Chapter 8: Withdrawals
It's been a couple of weeks since Eli struck a deal with the King. Eli had met a few more Chimera Ants during his days at the palace. None of them were happy with Eli because of his deal. They were becoming irritable, and easily angered ever since they had to quit eating human flesh. One chimera named Hirin had an altercation with Eli. She had an ability that made her something called a nen exorcist. A nen exorcist's specialty is removing nen curses. Eli was optimistic and thought that maybe this could work, but before she could get anywhere near Eli, Shroud went into a rage, hitting her and knocking her away. Eli must have apologized at least a hundred times that day. Hirin, of course, wanted to kill Eli, but she wouldn't be able to, not with Shroud around. Now anytime Hirin is in the room with Eli, Shroud becomes angry. The others saw it fit that Hirin and Eli remained separated.
The next morning, Eli woke up to the sun once more. He walked out to the balcony, and once more, Pitou was outside. Pitou had always been standing on the balcony outside of Eli's room. Eli was just now realizing exactly why. "You're here again." Eli said. "I'm watching for intruders." Pitou said. "No, you're not." Pitou looked over to him, confused. "What are you talking about?" They were trying to play dumb. "Humans aren't as moronic as you think. I know the King asked you to spy on me." Pitou wanted to hide their surprise, but didn't do it well. Eli saw a slight twitch in their eye. He knew that he had figured them out. He tried to hide a smile of pride so he didn't insult Pitou. Pitou stepped to the other side of the balcony once more. They jumped back to the center of the palace and took their perch. "One of these days, I will get a normal conversation out of her." Eli said with a smile.
Eli left his room and went out into the palace to see what was going on. He was walking down the hall when he happened to pass by Cheetu. He was sitting against the wall, his arms crossed. Eli thought he could see him shivering for a brief moment. Cheetu looked like he hadn't slept in a couple of days, and he looked terrible. "Cheetu… are you… are you okay?" Eli asked, a little afraid of the answer. "Y-yeah, I'm fine… everything's fine!" He said, his eye getting twitchy. "You don't seem fine…" Cheetu suddenly stood up and grabbed Eli. "Of course, I'm not fine! I've hardly eaten in two weeks!" "What? Why?" Eli asked. "Everything tastes horrible! Nothing is as good as human." Cheetu was beginning to eye Eli hungrily. "I take it you're not the only one to feel this way?" Eli asked. "No, all of the chimeras are getting really hungry, and they don't want to eat anything else! I think I even saw the three elites get a little jittery." "Really?" "Yeah… this is terrible! We can't get rid of you and that parasite soon enough!" Cheetu said. He was shaking Eli around violently. "Calm down!" Eli objected. Cheetu stopped shaking him, but still kept a grip on his shoulders.
Eli looked at Cheetu and saw how desperate he was… Eli saw this as an opportunity. "Follow me to the kitchen." Eli said. Cheetu and Eli made their way to the kitchen. It was huge, and it was stocked with several high-end appliances. However, it didn't appear that the kitchen had been used in quite some time, other than Eli grabbing some of the canned foods to eat. "Has this place not been used? I haven't seen anyone come through here." Eli said. "Not since we took over. We don't cook the flesh that we eat… mostly." Cheetu said. "Raw human meat… appetizing." Eli made his way over to the freezer. It was a large walk-in freezer. Eli opened it up and was immediately met with a foul odor. The freezer had broken, and all of the food spoiled. Eli quickly shut the freezer before he got sick.
"That won't do." Eli said. "Won't do for what?" Cheetu asked. "For cooking. All of the food has spoiled." "You know how to cook?" "You don't?" Eli asked in surprise. Cooking was as natural as breathing for Eli. "Well... no." Cheetu said. "Really?" "No! I don't!" "Hm... everyone in my village knows how to cook. It's part of everyday life." Eli explained. "Well... I never learned." "Tell you what, if you clean up the kitchen, brush off the dust and what not, I'll go out and get some supplies and I'll cook for you guys." "Didn't you come from a tribal society? How do you know how to use kitchen appliances?" Cheetu questioned. "You think I've been sitting around doing nothing for the past couple of weeks? I saw all this stuff and decided to figure out how to use them! I'm pretty sure I've got it handled, so I'll cook you all something so good you'll never want to eat humans again!" Eli boasted. "I doubt that, but... I welcome the challenge." Cheetu said. "Alright then. Get to cleaning. I'll look through one of these recipe books and see what I need." Eli said as he grabbed one of the cook books.
