#epomis

[gravebeetle]

Here's a new cup I made just a couple weeks ago. The bugs are Epomis beetles (adult and larva) as well as Lucilia bufonivora (do not google them unless you are comfortable with gross images).

[crevicedwelling]

my mom recently read in a novel that some larger praying mantis species have been known to kill and eat hummingbirds. I know about bird-eating tarantulas, but I was curious if you knew of other insects who prey on birds, mammals, etc.? I know most will scavenge anything, but what abt critters who hunt? the idea of insects who hunt large prey is fascinating to me

large generalist predatory insects like mantises and katydids predominantly eat other insects, but the majority of the vertebrate prey they take is probably frogs and lizards, and typically ones smaller than themselves. hummingbirds might not be too representative of typical vertebrate prey because (I believe I heard a mantis researcher say) their metabolism is so tightly wound that the stress of being caught is enough to kill them, and all the mantis has to do is hang on, which they definitely can do. still, vertebrate predation is pretty impressive for orthopterans and mantodeans, since they’ve got to do it all without venom!

army ants of various types are also famous for their ability to catch vertebrates, but most army ants are actually specialists on other social insects (ants, wasps, termites), and the few generalist predator army ants still predominantly prey on invertebrates (and don’t skeletonize cows and horses like they do in cartoons).

diving beetles will hunt fish and aquatic amphibians—there’s a reason their larvae are called “water tigers!” belostomatid water bugs are probably the most impressive aquatic vertebrate-eaters though, and use powerful venom to subdue surprisingly large fish, tadpoles, and even other vertebrates:

outside of insects, there’s a lot of spiders that can feed on herptiles, either by overpowering them with strength like huntsmen and tarantulas, or by snaring them in webs like widows, the most successful snake eaters:

plus, there’s always the famous Nephila orbweavers whose sturdy webs can catch avian prey, but this is probably a fairly rare occurrence.

going over to centipedes, giant scolopendrids are quite successful predators of vertebrates, with any species large enough likely preying on herptiles, and occasionally on some far larger than they are!

Scolopendra venom is evolved to take down large prey, so it’s no surprise they’re some of the most prolific vertebrate-eaters in the arthropod world. some very large Scolopendra (gigantea, maybe galapagoensis, viridicornis, heros) will hunt bats, sometimes by hanging to catch them in flight. other predation on mammals and birds seems to occur opportunistically, especially where the prey is helpless: S. galapagoensis was recorded feeding on baby rodents in the Galapagos; other island species like Cormocephalus coynei will feed on seabird chicks (enough with the “fluffy” avian favoritism, Nature! ‘pedes gotta eat).

oh, speaking of nestling-devouring, there’s also some freaky observations of slugs munching on soft mushy songbird babies! someone on Twitter had their nest camera record some chicks getting eaten by a large Carabus ground beetle, but I can’t find it again.

but I think the most shocking example of vertebrate predation by an invertebrate is probably Epomis, another ground beetle. as larvae, they feed on frogs far larger than they are by letting themselves get attacked, latching onto the would-be predator, and munching on it until it perishes. adult beetles also prey on amphibians, but just run them down instead of luring prey.

(there’s also video of the adult beetles preying on frogs, but they seem to all be stolen by some weird content scraper YT channels, so I’ll not post them here.)

let me know if I missed any good examples of vertebrate predation by bugs!

[jpninjazorro]

Arthropods are crazy and most of you don't know the half of it. (Just be aware that there will be pictures, nothing horribly graphic though)

The genus Epomis consists of predatory beetles. The larvae of said beetles all feed by tricking frogs and toads into trying to eat them only to reverse the roles and eat the frog/toad instead, usually while they are still alive.

Larger mantids have been seen catching and eating hummingbirds.

Dragonflies have the highest hunting success rate of any animal, at 95%. To put that into perspective, most mammals have a succes rate of less than 50%, sure there are some outliers like the African wild dog at 90%, or the spotted hyena at 75%, but they are the exception not the rule. To make that more impressive, all those catches are in midair. Dragonflies will literally intercept their prey, not chase it down. The little fuckers are smart enough to anticipate their prey's flight path.

