They stuck to the shadows of the alleys as they walked. Asura practically glued himself to his partner's side since this morning's talk. It was concerning how quickly the older god's attitude had changed. He was mildly concerned but better than the day before on waking up again, but once Kid relayed his new information his mood soured. Now he couldn't help but jump at shadows, head whipping towards even the slightest sound he thought he'd heard as he clung tightly to Vajra. Even with Kid's attempt to comfort him failed, the older god flinching away with a strangled cry.
It was starting to worry him, and he regretted sharing the information already with his cowardly brother. But it was more reasonable to tell him regardless. If Asura had found out Kid was keeping important information like that from him, well, Kid was sure he would have been skinned alive for it. Shaking his head, Kid turned his attention to his friend. They also kept huddled close together as Black Star looked around eagerly at the ruins, only held in place by Kid's firm grip on his hand.
His mind wandered again to the creature. It spoke as if it were his opposite, calling him a 'creature of Order' yet not acting openly hostile. Did that mean it was an agent of chaos and madness? Asura was musing about it when he first heard it's words from him, but somehow that felt off to Kid. It didn't act like those he'd seen affected by madness or those who love wreaking havoc for the sake of chaos. It was too… normal. It behaved like any other person when one looked past it's colorful and childish personality. If it embodied chaos could it really do that?
Black Star squeezed his hand, drawing his attention away from his thoughts and to his friend's smiling face. "C'mon Kid, you're thinkin' too much. How're we supposed to find anything if you're too distracted to help?"
"Sorry, I'm just a bit worried. We don't know what that thing even is or if it's trustworthy or what it meant. And there's also the others that it mentioned." He took a deep breath to help keep his cool, the itch in his mind insisting that 'something is wrong! Fix it!'. Asura faltered ahead of them, but quickly corrected his steps as if it hadn't happened. Still, he peered over his shoulder at them with an uneasy expression that Kid returned with an apologetic one as he continued, "It's just… I can't help but worry. We didn't find any keys in the dolls so right now we either need to find our own or put some trust in the creature."
Using his free hand, he patted Kid's shoulder roughly. "Ah, don't worry so much! I'm here so I'll protect you. And Asura too if I have to but I'm sure Vajra's got 'im." The weapon in question gave a thumbs up over his shoulder that was gently smacked down by his partner with an almost offended squawk. "Yeah, see? They're good. Besides, I wanna see that thing's dad! I bet it's really strong. Not more than me I mean, but enough to make a fight fun!"
"We are not fighting it's father!" Asura jumped in then, voice cracking as he rounded on the boy. He stomped the short distance to the two boys, looming over them as he spoke. It might have been intimidating if not for his wide, darting eyes and the shaking of his hands being clearly visible to them. As if realizing that himself, he retreated to hide beside Vajra again.
Vajra simply gave him a reassuring pat on the back as he added, "It's not wise to pick a fight against the creature's father. From it's warning alone, we can assume it's father is someone or something powerful that we should be wary of. This is a case where we need to choose our battles carefully as we are at a disadvantage here."
"Oh? How so, smart guy?" Black Star pushed, looking for any reason to ignore the warning.
Sighing, Vajra turned to face him entirely with an unreadable expression. "We are in unfamiliar terrain while the creature and other inhabitants have been here for quite some time. They would know this place much better than us, so we need to be on guard. They may try to split us up and take us out one at a time. We also are unable to rely on magic while they seem to be unaffected by the seals, if the bridge incident is anything to go by. Taking on magic users, and possibly many at once, unarmed and unable to use our own abilities is plain stupid."
"Also, again, we have no idea what they are. Fighting something unknown means we won't know its weaknesses or its strengths, meanwhile it seems to know exactly what we are. We could end up waking an ancient horror sealed to protect the world for all we know." Kid chimed in, gesturing wildly with one hand as he turned to face his friend. "How do you plan to fight an ancient horror Star?"
Rolling his eyes, Black Star balled one hand into a fist and shook it in the air with a grin. "With my fists, duh. I'll just beat it to death." His tone was mostly serious, but carried a light tilt that sounded like he was joking. Kid cracked a small smile at it, a part of him glad to see Black Star being his usual self even in this situation.
