Wow.
Over 8,000 words in a single chapter? Well, this is new. Explains why it took me three days to create and revise it.
Oh, and before I forget: yes, it is TOTALLY possible to gain a disability by starving the brain of oxygen. I believe it would take a very close call, where the person just barely manages to live through it. Also, Ryca found himself underground and in a coffin for a few hours. I think that counts for psychological trauma. (Then again, I got the idea from something I found on a wiki about zombies :P)
So, enjoy!
"Okay, that should be good. We should be good here. This is a good place. We shall be safe here."
Zacyr grinned as Ryca stopped within a clearing. As Sarysi, Tachine, and Kshtsi entered the clearing Zacyr grinned. Ryca smiled at Zacyr expectantly, and Zacyr grinned as he said what he always said to Ryca. "So get drawing already!"
Ryca's eyes lit up with energy as he dashed over to a good-sized patch of dirt. After taking the arrow Zacyr had given him out of his pack, Ryca was soon hard at work with a drawing. As Zacyr watched, remembering all the good times Ryca and he had had, he was suddenly aware of Tachine trying to get his attention. "Hmm?"
Tachine seemed nervous, brushing her long red hair back as she looked past Zacyr at Ryca. Zacyr was quite startled to find Kshtsi just as nervous, although Sarysi seemed to be accepting of Ryca. Eventually, Tachine gulped. "So let me get this sorted out. He has a disability that causes him to just . . . stop making sense whenever he gets excited?"
Zacyr found a slight smile coming to his lips as he leaned against a tree. "That's one way to say it. It's more that he unconsciously assumes that we know what he's speaking about. As such, he'll start speaking about 'them', 'that', 'this', or 'it'. It makes it really difficult to understand him, but it's not because he wants to say it like that. That's why he always says something so many different ways, that way the person can compare the ways that he's saying it and try to make sense of it. I figured out that if Ryca's basing it off of something he's drawn he is capable of truly saying what he wants too. He's actually smarter than I am. Ryca just has a hard time explaining himself to other people."
Tachine and Kshtsi seemed quite confused, but before they could say anything Ryca piped up. "Okay, I'm ready! It's finished! I can explain it now! I'm ready to explain it!"
Zacyr chuckled as he walked over to Ryca. While his tendency to repeat himself came in handy with larger, more complex sentences, it also backfired whenever the message was simple enough for him to say. As always, Ryca cleared his throat before he went into 'explanation mode', as Zacyr liked to call it. Zacyr used that time to look at Ryca's drawing, and was surprised to find a large number of block-like structures there. Ah, so it was the drawing of a city.
Once Ryca's explanation mode was ready, he began the explanation. "Okay, so this here is the city of Wralb. It's not far away from us. Now, I'll be blunt right now because time is short. There is a civil war going on in Wralb right now."
Zacyr cocked his head. He had learned long ago that Ryca could answer comments in-between explanations as well, so he felt no trouble with interrupting. "Who are the combatants?"
He couldn't have been more surprised when two antennae grew out of Ryca's head. Ryca's pupils grew, as did his eyes, until Zacyr found himself looking at a person with what resembled a beetle's head. He couldn't believe it. Ryca was a +Anima? As Ryca let his +Anima traits recede, Zacyr almost swore. He didn't even need to hear what the other side was composed of. It was +Anima versus humans, again? He was getting sick of that. "This is +Anima versus humans, Zacyr. Now I know you have questions, but can you please hold them until the end of the explanation?"
Zacyr gave Ryca a slight nod. Ryca returned the gesture before drawing a circle around a good portion of the northern part of the city. "This right here is the +Anima side, our side. We've got a small sort of village going here. I don't know the precise number of +Anima here, but it's in the hundreds."
As Zacyr watched, Ryca then encircled a good-sized portion of the southern part of the city. "This right here is the territory of the human side, which you four almost entered. That's why we had to move away from the path, we were in their territory. Now, you likely are confused as to how we knew you four were coming."
Zacyr and his group nodded at Ryca's question. Ryca smiled as he drew an arrow into the city from the human side, likely to signify the path that they had been on. "Earlier today, three +Anima tried to enter the city via the human side. It took a bit of luck and a few chances, but we managed to get them over to our side. They introduced themselves as Edreg, Kesi, and Dancing Shadow, and they asked if you were in the city, Zacyr."
Zacyr was shocked. Kshtsi had told Zacyr that Edreg had changed his mind about Zacyr, but Zacyr didn't really think they'd see Edreg again. He had assumed Edreg was just going to use the 'looking' for Zacyr to get the hell out of the area. Well, that would be an interesting meeting.
That was, of course, assuming that Zacyr's group was going to enter the city. The more Zacyr heard, the more he wanted to get away from the city limits before they could get dragged into this fight. Once he realized Ryca was waiting for Zacyr to focus, Zacyr apologized. Ryca smiled before he looked back at the dirt. "The +Anima side was excited to hear that more +Anima were coming, but unfortunately for us the human side heard us as well. They sent out a fighter named Ace to intercept your group and deny the +Anima side any new fighters. Unfortunately for them, they didn't realize what they were dealing with."