I was going to write a fact about Australian funnel-web spiders, but I just remembered an even more absurd fact about a spider. Most spiders aren't very notable mothers, they aren't horrible or anything, besides the occasional cannibalism, they just don't do much besides protect their offspring. That can't be said about the velvet spider. Mother velvet spiders will liquify their internal organs and then feed it to their spiderlings. Once she can't liquify anymore her offspring will proceed to kill and eat her.

Stomatopods, also known as mantis shrimp, are a very interesting group of crustaceans that can be divided, with a some outliers, into two groups, the spearers and the smashers based on the shape of their raptorial appendage. The smashers strike so rapidly that a vapor-filled bubble is created that will collapse and hit their prey again. This bubble produces light and heat when it collapses, and it can be hotter than the surface of the sun.

TUMBLR I HAVE JUST LEARNED SOMETHING AMAZING AND MUST INFLICT IT IN YOU

There is a Japanese water beetle called Regimbartia attenuata. It has developed an incredible adaptation to be being eaten by pond frogs.

It walks out the frog’s butt.

The beetles get swallowed whole, and usually that would be considered Kinda Fatal, but this particular species is just like “DID YOU THINK A FROG’S DIGESTIVE TRACT COULD HOLD ME?!” and proceeds to walk through the frog’s intestines, then presumably stimulate the frog’s hind gut with its legs so that the frog poops. The beetles emerge headfirst and 93% of them survive and live on for weeks afterward.

Apparently some beetles can do this obstacle course in six minutes! (Usually takes a few hours, but some people will speedrun ANYTHING.)

Isn’t that COOL?!

[sanktpolypenbourg]

So, uhm, how RAW do you think ‘Amphibia’ is willing to get in the biology department, in your opinion?

They already did parasitic mind-control fungus and pacman frogs, so it’s all kinda fair game.

They could still have a proper “Halloween” episode coming up, after all.

Also read on to find out what this gorgeous kid

is all about, but proceed at your own peril. You have been warned.

These froggers suffer a classic case of the Epomis. More info and fascinating footage on this astonishing frog hunter can be found starting here.

[mmmleckerlecker]

Amber sus anon #1 again here! I had accidentally bumped enter when I was writing my previous ask. I had actually written a long thing about possible suspicions of Oscar but thought I was going off on a tangent lol. But I don’t want to suspect Oscar cuz I love him. And yes, I do agree that Camille might’ve been chosen as leader cuz Oscar and Amber straightup said that they would be behind-the-scenes leaders with Camille. And even if one of them didn’t know how to do the leading stuff, they could get their orders straight from the facility and be a puppet-puppet leader (basically chain of command could be Facility-Traitor-Camille). That could be the Facility’s secret weapon against Epomis and they could dismantle a whole bunch of the members crazy quick with that amount of power.

Now my theory for Oscar was that since he’s famous for tearing his way out of preds’ guts, that got him onto the Facility radar, possibly leading to his capture. The Facility soon learns about his influence with Epomis and that he might be of more value to them alive, since he can be a trusted member (or this is prior to him joining Epomis, the timeline can be vague). Since he’s the one training all the Epomis fighters on internal-pred-combat, that information can go directly to the Facility members on always knowing where the Epomis prey’s hidden knives are and such, as well as using Oscar’s high rank and insider information of Epomis to their advantage.

However, this could possibly be debunked with the hidden knife thing not being common knowledge to Felix until he sees it himself. But of course this could just be me thinking too much into this and the facility doesn’t spread this knowledge much off of common sense to search the prey you’re about to swallow, and for the benefit of keeping their traitor’s identity secret that only the most trusted Facility members knows (aka, literally just Bakula).

As for Oscars motives on being a traitor, it could be the loved one held hostage thing again, or something like that. I still am not aware of the reason Oscar or Amber joined Epomis (maybe I forgot if it was mentioned before and might have to read through again) but if that information is revealed, it might give more clues. I’m more rooting for Amber to be the traitor tho cuz I love Oscar, and less is known about Amber, so it’s easier to hide a traitor with someone who’s slipped under the radar more easily.

