#myskiniscrawling

I like watching the spiders crawl about and eat things

I don't like that they live above my head, most likely dropping their leftovers into my mouth as I sleep.

I like looking at different species of said spiders

The twisted Dragon made his way into the small town, growing more cunning with his methods by which he brought about Nothingness for his cherished Master. This time he took a form twice as old as his actual age, by human standards. He sank onto the wooden porch of one of the stores lining the only street through the settlement, exaggerating a groan of exhaustion. Most gave him a wide berth, something about setting them on edge.

For the moment, he looked like any other human, save the unnatural deepness of the black colour of his eyes. His typically long hair hung thin and short at his shoulders, pitch black with only the barest hints of grey having been added to it for appearances' sake. His frame was thin, almost to the point of looking malnourished. Another trick to set the humans at ease, not that it was working. Something about Madness always set people's instincts on alert.

He fumbled with pulling a hunk of wood out of one of his pants pockets, retrieving a knife from another and setting about idly carving a shape out of it. After a moment he started singing quietly, his normal Tenor voice dropping an octave or two, toward his Draconic timbre, and giving a haunting tone to the lyrics.

~

O, Death O, Death Won't you spare me over 'til another year Well what is this that I can't see With ice cold hands takin' hold of me Well I am Death, none can excel I'll open the door to heaven or hell

~

As he sang, dark clouds crawled through the sky, rumbling with thunder as lightning jumped from cloud to cloud. The people of the town looked to the sky with puzzlement before carrying on about their business, albeit with a bit of a rush to their step, now. “Strange,” someone remarked, “the weather didn't call for rain today.”

The Dragon's lips simply curled ever so slightly in a hint of a smile as he continued singing, the clouds growing ever closer to the town.

~ Whoa, Death , someone would pray Could you wait to call me another day The children prayed, the preacher preached Time and mercy is out of your reach

I'll fix your feet 'til you cant walk I'll lock your jaw til' you cant talk I'll close your eyes so you can't see This very hour, come and go with me

I'm Death, I come to take the soul Leave the body and leave it cold To draw up the flesh off of the frame Dirt and worm both have a claim

~

The clouds rolled over in earnest, now, rumbling louder as the sun was blocked out. The town was blanketed with darkness as the clouds stopped their progress, holding steady right over the cluster of homes and businesses. The owner of the shop that the Dragon had sat in front of came outside slowly, staring up at the sky.

“Hey, mister, you'd better find somewhere to hunker down, it looks like it's going to be a...nasty...” he started to say, but trailed off as he looked down at the male and saw what he was carving. A carving of his Master had begun to take shape from the wood, it's hollow eyes almost seeming to gleam with malicious glee.

The Dragon simply smirked as he continued carving, keeping his eyes on the wood as a bolt of lightning shot from the clouds, striking the shopkeeper straight in the chest and sending him flying against his store front. The body crumpled to the ground, a smoking burn over the now-dead man's heart.

~ O, Death O, Death Won't you spare me over til another year My mother came to my bed Placed a cold towel upon my head My head is warm my feet are cold Death is a-movin upon my soul

Oh, Death, how you're treatin' me You've close my eyes so I can't see Well you're hurtin' my body You make me cold You run my life right outta my soul

~

Bolts of lightning rained down from the clouds, striking each building and setting the ablaze. People fled the burning structures in a panic only to be struck down, one by one, by additional bolts from the sky. Men, women, and children, every one, were cut down, screams of terror, pain, and anguish filling the air. The Dragon continued on, still carving as life upon life was extinguished.

~ Oh, Death, please consider my age Please don't take me at this stage My wealth is all at your command If you will move your icy hand

The old, the young, the rich or poor All alike to me you know No wealth, no land, no silver no gold Nothing satisfies me but your soul

~

As the final body fell, the Dragon gave one last draw of his knife, flicking the last stray splinter away from the carving. Perfection~ He pushed himself to his feet as he folded the knife, tucking it back into his pocket as he moved into the store, coming out with a large bag in one hand. A grin of sadistic glee turned the Dragon's lips as he snatched the soul that hovered just over the body from the air, looking it over briefly before tucking it into the sack. He wandered through the town, plucking each and every soul, nearly two hundred all told, from the air above the bodies they had inhabited, and stuffed them in the bag along with the first.

As he deposited the last one in the bag and tied it shut, the clouds slowly faded out of existence, leaving no trace of their presence behind other than the smoking burns on the bodies and the burning buildings. After a brief survey of the town, the Dragon returned to the store.

The carving was settled in the windowsill above the dead shopkeeper's body where it almost seemed to leer at him, mocking his death. A single claw was grown, one hand coming to the wood of the store front. “Perfect Nothingness” was scratched into the building. With one, final, glance at his surroundings, the Dragon wandered out of town the same way he came, humming under his breath as he left to deliver news and spoils of his latest conquest to his Master. He would be so pleased.

~