Ryca smiled at Zacyr, which got Zacyr to smile back. Once he did, Ryca continued his explanation. "The human side prizes those that use bow-and-arrows, because few +Anima can counter a long-ranged attack. We've got a few +Anima that can, don't get me wrong, but overall most of us can't. What you did Zacyr was actually a really good thing, and it would help the +Anima side warm up to you."
Zacyr was deeply shocked at what Ryca just said. Was Ryca actually expecting them to enter the war? "Hold it. I don't like where this is going. When did we say that we'd enter this war? I don't ever remember you trying to force me to do something before, are you actually saying that we have to enter this war?"
Ryca immediately blushed before brushing his hair back. Zacyr recognized this gesture. Ryca always did this when he was upset. "N-no, I don't want you to enter it! You don't understand, they will make you do it! And if they learn about this then they won't let you do anything but it!"
Zacyr flinched at the sudden outburst, although he had to admit it was common from Ryca. If he felt time was of the essence, he would try not to draw in order to get his point across. Still, if Zacyr understood this correctly . . . "Alright. Thank you, Ryca. Kshtsi, Tachine, Sarysi, we need to get a move-on if we don't want to get dragged into this war."
Without waiting for them to respond, Zacyr turned and began to walk towards the forest. He was not going to let himself get dragged into a +Anima only place and be the odd one out AGAIN. But as he was about to reach the edge of the forest, he suddenly noticed that Kshtsi, Sarysi, and Tachine weren't following him. He turned to see that they were looking at the forest behind them. Zacyr cursed as he reached for his bow, he was going to do whatever it took to stay out of this war.
Zacyr's hand was just touching his bow when he heard footsteps approaching from behind him. He didn't have time to do anything before talons dug into his back, slicing right through the bow and raking his flesh. It hurt like hell, and as Zacyr doubled over in pain he heard quite a few cries of shock, more than there should have been.
"Found him."
Zacyr soon felt that same clawed foot lightly tap him on the back. The pain was aggravating, and that light tap caused Zacyr to lose his balance. Just as he thought he was going to introduce his face to the ground, two arms caught him and helped him steady himself.
"Damn it, Oroco! ALIVE AND UNHARMED! What part of that didn't you underssstand?"
Wait a second, Zacyr knew that voice. He looked up, and weakly grinned as he found Tersil looking at him with worried eyes. Zacyr couldn't believe it, Tersil was caught up in this war too? So what about-
To Zacyr's shock, he soon heard another familiar voice as bandages were quickly put over the wounds. "You alright, Zacyr?"
In spite of the situation, Zacyr chuckled before looking up at Xorada. "I just got maimed, Xorada. Just because it's a common occurrence for me doesn't stop it from hurting like hell."
Xorada gave a slight grin, but soon Zacyr heard a chuckle. A cruel male voice came from behind Zacyr, the owner quite clearly feeling no guilt towards his actions. "I think you'll live, you baby."
Zacyr gave a slight grin as he heard the footsteps getting closer. Zacyr feigned that he was having a hard time moving, and waited patiently for the footsteps to get in range. As the +Anima walk towards Zacyr, he spoke. "Aw, look at the little baby. Don't cry, now. I'm sure-"
There! He had just gotten close enough! Zacyr quickly turned around and rammed his knee hard into the speaker's groin, using the momentum of the turn to power his strike. He was surprised to see that the +Anima had bird-legs that resembled elongated, black chicken-legs or something. As the attack connected, the bird +Anima cut off with a yelp, and soon tears appeared in the bird +Anima's eyes as he hit the ground and curled up into the fetal position.
Now that Zacyr was able to look the +Anima over, he was surprised to notice the +Anima's grey hair and brown eyes. That was a combination he had never seen before. He looked rather muscular, but not exactly skinny. Unlike most the bird +Anima Zacyr had seen, this one had no wings whatsoever. The bird +Anima angrily spoke to Zacyr, clearly attempting to sound threatening. Unfortunately for the bird +Anima, his voice was several octaves too high to sound intimidating.
"F-f-fucker!"
Zacyr simply grinned as he put his hands to his hips. "I think you'll live, you baby."
To Zacyr's surprise, laughter came from the forest. A few other +Anima soon entered the clearing. While it wasn't an insane amount, it was enough that Zacyr realized he, Kshtsi, Tachine, and possibly Sarysi had no chance to escape. There were quite a few interesting forms, from what appeared to be an eel-like +Anima all the way to a +Anima that was covered in bizarre scales that reminded Zacyr of a pine-cone.
However, Zacyr's attention was grabbed by one +Anima in specific. This one had a good portion of his upper body changed into that of a hyena. The +Anima's spotted fur stopped at about his chest, and Zacyr got the impression that the +Anima was grinning at him. "I can see why you're popular among +Anima."