The one thing I found sus though was Oscar moving on from McMullen’a capture and immediately saying Camille should be leader. He practically thrust the role onto her. Now I know this could have been done for any other number of reasons, but that’s the main reason why I would suspect him.

Omg i was NOT expecting a whole essay on why Oscar is sus sjskdl but I am HERE FOR IT. I love that everyone just… loves Oscar even tho he’s barely even in the story. Oscar is just… a lad.

I feel like I can’t add TOO MUCH. Mostly because all the holes in your theory I could find were promptly filled. Like Felix not knowing about the knives? Well, clearly Bakula keeps that kind of important knowledge to himself (he would). This is pretty much also proven by how Lux doesn’t really show any signs of prior knowledge when Bakula first brings up having someone on the inside.

Overall tho, I do agree that Amber would be easier to hide as a traitor since she’s even more behind-the-scenes than Oscar. BUT guess we’ll have to wait and see 👀

HOWEVER I see your theory of the Facility trying to take down Epomis from the inside out and raise you…. The Facility trying to TAKE OVER Epomis from the inside out. Like imagine the Facility is secretly SUPPORTING Epomis because they’re also secretly RUNNING Epomis. Tricking all these desperate prey into joining their group. The prey rights movement is just a front for another way to control that half of the population. Keep them carefully in check. The perfect ruse.

[horseblob]

[bogleech]

Do frogs have particularly strong digestion or something? I know the frog flips their tongue outwards and pulls food in, but how does the frog then subdue the prey? I know they do (usually) have teeth, but those are tiny and not used to chew the prey, I know that much. It just seems like it'd be a very risky proposition for a frog, as evidenced by Epomis beetles. Whatever a frog nabs, it must be damn sure it can eat it.

I think a lot of things, even rodents and stuff, just suffocate really quickly once they've been swallowed and can't get a good grip with their teeth or claws because a stomach is just such a slick and stretchy thing. Getting eaten by a frog is probably like getting shoved into a big trash bag full of liquid soap.

[bunjywunjy]

any facts about predators that commonly hunt animals larger than themselves?

the larvae of Epomis beetles might not look like much- they’re a pretty standard blobby gross grub-thing, though perhaps with slightly scarier jaws than other beetle grubs. 

but these bug babies have a big mean secret- they’re actually hypercarnivorous predators that feed on frogs, and pretty much only frogs! 

“hold up, WHAT”

so how does an animal that’s usually prey turn the tables on the predator like this? well, when an Epomis grub happens upon a hapless amphibian, they just count on their natural buggy wiggleness to trick the frog into attacking! but once the frog actually makes physical contact with the grub and attempts to shove it into its mouth, the grub pulls a sudden somersault that flips them out of the frog’s mouth and either onto its throat or back!

and then they rip the frog apart with those terrible jaws and eat it over the course of several days. 

<picture omitted due to yikes>

hell of a way to go, that’s for sure!

[fangmaw]

Big Bad Wolf

This is a fanfic based on Heart Pangs by @mmmleckerlecker ! Absolutely go read it if you haven’t already!

This fic diverges from Heart Pangs at the end of Chapter 48. After his interaction with the collector, Lux changes his mind about his newly acquired prey. When he returns to the hotel, Benji is gone. We begin as a starving Lux finds Benji—and the aftermath of Benji's rescue attempt.

The door was knocked in, laying in splinters across the threshold. Lux stopped short for a precious second at the horror of it, an ugly gash interrupting an otherwise picturesque scene. The house was quiet, and a soft yellow glow peeked out from the curtains. Then the breeze shifted and he smelled the blood.

The room was unrecognizable. The entire stretch from the door to the kitchen was pooling, sopping red, seeping into the carpet and under the wreckage of furniture strewn about the space. Lux swallowed hard, the scent of fear electric over prey. His eyes locked on the trembling figures huddled in the mess, and the struggle to process the tableau kept his mind occupied just enough not to lunge for his target on sight.

