Staring from Afar

The road was... hardly existent. It was more of a beaten path, really, and one not exactly often used. The wind was rather strong that day, causing the smaller branches of the trees to sway around. The sun was warm, but he was completely indifferent to it, and the sky seemed to be promising rain anyway.

"This might be a bit bothersome" he commented.

"WhY iS tHAt?"

"A downpour too strong would obstruct the sight"

As he had half expected, she didn't ask what they were going to see. They simply kept walking silently, save for the mechanical, rythmical sounds coming from the artificial girl and her floating guardian, the path fading more and more into the wilderness until nothing but grass and roots remained. Eventually they reached a somewhat large house in the middle of the forest. The undead looked around a bit before walking in and checking out a few rooms. He was about to conclude that the place was empty when he heard a sound coming from the backyard. Then a child with red fox ears and two tails walked in right as Thresh was in the middle of the hallway. As soon as he saw the warden, the young vastaya froze in place. The undead sighed.

If the brat is here then...

"Where is Ahri?"

"T-teacher is... out for... buying brushes..."

... brushes. What could she possibly... no, he didn't want to know.

"Is anyone else around?"

"N... Nami came here... y-yesterday..."

I should be on time then.

"You never saw me here today"

"A-ab... absolutely" the red fox replied, sweating.

Thresh was neither fond nor interested in children, and while Nagi was no expection, he had to admit that ever since Ahri took him in -from where, he had no idea- he had managed to stumble into her less than before, mostly because spotting him meant she was around too and he could evacuate before it was too late. Granted, he actually was there to talk with Ahri, but not before having done a certain other thing which took priority over their conversation.

He turned around to leave, and only then noticed that Orianna wasn't where he had left her. He heard the young vastaya scramble away behind him but paid it no mind, instead searching around the house again. He found a door left open, and recognizing the staircase behind it he hurried downstairs. He found the mechanical woman in front of a rather large, sturdy-looking wooden door. Her gaze was fixed on a small plate affixed to it.

"CaN yOu ReAD iT, BalL?"

The Ball's reply was a low sound, in response to which Orianna moved her hand to pet it, her joints bending in a way that most normal people would have found disturbing to look at.

"Orianna, we are going"

"CAn You rEAd IT, ThREsh?" she asked.

"... sort of. But that is not a door you should open"

"WhY sHouLd OriANnA nOt OpeN ThAT dOoR?"

"Because beyond it is the wrong kind of playroom"

She stared at him, her face trying to mimic a confused expression, and had he not known her for as long as he did, he probably wouldn't have understood what she was trying to convey. Well, he wasn't absolutely sure he did get it, but he at least had an idea.

"One you would find boring" he added as he offered her his hand "Now we should get going"

She stood still for a few moments, the mechanical motions of her gears marking the passing of seconds. Then, silently, she took his hand -the Ball emitted a somewhat threatening sound when that happened- and let him lead her out of the house. Thresh wasn't one to be easily scared, but he found the thought of Orianna entering -for any reason- one of Ahri's... dungeons quite disturbing. Maybe because, in a way, she was so pure. He led her into the forest and up an hill, leaving the building behind them. At one point he realized that her cold fingers were still grasping his even colder hand, and shook her off. The sun was beginning to set, and the first drops of water were starting to fall on them. They kept moving, one step after the other, in silence, until the warden found the spot he had been looking foor. A rather large boulder in the middle of a few somewhat oddly short trees. He climbed on top of it then helped Orianna up. The scenery wasn't half bad from there, a good chunk of the forest lying in their sight, the mountains in the distance, the house comfortably hidden by the vegetation.

But Thresh didn't care about any of that. What he was interested in was the small lake that was nearby the building they had left earlier. There weren't any roads leading there, and given its size and position it was hard for anyone to find it without already knowing it was there, and that is probably why she had picked it. He guessed there were other reasons too, but never asked. He was sure he wouldn't have gotten any answer, and he didn't really care anyway.

"Now we wait" he said as he sat down, Orianna imitating him shortly after.

Seconds went by, then minutes, then hours. The sun disappeared completely from behind the clouds, the moon taking its place. Rain began to fall with more intensity, though it luckily never turned into a real downpour. Thresh would occasionally tap his fingers on the lantern, a faint sound strongly resembling a cry echoing from within every time he made contact with it, its green light unusually dim, while Orianna kept petting the Ball. The constant sound of her gears grinding against each other, as well as that of her metallic fingers running over her spherical companion would have been annoying for most -maybe even maddening over a few hours- but he had since long gotten used to them. The rain eventually stopped, and the clouds began to clear. At one point, a small bird landed on the mechanical doll's shoulder.