Quickly hiding his smile behind his scarf, he added, "Let's at least get some kind of weapons before we decide whether or not to fight this thing, deal?"
"Sure! Dibs on the first sword!" He chirped in response, clapping his free hand against Kid's shoulder. Even if it wasn't the agreement he wanted, it was better than nothing. They could only avoid a fight for so long if they were being hunted and once it caught up with them he would be able to have the battle he wanted. As if reading his mind, Kid tightened his grip on the other boy's hand like it could stop him.
The boys froze in place when Asura stopped in front of them and held a hand out. He quickly pressed himself against the wall at the alley's end, gesturing for them to do the same. Carefully he peered out from around the corner, eyeing the new plaza. The buildings here were tall enough for two floors at least compared to the smaller ones they'd seen earlier. Each had its own courtyard walled off from the main street and broken plaques dangling over their doors.
Farther ahead, the plaza split. One section was elevated above the other, two flights of stone steps curling up either side of it to the top where it overlooked the raised crystal slab in the center of the lower level. Railing coated in a thin sheet of ice separated the raised platform from a short fall. Two wolf statues guarded the podium centered on the platform. The left one's jaw clamped around a golden sun and the right a silver moon. Both statues wore the same wolf skull masks as others they'd seen, but this time they were strangely devoid of vines.
There didn't seem to be any dolls scattered about but even from a distance one could see the remains of a corpse tied down to the crystal slab, blackened trails frozen to its sides and staining the deep purple stone. Vajra moved first, pushing past his partner as he turned the corner. Asura followed quickly, one hand clutching the sleeve of Vajra's jacket tightly as they stayed close to the wall. The area was too exposed for comfort with the knowledge of something looking for them, but it seemed like they had no other way to go. Slowly they approached the set, pausing only to ensure Kid and Black Star were trailing behind.
Asura froze in place feet from the slab, a hand over his mouth as he quickly turned away. Biting back the bile burning in his throat he made his way to the other side of the slab, standing across from Vajra where he could easily watch the man's expressions. He cast a pitying glance down at the mangled corpse before turning his head away.
Even with its chest torn open, ribs bent outward, and organs knotted into a jumbled mess pulled out of the gaping hole in their body he could see the shining flecks of purple through the hole puncturing their back. It was as if someone punched straight through the body with a hand many times larger than his own. Disgust rolled in his gut as he turned away again, using one hand to cover his nose. It did nothing to stop the coppery scent from filling his lungs and he forced himself to stay.
As he turned back, he noticed more things wrong with it. One of their lungs hung loosely outside of their body. Pieces of the organ were missing all around it and the missing pieces were about the right size to fit in a human's mouth. Even so, there were marks of the same size that were much too deep to be made by a human's teeth. The same bites could be found on other parts of the body, inside and out.
He could feel his hands start to shake, the disgust melting into fear and worry. Was this what would happen to them if they were caught? Tied down and gouged open for whatever creatures living here to eat? Would they be left alive through it all? The corpse's head was twisted entirely the wrong way so he wasn't able to see their face. A slight relief made itself known, though the guilt came with it. At least he didn't have to see a face twisted in terror and pain, wide glassy eyes staring at nothing like so many he'd had to look at before-
"Hey." Vajra's voice cut through the thoughts swarming in his mind and trying to drag him from reality. He looked up to meet the concerned eyes of his partner and couldn't help but turn away as his brain substituted the man for the corpse between them. "Asura. You don't have to help me investigate this you know. Why not go see that mural behind you?"
Gathering his courage, Asura faced the weapon again. Though Vajra's concern was evident, something about the weak smile he gave struck Asura as off. It took a moment to recognize the familiar emptiness. His stomach dropped, instantly recognizing it as a bad sign. He struggled to put the words together until finally he managed a quiet, "Why don't you do that? I can finish investigating here."
