I'm Going Hungry These Days

          I keep my pistol under my pillow and a rifle beside my bed,  don't keep it loaded for self-defense,

                         just one bullet for my own head.

———- JOE’S EX-PARTNERS IN CRIME clearly weren’t as smooth and swift as they made their way through the thicket as they were. Jake especially. For his size and figure it was remarkable that not a single soul saw him. If Joe asked the people living near these woods, maybe there’d be stories. Something told him that they were great material for sitting around a campfire to scare children and a grown human. The last ‘campfire’ he attended though had been the disposal of the belongings of some ex-person who wouldn’t be found anymore. So technically, a real campfire was still on his list. Joe should keep his head in the game now. He noticed that he was sliiiiightly digressing here. He couldn’t afford it now.

❛❛Right behind you❜❜, he encouraged Jake with a little nod, signing him to go ahead. He had second thoughts sneaking up on him. Not regarding the hiding spot, that was still a very good idea. But rather when, oh when it was time to abandon the child-monster and run. Not that Joe would chuck him towards his enemies or hope they’d get him first, no. But you see, he felt a little… bad that Jake was around, having a good time and then they showed up. It was very unlucky. Didn’t want to drag THE LITTLE DEATH BEAST into the mess he made. So, thinking about leading the ruffians who had a bone to pick with him somewhere else and hoping for the best seemed like an acceptable plan B. For now though he wanted to hide. He could take them in the worst case. No one would get close to his new friend without losing a crucial body part. A twig cracked under Joe’s weight and made him freeze on the spot. He stared at Jakey’s back, listened if the others noticed. ❛❛Mhmmm, let’s hurry a little!❜❜, he suggested, immediatly putting it into action. ❛❛Go, go, go !!❜❜

            The little beast was reasonably nervous, groups of humans were usually dangerous and he’d already put so much danger on himself by coming out and rooting through the campsite he found. Though Joe had proved to be nice, tolerating that the death beast had been hungry and done what any other animal would do with food that had been left out and unattended. But these new people, he was unsure of, sure he could defend himself and he need only call for his mother to come to his rescue, he didn’t want her getting angry at him for talking to strangers. He wasn’t sure what he would do, but he’d bite and fight if he had to, so them what a vicious little monster he could be.

Dacian watched the man come into view and then drop down. At his words, Dacian let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m glad that you share the same opinion on witch hunters as I do.” He says, taking in his appearance. He gave off an aura of power. He could feel it.

He slowly nods. “I have. Many times. My coven as well.” He says. “you could say I grew up in these woods. The river not far from here is where I was blessed by the spirits as a child.” He pulls his hat off and bowed. “My name is Dacian Livingston. I find it easier to connect with the elements with the dirt under my feet.” He explains

             He does not regret interrupting this man, he figures he can continue whatever ritual he was trying to perform later, once he’s satisfied he wasn’t a threat. “Hm...I think it is unjust to kill innocent men and women because they possess magic. But, perhaps I am biased, I would be punished for the powers I possess by these men.” And he was at times, but humans were easy to scare and those who were bold enough usually ended up as food for the forest, or the beast himself.

Dacian had been deep in his meditation when he heard the voice behind him. His eyes opened. He stands, turning to the voice. “Meditation. I come here to connect with the elements.” He states. “You aren’t going to turn me in are you?” He asked, curiously. He knew most people wouldn’t hesitate to turn in a suspected witch in his village.

Though he couldn’t help but feel something was off. He hadn’t seen this man before. Not in the village, certainly never before in this forest. Maybe he’d been lucky in the various rituals he’d performed before that he hadn’t seen him.

             Mismatched eyes watch the man, Jake hadn’t quite come down from where he was hiding, but he had moved so that the other man could at least see him. He gave a low rumble at the reply, not at all hiding the fact he was something far more than human, he swung down, adjusting the creature’s skull he wore atop his head as he landed. “I’d rather eat my own hand than deal with witch hunters.” He answers simply. Blackened hands gesture vaguely. “I am not afraid of the powers you possess like humans are.”

Dacian sighs a bit as he sets up the circle in the forest. He needed a space that was quiet, and connected to the elements.  He lights each candle and sits in the center, bringing himself to a relaxed state as he began meditating, listening to the sounds of nature around him.

@brokenwretchedanddivine​

          There was an all too family feeling of someone being in his forest, Jake wasn’t necessarily surprised. More often than not it was either teenagers sneaking off to drink and party, or poachers or thieves, the latter two always met his claws when he came to defend his home. The teens were easy to spook off if they got too rowdy, the beast wasn’t one to spoil their fun.

This presence however...there was something strange about it, one the beast had not felt in a while.

        Joe contemplated, discarded a thought, then went back to consider. Nearby wasn’t too far away but also not close enough. Not for immediate intervention should danger occur, but who said that Momma Deathbeast wouldn’t consider Joe a danger as well?? He wouldn’t blame her. There would be NO GRUDGE held against a mother defending her child, though those jaws looked like he’d rather not get caught in between them. He’d keep it in mind. For now though, he thought that maybe they were able to elope the others if they were sneaky enough. It would be 4 AGAINST ONE, but he was positive that he could take them. He did it before. They knew it, he knew it… that’s why they came as a pack to get him. With the little one it made things more… difficult. Hecouldn’t risk to let them get a glance now, could he? Not when Jake was such A ENDEARING LITTLE MONSTER.

        Mimicking Jake, Joe stayed as close to the ground as he crawled closer – keeping his distance to not startle the other or risking his pretty face in such a proximity to that jaw. ❛❛Mhmmmm, how about we call mama once they found us?❜❜, he proposed. his tone was much lighter than the situation called for, but that was just JOE’S NATURE. In most cases it came in handy when dealing with kids. Adult humans usually deemed it weird. He flashed a glance around, not daring to pop his head out of the huge fern hiding them. ❛❛We could play hide and seek. You played that before ?? I bet you know the best hiding spots around here, don’t you Jakey? Good, old Joe would love to see them.❜❜ Turning it into a game, maybe? A renewed cracking of branches reminded Joe that they had to be swift. SWIFT AND SLY AND QUIET. He burried the stolen money somewhere else and wasn’t stupid enough to keep it on his campground. However, they didn’t need to know where he was staying at, either. He lifted his mask to flash an encouraging smile at Jakey, nodding ahead. ❛❛What do you say?❜❜

           Jake listened as the group came closer, ears twitching carefully. He had encountered people, humans, before. Poachers mainly, stealing the deer that his mother hunted and that he was too little to take down himself, he’d been shot at by them too, though his mother never let them leave the forest when that happened. He was very aware though that these people weren’t poachers, they were trying to sneak up on them. Little fissures open along the bone of his muzzle, forming something of a snarl in the bone. He’s a little frightened, he wasn’t as big as his mother was and he’d seen her take down a lot more than four people at once. When Joe finally responded to his question he considers it for a moment before he gave a little nod, little spines raising along his back again. They wouldn’t too much, since at his age the spines were more like coarse hairs than any actual defence.