He walked out into the courtyard and read in the sunlight. There were quite a few recipes, and it appeared that many of them came from different cultures. However, Eli was looking for something he believed he would be better at preparing. Eli often helped his father prepare the meat for the family meals, so he knew how to season and cook it to make it taste its best. As he searched, Youpi came over to him, and it looked like he had been looking for Eli. "You there, boy." Youpi said. Eli could easily tell that he was irritated. "Youpi? What do you need?" Eli asked with a great deal of courtesy. "That stew of yours… do you have any more?" Youpi almost seemed ashamed to ask. "No, you ate it all." "Could you make more?" "Well, technically yes, but it won't be the exact recipe. The one you ate was made with ingredients from my island. I could scrounge up similar ingredients though. It won't taste the same, however." Eli said. "Well… I suppose that's better than nothing." Youpi said as he wandered off.
Eli found a recipe that he believed would suffice. He planned on cooking pork steaks, but he wanted it to be something more exotic than a regular pig. Eli wanted to use wild boar. Now, the next question was where to find one. Of course, Eli could have just bought the meat, but he was letting his pride control him. He wasn't familiar with the area at all, but he knew that the Chimera Ants had been here a while, so he decided to ask them. One Chimera Ant happened to be passing by. His name was Welfin, a Chimera Ant that looked like a humanoid wolf. "Hey, Welfin!" Eli called. Welfin turned and looked at him. "Oh god, it's you." He said. "Yeah, it is me, but you'll be happy to hear what I have to say." "What?" "I'm cooking for you guys, but I need ingredients. You wouldn't happen to know if there's any wild boar in the area? I want to use it for pork steaks and a few other things." Welfin raised a brow as he actually became interested. "Hm… there's a forest to the south. You might find some there." "Alright, thanks man. I'll see you at dinner." Eli said. Welfin walked off and left Eli to do whatever.
Eli knew that the King wanted eyes on him at all times, so he thought it would be best to let the King know before he went out. Eli went up to the throne room. Pouf was playing his violin… attempting to play the violin. He was off key, and his hand kept slipping several times, making his usually proud and perfectly played music turn into a cacophony of broken notes. Pouf looked over to Eli as he walked in. Eli didn't say a word to Pouf, as he knew that he was playing terribly because he hadn't been eating his… preferred dish.
Eli walked over to the King. He was in the middle of a game with another challenger; however, this one was strange. They were playing a game that Eli didn't know. It was like chess, but it had round pieces with labels on them. Eli couldn't read the pieces from where he was standing. He didn't want to get closer and interrupt them. The rules also seemed to be totally different than chess, but that's not what perplexed Eli. What did was that the woman the King was playing with appeared to be totally blind. Eli went to the side of the table and looked at the woman's eyes. They were a pale gray color, confirming Eli's suspicion. It appeared the woman was playing entirely by memory, as her and the King were dictating their moves as they played. They'd say what piece they were moving and the specific square they were moving it to. Eli knew that this must have needed total concentration, so instead of talking to the King right then and there, he decided to take a seat and wait for the game to end. Surprisingly, the game ended within minutes; more surprisingly, the woman won, completely. Eli hadn't seen this woman ever before, so he assumed that both her and the game were new to the King, making him a novice. Though, Eli hadn't been in the King's throne room for a few days.
The King silently stared at the woman for a moment, but then turned to Eli and said, "Eli." "Hello, Mr. King." Eli said. "What do you want?" The King asked. He appeared to be eager to start a new match with the woman. "I'm heading out into the forest to do some hunting and fishing." "You need supplies, then?" "Well, I just wanted to let you know, but… now that you mention it, I do need something to catch the fish and hunt with." "Go back down the stairs and turn right. Third door on the right is a trophy room that the human claiming to be this land's ruler owned. You may find your supplies there." The King said. Without waiting for a response from Eli, the King turned back to the woman and said, "Again." Eli left them to their game and went downstairs.
Eli found the trophy room quickly; it was right where the King said it was. Eli walked in and saw the true ego and vanity of the palace's previous owner. There were several animals stuffed and mounted as trophies. There were massive creatures that Eli had never seen before, but he'd read about them. There was a massive bear at the entrance of the room, meeting anyone that walked in. It was stood up and mounted in a way that looked like it was about to attack. There was a stuffed tiger behind a chair at a desk towards the back of the room. It was set up in a way that made it look like it was protecting whoever was sitting in the chair. There were several small creatures mounted all over the place as well. On the walls were several horns of creatures that were killed in this man's hunts. There was a picture of the "hunter," in front of his kill. Eli didn't know much about guns, but he knew that this man was wielding the gun with an awkward and untrained stance. "He probably didn't even kill that thing himself." Eli mumbled.