Vajra's smile faltered as he tried to think of a response. Instead he sighed, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. He would be fine. He was fine. He didn't need to step back even if the sight of the corpse turned his stomach and picked at memories of things he'd thought he'd forgotten. But Asura could be surprisingly stubborn for someone so aware of how others thought of him. It was unlikely that he would get the reaper to change his mind, so he opted to agree rather than try his luck at persuading the other for now. "If you insist. But please, please, tell me if you need to step away."
"I will," Asura promised, eyeing the body regretfully.
Taking a deep breath and turning his attention back to the body, he waited for Vajra's steps to fade before scanning the corpse again. He noted that despite appearing old, it was strangely...fresh. Its blood had long since dried up, crumbled to dust with a consistency reminiscent of wet coffee grounds and leaving dark stains where it would have been red. The flesh was waxy and stiff with an ashen complexion and the muscles clamped into place where rigor mortis had set in. Its entire body had bits of frost all over. Even the exposed meat of the corpse's insides looked more like a freezer burnt steak than something recently pulled from it. But that's where it's decay ended. It hadn't even bloated or sunk in on itself as if it had frozen in time shortly after death.
It still made him sick. Moreso when something in the tangled organs glinted in the light. Asura debated on retrieving it or leaving them be. The poor soul had already been violated enough and he would rather not dig through their guts. But whatever it was could be useful to them. Ensuring the survival of the living was more important. If there was even the slightest chance of it being useful in their escape… he would have to take it, right?
Whispering a quiet apology to the dead, he carefully untangled the organs from the shining object. The frost melted in his hands and made them difficult to grasp. The stink of old meat flipped his stomach and forced him to turn away more than once. Soon enough he'd untangled the object, revealing a long, thin, black blade about ten inches in length. Its hilt added an extra five inches, made of a smooth and polished black wood carved in the shape of a wolf and topped with an ivory wolf skull. Asura grabbed it. A cold, tingling feeling started in his fingers and crawled along his arm. Still he closed his eyes and apologized once more as he pulled it out. It scraped free with a low shing, losing the cold feeling as he held it.
Spinning on his heel to show his discovery to Vajra, he came nose to nose with Kid instead. Frightened by the boy's sudden appearance, he leapt back with a choked scream. The younger reaper only raised a brow at this before peeking around his brother at the body. Quickly calming himself now that he recognized Kid, he looked over the boy. A worn white sheet was draped over his arm, stained a faint brown and black in some places and full of small holes. Where he got it from, Asura could only guess.
"What did you find?" Black Star's voice chirped as he popped out from behind Kid, another sheet in his hands. He eyed the black dagger curiously when Asura held it up, shifting the sheet to one hand so he could reach out to grab it with the other. "Cool! It's not a sword but I'll take it!"
Asura quickly held it back out of his reach, shaking his head and pushing the boy away as he tried to swipe the blade from his grasp. It wasn't until Kid intervened that Black Star stopped, dragging his friend away from his brother with an annoyed sigh, "Come on Star, we're not here to steal Asura's things this time. We've got something more important to do."
Black Star glanced between Kid, Asura, and the corpse before nodding. Then he pointed to Asura. "I'll let you keep it! It'll probably make you feel better to have a weapon anyway since you're such a scaredy cat." He stated, ignoring Asura's stuttering denial as he added, "The great me doesn't need weapons anyway but if I get one it will be something a lot cooler, like a sword!"
With that said, he approached the corpse. His nose scrunched up immediately, teeth bared and brow furrowing in disgust now that he could see it up close. "This is… should we try to put it back inside?" He turned to Kid, an unusual uncertainty on his face. They had agreed to give the dead some decency. Since they probably couldn't give them a proper burial with the ground frozen over, or burn them with their limited supplies, they had agreed to at least cover it. Kid's insistence on it was a bit surprising but he just assumed it was a death god thing. If Kid said so he would do it, knowing the other boy wouldn't like getting his hands dirty like this.
"I… didn't think it was this bad." Kid admitted, chewing on his bottom lip as he thought. Part of him insisted he should fix it, because it was wrong. It wasn't supposed to look like this. But it felt wrong to do anything else to the body. Still, if it were him, he didn't think he would like having his insides on the outside. "I guess so? I've never had to deal with this sort of thing before, so I'm not so sure what to do."