Thresh turned around. It wasn't the first time he had witnessed it, but seeing small animals get close to Orianna was always amusing. And the way she reacted was simply great. The Ball emitted a weak impulse, electricity shocking its surroundings, and while neither the undead nor the doll were affected by it, the bird feel down, the intensity too strong for it. Orianna picked it up and closed her hands around it, softly -though her motions didn't look soft at all- and held it in front of her. Shortly after, the bird recovered and began to try and fly away, but her fingers wouldn't let it. Then her grasp grew firmer, her hands closing in around the bird, slowly, at fixed intervals. The little creature was chirping wildly as it waved its wings around frantically, completely powerless. Orianna didn't stop. Her fingers closed in more and more, her palms growing closer and closer to each other. An unpleasant -or was it?- sound began to fill their ears as the little bird disappeared from sight, completely hidden inside her hands, a charming, red liquid beginning to drop from within her fingers, the chirping turning into silence. Orianna kept her hands fully closed like that for a while, then her palms parted.

"IT DoEsN'T TiCK anYmORe"

"It sure does not. How was it?"

"ThiS... OrIaNNa ThINkS tHIs GaME uSed TO bE MoRe fUN"

I am relieved to hear that.

"Maybe you are getting tired of their responses. Small animals do offer a... smaller array of reactions compared to people. You have seen it yourself"

Orianna didn't reply. Instead she focused her gaze on her hands, a tiny mess of flesh and bones and feathers decorating them. Thresh, on his part, turned his eyes back to the lake. Soon after, he finally saw her. The light of the lantern was already as dim as he could get it to be, but he still threw it behind the rock to fully hide it, the flames engulfing his skull dying down almost completely, then he sharpened his gaze. The distance was great and there was hardly any light, but he could still see most of the details he was interested in.

Nami was swimming in the lake.

Neither her helmet not the black plate she usually wore below her waist were present, and the same went for her staff. As she always did on such occasions, she would dive down beneath the surface of the lake for a short while, then emerge with something in her hands, either a handfull of algae or a small -but not overly so- fish. She gathered a rather large amount of such food over the course of an hour or so, then stopped and simply floated on the water for a short while. Then she looked around. For a brief moment, her gaze seemed to fall on Thresh and Orianna, but he guessed she didn't spot them from so far away in the dark, otherwise she would have most likely gone away. Then, finally, she began.

The marai placed her index fingers on her forehead, right on the middle, then slid them underneath her skin. The undead wondered what kind of sound he would have heard had he been closer as her skin was slowly, gently torn open, revealing another layer of paler skin beneath. She pulled the old layer away, then she placed her hands where her scales began to cover her body. Once again, Nami slid her fingers beneath her skin, this time with more strength, and began to peel herself out of her old hide, a greenish, sticky substance coming off from between her old and new skin.

The process was slow, and Thresh stared as more and more of her new, lighter scales were exposed to the air and water as she kept pushing the older layer away. Was that painful? Would she bleed, were he to yank it all away with a single, swift motion? Would he find another layer of scales, were he to yank them away from her body one at a time? What sound would her arms do, were he to bend them at angles not meant for them? What was the color of her bones? What would cracks sound upon forming on them? Would her heart keep beating if he were to expose it to the air? Would she scream in agony, were his fingers to slowly pull her ribcage open? How long could she suffer, were he to flay her flesh one little string at a time? Could he pull her beautiful eyes out of their sockets, or would that kill her too quickly?

Such thoughts filled his mind as he kept staring. Next to him, Orianna was doing the same. Had he not been so focused, he would have probably wondered what she was thinking about.

Eventually, Nami finished shedding her old skin, and then began eating. Seeing her chewing on the algae didn't mean much to him, but she eventually started to take bites out of the still fresh, dead fishes, raw. A few drops of their blood fell from her lips down her chin and into the water. How many teeth were there in her mouth, for him to pull out? How much blood would her tongue sprinkle, were he to severe it? What sound would her jaw do, were he to dislocate it?

"... wIll wE PlAY wITh HeR nExT?" Orianna asked.

It took the warder a few moments to realize the mechanical doll had spoken, and a few more to rationalize that she was talking to him.

"I would love to, but my answer to that question has to be negative"

"ThIS... ConFuSeS OrIAnNa" she replied.

He could see why. They had been together long enough for her to be able to see when he was interested in someone, and she was more than familiar with what he wanted to do to those he gave that look to. She... kind of wanted the same, even. She had always had somewhat... similar interests to Thresh, and he had been spending a lot of time cultivating that side of her after all. She recalled some of his lessons. There were some individuals it was better to not go after, he had once told her. So she wondered what sort of individual Nami was. It's not like she had never met her, but their interactions had all been brief and... well, dry.

