#draug.exe

Conquest had been persistent about meeting War's newest friend, and for a little while, War hadn't had much to say to that. She used excuse after excuse, hoping it'd be enough to dissuade her teammate, but as it turned out, she was wrong. Instead of giving up, Connie has become more determined than ever, and it was beginning to give the glitch a headache. War had reached a certain point and finally caved, wanting to pacify Conquest in hopes of her dropping the subject for good. The glitch agreed to take her to meet him, and so they went.

They stood in one of Waterfall's many caves, watching the draugr wade through the shallow end of a pool of water. He'd been suspicious of Connie at first, but upon feeling the effects of her aura, he had gradually relaxed and accepted her presence. Draug seemed docile enough, so War had attempted to coax him into speaking a little English, but as expected, not much progress was made. He was being stubborn again, as usual. 

When he felt that he'd spent enough time in the water, he made his way back onto dry land. Connie attempted to make conversation with him, but he didn't have much to say in return. Following him around from a respectful distance, she watched him, fascinated as he began to manipulate the water. While War had become used to it and didn't appear phased, Conquest's eye lights were large stars. She'd practically begged him to show her how he was manipulating the water so easily, and after internally debating it with himself, he'd agreed to do so. He stood at the edge of a pool of water, demonstrating what he was doing as slowly and simply as possible, and she watched him, completely engrossed. 

Then time seemed to freeze around the pair of female riders as the air around them became clouded with magic. There were two different types, and as they registered in War's mind, her sockets widened, and her eye lights momentarily constricted in fear. Her body grew tense and gave a hard glitch, and noticing the change in her friend’s disposition immediately, Conquest frowned, "War, what's-" There was a loud crash that echoed in the cave around them, and Draug furrowed his brows. Remaining at the edge of the pool of water, he looked around, his body becoming tense as well. Something wasn’t right, and whatever was going on, he didn't like it. 

War reached out, tightly gripping Conquest's hand, and began attempting to tug her toward the nearest exit, "We need to go, and we need to go NOW." Connie opened her mouth to question the other rider, but froze along with her friend when a figure stepped into the cave opening they were headed toward. Instantly recognizing the hooded skeleton with mismatched eye lights that looked back at her, the glitch began pulling Conquest in the direction they'd just come from. Only to find that in the secondary opening stood another skeleton, this one with missing eye lights and a glowing, target-shaped soul floating just outside his chest. The glitch froze again, looking between the two threats before nervously calling out for her undead companion. 

Well aware of her growing fear, he was quick to make his way to her side, his eyes narrowed as he took in their unwelcome guests. Killer was the first to approach the group of three, entirely too casual as he grinned, absentmindedly twirling a knife in one hand, "Well, well, well. Funny seeing you again, glitchy." War scowled, touching her fingertips to the edges of her sockets and producing blue threads, "Just what in the hell are you doing here, Killer?! Last time I checked, no one ever invited you!" Completely unphased by the presence of her threads, he shrugged his shoulders and hummed, "Dusty and I were just passin' through, and we sensed your magic. Figured we might as well drop in and say hi." 

As he drew nearer to War, his grin shifted into a smirk, "You and me have some unfinished business too, if I remember right." War hissed at him, hoping he didn't notice the way she'd begun to tremble the smallest bit, "You can fuck off, for all I care. We don't have any business, you're dead to me, goodbye, you need to leave now." He cooed, and began reaching out to touch her, "Cute... You're just as stubborn as I remember. I'm sure the boss would love that." Seeing his hand about to curl around one of War's wrists, Conquest narrowed her eyes, slapping his hand away and snapping, "It's time for you to leave, Killer. If you refuse to do so, there will be consequences." War's body fizzled in surprise at Conquest's intercession, and as Killer's attention shifted to her, she suddenly felt cold. Connie really shouldn't have done that. Standing up to Killer never, ever ended well. She had no idea what she'd just gotten herself into, and that scared the glitch. 