He moved towards it, but Asura held a hand out to stop him. "I'll do it. I already had to remove this from inside of it." He showed them the blade again for a moment, then approached the corpse and set it on the slab beside the body so both of his hands were free. He worked as quickly as he could, trying to put the half eaten organs back in their rightful places as he chanted apologies like a mantra. The frost melting under his touch mixed with dried blood to create a thick brown sludge that coated his hands and made his stomach twist. Forcing back the urge to vomit, he finally decided it was good enough and carefully tried to bend the ribs back into place.
By the time he had finished, it was only marginally better than before. The tear in its chest could still be seen, strips of flesh not quite fitting back in place and chunks of skin were still missing. The ribs hadn't fit back in place quite right so it's chest was lumpy and the innards could still be seen inside. He hadn't looked when he'd tried to set it's head back to normal for fear of seeing it's face. The neck cracking under his hands was almost too much for him and he had to back off for a moment before feeling around to close its eyes and mouth. For a corpse that had been sitting for long enough to let rigor mortis set in, it was strangely pliant.
Once he finished, he backed away to let the boys in. Kid threw his sheet over the corpse first, followed by Black Star. A small argument began between them as Kid made a fuss over the blankets being uneven and Black Star not seeing the point. Asura paid them no attention as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands and the dagger clean of old blood, then hurried to the mural where Vajra was.
The man's attention was on them. He looked conflicted, as if he was trying to decide whether to go and help or stay where he was. On seeing his partner approach, he gave a weak smile in an attempt to cheer him up. Asura just latched onto his sleeve as soon as he was close enough, biting down hard on his lip as he stared at the ground. "Are you okay?" He asked, his smile falling quickly as he pressed his lips into a thin line.
He nodded, hesitating at first as he decided to focus on the mural. "I just want to leave. What did you find here?" Scanning the artwork, he recognized the blocky drawing immediately as the same thing they kept seeing. A black wolf with a skull for its head. Unlike the statue, it stood upright with a humanoid body. A black cowl hung around its head and partly covered its long white robe.
It towered over the dark humanoid figures surrounding its feet. In the background souls hung around it in an assortment of colors and shapes, the pale blue of a human soul, the red of corrupt humans, and other's of varying shades with features of being's he recognized. Wings and tails and ears commonly found on witches, werewolves, sorcerers, and more hung around it as if they were drawn to it.
"It kinda makes me think of you guys." Vajra spoke up suddenly, gesturing at both Kid and Asura. The latter raised an eyebrow at that but waited for him to elaborate. With an awkward grin, he added, "Sorry, I just mean it a lot of stuff in the mural reminds me of a death god."
"Like what?" Asura asked.
Before Vajra could answer, Black Star shoved his way between them. "Like this?" He pointed to the figure in the center, tapping it's robe quickly. "The clothes remind me of the kimonos I've seen Tsubaki wear, but this one's on wrong. It's worn right over left, which is how you dress the dead." Grinning broadly, he puffed his chest out and turned to Kid proudly.
The other boy gave his friend a pat on the shoulder in response. "Yeah that's true. Plus the black body and skull face remind me a bit of father." Kid added, muttering the last part quietly under his breath. One hand tapped his chin thoughtfully as he scanned it for anything he might have missed. "Plus all the souls are something else associated with us. Since dealing with souls is the duty of a death god."
"It can't be a death god though. There's only you, me and the old bastard. If there were more of us, wouldn't that fucker have told us?" Asura growled, wrapping his arms around himself and shifting his gaze from the mural to his brother. The suggestion carried terrifying connotations that he would prefer to not think about.
Black Star cut in then, jumping to defend Kid's suggestion without a moment's hesitation. "But what if Lord Death didn't know about him? Kid didn't know you were his brother until he was five, right? Maybe your dad never met the guy. He can't tell you about someone he doesn't know exists."
"Star…" Kid cut in, pulling the other boy back before Asura decided to swing at him for being too close. "Asura does have a point. If it was a death god, I doubt father didn't know about it. We have a sort of… how do I explain this. It's like a pull to each other. Even from a distance I can recognize Asura and father."
