Beast in black

Ber.seria: He is a Therion born out of Hatred and Apathy. 

The hatred for his parents’ continuous abuse and controlling behaviour overwhelmed him, and, after turning into a demon, he consumed them in hopes to save himself and his siblings. Unfortunately, his siblings were caught in the middle of it, making him the sole person responsible for their deaths.

Located by the Abbey, he was given two choices: to be executed or to “repent” by using his powers for a good cause - to consume Malevolence and feed it to Innominat. While being transported to the location of the Earthpulse, he received help from an unlikely friend who was aware of his story from start to finish, thanks to having watched him for a while. After putting a damper in the Abbey’s plans and making his escape, he travels onboard the Van Eltia with Aifread’s pirate crew as an outlaw who can never show his face among people ever again.

In his Therion form, the same flesh-like malformation is present on his nape, traveling down his spine like a carcass. The only difference is that it’s jet black with crimson patches instead of purely crimson.

Weapon: He fights using an Adamantine Blade, although, much like Eizen, he prefers fighting using his fists whenever feasible. 

Cre.storia: A young villager who tries to condemn his family for their abusive upbringing.

He used his vision orb to record the abuse that transpired in his household over a prolonged period of time, which was mostly directed towards him rather than his much younger siblings. When he went through with broadcasting it over vision central, however, people deemed it as discipline because he is a guy and didn’t take his pleas for help seriously, praising his mother for a being a pillar in the community, and his father for his sermons at the local church gatherings.

Fed up with the injustice he had to endure for all of his life, he took it upon himself to spare his siblings the same fate and got rid of the abusers by his own hands. All that accomplished, however, was to turn those he tried to protect against him, accusing him of being a cold blooded murderer and sentencing him to death in return.

By some miracle, he managed to escape the pursuit of Enforcers and now hides away in monster-ridden forests, carrying out “clean-up jobs” for money - whether his targets are monsters or scummy people. He’s made a name for himself as a mercenary, though he is meticulous in which tasks he accepts. At best, he is a vigilante.

-Liam [sn e eps]

Oh man, that sounded like an innuendo... But was it? Or was he tripping? After spending so much time around Shoichi, he couldn't even tell those apart from normal comments, but he thought that Liam was flirting with him in a weird manner. Either way, he would regret the words coming out of his mouth later.

"When have I ever said no to seeing your snake... I mean..."

He coughed, immediately pretending to clear his throat in hopes of clearing up the awkwardness.

"Took me a little long, but..." His attention shifted, peering down into the bag where he tucked his hand away to retrieve a wrapped up gift. Valentines was right around the corner too so maybe all the sweets weren't going to pay too well, but Liam was still learning if Fang had any preferences in his tastes.

That wasn't the first thing to come out of the bag. It's shape was a dead give away, mug shaped and wrapped up in a navy blue thin paper sleeve. But passing it over with a careful reach, he shot Fang a smile with a crane of his head. "Happy birthday, my love." He chimed in.

The wrapped contents was obvious but the nature of the mug would've stood out more than it's shape. Along the sides when he'd unwrap it were absurdly, cute, pudge printed hamsters that were multi-coloured and various in shapes - chasing each other full circle around the entire white mug. He at least wanted to get him something he knew he could use too, with the indulgent knowledge of his love for his beloved hamsters too. Even at the bottom of the mug inside of it was the final touch of a balled up snoozing hamster print, even if it might've seemed contradictory to a caffeine awakening.

"There's also some sweets in here too-- chocolates and some fancy ones, I grabbed what I thought you'd liked."

With each passing year since their fateful encounter, Fang had started to appreciate life more. Even if his birthday was an ominous reminder of the imminent passing of time and the ultimate consequence that was to come with it, he learned to focus on his present rather than to despair over his past and his future shrouded in unpredictability due to his condition. That year, knowing that Liam would greet him with another gift as soon as he opened his eyes, he decided to thank him in a more tangible way.

"You didn't have to," he said with a flustered half-smile and a weary gaze softened by tenderness.

Pushing through the creeping embarrassment of the birthday spotlight, he reached for his gift and unwrapped it as carefully as he could. When the packaging came off, the mug ended up looking small in his hand, but the smile on his lips was anything but. Squinting his tired eyes, he brought it closer to his face and slowly rotated it all the way around to admire the looping pattern that adorned it.