Killer's smirk widened and he arched a brow bone, very clearly amused, "Awe, it sounds to me like someone's getting a little jealous because they're not getting any attention. Don't you worry, hot stuff. I didn't forget about you." Connie stared at him, her expression contorting into one of disgust, "Excuse me? Why would I ever want your attention, Tar-Face?? I know I'm a little lonely sometimes, but I'm in no way, shape, or form desperate. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave us alone." He chuckled, "You're a fighter... I like that. Apparently I'm not the only one, either." Feeling her soul being gripped by magic, Connie let out a startled sound, and War's body jerked. Without thinking, she lashed out, her threads immediately aiming for Killer. As if he'd predicted her attack, he simply teleported out of the way, and she cursed at him. 

The coldness she felt before was rapidly overtaken by heat as she glowered, baring her teeth in a sign of aggression as she attacked again. He just made advances on Connie, after Connie had very clearly stated that he needed to leave. She'd made it plainly obvious that she wasn't interested in him, and yet, he still had the audacity to push the issue. War wasn't afraid; Now, she was beyond angry. A piece of shit like Killer shouldn't be anywhere near Connie in the first place, let alone attempting to impose himself on her. He needed to leave, and he needed to leave NOW. 

She continued her barrage of attacks, and at first, Killer seemed unbothered. Almost like he was making a game out of dodging everything she threw at him. What he hadn't been counting on, however, was the moment when the water from the large pool behind her rose up, suddenly rushing at him like a tidal wave. His sockets widened in surprise, and he attempted to duck out of the way. A blur of colors appeared in his peripheral vision, but before he had time to react, a set of cold, stiff hands grabbed onto him, and his body was slammed into a wall, immediately fracturing several bones. Water surrounded him and formed a sphere, and as he looked around, trying to figure out what was happening, the draugr appeared. 

Calmly passing through the sphere and joining Killer in the small, enclosed space, his solid white eyes focused their attention solely on him. Bright blue rings began to glow faintly over where his irises would be, he scowled, curling both hands into fists and growling, "Du glemte mig, ikke?" Killer met his gaze, and once his surprise subsided, he offered the draugr a cocky grin, "You wanna piece of me too, deadhead? Fine. Let's go." War's threads pierced the sphere, ensnaring Killer's limbs again. As they began to heat up and shift from blue to red, he seemed to snap, cackling out loud, "You think some water and fancy string tricks are enough to beat me?! Obviously you don't know me at all, glitch!" 

Connie cried out suddenly, a tiny crack forming in the back of her skull as her head was roughly shoved against the cave wall. On the ground just out of reach was her spear, and before she could get the chance to use magic and move it closer to herself, Dust had snagged it. His magic moved the weapon closer to himself, and Connie froze, feeling a pang of fear at the realization that she had no idea what he planned to do with it. He loosened his grip on her for only a fraction of a second before letting go altogether, his magic holding her in place for him as he leaned down to pick up her spear. She watched as Dust quietly inspected it for a moment, her magic desperately fighting his as she attempted to break free, "D-Dust, what're you-?" 

His eye lights snapped back to her, just as bright and intense as ever, and she immediately fell silent. He tilted his head, his tone eerily calm, "This is a pretty nice spear. It's a pity that you weren't able to strike me with it, though." Conquest remained silent, staring up at him as his magic forced her down onto her knees. He moved closer, and Connie's eye lights constricted as he pressed the tip of her own spear against her sternum, "You're basically a version of Dream, right?... The boss would probably be pretty happy if Killer and I returned with both you and the glitch." Despite the position she was in, the rider narrowed her eyes at him, "That's never going to happen, so get the idea out of your head." Dust's eye lights grew brighter in excitement and he grinned, "I know it'd probably never happen. You guys would fight it too much, and the resistance simply wouldn't be worth it. If I got rid of you and took just your soul back, that'd simplify things a little, since glitchy wouldn't have any backup, then."

