#for biting/tearing/ripping meat and also to defend themselves

[fili-oeuvre]

You know how chimpanzees and other apes show their teeth as a sign of aggression, but humans started using it as a way to show that they’re happy.

Well, if a human (from a safe haven) smiles at you, how do you know if they’re really being friendly… or if its them telling you “I see you and I’m going to get you” in a sense that they are going to run you down until you can’t move anymore and devour you or just that “you can’t escape from me and you are mine now”.

Just that predatory glee (/thrill) of seeing your prey in front of you and you know where they are and know to find them and that they can run or fly or hide as much as they like, but you’ll still find them no matter what. So, technically they are happy when they’re smiling at you, but not the kind of “it’s nice to meet you” happy, but a “I found you and I’m going to get you” in a predatory sense kind of happy.

*humans ARE predators, technologically/socially evolved and omnivorous, but predators nonetheless and they are very, very bad views for many species here, and once they get their hands on you, you can be sure that they won’t be letting go anytime soon*

*obviously, not all humans are exactly like the ones in the safe havens since not all of them live there, but that’s something to discuss another time*

[honoringthehorrific]

✝️I watched Maxxxine! Does this series close out on a high note?…✝️

As always friends, spoilers are under the cut!…

Let me just say this movie was a banger of an ending!!

The movie has so many little references to its predecessors specifically the movie pearl. Seeing Theda Bara’s star, soldiers marching on set, pearl’s dance being recreated by a young Maxine, and even some parallels between Pearl’s audition and Maxine’s the difference being Maxine walks out confident and telling the other girls they might as well just go home instead of in tears.

In this movie we see the trauma Maxine has from her time in Texas. She has somewhat frequent flashbacks to the events. Seeing Pearl in that window, feeling Pearl assault her, even seeing her friends pass on. All of this Maxine has to compartmentalize she has no time to ruminate or work through it she has to keep moving forward.

I will say while I loved this movie the twist at the end isn’t hard to spot. Atleast it wasn’t to me. Her father makes a return and tries exorcising Maxine for his own film about the corruption of Hollywood on their children. We see sprinkles of it through the movie the biggest hint to me was hearing his voice in the introduction recording of a young Max, and seeing signs about Hollywood stealing their children. Plus he was a loose end that needed wrapped up.

The aesthetics of the movie were phenomenal. I really felt wrapped up in all this warm hazy Hollywood 80s glamour and glow. The shininess and dinginess of it all makes it really captivating. It was almost shocking when the haze and glamour got ripped from us when violence started. Seeing this sort of underbelly to it all. That like the director Maxine works for says that things were just as shitty and awful back then as they are now. A man follows Maxine into an alleyway and pulls a knife on her only to immediately cower when she pulls a gun on him. She flips the tables and makes him strip, suck her gun, and lay on the ground only for her to turn his balls into hamburger meat under her heel.

Throughout the movie there’s this self preservation aspect that I noticed. Not only is Maxine defending herself repeatedly from these men who want to take advantage of her and harm her (the guy in the alley and this skeezy detective that works for her dad) but also her desperately needing this real acting role. The director tells her she needs to act as if her life depends on this role and Maxine tells her bluntly that it actually does. Maxine never has time to sit down and process what happened in Texas or work through it…but then again do we always get the time to perfectly work through our traumas? Maxine takes things into her own hands, pushes herself, and outwardly tells the cops when her coworkers start turning up dead that they need to save themselves.

When all is said and done I loved the movie and loved the end however I couldn’t help but feel…not fully satisfied. I wanted max to get a happy ending and she does for sure but there’s this whole narrative about the past coming back to bite you and we see her dad again but once he’s taken care of there’s no aknowledgement of what happened in Texas. There’s note that people know about it and police have been investigating it…but there’s no tie off to whether they drop it or what happens to Maxine because of the investigation…it’s just brought up by her father over and over and then kind of dropped.

All in all a killer watch. I didn’t really feel it had a whodunnit feel like some people had said but it definitely had a mystery going for it.

10/10 pentagram brands ⭐️

[monstersdownthepath]

Monster Spotlight: Gray Render

CR 8

Neutral Large Magical Beast

Bestiary 2, pg. 140 (Art from D&D 5e’s Mordenkainen’s Fome of Toes, pg. 209

These monstrously strong and solitary beasts are predators that feed on whatever smaller beast they can catch, spending hours of their day chasing down prey and devouring it. They’ll eat just about anything they believe they can kill, and once they sight prey with their numerous eyes, they’ll chase them through any obstacle. The Render’s hungering rampages are a sight to behold as they tear boulders from the ground and rip entire trees to splinters in their search for meat, to say nothing of the savagery they display when they manage to catch their prey, ripping it limb from limb and sometimes going so far as to begin eating before it’s is even dead.

Granted, the same can be said for a lot of mundane predators, so let’s not fault the Gray Render there! With an Int of 3, barely past the threshold of sapience, their actions are just destructive instinct, NOT malice and certainly not sadism. One shouldn’t hate a lion or crocodile for eating a gazelle, after all. They’re even noted to be largely peaceful outside of their hunts, ignoring other creatures until one proves it’s a threat to avoid wasting energy and risking their health, just like any big cat! That’s just nature!

