Chapter 9:

All the way back to the great hall Sae hums and bounces in excitement. His fingers eagerly twitch in anticipation as his mind swirls with thoughts of getting his hands on this sneaky little monster that had managed to hide itself so perfectly within the Westin clan.

The other three don’t talk much, the only sound that can be heard from them is the crunch of snow from underfoot as they solemnly trek back to the great hall. There’s a silent agreement between the lot of them to leave the monster hunting solely to Sae who seems the most excited about it. Not only that, but he’d been requested by gods specifically to deal with this problem. If someone else was to claim credit for the kill it might cause Sae problems.

The great hall is just as they left it—the disciples sit all around with empty bowls and mugs of steaming tea while they talk quietly amongst themselves. Sae examines his surroundings with laser focus. For this moment, while on a hunt, Sae cares very little about how the humans perceive him. Despite Sae’s typically flippant attitude, he does usually take some care to behave in a mostly acceptable manner. If he had no concerns whatsoever about his image he would never bother with putting on a glamour to hide his true form. The promise of a fight though draws out his darker side and so casually he slinks through the crowd without a single sound as he looks for his monster. Some of the disciples don’t even notice him as he slides past so quietly, just like a shadow.

Trae, Hona, and Frey watch from the sides of the hall with varying feelings. Trae watches this new side of Sae with a guarded expression. Since Sae’s returns he has not believed in even half of the things that his little brother has prattled on about. Most of it had just seemed like a fantasy to him. If it hadn’t been for the presence of Scripp and Strigg to verify his claims that he’d been living in the shadowlands he wouldn’t have believed any of it at all. He would’ve thought his brother to be mentally unwell. A part of him wishes that was truly the case. Watching his childish little brother stalk through the crowd of disciples with the focused intent of a predator leaves him feeling unsettled.

Frey on the other hand pays almost no mind to Sae whatsoever. Her attention is focused on the disciples, her friends, and she anxiously worries about which one of them has been killed by this monster. She also worries that the monster will manage to hurt more disciples when Sae confronts it. Her hands instinctively grip at the hilt of her sword and she readies herself to step in if the need arises.

Hona barely notices the current situation at all. His mind is still swirling in confusion over the revelation that Sae is not totally human. Of course Sae had said as much when they had visited him on the mountain a few months prior, but hearing it and experiencing it are completely different things. Sae’s glamour is truly an impressive spell that he wears effortlessly. Only an experienced cultivator would even notice that he’s wearing one.

Sae himself hardly notices anything else around him as he silently examines the Westin clan. The shadows of the living quiver and react as he passes by and tests them. It’s not until he gets to the far side of the room that he finds what he’s looking for. A small boy huddled in a corner behind a brazier. From a distance he looks like any other small child, he was most likely the son of a servant. There are not many small children in the Westin clan since most clan members join the clan as young adults to study, but this boy looks like he couldn’t have been older than six or seven.

He’s a grubby little thing, his once white robes dirtied and stained with who knows what. His black hair hangs in greasy locks over his forehead and his large blue eyes seem to bulge slightly out from his hollowed face. If this child had been on the streets nobody would’ve had batted an eye at him, he looks like any other street urchin, but here in the Westin clan this appearance is highly unusual. When Sae tests the boy's shadow it stays limp and still just like a dead thing’s.

He crouches down in front of the boy with an amicable smile. “Now listen here, if you’d been smart you would’ve chosen to inhabit animals, but instead here you’ve gone and killed some humans. Why’d you do something stupid like that?” Sae laughs and leans in closer to hear the answer.

The monster widens his eyes and stays perfectly still under Sae’s stare. The other disciples nearby hear Sae’s words and anxiously share looks with each other before quickly moving away from those two.

The monster turns his head away, “I didn’t…” it mutters to the floor causing Sae to laugh even more.

“You didn’t? That one you’re wearing right now is definitely dead. If you didn’t kill him than what did?” Sae questions. The monster shrugs and seems to curl in on itself even more. “No use hiding it.” Sae points out. “If you don’t come out on your own I’ll make you come out and no one wants that.”

The monster shudders and looks at Sae through the curtain of it’s greasy hair. The baleful blue eyes stare listlessly for a moment before recognizing Sae’s resolve in the matter. After the moment passes it’s eyes darken while it’s facial features twitch and seem to change shape.

