CW: Violence and Body Horror

The sound of fanged teeth clenching down on open air reverberated as Conri felt his body forcibly pulled back. His hand just inches away from an unnatural bear trap. Eli had thrown themselves in the opposite direction, taking Conri with him, colliding with the ground. Eli’s arms unhooked themselves from around Conri upon impact. Above them Dalton’s form loomed disproportionally, his shadow several shades darker than before. Dalton’s monstrous second mouth slammed downward as the two rolled in opposite directions, avoiding contact. Conri’s world had dissolved into a black and white horror film as the teeth dug into the solid ground, pulling up chunks of dirt, and spilling out of the corners of its maw. Dalton's smile had grown. 

The longer Conri stared, the louder his own voice raged in his head. Insentient. Demanding. It forced Conri to cover his ears as he rolled over onto his stomach. Dalton's praying mantis like body idly swaying, looking between the menu before him. 

Dalton’s head jerked towards Eli. Eli was only half off the ground as he met Dalton’s eyes. Dalton’s spindly body stretching outward, aggressively charging towards Conri’s friend. 

What was previously Eli's school bully was now something completely inhuman. The split mouth growing until Dalton's lower jaw detached and bloomed into a carnivorous predator. Conri shouted Eli's name in a desperation, his words sounding muffled as he covered his ears.

A blaring gleam of white exploded from within Conri's colorless world as Eli conjured light between Dalton and him. Dalton's body lurched backwards, head toward the sky, hands attempting to cover his eyes. Conri's view filled with refractions of scattering light particles. From his position on the ground, clenching his teeth, he removed his hands from his ears and pushed himself up and forward. He felt his body obey, propelling himself, his features elongated, coating itself in his thick hide and his own fangs fully bared. Momentum carried him until colliding with the disorientated Dalton. Conri's head crashing into Dalton's back, forcing him away and onto the ground. Conri's larger hound body asserted authority in front of Eli. 

Conri's sharply tipped ears continued to twitch against his inner voice.  Hunched forward, legs arched, Conri readied to pounce. Dalton's form contorted as it tried to stand. One of Dalton's arms sprang up and planted its palm forcibly into the ground, their elbow at an painful angle. The other arm followed then their legs one by one. Before Conri could see Dalton's eyes, he charged. He slammed his front claws on top of Dalton's hands, pinning them in place. Coagulated shimmering gray liquid spilled onto the ground upon contact. It clashed under Conri's black fur and the scent made his eyes want to water. A nauseous sensation began to bubble in his throat. Dalton's head snapped up, their face too close for Conri's comfort, features looking even more unnatural even in Conri's unsaturated world. Dalton's deformed mouth let out a gleeful screech before ramming his skull forward, colliding against Conri's. 

Conri's body recoiled and his gripped weakened for Dalton's escape. Slipping from under Conri's paws, Dalton's arms pulled free then latched his fingers into patches of Conri's fur. Conri felt his body pulled as he was effortlessly tossed aside. Skidding against the ground, his fur collecting dust, dirt and bits of asphalt. He felt his skin burn from where he was grabbed. Conri snarled, shaking off the initial pain then charged for Dalton again. Eli was on his feet which was of greater interest to Dalton. Streaks of white flashed through the air as Conri watched Eli's move to the offensive. 

The flashbangs of light were interrupted as Dalton hand snaked outwards, grasping a hold of Eli's arm. Eli reacted, firing off their biggest conjuration of burning white light, showering them in tints of flaring bulbs. They flashed in rapid succession, each strobe like form likely to catch much attention. Dalton flinched, his grip still holding Eli, attempting to use his free hand swat away the onslaught. Conri's inner voice grew deeper, heavier in his eardrums like a thundering bass. Relying heavily on his nose to follow the sour scent of Dalton's wounds, Conri bounded faster towards the pair. He leaped into the air, claws extending out to their fullest. Conri sunk them into Dalton's back, the same shimmering liquid pooling into Dalton's clothing and down Conri's hands. Conri howled as Dalton thrashed about, Eli's body was forcibly carried along. 

