The Spinning Sister

Chapter 1

'You are being watched.' The creature across from Adam looked like a panther, with glowing green eyes, its paws making the slightest noise as the claws nicked the ground. The piece of the Elder God known as the Laughing One watched him as he moved with it, the two of them stalking each other, Adam's own claws, long and green, hung low in his hands.

Adam didn't watch its feet anymore. He'd learned that lesson the hard way during his early training bouts, they could move too fast and it lied with them. He watched the creature's centre mass; if it leaped at him he'd spot it in the shoulders. He could cover that.

'People usually are.' He turned suddenly and lashed out a feint. The panther jumped back, giving ground to keep its face safe. 'There's you, and the other one, wherever it's lurking. He's not all that chatty, is he?' He didn't look up at the set of yellow eyes that he knew were above him, watching from a secure location. The Laughing One had constructed all of this for him. He was standing in the middle of a stone circle, with ashes and dirt in the middle. Around them was a ring of trees where the other one was watching from. He knew that stepping into the trees was a mark of failure, a sign that he needed the cover to work in. The other one watched from there. It rarely drew his attention during his day to day life, only speaking up when it had something to contribute.

'No indeed.' The Laughing One sounded amused by the whole thing, as usual. 'You will discover that is has uses soon enough. Especially since it once partnered with a Legate of the Eternal Flame. It is strong, it is clever, and you would be unwise to ignore its judgment once rendered.'

'Unlike you.' Adam fell into a fighting stance. 'Who tends to talk a lot and say nothing.' With that the two of them engaged. The Laughing One leaped across the empty fire pit. Adam ducked low and scythed his foot into the ashes, spraying them into the creature's face. He took a step forward, drew back his claws and slammed them into the blind creature's throat.

'Ahhh. Point to you.' With that it reappeared on the other side of the pit. The scenery blurred, shifted, changed and now Adam was standing atop a rocking, wooden barge over roiling water. The Laughing One moved too quickly for Adam to mount any kind of offensive, so he just jumped backwards into the water.

'Goddamn that's cold!' His entire body seized up for a moment until he managed to adjust. The salt water was freezing but Adam might be able to fight in the water and it wouldn't be. Somehow, even under the water, breathing through the mask, he could hear the Laughing One's voice in his ears.

'Yes, unlike myself, who tends to speak off the absolute point of the topic, which you also just did in this case I may add. Now, as I was saying, someone is watching you.' It was standing still on top of the barge as he swam underneath it. It knew he couldn't swim forever and was content to watch him with its teeth and claws bared. As soon as he broke the water it'd strike.

'Do you have any idea who's watching me?' It shook its head half a centimetre, unwilling to take its eyes off him.

'I know a few things, but not much.' It considered for a moment. 'I know its intention is not entirely benign. Perhaps it means to use you, perhaps it means to kill you, perhaps it means only to watch you. It's hard to know without knowing more about it, but whatever it is, it watches you with active intentions.' It took Adam a moment to realise active intention meant it wasn't just watching him to see what it could see.

'Are there any more of those damn bug things in me?' He made a move to the side and the Panther turned slightly. It had him dead to rights, he'd have to think of something. 'And if there was, would you know it?'

'I would not,' it admitted.

'I would,' the voice from the sky spoke. The form of the creature was a white owl with bright yellow eyes, still noticeable despite the bright daylight. 'You have none.'