A/N: I'm just gonna keep right on going here… even though the chapter before this won't even release until tomorrow… but either way, I'm gonna pump this out now
Disclaimer: You know what sucks? An itchy bra, it really, really sucks…
The Taste of Copper
Vergil couldn't help the grin that split his face as he stalked forward toward the weak devil in the woods, it had come through the slip, he knew, Theuram had told him that he'd loosened the barriers just a little to give them something proper to hunt. He'd been surprised though when the older devil had commanded him to take on his demonic form
"I know that half blood can do this." He said and Vergil had acquiesced, and now he was surprised at how easy it was to hold onto the form with the smell of prey in his nose and adrenalin pumping thickly through his veins. This was fantastic! He let loose a low growl and the weak demon let out a screech, darting for cover as fast as it could. Vergil growled again, tempted to just teleport over to it, but Theuram had told him to keep it to his own claws and fangs only. When he'd asked why the devil said
"We learn to survive before we learn to live." Vergil understood this, somewhere, deep in his bones, it was like long forgotten instincts were raging to life. He surged forward, the hunger in his belly driving him forward, faster, faster… he leapt, his claws scraping along the flank of the demon, but not downing it yet… he snarled as he tumbled back to his feet. He heard a roar from Theuram and the demon darted back into his direction. He roared back, he didn't want any help! He could do this on his own! He tackled the demon viciously, tearing open its throat with his teeth alone. The blood gushed into his mouth with more ferocity than he expected and he jerked his head back in surprise. Theuram showed up then, his tail wrapping around the monster's hind leg before it could dart off on them.
"A devil's healing it very fast but doesn't work as efficiently as a humans'" he explained and Vergil nodded, though his instincts still wanted to just tackle the demon next to them he held himself in check, the knowledge could be just as interesting and satisfying as the taste of the monster that was held in their capture. "Wounds that are healed in this quick manner are often extremely weak points, take them out and you have yourself a kill." He explained and Vergil nodded, turning back to the demon, the wound he'd bit into its neck had stopped bleeding but he could still see the pulsing of the blood beneath the thin layer of skin, using his claws this time rather than his teeth he tore right through its neck, watching as the monster gave a final cry and collapsed on the ground, body giving a few final twitched before just giving up… Theuram gestured to the body.
"Your kill, you get the first taste." Vergil hesitated, he'd not thought about the fact that he would be expected to eat the monster as it was… he looked back up at the devil who was standing next to him.
"Did you not partake in hunts with your father?" Vergil paused, now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure that he and Dante had hunted down live animals as small children before… but he wasn't sure if they had eaten them… He took a deep breath and leaned down, tearing a chunk of the beast off in his bare teeth, and then chewed and swallowed, contemplating the whole thing as he did. It wasn't something he was used to but… it wasn't unpleasant… his stomach rumbled and he tore in with more gusto, giving in to the hunger beating in his stomach.
-Anagram-
When the two finished their meal the body of the monster disintegrated quickly, leaving nothing but wisps of smoke behind.
"Why does it… disappear?" Vergil asked slowly, still trying to pick up the demonic tongue with the ease that he knew he had spoken it as a child, it wasn't coming easily but it was getting there… that was for sure. Theuram smiled, clearly happy that he was trying to speak and ask questions despite having a very limited vocabulary.
"It's body goes back to the demonic realm when it dies, it didn't slip back as quickly as we were devouring it because… well that's just how it goes." He responded, Vergil nodded, for now satisfied with this answer. "Let's go back to the cabin, I believe I still have some stew over the fire." He said and Vergil shot him a confused look, slipping back into his human form out of habit
"Stew? But we just ate…" he said, Theuram gestured at his human body
"Yes and you are still half human, you still need what a human needs, as well as what a devil needs you need to hunt and kill but you also need your fruits and vegetables." He laughed at Vergil's expression "Don't think that I don't know what a human needs, I've dropped in on their society enough, watched them long enough to know what they physically need at the very least, besides, I am perfectly allowed to enjoy the wonderful food that this world has to offer." It was Vergil's turn to laugh, the idea of Theuram just walking down a street as he was now was just amusing. He knew that nearly all devils worth even a spit were able to create their own human guises but he didn't know what Theuram's looked like and was only able to picture the purple devil walking down the street, tail swinging in time to a local music shop's beat… he laughed harder.
"What's so funny?" the devil demanded, when Vergil didn't respond he sighed and said
"You are going to be a handful aren't you hatchling…?"
A/N: Yup!
Till next time,
-Winged Element
