Topic: That Which Feeds (Warning 18+)

Manticore

Date: 2012-08-11 06:08 EST
(Due to the graphic nature of some bits, I threw on a 18+ rating. So if you're under aged, or easily offended, go read something else, like....Twlight, or something equally as sparkly.)

Part 1: The Forest Is Alive

"It's fine, we'll just cut up your pretty lady instead," the bandit leader drew the knife close to the quivering woman tightly embraced to him, sliding the blade so that it drew just a thin vein of blood, better proving the point that he was not simply playing around, "if you don't hand over the money, that is..."

The merchant held up his hands, dropping onto one knee, "W-wait, don't do that, you don't want to do that....She's innocent and she has nothing to do with this, y-you just want the money, right' Here, take it, take my wedding ring....Take all my wares in the carriage, just, please, don't hurt her anymore..." The merchant untied the sack of coins from about his waist, and tossed it to the bandit leader's footsteps, including his wedding ring.

The bandit leader's many cronies drew their swords, and laughed. Money wouldn't suffice, this evening. They would take the carriage and the horse, his clothes, and then his wife. If they left him in a pool of his own blood, still clinging to life, then they had done their deed for the day.

"There, you got the money, so please, let my wife go, please, at least grant me that?" The merchant begged with the man, grovelling, almost welling up with tears as he witnessed the skin of the one he loved marked by the sharpness of that dagger, so viciously pressed against her throat. Fear gave way to hatred, longing to run his own sword through that scoundrel's gut.

How dare they ruin their once peaceful lives " how dare they do such a thing to hard working folk. They deserved punishment. They could not get away with this. But what he could do' He was but one man, and they were at least ten heavily armed psychopaths. It was hopeless.

All the merchant could do, was hope and pray, that nothing would go wrong.

"Good, seems like the dog can take orders, now, then....You held up your end of the bargain, it is only fair that I too let go of your woman, right?" The leader beamed a smile of rotten teeth, and released the whimpering woman from capture, throwing her not towards the merchant, but towards the other men.

They fell upon like savage wolves.

"W-What are you doing"!" The merchant could not contain his rage any longer, "We had a deal!" He stood briskly to defend his wife, but was struck down by a blow to the back of the head; the heavy thundering blow of a long sword's hilt splitting his skull almost wide open, showering blood down his face in slow, but steady streams.

Fortunately; like his wife had always said, he had a hard head to crack and thus, became only momentarily dazed by the blow. He took a step forward, and found the tip of a sword pushing up against his chin.

The merchant's gaze went along the length of the blade to the bandit leader, who grinned at him, in that smug, pitying expression.

"You're going to watch," the leader chuckled, "and if you don't' We'll kill her."

"You....Sick....I'll kill you..."

"Oh' I think the problem right now is, you got no choice in the matter. Me and the boys get awfully lonely out here in the wilderness. We need some fresh meat to liven us up, make us real men. You understand, don't you?" The bandit leader ran his hand through long, greasy black hair, "We'll kill her after we're done. As a man, I would never leave a woman in such a state of despair....It's just best to kill them, to save them from their misery, huh?"

"You're not men....You're animals!" The merchant snapped back, his face glowing red with his rage, his eyes seething " almost bloodshot with a crazed blood lust he had never felt before.

"Ho ho....Now we've grown a backbone have we?" The bandit leader relished in the mixture of emotions displayed in the man's features. He was not sure what he liked the most. The fear, or the hatred...

The leader inclined his head, to the woman, whose clothes were now in tatters, her womanly curves now bare to the world to see, as the hungry fingers and lips of all of his comrades smothered her futile screams and attempts to flee.

There was no where to run, not here, not in the wilderness, not this far from the city of Rhy'Din....This was their territory, their jurisdiction. Their law. Anything that passed this stretch of road, belonged to them. Including the women.

During his moment of self gratification in the merchant's defeat and the sodomy of his wife, he noticed the defeated man staring more so, behind him. As if something stood there, far more terrifying than he.

The bandit leader twisted his head, and glanced over his shoulder. His heart clenched tight, and his breath left his lungs, as he now stared into a face that was pressed up against his, with glowing red eyes and a wild manic grin, bearing fangs like a creature of the night, with a complexion of a ghost bathed in the pale moonlight.

Instantly, the leader of the bandits howled a frightful surprised yelp, and turned, ignoring the merchant entirely as he swung his blade wildly in the air as if he was battling some ethereal existence. His frenzied swipes at nothing and everything, stole his comrade's attentions, forcing them to momentarily forget about the woman they were attempting to rape.

As they voiced their concerns and moved to ready themselves for whatever their leader was attempting to attack, one of them fell, as if tripped over by something. They turned at their comrade's yelp, and recoiled in horror, as he was dragged across the ground, and into the night, screaming, as he disappeared from their sights.

They knew not what took him, for they could see nothing.

It was as if, the forest itself, had swallowed him up.

