The duo left the room, and the little building they had been residing in...And Max finally got his first look at the surrounding area beyond that little room.
It was all quite a contrast in comparison to the run down, dusty little village he had stumbled upon before. The scent of green and moisture filled his lungs, bright green grass reflecting in his adjusting vision. Dirt and cobblestone paths winded throughout a small, but bustling crowd of people going to and fro.
Vendors and kiosks littered the area, lined with a delectable looking array of fish, meat, fruit, and vegetables. A pleasant smell wafted through the air, straw and wooden buildings intertwined throughout the little village. If Max were to look even further, he would catch sight of glistening blue waters in the distance.
Any way he looked at it, this little village was the epitome of calm.
Occasionally, people would pass them by, that same, cornered look in their eyes, and yet...It was considerably lessened compared to those Max had come into contact with from before.
They were wary, but they didn’t look as though they may snap at any moment.
“They’re a little more used to it here.” Eon broke the silence, as though reading Max’s thoughts. “This village is closer to the capital, and there aren’t many forests or mountains around, so it makes things relatively safer for them. Though I’m sure seeing Demon’s so close to home certainly makes them feel a bit uneasy.” He explained, that black tail flicking behind him somewhat restlessly, as though he were more bothered by the passing stares than he let off. “I’d imagine you might get a few odd looks yourself.”
Max’s ears perked at this, recalling that some of the men from the previous village had looked confused with his appearance.
“...Do most look more like you?” He questioned, admittedly curious as he gave Eon a quizzical glance.
Any way Max looked at him, Eon stood out in comparison to the rest of the Humans wandering about.
...Come to think of it, Max realized most of the Humans here all seemed to share the same, key traits. Dark colored hair, often ranging between brown and black, with either brown, or hazel colored eyes. Was that simply a trait of Raoulian Humans? It was something interesting to think about, though Max found it to be rather mundane. He felt as though they all began to look the same, if he stared for too long, anyhow.
“Ehh...Not really. Even by Demonic standards, I’m pretty out there.” Eon spoke up, snapping Max out of his previous thoughts.
“...Really?” Max blinked, tipping his head to the side, his ears flopping over just so, perfectly in time.
If Eon wasn’t the norm, Max had a hard time picturing what a regular Raoulian Demon might have looked like...He couldn’t even begin to imagine it.
“…” Eon rubbed the back of his neck, the tip of his tail curling just a tad. “...At any rate. Let’s get a move on. We’re gonna want to make some good distance before night fall, after all.” He said, turning on his heel and beckoning Max to follow along after him with a swift flick of his tail.
Max was struck with the sudden sensation that Eon had felt awkward somehow, though he couldn’t imagine why...Regardless, he trailed right on after him as the two began to make their way beyond the little lakeside village.
Spanning out beyond that point was nothing but a vast field of grass, as far as the eye could see, the only thing splitting it apart being the dirt road cut cleanly through it.
The grass was so tall that a grown man could easily disappear within it...Truthfully, it gave Max a somewhat uncomfortable feeling, being so out in the open.
At some point, he had walked a little ways ahead of Eon, his gaze glued to the path as they walked.
As for Eon...There came a point where his attention became fixated on Max’s tail just ahead of him.
The way it just swayed in time with each of his steps was somehow tantalizing. His tail was just so...So...So fluffy. He’d never seen a more fluffier thing in his entire life.
And then...He was struck with a hopelessly strong impulse.
That tail...He wanted to touch it.
He was seized by that impulse, being so terribly strong that he was pretty much glaring daggers at Max’s tail. It were as though he was staring at his life long foe. His mortal enemy.
Needless to say, Max had long since picked up on the piercing stares stabbing at him from behind, his ears flicking back in response. He began to feel uncomfortable, honestly.
Just...What was Eon’s problem, exactly? It was just as Max caved in on the need to question him...That Eon lost to his impulsive need almost spectacularly.
Instantaneously, Max let out a startled shriek of surprise as a hand clamped firmly around his tail.
Like a startled cat, Max bristled, snapping around and swatting at Eon with a hiss.
“The hell are you doing?!”
“...Ah.” Was all that Eon said, as though he had only just realized what he had done. “Woops. My bad. You’re just so darn fluffy, I couldn’t help myself.” He answered on the dime, thinking nothing of his actions, as though they had been completely natural. How couldn’t they have been?
“...Is that so?” Max narrowed his eyes, though he couldn’t bring himself to stay angry at him for some, inexplicable reason. “...You walk ahead this time.” He added in with a small sigh, not trusting Eon with walking behind him now.
“Oh, did you want to touch mine too?”
“No.” Max frowned, exasperated. “Just go.”
“Alright, alright.” Eon snorted, feeling oddly amused as he began walking on ahead...But he paused when he soon realized Max had suddenly halted in his tracks, his gaze fixated towards the tall grass. “What is it?”
No response.
Max’s ears were upright and alert, occasionally swiveling off in a certain direction, picking up on a nearby sound, the base of his tail trembling with tension.
He wasn’t certain at first, but then...He heard it.
Rustling. The sound of something shifting through the giant grass...Something large, and it was ever so steadily closing in on them.
He instinctively lowered his ears and body, muscles going taut.
“...Something’s coming this way.”
“...Shh, stay quiet.” Eon suddenly hushed him, grabbing ahold of his arm and tugging him off into the grass opposite of the source of the noise. “Don’t make a sound. Not a peep.” He hissed under his breath, gaze fixated on the grass on the opposite side of the road.