Zacyr frowned as he looked around. He, Ryca, Sarysi, Tachine, and Kshtsi were completely surrounded. Ryca began trying to say something, but he was too stressed to truly express himself. "I had it under control, it didn't need this! I didn't need this! Why did he send all of you to do this?"
The hyena +Anima raised a paw, and Ryca immediately went quiet. As all the other +Anima crossed their arms, the hyena +Anima raised his head to the sky and gave a loud cry that almost sounded like a 'whoop'. It was only when they heard what sounded like some sort of frog croaking that Zacyr realized the hyena was giving a signal. This was bad.
The hyena +Anima cleared his throat before addressing Ryca. "Unibas was certain you wouldn't attempt to bring Zacyr to the city. After you left Ryca, Unibas told us to follow you. If we saw you trying to get Zacyr away from the city then we should intervene."
Ryca deeply shocked Zacyr when he gave a noise that sounded like a cross between a whimper and a yelp, and soon continued to make that noise. While everyone else looked quite surprised, Zacyr knew exactly what that noise meant. Ryca only made this noise when he was absolutely terrified. And that meant that Ryca believed his life was in danger. Zacyr immediately put himself in-between Ryca and the hyena +Anima. "I won't let you harm Ryca!"
Zacyr was quite surprised at the silence that followed his words. The hyena +Anima looked extremely shocked, but Zacyr refused to move out of the way. After a few seconds passed, the hyena +Anima abruptly grinned. "Ryca and Zacyr, the two of you are overreacting. We certainly don't believe Ryca should be harmed for attempting to defend you, and Unibas agrees. But I must say . . . this is quite a touching scene. You are quite clearly willing to use yourself as a shield for Ryca's safety."
Zacyr sighed in relief, and Ryca stopped making his 'terrified' sound. The hyena +Anima practically beamed at Zacyr, which Zacyr took to be a good sign. For a few moments the hyena +Anima simply stood like, but then he abruptly shook his head. "Uh-so, moving on. Unibas is our leader, and he wishes to speak to you Zacyr. However, there is a problem."
Zacyr cocked his head, and the hyena +Anima gave a sympathetic grin. "Unibas specifically chose each and every member in this search group, Zacyr. Most of us were chosen because we don't hold grudges against humans, although Oroco was chosen because he holds a grudge against humans. We have over a hundred +Anima in the city Zacyr, and most of them share Oroco's beliefs. Unibas lives deep in our territory. While we +Anima do listen to Unibas, many of the fighters will allow their grudge against humans to overrule Unibas. It would be dangerous for you to walk the entire way there, and it certainly won't make for a good first impression."
Zacyr flinched when Sarysi spoke up, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Oh, come on. Are you looking at me? I used to be the champion of a +Anima fight ring! If the other +Anima try to attack Zacyr, heads will roll."
The hyena +Anima gave a slight grin towards Sarysi. "I have no doubt that you are a force to be reckoned with, but so are the +Anima that inhabit the city. Well over half of them were also part of the +Anima fight ring. Do you really want to risk them attacking as a group, overwhelming us with sheer numbers, and watching as Zacyr gets torn apart?"
Sarysi flinched, and Zacyr had to admit he was quite nervous at that prospect. "So-uh, let's get back to the explanation."
The hyena +Anima chuckled before he nodded. "Alright. So taking the road is not an option for you, Zacyr. Fortunately, there is a way to get to the city that most +Anima can't access."
Zacyr frowned, but when the sound of wings began to approach the clearing Zacyr suddenly understood. "I'm going to be flown there?"
The hyena +Anima nodded, and a black-winged bird +Anima landed neatly in the clearing. She looked to be around Zacyr's age. She had a slender build about her, and black hair that reached her shoulders. Her arms had turned into wings and large talons took the place of her feet.
The girl turned to face Zacyr, and Zacyr was surprised to find markings on the girl's face that reminded him of a peregrine falcon's face. Her yellow eyes seemed to sparkle with glee as she eyed Zacyr. Soon the girl cleared her throat. "Alright, you know the plan?"
Zacyr nodded, and the girl beamed at him. "Wonderful! We need to do this quickly, then."
Without another word, the girl leapt into the air and began flapping her wings again. She surprised Zacyr when she swung her talons towards him, and Zacyr cringed as he waited for the pain. He was imagining how painful it would be to have those talons digging into his shoulders.
He was surprised when the girl instead latched on to his upper arms, the shape of her talons allowing her to grip him tightly without actually digging into his skin. She must have done this quite a few times. Zacyr didn't have long to think about it before his feet no longer touched the ground, and he found the wind rushing past him. The girl quickly gained a good deal of altitude, and she was fast. Soon Zacyr could no longer see the clearing they had been in.
Quite a few thoughts were going through his head as the falcon +Anima flew through the air with him. Besides for the soreness in his shoulders caused by her talons, the pain caused by Oroco's attack, and the fact that they were going to an area where quite a few people would want to kill Zacyr, the flight was kind of nice. He liked the breeze that he felt, although he would have liked to have been able to see where they were going. The falcon +Anima had picked him up so he was facing behind her, so he couldn't really see when they reached the city.