"I think it may be too early to say what we're up against. All we can assume from this is that it was powerful enough to be revered as some kind of god. That is probably what the body was for, a sacrifice of sorts to this god of theirs." Vajra cut in, trying to put a stop to any further arguments before they began. Black Star opened his mouth to argue anyway but paused when he couldn't immediately think of a counter to Vajra's words.
Nodding in agreement, Asura held up the dagger he found earlier for his partner to see. Vajra's eye lit up as he took it, careful to not cut himself on the blade. "I found it inside the body, it certainly looks enough like a ritual dagger to support that theory."
"Oh so you'll give it to Vajra but not me? I see how it is." Black Star pouted as he crossed his arms over his chest. He turned back to Kid, muttering to himself about Asura's favoritism. Kid responded with a silent pat on his back that he assumed was meant to be comforting. He couldn't tell as the other boy's expression never changed.
The older god only scoffed at his childish behavior. "Everyone knows Vajra is my favorite person, so fuck off." He ignored how Black Star bristled, instead giving his full attention to his partner. "What do you think? I planned to use it for a weapon."
Vajra shrugged, turning it over in his hands once more before passing it back to Asura. "Seems sturdy enough. I think it's carved obsidian but it's incredibly smooth compared to a lot of old obsidian knives. It looks like whoever made it smoothed out all of the rough edges after getting the serrated edge to the blade. Be careful to not get cut, it would hurt a lot."
"Good." Asura muttered, pulling his handkerchief out again to wrap around the blade before sticking it in the pocket of his coat. The dagger stuck out part way so he zipped the pocket to keep it in place the best he could with his hands shaking. "We should get out of the open. I don't think there's anything here that can be of use to us anyway." Looking around for the best path, his shoulders slumped. The buildings here were too close together. He couldn't see any alleys on their level besides the one they came from and one directly across from it. There was no sense in taking the other one, it would only keep them in the same section of the city.
As much as he hated to admit it, there hardly seemed to be anything of use in the buildings they searched through earlier and most likely wouldn't be unless they went deeper into the city. The ones in charge of this hunt were terrifyingly thorough in keeping what they needed out of their reach. They wouldn't find anything unless it was left for them to find and that thought made him shiver. Breaking away from the mural Asura quickly approached the nearest set of stairs, his eyes sweeping the area as soon as he reached the top. His only comfort came from Vajra's presence close behind.
Black Star followed them, bounding up the stairs two at a time until he reached the top while Kid trailed after him. By the time Kid reached the top, they had already started towards the far end. He moved to follow them only to jerk back with a startled cry as a flash of black and white dropped to the ground in front of him. His foot slipped on the edge of the stairs, sliding out from under him and sending him toppling backwards.
Claws snatched the collar of his dark coat and flung him back to the safety of the ground. He rolled to his feet quickly, arms held defensively in front of him as he faced the creature. The footsteps of his group returning stopped just behind him when he held his arm out. He could hear Asura and Black Star voicing their confusion, but let himself relax a bit. The creature still towered over him, matching Vajra's height now that he could see the two together, with its head cocked to the side and ears flopping over.
Swallowing past the lump forming in his throat as he forced his racing heart to calm, he asked, "Did you find something?" The eyes burning into his back had to be Asura's. The older god's skepticism would only be increased with the creature here regardless of the fact that Kid had already explained that it was helping them for the time being.
It rolled its head from side to side, as if thinking. Then in that same, eerily childish voice it said, "Awoo? I scared you, didn't I? Sowwy, but you're supposed to thank someone who helps you, you know?" It's tone was chastising, but Kid had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at it. After all, he would rather not risk pissing off their only potential ally.
"Thanks for not letting me fall..." He stated, pausing when he realized he didn't know what to call it. It noticed this, clicking softly in an almost amused way.
"Papa calls me Pup or Puppy. I'm not supposed to give strangers my real name, sowwy." It said in a cheerful tone, straightening its head and flicking its tail. "And you're welcome! If you fell you could've gotten hurt and if you bleed that would be bad for you."
