Mora woke up with blades of grass tickling her face.

Last night, she’d crawled out of the river and onto the bank, cursing Petyr and vowing to get back at him.

But the ground had been soft and welcoming… After a tiring and eventful day, she closed her eyes only to rest and ended up falling asleep.

Now, groggy and half-asleep, realized that the sun was way up. Her clothes were dry. She could hear the cicadas buzzed.

Her stomach grumbled.

Frowning in confusion, she scratched her head, then raised her tunic to move a palm across the smooth skinny red stomach underneath.

It had been days now since she had a proper meal, but she didn’t feel like going back to the tavern—the one place she kinda called home. Ever since Nik had given her away to Tulip, life there had become incredibly annoying.

Nik had made her do chores from time to time as well, but largely left her to her own devices, and even provided her with food.

Tulip, on the other hand… she was never satisfied. She genuinely thought Mora was her slave to command. Like hell I am.

I’ll just have to find something to eat.

The last few days she’d managed to scrounge well enough. It probably would’ve been a lot easier to survive if she were okay with killing and hunting animals—plenty of locals fried up cicadas if need be—but killing another thing just to eat it was a line Mora couldn’t and wouldn’t cross.

She couldn’t even say why that was. It wasn’t like anyone had ever cared about her enough to instill any life lessons or values. It just didn’t feel right.

Stealing from humans, though… that was a different matter altogether. They have it coming. If they didn’t even see her above an animal because she was an oni, if they even saw her as worse, why should she behave any differently?

Mora got up and went to the river. She splashed her face with fresh water, slurped some down from her palms, then licked her lips and got ready to be on her way.

She had barely gone a few steps along the embankment when she heard a familiar laughter coming a nearby wheat field.

“… licked it up his fingers!”

“Yeah, Dewey loves to eat shit. Don’t you, Dewey?”

“Do not! There was no shit on that pear!”

“Oh, there definitely was! You were probably so focused on how much you loved it you couldn’t even see it! You little shit-eater!”

Cruel laughter rang out.

There were many of these awful little gangs of local kids, but the one she overheard now was one of the worst. Mora knew them all by name: Dewey, Daven, Lunis, and Kay.

She stopped in her tracks, trying to figure out where exactly the sound was coming from, but there was nowhere to hide. There were a couple of bushes, none of which would’ve provided sufficient cover, and the wheat field—but that was several hops away.

By the time she got anywhere, the boys came trudging out of field, laughing and pushing one another.

They saw Mora and stopped, dazzled by the opportunity that presented itself.

“Look there, it’s the hornhead!” said Lunis. He was twelve, blonde, with a head full of golden curls. The sad thing was, he was terribly pretty. Prettier maybe even than Petyr, especially at his young age. But though he may have passed as an angel, he was one of the worst humans she’d ever come across.

“Shithead more like,” said Kay, who stood right next to him. His skin was a light brown and his curls were dark, but apart from that he looked indistinguishable from Lunis, as if they were twins. In fact, they were half-brothers, and both had the same mother, who was as beautiful and as scummy as they were.

The other two boys, Dewey and Daven, were a lot younger, younger even than Mora, about nine or ten. They probably wouldn’t have said a thing if they were alone—she could handle both by herself. But in the presence of the two older half-brothers, they all eyed her with mavolent intent.

“Where you going, hornhead?” said Lunis. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Thought you died.”

Mora considered her next move. They were still several hops away from her, and there was a chance that she could run. Talking, she knew, was not going to be very effective.

She feigned a gasp and pointed behind them. “Look, a witch!”

Stupid as they were, all four turned around to look, while she kicked off. “Get her ass!” yelled Kay with a roaring laugh.

Mora’s heart pounded in her chest. She sprinted as far as her legs could take her.

No, please, no!

She didn’t want to think of what would happen if they got their hands on her. Last time, they’d smeared her face with dung and kicked her so hard once they got her to the ground that she thought they’d broken ribs.