Overall, the flight ended all too soon for his liking. Maybe it was the speed at which the girl had flown, or maybe they had been rather close to the city from the start, but in very little time he found the ground coming up to meet them. That must have meant that they were coming in to land. Even here, the girl showed clear experience, slowing down just enough so they wouldn't crash into the ground but not so fast that it would have put unbearable stress on Zacyr's shoulders.
Zacyr couldn't help but cringe when they got near the ground. Now that he was so low to the ground, he could see that they were landing in a large yard-like area, and that most of the area around the yard was crowded with +Anima. Almost every single one of them were in their +Anima form, and well over half of them were also glaring at Zacyr. Some eyed him like he was insignificant. Most of the other +Anima eyed him as if they were having difficulty stopping themselves from rushing forwards and attacking him.
The falcon +Anima skillfully turned Zacyr around to face forwards before finally setting him down. Zacyr was quite startled when he saw what had been behind him. This had to have once been a lord's mansion, although it appeared only the entrance was truly used now. Standing outside of the entrance was a man with the head of a jackal, who was looking at Zacyr with a warm smile. This must have been Unibas.
At this man's sides were two more +Anima. The +Anima to Unibas' right was female, and wore a strange grey one-piece garment. Her eyes were yellow, and her surprisingly short hair was colored grey. Instead of human ears, she currently boasted a large pair of jackrabbit ears which twitched at the slightest sound. Zacyr noticed that her legs looked like a cross between human legs and rabbit legs, and were covered in short fur.
The +Anima to Unibas' left was quite different. He looked abnormally strong, with powerful arm muscles. He wore little more than a loincloth, putting his six-pack on display for the world. He looked older than most of the other +Anima, but that may have been because of the short black beard. It was impossible to tell where his beard ended and his sideburns began, and from where his sideburns ended and his actual hair began, giving him something that looked similar to a mane. Unlike just about any of the other +Anima, this one wasn't in their +Anima form. Zacyr could only guess that this man's +Anima mark was hidden underneath his hair somewhere, because he couldn't see it.
"Zacyr Waror."
Forcing himself to focus, Zacyr looked at Unibas. Unibas himself looked quite a bit more pleasant than the other +Anima did, and was quite clearly capable of addressing Zacyr as an equal. Zacyr had to admit that he was impressed Unibas knew his last name, but he also noticed that Unibas had mispronounced it. "I apologize, but the W is silent. It's pronounced 'Acyr aror'."
Zacyr was surprised by the uproar the observing +Anima made. "It's not your place to tell Unibas what he can and can't call you, human!"
"Unibas, please give us a moment to teach him to respect +Anima before you speak to him!"
Zacyr cringed as he realized just how dire the situation was. They wanted to attack because Zacyr had simply corrected Unibas on how to say his name? Even when Unibas called for silence, the +Anima continued to shout insults at Zacyr, as well as plead for the chance to 'teach him his place'. After a few attempts by Unibas to calm down the enraged +Anima, he sighed.
As Unibas whispered to the +Anima to his left, Zacyr flinched as the falcon +Anima landed next to him. She rolled her eyes as the large crowd of +Anima continued to shout. When the jackrabbit +Anima to Unibas' right turned to her human form and covered her ears, the falcon +Anima spoke to Zacyr. "You'll want to cover your ears."
Zacyr was surprised, but considering that the falcon +Anima was one of few that seemed to treat him as equal Zacyr complied. He was surprised when the +Anima to Unibas' left transformed, and his face became that of a strange monkey Zacyr had never seen before. As the monkey +Anima soon grew a long tail the falcon +Anima covered her ears with her wings. Unibas soon came out of his own +Anima form, and covered his own ears with his hands. The monkey +Anima nodded, and took a deep breath.
Now, Zacyr knew something was going to happen. Considering that the proper way to prepare was to cover one's ears, he also realized that it was probably going to have to do with sound. But as the monkey +Anima's mouth went into an O shape, Zacyr was quite startled to hear a sound that seemed similar to a frog's croaking. However, it was the decibel of the cry that really got Zacyr's attention. Even with his ears covered, the call was loud enough that it was quite painful.
Zacyr looked around to see all the +Anima quickly doubling over and covering their ears. While he saw many of their mouths moving, he couldn't hear what they were saying over the sheer strength of the monkey +Anima's call. Only when it stopped did Zacyr dare to take his hands off of his ears, and he was relieved to find none of the +Anima speaking. But how did a monkey +Anima produce a call that loud?
"Howler monkey."
Zacyr immediately turned to face the falcon +Anima, who smiled at him. "The male howler monkey has the loudest call out of the animal kingdom. It's Jackie's job to listen for signals from +Anima, and Rhewol then returns a confirmation that they heard the signal. It also serves a few other purposes."
Ah, okay. Zacyr had never heard of a howler monkey before, but now that he had heard its call, the name made quite a bit of sense. Unibas soon got Zacyr's attention again, having transformed his head back into that of a jackal. "I apologize for that. This is a very unusual event here, and even +Anima are prone to overreacting when something unusual happens."