"You're probably right." Said Youpi, who was standing at the doorway. "Guy looks kind of cowardly, like everything is just handed to him." Eli said. "Exactly. When we came here, he was watching a bunch of women in rabbit outfits dancing around like idiots." Youpi let out a slight laugh. "I'm guessing you ate them all?" Eli said without looking at him. "No, we turned the leader into a puppet and ate the rest." "I heard about that puppet ability. Which one of you owns it?" Eli asked. "That would be Pitou." "Nef has two abilities?" "There's no real limit on how many abilities someone can have as long as you're strong enough." "I see…" Eli said.
Youpi went over to a display case at the side of the room. It had a shotgun inside. Youpi opened the case and picked up the gun, which looked more like a toy in the giant's hands. Youpi handed it over to Eli. "Here, this should help." Youpi said. Eli took the gun and inspected it for a moment. To Youpi's surprise, Eli tossed the gun across the room. "You're not going to use the gun?" Youpi asked. "My people don't use guns…" Eli said. He walked over to another case with a machete inside. "My dad's a hunter, and he told me something once, when I learned what guns were." Eli said. He opened up the case and picked up the machete. "If you're going to kill something…" Eli pulled the machete out of its holster, revealing the black blade, and allowing the light to create a shimmer on its sharp silver edge. "it ought to be up close and personal…" Eli said, revealing a strange side of him. Even Youpi was slightly taken back. He began to feel respect for this tiny human. Eli went over to a spot where fishing trophies were set up. He took a fishing rod that was sitting at the center of the set. "I'll be back in a few hours." Eli said before walking out of the room, leaving Youpi with a look of shock.
With his equipment ready, Eli set out towards the forest, a machete strapped to his back, and a fishing rod in hand. Eli was more rigid when it came to his village's traditions. It was a code that had to be followed. His people were very serious when it came to hunting, most citizens getting their first kills at a young age. There's a ceremony that is conducted after an Eilsaran's tenth birthday. They are taken out into the woods by their hunter parent. In Eli's case, it was his father that took him. It was there that an animal was waiting. It was a boar that was caught in a snare. Eli looked back at his father, unsure of what was going on. The tradition is kept hidden from the children. They didn't want the children to build up courage beforehand, they needed to learn to be brave in the moment, when they have to act in an instant. When Eli looked to his father, the only thing he could focus on was the knife in his hand. His father held the knife by the blade and handed it to Eli. He took it, unsure of what was going on.
His father's instructions were vague, a product of his personality, which was one of a man who restricted himself, and spoke little. "Son, tonight we will not eat from the food I catch. Tonight, we eat what you catch." He said. It was vague, but Eli always understood what his father said, wholly and truly. Eli held the knife tightly in his hands and approached the creature. The helpless creature became more frantic with every step Eli took closer. It squealed and squirmed, trying to free itself from the trap, but to no avail. Eli got close to it and rose the knife into the air, pointing the blade downward. He paused for quite some time, working up the strength to do what had to be done. "We will starve tonight if you do not commit." Eli's father said. Eli knew what had to be done, and with those words, he was ready.
He brought the knife down, plunging it deep into the boar's neck. Blood spilled out, staining Eli's hands and arms. The boar was dead within seconds, but it was forever to Eli. He backed away, staring at the blood on his hands. He began to cry, and Eli's father came to his side. "My son, do not weep. You did what had to be done. Because of your actions, we will eat tonight. I know you have disgust in your heart, but it had to be done." His father said. He then took a knee next to Eli. "There is something you should never forget. A rule you must follow always. You are only to kill for survival. You should never take pleasure in death. That is what separates us from animals… that is what separates us from evil." His father said. Eli never forgot those words. They were forever in his mind, like etchings on stone.