He began to press the spear into her sternum, and her expression very briefly became one of genuine terror. Trying to hold her ground, she decided to challenge him, "So your plan at the moment is to kill me, huh? I'm not surprised. How much of a coward do you have to be though, relying so heavily on your magic to capture me? You can't capture me without it, and I think that's pretty sad." Dust arched a brow bone, "What, do you WANT me to hurt you some more? If my magic releases you, I'm gonna tear into you and you'll be obliterated on the spot. Don't tell me that you honestly think you could hold your own against me." Conquest scoffed, "I'm just as capable as you are! Now release me, and we'll see who walks away from this." 

Dust smirked, "Fine, but don't say that I didn't warn you." His magic released its hold on Connie, and she was immediately on her feet again. Already aware of what she was planning, Dust braced for impact. Tightly gripping her spear with one hand, she lifted her other arm, bending it and preparing to slam her elbow into Dust's neck. Instinctively blocking the attack, he proceeded to yank her flush against himself, her ecto firmly smooshed against his chest. One arm stayed around her, locking her in place, and she let out a sound in surprise as he wrenched the spear out of her grasp and tossed it away, where she definitely wouldn't be able to get to it. As his eye lights began to roam and take her in, he smirked, his voice low as he purred, "Before I kill you and take your soul... Maybe I'll have a look at the goods first." 

She snapped at him, "I don't THINK so. Get your hands OFF of me, Dust!" He chuckled, his brow bones lifting in amusement, "It's adorable that you think I'll listen to you." Conquest lifted a hand, fully prepared to strike him. Fully expecting her reaction, he caught her wrist, tightening his grip on it enough to make her let out a pained cry. Out of nowhere, there was a click, followed by a familiar voice, "Step away from the pretty lass, mate. I'm only going to ask once." Dust and Conquest both looked up, and Connie's eyes widened. Dust snorted as he registered the gun that was pointed at him, and deciding to play along, he loosened his grip on the female rider, allowing her to slip away from him. Dust arched a brow bone as he watched her run to the former pirate, tilting his head and sneering, "You brought a human weapon to a magic fight. How much stupider could you be?" 

Abrael seemed to mirror him, tilting their head as well, a tiny, smug smile tugging at the corners of their teeth, "The rule was that we were fighting without relying on magic. That happens to be my specialty. Taking that into consideration, I'd say fighting me without your magic would make you the stupid one." Dust stared at them for a moment, and then he hummed thoughtfully, "I bet you've only got one shot in there, and I feel like I know what it was originally intended for." Abrael narrowed their eyes, "You know absolutely nothing. Now stay over there. If you come any closer, I WILL shoot." Dust made a sound in acknowledgment, slowly beginning to back away, "Fine, fine. I won't come any closer." The former pirate's gaze remained on him, and he continued backing away. Abrael absentmindedly stepped in front of Conquest, keeping their pistol pointed at him. 

Amusement flickered in Dust's eyes, and then without warning, his magic flared up. Abrael instantly took the shot and pulled the trigger, earning a loud curse from Dust as the magic bullet broke through his collarbone, and Connie shrieked, visibly shocked at Abrael having followed through with their threat. Growling in irritation, Dust lifted a hand, conjuring what looked like a hundred bone attacks. Already knowing how fast they could move, Conquest's eyes began to water up; Abrael would be dusted in a heartbeat. There was no way they could keep up with every single attack at once. Tightly clinging to Abrael's shirt, she cracked, feeling overwhelmed with not only her own emotions, but the emotions of everyone nearby as well, "Abby, we need to go. You'll die if you take all of those attacks head-on."