"Cute," he whispered under his breath and shot Liam a quick glance. Safe to say he wasn't only complimenting his gift.

With a gentle movement, he set the mug aside on their nightstand and then reached inside the bag to retrieve the box of chocolates which he then placed in his lap. After he quickly got rid of the lid and the protective foil, he plucked one of them between his fingers and brought it to Liam's mouth. Without giving him a chance to protest, he gently pushed it past the softness of his lips and onto his tongue. All the while, the adoring look in his eyes gazed deeply into his beloved's own.

"This is the one day of the year when I get to make some unreasonable requests without taking no for an answer, isn't it?" He followed up his serious-sounding question by producing a couple of carnival entry tickets out of his pocket. The black and white text printed on their red background spelled out that day's date, 6pm. And their issuer? None other than Moder.

In the beginning, he used to be solely reliant on painkillers, which caused him to develop an addiction. From one vice to the other, he took up the habit of smoking whenever his pain got too severe, but over time he chose healthier alternatives like chewing on mints and gum.

Last thing was wanting someone to worry. Though her durability exceeded by now, whether she really acknowledged it or not but while he spoke - she was rubbing her eye now. Not much of a word came out though in response once he aided her with the bottle, and easy compliance. It was relieving in a way by just a few droplets on her tongue and Josiah had no problem holding it when it was urged onto her. From there, was hardly much of any hesitance to take a better sip of the drink - getting a taste of it but it was a partial distraction from the upcoming weightlessness.

Her head raised, letting the rim of the bottle linger in silence and involuntary tension in her body that relaxed in the following same seconds to comfortable putty. The mail didn’t even occur to her, and neither where they were going at the second but his sudden assertion of a question - no doubt caught her off guard from the nature it held.

“Well… Aside from…err.. probably…this time around. Sometimes I eat breakfast, sometimes I just go without. But didn’t know it was going to drop me like a fly.” No surprise here with the latter rest - her head flopped over to relax against the face of his shoulder. “…this drink it really good though… Thank you.”

      Their destination was soon approaching. If she had gotten too comfortable in the warmth of his arms, her body would regrettably sigh as it departed from it only to be placed down on the cold bench. At least she had her jacket to shield her from the cold, unlike the maniac that was walking around with his collar and shoulders bare to the world in the early hours of the morning. As he stood back up, he slung his backpack off his shoulder and, after unzipping it, he reached inside. After rummaging through it for a brief moment, his hand reemerged pinching the wrapper of a hefty treat between its fingers. It was a strawberry flavored protein bar, easily the size of Josiah’s head. It made sense, for a big guy like him to be eating for two.

      “Eat up, then.” With a nimble motion of his index and middle finger, he ripped open the packaging at the very end and handed her the snack. “Don’t get me wrong, though. This isn’t meant to replace breakfast. It will give you a temporary boost and get you up on your feet, but you still need a proper meal.”

      He stood there for a while, watching over her to make sure she wouldn’t flop over to the side in her semi-delirious state. Rather than a concerned figure, he looked more like he was trapping her on that bench as he stood close-by with his arms crossed and the ever-present glare in his eyes affixed on her. It wasn’t directed at her whatsoever. Instead, he was mulling over her symptoms. While he was no doctor, he could infer a few things from her weight, the paleness of her skin, and the dark circles under her eyes.

Tingly and nauseous, it was a roller coaster of reaction that made her feel cold and ears ring. Jojo just barely heard the opposite voice. Everything sounded muffled, but with the slight shift was the miniature life sign until Fang took up the weight. The arm slung over his shoulder responded with tension, lacking a retaining grip but a joint cling to him and a dazed gaze that was trying to pick up it’s environment, when eyes opened a sliver. 

“…” A small puff left her lips, fearing she’d prompt herself to throw up if she had tried to form words. Having not realized who it was at first, given how distorted everything, her gaze lolled up in his direction with the slump of her head. It almost looked like she had no clue where she was. “N-no… head just… fuzzy and black. Crashed. Think I’m alright.” Aside from a scraped palm from catching herself midway, her senses were starting to focus more on him when her brain was able to put it together - eyes if not face first. “Oh, I haven’t–ser…” Her other hand came up, pressing her palm into a sore eye. “-seen you in a small while.. sorry for the trouble.”