Zacyr found himself giving a small smile. "I understand."
"Like hell you do!"
"A human can't understand a +Anima!"
Zacyr sighed as the +Anima again began to insult him. This time though, Unibas quickly let out a loud bark before the +Anima became too loud, and they all immediately quieted down. For a moment Unibas scanned the crowds, giving them a stern gaze which got quite a few of the +Anima to shudder. Zacyr couldn't help but grin as he was reminded of Senri. If Senri and Unibas got into a staring contest, who would win?
"Zacyr"
Zacyr immediately focused to find Unibas looking at him, a look of resignation on his face. "I wished to address you before the +Anima, under the belief that they could control themselves. It appears I have made a mistake, and that the +Anima wish to prove the rumor that all +Anima are savages. In order for me to have a proper conversation with you, we shall have to speak within the mansion."
Unibas soon turned and opened the mansion door before looking at Zacyr. "Come inside, so you can speak to me on equal terms."
Zacyr couldn't help but sigh in relief. He had to admit that he kind of liked this Unibas person. At least Unibas could recognize a bad situation and rectify it. But as he started to walk towards the mansion, he heard one of the +Anima swear. "Unibas, you shouldn't be alone with a human! How do we know this wasn't his plan in the beginning, to get you alone with him? He's one of them! I won't let this happen!"
Zacyr sighed as he turned to find a +Anima charging at him. This +Anima looked to be a raccoon +Anima, although the only things he really got were the facial markings and claws. Okay, how to handle this situation . . . he couldn't retaliate at all, or the massive group of +Anima would take it as an act of aggression. He couldn't flee because there was no place to go but the mansion. Running to the mansion would be stupid, because that would certainly be taken as proof that what the +Anima was saying was true, and Zacyr would probably die before Unibas could intervene.
It looked like the only real chance Zacyr had would be to dodge the strikes from this +Anima and wait for someone else to intervene. Of course, there was the quite real possibility that no one was going to intervene, or that this +Anima was faster than Zacyr. Nonetheless, it was the only real chance Zacyr had. He sighed as he braced, still trying to figure out what he was supposed to do.
He was quite shocked when the falcon +Anima took flight. In just a few seconds Zacyr felt her talons again grab his arms, and before the +Anima got anywhere near them Zacyr found himself being flown towards the mansion. Unibas gave a slight grin as he opened one of the large doors up, and soon Zacyr felt the falcon +Anima let go. Zacyr was sent into a tumble, and passed right through the mansion doors. Zacyr continued to tumble for a little bit, but eventually came to a stop. Overall, he wasn't that hurt.
As Zacyr got to his feet, he was surprised to see the falcon +Anima flying towards the raccoon +Anima, her talons extended. Unibas quickly closed the door, and that shut out almost all the noise from the +Anima. Before either Unibas or Zacyr could say anything, they heard muffled screaming coming from the raccoon +Anima. In spite of the situation, Zacyr gave a slight grin, as did Unibas.
However, Unibas soon cleared his throat and allowed his +Anima traits to recede. Soon, Zacyr found himself facing a man with blonde hair and kind blue eyes. Unibas smiled as he looked Zacyr over. "I'm quite surprised, Zacyr. You look quite a bit like Ryca, just with a different hair color and eye color. Are you two related?"
Zacyr grinned as he shook his head. "Not that I know of."
Unibas shrugged, a slight smile on his face. Soon he and Zacyr were walking through the halls of the mansion. Zacyr was quite surprised to see how old the mansion looked. While it was clearly being repaired wherever parts were going bad, it was just as clear that it had stood here for some time. After a bit of sightseeing, Zacyr heard Unibas speak to him. "I am sure you have questions Zacyr. If you want to ask, I shall see if I can answer them."
Zacyr sighed as he thought of the problem. "I've heard of arguments between +Anima and humans, but I never saw it brought to this level. What is more, I'm quite shocked at the sheer number of +Anima. I thought they were rather rare."
Unibas sighed as he nodded. "One explanation can give you the answer to both your questions. Considering Tersil and Dancing Shadow have ties to you, I expect you know of the +Anima fight ring?"
Zacyr flinched, but nodded. "Sarysi came from there too. Apparently we were walking by a caravan that was relocating her to a new city, and we ended up helping her out."
Unibas immediately looked at Zacyr with a sparkle in his eyes. "Well, I was not aware of that. Not only do you have nine +Anima that no doubt believe you should live, you even freed one from the +Anima fight ring."
Zacyr blushed slightly as he looked the other way. "It wasn't as grand as you make it sound. I would more classify it that I was worried for Tachine and Kshtsi, and that Sarysi saved our asses when it was going badly."
Unibas gave a grin as the two of them continued to walk through the halls. "Not much is as grand as it sounds. However, you still showed that you care for +Anima. This information may be useful in attempting to get the +Anima to warm up to you. For now, I shall return to my previous explanation.