The former pirate shook their head, "I've done so much running before, but I'm done. I'm going to stop running from what scares me, and I'm doing it for a very good reason." They paused, briefly meeting Conquest's terrified, confused gaze, before murmuring, "You. You're my reason." With that, they focused on Dust again, able to shoot a second time before the first of many attacks came sailing toward them. Connie wrapped her arms around the former pirate, teleporting both of them out of the way. Quickly locating them again, Dust hissed, "Teleporting won't save either of you!" Abrael snorted, "Says the one who didn't teleport fast enough and got shot as a result." Dust swore loudly again, and this time, his magic sent Connie's spear sailing in their direction. Realizing what would happen, Abrael shoved Connie aside as best as they could, and then there was a loud series of cracks, followed by the sound of loud cursing.

From where she now stood, Connie's eyes widened again and began to water up as she took in the sight of Abrael, barely standing, with her spear having broken completely through part of their ribcage and narrowly missed their soul. Dust began to prepare more attacks, and as something clicked in Connie's mind, her eye lights shifted from their normal orange to a golden hue. A single attack flew toward Abrael, likely aimed purposely at their soul, and Conquest screamed, her voice echoing off of the cave walls, "THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!" With a single fluid motion of her arms, water from another pool in the cave gathered into a sphere, and then promptly shot toward Dust. Not getting a chance to react, the blow's force was enough to knock him off his feet. Without giving him a chance to recover, she made a sweeping motion with her arms, and the water blast from before reshaped itself.

Becoming a wave, it crashed into Dust, knocking him aside again. The rider continued her motions, driven entirely by instinct, and the water proceeded to transform into a long, tendril-like shape. It struck the hooded skeleton hard enough to send him flying, and the edges of it hardened and froze, becoming ice. It lashed at Dust again as he tried to regain his balance, and his eyes widened. There was a crack, and he stumbled backward, a hand over part of his face. Deciding that it was time to get his teammate and go, he teleported, making a beeline for Killer. Understanding that he was retreating, Conquest focused her attention on Abrael. The spear was removed from their ribs and tossed carelessly aside, and Abrael groaned, their face scrunching up from pain and discomfort. Retaining enough consciousness to meet Connie's gaze, they made a questioning sound, and she gently shushed them. The water was released from her hold, splattering on the ground around the two of them as she began to heal the former pirate's injuries. 

As her eye lights shifted back to their usual orange from the striking gold they had momentarily been, she realized what had just happened, and her magic fluttered in response. Shaking her head, she decided not to worry about it at the moment, instead focusing all of her attention on healing Abrael. It wasn't long before War and Draug reappeared, only to find Abrael sitting on a rock with their arms around an unconscious Conquest.

War frowned, almost immediately at their side to inspect Connie, "What the- Are you guys ok? What happened to Connie?" Abrael sighed, "We're fine now, thanks to her. She did a bunch of stuff with water from one of the pools, then she healed me and passed out." The glitch made a face, "Sounds like she used too much magic... We should get her back to the house, so Pest can take a look at her and make sure she's really alright." She paused, turning to look at Draug, "Hey, stinky. You ready to go?" 

