Xoris

Chapter Sixteen

As the darkness of a closing sky slowly came across the land, Xoris finally came to a stop, taking a seat on the grass. More and more he was regretting not taking the food from Pomona when offered. What had been a slight ache in his stomach had become a constant growl, drawing his thoughts back to his last meal no matter how much he tried to put it behind him. He didn't want to think of flesh and bone, or how sweet the tang of blood had been on his tongue.

There has to be other things I can eat, but the only thing around him was fields upon fields of kaumh reaching tall and fluffy into the air. He had no method of making bread though, and he doubted the stalk-like plants were meant to be eaten on their own.

As he sat there thinking, a rustling emitted from between the plants. Immediately, his hand jumped to his sword. He had no idea if the lands were farms, or owned by the king, but he certainly didn't want any trouble for passing through. But instead, the stalks of kaumh separated to reveal a penu. It peeked out at him with pitch black eyes, nose twitching with its two whip-thin tails. It became bored of Xoris after a second though, moving away to scamper along on its six, furry legs, scratching the ground in search of fallen kernels.

Xoris watched it hurry along back and forth, carrying out whatever tasks it had on its mind. His stomach rumbled again, and he took note of how fat the Beast was. Penus weren't the most violent of Beasts, far too small to eat Humans or do much harm with their tiny paws, but they made up for it with swarms, known to eat out entire fields of crops and leave Humans to starve. In a way, that made them evil too.

Yet as it stared at him with black, winged eyes, he couldn't imagine eating one. Guilt soured his stomach, nearly as bad as the idea of putting mined meat into his mouth. Things Humans ate all the time, without a second thought. So where did the concept of it being wrong come from?

Conflicted as he felt, he couldn't get his eyes off the Beast. He felt so exhausted from walking, so completely sapped of energy. He thought of the last time that had happened, and what it had led to. Swallowing hard, he took hold of his sword. I can't let that happen again.

Rising himself up slowly, he took a tentative step forward. The Beast paused, looking up at him. As it stood still for just a moment, he shot the sword down, hoping to stab it through.

Much more agile, it simply darted to the side, running off to avoid another attack. "Hey! Wait!" Xoris called out after it, but the penu ignored him, continuing to flee.

"This is ridiculous." He didn't have enough energy for this. Not caring any more whether it was right or wrong, he opened up the violet eyes resting on his cheeks. As the creature looked back to take note of its attacker, he made eye contact, focusing on coaxing it enough to slow its movement.

"Now just come here." He pushed the idea through the connection of heka he'd formed. It obliged, cutting back through the grass against its will and emanating the same, intoxicatingly sweet feeling he had used back at the forest. The same he had used with Rajul.

It's... different this time. There's nothing wrong with killing a Beast. I just need to eat something. He held out his sword, focusing on the idea of the penu walking just a bit more forward, forcing itself upon it. Its step became much more slow, eyes shining with fear as he pulled it towards its own death. Really, it's not that bad. Any Human would just stab it and move on. It doesn't make me cruel, or evil.

So why was his face so wet? Why did his sword shake so much in his hand the closer it drew to its edge? Why was it so difficult? Why? What's wrong with me?

"Fine!" The sword slid back into the brown sash of his belt. The penu stared at him, the violet glow leaving its gaze as Xoris blinked, letting the heka fall away. "Consider it a warning. Now leave!"