Chapter I
A soft rustle throughout the trees, soft sounds echoing from above, the sound of songbirds in the distance. All of these sounds both near and far, a messy chorus of soft, yet chaotic chatter.
The strong scent of earth permeated from the ground below, the grassy earth glowing with dappled sunlight filtering in through the tree canopies higher up.
All was as it should be, if not for the out of place individual sprawled out face-first on the ground. That single form of white stood out against the vast array of earthy colors painting the surroundings.
That figure remained motionless, his white hair blowing gently with the occasional, gentle breeze that swept through.
Only when the strong scent of earth began gathering at his nose, did he finally stir, a peculiar set of snow white ears, tipped with a soft green, twitched from atop his head. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he also boasted a similarly colored, bushy tail, the fur matted and discolored with dirt and iron red stains.
Even his skin seemed porcelain white, despite the smudges, cuts, and bruises that littered his small statured body.
He was clearly disorientated as he pushed himself upright into a sitting position with painfully sore arms, trying to make sense of his surroundings….Yet all around him seemed to be nothing more than a blurred set of colors, that strong, earth scent choking his senses.
His head was throbbing, feeling as though it just might split into two, his thoughts drowned underneath a murky torrent of turbulence. Pain echoed throughout his aching body as he attempted to gather his still scattered thoughts, blurred vision gradually clearing to reveal a forest he did not recognize.
Foreign scents struck the roof of his agape mouth, mixing together into a giant mass of absolutely nothing of familiarity.
Just...Where was he? What had happened to him? He desperately tried to recollect past events, remembering a sense of impact before regaining consciousness, and...Before that…
He grimaced, refusing to recollect anything before that point. No, he shut off any such recollections, finally gathering his bearings enough to push himself to his feet, his body straining and staggering in protest. Clothes tattered, his tail hanging heavily behind him, he looked like a literal wreck, but he couldn’t afford to focus on that right now.
Shaking his head to clear it, he gave the air an inquisitive sniff...But all he could smell was that overwhelming stench of moisture and earth. Perhaps even more overwhelming because of his throbbing head. He felt like he might upchuck, but he swallowed down on the feeling, taking a step, followed by another, and another. He just needed to keep moving forward. He couldn’t stay here.
He made no effort to lift his tail as he stumbled along, his fur occasionally snagging on low hanging branches or underbrush, but he paid it no mind.
For what felt like an eternity, he carried on, unsure of whether or not he was even making any progress forward. Maybe he was simply going in circles. How ironic would it have been if he ended up wandering aimlessly until he withered away in some forest he didn’t even know? The thought caused a dry laugh to escape his throat, sounding raspy and pitiful.
It was as he was thinking such hopeless thoughts, that he picked up on a vague, yet familiar scent.
People. Or rather, Humans. Their scent carried along the gentle breeze that swept in from beyond the forest.
A sense of hope and excitement burned within his chest, but perhaps it was because of that excitement, that he didn’t realize something was different. Almost too quickly, he picked up the pace, instinctively following his nose...And soon enough, he could make out sunlight in the distance, the trees breaking up, becoming less clustered together.
If he were to push on even further, at last, the edge of the forest broke apart to reveal a massive, grassy landscape that seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. Endlessly, perhaps, aside from the little village he could make out in the far off distance.
The sight was so bright and dazzling that he had to shield his eyes for a moment, but only for a moment before he began making his way forward again. He was certain if he kept up a good pace, he could reach that village in a few hours or so...And then perhaps maybe, just maybe, he could figure out just where exactly he had ended up.
Or so he hoped anyhow. For now, he simply continued onward.
As expected, a handful of hours passed before he finally closed the distance between the forest and the little village entrance.
A run down gate, barely standing still. It looked ready to topple any moment.
Then a dusty scent tickled at his nose, earthy, like the forest before, yet somehow different. Most likely the cause was the dirt laden roads winding throughout the little village.
The buildings were made of wood, looking incredibly worn...In fact, if he were to look closely, they were all pretty run down and battered. There was a lack of people as well, even if he could still pick up on their fresh scent.
Honestly...The air felt somehow tense.
He felt eyes on him, even if he couldn’t see anyone around yet, his ears flicking back a bit in response.
Now that he had a moment to think more clearly, he realized what that strange feeling was that had been nagging at the pit of his stomach.
The scent. They certainly smelled of Humans, and yet...Different from the ones he had known.
A sudden crash sounded off nearby just as he came to that conclusion, and he jumped, the fur along his ears and tail swelling out in alarm. He couldn’t help but whip his body around towards the source of the noise, a frightened woman with dark brown hair and eyes staring at him, wide eyed with fear and terror. At her feet, a shattered, ceramic pot laid about in pieces, it’s contents spilled about haphazardly.
“...D...Demon…!” The pitiful voice escaped her, barely audible past her hysteria.
Finally, others began to emerge from their homes, steadily surrounding him and trying to protect the woman who cowered in fear...Even if he had done nothing to her at all.
He was taken aback, really. Even if many held distrust towards Demons, this reaction was far more exaggerated than what he was accustomed to. He was barely able to collect his thoughts past his surprise before flinching as one of the men swung a sickle towards him, desperately trying to shoo him away.
“W-What the hell are you?” The man questioned, barely fighting back his terror, a look of confusion mixed within it all. Like he didn’t quite understand what he was looking at.
“...A fox…? No, it still must be…”
“I thought that Demon from the other day said he killed them all…!”
