[Flashback] A bird in the hand...(Alenias)

[Ephraim]

88th day of Fall, 510 AV It was cold. Not as cold as it could be in these lands, but still something that was giving Eph a scale itch. He didn't have much these scales but still they could itch like hell. This time of year always made him sickly and depressed. Maybe it was the lack of sunlight or maybe something else but Ephraim found himself stalking The Nitrozian Plaza with no purpose. He needed to get some money but even a trial to focus on rooting in someone's pocket was giving a headache. Physically nothing seemed to be wrong with him, aside from unusual racial traits most of humans would find abhorring. However his pysche was swimming in the dark, thick pool and Ephraim wasn't even sad. No, it was not that kind of feeling of senseless lack of purpose. He was edgy, jumpy and anxious. Sleepy all the time... The young man, a teenager still shook his head, trying to shake off a sudden need for dozing off and looked around. There were not many people there, most of them at homes, enjoying warmth of their houses and families. It's not like Eph was an orphan, his mother still provided him to an extent and his uncle for exchange for his work. The problem was Ephraim didn't want to come back to them and wasn't really sure why. In all honesty, he didn't have a bad life. His mother didn't abandon like an abomination many though had deserved that. He wasn't abused, hungry, neglected more than any average child in this harsh world. And yet the young mix blood couldn't find in himself any real connection to them. Small droplets of rain dropped on his hood and Eph looked up. More rain splashed on his cheeks and mouth. That was just great...He sighed and few of the drops found their way into the teen's mouth and he swallowed automatically. It had no taste, unlike the humid air that brought stench of rotten fish. Oddly enough it made him hungry. Raw fish were not his favorite dish, he much more preferred beef or pork, but he couldn't let himself the luxury of being picky. Fish were relatively easy to steal, being plenty of them all around the docks. You just had to walk over to a proper merchant and snatch the precious thing from right under his nose. It took him a while but he saw the old human merchant with a wheelbarrow full of some fish Eph couldn't name. The young mixed blood fixated his gaze upon the food and slowly began to walk, preparing his fingers to grab the smaller fry. He lowered his head and picked up his pace, placing himself just behind the merchant. Ephraim counted to three in his head and passed the merchant, bumping slightly at the confused man who almost fell over. Rain began to pour relentlessly now and Eph muttered barely audible apologies before walking away, a small, raw fish secured under his coat. He turned in a small ally, he knew quite well and looked around to see if there was no one around. The curses of the old merchant were still carried by the wind, however he didn't seem to notice losing one fish. With a smile, Eph sank his teeth in the prey. His eating habit disturbed the living hell out of humans, even his mother, but any vegetables made him sick and boiled meat just didn't have enough taste for him and on occasions made him sick as well. Another from vast majority of heritage he didn't want to have but was stuck with them either way...The fish had a bit rotten taste to it, probably lying around a bit but still to a growling stomach it was like a soothing balm.

[Alenias]

Alenias had been having a fun day, wandering about Nitrozian Plaza and looking at the pretty things there. Treanas had told her to go out and play, and not to come back until it was dark, and so that was exactly what she was doing.

Wearing the ragged piece of cloth she used as a simple dress she had been walking around happily, but then it started to rain. Treanas always said it was good to find somewhere to get out from the rain from. Ducking down a nearby alley she quickly found an overhang to get under before she got too wet.

Only after she had gotten under the overhang did she notice the man that was there too. Her eyes went wide as she looked up at him, and her heart started pounding as she saw what he was eating. Uncooked fish! Treanas said that was very bad for you, that it would make you sick, but this person was eating it and not getting sick!

Now panicked at what kind of horrible monster she must have just found Alenias froze and stared at him. She just hoped he wouldn't notice her, because then she'd have to run out into the rain, and Treanas wouldn't be happy about her getting wet.