Mora had considered getting back at them for that. And she knew she could’ve. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to wait for one of them to split off to get him from behind.

The problem was, that probably would’ve gotten her killed.

It was a strange thing, being an oni among humans.

On one hand, she could steal as much as she wanted and no one ever raised too many eyebrows.

From the human point of view, oni were all scum, and being lazy thieves was just expected of them. When an item disappeared, their reasoning was that an oni probably took it.

It had been more than once that she found herself slapped or spit on at random by a human who thought she’d stolen something.

But for an oni to hit a human back? To go on the attack? That was something that even she, at eleven, knew wouldn’t fly.

Harm a human and they’re going to kill you to set an example.

Though she ran as fast as she could, she was outmatched by the older half-brothers.

Their loud footfalls got closer and closer, sending an icy chill down her spine. No!

Mora tried not to look back, not to waste any time worrying…

Suddenly, she felt a hand grab the back of her head and yank her backwards. No, no, no!

Brute force slammed her against the ground.

It knocked the wind out of her. Her arm was in the way as she fell and now the whole thing hurt with a dull pain radiating up to her shoulder.

“Thought you could run?” said Kay, kicking her in the stomach for good measure.

Lunis crouched down and grinned. “We weren’t even going to do anything to you. But now we have to. Gotta teach you a lesson for running away. Isn’t that right, boys?”

A feeling of sickening horror filled her up as she heard the others laugh and murmur in agreement. Come on, why today? I just want to go find some food…

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Their eyes gleamed as they considered what to do with her. Kay reached out and humiliatingly prodded at the two small red horns rising up the top of her forehead through her short black locks. “We should cut these off. Maybe she’d look better.”

Lunis eyed his half-brother proudly and smirked. “Now that’s a nice idea.”

Before the four could make concrete plans for how they’d go about tearing her horns off, her stomach grumbled again.

It was a loud, distinct noise, and all four pairs of eyes flickered down to it. The younger boys, Dewey and Daven, started laughing. Lunis slammed his fist into her stomach, the blow sinking deep into the emptiness. “Hungry, are we?”

A nauseating ache rippled as the air rushed from her lungs with a sharp gasp. Tears welled in her eyes. Stop… Please stop…

“I think we should feed her, boys.”

“Hold her down!” Kay ordered, himself pinning down her legs.

The young boys yanked her arms outward and dropped their weight onto them. “Get off!” she snapped, wriggling helplessly. “Get off of me!”

Lunis went off and returned a moment later, holding a cockroach. Its black body gleamed in the sun as he pinched it between pale fingers, little legs twitching frantically. “Got you some food.”

A hopeful feeling surged through her as she realized that this was the full extent of his plan. Oh, yes! Okay! This isn’t so bad.

Mora never understood why, but humans were terribly disgusted by insects. Clearly, Lunis considered making her eat a cockroach on the same level as smearing her face in dung and beating her stupid.

It makes no sense. They’re no more disgusting than anything else…

In fact, compared to the dogs and cats she always found worshipingly licking their own asses, insects probably weren’t even half as bad, yet humans loved the former and hated the latter. Weirdos.

Of course, Mora knew she needed to play it up now. “Nooo!” she screamed, so poorly acted that any adult would’ve likely been able to see through it. “Don’t! This is my worst nightmare! Lunis please!!”

The desperation clearly excited Lunis. Golden curls dangling over his contorted face, he brought the cockroach closer and ran it along her nose. “You like this, hornhead?”

“Nooo, pleaseee! Stop! I can’t take it! Please, I want the dung again! Please, anything but this…”

Kay whooped with glee. “Hah! You should be grateful, you filthy damned redskin. Even a cockroach is too good to be eaten by your kind. Put it in her mouth, big bro! Shove it down her throat! She’s hungry.”

Boys really are idiots. At this point, Mora suppressed the gleeful laugh building up inside. This was good fortune coming her way. I can do this, easy!

