At the command, the quiet, calm, collected Ruzo bared his sharp white teeth and launched at the man's neck, ripping his throat out. The man dropped to his knees with the sounds of gurgles and popping bubbles emanating from the bloody gash.
He collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as bloody bubbles popped from his mouth and nose causing the droplets of blood to decorate his face in little specks of red.
His body shook violently from side to side as Ruzo pulled and tugged on the man's arms and legs. Loud ripping and popping sounds rang through the forest when his limbs were torn from his body. Ligaments, veins and arteries stretched beyond their elasticity and ripped, ricocheting back into the orifices from whence they came.
Ignoring the ruckus just a little ways away, Tsugi cut the pieces of his dinner into smaller chunks and packed them away into his bag, swinging it over his shoulders. He put out the fire and buried it, making it look like he had never been there and headed north.
"Ruzo." Ruzo looked up at Tsugi: a flap of skin hanging from his maw; blood dripping to the ground; and connective tissue strung down with part of the skin still attached to the cheek bone of the face beneath him. The right eye still sat in the socket while the other had popped out and was now dangling on the side of the skull by the optic nerve.
Ruzo dropped the flap of skin back onto the owner below with a squishy plop as it folded and slid half way off like a horribly placed mask. Ruzo hopped over the body, prancing merrily and content after Tsugi.
After moving just beyond the trees, rustling leaves could be heard from behind them. Some belgrog’s were moving in to scavenge the delicacy that was left behind.
Tsugi and Ruzo just continued on their path and left the belgrogs to clean up. They only attack if absolutely necessary for survival, so Tsugi and Ruzo were in no danger. Belgrogs prefer to scavenge for food and would never pass up this feast that they had provided.
Because of their small stature, no bigger than a child with their little legs and arms so long that their knuckles dragged on the floor, they traveled in packs to survive. They will clean up the mess in no time – bones and all.
The forest was dark and the walk was long. Eventually a white light could be seen in the distance.
Edging closer, they stepped out of the forest into rolling hills of green grass. Tsugi pulled down his hood and gazed up at the moon and stars that lit up the night sky. The sight of the stars always seems to draw a kind of solemness into his heart that he could never describe – or perhaps never even understand.
A cool soft breeze blew from across the field as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The smell of grass, pollen and moisture in the air filled his lungs followed by a strong smell of rusty iron.
He wrinkled his nose and furrowed his brows, confused as to where this smell was coming from.
Ruzo sat in front of him, wagging his tail gleefully, panting with his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as if waiting for praise or food for a job well done. His fur is covered in dried crusty blood with bits of skin tissue stuck to the tips of his fur and ears. In fact, right atop his muzzle sat what looked like – part of an eyebrow.
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"We should wash you before we run into anyone or you'll scare the life out of them." Tsugi patted Ruzo on his head, pulling the piece of skin from his fur and tossed it onto the ground.
They walked over the hills and down toward a small pond.
"Go." Upon release, Ruzo dove into the water, turning it a murky red color.
Tsugi placed a hand on his stiff neck and tilted his head side to side, rolling and cracking it, giving himself a temporary relief before joining Ruzo in the water.
He let out a long breath, sinking up to his nose in the water before releasing bubbles to the surface.
He felt so damned exhausted from performing the hallucination as it required a lot of mental preparation, and expended a lot of his aura all the while staying calm, collected and emotionless. The slightest wrong move and it probably wouldn't have worked as well, since it was his first time doing it by himself.
Having spent the night in a small cave in the mountains, they arose just before sunrise and snacked on a little meat before continuing on their journey. The sun was high in the sky before they finally got out of the mountains and reached a beautiful, flowery, grassy plain.
Almost as if Ruzo couldn't be happier to see grass, he zoomed around the wide open field, ducking into the tall grass as he waited for Tsugi to approach. As soon as Tsugi got close enough, Ruzo darted straight toward him and veered off at the last second just barely missing him. He continued this playful behavior, darting back and forth without a care in the world.
"Crazy." Tsugi chuckled. "You better not run in-huu!" He went tumbling through the air before landing on his back gazing up at the blue cloudless sky. Ruzo had lost his footing and ended up crashing right into the side of Tsugi's knee – knocking him right on his ass.
"Gah, okay, okay!" Tsugi chuckled. Ruzo had laid on top of him, licking his face, twisting and turning his body, trying to dig under Tsugi's neck with his nose. "Alright, I'm okay crazy." Tsugi laughed and pushed himself up into a sitting position.
Ruzo plopped himself down in between Tsugi's legs and flipped onto his back, panting and wagging his tail gleefully. Tsugi rubbed Ruzo's belly for a while before patting him on the side of his ribs, "Alright bud. We have to go."
The sun had started to settle on the horizon before they finally made it to Mitheryn Village.
There were rice patties on either side of the road leading up to the village with little huts that sat in the corner of the fields for the workers to shelter from the hot sun. A small stone wall lined the outskirts of the town that looked to only be about knee high, barely protecting the village from anything.
In Tsugi’s opinion, even a rat could hop the wall.
The villagers had begun to head back to retire for the night, pulling their wagons behind them into the safety of the wall – or however safe it was supposed to make them.
Lanterns were being lit across the dirt roads as the village started to come alive: chit chat was resounding throughout the streets; the pubs were full of customers lining up for drinks; steam rose from street vendors as herbs and spices wafted with the breeze; and the laughter of men and women rang through the air. He could even hear someone buying ores from a merchant as they walked through the crowded streets.
Tsugi and Ruzo made their way through the town, continuing north of the wall and into the woods. The sounds from the village faded and disappeared into the night.
Ruzo's ears perked up.
A scream had emerged from deep within the woods.