By the time Eli finished this old memory, he was well into the forest and found a pond that was perfect for fishing. He sat down by the pond and took a look at his surroundings. He saw a berry bush not far from him. By the looks of it, something had been eating off of the bush. He looked around the immediate area for any corpses. He didn't find one, which indicated that whatever ate the berries was still alive, so the berries weren't poisonous. That's not why Eli wanted them though. He wanted to use them as bait for the hook. So, Eli grabbed some berries, and pierced them onto the hook. The hook was almost entirely obscured by the juicy, black berries. Eli casted his line then simply sat and waited. It seemed the fish really enjoyed Eli's bait, as he caught a bite within two minutes. He struggled with the fish for a while, but was eventually able to reel it in. He had a large, silvery skinned fish the size of his forearm. He would need a few of the same fish to be enough for everyone, so he got more berries and rebaited the hook. He repeated the process until he had seven fish, all of them big enough to make the stew he was planning. "Perfect." Eli said with a smile.
Eli then searched through the forest for any signs of the boar. It didn't take long to find something. Eli found tracks in the dirt. They were relatively old, but it looked like this path was used by the boar quite often. The boar must come through there regularly, so Eli looked for a spot he could use to ambush it. Eli looked around and it appeared the only spot that would suffice was a branch hanging directly above. Eli cut open the belly of one of his fish then left it on the ground. He then climbed up to the top of the tree and sat on the branch, simply waiting, just as he did with the fish. Eli took the opportunity to look around at the surrounding area. He didn't know what else to put in the stew. There were no vegetables he could use for it. "Maybe I could just cook the fish itself?" Eli thought.
Another thought crossed Eli's mind. The King wanted eyes on him at all times, so there must have been one of the Chimera Ants watching him hunt. He smirked a little and thought about what they'd see. "I'd better give them a show." He thought to himself. Clearly, his personality alone wasn't going to break through to any of the Chimera Ants. He had to impress them in order to make them let their guard down. That would be the only way he could change their minds. Luckily, the opportunity was arising.
The boar began approaching the fish, sniffing it curiously. Without hesitation, the boar took the bait and began eating. It was a monstrous thing. Its size was equal to Eli's, its weight even greater. Eli slowly stood up on the branch, not even shaking it in the slightest. Eli then brought out the machete slowly, making sure to not alert the boar. He pointed the machete toward the ground and simply stepped off of the branch. He landed on the ground, using the momentum to bring the machete down on the boar's neck, piercing through it all the way. As Eli thought, someone was watching him.
Pouf, full name: Shaiapouf, had three abilities. His first ability allowed him to read the emotional state of others. Because of this, it was impossible to lie to Pouf. His second ability allowed him to hypnotize people and creatures using scales from his wings. The third ability allowed him to split off tiny pieces of himself in order to make a sort of "clone" of himself. Pouf can see, hear, and feel everything the clones do. Pouf can split up his body into as many clones as he wanted as long as there was still material to use. There are two limiting factors. Pouf's clones got smaller every time they split into more clones, and if they got too small, it would become impossible for them to see. The second limiter is Pouf's main body. His main body was unable to get any smaller than a bee, and he needed at least one seventh of his clones in order to form his normal body.
One of Pouf's clones had been watching Eli since the moment he left the palace. His findings were perplexing, shocking even. Pouf's main body back at the palace wore a shocked expression. The King and the two other elites took notice to the expression. Eli took a knee next to the lifeless boar. He slowly pulled the machete out of its neck, almost as if he was trying to make it painless, like it was still alive. "Thank you." Eli said to the boar. A tradition his people followed. If you were from Eilsar, you must always be thankful for your food. It should be made clear what exactly the religion of Eli's people is. They are monotheistic, and their god does not have a specific name, so they simply dub them, "God." They see God as a deity of the hunt. The rules of their religion were not very strict. You simply had to do your part for others, be kind, never be quick to aggression, thank him for the food and the opportunity to hunt, and respect the animals and nature around you.
With the hunt finished, Eli returned to the palace, much quicker than he thought he would. He was thankful that the land was sparing with its animals. Eli got back on the path leading to the palace. He walked around, making sure the chimera could see him coming. The view that the lesser chimera saw actually chilled them for a moment. Eli walked toward the palace, six fish tied to one shoulder, and a still bleeding boar hung over the other. The boar looked to be larger than the boy, but Eli didn't seem burdened at all. The boy's strength did not match his body, and the chimera like Welfin found it unsettling. "I think they might be scared of us." Eli said to Shroud. Even Shroud was amused by this statement. The three elites had different reactions to Eli's sudden shift. Youpi almost felt proud of it. He liked seeing that this tiny creature had a darker side. Neferpitou's previous curiosity was now even stronger. Pouf was worried. He started to feel like this boy was a legitimate threat.