As the cockroach neared her lips, she sealed them shut, forcing an agonized refusal.

Lunis predictably punched her again.

The second her mouth opened to gasp, he shoved the cockroach in and clamped a hand over her mouth. “Eat it!” he ordered roughly. “Chew it down!”

Mora could feel the little thing flailing in her mouth and thought of how terrified he must’ve been. These guys were horrible to put the cockroach through this. Don’t worry, little guy. I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Mr. Cockroach.

To give them the satisfaction they craved, she offered her muffled shrieks at first, twisting and turning violently, almost throwing off the younger boys at one point.

Lunis drew closer, and growled, “Eat it, or we’ll put it in your up your other end. Chew!”

Mora gently maneuvered her tongue to get the cockroach underneath it, then began chewing in horror, play acting like never before.

Kay and Lunis exchanged feverish glances, the their cheeks flushed with exhiliration. “Yeah. Now swallow it!” Kay yelled. “Swallow it!”

Mora groaned again as she pretended to gag on the insect bits.

When it seemed like it should’ve gone down, Lunis ordered her to open her mouth. “Show me.”

Mora did. You dolt.

For a moment, she worried that he might order her to move her tongue to the side, but he was far too stupid for that.

“Ewww!” said Lunis, moving away from her in mockery.

The others copied him and let go of her, taking a few steps back, acting all disgusted. “You’re so nasty! You ate a cockroach and you loved it!” said Kay.

Dewey and Daven chanted, “Bug-eager! Bug-easter! Bug-eater!”

Mora knew these kids and the families they came from. Especially the younger boys. There was no way their own parents hadn’t fed them cicadas from time to time, and yet, they genuinely thought this was some deep insult…

She rolled to the side, pretended to cough, then raised a hand to her mouth and gently spit the cockroach back out. Little guy was probably scarred for life, but he was alive.

Mora prenteded to put her fist into the ground for balance, but released her fingers to drop him and gently shoved him into a tall patch of grass. Go home, Mr. Cockroach. Sorry about all this.

The moment she withdrew her hand, knowing the cockroach was saved, pride and joy surged through her, causing her heart to swell. Hah. Outsmarted you!

And an innocent little life had been spared as well.

“We should feed her another,” said Kay, clapping his hands eagerly as he faced his older brother.

“No, she needs to taste other things,” Lunis answered dismissively. “Daven! Dewey! Go to the river and find some wo—”

The voice faltered.

Mora glanced over at them, wondering what had happened.

The whole gang was staring open-mouthed at a figure that had materialized out of nowhere at their side, like a shadow.

Yet in spite of the sinister appearance, the guy looked like a bum.

He was naked except for a tattered sack draped around his waist, his upper chest and arms crisscrossed by gruesome scars. His hair was long, his nose large, and his light beard tapered down to a sharp dagger-like point.

Mora noticed that though his hair was a dark brown, the tip of his beard was white and bled upwards in a thinning stripe that almost reached his mouth.

The bum’s eyes moved over the four boys and then over to her. “You wouldn’t happen to be locals of this lovely dust-blown paradise, would you?”

“What the hell else would we be?” Kay snapped, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

That he would speak that way to a creepy guy like this spoke both of his stupidity and his malice.

An unfamiliar chirp sounded somewhere nearby, causing Mora’s ears to perk up. What?

A quickly-moving shape darted out of the nearby bushes and ran up to the bum, climbing effortlessly up his back until it perched on his shoulder.

A monkey?

Mora had only seen such an animal twice. Once when a troupe of performers passed through Windust when she was only five. Then in a painting on the second floor of the tavern where the whores took their clients when she’d been sent by Nik to clean up some vomit.

A monkey! Even the boys gasped in awe at the sight before them.

The monkey held what looked like a small green lizard in its grip. What is it going to—

The monkey tore off the lizard’s head with its small teeth. Blood spurted upwards and the boys stepped back. It chewed the head as comfortably as it might a cookie.