Dalton's head bent completely backwards, his second mouth in full view for Eli, while his eyes met Conri's once again. The window into Dalton's consciousness was nothing like anything Conri had seen. Conri's inner voice started fading the longer he looked as he began to see the hate and spite inside Dalton. One that followed hatred and pure prejudice for those around them. Dalton was not questioning his actions, he had given into his intentions long before and chose to act in this way. 

Suddenly Eli's scream pierced through the air and shot through Conri's ears. Conri's fur stood on end fearing the worse for his friend. Dalton used this chance to give his body one last violent shove, unhooking Conri's claws from under his skin. Conri fell to the ground where Dalton's leg kicked backwards into his torso with surprising force. A whimper escaped as he was sent tumbling away, the air knocked out of him. Before he could right himself, a hand scruffed the fur on the back of Conri's neck, fingers lacing into a fist and forced Conri's head against the ground. Fear and frustration filled him as he desperately tried to fight against his captor. Conri could only watch as Dalton's gaze was taken away from Eli and now onto four identical figures encircling the pair, each presenting the same stiff and calculative movements that were instantly recognizable as government dolls.

Dalton's ego driven smile continued to linger, riding on the euphoric sensation of his actions. A sickening succession of bones cracked as Dalton. His split lower jaw still in full bloom. Conri watched as Eli was dropped, body crumpling into a trembling ball. The dolls seeing this opening rushed forward just as Dalton bolted, his nimble body easily evading capture as if embodying properties of wind. The dolls countered, changing directions with mechanically strategic reactions, but with little success. It was a game that Dalton grew bored of quickly. Letting out a deep huff, Dalton haphazardly rubbed the inside of his hand around the corners of his face, spreading dark residue over his skin. He hunched forward, letting out a final animalistic roar that sent a multitude of chills down Conri's spine. Dalton then charged full force forward straight through the group of dolls and escaped deeper into the city. 

The last thing Conri saw were three dolls follow Dalton as the fourth went to Eli's side. 

___________

A group of officers and clerics had stationed themselves around the scene just moments after Dalton's escape. The Drip was ordered to close shop in the meantime while investigations went underway. Conri sat on a bench across the street, no longer a hound, but as a shaken up human witness. He watched dolls patrol the area, officers question pedestrians, inspecting the battle ground and assisting the clerics huddled around Eli. Conri wasn't surprised that he was the first to be questioned and despite the circumstances, he was able to share what he knew efficiently. It was made even more difficult to watch his surroundings as color returned to his vision. A part of him wished it stayed black and white until this was all over. As Conri sat in wait, he picked up bits and pieces of passing conversations that left him with more questions. 

One of his first questions was answered almost immediately upon the officer's team arrival. The hand that held him was the officer in charge. They weren't in a usual uniform and looked several years older and taller than their subordinates. He bore a dusty brown trench coat adorned with padded stitching on the sleeves and across the chest. It was worn over a cream colored shirt tucked into khakis that were held up by suspenders and wore thick black boots that were easily digging into the ground with each step. Though he carried wrinkles on his forehead and under his eyes, his healthy combed hair made his age difficult to pinpoint. A neat short length of strawberry blond and silver waves. The color was only a shade or two lighter than their full looking beard. The size of this man easily explained how he could hold almost anyone down with one hand. 

The next pieces of information weren't as easy to make sense of. Conri's hands were stained with what he thought was blood except instead of a deep rich red, the color reminded him of cheap counterfeit gold. It felt like blood, smooth, wet and pungent, but when it dried, it made his skin look terribly bruised. A fresh bruise of dark violet surrounded with golden yellow. Next was the crime scene. Since his attention was fully on Dalton, Conri failed to notice the sudden appearance of soot like etchings that had burned through patches of ground. Sets of intricate spheres, lines and what could've been words. Conri couldn't see the whole thing from where he sat, but the general shape felt familiar. However, he wasn't able to deduce if Dalton or Eli were the cause. 

Conri breathed deeply then looked towards the group of clerics. Their monochrome uniforms reminded him of penguins trying to huddle and keep warm. Eli sat up in the center, pale and trembling as one cleric held him upright assisting another as they checked for vitals and the final one was preoccupied with Eli's arm. Conri got a brief glimpse and from the look of it, it seemed his inner voice had spoken in literal terms. Dalton had managed to take off three of Eli's fingers, leaving only his left thumb and index. If any more time had passed, Conri didn't know how much more Dalton would've taken. This was at the forefront of his questions. Why?