Camille was hunched against the far wall. Her body and face were plastered with deep acid burns and she was struggling to stay conscious, but Lux could hear the rapid shudder of her heart—and smell the twist of bile rising off her skin. Any questions he may have had were answered in the next moment when he found Benji, camouflaged beside a massive corpse. Both were absolutely soaked with blood, and indistinguishable viscera piled at Benji’s knees. Rattling breaths shook his tiny frame. Alive. Lux took a step closer and smelled Benji’s blood through the pred’s—hurt.

With a gasp, Benji twisted to face Lux, staring up at him in wide-eyed horror and brandishing a knife. Blood flicked off the blade and landed amongst the other blood. Benji kept his grip on the knife, extended arm shaking while the other hung awkwardly at his side. Lux dropped to his knees like he’d been shot.

“Benji,” he breathed. The scent of the Marottas, their blood and their house, washed over his tongue like smoke, fleeting and vibrant. The whites of Benji’s eyes were stark against the gore covering his face. Lux began to crawl forward, one arm outstretched. “Your shoulder…”

Benji scrambled back, dropping the knife immediately. His limbs tangled with the dead pred’s and Lux finally saw the face for the first time. Cecil. Even gutted like a fish he looked smug.

He shouldn’t think like that. The man was dead. He should...Felix didn’t know what he should do. He was confused, and hungry, and Benji—

“You.” Camille’s sharp hiss caught his attention. Lux glanced over to see that Benji had pushed himself fully away from Cecil and was rising to his feet.

Lux stayed on his knees, one hand planted firmly in the blood and the other curled against his stomach. They were alive. They were both alive, and here—and afraid. Camille was talking, babbling in shock, a scattered stream-of-consciousness that would have been difficult to follow even if Lux had been fully present. Something about the Facility—they’d come with cars, or Cecil’s car, but they’d left when they saw it was just her, just one scared prey and not an Epomis nest. Cecil had taken it from there.

Lux couldn’t take his eyes off the body. He could see flitting movement in his peripheral vision as Benji and Camille assessed the state of each other, nervous and quick in a way that gripped his stomach like a vise. Every second twisted further, tugging his rational mind deeper into the black hole of his gut. He snarled and the Marottas froze.

“They’ll come back. The Facility.” Lux winced as hunger shot through him. His fingers twitched against his will. The house was silent for a moment.

“Or McMullen,” Benji whispered.

Camille and Lux both looked toward him as he took a slow breath.

“I was thinking on the drive here. It had to have been- if he doubted your loyalty… it would be easy enough to tip them off.”

Camille paled, as much as she could under the burns. “He gave me a new mission. In front of everyone. I was supposed to hunt you down.” She stared at Lux. “I was supposed to disappear.”

The thought was too much. Lux shook his head and staggered to his feet. “No, no … you…” His thoughts kept dissolving into ugly instincts. “I have to do this. Keep you safe.”

Lux was far too distracted to see the horror on Camille’s face at his words, the way her fingernails gripped the ruined fabric of Benji’s shirt. He didn’t see Benji’s grim expression as he grabbed Cecil’s wrists and began dragging the limp form down the hall. They both stayed frozen in the kitchen for the few seconds it took to get Cecil into the bathroom.

By the time the spell broke, Lux had managed to wedge himself and the body into the tiny room. His hands were slick with tepid blood as he folded Cecil against the sink and braced himself against the door. Benji knocked on the wood, sending shockwaves through the muddle of Lux’s mind.

“Felix?”

Lux let his back slide down the door until he was seated on the tile, face-to-face with Cecil. He felt Benji turn the knob, but it was held fully shut by the weight of Lux’s body between them.

“Felix, I need you to tell me what’s happening.” His voice was still shaky, but growing firmer. Lux inhaled, sinking under the scent of the house, of the man behind the door. He could almost ignore the cloying smell of pred blood smeared across his body. He reached out and gripped Cecil’s hair.

“Let me in. Please.” Benji’s voice came from the base of Lux’s skull. He shook his head.

“I can’t.” Lux twisted his fingers in the pred’s hair and heaved his body onto his lap. “Go help Camille.” He waited for two of his own slow, ponderous heartbeats, but Benji stayed where he was. It didn’t matter. Lux had to do this now, before he came to his senses.

