Xoris

Chapter Six

Xoris stared down at the map clenched tightly in his hands, glancing between the papyrus and the sky. With no Crack currently happening for him to line up the otherwise seemingly random, sprawled lines, travelling was going to be more than slightly difficult. He chewed his lip in thought. I know Senebt Forest is the third direction from Korim, but still...

It was midday, the sky fully open with no dark edges to be seen. At least, not with him being so close to the centre of Where the Light Showed. He could only make out the clouded blue, not a speck of the sky's black in sight.

He palmed his face in frustration. If I just knew the area, this wouldn't be such an issue. His hand moved up further, until he was pushing his brown bangs up and out of his forehead. Though I have to pass through town to leave. Perhaps I can simply- His thoughts were quickly scattered as he opened one eye to catch another: a purple iris peering at him, the skin on his wrist warped to form an eyelid to hold it so smoothly and perfectly within his flesh.

A beast-like cry escaped his throat, the eye on his wrist sending back the entire view of his face, with rows of sharpened teeth and a long, pointed tongue raised to scream. The face of a monster.

With a jolt, he clenched the skin along his body, and the eye closed soon enough, but his arm still shivered and twitched unnaturally. It would be uncomfortable to hold for long. As for retracting the fangs, that was an entire other process, the muscles in his jaw pulling and easing the bones back into his gums until he could run his tongue along a single, flattened row. A normal, Human tongue.

His heart was racing now, cold sweat pricking along his temples and the back of his neck as he panted. He was tired of this, tired of constantly having to look and double-check himself. At least other features he didn't have to acknowledge. That was unless he removed his shirt, like he had to shower one last time before leaving the castle behind, and with it, the luxury of filtered water at such easy access. That had been another struggle, to keep his body tense enough to bathe not as The Thing of Eyes and Teeth, but as a Human. Or at least, as close to Human as he could manage.

An unsteady breath wracked at his lungs as he glanced at the town outside the castle walls, just beyond its crimson moat. The sound of Korim's busy marketplace reached his ears, surprisingly better than he'd expected, with him able to pick out hundreds of footsteps with ease, each vendor calling out their wares.... He looked down at his new Aevida, just as full as the day he'd received it. Was it all right to walk among people like this? He wasn't Human, and it seemed wrong to hide amongst them, but if he planned to ask the Fae to join Korim's war effort, he would need directions. And a pair of gloves, while I'm at it.

The stalls ran alongside uneven stone streets, only amplifing the constant clanging of his metal shoes. Xoris tried not to blush out of embarrassment from the stares. Despite the town holding itself together better than the dilapidated, Wasteland village he'd grown up near, the perfect condition of his armour still set him apart in an instant, the size of the Aevida attached to the brown sash at his hip only adding to it.

He clasped his hands together, fingers rubbing against each other as his eyes flit about. Finally, a shop made up of a dark sheet of material came into view, suspended off the gate's wall and supported by two large sticks. Xoris hunched to duck under it, grateful for the shade it offered against the intense light coming in from the open sky. A woman with curly, black hair as long as her purple skirts stood behind a wooden table, several articles of clothing laid along it. She seemed sharp, and without many other options in mind, he turned to her.

"Hello." Her deep brown eyes flicked up at him, taking note of his appearance. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

"P-perhaps? You see, I'm not from these parts and..."