"Mr. Murano," a gruff voice broke through Conri's thinking, baritone and direct. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes," Conri mustered up some strength and looked into the face of the officer who grappled him. "Did you find Dalton?"

"Wishful thinking kid. Afraid nothing yet." His tone sounded irritable like he had been asked that question already. "He didn't seem like any normal humanoid, can never tell these days huh." Conri wasn't sure if this was a personal jab, or at the other inhuman citizens who could alter their forms. 

"Do you at least have any leads?" Conri replied, the ghost of Dalton's malicious eyes in his mind. "Any idea where he could be going?"

"No." Direct and without hesitation. "We are still putting together what we can first." A thick finger pointing towards Eli. "I'm sorry about your friend. Luckily he's only missing a few fingers. I've seen humans end up in far worse shape when they choose to live in our world. In my professional opinion, it be best for him to return to his own realm, far away from all this." 

Conri watched the man presented him a hand towel, most likely acquired from the clerics.

The bluntness began to irritate Conri, but he took the towel and cleaned his hands. "Eli will make up his own mind. We should be focused on Dalton, he's now even more dangerous and tied up in some sort of bullshit." He could picture Rovin's smile too clearly. "Shouldn't you be more worried about protecting everyone and not just inhumans?"

"You're right," the semi-goliath started, unfazed by Conri's boldness. "however, you know neither one of us have a full picture of what we're dealing with. I have my men out on patrol and sent an alert to the senate, so while they do their job, I'll do mine." His face inched closer. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt considering what you went through, but as a mild curtesy, I have to remind you that its considered a crime to withhold information from an investigation, kid. I don't care if Dalton was your friend, if you know something you have yet to share, you better tell me. Now."

Conri bit the inside of his cheek to avoid looking immediately away. "We weren't ever friends." He huffed out. 

The officer gave an indifferent shrug and straightened up. "We'll be in touch then." He turned and addressed a few dolls to start packing up and shutting down the general area. Conri watched him hold out his left hand, fingers pointed down and snapped, causing a thin blue outline of a sphere to expand from the point the officer indicated. It bloated and grew several feet in the air, over most of their heads and tops of nearby buildings before fading out of view. 

"Deputy Chief Sunleaf," an Arakocra dressed in uniform saluted the man next to Conri. "Area is secure sir."

"Good." Sunleaf's head turned back towards Conri. "You need an escort home?" 

"No, I'll be fine." He was quickly to reply. The possibility of being around officers even longer wasn't appealing to him. 

Deputy Chief Sunleaf and his subordinates soon took their leave with the clerics escorting Eli. Conri took time to mentally collect himself before starting to make his way back to The Drip, taking in one last look at the scorch markings. Clouds started gathering overhead, teasing the lowering sun, as he waited at the crosswalk. From across the street, he saw the sign on the cafe's doors read 'CLOSED' in its calligraphic font. As he approached the building, a car horn greeted him from the road. It beeped cheerfully twice as a white postal truck parallel parking a few feet ahead, Landis at the wheel giving Conri a wave. 

Once parked, he exited the vehicle and trotted over with a casual and somewhat tired smile. 

"Hey again! Great timing, you working today?"

It took Conri a moment, but he cleared his throat. "We actually had to close early, I'm sorry." Taking off his apron, he wrapped the hand towel in it. 

"Oh really? Shoot." Landis smile dropped. "Is everything ok?"

"No-" Conri gave a frustrated sigh. "Yes, I mean. No! The cafe itself is fine. We just had an incident and someone got hurt and officers got involved and just- " 

Landis could see Conri's struggle to make eye contact as he stumbled through the explanation. 

Conri started making small gestures with his hands as he spoke. "We should be open tomorrow. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." 

"Hey, don't apologize, I understand." Landis kept his tone relaxed. "To be honest, its been kind of a day for me too." Instinctively, he inched closer. "If its not too forward, can I ask if you, yourself, are you ok?" 

Landis waited as he could see Conri's mind working towards an answer, it was an uncomfortable pause in the conversation, but he waited. 

"Frankly, I just want to get home."

"Sounds like a good idea. I can give you a lift." Landis gestured to his truck.