He squeezed his eyes shut and opened his mouth.

It was repulsive. Every second he was confronted with the wrongness of his position, the stretch in his jaw and the taste on his tongue. At the same time, Benji’s nervous movements inches away made his mouth water. The towels beside him smelled of Camille, of life. The contrast with the limp thing in his throat was jarring, but the reminder—alongside his bullheadedness—were the only things keeping Lux from retching.

Each fraction of an inch was a struggle, but the pred remained unphased. He knew his body was capable of this. He felt Cecil’s form begin to curl as it entered his stomach and faltered, knocking his shoulder against the sink.

“Felix!” came a yelp from beyond the door.

Lux squeezed his eyes close. He could do this, he thought. For Benji.

For once, he wasn’t hurting anyone. Well, anyone else.

Even as the clumsy limbs of the dead pred strained against him, his stomach gripped and twisted around its new contents, growling inquisitively. Lux groaned as he passed Cecil’s hips, half in pain and half in relief. Benji rattled the knob, but he remained quiet. Now that the man had been mostly consumed, Lux had space to lean forward slightly, trying to get some leverage to hurry the process along. He was in for a god-awful next few days, and he’d rather get it over with.

His pants had already been pushed aside by the wretched stretch of his belly, but Lux took a moment to properly unbutton the waistband. In the same way, the loose t-shirt he was wearing had ridden up nearly to his chest, framing the painful skin beneath. Not that his clothes would have done anything to really hide a prey belly, but at least he wouldn’t feel so exposed, so lurid in that situation.

Finally, finally he reached the end, gripping the feet and ramming the limbs into his throat with as much force as he could muster. A sharp pain struck his side and he held back a gasp, biting into the fabric around the ankles. Lux was fully laying down now, curled on his side. He pulled and swallowed and prayed this nightmare would be over as the knob rattled again.

The body was gone. Lux felt the last awkward bend as his organs rearranged themselves around his stomach. A low burp startled him, bringing with it the beginnings of a heave. Lux grit his teeth and held it down. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he threw up right now, but he didn’t want to find out. Already, his stomach was whining as digestion kicked in. It wasn’t that Lux felt full. God, this was lightyears beyond the pleasant tightness of a prey curled up inside him. Lux felt inert. Neutralized.

The door opened, pushing Lux’s feet out of the way just enough that Benji could slide in.

“No, please…” Lux tried to curl away, but the distension of his middle forced his limbs into a cramped sprawl. He settled for turning his face toward the tile floor.

Benji approached slowly, deftly maneuvering around the tangle of Lux’s body. His stomach clenched as the prey kneeled down beside his head.

Lux became aware of his own heavy breathing, practically panting after the strain of the ordeal. Over the next minute, Benji’s breath went from shallow to consciously deep, each exhale a little victory over his fear. The weighty silence was broken by the snarl of Lux’s gut. He winced.

“I’m sorry, Benji.” 

“Are you okay?”

Lux opened his eyes. From his position, he had to look up to see Benji’s face. He was still drenched in blood, but his eyes were familiar. Resolute.

“I’m-” Lux froze, unsure. Something shifted in his stomach and he whimpered. Desperate. Pathetic. Neutralized. He swallowed back the bile rising in his throat.

“It hurts, Benji.” He looked up again, to see Benji’s slow nodding. “God, you don’t need to see this.”

“I’m not leaving.” There was no aggression, no sadness in his voice. Just a statement of fact. Benji sighed. “He consumed Camille. I thought she was gone. I…” Benji went still.

“You saved her.”

“I killed him.”

Lux frowned. “And I consumed him.”

After a moment’s hesitation. “Yeah. Yeah you did.”

“We’re going to figure this out. With Epomis, and Camille, and-” he paused as his stomach rolled, threatening him. “Ugh. The Facility.”

Benji laughed, short and bright. “Big talk coming from you, given-” he waved his hand in the general direction of Lux’s belly, “-this.”