Sae watches with bated breath as the boy’s head begins to change, some parts sagging down while other parts bulge out as the entity inside moves. Through its slackened jaw two blue eyes peer out from the mouth and then it’s spindly fingers come next. The mouth is stretched wider as more of the monster starts to crawl out. It’s eyes never leaving Sae as the creature reveals itself bit by bit. It takes only a few moments before the boy’s body falls to the floor with a thud as the monster sheds it’s disguise.

Sae’s smile widens at the twisted sight before him. “Is it a tree?” He breathes out in excitement as he takes in the full view of the monster.

The monster really does resemble a tree more than any other creature. There is no head and it only has a vaguely humanoid shape. The center mass of it is similar to the trunk of a birch tree with it’s pale bark. Blackened whorls mark the surface and appear to make horrible faces at anybody looking at it. From the body are a number of branching appendages that twist and quiver in the exposed air. From it’s two main appendages are what look like hands and on the index finger of each hand are the two blue eyes staring coldly at Sae. These eyes are the only human thing about this monster, they are perfectly spherical and they glisten wetly in the firelight. Just like the previous hosts, the insides of this one too had become liquid and rotting and the creature is fully soaked in this horrid, slimy mixture making it appear wet and shiny as it moves to and fro in the light.

At the sight of the monster taking shape in the hall the students and teachers closest all quickly disperse and try to get as far away as possible. Frey is quick to jump in and urge everybody to go outside to avoid getting in the way of the impending fight. Her intervention is hardly necessary though, even the students farthest away from Sae and the creature, who have no clue about what’s happening, are almost as quick to react because of the rancid smell that permeates throughout the entire hall.

Despite his resolve to leave the monster for Sae to handle Trae still finds himself pushing through the crowd of frightened people to stand next to his little brother. “Do you have a plan?” he asks impatiently. His hand grips his blade tightly, but he’s disciplined enough to not give in to his instincts that are screaming at him to cut down the horrid thing standing before him.

“Hmm…” Sae calmly taps his chin in thought. “It's bigger than I thought it would be.” He says just as the monster lashes out at them with it’s mass of sharp branches. Sae and Trae both easily dodge out of the way and take a few steps back to come up with a plan of attack.

By now the whole hall has emptied out. The only remaining cultivators are Sae, Trae, Hona, and Frey. Hona and Frey though continue to hang back and guard the doors to ensure that the monster doesn’t try to escape.

“That's not a plan!” Trae snaps back anxiously causing Sae to laugh.

“It's fine.” He reassures his older brother. “Scripp.” He calls for his servant and gestures with his hands to tell her what to do.

The shadow materializes silently from under the monster and easily manages to grab ahold of it and keep it from moving. With it firmly stuck in place Sae is able to move closer with ease. He bats away the branching limbs as if they really are just tree limbs and not attached to a raging monster. The monster’s eerie silence causes the others to feel unsettled, but after living with shadowkin for so many years Sae is used to the quiet. When the monster lashes out at him again he fearlessly grabs the limb and rips it off completely. His movements are so quick and the action done so easily that anybody watching would think that the monster is made of paper and not a grotesque mix of wood and flesh.

Sae tosses aside the appendage he’d broken off to the floor where it oozes out black gunk. The horrid smell intensifies as the monster bleeds and it’s movements become even more erratic. It tries to break free from Scripp’s hold without any success, the branches flail about wildly, but Sae is able to remain unscathed as he slyly slips past the creature’s defenses as deftly as a shadow and swats away it’s desperate attacks like one would an insect.

“Ah, it’s too bad,” he laments, “I was hoping for a decent fight.” Sae grins anyway though as he goes in for the kill. He lurches forward and in a single movement is able to punch his fist into the center mass of the monster. His hand grossly squelches as he grips the heart and rips it free. Black ooze splatters out from the force and covers Sae and the surrounding area.

From behind him he can hear Trae cursing. He looks back at his brother to see him furiously fussing with his robes that have been splattered as well, the once blue fabric now stained with monster goo. Sae's attention is only diverted for a moment though before he focuses back on the monster as it withers and dies in front him. The creature collapses in a pathetic heap on the ground and curls in on itself as its blood pools around it. When the creature takes its last breath and all movements stop it’s no more the size of a tree, but instead like a small animal curled up and laying there dead. Sae lets the heart drop from his hand where it lands with a wet slap in the puddle of blood.

Scripp sidles up to her master with a soft purr rumbling in her chest. With the danger over Hona and Frey also come over to inspect what remains.