[Ephraim]

88th day of Fall, 510 AV There was someone watching him...Suddenly his skin began to crawl and he felt like the last part of fish gets stuck in his throat. Ephraim coughed and spit a large fish bone. There was a young girl watching him, barely a teenager, definitely younger than him. She looked like a typical street rat poor and ragged. Her features were sharp and small eyes gazed at him with fear. Ephraim knew this expression very well, not the girl first and not last. Eph's face hardened even if inwardly he felt a relief there was no danger. The mix blood discarded the fish's carcass, eaten in majority, looking like it was mauled by some kind of predator. The rain washed blood from his hands and face, but there was no mistaken this young rat had seen everything. ”What do you want?” Eph asked sharply, ignoring his meal like eating a raw fish was the most normal thing in the world. It was so typical, people being freaked out by him and his habits. If he had a choice he would take a cooked meat any day but he didn't chose to be born that way. A fact many people constantly forgot. He still shuddered at the memory of his mother trying to feed him with vegetables and nights of throwing up afterward. There was something primal about the way him and most likely Dhani functioned that Human feared. Called monsters. Who knew? Maybe he was a monster? Eph's eyes moved toward the half-eaten fish; it's slimy taste still lingering on his tongue. The mixed blood spat a ball of saliva mixed with red ichor. Maybe the kid would run away screaming now?

[Alenias]

The tall and scary man turned his green and bizarre eyes on Alenias, and she froze. Those eyes awakened a primal fear in her. This man was something dangerous. This man was something that could eat her! Fueled by such fear Alenias did the only thing she could possibly think of doing...

She burst into tears. Letting out scared sobs that were hardly muffled by the sound of the rain pouring down as tears streamed down her cheeks to splash on the dirty piece of fabric she wore as a dress.

"Please don't eat me Mister!" Alenias managed to choke out between sobs, "Treanas would be really upset if I didn't come back. He told me to come back at dark and if I don't come back then he'll be sad, and I don't want Treanas sad, so please don't eat me!"

Maybe, if the man tried to eat her, she could turn into a bird to try and get away. Treanas had told her she shouldn't change in front of people, but if it was to keep from being eaten then he wouldn't be upset at her, right?

[Ephraim]

88th day of Fall, 510 AV Pure horror. That was the expression the girl had. Not even a fear but horror of a scared animal. Eph's eyes narrowed even more. He knew his looks wasn't of a typical human, hell some off the bat could tell what blood pumped through his veins but still he wasn't some crazy, bloodlust Zith. Not even a half-Zith. Goddamn kid. And then she exploded with cries. Please don't eat me Mister!" Ephraim cocked his head like a confused cat. Eat her? Where did this kid crawled from?! The mixed blood opened his mouth to speak but the girl continued.”Treanas would be really upset if I didn't come back. He told me to come back at dark and if I don't come back then he'll be sad, and I don't want Treanas sad, so please don't eat me!" Ephraim snarled with irritation. ”Don't be ssstupid.” He hissed and measured the girl with a theatrical glance. ”You're too ssskiny.” Eph decided to scare this whelp some more. Ephraim didn't consider himself cruel. More...a practical person, but sometimes when enraged he didn't openly attack or throw fits. It was a type of a cold anger that provoked menacing and passive aggressive reactions in him. ”Lisssten kid, is there a particular reason you are hanging around here?” He asked. The little street might be a lost slave and maybe there was a reward for bringing her in. Ephraim didn't scoff at any job that could bring him money. Whoever this Treanas was, it didn't seem he was the father or any relative so maybe a master? Eph leaned against the wall, ignoring the rain although it was getting colder. He was bound to get sick from this and as foretold Ephraim sneezed. Maybe there was a truth in what his mother had once said – that sometimes Eph seemed to hurt himself on purpose without even being aware of it.

[Alenias]

The scary man's snarl caused Alenias to whimper, and she just about turned into a bird right then to fly away. He then said he wouldn't eat her, because she was too skinny, and Alenias relaxed just slightly. She was skinny, and maybe that meant she wasn't tasty? She didn't quite know how eating other things went, but she did remember the merchants always talking about how good an animal was for eating because it was big. Maybe it was a trick though?

The man's question was only answered at first with silence as Alenias stared at him. He didn't seem to be moving towards her to eat her, so maybe he wasn't trying to trick her. Finally she spoke up again, "Treanas doesn't like it when I get wet, and said I it's good to get out of the rain. So I'm waiting for the rain to stop."