'Again with the mention of bleeding.' A frown tugged at the corners of his lips. The statement felt more targeted this time, as if referring to himself specifically. But its head tilted slightly in Asura's direction for a brief moment before it turned back to him. Why? He wasn't imagining that, right? It had only been for a split second so maybe he really did see wrong.
"Kid…" Asura spoke up behind him, setting a hand on his shoulder as he eyed the creature, no, Pup. It turned to him at the new voice and leapt back, ears up and tail flicking wildly as it growled at the older god. Asura immediately responded by reaching for the dagger in his pocket.
Vajra was quick to grab his wrist before Asura could draw the weapon, pulling his partner back to his side. "Don't! It seems like it wants to help so let's not provoke it." He reasoned, glancing at Black Star's eager expression before quickly tacking on, "That goes for you too! We aren't here to fight with this thing now." The boy looked back at him and pouted, slowly relaxing his stance.
"Fiiiine, I'll save it for later. You down for that?" He complained before turning to the creature with a broad grin. Since it seemed somewhat reasonable, maybe it wouldn't mind. And it could always become their enemy at any point, which was a good enough excuse for him to pick a fight.
It tilted its head as it considered the offer. Clicking happily, Pup agreed. "Like a spar? Sure! I'll come visit once you guys get out and we can fight then!" It set its hands on its hips, the excitement in its voice shining through as its tail wagged behind it. If it heard Asura's quiet, 'please don't', it didn't show it.
Clearing his throat loudly drew its attention back to Kid and its ears flattened against its head, shoulders and tail drooping. "Sowwy, I got distracted…" Suddenly its ears perked up and it continued in a cheery tone, "Anyway I haven't found a key but Papa showed me another door! It's in the temple where we live. Surely there's a key in there somewhere."
"Wow, that's good to know. Where is this temple then? Do you think you can get me a key?" Kid asked. Hope swelled in his chest, almost suffocating him even as he relaxed. Still, if it was in the creature's home then it's father would be there as well. He already had his suspicions, but now he was certain Pup's father was the creature in the mural. The 'true god' mentioned in the journal had to be it and if it was, then walking into a wolves den hardly seemed like the smartest idea.
"I doubt it, Papa might be suspicious of me now so I'm gonna lay low for a bit. He's probably hidden the keys from me anyway so I don't try and sneak out." The disappointment in the creature's voice sounded like it was pouting. It crossed it's arms and clicked it's tongue at its own words, ears flat against its head and tail swishing in annoyance. "I dunno why, I'm a good boy so I wouldn't run away. I just wanna play outside sometimes."
Ignoring its quiet complaints, Kid said, "I understand. If you manage to get one though, please bring it to us as quickly as possible. We are in a pretty bad spot." He gestured around at them all, mostly unarmed and wary as they watched the creature. Asura even planted himself firmly between Vajra and the creature, eyeing it suspiciously like it would attack at any moment.
Black Star, who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the exchange, finally came up to Kid's side. He looked up at the creature, meeting its empty eye sockets and saying, "So, I'm guessing the 'true god' that lives here is your dad,-"
"Father." It corrected him with a sharp click of its jaw. Kid could see his brother turn to Vajra with a confused expression at this. He understood, it had thrown him off a bit as well with how stubbornly it insisted on specifying the use of 'father'. Anything else seemed to greatly annoy it and he wondered about it briefly before dismissing it as unimportant.
Waving a hand dismissively in Pup's face made it lean back with its ears shooting upward and its mouth opening enough to bite if need be. Black Star didn't seem to notice this as he continued, "Father, dad, same difference. But anyway. If this 'true god' is your father, and your people are all in on this hunt, why would ya help us escape? How can we trust ya?"
"I… I was wondering that as well." Vajra spoke up now, Asura nodding in agreement to his words. This comforted him and he continued with a firmer tone, "If you really are on our side, even if it's just for now, then you must be getting something from doing this."
Kid found he agreed with that. It was a citizen of Shangri-la after all and with this new information it was most likely ranked quite highly in their hierarchy. He couldn't imagine Pup would help them for no reason and the possibility of this being an elaborate trap occurred to him. Shooting a curious look at the creature he waited anxiously for an answer.