A jumble of panic ridden conversations interlapped, reaching his ears as he tried to grasp straws at the escalating situation. These Humans were terrified of him, as though they truly thought he might lash out at any given moment.
Ridiculous. If he harbored any such intentions, he would have done so already.
“L-Listen, I-” He finally spoke up, his voice hoarse and cracked.
“Be quiet!!” He was interrupted harshly, the frightened man taking another swing towards him. “Get out! Go back to the forest!!” He hissed, growing ever so steadily more hysterical by the moment.
“I just-” The fox tried to explain himself, but they simply wouldn’t listen. He feared that they may all jump at him at any moment.
“What’s going on here?” A new voice rung out, sounding unusually clear to him, and when the fox turned around, he was surprised at what he saw.
Another Demon. That much was clear, and yet, he had never seen such a Demon before in his life.
His hair was a striking violet, tanned, pointed ears just barely poking out from beneath that hair, reaching just past his chin.
His eyes...Were hetero-chromatic. One, a deep, crimson red, and the other, a glistening, icy silver.
They completed contrasted his own eyes, a deep, forest green. The fox found himself strangely captivated by them for that brief moment when their gazes met. He felt as though he had been captured by that sharp gaze.
“You again…” The man with the sickle grimaced, not putting forth an ounce of effort to hide his disdain. “You vile creature. I thought you said you took care of the Demons! You cheated us!!” He hissed, gripping the handle of his sickle with force. “Left one of your buddies behind to feast, did you?” He practically spat his words, laced with venom.
The newcomer didn’t so much as bat an eyelash, despite the clear aggression fired his way.
“I did take care of it.” He answered plainly, his gaze returning to the fox, his expression lacking any obvious thoughts or emotions. Rather, he was void of them. The fox had no idea of knowing what might have been going on within his head, catching sight of a thick, smooth, black tail swaying just behind the other Demon. “I’ve never seen this one before, but I’ll take care of him.” The Demon added in, only then casting the man a sharp glance. “So step aside.”
The man shut right up, hustling back inside the confines of his home, as well as the others...Until all that remained were two Demons, the air going stagnant. Cold as ice with tension.
“...Not going to run?” The Demon questioned the fox. “Well, that just makes my job easier then.”
Before the fox could comprehend what had happened, the distance between the two had closed, searing pain shooting up his back like fire as it made an impact with the dirt laden ground.
Only then, did the aching pain from his pre existing wounds return, rekindling the sense of agony that he had been desperately biting back. He felt nearly dominated by that pain, those striking eyes boring down on him from above.
Fingers dug into his shoulders with painful ferocity, a knee grinding down on his stomach to prevent him from getting back to his feet. A sense of futility and panic swept throughout him, and he bared his fangs in response, his ears flattening fully against his head as he lashed out at his assailant. He was blinded by that sense of panic and pain, an air of pressure crushing him.
In the back of his mind, he eventually felt as though his claws had snagged on something, the pressure bearing down on him lessening just enough for him to fling his knee up, square into the stomach of his aggressor.
It was enough, a strained grunt reaching his ears before he managed to slip away, rolling across the ground before springing up to his feet.
The other Demon was clutching his stomach as he stared the fox down, a mixture of both annoyance and amusement crossing his expression.
“Ehh...Not bad for such a tiny, little thing.” The other Demon smirked, clearly mocking the fox. “Why don’t you behave yourself like a good pup now?”
The fox felt as though someone had just rubbed at his fur in the wrong direction.
“How about you just fuck off?” He snapped, tail lashing out behind him. “And I’m a fox, not a mutt. But perhaps those colorful as fuck eyes of yours don’t work too well, huh?” He shot back in retort, feeling triumphant at the look of annoyance that crossed the other Demon’s expression.
“Keep running your mouth like that, and your eyes not working will be the least of your problems.” The Demon snapped back before once again closing the distance between them.
He was fast, but that much had already become apparent by now. If looks and words could kill, the fox might have won this little skirmish by now, but as things were, he stood no chance against this Demon.
His body screamed in protest with simple movement alone, and it wasn’t long before he was easily overpowered, pinned down once more against the ground, and face-first this time around.
“Just behave.” A strong voice commanded him from above, accompanied by the feeling of fingers digging into the back of his head.
Frustration boiled up within the pit of the fox’s stomach, but it was obvious that he would be unable to throw off his assailant for a second time.
His head...Was spinning. It was painful. His ears were ringing.
Despite all his sass, he was helpless. Staying conscious was a feat all on it’s own, and he could gradually feel himself losing his grip on it, slipping away from him, bit by bit.
Knowing nothing of what would become of him, he parted with his consciousness.
Silence passed for several moments before the other Demon felt the struggles beneath him come to a halt.
The little fox had passed out.
“Hmph. Despite all your talk.” He muttered out loud, even though he was aware that the fox could no longer hear him.
Or so he had said, but he couldn’t help but look over the small, fox-like Demon.
He was covered head to toe in injuries. Many of which weren’t from their little shuffle either, and he was certain they couldn’t have come from the Humans.
This Demon...He’d never seen another like him before. He was nothing like the bestial ones he often disposed of, and yet, this fox was different from himself as well.
He seemed...Almost frail. It was pitiful.
Normally, he had no qualms with killing off his own kind, and yet…
Perhaps it was simply a whim of his.
He fished through his knapsack for a moment before pulling out a communication device.
And with a small click, he spoke.
“Eon speaking.” He began. “I happened to check back on the disposal site, and I stumbled across something interesting.” He explained, his gaze dropping back down to the small fox. “I’ll be bringing it back with me shortly.”
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