"Wralb, the city we are in, used to have the largest +Anima fight ring in all of Astaria. Over a hundred +Anima were forced to fight to the death in a large cave underneath the city. Almost everyone in the city was an avid watcher of these fights, and many of these buildings used to have underground paths into the fight ring. I myself was fortunate, and was instead the slave of the very lord that used to reside in this mansion.
"Not long ago, the +Anima managed to escape. Enraged at their treatment, these +Anima quickly used those same tunnels to enter people's homes and slaughter them. It didn't take long before my lord was killed in much the same manner. While I had actually been on good terms with him, I myself was quickly chosen to be the leader of the +Anima.
"The +Anima fight ring workers quickly wizened up to what had happened, and retaliated by forcing the cave to collapse in on itself. Over time, citizens either chose to side with the humans, turned into +Anima, or were killed by one of the sides until it was only us and the +Anima fight ring workers. Both sides have openly declared war, and we've been fighting ever since."
Ah. "Alright, that grudge makes sense now. I'd be a little angry too."
Unibas nodded solemnly. "Many of the +Anima citizens were part of that fight ring, and as such they don't listen well to orders. They've made progress, but I still often have +Anima that ignore my orders, and cost us dearly because of it. Any +Anima that enters the city, as well as any human, is forced to join their respective side or die. Usually, that would mean that you would be killed or 'rescued' by the human side. However, you also are on bad terms with them now."
Zacyr gulped as he made the connection. "Someone saw what I did to that boy who threatened my group?"
Unibas nodded. "You are correct. One of their spies saw you kill one of their men. While the +Anima side is quite lenient with that, considering that most of us have grown to be accustomed to killing others, the human side is angry. What is more, the boy you killed was one of their better fighters. Overall, you have proven to them that you side with us +Anima."
Zacyr frowned as he shook his head. "I don't want to choose sides. I don't want to be on either side, I was perfectly content with traveling with my group."
Unibas gave a sad smile towards Zacyr. "I understand that. However, many of the +Anima here do not. They want you dead. But I will not allow that, not when you have done so much for so many +Anima. Many of the +Anima I have put high up in the chain of command were never part of the fight ring, but simply +Anima that were passing by and dragged into the war. Most of them agree with me that you have proven yourself to be friendly towards +Anima. However, that naturally leaves a problem. The fighter +Anima are not happy with the idea of a human living among us, and if we put you in a powerful position, I have little doubt the fighter +Anima would rebel."
Zacyr gulped at that. "So what is going to happen to me?"
He was surprised when Unibas gave a much more sincere smile than he had before. "Make no mistake, you shall not be harmed. We have many small jobs that we can have you do, jobs that won't draw the attention of the +Anima who dislike you. I have thought long and hard during the time you were approaching, and I believe I have suitable living arrangements which would require minimal contact with the +Anima who are hostile with you."
Zacyr cocked his head, but Unibas didn't appear to notice. It looked more like he was in thought about something, and after a bit he nodded to himself. "We sleep within the buildings, using them as our homes. Any +Anima that enters the city automatically gains a home, and if they come in groups they will all be put in the same home. However, this will not hold true for you."
Zacyr flinched, but Unibas spoke quickly. "Don't get me wrong, your friends are welcome to visit you at any time and will be encouraged to. But there's too much risk involved with you sleeping in the same area. I can already tell you that someone would try to sneak in and assassinate you, and of course there would be many other ones that could possibly plan a large-scale assassination. This would put your friends in danger. However, we can't let you sleep alone for reasons I believe are quite obvious."
Zacyr nodded at that. "I wouldn't live through the first night."
Unibas nodded with a sympathetic smile on his face. "But I believe I've found my answer."
Zacyr cocked his head, but at that moment they both heard flapping headed in their direction. They turned to see the falcon +Anima flying towards them, looking rather annoyed. "We're running out of time. The +Anima outside are growing restless, and there's no telling what they will do."
Unibas sighed before shaking his head. "Sometimes they embarrass me. Alright, I'll go and speak to them. Can I trust you to bring Zacyr to his new home?"
Zacyr flinched, but the girl immediately smiled and nodded. "Certainly. Who is going to be his bunk-mate?"
Unibas sighed before he turned around. As he began walking back towards where they had come in, he gave his answer. "Lexa."
Zacyr immediately began to wonder about this. Not because he recognized the name, no. He had never heard of a person named Lexa before. However, the falcon +Anima immediately paled and took a few steps back when she heard Unibas' answer. "L-Lexa? Why her? A-are you sure that's the best idea?"
Unibas looked back at them for a moment. During that moment, Zacyr was surprised by the look in Unibas' eyes. Zacyr just couldn't read Unibas' expression. "Don't try to persuade me otherwise, Lerigna. I've put a great amount of thought into this decision."
The falcon +Anima looked like she wanted to argue, but she soon sighed and looked away from Unibas. "I . . . alright, Unibas."