      Although her description was vague at best, her words alarmed him. What seemed like a mere slipping accident turned into a more serious issue in seconds. Knowing that lifting her up right away would be a bad idea, he settled for offering her the support to sit upright while he looked around for a better place to seat her than the cold sidewalk.

      “Alright? You don’t look alright to me,” he said after his gaze returned to her. 

      Noticing her rough shape, he did the first thing that came to mind and offered her his drinking bottle after he popped open the cap. He brought it to her lips and tilted it a little bit until the first few droplets fell into her mouth. Unaware of her other health problems, he thought her fainting sensation could have been caused by a drop in her sugar levels or dehydration - either way, that wouldn’t be the last thing he did for her. Whether she liked the electrolyte drink or not, he pushed the bottle into her hands as if urging her to hold it. Without giving her a chance to protest, he scooped her legs up by the bends of her knees and secured her back with his other arm as he picked her up in a bridal style carry. Their destination? The bus station waiting bench not far from them; that was their best bet. The lost mail would have to wait until she was comfortable enough to explain her situation to him.

      “Got any clue as to why you might be feeling lightheaded? Did you skip breakfast?”

Wake up

The days that finally caught up to her weren’t very forgiving. Whatever the lack of sleep entailed through them, and moving on in the days to work in the early times - that was a complete mystery but work was work and she was going to do it. Despite looking a little more rough than usual, a hand pulled on the collar of the postal jumpsuit, squinting down at a small handful of mail in the other. There was an aloof look on her face. Not due to anything particular, not even she knew but… Even poor meals weren’t doing her any favours, if they’d be considered proper.

Each step became more lethargic than usual. Like an animated machine breaking down on the spot and losing it’s power with hobbled steps, “ughhh…” a breath left her lips, raising her gaze. One that was already failing into tunnel vision - hardly realized it but her grip on the small cluster of mail already fell out of her hand. Then so, not falling too far behind the mess left behind - everything was processing too slow before footing stumbled and sent her down, hardly catching herself with an empty hand. Unfortunately, the rest of Josiah toppled flat on the ground with a dead weight thump, with little to no time for her hardly clinging consciousness to realize what just happened.

@ignitedwill​

      When most people were heading into work on a Monday, Fang was on his way back from the gym. In stark contrast with Josiah, he was dressed in casual sporty clothes that left him exposed to the crisp morning air. Even so, that didn’t seem to bother him as he stopped on his side of the sidewalk to take a sip of water. However, just before he swallowed it, the sound of a crashing weight caught his attention. If not for the envelopes that spilled all over the pavement as soon as her bag hit the ground, he wouldn’t have spotted the fallen familiar face that barely made it past the corner of the street just ahead of him.

      “Are you alright?” he called out. Before she got a word out, his feet had already unconsciously carried him over to her side in a hurry. Even if he told himself he shouldn’t get involved in other people’s businesses, he failed to follow his own advice, especially when someone he recognized seemed to be in trouble. Case in point - he took hold of her hand and wrapped her arm around his shoulders as he squatted close to her, ready to scoop her up at any moment. But first, he had to make sure she was safe enough to be moved. 

Ultimately, had gravity went ahead and took him along and nothing less like a puppet cut from it’s strings with the only leniency coming in form of Fang’s support. Adam settled on his descent, be it he was likely holding his breath even moments ago before he fell - sadly, it may as well be the case. He squinted a bit when exposed to the light of the hallway, even if Fang was blocking most of it out but he wasn’t either in any better shape so his assumption wasn’t exactly as far off…

Given his question though, Rob popped up the visor with only amber eyes peeping at Fang due to the fabric clinging to the bottom half of his face - squinting a bit. “Not really… I could call someone else in if you think that’s best, and send him off.” Saying so, he unhooked the radio from the vest, waving it a bit in emphasis before glancing down at his dazed buddy.

      While he doted on the fallen agent, the aggressive expression that had caused him to pass out in the first place relaxed into a neutral look. Dim blue eyes reciprocated the glance and squinted at Rob while he made up his mind. In the end, he nodded in approval before he turned his attention back to Adam. For his sake, he lowered his visor so the annoying neon light wouldn’t bother him further.