“Mm.” Lux knew he was rapidly losing coherence as all his body’s energy went into breaking down its unexpected meal. The relief of earlier finally caught up with him, dragging down his eyelids; Benji was beside him and he could hear Camille moving about the living room. They were safe. Even if it was fleeting, they were safe.

It could have been a dream when Lux felt Benji curl up against his chest. He seemed unsure at first, wary of the warped skin, but relaxed when Lux hummed in approval. The writhing of his traitorous stomach was an afterthought as he felt the gentle rise and fall of Benji’s shoulders against his body.

This is a fanfic based on Heart Pangs by @mmmleckerlecker !

[mmmleckerlecker]

YOOOOOO.

Look at this how beautiful 😭😭😭

Wake up babe, new HP fan art just dropped

Heart Pangs and it's characters are original creations by @mmmleckerlecker

[kanerboo]

I've just seen your last EPOMY snippet pop back up on ohblushes blog, and...Jonny has to know Pat's in love with him, right? And like, obviously he feels the same? Are they both just complete dumb dumbs where Patrick doesn't realise how Jonny feels, and J just automatically assumes that Patrick has figured out how crazy about him he is?

AHHHHH anon maybe this is a bit of a spoiler but yes you pretty much figured it out 🤣 or maybe my writing is just that obvious ffjdjhs but yes that’s pretty much what’s going on with them lmao our two dumb bimbo boys ❤️❤️

[foulserpent]

francis.... can we get a cool bug fact?

ok heres two facts that i think are cool

-epomis beetle larvae entice frogs by wiggling their mouthparts. when the frogs try to eat the larvae, they latch themselves on and proceed to feed on the frog instead. this is pretty much unseen anywhere else in the animal kingdom, where one animal is an obligate role reversal predator (rather than it just being a matter of opportunism. the adults feed on amphibians too, but its more straightforward predatory behavior

-mother wolf spiders practice extensive maternal care- they sun, hydrate, and repair damage to their egg sacs. the mother helps open the sac for the emerging hatchlings, who then take their place on her back for a lengthy period of time. while the mom takes care of them, she will take them to water and place her legs in the water source (the babies make their way down to drink!).

bonus: theres a spider species that secretes “milk” for its young to feed on

[shehan-mga2022mi5019]

Experimentation- Red hat

I wanted to make this project as abstract as possible. But not to loose it’s original idea in the process. For the red hat I wanted to present the idea of both caution and amazement. I decided to add an abstract light tunnel that breaks view of the end in three segments. Since this part of the video would be done completely in 2D, I first did some tests for the abstract light tunnel.

Process work of creating the light tunnel. I used the letter “r” to create the lights. “r” for red of course.

Characters

For this segment I wanted to use the frog and the Epomis beetle. After trying multiple versions of frogs I decided to go for a simple version of the frog.

Of the above tests I decided to go with simple but adequately represented version below.

For the Epomis beetle, I wanted to represent it’s dangerous nature. So a bit more angular shapes would be better. 

Using the angular shapes, I referenced this tuning folk inspired weapon used in a movie, and I decided to use that version for the insect.

[mmmleckerlecker]

Amber anon. It’s how many times she was mentioned total. Her or Oscar are the most likely Epomis betrayal candidates if we’re going by how many times a side character was mentioned.

Mmm okay. Understood. And like yeahhhh that’s valid. They ARE the only other named Epomis members so that would be a reasonable assumption to make for the both of them

[h4nnibalism]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Hannibal (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter Characters: Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham, Winston (Hannibal) Additional Tags: Origin Myths, ghost story, Ghost Will Graham, Ghost Winston, Hannibal Is Obsessed, honestly though can you blame him Summary:

“Do you remember anything?” Hannibal asked, setting the glass aside. “About your death.” Will thought for a moment. “I remember… a forest. I was chasing something, or being chased. I’m not sure which.” “A human or an animal?” “I don’t know.” “And what came next?” Hannibal leaned forward, listening. "I see... nothing.” --- Hannibal picks up a hitchhiker, but everything spins wildly out of his control.