When he didn't respond, War snapped, "Hey, are you listening to me?! What could possibly be so interesting over there?!" The draugr, now crouched down and looking at the water on the ground, glanced at her, "Jeg tror, hun flyttede dette vand... Næsten som hvad jeg kan gøre." War groaned, "We'll decode that later. For now, we need to go. Now, are you coming or not?" He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes; He understood why this was so important to her, but sometimes, he really wished that she would be a little more patient.

~~~

"Du glemte mig, ikke?" = "You forgot about me, didn't you?"

Physical description:

His hair is kinda messy looking, pretty much all the time, and he puts little to no effort into making it look good. There's only a select few people that are allowed to touch his hair. His fringe is mid length, and his body type would probably be lean. He's dead, eating is something he only does once in a while if he feels like it, and he doesn't need to exercise, because he has supernatural strength. His eyes are solid white, though the center (where the pupils would be) will turn bright blue and start glowing when he's ROYALLY pissed off about something. His skintone is a very light blue-grey, and he has small barnacles covering his body, from all the time he spent underwater, in the ocean. He picks the barnacles off whenever he sees them, because they're just one of the things that make him uncomfortable and insecure. His normal/casual clothes would be loose fit pants (not necessarily jeans, he just likes clothes that don't restrict his movement), an old, torn long sleeved shirt that has one of the sleeves (from the elbow down) ripped off, and a leather vest (or whatever you'd call it... It's like a kind of chest plate/armor, or something of that nature)

Abilities:

Temperatures don't bother him

He can change his body temperature to suit the needs of anyone that comes into physical contact with him

If it's winter, he can make his body temperature ruse rapidly, because water boils, and he can manipulate and generate water from nothing

During the summer, his body temperature drops, because another thing water does is freeze

After becoming a draugr, Draug possesses inhuman strength and speed, along with the agility he had while he was alive

He can cast death curses on people, and he can cause storms and very minor natural disasters

He can also change his size and form. In order to blend in with society while out and about, he takes the form of an ordinary human. If he wanted to hide from someone or something, he could turn into a rock or inanimate object. Those are the only things he’s able to take the form of though

Backstory (warning: it's angsty af):

When he was alive, his name was David

In his village, boys were sent off to be trained as warriors at age 13. David didn’t like fighting though. He preferred reading and academics

In training, the one thing he excelled at was agility

He lived back in the era of Vikings, which lasted from approximately 793 to 1066

David’s father died shortly after he was born, during a hunting accident

David was very close with his mother the entire time he was alive. He heard stories about what happened to his father, and he just wanted to help take care of his mother

His mother was fairly young, but she was wise beyond her years. Many of the other villagers went to her for advice and guidance

He didn’t take the name ‘Draug’ until after his death because he became a draugr (basically an ocean zombie), which is the same creature that killed him

Some friends of the family invited him to go out on a fishing trip with them. His mother was very worried and begged him not to go. When she knew she couldn’t change his mind, she gave him a necklace with a medallion on it. Her explanation was that the medallion would give him strength and protect him

He set off to sea with his mother’s friends, and as it started to get late, they were the only boat on the water. David was below deck sleeping, but he woke up when he heard a woman scream. He ran to the deck to find a draugr trying to rip apart his mother’s friends husband, who was frantic and screaming for help

David tried to help her, but she ended up sacrificing him to the draugr, thinking it’d spare her husband

The draugr took David overboard, dragging him to the ocean floor and drowning him. The man it mauled died of blood loss shortly after, so his mother’s friend basically sacrificed David for nothing

The entire time he was gone, his mother would go to the docks and wait for him to come home. Years passed, she grew older and older, and eventually, died of a broken heart because she’d lost not only her husband but her only child as well

When David woke up years later, still at the bottom of the ocean, at first he was confused and didn’t know what was going on. When he looked down at his body and saw the condition it was in, he remembered what happened and he was horrified at what he’d become