It stood quietly for a moment, head tilted to one side as it tapped a claw against its cheek. Finally it sighed, a low growl rumbling in its throat. "If you must know, I'm doing this for my own self-satisfaction." It clicked its tongue in distaste at it's own words, arms crossing over it's chest as it continued, "Father is hailed as the ultimate predator. In all my years alive I have never once seen him fail to kill those he sets his eyes on, regardless of their station or power. When I was young, Papa once told me how he and father killed three members of a powerful faction serving the false god."
From the corner of his eye, Kid could see Asura flinch so he spared his brother a glance out of concern. Asura's gaze was fixed to the ground, eyes wide as he bit down on lip. Beside him, Vajra watched it with narrowed eyes and a scowl on his face. He threw an arm protectively around Asura's shoulders and tried to shift the both of them closer to Black Star and Kid as if he expected something to sneak up on them. Curiosity nagged at him and he made a mental note to question them about it later.
A warbling chuckle came from its mouth, malice dripping from the sound and sending chills down Kid's spine. It continued, "So as you may assume, his title is his power. His world revolves around that image. If you, the ultimate prey, were to escape… well, it would damage that pride of his. It may sound harsh, but I simply want to knock him down a few pegs. If you get away alive, I can do that." It turned its head to Asura and Vajra first, clicking at them in an almost mocking way before it settled its sights on Kid. "So if you cannot trust me, trust in my interests."
"You-" Vajra growled before Kid even had the chance to respond to it, only to be shushed quickly by Asura. The anger rolling off of that one word was enough to make the younger god flinch. Even if he was quiet, it was only because he had to bite his tongue. He still glared at the creature with narrowed eyes and grinding teeth, struggling to hold back whatever he wanted to say.
The creature responded with a faux innocence, tilting its head from side to side as its tail curled into a shape like a question mark behind it. "Awoo? Did I strike a nerve? Perhaps you knew them as you follow false gods too?" It shifted its gaze from Asura to Kid at the last question. Unlike earlier, its eyes burned into him.
Kid returned its stare with much less heat. Unease sank in his gut and turned his stomach as the creature's words from their last meeting rang in his head, 'A creature of Order would naturally dislike something such as I, who defies the world you rule over. It's such a fragile thing, but oh so stubborn. I do not blame you, I feel the same.'. This thing didn't like them. It didn't like him. It was helping for such a petty reason as snubbing its own father and nothing more. If it didn't want to use them, would Vajra have died in its earlier attack?
Black Star jumped forward with an angry shout, "Hey! What the hell does that mean? If anyone's the fakers it's you and your bastard dad! So shut the fuck up and back off!" The creature's ears shot upright and it straightened to its full height, staring down it's long snout at the much smaller boy. A growl rumbled deep in its chest and it flexed its long claws. The shadows around it flickered and twisted like fire as it set its sights on Black Star.
Instead of backing down at the threat, Black Star puffed out his chest and squared his shoulders. His hands curled into fists, bringing them up as he glared up at the creature. Though he didn't care much to follow their conversation, he did understand one thing. It was using them. He didn't like the thought of playing along with it, even if it could help them escape. Even if they did work with it, once it got its way, wouldn't it just turn on them?
"Star! Don't!" Kid was quick to hold him back, not willing to provoke their ally even if it was a potential threat. The other boy didn't relax his stance in the slightest, even after casting a curious glance back at Kid. He stayed frozen in his place as he pinned his glare back on the creature. Hoping to put an end to it, Kid spoke up again, "What do you want us to do now Pup? Would it be better to meet closer to your home?"
Pup didn't answer at first. It continued to stare down Black Star as if it hadn't heard Kid at all. Just when he was about to ask again, Pup's shoulders slumped and it retracted its claws. Its skull turned to him and it wagged its tail as it responded happily, "That would be best actually! It would lower the risk of being caught once they realize you've found a way out! And I would be less likely to be caught too, so Papa is less likely to be mad at me for interfering." Again it tapped thoughtfully against its skull with a claw until it remembered what it wanted to add, "My home is in the central part of the city. I'm not sure how to describe it but you should know it when you see it. The central part is across the divide, but there's a bridge you can use to cross it… mmm… That way!"
