showing off the
sharp claws. “Yes, I’m like you. That’s part of the reason your
face doesn’t scare me, or your legs.”
“ Like me?” Ryan
asked.
“ Yes, like you,” Boelik
repeated.
“ What am I?”
Boelik was a bit taken aback by the question,
and gave Ryan a level stare for a moment before he was able to
respond. He had always assumed that people like him knew what they
were. “You are… half demon.” Boelik paused for a moment, letting
his hand fall. He added, “But that also means you are half human,
remember.”
“ Half demon? Why don’t I
look like you?”
“ Because there are many
different types of demon. From the looks of it, you have goblin
blood. As for me, my father met a fox demon.”
“ Why?”
“ Why are we like this, you
mean?” Ryan nodded. “Well, because demons and humans weren’t meant
to have children. Most animals have a smooth go of it when they can
have children between species, able to make something that
incorporates them both without making them look like a badly done
puzzle. A mule is a good example.
“ But, most animals come
from the same world. Demons don’t come from the land of man, and
their blood and abilities often want more than their share. So we
have disfigured bodies. Our bodies also mark us as something that
should not be: a warning.”
“ We had no choice, though,”
Ryan said, his voice quiet as he turned his eyes to the
floor.
“ No one does. Children live
with the consequences of their parents. It makes life difficult
sometimes, but it does not mean we were not meant to
live.”
Ryan was silent. He stood and returned
Boelik’s cloak, walking on his two strange legs. They bent in an
awkward fashion, but one that was obviously natural to him. He was
about a head and a half shorter than Boelik was as Boelik stood to
take his cloak.
“ Ryan?” he asked. Ryan had
begun walking back to his bed, but turned around. “Who taught you
to speak?” Ryan’s eyes lowered, and Boelik quickly noted that the
memories that the question dredged up were painful. “Never mind. We
can talk about that at another point in time. For now, those
hunting grounds?”
Ryan glanced back up at Boelik and nodded.
“Follow me,” he said, motioning with his hand. He led the way out
of the door, setting aside the broken pieces.
“ I will fix that,” Boelik
promised. Ryan cast a tight-lipped glance back at him but said
nothing, instead continuing across the open space. He was headed
toward the area where Boelik had landed the previous
day.
The air was warm; a tell-tale sign of the
late summer, and a slight breeze blew by constantly. The plains
were all emerald grass, with gentle, sloping hills. Boelik never
stopped looking for trees, but evidently, wherever they were, trees
were a distant memory, not a whiff of the familiar scents to be
had. And wherever they were headed seemed just as barren.
***
The pair made their way up yet another hill,
Ryan falling to all fours and motioning for Boelik to get down as
well. Once he did, Ryan led the rest of the way up. At the top,
they peered down and saw a small, scattered herd of deer. Ryan lay
on his belly on Boelik’s left, his gaze fixed on them.
“ All right Ryan,” Boelik
said softly. “Thank you.”
“ Will you hunt them?” Ryan
asked, tearing his gaze away from the herd to stare at Boelik, who
nodded.
“ Yes. You think I should
not?”
Ryan shrugged. “I think you should hunt
little.”
“ You want to leave some, do
you?”
Ryan nodded, his gaze swiveling back to the
deer. “The families are peaceful. It would be… sad, to see them all
dead.”
“ I understand. I planned to
only take three, anyhow. Do you see three good ones to hunt?”
Boelik asked. Ryan seemed to stretch a little further toward the
deer, his black eye ticking all over as he scanned the herd for
what he thought was good prey. Boelik examined his face, glancing
between it and the deer to see if he could discern where the
sharp claws. “Yes, I’m like you. That’s part of the reason your
face doesn’t scare me, or your legs.”
“ Like me?” Ryan
asked.
“ Yes, like you,” Boelik
repeated.
“ What am I?”
Boelik was a bit taken aback by the question,
and gave Ryan a level stare for a moment before he was able to
respond. He had always assumed that people like him knew what they
were. “You are… half demon.” Boelik paused for a moment, letting
his hand fall. He added, “But that also means you are half human,
remember.”
“ Half demon? Why don’t I
look like you?”
“ Because there are many
different types of demon. From the looks of it, you have goblin
blood. As for me, my father met a fox demon.”
“ Why?”
“ Why are we like this, you
mean?” Ryan nodded. “Well, because demons and humans weren’t meant
to have children. Most animals have a smooth go of it when they can
have children between species, able to make something that
incorporates them both without making them look like a badly done
puzzle. A mule is a good example.
“ But, most animals come
from the same world. Demons don’t come from the land of man, and
their blood and abilities often want more than their share. So we
have disfigured bodies. Our bodies also mark us as something that
should not be: a warning.”
“ We had no choice, though,”
Ryan said, his voice quiet as he turned his eyes to the
floor.
“ No one does. Children live
with the consequences of their parents. It makes life difficult
sometimes, but it does not mean we were not meant to
live.”
Ryan was silent. He stood and returned
Boelik’s cloak, walking on his two strange legs. They bent in an
awkward fashion, but one that was obviously natural to him. He was
about a head and a half shorter than Boelik was as Boelik stood to
take his cloak.
“ Ryan?” he asked. Ryan had
begun walking back to his bed, but turned around. “Who taught you
to speak?” Ryan’s eyes lowered, and Boelik quickly noted that the
memories that the question dredged up were painful. “Never mind. We
can talk about that at another point in time. For now, those
hunting grounds?”
Ryan glanced back up at Boelik and nodded.
“Follow me,” he said, motioning with his hand. He led the way out
of the door, setting aside the broken pieces.
“ I will fix that,” Boelik
promised. Ryan cast a tight-lipped glance back at him but said
nothing, instead continuing across the open space. He was headed
toward the area where Boelik had landed the previous
day.
The air was warm; a tell-tale sign of the
late summer, and a slight breeze blew by constantly. The plains
were all emerald grass, with gentle, sloping hills. Boelik never
stopped looking for trees, but evidently, wherever they were, trees
were a distant memory, not a whiff of the familiar scents to be
had. And wherever they were headed seemed just as barren.
***
The pair made their way up yet another hill,
Ryan falling to all fours and motioning for Boelik to get down as
well. Once he did, Ryan led the rest of the way up. At the top,
they peered down and saw a small, scattered herd of deer. Ryan lay
on his belly on Boelik’s left, his gaze fixed on them.
“ All right Ryan,” Boelik
said softly. “Thank you.”
“ Will you hunt them?” Ryan
asked, tearing his gaze away from the herd to stare at Boelik, who
nodded.
“ Yes. You think I should
not?”
Ryan shrugged. “I think you should hunt
little.”
“ You want to leave some, do
you?”
Ryan nodded, his gaze swiveling back to the
deer. “The families are peaceful. It would be… sad, to see them all
dead.”
“ I understand. I planned to
only take three, anyhow. Do you see three good ones to hunt?”
Boelik asked. Ryan seemed to stretch a little further toward the
deer, his black eye ticking all over as he scanned the herd for
what he thought was good prey. Boelik examined his face, glancing
between it and the deer to see if he could discern where the
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