Life has been even harsher than usual for the Hay-yen, especially after Lidaya returned back alone from the attack she was supposed to lead on wounded, isolated offerings. After reporting back to their shaman, Vespertilia, the one who spoke The Devourer's words, she was faced with reprimand worse than ever seen before.

"You incompetent fool! How could you lose four of YOUR kin and NOT capture any of the tributes?! You absolutely incompetent bitch!" The large Hay-yen shaman hissed, baring her big canines, throwing in Lidaya's general direction one of the bottles she would usually pour her concoctions from, this one empty dry.

"I-... we were deceived your excelency. The enemy was stronger than we s-suspected. It- it was an unusual one. Wounded greviously, it still fought akin to a daeman. We thought we could take the pink furless bastard and its Tuskir companion. They were both in bad shape, o-or so we presume." Lidaya said strained as her form shook ever so lightly. The shaman's gaze was filled with a hungering fury as she stared at her, one of the traits that confirmed Lidaya that Vespertilia was indeed The Devourer's voice.

The large purple eyed shaman Hay-yen seemed to growl and snarl as she listened, possibly restraining herself from tearing Lidaya to pieces. "I do not care what it is. You failed me and The Devourer, you useless harlot! The rank bestowed to you is a shame with your current performance." Vespertilia added as she sat down, holding onto the side of her head, seemingly trying to rub her own temple, as if a pain took her over. Her hand then moved to feel her own throat. "Leave and tell the others to bring the offerings caught by the other stalk, inside. It is time for the Devourer to receive them.

Vespertilia sat thinking a moment as she gazed upon Lidaya bowing and leaving. 'Whatever it is, I need to know what it can do. It can't pose a threat to my life and the Hay-yen culture. They are execelent killers for what I need them. I need to get my claws on it and make sure there aren't more that can pose a threat.'

Soon, a secondary stalk group brought before Vespertilia some knocked out and tied up Bovaron males, their forms large and muscular, known for their aggressiveness and direct way to fight, they were perfect to fall for a Hay-yen ambush, especially if they were protecting a female that bared calf. Too bad she had gotten away, but oh well, tributes were still tributes and she had been thirsting for them.

\++++

Zhuun had somewhat recovered since the failed attack on the two tributes that made his tribe lose originally one male, but he could feel his blood boil when he heard the furless daeman he fought brought down another four. Ever since the shaman had treated his wound, sealed it and made even fur grow over it, he has been observing more what was happening about his home. He especially had extra time ever since him and his aunt have been reassigned to a simple hunter stalk, who needed to bring in food for the Cackle.

He had returned home in the middle of the afternoon, bringing in bounty plentiful, along the others in the group. They were returning just as the tributes for the Devourer have been finished with for the ritual. They always looked the same ever since he could remember them. Husks of dry flesh, the first with no sign of injury and all that followed with their throats sliced, expression of terror upon their sunken faces, with the eyes dried to non existence. Dreadful fate that he knew would await his own people if they didn't keep providing.

As he was resting his weary body and reflecting upon the horrible visage that now lingered in his memory, the flaps to his tent opened, which startled the young Hay-yen. His gaze met that of the sisters from the stalk that brought the tribute in, earlier today.

"Hello, cackle brother. We have heard of your failure along with Lidaya's to bring in tribute for our great shaman. We thought, since we have redeemed you from your utter failure, that we should have earned your praise." The lead one spoke with a chuckle leaving her throat, several others behind her joining in.

"Ah... uhm... a job well done. Thank you for your efforts." Zhuun replied nervously as he got up and grasped the flap of his tent. "I would discuss more of your succes, but I find myself tired from the sun, so..."

Zhuun didn't even get to finish his sentence, as he felt his wrist being captured by the woman's hand and held onto tightly. "Hmm... we felt like shallow words do not suffice, for the favour we did you. We thought since our own flesh belongs to us only while we are here, before meeting the Devourer we would like to enjoy it while we can." The Hay-yen woman's eyes looked in a predatory manner at him, followed by those gazing over her shoulders. "And you OWE us." She added with a snarl in the back of her throat.