Eli walked into the palace and went toward the kitchen. He passed by several Chimera Ants on the way, all of them becoming confused by this event. This small, frail boy was carrying the corpse of a heavy boar, not even bothered by the blood soaking the back of his clothes. At the entrance of the kitchen was Cheetu. It appeared he was going to greet Eli with his usual, cocky "I'm better than you," remarks, but seeing the dead boar hung over his shoulder stopped him. "Oh… hey, Eli… I just finished cleaning the kitchen." Cheetu said, taken back by this strange contradiction he was looking at. "Good. Do you mind hanging up this boar? The wound on its neck should be good enough to drain the blood." Eli said.
Just the way Eli was talking about this bothered Cheetu. "I… no, I don't mind." "Good. Take the fish too. Make sure you get a bucket to catch the blood, I need it for something. I'm gonna change before I start cooking." Eli handed Cheetu the boar and the fish. Eli pulled the machete off of his back and inspected it one more time. "I'm keeping this." Eli said as he walked off cheerfully, leaving Cheetu dumbfounded. "You're dripping blood on the floor." Eli called when he noticed Cheetu hadn't left yet. This brought Cheetu back to his senses, at least enough to move into the kitchen and hang up the boar.
Eli went to his room and took off his bloodied clothes. He changed into another outfit then headed back down to the kitchen. Cheetu was there waiting for him, still just as dumbfounded. "You get the boar hung up?" Eli asked. "Yeah. I've got a bucket collecting the blood." Cheetu said. "Good. Everything should be ready just before sun-down." "That long?" "I'm not just cooking for you and me. I'm cooking for everyone! Plus, I need to give the boar a chance to bleed out." "Okay, if you say so…" Cheetu mumbled. "Go and spread the word. I'll get everything ready." "Okay… oh, and it turns out that senator guy had some vegetables. I figured you could use them." Cheetu said as he opened up a cabinet, revealing a pantry fully stocked with vegetables. "Nice. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to follow the exact recipes. You're a life saver man." "Oh, uh… of course I am!" Cheetu said, regaining his cocky attitude. Cheetu then left to spread the word about dinner.
Eli spent the rest of the day preparing everything. He gutted the fish and cleaned the meat. He then chopped it up and dumped the meat into the stew. He then went to the vegetables and cut them up as well. He dumped all of it into the stew and left it to cook. By the time he was done with all of it, the boar had finished bleeding. It was big enough for everyone to get a piece, as long as nobody got too excited. Eli had gotten everything prepped ahead of time, so all he needed to do was prepare the boar itself. He decided that he'd use the boar in different ways. He'd use its meat to make several dishes for the Chimera Ants to enjoy. He got the boar cut up into all of the parts he needed then began cooking them in their respective styles. The blood and intestines would be used for something that he felt the chimera would really enjoy. He was going to make blood sausages. Given the chimeras' ravenous appetites, he knew he'd need something bloody.
He was preparing the blood sausages when the familiar red giant came in. Youpi just stood to the side, watching Eli, trying to figure him out. Complexities such as personalities and hidden characteristics were not Youpi's strong suit. Eli silently prepared the food, going back to the cook book when he felt he had forgotten something. Eli finally had enough of Youpi's staring and said, "Questions can't be answered if you don't ask them, and questions can't be asked if you just stand there silently." "You do have a killer in you." Youpi said. Eli felt a little insulted by this.
"I have a hunter in me, not a killer. There is a massive difference." Eli said. "Oh yeah? What's that?" "A hunter kills to survive. A killer, kills for fun. I was taught by my father that you should only kill when absolutely necessary, and if it does come to that, make it as quick and painless as possible." "Where's the fun in that?" Eli definitely felt insulted this time. He turned to Youpi and glared at him. Youpi couldn't understand the look on his face, only that it was something akin to anger, but much worse. Eli kept this glare for a while, until a pot of water he had boiling started to boil over, causing the water to hit the hot eye, causing it to burn away with a hiss. Eli turned toward the pot and removed it from the eye. He dumped in some potatoes he had chopped up then put them back on the eye.