Eventually, Nami dove into the waters, carrying her old skin with her. That meant that the show was over. A bit of annoyance began to fall on Thresh. He had fantasized many times about how the marai's skin would feel under his sickle, but he never got the chance to compare reality with his imagination. He had tried to a couple of times, but she was no easy prey. That, by itself, wouldn't have been a problem, on the contraty, it would have made the catch that much sweeter, but then Ahri came into the picture and befriended -in her own messed up, twisted way- the marai. And now harming her would have made the fox his enemy. And her friendship -if you could call it that- still offered too many advantages for him to let go of that bond.

Or maybe he just didn't want to lose the fox.

... no, that would have been too crazy even for him.

Besides, there was another reason why he had began to leave Nami alone. There used to be a spark in her eyes, the kind of light he oh so loved to see dwindle as he tore the body and spirit of his victims apart. A will to live in some, a sense of purpose in other, simple happiness in others still. But then, at one point, Nami had disappeared. She had gone back to the ocean, according to Ahri. Then, a few weeks later, she had reappeared, but she had left that spark in the depth. He had no idea what happened, and he was sure she'd never tell him were he to ask. So all he was left with was a sense of disappointment at himself for not having captured the prey back when it was still as alluring. It wasn't even that her current state didn't interest him, the comparison just... bothered him. Made him feel frustrated. To console himself, he turned towards Orianna. Towards the object he was slowly turning into a real living creature. And savored in his mind the moment he would finally harvest her.

As if having perceived that, the Ball moved betweem him and her, emitting a low, irregular sound.

"No, BaLL. DoN't do THaT" she ammonished it, in response to which her guardian fell silent.

"... Well then" Thresh then said as he stood up, the lantern floating back to his side "I still need to have a little talk with the fox tomorrow, then we will leave"

She mechanical girl nodded silently. Or maybe that was just an automatic motion caused by her gears turning.

"... wash your hands before then though"

Orianna stared at her palms. They were still covered in blood, flesh, feathers and bones.

The next day came surprisingly quickly. Thresh got dragged into something by Ahri, so his and Orianna's departure got delayed by quite a bit. The mechanical girl spent most of that time walking around the backyard. At one point, however, she decided to head to the lake. The Ball guiding her through the vegetation, she arrived there rather quickly. She stepped into the water, warm against her cold body, though the feeling brought her neither joy nor discomfort. She ran her gaze below the surface, looking for something, until her eyes fixed on a moving dot. In response to that, something came out from the Ball at high speed, piercing the calm waters. Orianna walked up to the point the Ball had struck at and picked up a small, motionless fish with a three-pointed, metallic star stuck in its head. She removed the sharp object, returned it to the Ball then began trying to remove the fish's scales, one by one.

With... messy results.

Later she headed back to the house and walked from one room to the other, but found noone. There was still that one room with a label on the door she hadn't checked out, but Thresh had told her to not go there. With nowhere else to go, she walked outside and stood there. When, not too long after, the warden emerged from the underground room, he found droplets of blood and small bits of flesh here and there on the floor. Knowing who did that and having no intention to clean that up, he searched for Orianna. Much to his surprise, however, he stumbled into Nami. Her skin and scales were still lacking a bit of color. It would have probably taken a few days for them to turn to the same shade her old ones had.

"Oh dear, what might a minnow be doing so far away from the ocean?"

"Are you busy?"

"... come again?"

"Are you busy right now?"

... what?

"I was, in all truth and honesty, about to be on my way to more densely populated settlements, where I believe I will find someone to spend a cold night with, listening to his or her voice under the moonlight while helping the fortunate fellow get rid of some excessive weight" he replied with a small, mocking bow.

Nami... didn't really like his answer, nor his gesture, but she was somewhat getting used to it. Or maybe she simply didn't care about his manners anymore.

"Why do you ask, minnow?"

He followed her eyes with his own, and noticed that her gaze was falling on his... hands. What was going on?

"... nevermind" she said as she turned around and swam away on a small wave.

Thresh stared at her back, and he couldn't help but picture her spine as exposed, his fingers tapping over her very bones. Then, however, the marai stopped and turned back around.

"You know, it doesn't really matter how far away you are. Your gaze is always unpleasantly warm" she said.

Silence fell between them.

... oh. Oh dear he thought.

Then Nami left.

"... what was that about?" he asked noone, alone in the hallway.

Warm? His gaze? Was Nami losing it? ... well, Thresh himself wouldnt' really call sane any of her acquaintances, at least none of those he knew of, so it wouldn't really surprise him if she started... going off the deep end, so to say. After a few moments he decided he'd give it more thought in a different occasion. For the time being, he simply made a mental note about the next time he would go sightseeing at the lake then went back to look for Orianna. Whom he quickly found.

"We should get going" he told.

In response, she dropped what was left of the fish, which she had kept in her hands until then. Upon seeing that, Thresh laughed. Why, she wasn't sure.

Then, just as they had arrived, they left.

Hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading.