a glimpse of meadow at the edges of the forest. Lea had said they weren't too far. But Ventus couldn't help beginning to think that he had only said it to make him feel better. The terrain didn't seem to alter at all. If anything, the trees seemed to grow taller and it was now more difficult to see the sky. Not that they would have seen anything without the flashlight, which was beginning to waver again as the batteries ran out slowly.
"Shit!" Ventus swore under his breath as he beat the flashlight gently to force it to work.
"Now what did you say about that swearing again?" chuckled Lea as the other threw him a dirty glare.
"How can you be so calm about this?! We've been walking for close to another hour, we are almost out of light, and I am not seeing us finding a way out of this forest!" Ventus spat, giving the flashlight another proper whack. "I'm beginning to think we're not getting out of here, Lea," he added in a tone bordering defeat.
Lea smirked. "Well, that's because I know we're close." He held up his phone. "I'm finally getting a good reception."
"Yeah?" Ventus's eyes brightened; his excitement lit aflame again.
"Yeah," Lea smirked, tapping his phone. "It's only a little more than a mile to the edge of the forest, and then five more to the town."
Ventus's posture slumped. "It's still six miles!" he groaned.
"Would you rather stay here? I mean, it is quite nice and all. Quiet neighborhood, fresh air, lots of space..." he chuckled, gesturing theatrically.
"Let's just go," Ventus grunted and continued into the direction the redhead pointed. Behind him, Lea shook his head with a sly smirk.
For their relief, Lea had been right. Ventus noticed how the trees gave way to lesser plants and how they were clearly approaching a clearing. He could see light ahead – finally – and heaved a sigh of relief.
"Told you so," Lea smirked smugly. Ventus rolled his eyes but smiled anyway.
His good spirits diluted into amazement as they arrived onto the clearing, though. It wasn't at all what he had been expecting. He had been expecting to see the road with street lights, or the dawn after what seemed like hours. This was neither.
On the clearing stood a lone, pillar-like stone that seemed to omit a strange glow. And in the air buzzed a myriad of fireflies, speckling the air like small stars. He heard a low hum, melodic, yet nobody was singing. It was breathtaking, and oddly ensnaring. It made him feel like he belonged there, and suddenly he wasn't in a hurry to get home anymore.
"Wow! This is insane!" Ventus sighed in awe as he stepped closer. A firefly landed onto his hand; its small tail flickered as it washed its wings. Ventus watched the bug in fascination like it was a special prize.
Lea said nothing as he trotted behind the blond. Hands deep in his pockets, face serious and a certain determination in his eyes he came behind him in silence.
"What is this place, Lea?"
"This place?" Ventus's hair rose at the tone. It snapped him out of his delirium. All the alarms went off in him at the foreign sound of Lea's voice. Lea's voice was laughing, smug and arrogant; this was hard, treacherous and callous. "This is where you'll die, Ventus."
"Wha- what?" Blond head snapped around at break-neck speed. Lea was standing less than a foot from him – Ventus staggered a couple of unconscious steps back – his eyes glued onto Ventus and face… somehow... hungry. "Comoon, Lea, stop it. That's not funny!" came his nervous laughter. Lea said nothing, only took equal steps closer. Calculated, deliberate, preying steps. And Ventus panicked. "Lea, stop it! You're scaring me! I mean it, that's not funny." He had been backing away, all the while the redhead staying close. There was a glint in the green eyes, a maniacal glint that reached his mouth and curved his lips into a humorless smirk.
"What's the matter, Ven? You scared?" Ventus's heart missed a beat. His eyes were wide; his mouth moved but he couldn't find his voice.
"Lea…?" It was more of a sigh than speech, and Ventus shuddered as the other chuckled darkly. It sounded so wrong.
"Lea is dead," the redhead smirked as he stepped closer.
"What?! What are you saying, Lea? Stop it! You're freaking me out, man!" Ventus found a tint of rage in his voice that gave him back his dignity. Nevertheless he was still backing away from him.
Lea must have noticed something behind Ventus for he stopped, looking oddly satisfied; Ventus, all too eager to protect his personal space a little, sighed a relief.
"It's good to see you, Terra!" Lea's voice dripped the smugness on his face.