The leader of the badits eventually calmed, and sheathed his blade, his eyes wide with terror, as the distant scream of the bandit that was taken away, suddenly silenced.

An eerie void of soundless space fell upon them. Even the forest, with its many creatures " they too, were quiet. Each ragged breath of every man, could be heard as clear as a pin drop in the distance. They all looked between each other, unsure as to flee or remain.

Their course of actions, was forced, as another one of the bandits, was taken. This unsuspecting bandit was plucked from the ground as if something flew over ahead and had snatched him up, his form quickly disappearing into the canopy of the evergreen trees, wailing and flailing as he did so.

With their almost non-existent morale shattered, they all scrambled different directions. They were not going to stick around and become another victim for the forest to take. They were not going to die " they were not going to lose their life to some....Unknown enemy they cannot see, or fight.

Regardless of the leader's rallying cries, they ran off into the dead of the night, leaving him to fend for himself, against....What, exactly"

This Dark One

Date: 2012-08-15 13:22 EST
Part 2: Penance and Vengeance

It was a surreal experience watching their would be captors scattering in fright. Of course, the merchant beheld little remorse for the two that were taken by the forest, and if anything, he hoped them a long, and painful end. He had every right to obtain and bask in that moment of morbid satisfaction, where for the first time, he was actually glad, someone had met a potentially horrible death...

The merchant wasted little of his concern upon the scattering of the wolves, and turned his avid attention upon the innocent, quivering woman he called his wife, who was just only a few moments ago, not too far away from a method of death he dreamt of in his worst of nightmares.

She wept silent to herself, curled tightly into a protective ball, and as the merchant crawled over to her, he wrapped his arms around her trembling frame, and drew her in close for a tight, and loving embrace. He whispered sweet words and promises to her, attempting to calm her down " trying to get her mind out of the still dire situation they were currently in.

Even if whatever it was that scared the bandits away had inadvertently aided them, they had no idea if it would treat them with any less discrimination, and drag them too off into the forest, kicking, and screaming, to who knows what grisly fate....

As that thought left his mind, the merchant directed his gaze towards the sole member of the bandit horde, and scowled. It seemed like the leader had bigger balls than the rest of them.

"I don' care what you are! But I have seen enough of this realm to know there are bigger, scarier things in the city than in the countryside!" The leader mocked, turning on the spot, raking his eyes over each and every portion of the foliage and canopy around him, "You're no ghost....I saw your face! You snook up on me real good there, lady, but all of ya parlour magical tricks won't scare me..." The leader grinned, as he spotted the merchant, and as the merchant winced under his gaze, the leader withdrew her sword, and advanced upon the couple, his blade held up high, readying itself for a strike. "Come out! Or....I'll kill them both!"

"Please..." A soft, and gentle voice murmured from somewhere behind the bandit, and, as he swung to look at the source, his eyes widened at touch in disbelief to the sight of a rather plainly dressed blonde haired woman, emerging from behind the trunk of a tree. It was of course, none other than Renna.

She was, quite frankly, quite beautiful, and although she looked quite average and harmless for your usual Rhy'Dinian, the bandit knew much better than that. He knew damn well looks meant nothing in this place, and, the longer he squinted through the darkness, the more he came to realise that the woman's hands were....Not, hands.

They looked like....Some kind of, claw....A metal claw, with long, deadly looking blades on each fingertip...

The bandit held his ground, grinning, "Stop it there lady, keep yourself and your freaky hands away from me " another step! And I slice these two up like butter."

Of course, Renna stopped. She dare not test the man. She knew he would go through it. Renna shook her head softly at the bandit, and held out a mechanical claw towards him, smiling, ever so gently, "Please, do not do this to them. They are innocent, and have done nothing wrong to you..."

"Pfffft! What is this" Are you mad, girl"! Trying to reason with me, when you dragged two of my boys off into the forest " you are kidding, right?" The bandit laughed a touch, finding this whole situation quite ridiculous. He aimed his sword towards Renna, and took steps forward, drawing the tip of his blade closer towards her, "What makes you think I want to stop with just them' After I've killed them, I am gonna come for you, and I am going to make you wish, you were never born..." His eyes looked across Renna's body, hungrily, "Of course, I'll have to snip those claws of yours, but....I think you'll make a lovely pet for me to play with."

Renna's smile faded. "....I give you this last chance. Drop your sword. We don't have to do this. Violence is not the answer, nor is criminal activities. You can start again, just give yourself in, and let the authorities punish you as they see fit. Once your punishment is complete, you can start fresh " you can leave your past sins behind you. You can live a peaceful life. It doesn't have to end this way."

"End this way"!" The bandit really laughed now, "Threatening me" With what? More cheap tricks" I bet you used some kind of spell to lift them from the ground and carry them away....You used cheap tricks to scatter my men in an attempt to rescue these two rich bastards " and for what? The goodness of your heart' Don't make me laugh, woman!"