      “If word gets out that it’s due to exhaustion, they will definitely suspend him or worse,” he noted. With a hand on his back and another on his knee, he stood back up and grunted like an old man, despite his age not being too far off from theirs. The bags under his eyes would have them believe otherwise, though. “Blame it on me or something, I don’t really care.” Cue a dismissive gesture with his hand and him averting his gaze towards the security camera at the end of the hallway. “It wouldn’t be the first time that someone bumps into me and passes out.”

That’s all it took for the agent sadly, one would think it to be not very efficient to have an agent like him at all on the field, but it wasn’t due to his ability. More less, he knew Fang could snap him like a toothpick, although little knowing just how much he was more the opposite. Just staring at his chest for what he was able to once his arms crossed - more than enough emphasis.

 Unfortunately, Adam never really interacted with many other agents either… One almost could’ve been able to hear his heart beat against the heavy kevlar up until the audible growl was enough to elicit an almost choked up sound - abruptly lurching forward like he died on the spot.

Rob was only to share a glance with Fang from behind the yellow visor, having not a chance to get a word in yet once he seen his agent companion topple when Fang’s eyes were on him. Instead reactively, a hand nudged the glass up with brief wide eyes, “oouoh.”

      A split second of reaction time was all that Fang had to budge out of his statuesque position and jump into action. Before Adam’s knees hit the ground, he caught him by his armpits and hoisted him up against the wall to grant him a slower, more comfortable descent in case his legs couldn’t support his own weight. Curious as to who he was, he pushed his visor out of the way. It took a couple of tries to budge it, but once revealed, the dazed green eyes and the few strands of raven hair fallen over them gave away his identity. Although Fang had trouble placing names, he remembered this one’s face from the encounters in the cafeteria. By extension, he could also guess who the other one was.

      Unaware of his own intimidating aura and the role it played in this, he turned his head towards Rob and, with furrowed brows, asked him an unexpected question.

While it might’ve been deemed harmless words, the two were secretly fighting for their lives as soon as Fang turned his gaze to him. Naturally it made Crowley be the first to move, that being in front of Carmine to avoid his line of sight - while the red bloom hue certainly didn’t make it spookier in advance but one wasn’t taking the chance.

Carmine was passed his wave though, shooting him a brief but nervous smile. Whether rethinking his decision, he was quick to try moving along and that meant he yanked on the other agents vest so he was by his side again. Though they both were tight at the shoulders despite the height difference. All that was left was words of; ‘Go-go-go’, over their steps.

Unfortunately for Fang… His hallways tread probably wasn’t going to be safe from the other few agents having purposefully chose the same route as his own. That was just two of the few others that have yet to come around… Not too far up from where Fang was, there was another pair of idling agents, those in which it wasn’t uncommon for some to be guard patrol for quick emergencies. However, they both had their helmets on unlike the two that were quick to make haste…

It was Rob and Adam - Adam who would painfully struggle to get a comment out but he may as well had been shaking in his boots before Fang even got near them - like a kid doing something mischievous for once in his life while they waited.

      Rather than angry, he was confused. The two jokesters were able to slip away easily while he reluctantly resumed his walk. It’s not like he had a choice. The hallway to his room was pretty linear and unless he wanted to walk all the way around the facility to the other side, he had to suck it up. Not like he had the clearance to go wherever he wanted to, anyway.

      His heavy footsteps stopped in front of the nervous agent that he didn’t recognize. He seized him up from head to toe with an unfriendly gaze, but his irritated frown was caused by his own anxiety. From his height, at his eye level, all Adam could see was Fang’s sturdy arms crossed against his broad chest, covering it. He tilted his head at him and lifted his eyebrows, egging him on to get the words out already.

Seeing a lot of the twins little squad-mates scattered around wasn’t a surprise. Especially in the wing they all had their buddy system when it was broken up for shifts and when they weren’t needed in their larger groups… However… The key understanding was that they also were the Twins squad. Specifically. 

Things might’ve not been too far out of place seeing them throughout the hallways when Fang was out and about, they were always ready to greet him and always did every time around. Some a nod. Some words, some looks. Things were about to change a bit, from agents that only shared nods, to the looks. They all were going to have something to say.