Still she nervously watched the strange, fish eating man with her dark little eyes, her legs tense and ready to spring away if he came towards her. Even though Treanas had said she wasn't supposed to change in front of people he'd said she could do it when it was important, and not getting eaten was definitely important!

[Ephraim]

88th day of Fall, 510 AV The girl whimpered which caused Eph to smile. There was something nice in being intimidating, something empowering. Maybe it was the Dhani part of him, maybe just purely human one but made him feel good. "Treanas doesn't like it when I get wet, and said I it's good to get out of the rain. So I'm waiting for the rain to stop." This Treanas again. Eph stepped closer to the girl. Her eyes were strange, small and dark. Like those of a scared bird. She also seemed...Naive, like a child and not a teenager. Maybe she wasn't very bright. Such creatures seemed to have short life in places like Ravok, this man who took care of her. ”Who is, this Treanas? Your father?” Ephraim took another step toward the girl. He could feel cold rain on his skin and discovered a strange tingling under it. Like his skin was being touched by a lightening. And there was something else, something humans never awoken in him. Hunger. Ephraim might have been a half-reptile, thief and a jerk but eating a human being felt wrong. Inherently wrong and disgusting. Yet this girl had awoken instincts that were scaring even himself. Her scent carried in the wind was different than that of a human, more of an animal than anything else. It smelled tasty. Ephraim swallowed saliva gathered in his mouth. It was sickening and tempting at the same time. He took another, hesitant step toward the girl. ”Maybe I can...take it to him?” Eph smiled, but it wasn't a kind smile. It was a smile of a hungry predator that sniffed the prey.

[Alenias]

There was a clear look of confusion on Alenias' face as the scary man asked if Treanas was her Father, as she didn't know what a Father was, but she still answered his question quickly, "Treanas is the one who takes care of me."

The scary man's approach was making Alenias feel more nervous, and she cautiously backed away from him in return. Back to the edge of the small overhang she moved, still hesitant to get wet, but she kept her dark eyes on him the entire time. Her body itched to run, to fly, away from this man, but Treanas' words kept her still. The man hadn't tried to eat her yet, and so she couldn't change yet.

The man asking if he could take Alenias to Treanas brought another confused look to her face, and she blinked at him a couple times, "You know where Treanas is? He said I wouldn't see him until it was dark, when I'm supposed to go home."

[Ephraim]

88th day of Fall, 510 AV The girl looked surprised by his question, maybe there was something wrong with her head. It was a very obvious thing to ask a child, at least according Ephraim. Though he more often heard 'What was your father?' than 'who'. "Treanas is the one who takes care of me." That was pretty obvious...Eph sighed frustrated and flared his nostrils. More to calm himself down than anything else. He felt he could see the girl's blood pulsing in her veins, her entire body was giving him a scent that screamed 'prey'. It was hypnotizing, he could just at this moment "You know where Treanas is? He said I wouldn't see him until it was dark, when I'm supposed to go home." Ephraim blinked and felt like being snapped out of some kind of strange dream. He almost gasped at what he was thinking to do and shuddered with disgust. Maybe he was a monster after all. Confused, with his body tensed he looked around, as if to find that mysterious force that almost drove him into killing a young girl. ”You can't ssstay with him during a day?” Eph asked, only to stop thinking about these obsessive images. He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, not even looking at the girl. His mind was racing over what had happened with him few minutes ago. The worst part was, he was still hungry, still felt this sucking void. Maybe she should have stolen two fish...

[Alenias]

"Sometimes I can, but today Treanas said I should go out and play until it got dark," the scary man stopping in his approach allowed Alenias to relax slightly, but she still kept a wary eye on him.

Silence filled the space between them for a time, or at least as much silence as you could get during a rain storm. Finally a thought occurred to Alenias about a way maybe she could make sure this scary man would not eat her. A little hesitantly she offered, "Are you hungry mister? I could go get you some more fish if you'd like."

Treanas had always told her that it was good to share food, and if she made sure the man wasn't hungry then he wouldn't eat her! Not getting eaten was important, and so she was sure Treanas would be ok with her getting wet for that.