The sword's tip was but a foot from her now, and Renna still had yet to flinch, or move to defend herself. She simply closed her eyes, and lowered her head, "....If you turn a blind eye to Penance, then, there is no hope for you." The blonde lowered her head further still, "I pray, Nemesis settles your soul in a rest that bares no pain....For, I have tried my best to reason with you..." She opened her eyes, their expression with the deepest of sympathies. "Sister."

"Sister-?" The bandit remarked.

"Such delicious, trembling meat..." The Manticore, had been standing there the entire time, but she was situated behind the couple who observed the bandit and Renna's altercation. The man and the woman had stayed quiet the entire time, unsure as to stay, or flee. But both of them gasped at the sight of yet another woman who looked exactly the same as the other. The outlining difference being between the two, was this one was adorned in a full suit of plate armour of the blackest of alloys, wielding a sword of similar fashion ebbing in a blood red hue.

The couple yelped and inched away from the armoured behemoth, that looked upon them with wild and hungry blood red coloured eyes glowing unnaturally within the darkness of the night.

"Fear always makes the meat taste that much sweeter," The Manticore continued to ramble on to the two victims in front of her, grinning a twisted and demented smile, "But fear....Fear is such an Imperfect response, isn't it' You know....If you had no fear, you could do anything....Kill, anything..."

"Sister..." Renna's voice became stern.

Manticore's blood red eyes lifted towards her goodly pleasant-looking counterpart, and smirked, as she walked on by the cowering couple, "You're lucky, you two. You're not the one being judged, here....Isn't that right Mr Bandit Man?" Her attention was now upon the gawking bandit leader, who appeared at a loss as what to make of this.

But the outrageous manner of the situation had the bandit doubled over in laughter, yet again, "Vigilante sisters " I've seen it all now " twins, at that....Look at you two....And you..." The bandit turned, pointing his sword at Manticore, "You're dressed up like a death knight, and your sister....Like a Princess....It's just so..." He was beginning to think he was loosing his marbles. His men were chased off by two women playing dress up.

Once he's done here, he reminds himself to beat the living snot out of their cowardice.

"I hope, that in your last breath, you make peace with your God." Renna whispered, lifting her left gauntlet towards him, "....The time has come for your judgement. We, are not worthy to press charges against you. But the decision..." Her gaze turned to the couple, 'rests with your victims."

The bandit leader looked from Renna's outstretched claw, and then towards the fleshed right hand of the Manticore, who made a similar gesture, "What are you two doing" What are you talking about....Pfft, forget this....I've had enough of your gibberish and psycho-babble..."

The Manticore's voice, was oozing every ounce of desire that Renna refused to release, "What my goodie-little other half over there is trying to say, my dear, is that your life is not in our, or even your hands....No, it is in the final verdict of those you harmed....You see, I think I need to explain my sister's nigh on religious bullshit, and explain it to you in terms even you can understand..." She grinned wickedly at the bandit's confused expression, "My sister was trying to help you save yourself. You repent your sins now, and turn your life around, and you may walk free to live on. My sister, would had helped you on your path. She's....The redeeming sort of girl, you see....She wants to cure us, of our past sins too, by helping others, do the same."

"What the fuck are you talki-"

"Shhhh, this is the good part " or the bad part, depending if you're you, and I'm me....You see, we can't hurt anyone. If we harm a single hair on a living creature's head, the consequences, are quite dire for us. We can't even defend ourselves effectively, either....But, now....Now this, is the real good part....While she seeks your Penance, I, on the other hand....Don't care for such things....All I care about....Is your death....You see, I like to devour imperfections " and you, you, my dear, you are ripe for the reaping " I cann't wait to devour your flesh and digest your soul, to learn from your Imperfections. To devour....To change, to adapt....To become a Perfect entity....But to do that, a certain condition, must be met..."

The blood red eyes of the Manticore, slid to the corners, and stared harshly towards the couple, who still remained quite where they were, upon the floor, huddled up together, one protecting the other with a tight embrace. "If, for example, they forgive you....You are able to walk away, with your life in your hands. My sister will try and help you attain true Penance, the best she can, and keep you on the path on the straight, and narrow..."

The bandit scoffed, "You think this is supposed to scare me" This sounds like a ploy to me, you're all just trying to scare me, like you did with my men. If you really think this-"

"But, if they do not forgive you, and they seek Revenge" Then....Vengeance, must be enacted, right' Justice " urgh, must be served....They can't enact it because if they do your blood is on their hands, and they too will have sinned....It would merely become a vicious, bloodied circle, where eventually they will be judged for your murder, and also, found guilty....But that is where I come in....I don't mind, bloodying my hands....If they say yes....Then this restriction upon my murdering whoever and devouring whoever I want, is lifted specifically on the target of their Vengeance " YOU!"

Manticore broke into a howl of a laugh, her eyes growing wilder with each passing moment as she stared at the bandit, "Do you see now"! Your life is in the very same hands you terrorized! I wonder what they will choose" OH! I cannot wait " I know they will choose me " I am the only way to make sure you get what you deserve!?