Ventus drew in a hasty breath as unspeakable terror flooded him. Eyes wider than ever he turned to look behind him slowly, fearing, hoping… For what exactly? That Terra was alive? Or rather that he wasn't and that Lea was just pulling a cruel trick on him? His heart hammered so feverishly Ventus thought it might burst.
It was Terra. Strong-looking and determined posture, striding steps. His clothes were intact and hair neatly styled up. So very much like Terra, and yet so very different. Ventus gasped something that might have been a name, but it was clipped as his eyes traveled lower.
On Terra's abdomen shone dimly a coppery scar. It was huge, about the size of a cabbage, an ugly contrast of rough edges and dark fabric. Like, Ventus thought briefly, something had torn… A bile rose into his throat. "Ter..." he started but couldn't bring himself to finish. A mix of relief and disgust, hope and foreboding engulfed him.
Terra's firm appearance never faltered. Although there was the same cunning smirk etched onto his stern features that manifested on Lea's lips. Ventus couldn't help a shudder. His instincts were screaming, screaming for him to not let his guard down, that something was terribly, terribly wrong. That he should run for his life.
"Hey, Ven."
Ventus gasped a shuddering breath. It had been Terra's voice. But there was a tone akin to that same hunger he had seen in Lea's eyes. He took an unconscious step back, visibly jumping as he met something. Blue eyes flipped to meet the ocean green – again, that horrifying hunger! – and Ventus felt his heart rate rushing. "Lea..." His eyes were drawn to the chest, where Lea's heart was, where a scar similar to that on Terra's shone a dim coppery glow.
"What's the matter, Ven?" Ventus didn't want Terra to speak. "Aren't you happy to see me?" He didn't want to hear that edge in his voice. "We thought you would." He didn't want to fear him.
For he did. Terra reached them, and all the while Ventus had tried to back away, only to subconsciously push into Lea. A low chuckle raised the hairs in his neck. He was scared witless!
"Guys, stop it! That's seriously creepy!" Ventus tried, but hated how his voice broke.
When Lea spoke, it was devoid of all kindness and glee. It was a cruel, condescending voice that was so foreign to him. "Is it? Poor you." Ventus tore away from him, to back away from them both. "And here we thought you'd be happy to see your friends. That's no way to thank us, Ven," Lea exchanged a cunning grin with Terra.
Ventus's mouth moved but nothing came out. He watched them in horrified fascination. Terra, a gaping tear wound in his abdomen; Lea, with a scar of his own over his heart. Their eyes took a yellow gleam, and Lea's features begun to waver. His face melted into another, a foreign face. It was wider, younger, not unlike Ventus's own. His hair darkened into pitch-black, and the green of his eyes was replaced with a harsh yellow, and Ventus gasped audibly when he remembered where he had seen that yellow before. Remembered the dash in forest, the flash of those yellow beads in the darkness, the falling, and...
"Lea…?!"
"No, you idiot," sneered the new face on Lea's body. "Your friends are dead. I gutted Terra. I tore Lea's beating heart out and ate it. And now," it held a meaningful pause "Now it's your turn."
Ventus fought a gag at the horrible things being said about his friends. He felt dizzy and disgusted. The menacing promise flooded him with fear of death. A looming death. His death. He had been backing away blindly, but now his heart leaped as his back met something. Something unrelenting. An instinct forced a glance – that damn stone! He was trapped!
Ventus turned just in time to see it leaping over him. Claws tightened around his throat, pressing into his skin, pinning him against the stone. Survival instincts kicked it; he threw out a lash of kicks and punches, even teeth, struggling to break free. His fight died down as the creature easily grabbed a hold of his wrist mid-air, twisting it painfully, and smashed his head against the stone.
"Augh!" He went slack; the impact made him see stars. Ventus noted briefly that the ethereal humming had gotten louder and more intense. Or maybe it was just his ears ringing? He struggled to breath in short, panicked gasps, his eyes wide, frantically searching for ways of escape. He tried to fight himself free again, but the iron grip on his wrist and the choke-hold on his neck rendered the attempt weak and pretty much pointless.
Terra stalked closer to stand beside what had looked like Lea; that stomach-turning grin was still plastered on both of their faces.