It pointed behind them and everyone turned to follow its direction. In the distance a pagoda towered high above the other buildings. Even from far away he could make out the massive gashes in the building's side, like a clawed hand tried to strike it down. He turned away, hoping to ease the twisting in his stomach and shake the image of what kind of creature could have done that from his head and froze.
The place where Pup stood was now empty. He looked around the plaza hurriedly and after not seeing it anywhere on their level he rushed to look at the lower half. Only the body remained there, still covered by the sheets he and Black Star covered it with earlier. The creature was nowhere to be seen, disappearing yet again without a trace. The lack of sound when it left only added to his anxiety. If the other creatures were as silent as it was, then he wasn't sure if they would even notice them before it was too late.
Black Star was the one to come get him, grumbling under his breath about the creature as he walked back with Kid. As with the last time they met, Kid found himself with more questions. Before his mind could wander, he caught sight of the others. Asura held tight to his partner's hand as if afraid he would lose the other even as they huddled close, whispering quietly with their backs turned to the two boys. Exchanging glances with Black Star showed the same curiosity and once the blue haired boy nodded in understanding, they slowly crept up behind the two.
Every wide gesture and slight movement made Kid wonder if they would be caught, but thankfully they seemed too deep into their conversation to notice. Finally he was close enough to hear them, though he only caught the tail end of the conversation. It was Vajra who spoke, voice shaky and hesitant as he whispered, "...not alone. I know how you feel, but we can't take a risk to split up and search."
"You're…. You're right, I'm sorry. I just…" Asura's shoulders slumped as he spoke in a much softer and strained voice than Vajra. He shifted closer to the man, voice trailing off into quiet mumbles that Kid couldn't make out. One look at Black Star was enough to tell him the other boy was in the same boat.
"It wasn't your fault. If that thing really was talking about them, then there was no way for any of you to know." This time his tone was more firm and a bit louder as he refused to give his partner the chance to argue back. Even without seeing his face Kid knew he was frowning at whatever Asura said. When the older god cut in with another inaudible whisper, Vajra nodded. "...Yeah, we should probably keep moving."
Immediately Kid fixed his posture, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Black Star followed his lead, leaning against Kid's shoulder with all his weight when the two turned around. Sliding out from under his friend's arm, he watched the boy flail for a moment to get his balance back only to fall flat on his face.
Pushing himself up, he glared at Kid. The half-hearted betrayal in his glare brought a small smirk to Kid's face and Black Star struggled to suppress the grin trying to break across his face as he rolled onto his back. "Ahhh! Kid how could you! I trusted you and you betrayed me! I'm dying now!" He stretched an arm out to his friend only to be met with a blank look.
"Die faster then. You're making a mess of your clothes." Kid said, lightly kicking his friend as he writhed on the ground pretending to die. He risked a glance at Asura and Vajra. The former pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched them and the latter covered his mouth with his free hand to hide an amused grin. It didn't seem like they noticed that he and Black Star were eavesdropping on their conversation earlier. Good. He didn't want to deal with a pissed off Asura.
Smiling proudly to himself for getting Kid to crack a smile, Black Star stood up and brushed some of the dirt and snow from his coat. Then he turned to the pagoda, setting one hand on his hip and pointing at it with the other. "Alright then! We gotta get to that thing's place right? So let's get a move on it! If anything gets in the way, I'll beat 'em up for us!"
"Right. It won't do any good staying out here in the open like this. We need to hurry." Kid agreed. His hand was snatched by his friend as Black Star charged ahead, taking long strides and dragging Kid along with him. Asura's exasperated sigh was loud enough for him to hear and soon their footsteps joined his and Black Star's as they hurried along.
A tingling numbness crawled over his skin and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. It dampened his mood, sparking the nagging voice to whisper again in his head that something was wrong. Was it trying to tell him not to go that way? But it was the only lead they had. He had to follow it… right?