[that-homless-panda]

All I Ask

DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER 60

Content warning: implied substance abuse

A Heart Pangs fanficlet. First time I'll apologize for the characters possibly being ooc. All characters in this fic belong to @mmmleckerlecker

"Benji please. Benji stay with me. I need you." Felix sits at the base of a tree and cradles the limp and lifeless prey close to his chest.

Tears drip down his face and lightly fall onto Benji’s. Hastily Felix thumbs them off the growing cold cheek of his friend.

"I didn't mean to. I let you go. See, I had control- I have control. I promise it won't happen again. Fuck, I promise you never have to see me again too, to make sure it. Hell I wouldn't even blame you for not wanting to see me again. I'd do whatever as long as you just wake up."

As if on cue, a gasp for breath pulls itself from Benji’s core. Benji looks up at Felix, dazed, confused, and hurt.

"Why," is all Benji can muster to say.

"Oh thank God!" Felix exclaims as he pulls Benji closer to him.

He deeply inhales taking in Benji’s scent now covered in his own. A loud rumble comes from Felix’s middle causing him to contract. Several coughs rattle Lux’s lungs and he gags as he tried to catch his breath. Benji looks up at him in horror. 

"I'm sorry," Felix apologizes as he places Benji next to him.

Focus Lux, you have control

A silence stretches between them like a canyon.

"I can't keep doing this Felix," Benji finally announces.

"Doing what exactly?"

"Pretending that it doesn't hurt knowing that in a second my best friend could turn and rather have me as a meal than alive."

"It's not like that Benji," Felix says, looking away from Benji.

"Look at me right now and tell me it's not. This is your doing." Benji reaches up to grab Felix’s face to force his gaze.

As he's done in habit , Felix grabs Benji wrist and holds it high above the prey's head. For the first time since releasing him, Felix realizes that Benji is shivering, and yet the fire behind his eyes still burns bright. Felix let's go of Benji and looks away in shame.

"You don't understand..." Felix starts as he wraps his arms around his stomach.

"Fuck you, Felix. You really think I don't understand how it feels to need something so badly it feels like I'll be ripped apart limb by limb with out it. We both found ways of coping with what happened that night. Thankfully I had people in my life that helped me break it. Sad I can't say the same about you though."

Felix grinds his teeth to stop himself from saying something he'd regret. Of course Benji was able to get help, he didn't have a job that gave him little chance to deny the offer to provide for his needs. He didn't have a reputation to keep up. He didn't have to go through it alone.

"I didn't know, " Felix finally states.

"I mean it's not like we've actually talked about anything other than Epomis or the Facility since I saw you again." Benji's teeth clatter between each word.

In the distance the two hear the sound of twigs snapping under the falling steps of several medium-sized animals.

"We should move to the car. I can even run the heat for a bit" Felix suggests.

"I'm not ready to be in an closed off space with you so soon. No offense."

"No I understand. But the coyotes might not. "

"Fine. But I'm going to sit in the back."

Felix nods and pushes himself to his feet, one hand reminds at his center and with the other he fishes out his keys. With a press of the button, the car's headlights briefly flash light onto the surrounding areas. Benji stands as well and as quickly as he can, moves to the back seat. Benji climbs in and curls into himself on the large seat.

Felix watches, still as the trees, and desperately fights the urge to chase after his greatest desire and put it back in it the place it will be most cherished. His stomach twists at the teasing thought resulting in Felix dropping to his knees for a moment. He forces himself to standing and follows after Benji. He can't let his favorite prey get too far. Felix opens the back door and lays behind Benji. He pulls Benji close to his stomach, where he should be. Of course Benji fits into him perfectly, as if the prey's entire purpose was to complete this pred. Benji's entire body stiffens as the pred nestles closer.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Felix assures Benji, "I just need to hold you. One last time."

Benji stays silent as he feels two arms wrap tighter around him like a boa constricter. He needs him closer. The added warmth is the only thing that stops Benji from protesting. Another pang strikes Felix as he digs his nails into Benji’s arms to combat it. Together their breath matches pace as their eyes drift close. For this brief moment in time they're not predator and prey but two twin flames dimming into the night.