He decided to return home to tell his mother he was alright, and that he was sorry for not staying with her. When he finally got back to his village and discovered that she’d died, he felt his already unbeating heart break

Out of fear, the villagers chased him away, saying that he was a monster and he had no place there. Some of David’s friends could even be seen amongst the crowd

He spent years wandering aimlessly, trying his best to find a new home

Other stuff:

Given that he was 21 when he died, as of 2018, he’d be about 793 years old

He speaks Danish and broken English

While he technically doesn’t need food (because of being dead), he still feeds on human flesh. It’s usually up to someone else to supply it though, as to not cause a scene or any mass hysteria

He has a small figurine of a knight that he carries around, that he named ‘Oscar’ (<- for the sake of the current storyline, I feel like he just keeps Oscar tucked away somewhere now)

When being transported anywhere, he’s usually required to wear some form of restraints

If he goes too long without flesh, he starts getting very drooly

Draug’s eyes are usually solid white, without a pupil. If he’s angered, the area of his eyes where the pupil would be turns bright blue

Draug doesn’t like the idea of wearing shoes or modern clothes. He thinks they’re immodest and/or too restrictive

Because of the trauma he went through, he sometimes reverts back to a more childlike mentality

Other than being unable to protect a child (for any given reason), the only thing Draug is genuinely afraid of would be snakes

As time passes, he does get better at managing his temper

Probably because now he's in an environment where there's always kids running around, and he loves kids, so the last thing he wants is to scare them (<- assuming that he'll meet Mortem and Paragon at some point)

If he accidentally scared a child, he'd feel absolutely horrible and would be desperate to try fixing whatever it was that scared them so bad

Because he's dead, he physically can't blush

The only thing that could make him blush would be any scenario that makes him super nervous or embarrassed

If he gets too embarrassed though, he responds with anger and/or agitation

There's a spot behind his left ear that immediately turns him docile, if he were to ever get unreasonably upset and loose control

If you press on that spot, everything's fine. If you press in the spot behind his other ear instead, you just agitate him further

He still has nightmares about his mother from time to time, and he still feels incredibly guilty that he couldn't make it back in time to tell her that he was ok, or that he loved her

He'll disappear every so often to go visit a little secret shrine (if that's the right word I'm looking for) he made, if he wants to vent

He usually just vents about whatever's on his mind, and he likes to think that his mother's listening

His birthday is December 28th

The glitch let out a deep sigh, hugging her knees close to her chest as she sat. She quietly looked out over the pond before her, her thoughts drifting from one subject to another. She'd found a total of nine different ponds in the long forgotten caves of Waterfall, one of which was large enough to be considered a lake, and she'd deemed this particular one her favorite. She wasn't sure why, but something just felt... Different, about it. Her thoughts drifted to the dream she'd had recently; She recognized the tree of feelings and the set of tiny twins that sat together beneath it, but that wasn't what the dream was mostly about. She remembered the human child she saw in it and frowned. He'd burst out of his home in tears, a large patch of reddening skin on his face. She recalled the way he isolated himself, his dark, curly hair an absolute mess atop his head as he slipped his body into a long dead and hollowed out tree. He'd curled in on himself and sobbed, his speech incoherent as he babbled to himself, and War's frown deepened. Remembering the way she used to hide from Error when she was a child, her soul ached. In watching the child, she could see herself. She pitied him, and if she could go back in time to help him, she knew she would. No child deserved to feel that way, and they certainly didn't deserve to live the way that he did.

A noise got the rider's attention, pulling her back into the current moment. Hearing what vaguely sounded like a splash, she looked around, her brow bones furrowing as she tried to locate the source of the noise. When she saw nothing, she made a face; Well that was weird. She convinced herself that it was probably nothing, but then she abruptly froze, her nonexistent stomach turning as the stench of death came from something nearby. Tugging her scarf up over her face in hopes of filtering out the smell, she grumbled under her breath. Alright, that was even weirder. What in the world could possibly be giving off such an odor?