Zhuun froze up as he could feel his heart race, his mind flashing to the first few months when he came of age. "I-... It has been a long day, I must rest, apologies. Maybe another time." He said trying to pull himself free, but the Hay-yen woman's grip was solid.

"Rest from what? All you did is hunt easy prey, mutt. You'll do as told, as anyone tells you." She growled yanking him forward towards her.

Instinctively Zhuun yelped and clawed at her face with his free arm, which prompted the Hay-yen woman to agressively growl as her head reeled back, her grip loosening enough for him to free himself. "You vurm. You insolent insect. We are doing you a favour, you weakling." She retorted as the others behind her began in a similar cacophony of slurs.

"Doing him a favour, how? By taking all the air in his tent?" A voice rang behind them, and as the small stalk turned to face the one who would bother them, they saw Raksha.

"What do you want?" One at the back of the stalk inquired annoyed as she bared her teeth.

"Checking on my nephew after a long day and wondering if I have to cave some bitch skulls in for him to get some air." Raksha replied casually as the solo hyena woman entered herself in an impromptu staring contest with the small stalk.

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Zhuun who was still on the inside of the tent, backed up towards the other end of it and pushed out under the tarp to exit it and walked to the side and slightly behind his aunt.

The Hay-yen who now had a small scratch wound on the side of her face let out an angry laugh as she huffed. "Come on. We have to eat. Unlike mutts we deserve our rest." She said, the small group following after her.

After they made their leave Raksha turned to Zhuun and looked him over. "You alright? Did they lay a paw on you?" She asked as she carefully inspected him.

"N-no, but they were close..." Zhuun replied as his agitated breathing began to calm down.

"Did you leave that wound on the bitch's face?" The older Hay-yen auntie asked as she looked back towards the group departing. Zhuun wordlessly nodded which got a small chuckle out of her. "Good boy. Don't them bitches in heat lay their paws on you. I'll make sure to help with that." She said as she gave her nephew a scritchy scratch at the back of his ears, which seemed to help him calm down.

"Thank you, auntie..." Zhuun replied in a choked tone.

Raksha recognised his expression, knowing the one time she regreted leaving the boy entirely alone. Before him, she would have done the same like the others, but after his birth, her sister's death and seeing his father die of exhaustion at the hands of others, her view on things changed quite a bit on things.

The older Hay-yen stood silent a moment as she then gave his back a pat. "Go rest boy. Tomorrow's a full day." She said with a light voice, which Zhuun replied with another affirmative nod.

Raksha would leave for her neighboring tent as soom as he entered and closed his, going for a well deserved rest for herself.

\++++

As night lightly came, Zhuun tossed and turned in his small bed, yelping and growling muffled under his breath, in his sleep. Memories from quite a while ago coming bqck to haunt him. Shades of girls he hasn't seen in a while, laughing and cackling as they tormented him, scratched him and laughed at his pain as they enjoyed themselves. He felt himself struggling to breath and he awoke panting as his head jolted from underneath the blanket he accidentally pulled over his head in his sleep.

He sat up at his bed's edge once more struggling to calm his breathing. "It's just nightmares and shades... just nightmare and shades... they c-can't... hurt you." He whispered to himself as his one functional eye affixed to the his shakey hands.

He tried laying back down to sleep, but his sleep didn't come, or more likely he was afraid to return to slumber. The thought of those shades returning to his mind kept him from resting his eye and his mind.

After a good chunk of time passed the young Hay-yen man stood up and peeked his head out of his tent. Seeing no sign of anyone, he began taking a small stroll around. 'If I can't slumber, I might as well do something useful.' He thought as he began his self appointed guard stroll.

As he passed inbetween tents and reached the edge of the perimeter, he caught other actual guards noticing him, but due to the darkness, even if they could see through it fairly decent, none of them decided to bother him.