Eli looked back to Youpi, his glare not as intense as before. "You should never take pleasure in death Youpi. Because if you do, then when the day comes that you die, nobody will mourn your death… instead, they will take pleasure in it." Youpi, ever so slightly, shifted with these words. He wasn't entirely sure on what to say to this boy, what to even think of this boy anymore. He simply walked away silently. Eli turned back to his work, just as silently. Just as Eli was finishing up, Cheetu came back in. "Is it ready?" He asked. "You're eager, huh?" Eli asked. "I… don't know what you're talking about." He didn't want to admit that he was excited to taste the food. "And here I thought you didn't think anything tasted better than human meat." Eli wore a sly smile. "Shut up!" Eli turned to get something out of the oven. Cheetu noticed something that Eli had set aside on a nearby plate. He took it and ate it, not realizing what it was. It was the boar's eyes. Cheetu immediately started gagging and he dove for the sink to spit them out. "What did you do?" Eli asked. "I ate those things you had sitting on that plate over there." Cheetu complained.
He turned on the sink and started rinsing his mouth out. "Those were the eyes you moron! You're not supposed to eat them. The dye in the colored part tastes awful." "Well… that's great to know now!" "Quit your whining. Come on, help me get this stuff to the dining hall." With everything ready, it was time to gather. Cheetu assisted Eli in getting the food to the dining hall, which was connected to the kitchen. They set up the food on a long table so everyone could form a line and grab what they wanted. "Go get everyone and let them know it's ready, please." Eli said. "Alright." Cheetu was gone in less than a second. Eli went over to the table full of food. He was impressed with himself. He bowed his head and brought his hands together in a prayer. He knew the chimera wouldn't pray, so he would do it for them. He prayed that they would enjoy the food so much that they'd never go back to their old appetites. Eli was as hopeful as always. Right as he finished his prayer, several of the chimera walked in. Eli smiled and said, "Come and get it. Get what you want, but make sure you leave enough for everyone, alright? I don't want any fights."
Everyone lined up, grabbed a plate then took a seat somewhere to eat. Once everyone had gotten their share, Eli grabbed his own plate and gotten some food as well. Eli looked around at the full dining hall. There were several Chimera Ants around, and they all appeared to be enjoying the food that was prepared. Not all of the Chimera Ants were present at the palace that night, only about nine were there, as the others were scattered around the country, dealing with humans that had been causing problems. Eli was beginning to believe his hopes would be realized. He knew he was out of place though, so he sat by himself to eat. Cheetu took notice. He came over to Eli and sat next to him. Eli could see that Cheetu had already eaten half of his food. Eli smiled at the sight. "Don't say it…" Cheetu said. "I don't know what you're talking about." Eli said with a smile. "Alright… alright, damn it, I admit your food is actually pretty good." Eli could almost hear his pride shattering. "I'm not going to hold it over you, if that's what you think."
Cheetu silently waited for Eli to continue. "You see… I know you've got a fragile ego, so I won't mock you." Cheetu was about to go into an uproar, but Eli said, "Besides. I like your personality. You're an asshole, but I still think you're cool." Cheetu accepted Eli's odd compliment with a hesitant smile. "You made all of this?" Hirin asked. Eli stood up and went over to her. "Yeah, I did… does it make up for Shroud putting you through a wall?" Eli asked shyly. "Hm… not quite, but you're getting there." She said. "Well, it's a start." Eli said.
He went to step away, but Shroud tripped him. Eli was not prepared, and he fell flat on his face. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at him. "You're such an asshole, Shroud." Eli said as he got himself up. Luckily, his nose wasn't bleeding. A few of the more sinister Chimera Ants laughed at Eli's expense. "Now we're even." Hirin said with a chuckle. "Good to know." Eli said. He went back over to his table. He found that some of his food was gone. "Cheetu." He said. Cheetu was trying to hide his chewing.
Eli shook his head with a laugh as he sat back down. Right then, Youpi walked in. Everyone looked to him, not averting their gaze. Youpi took a look at everyone before moving toward the back where the food was. "Glad you could join us." Eli said without looking at him. He was still mad about their earlier conversation. Youpi didn't say anything in return. He simply got as much food as he could fit on his plate, along with a massive bowl of the fish stew. He sat alone and ate quietly. "Where are the other two?" Eli asked. "You mean Pouf and Pitou? Well, they're probably watching the King." Cheetu said. "I see…" "You okay?" Cheetu asked, seeing that Eli was contemplating something. "I'm fine. The King has your sister stalking me though." Cheetu gave Eli a confused look. "What are you talking about?" "You know, Nef, your sister. You all came from the queen, so you're all technically siblings." Eli said.