Another sound that was similar to growling could be heard directly behind her and she whirled around, nearly slipping off of the rock she'd been sitting on. Unable to identify the face she was looking up at, she lashed out, producing her threads and quickly ensnaring the person that'd crept up on her. He was momentarily caught off guard, but then tilted his head, groaning softly and lightly tugging at the threads, as if testing their strength. Still trying to use her scarf to filter out the stench that he brought with him, she narrowed her eyes, "Ok, who the hell are you, and what are you doing, creeping around in these caves?" Shifting his attention back to her, his head remained tilted and he stared in silence. War made a sound in irritation, tightening her threads around him, "Well?! Don't you have anything to say for yourself, weirdo?" The undead man before her held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "Hej, ikke så stram! Slap af, lille. Jeg mener ikke nogen skade!" The glitch paused at finally hearing him speak, and she arched a brow bone, "...Can you even understand what I'm saying to you?" He tugged at her threads again, his expression going blank after a moment, "Slip mig lige nu, ellers klikker jeg på alle disse strenge." War rolled her eye lights, "Whatever, dude. I'm gonna let go of you now, but if you take one more step closer to me, I'll end you. You got that? Stay. Away. From. Me."

He grumbled something under his breath and she reluctantly released her hold on him. He flexed his arms once they were freed, a sickening popping sound coming from his joints and making the rider gag. Trying to brush off the effect the sound had on her, she cleared her throat, "So... You got a name? What the hell am I supposed to call you?" He was silent for a moment, seeming to consider something before responding, "Hvorfor betyder det noget, hvis jeg har et navn? Jeg er død." War made a face, "Fine, fine. I guess I'll have to call you 'Stankass' then, huh? Until we figure something out, at least." The dead man furrowed his brows and frowned, "Tænk ikke engang på det." War stared at him for a few seconds, "...If you can understand me, hold one finger up." The man let out a deep sigh and grumbled, "Skal jeg?" War pinched the bridge of her nose, "Y'know what? Never mind. Forget I asked." Looking down at her, he arched an eyebrow, a hint of amusement crossing his expression. Catching it, the rider deadpanned, "...You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" He fell silent, allowing his amusement to become clearer than before, and in response, War let out an exaggerated groan, "Unbelievable. Before you frustrate me any more, I think I'm gonna go home. Seeya later, Stankass." Turning her back to him, she began to walk away, ignoring his confusion as he watched her. A few seconds passed before she narrowed her eyes, feeling a presence directly behind her.

Her pace came to a halt and she turned, appearing not the slightest bit surprised as she looked at him. Noticing that he'd started following her, she made a face, "You have to stay here, dude. You can't follow me." Once again tilting his head, he furrowed his brows, "Men... Du ville være alene da, og børn bør ikke rejse alene." The glitch stared up at him and hummed, "I can't understand you, deadhead. You have to stay here though, you'll freak out everyone at the house." She turned her back to him again without another word and started to walk, only to be abruptly stopped. Looking back, she spotted one of his hands grasping part of her shirt, and she narrowed her eyes, shifting her gaze to him, "...I said no, Stankass. You stay, I go. It's simple. Now, let go of my shirt." He grunted, hesitantly releasing her shirt after a moment. Realizing that he'd done as she asked, she spun around to face him, one hand balled into a fist while she raised the other and pointed, her hand directly in front of his face, "You are SUCH a little shit, oh my god! I KNEW you could understand me!" Rather than responding, he merely scooped her up into his arms, "Jeg vil også gå. Når du kommer sikkert hjem, forlader jeg og vender tilbage til min dam." War's cheekbones flushed a bright shade of midnight blue and she nearly screeched, "What do you think you're doing?! Put me down, bastard!" No sooner had she started struggling, had he narrowed his solid white eyes at her and growled lowly.

Hearing the sound, War froze, her sockets widening until they were nearly the same size as small saucers. Satisfied with her reaction, he began to walk, keeping her close to himself. Concluding that he wouldn't be letting her down anytime soon, she began to consider using a shortcut. Would that even work, though?... He'd snuck up behind her without producing even a single sound, and if it wasn't for the way he smelled, she might not have even sensed him standing there. He didn't seem at all threatened by her threads either when she caught him; If anything, he just seemed surprised. Once his surprise had passed, he was completely calm and confident, without even a trace of fear or uncertainty.