As soon as Fang was coming down the hallways, a pair from the squad was waltzing down as well. Carmine and Crowley. Though, for once did he have his trademark broken helmet off, they both drew a smile on their face before parting from each other down the middle so they could let Fang pass. If he didn’t catch Carmine making the first glance at Fang’s chest, it was the visual cue - much to Fang’s dismay.

“Hello Fang– they’ve gotten bigger I see-” Carmine added in passing on one side of him before a brief stop.

Crowley was no different in that regard. “Hi-hi. Very well taken care of, but I hope the jumpsuit hasn’t got too uncomfortable up there…” 

@ignitedwill

      The hallways felt narrow to Fang, due to his frame. He never once looked forward into passing by anyone on his way back to his foundation-issued room. Naturally, when he spotted the two of them, he slowed down his pace to let them crab-walk by him. Despite their assumed friendliness, Fang only acknowledged them with a nod and was about to march onwards until their odd comments reached him. 

      With his delayed reaction came a visible confusion as he made a grab for the tip of his ear and felt it up. No, that wasn’t it. What did his outfit have to do with his... Oh. As his gaze fell down towards his half-opened jumpsuit,  he suddenly realized what they were teasing him about. With a sleight of hand, he quickly zipped it back up and cleared his throat. Enveloped in its uncomfortable tightness, he turned to look over his shoulder at them and gave them a mean stare. The redness that crept up the length of his ears spoke to his embarrassment and made him look less threatening than usual.

Knox might’ve been more to realize it on his face, while Lex already knew that it was better off and Josiah was the one to arrange it - Knox almost would’ve expected him to have told Liam where he was going. But his following up response cleared it up more, it reminded him of someone going in and out of their way to make contact - while he knew it weighed different for someone Liam loved.

“I see, it’s probably much safer as you say. Verbal existence isn’t as heavy in this case, as physically being here. But I know Liam had made hidden encounters in the past when we’ve been visited.” Knox waved a dismissive hand, just another thing to cull Liam’s logic. Aside from his ramble, the one thing that stuck out most to him was the context - Josiah didn’t tell them anything of course, so it was a bit of a surprise. “All our lives are complicated, what is a complicated explanation any different by this point… We both are all ears, Fang. Seeing you came all this way too with her, it must be something real important.”

“Is it time for a story here?” Lex vaguely added shortly after Knox, and with it had his frame suddenly shrunk down to sit on the pavement - pulling the weight of the cloak around him more, be it not probably sanitary. Knox doesn’t control the ways of Lex.

      Every time he ended up getting lost in thought while looking at Lex, his expression twisted into a grimace. It wasn’t the serpent’s fault, of course, but neither was it his own. Gruesome images still taunted him behind his eyes like a projector playing the same portion of a tape over and over again. He forced himself to look away from Lex only for his gaze to fall on Josiah, lost and disorientated. He waited for her to object with something, but since she never did, he went ahead and spoke the truth. But first, he took in a deep breath and released a hefty sigh.

      “I doubt you’re ready for my kind of complicated, but here goes nothing...”

      As he said that, he suddenly turned around to reveal his exposed back. He found it easier to show them than to waste his time on explanations. After a moment of baring it to them, he cautiously hovered his hand over his nape to protect it from an unsolicited blow. Although he managed to conceal the main portion of it, his affliction traveled down the column of his back and vanished within his vertebrae. It looked worse than when Josiah first saw it. The crimson lump on his nape resembled a tumor and the tendrils that spread from it could easily count as additional veins - rather than a parasite clinging to him from the outside, it seemed to be growing from within him. Believing that he had made his point, he turned back around and faced Knox no less somber than before.

      “Shiro calls it a Dream Eater. The cult that inflicted me with it called it a gift.” His voice sounded bitter, as to be expected, but it was to worsen in seconds. “As for its namesake, it feeds on dreams, mostly on the nightmares that it induces whenever I fail to keep myself alert. Those horrible things it shows me are never just the figment of my imagination, though, otherwise this wouldn’t be such a big of a deal. The point is...” 

      He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, almost as if he was frustrated with himself for failing to string his words together in a coherent manner. But then again, how is one supposed to explain such nonsensical crazy talk? 

      “The point is... You two were in one of them."

      All of a sudden, he stopped and clenched his fists. He swallowed the needles in his throat as an uncomfortable tension took over him. An apologetic gaze drifted towards Lex, knowing that what he said next could understandably sour their relationship.