"No, I get that but… why are you calling Pitou a woman?" Cheetu asked. "What!? Isn't Nef a girl?" "Well, the other elites and the King have always referred to them as a man, and they prefer to be called 'lord,' by us. What makes you think otherwise?" "Well, her hips, the voice, and…" Eli didn't want to out-right say it, so he instead awkwardly pointed at his own chest. "You've been checking them out then?" Cheetu asked with a fiendish smile. "What!? No! I… I just… pay attention…" Eli's face turned blood red. Cheetu suspected Eli of having a crush on Pitou. He didn't think that their gender even truly mattered to Eli. "Well, honestly… I'm not even sure anymore." Cheetu said. "I'll ask her the next time I see her." Eli said, much to the dismay of Cheetu. "Are you out of your mind!?" "What's she gonna do, kill me?" Eli asked. Cheetu narrowed his gaze. "Don't answer that. I'll take some food to her, see if I can't soften her for a little bit."
Cheetu was looking at him like he was absolutely insane, same with most of the other chimera. "Did you hit your head out there!?" Cheetu shouted. "What's wrong with being nice to Nef?" Eli asked. "Look, it's… you're playing with fire, Eli… besides, there isn't any food left." Eli looked over to the table where all of the food was set up. All of it had been eaten, nothing left but scraps. "Damn it…" Eli said. Cheetu almost seemed relieved that Eli's plan wasn't going to be carried out. "Hold on…" Eli said, causing Cheetu to get worried again, even if he didn't realize it. "Not all of it has been eaten." Eli got up and rushed out of the dining hall, leaving Cheetu lost and confused. Eli went to the King's throne room.
As usual, the King was playing a game and Pouf was playing music. What surprised Eli was that the King still hadn't beaten the woman. He was in the middle of a game, so he didn't want to interrupt. He looked over to Pouf. "You missed dinner." Eli said. Pouf simply ignored him. "Where's Nef?" Eli asked. "Why should you know?" Pouf asked, giving him a glare of spite and hatred. "Because if you don't tell me, I'll scream and interrupt the King's game?" Eli said. "You wouldn't dare!" Eli took in a deep breath and cupped his hands around his mouth like he was about to shout. "No! No, no!" Eli let down his hands with a smirk. "Where's Nef?" Eli asked. "He's on top of the western watch tower." Eli smiled and said, "Thank you." Eli walked out and headed toward the watch tower. He heard Pouf say, "Little rodent" on his way out.
Eli soon made it to the watch tower then climbed to the top. He went out to the balcony and looked for Pitou. He didn't notice them until he looked up and saw them standing on the top of the tower. "Hello up there." Eli said. Pitou already knew Eli was there, but they were trying to ignore him. "I'm not leaving until you acknowledge me." Eli said. Again, Pitou gave him no response. A cold wind blew through the desert, sending a chill through. For a moment, Eli thought he could see the faintest twitch in Pitou's ear. Eli smiled and said, "Do you ever think about wearing something different?" "Why?" Pitou asked. "Because, you might get cold?" Pitou realized he really wasn't going to leave, so with a sigh, they jumped down to Eli's level. "What do you want?" Pitou asked.
They leaned against the balcony's stone railing and watched the field in front of them. "How have you been? Everyone else hasn't been doing too good ever since you were all ordered to stop eating humans." Eli said. "I'm fine." Pitou said without looking at him. "Are you sure? I heard that you and the other two elites were starting to get a little jittery." Neferpitou's grip tightened on the stone railing unconsciously, leaving marks on the stone. "I'm fine!" Pitou said through their teeth. "Are you sure? Because you're leaving claw marks in the stone." Pitou lifted up their hands and looked at the scratches they made. "You're hungry, right?" Eli asked. Pitou looked away, not wanting to answer. "Where's that soup you took from me?" Eli asked. Pitou didn't say anything. "Where did you take it?" Eli insisted. They let out a sigh then walked into the watchtower's room. Pitou went over to the desk and opened one of the drawers. The thermos was inside. "You may have it back." Pitou said as they handed it to Eli.
Eli inspected it for a moment. He opened the top and took a look at the soup. It was still in perfect condition. "Still looks good." Eli said happily. He sat down on the floor and looked to Pitou. Pitou was confused, and had a look that said so. Eli pointed at the floor in front of him and said, "Have a seat." Pitou just stared at him with a narrowed gaze. "Come on! What's the harm?" Eli said. Pitou let out a sigh and sat down in front of Eli. Eli poured out some of the soup into the cap of the thermos. He handed it over to Pitou. "Here, try some. It's really good." He said. Pitou gave him a blank stare.