She had no idea what he was capable of. For all she knew, he might be able to teleport after her.

"Fortæl mig, hvor jeg skal hen." Being pulled from her thoughts, she sighed; She had no idea what he'd just said, but if he was really so insistent on going with her, she might as well give him directions. Caving, she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to his shirt, trying to make herself feel more secure, "Keep going. We need to exit the cave and get out onto the main pathway." He nodded, falling silent as he continued walking. The rider glanced around, her figure glitching in surprise as her phone went off, playing a text message alert sound. Shifting slightly in the dead man's arms, she dug into one of her pockets and withdrew her phone. Unlocking it and opening the message, she let out a soft breath. Ah. It was a message from Famine, asking if she'd be home in time for dinner. War took a moment to consider how she'd respond. Deciding on a good response, she typed her message out and sent it. It wasn't long before he texted back, but she chose to stuff her phone back into her pocket. At the speed they were currently moving, she desperately prayed they'd reach the house as soon as possible. Realistically, she'd probably make the undead weirdo put her down just outside the edge of the property. Then, since his scent would undoubtedly cling to her now, she'd use magic to conceal it. Famine had the best nose out of the group, so it'd be him that she'd have to try the hardest to slip by. Furrowing her brow bones, she stayed quiet, continuing to observe her surroundings. She knew her new companion likely couldn't help the way he smelled, so she didn't blame him for it. Being so close to him though... No thanks. She tugged her scarf up over the lower half of her face again. At this rate, she'd need to run a load of laundry and shower. If she could find someone's perfume or cologne, she'd also be spraying herself down with that. Whatever it took to get the stench of death and decay off of herself, she'd do it.

A moment passed in silence before her new companion spoke, his voice gruff and low, “Draug.” The glitch looked up at him curiously, arching a brow bone, “…What?” He glanced at her and continued walking, raising his voice the smallest bit. “Draug. Jeg hedder Draug.” She stared at him, dumbfounded and unsure what to say. Seeing the look on her face, he deadpanned; Was she seriously making him go through this right now? Letting out a deep sigh, he shifted her in his arms and used a hand to pat his chest, “Draug. Jeg er Draug.” War furrowed her brow bones again, “…Draug?” He gave a quick and eager nod, gesturing to himself, “Draug!” The rider tilted her head, “I’m guessing that’s your name?” Nodding again, he made a sound in confirmation, “Det er.” She blinked, momentarily seeming surprised, “…Huh. I didn’t think you’d actually tell me. If we’re finally doing introductions, my name’s War.” Her undead companion glanced at her curiously, “Krig?... Dit navn er krig?” War made a face, unsure of how she should respond, “Uhh… How do you say ‘War’ in your language?” Draug looked at her blankly, “Krig.” She blinked, “Oh. Ok then. I guess that’s pretty simple.” If he had pupils and irises, Draug would’ve made sure she could see him rolling his eyes at her. She cleared her throat, “Do you think you’d be willing to learn how to speak English?… I feel like it’d be easier to communicate if I could understand you the way that you understand me. I could even try to help you, if you wanted.”

Draug hummed in consideration; She had a point. Communication would definitely be easier if she could understand him. He sighed softly and nodded, “Jeg vil prøve at lære engelsk, men kun hvis du prøver at lære dansk også.” Although she wasn’t sure what exactly he said, she registered his nod as acceptance and glanced away from him, almost appearing awkward, “Cool, cool… Thanks, dude. I appreciate that.”

~~~

Translations:

"Hej, ikke så stram! Slap af, lille. Jeg mener ikke nogen skade!" = "Hey, not so tight! Calm down, small one. I don't mean any harm!"

"Slip mig lige nu, ellers klikker jeg på alle disse strenge." = "Release me right now, or else I'll snap all of these strings"

"Hvorfor betyder det noget, hvis jeg har et navn? Jeg er død." = "Why does it matter if I have a name? I'm dead."

"Tænk ikke engang på det." = "Don't even think about it."

"Skal jeg?" = "Do I have to?"

"Men... Du ville være alene da, og børn bør ikke rejse alene." = "But... You would be alone then and children should not travel alone."

"Jeg vil også gå. Når du kommer sikkert hjem, forlader jeg og vender tilbage til min dam." = "I want to go too. When you get home safely, I'll leave and return to my pond."

"Fortæl mig, hvor jeg skal hen." = "Tell me where I'm going."

“Jeg hedder Draug.” = “My name is Draug.”

“Draug. Jeg er Draug.” = “Draug. I’m Draug.”

“Det er.” = “It is.”

“Krig?... Dit navn er krig?” = “War… Your name is War?”