While Zacyr was certainly confused by this event, he didn't have long to ponder it. Soon Zacyr found himself being flown through the mansion. Soon Lerigna flew Zacyr out of the mansion through a broken window. After a few seconds of silence, Lerigna spoke to Zacyr. "Look, I . . . whatever happens, Unibas knows what he's doing. Don't take it personally. I . . . why the hell would . . . b-but his plans always work out, so I guess there must be a reason, but . . ."
Zacyr gulped as they began to descend. "Who's Lexa, and why are you so nervous?"
He immediately regretted his question. While Lerigna didn't grow offended by the question, she clearly was nervous. At Zacyr's question, her talons gripped him just a little tighter, and it quite certainly hurt. "She . . . you'll see soon enough. I-I don't know how to explain it."
Zacyr raised an eyebrow, but he didn't have long to question it. Lerigna set him down in front of a large building that overall looked rather well-kept. What exactly was the problem? Zacyr looked up at Lerigna, and noticed her eyeing the house with what was clearly fear. "On the second floor, down the hallway . . . well, you'll know which room is hers. I-uh, I've got somewhere I need to be, so I can't lead you inside right now. S-see you around!"
Without even giving Zacyr a chance to say goodbye Lerigna quickly took wing and flew off into the distance. Well, that wasn't a good sign. For a while Zacyr stood there, trying to figure out just what was going on. Eventually, he sighed. He was in an area where just about everyone wanted to kill him, how bad could this Lexa be?
Zacyr soon opened up the door, having to fight back a shiver as the door creaked ominously. Why was he so nervous? He had to calm down, and as such started taking some deep breaths. It wouldn't do to get worked up over nothing, and would likely leave a bad impression. Once Zacyr felt calm enough, he looked around.
He was surprised to see that this building actually looked to be in good shape. It suddenly struck Zacyr that this must have been an inn at some point. There were quite a few rooms here, and he had to guess that they were all empty. It looked like this place could actually hold a lot of people, yet this 'Lexa' was the only person here?
No, he had to calm down. Not everything was as dangerous as it appeared, he had to remember that. As Zacyr began climbing the stairs, he forced his thoughts to turn towards Lerigna. Had it just been him, or had Lerigna been looking at him rather fondly? The thought brought a grin to Zacyr's face. If Lerigna was in love with him then Sarysi would be pissed.
Zacyr was determined to not be afraid of this Lexa. He was determined that, no matter what, Lexa couldn't be all that bad. But when he got to the top of the stairs and looked down the hallway, he froze. There was spider silk on the door at the end of the hallway! Oh, shit! Was Lexa a spider +Anima? It couldn't be, th-that just wasn't fair! This was bad, but . . . n-no, he was overreacting. It was probably his god-damn arachnophobia kicking in. After all, he had been a spider +Anima at one point and as far as he could tell, he wasn't exactly the first thing that came to mind when someone thought 'scary' or 'evil'. Well, he hoped he wasn't.
It took a while for Zacyr to walk over to that door. He tried to think of anything else, but his thoughts invariably were forced back to him trying to imagine what he was about to see. Eventually he forced himself to speed up. The images forming in his head, of what Lexa was and possible reasons that Lerigna was scared of her, only proved that Zacyr had one hell of an imagination. Once he finally got to that door he knocked on the wall. He sure as hell wasn't going to knock on a door covered in spider silk!
It wasn't long before a rough female voice came from the room. There was something strange about it, like something was partially inhibiting her ability to speak. "It's open."
Zacyr gulped, but after a few deep breaths he reached for the doorknob and forced himself to open the door.
He was rather confused at the room he saw. Lexa clearly liked her silk, because over half of the room was covered in it. It was just as clear that Lexa liked the dark. The lighting in here was awful. While there was a window, Lexa had put in black drapes clearly designed to keep the light at a minimum even during the day. Overall, Zacyr had to admit that Lexa sure knew how to scare someone.
But what was missing from the room was another figure. Zacyr was alone, as far as he could see in the little light that got through the drapes. But . . . that couldn't be, hadn't he heard someone just respond from inside this room?
"You must be Zacyr."
Zacyr flinched at the statement. What really surprised him was that it was coming from behind him. But when he turned around, he didn't actually see anyone. Okay . . . He even looked up at the wall, but all he could see was a bright-red hourglass drawn on a dimly lit wall. The hourglass drawing was pretty big, although what it meant Zacyr didn't know. It was a little bit before he remembered that Lexa had stated his name. "Y-yeah, I'm Zacyr. Unibas told me"
Wait. Oh, no. This was bad. Zacyr gulped as he realized what he was looking at. What he had mistaken for a simple drawing now moved of its own accord, and began heading towards the floor. It took a while before Zacyr got his nerve back enough to speak, although his voice was starting to get high-pitched, and he started speaking faster. "He told me that I was to stay here when I wasn't helping with a job. I-I hope I'm n-not interrupting anything."
He still couldn't see Lexa clearly. It was too dark to really see her, although he could see the marking that must have been a part of her abdomen just fine. She didn't reply to his apology, and for a moment Zacyr felt an almost uncontrollable desire to flee. He knew he was shaking, but he kept trying to blame it on his arachnophobia.