The moments of silence that ensued after that seemed almost suffocating.
And then...The grass trembled, rustling noisily as a large, lithe body came crawling out from beyond it, coming directly onto the road.
Cringe worthy, glistening white teeth vividly gleamed from agape jaws as the creature glanced from side to side, seemingly searching for something.
Why...Why the hell was a Demon hunting out in broad daylight? And in an open place like this?? It was entirely out of the ordinary, but Eon couldn’t afford himself the time to try and make sense of this behavior. He needed to dispose of the creature, and quickly.
‘Don’t move.’ He mouthed these words towards Max, reaching down for his pistol, his gaze locked onto the beast just ahead of them.
Slowly...Slowly, he crept forward, inching closer to the beast, as quietly as he possibly could. The situation would be much more favorable if he could get the jump on the Demon before it charged at them. If he could only just make it past the inconvenient barrier of tall grass.
He only needed one, clear shot.
The creature still tossed it’s head from side to side, seemingly preoccupied. Bestial growls and groans rumbled from it’s throat. For the time being, it seemed unaware of their presence, and yet it continued to pace to and fro, searching.
Searching…
And then, blood red eyes suddenly bore at him, the beast looking precisely in his direction.
Eon halted in his tracks, holding his breath, his heart beginning to thud loudly in his chest. He feared so loudly, in fact, that it just might have been heard.
The tip of his tail trembled, but he didn’t dare take another step, the creature maintaining it’s distance...And then, it suddenly let out a blood curdling cry, lunging forward at breakneck speed.
There wasn’t any time for Eon to get in a shot, only just barely managing to sidestep the creature as it rushed past him...And yet, to Eon’s surprise, the beast didn’t come to a halt, as one would have expected after it had missed it’s quarry. No, it just continued barreling forward...But, why was it…?
Eon only realized why when it was already too late.
The Demon was beelining directly towards where Max was still in hiding.
“...Fuck…!” Eon hissed under his breath, hastily charging forward despite knowing he wouldn’t be able to make it over to Max first.
A flash of white leapt through the air as the Demon crashed noisily throughout the grass, missing it’s mark.
“Wha-” Eon blinked, struck speechless as the sound of boots hitting the dirt beside him resounded throughout the area, Max having leapt nimbly to his side.
Despite the fact that he shouldn’t have had the time to get away safely, Max leapt right out of the way with fluid movement, making it look as easy as playing a game of hopscotch.
It was only a brief moment, but Eon was struck with the sensation that Max carried himself well. There was a look in those emerald eyes that somehow gave off a sense of experience. It was a strange thing to note, given the moment, but Eon felt as though if Max had not been injured during their first run in...He might have struggled with him a lot more than he initially did.
“What is that?” Max questioned, fur swelling out in alarm as he stared the beast down, only being able to make out a thin, scaly tail lashing about through the grass.
“That, is your typical Demon.” Eon explained, cocking his pistol as the beast took a 180, fixating back on the duo with a hiss, and charging headlong towards them once more. “Thankfully, it’s not as bright as the one I took out before.” He frowned with disinterest, a loud bang echoing throughout the air as a bullet made impact with the Demon’s shoulder, a screech ripping from it’s throat as it collapsed to the ground with a shudder, unnaturally colored veins pulsating out along the bullet wound.
It was grotesque really, spreading out along the Demon’s scaly hide like poison. Until Eon made his way over to finish the creature off, a final shot ringing out as it pierced the Demon’s skull, and all fell silent.
Max almost felt sorry for the poor thing, having seen the creature writhing in such pain and agony within it’s last moments.
He noted the wound, still festering even after death, his gaze trailing to Eon’s pistol.
He tilted his heart quizzically, retaining the urge to give it a curious sniff. No matter how he looked at it, that couldn’t have been a normal bullet.
“Ah.” Eon blinked, glancing down at his pistol before returning it to it’s holster. “The bullets are made from a type of hardened, liquid metal that’s toxic to Demons. Once it makes impact, it dissolves and passes through the blood stream. In small doses, it can cause paralysis. In large quantities, necrosis, and eventually death.”
Recalling the gruesome, festering wound he had seen, Max thought that made sense...But it was also a bit unnerving how Eon didn’t seem to bat an eyelash at handling something so potentially lethal to himself.
What’s more...The difference between Raoulian and Farronian Demons was vast. The ones back home didn’t look nearly so monstrous, and weren’t so aggressive either.
He was lost in thought comparing the differences when he jumped as he felt Eon give him a sudden sniff.
“What are you doing?” He frowned, feeling as though Eon just didn’t seem to have any sense of what personal boundaries were.
“That Demon seemed awfully fixated on you, so I thought maybe ya smelled nice or something.” Eon admitted truthfully, looking up to see a clear look of doubt and distrust color Max’s expression as he took a cautious step back. “...What? It’s not like I’m gonna eat you or anything. I don’t bite.” He frowned before a mischievous grin crept over his face. “...Unless you wanted me to?”
“…!” Max cast Eon a sharp look before scoffing and walking ahead a few paces.
“Don’t go too far. Not like you know your way, after all.” Eon called out, finding Max’s reactions amusing.
He was surprisingly fun to tease.
“Can’t exactly get lost on a straight path.” Max replied tartly, yet despite saying that, he still waited for Eon to catch up with him.
He had a feeling this was going to be a looooong trip, and yet…
Max wouldn’t know it yet, but this meeting would have been one to forever change his course in life.
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