He began skirting the edge of his people's encampment. One of many. He thought of stories from his auntie when his people used to be united and when the Hay-yen were more protective of one another. Stories his auntie heard from her mother and her mother from her granmother. He wondered how those times were, before his kin split into tribes, trading supplies and men inbetween them and always seeming at odds. The only thing that reigned their anger at one another apparently were The Devourer's shamans who acted as mediators between them.

Soon, Zhuun found himself reaching close to the shaman's tent and his ears twitched as he heard noise from inside, it was whispered but it was there none the less. His nose picked up the scent of that horrible minty plant once more.

As he was about to wander away, he felt his curiosity pull him towards the tent and so he walked towards it, softly and carefully. His eye darted about to confirm nobody would view him approaching. He knew from what he heard that their shaman conducted at times deliveries upon The Devourer later into the night, mainly for those who were old and were due to be sent to Him. This morbid curiosity enveloped him. 'I... I need to know what my fate is when I am to go to Him. I dread it... but it might give me solace..."

The young Hay-yen gave in fully to his desire to watch, so from the side of the tent, he took two fold of separate material and he spread them enough to peek inwards.

On the inside of the shaman's tent there he saw her, murmuring incantations as an elderly Hay-yen woman with a missing arm laid onto a table. The interior was dim lit like before by magical candles of a bluish light.

The older woman laying down had her fur painted from before, he saw her during the day as they were preparing her. The shaman went on with her incantation, strong incense smelling of herbs burning inside from a bowl and creating a light smoke about, potent in fragrance.

"Please, mistress, tell me... are His jaws painless? I must know... my heart won't calm down." The older Hay-yen whispered nervous from the table to the shaman who just finished her prayer.

Vespertilia gently touched the woman's head and then the side of the elderly woman's neck. "Accept the fear, for He welcomes you to feed his hunger. It is an honor." She whispered back.

"I am trying, but... I fear so-" The woman began saying, but her voice choked silently as the shaman's hand passed seamlessly through the side of her throat and wrapped it a fist.

"Shuuush. Welcome Him." The larger Hay-yen shaman said with a wide sharp toothed grin on her expression.

The older woman seemed to breath shallowly, choking, wide eyed, as she stared into the shaman's eyes that shined purple. The voice of the Devourer then flicked her wrist and a light snap could be heard coming from the woman's throat, the shaman's hand just exiting from it with no sign of a wound.

Zhuun watched wide eyed from the slither of space he made from the side of the tent. He felt his heart race, grasping tightly at his own chest as if trying to force it to remain inside. 'O-ok... that is horrible, but at least it seems painless... this is fine... I just have to dwell on it and accept-'

Before he could finish his thought he heard a chuckle lightly leaving the shaman's maw. "The Devourer shall receive you now, mutt. Hah... too bad you are too stale to bottle. You'll do as a nightly nibble."

Vespertilia reared back her head and opened her maw wide, but it began changing. The maw turned shorter, her nose turned pinkish and flat, her ears would grow longer and pointier and her fangs would get sharper and bigger. The Hay-yen eyes would turn to have bigger and sharp slits that grew darker. She plunged her open maw into the throat of the elderly with a light hiss. Slight noises of sucking and slurping faintly left her mouth which was wrapped around the dead woman's throat.

Zhuun stared on with horror. 'What the hell is happening?' Is what raced through his mind. He had been holding his breath from nervousness and his body instinctively inhaled faintly from the lack of air and from the shock of the sight.

The monstrous Vespertilia's large ears flinched and her head shot up, staring in the direction of the tent where Zhuun was, her eyes locking onto the slightly parted material, or at least so it seemed from Zhuun's perspective.

The sudden quick movement of the beastly woman made the young Hay-yen recoil away from the tent and he quickly went on all fours, going for light leaps, as his heart raced even more agressively. He would leave the encampment and go through the wood around, trying to reach his tent as quick as he could, but to not be seen going for it. One thing repeatedly echoed in his panicked mind as he tried to get back to where he was supposed to be. 'What did I just see?!'