"Zacyr, do you know what you are?"
Do you know what you are?
Oh god no! How did she know about that? How did she know about what Zacyr heard in the nightmare he had almost every time he fell asleep?
Do you know what you are? You are not my enemy. You are not a threat to me. YOU, ARE, MY, PREY!
Zacyr took one step back, unable to stop his shaking.
Do you know what you are?
Zacyr took another step back, unable to stop the words that were reverberating through his head. He couldn't hear anything but those words. He couldn't think about anything else. Sweat was pouring down his face as the entire area seemed to shift.
First, it was him in the bathroom during his dream, when his reflection grinned at him. Zacyr took another step back as his reflection put its hand on the glass. Then the area changed again, and he saw the massive spider walking out of his room. It looked at him, and it gave a sadistic grin.
That was all it took. Zacyr didn't know where he was anymore, all he knew was that he had the urge to turn around and run for his life.
Do you know what you are? You are not my enemy. You are not a threat to me.
Zacyr barely registered his location as he dashed down the stairs. For a moment, he wondered how there were stairs in his house, but that thought was forced out of his mind.
YOU, ARE, MY, PREY!
Zacyr was on the first floor, racing towards the door. It was only when he put his hand to the doorknob that he really even noticed he had bolted from Lexa's room. What was he doing? He had to calm down, he had to control himself!
The area around him solidified, although only partially. He wasn't in his room. This wasn't the house he had lived in for so long. This was the abandoned inn that Lexa lived in, and Zacyr had a hand on the doorknob of the very door that would lead outside.
While he still felt the urge to run - quite strongly, in fact - Zacyr instead did something else. He had no idea where the idea came from, and he had no idea why he did it. He brought his arm close to his face and opened his mouth. He then bit his own arm, hard. While it was a completely stupid idea that could only have been made by his own panicking mind, he was shocked when it worked. The pain of the bite snapped him out of his state of terror, and Zacyr soon unclenched his jaw and let his arm hang limply.
He took deep breaths as logic finally returned to his mind. No one could know of the nightmares he had. She must have meant something else, and Zacyr had just bolted for what was probably an innocent question. Damn it, he had never lost control of himself like that before.
Zacyr sighed as he rubbed his sore arm. It was only when he felt the liquid flowing down his arm that he was actually aware of it. He immediately looked at his arm, and couldn't have been more shocked when he saw two circular wounds on his arm, a bit in front of where the bite-mark from his earlier trick was.
It looked like he had been bitten by something with two large fangs. For a moment he wondered about it before remembering that he had other, more important things to think about. Maybe he had just scraped his arm against something while he was fleeing in terror, and the circular shape was just coincidence. After bandaging his arm, Zacyr sighed. He had to try to explain his actions to Lexa. He should have controlled himself better, damn it!
Zacyr turned around, and made for the stairs. How could he explain his actions? He needed time to come up with a believable excuse, but when he looked towards Lexa's door he was deeply shocked to find a person wearing a black cowl standing a bit outside the door. While most of her face was hidden by the hood of the cowl, she appeared to have a slight smirk on her face. More importantly, her hood was aimed in Zacyr's direction. She obviously could see him. Zacyr blushed, trying to find a good explanation for him freaking out. "I uh . . . s-sorry. I-I don't normally do that."
The woman's smirk grew just a bit. This time when she spoke her voice sounded slightly different. It was still rough, but no longer sounded like something was making it hard for her to speak. "You still going to live here?"
Zacyr nodded meekly, still thinking about what had happened mere moments beforehand. The woman surprised Zacyr by gracefully leaping over the railing and landing neatly on the first floor. Zacyr was completely shocked. Lexa's slower movements before had given him the misconception that she wasn't all that quick when it had come to moving. "Follow me."
Lexa turned and walked towards one of the doors Zacyr followed behind, still embarrassed that he had been so afraid beforehand. When they were about to pass one of the doors, Lexa turned and looked at Zacyr. "I could tell you not to come into this room, but curiosity is a bitch. It's probably best you learn from me what is in this room."
Zacyr gulped, but nodded. It took a bit, but Lexa soon turned the doorknob and opened the door. Zacyr was in no way prepared for the sight before him. There were quite a few people in here, all of them wrapped in so much spider silk that they had no chance to escape.
"I'm warning you right now, Zacyr. If you attempt to free any of them, then you will join them."
Zacyr gulped as one of the silk cocoons moved a bit, muffled shouting coming from inside. "These . . . these are prisoners of war?"
"No."
Zacyr looked at Lexa, who gave a slight smirk as she looked at the people wrapped in silk. "These are my meals."
There are so many things I could comment on here. Well . . . let's start with this.
I do understand that this chapter introduces a LOT of stuff, but I intend to explain the situation more clearly in later chapters. This one's SUPPOSED to go through a lot of things.
I have absolutely no idea how this chapter grew to over 8000 words. It honestly wasn't expected to grow this large, but . . . I kind of like it this way. I'll leave it at that for now.