Their curiosity didn't outweigh their survival instincts. "How do I know you're not trying to poison me?" They asked. "Well, let's look at the facts. I've hardly known your kind, and each and every one of you are entirely unique to one another. How would I know what you're vulnerable to and what you're resilient against?" Eli asked. Pitou gave him no answer. Eli rolled his eyes and took a sip of the soup. He made sure to gulp it loudly so Pitou knew he had taken a drink. "Happy now?" Eli asked. Pitou took the soup and inspected it closely. They sniffed at it. They found that it still smelled just as alluring as the first time. Pitou looked over to Eli, who gave them an assuring smile. They let out a sigh then took a sip. It was fantastic, and Pitou had never tasted something quite like it. They didn't want to show their amazement, so they turned away.
Eli knew though, it was hard to hide it from him. He always knew a look of satisfaction when he saw it. He smiled, and asked, "How is it?" Pitou looked back over to him, attempting to keep their stone-hard expression and said, "It's… adequate." They were trying to hide the fact that they loved the soup. "Wow… you loved it that much?" Eli thought he could see Pitou blush. The odd thing about Chimera Ants was that their blood was purple, so when they blushed, their face also turned purple. Pitou turned away, trying not to look at Eli. "You don't have to act like a tough guy around me, you know." Eli said. Pitou looked back to Eli, but wasn't sure on what to say.
"I heard somewhere once, not sure where, that nothing makes you feel more empowered than vulnerability." Eli said, which confused Pitou. "What?" They asked. "Ah… don't mind me… I'm just being weird." He looked over to Pitou. He could tell by the look in their eyes that their curiosity was running rampant in their mind. "I know one of you were spying on me during my hunt, and I know you must be curious. Go ahead and ask any questions you have." Eli said. "I assume your people taught you to hunt." Pitou said. "Yeah. My dad taught me. We kill our first animal at age ten. We're taught to only kill to survive, not for enjoyment, or just because you feel like it." "So, you do not have a sadistic side?" "I'm not as naïve as to say that I don't. If anything, Shroud is my sadistic side."
Pitou looked at Shroud, watching its unnatural movements; its odd shakes, and saw it eyeing them with those blood red eyes. "When you sliced off Pouf's arm—" "I didn't do that… Shroud did, though I am sorry." Eli said. "Right… when Shroud sliced off Pouf's arm, you became horrified. Why?" Pitou asked. Eli became eerily quiet, and a feeling of dread hung in the air. Even Pitou picked up on it. "You said I could ask any question—" "I know." Eli said in a snap. Pitou inched back, ever so slightly. "Sorry, I… I don't like this memory." Eli said. Pitou remained quiet, but for the briefest moment, they thought about changing their mind, stopping Eli from saying what it was that pained him so much.
"You see… it was back when I was seven years old… you know, the age where every kid is a… complete idiot. I got into a fight with another kid. His father was the previous Shroud-Bearer. When Shroud left him for me, he died. His son was obviously angry, so he started to beat up on me. Shroud doesn't mind if I get a little bruised or battered. Hell, he enjoys it honestly. So, watching me get beat up by a kid twice my size was prime entertainment." Eli said. He paused for a moment. Eli wasn't paying attention to Pitou. There was an expression on their face that wasn't like the usual, sadistic and morbidly curious attitude. It almost looked foreign, or alien on their face. "Soon the kid grabbed a rock, about the size of my head. He held it up, ready to bash my brains out… that's when Shroud stepped in." Eli said, finishing his story.
Eli finally looked up at Pitou, who went back to their usual stone-wall expression. "I wasn't able to sleep for days after that. The blood was stuck in my mind. His arm, lying lifeless off to the side… I just couldn't get it out of my head. I had nightmares for weeks on of Shroud going into a rage and killing everyone I knew and loved… hell, I guess in a way he did." Eli said, which interested Pitou, but they didn't want to show it. "Everyone hated me after that day. They just looked at me like I was some kind of monster. They didn't see Eli, the naïve, optimistic kid that wanted everyone to get along… they saw Shroud, the disgusting parasite that could kill you at any second."
There was a long silence that followed. It lasted for five minutes. For those five minutes, Eli lost himself in thought, and Pitou simply watched him, trying to figure him out, but in the end, they couldn't. The silence was broken by Pitou saying, "I'm going back to the center." They stood up and walked outside. They jumped back to the center of the palace. Eli knew he was beginning to break through, he knew there was now a crack in that stone-wall façade. To break through completely though, he would have to find a way around Pitou's duties to the King. "How?" He thought to himself.