[open] i am the chief of sinners

[Stalag]

S T A L A G

He is visibly startled by her exclamation.  For a moment, he loses his grip on the monster, and a hiss escaped him before he snapped his mouth shut, cutting off the sound abruptly. He is skittish for a monster. Though his nerves were not because he feared others, but feared losing control of himself.  His impulses were difficult to control even when calm.  He sucks in a ragged breath from between his sharp teeth. He wavers, uncertain if coming here had been worth the risk.  He knows he can turn and flee back to the relative sanctuary of Pangea. His muscles scream at him to run.  But he is not a coward. And this woman - she seems to know what he is. Does she know what sort of danger she has put herself into? But then she speaks of her siblings - siblings like him and his own curiosity compels him to remain.  It is the same curiosity that allows him to answer her. “I have only mothers,” he begins - taking extra time to ensure his lips form each word correctly. His voice is thick with disuse - his pattern of speech slow and intentional. It had been so long since he’d used this language. “Anaxarete of Pangea and her creatures are my family.”  He wants to ask about her family, but his attention has shifted. She is not alone - she’s accompanied by a monster all her own. He turns his dark eyes upon the creature, having never seen anything remotely similar even though he’s spent his entire life among the things that go bump in the night. He gestures to the bone creature, intrigued by the way life has been born of death. “Are you...its master?’ he asks, his voice a thick rasp. He is unaware that his language may be strange - he has had few if any conversations with anyone outside his immediate family. His careful composure is shattered the moment he senses Popinjay.  He does not see the girl, but he can hear her footsteps - smell her unfamiliar scent.  Another hiss escapes him as his eyes seem to glaze over, his knife-tail swings meanicingly.  “Someone else is here,” he hisses, this voice deeper - less controlled. He lowers his head, his eyes searching...hunting for what lurks in the shadows. SPAWNED FROM MONSTERS AND MAGIC

@[violence]
@[Popinjay]