Mora winced and hissed in imagined pain as she considered the fate of that poor lizard. Little guy was probably just enjoy his morning when he got snatched and turned into breakfast.

The monkey finished chewing and swallowed. It chirped happily.

In an act that was strangely heartwarming, its small paw shot out to offer the remainder to the bum.

“No, no, darling,” he drawled lovingly, “you savor it yourself. I’m quite all right for the time being.”

Lunis was the first to approach the monkey. “Can I pet it?”

“Her,” the bum corrected it. “Her name is Lady Elizabeth. And you may, assuming your own risk in so doing.”

“Lady Elizabeth? You can’t call it that.” Lunis hand hovered above the monkey’s head uncertainly for a moment. Then he lowered it and scratched between its ears.

The bum sucked on his teeth idly. Mora noticed that, at the end of it, he clicked his tongue lightly, just a little above what might be inaudible.

The monkey went feral, leaping onto Lunis's face. Claws scrabbled at his skin as its teeth sank savagely into his ear.

The boy fell to the ground, shrieking, twisting and kicking. “Aaaa!! Get it off! Get it off of me!”

The bum grinned. “Why, Elizabeth, that’s no way for you to behave.”

He snapped his fingers. The monkey took one final tearing rip out of the ear, before scurrying back onto his shoulder, furiously chewing whatever it had torn off.

Lunis sat up, clutching the bloodied stump at the side of his head. Tears came down his cheeks. “My ear!”

“Told you,” said the bum. “You assumed your own risk. Now, which of you would be so nice as to tell me which way towards town?”

At a loss, the rest of the gang pulled Lunis up to his feet. He retained his rage through the ordeal even as they dragged him away. “I’m going to kill that fucking monkey! Do you hear me?!”

It amazed Mora that he would blame the monkey alone. Was it not clear the bum gave it clear instructions? The tongue click. The finger snap.

He’s trained that thing…

As much as she loved animals and viewed them as kin, this monkey’s stomach held both an innocent lizard and Lunis’s ear.

Not that Lunis was a good guy. But the savage way it tore off his ear…

It would’ve done a lot more if it hadn’t been stopped…

With the boys, the only ones that remained were her and the bum. His eyes swiveled towards her.

The bum waved warmly. “Fancy seeing an oni here, of all places.”

He paused for a moment, then tilted his head. “Where are we, by the way?”

“W-Windust…” she stammered.

He nodded as if the answer made perfect sense. “Which is where?”

“In Weston… In the Kingdom of Weston…”

“Now that I know!” he said with a happy grin, gesticulating in a way that was way too cheerful given his appearance. “Very good, very good. And you are?”

“Mora?” she offered weakly, wondering if she was doomed at this point. Was it time to run? Or would that get him to click his tongue again? Please don’t.

“How wonderful to meet you, Mora.”

The bum padded over, holding out his hand. “I’m Captain Vares Reed.”

Captain? A sharp, icy prickle ran down her spine. No, it couldn’t be…

The image of those bits of galleon drifting off flashed in her mind. No one could’ve survived that!

He crouched down to gaze at her at eye level. “Tell me, Mora, which way is town?”

There was a strange, ominous feeling attached to that question. As if giving him the answer may have lead to things she could already sense would be terrible, and much worse than whatever his monkey had done.

As their eyes locked, she suddenly noticed the color of his: red.

At first she thought they were brown, but now she could see that they were a deep, dark red…

Like blood.

“Y-Your eyes are red…”

“That’s just your own reflection you’re seeing because you’re red.” He booped her nose playfully. The monkey chirped on his shoulder and ripped another chunk of the half-eaten lizard it had retrieved off the ground.

How stupid does he think I am? Still... she wasn't about to disagree with this guy.

Vares stood up. His hand shot out, appreciatively stroking one of her horns with his thumb. “So, little one—which way to town?”