"Terra… Help me!" The desperate attempt was a mix of hope and disbelief. Terra's mused words were almost slithered,
"No, I don't think I will, Ven."
A cold lump settled into his throat and a clench that had nothing to do with the claws around his trachea choked his throat as acceptance sunk in. These were not his friends. Ventus shuddered at the gruesome things the beast had said about them. Terra… Lea… This was the ultimate defilement.
"Wha- what are you?!" Ventus nearly squeaked.
"What indeed," chuckled the Lea imitator darkly, throwing a conspiratory glance at Terra. "Humans have all those childish words. Fairies. Spirits. My personal favorite, dryads. You have your pick." Ventus's brows rose in confusion. "We are the ones that came before. The first born race in this world before your kind learned to wield tools and fire. We used to be the ones gazing up to the Sun, used to nurture the land and tend to its creatures. Your kind and beasts alike. But then the human evolved. You learned. And what you had previously taken for granted, your prejudicial nature turned against. What you didn't understand, you begun to fear. You took your tools and your fire and drove us from the land. Where do you think this is, Ventus? Where hours seem like moments? Where the sky remains dark despite dawn?"
Ventus's wide eyes widened even further, if that was even possible. "What?" he muttered more to himself than to the beast holding him in stranglehold.
It seemed amused by the look of loss in the blond face, but Terra crossed him arms over his chest. A manner Ventus had witnessed countless times before. It read 'listen to me, for I am right about this'. Yet this time the gesture only hurt him. It wasn't Terra! More like a cruel mockery of Terra. "Do you think this is your world you're dwelling in?"
"Let me go! Please..." Ventus's choked voice begged, "I won't say a word, I promise…!"
"Oh, we know you won't," Terra smiled, and Ventus shivered. Terra's smiles were soft and honest. This was cold, cruel and threatening. It stung him worse than those claws ever could.
"Wha- what do you want?"
"Revenge, eventually. But for now, we'll be satisfied with these bodies," smirked the raven. The blond looked so lost. Desperate, scared and confused. It was almost pitiful. Almost.
"You don't understand anything, do you, Ventus? This forest, it gives and takes. Binds us here. In order for us to leave," the raven's smirk spread, baring pointed teeth, "others will have to stay."
Ventus froze. A flare of rage burst into flames inside him, pushing aside his fear. "So you killed them… to buy yourselves a ticket out?! You… used them like that?!" It was choked, but it was clearly a snarl. He had bared his own teeth, and was now openly glaring.
It seemed to surprise the creatures. "Tch, looks like you're not as dumb as you seem, after all," the raven sneered, but it was less confident. Taken aback.
"That's your excuse? You scum! You- you deserved to be driven from daylight! You belong to hell!" Ventus spat out.
In a blink of an eye, Ventus found himself being struck against the stone again; a small yelp tore out. Terra had crossed the distance in less than an instant, his snarling face inches from Ventus's. "Do not speak of hell you know nothing about, human child. You think we like it here? Imprisoned in eternal night like this?" Ventus was blinking rapidly, settling into a defiant glare. "It should have been us out there, cultivating the land and creating empires. Your kind ripped us of our future. But fear not, human child, there will be a time when our kind will have revenge. As long as humanity as you know it has existed, our kind have walked amongst you. There are hundreds of thousands of us amongst you, and your kind will never know. Not until the day we take back what is rightfully ours."
Ventus couldn't help a shuddering gasp. His rage was dissolving, and the fear crept back. "Why me? Why us?" he croaked, voice strangled and strained.
"Lea told you. We need bodies. Yours happened to be available," Terra smirked. "I will be sure to tell my charming fiancee you said hi."
"No! No, please… let… go..." Ventus resumed his struggling but it was all for nothing. Terra's grip tightened to the brink of completely cutting his airway, quickly stilling him. The thumping of blood in his ears was so violently loud Ventus thought he'd go deaf.
"You're a chatty one, aren't you?" Lea sneered at him. His face was Lea's again, but those ocean eyes gleamed with the yellow within. "Now just be a good boy, and die!"
"No- uargh!" A jagged blade tore across his throat, and the thumping in his ears was silenced.