What’s NOT natural is the Render’s unusual fixation on keeping pets. For reasons that can only be guessed at (they can speak Giant, but again they’re barely sapient), Renders will “adopt” herds of herbivores, solitary marsh dwellers, or even entire small settlements of humanoids as their “pets.” They grow uncannily fixated on their pets, never straying far from them, charging straight to their side when they need help, and even giving their own lives protecting them. Gray Renders do NOT fight to the death in the wild, but will fearlessly leap in front of a dragon or demon to give their pets a chance to escape.

Amusingly, Renders will also save portions of their kills to give to their pets, even if the pet never expresses a desire for the meat (or can’t eat it in the first place), which the book notes is like “a domesticated cat.” Tragically, it notes Renders will respond with ‘confused sadness’ if their pet attacks them, returning to their side time and time again until the pet either accepts them... or finally kills them. They don’t seem capable of understanding why some creatures may not react well to their terrifying shape, but those that DO react well find themselves in the presence of a powerful guardian, especially if someone among the population under the thing’s protection can speak Giant.

While Gray Renders lack defensive abilities, they make up for it with high AC, high HP, and incredible strength. Their offense is limited to a CCB, each claw dealing 1d8+7 damage, while the bite deals 2d6+7. Like their name suggests, however, anyone struck by both claw attacks in one round suffers from Rend, taking an additional 1d8+10 damage, and Gray Renders also Grab anything they strike with their claws to wrestle them down with incredible strength and pulverizing weight, snapping or even tearing off limbs to disable both attackers and prey.

Their statblock is largely undecorated by unique powers (aside from a descriptively-named Double Damage Against Objects), but their incredible strength, Power Attack feat, and ability to Rend anything they strike makes them formidable nonetheless. Their suicidal defense of their pets means the only running that will happen will be yours, as the beasts will battle until they can no longer draw breath if it means keeping their pets safe... whether or not their pets even like the Render in the first place. Their bizarre habits makes them easy, if tragic, creatures to throw in the path of any adventuring party, either defending a tiny village of people, protecting a herd of livestock (even from its own owner, which is where the party comes in), or fighting the party alongside another monster it’s attached to.

One final note to end on, though: A Gray Render can stay attached to a single pet anywhere from a month to a decade, never once doing anything that could possibly harm its pet. However, once this attachment ends, the Render will wander off to find a new pet, completely ignoring its old one even if they come seeking it out. It won’t attack them, but it will never defend them again unless the attachment reforms, going so far as to gently pick them up and physically turn them around, pushing them away like an unwanted animal. Everything about the Renders makes me feel emotions I don’t like :(

You can read more about them here.

[not-so-honorable-honor]

Trophy Necklace

HOOBOY THIS IS. 2454 words of just Silv going ham on someone, its also when they started their tooth necklace, or rather trophy necklace I should say

TW: Very bloody, very gory, there is death and theres some harassment as well. Stuff with eyeballs and broken bones!!!

To say Silvally knew what happened would be a lie. They didn’t know. It was all a blur to them, it all happened so fast they didn’t have time to process what went down until it well, went down. The last thing they can clearly remember before this happened was them walking, collecting things that they thought were pretty. They were just wandering, waiting for their papa to be done with business, exploring the unknown place. Their stomach growled, telling them to turn back to their papa, but they didn’t listen, the forest was neat and papa was busy! So they continued to trot along the forest grounds. 

They hummed as they walked, taking in the pretty forest. They were surrounded by these huge trees, and what were those? They paused and looked over at what they thought was a mushroom. But why was it that big, mushrooms aren’t supposed to get that big! They set their backpack down. The backpack was cowboy themed, and it was a wonder how they fit so many things into the small brown bag. 

Mikell at least was always surprised and a little impressed at just how much his child was able to fit into that backpack of theirs. Claire made it for them, for a birthday years ago, and things his younger sister makes usually last pretty damn long. The bag itself was a dusty brown, with lighter brown cowboy hats all over it. It was a relatively small bag, it was made for a child after all. While Mikell never really used it, Claire also made a leash to hook onto the backpack, in case he needed to keep Silv close, considering how much they run off and away all the time. 

And Silv wore the thing strangely. Their wings were small enough that they could just slip them through with their arms, instead of wearing the thing on their front like what the others normally do. And that was another thing, no matter how hard Silvally tried, or how hard they worked at flying, they just never could get a hold of it. And they’ve tried so many times to fly, but they just never got the hang of it. Their wings would flap and flap, just like how they've been told and shown, and like how the other kids do it, but they simply just cannot do it. Silvally cannot fly, and they hate that fact. 

One of the few perks about not being able to fly is being able to wear backpacks and things on your back, hence why they’re wearing the cowboy bag on their back. But they kept walking, going towards the tree. It was huge, almost as tall as the dark oak trees around them. They smiled, an ear to ear smile and quickly shook off their bag, dropping it beside them without a care. They struggled to take off their gloves, the gloves were thick, and they wore them out because without them on, they tend to hurt not only others, but also themselves. 

And they struggled for a few minutes before they decided to just make it work with the gloves on. They approached the mushroom tree thing again and looked up, putting a hand on it. Woah. They took a couple steps back, readying themselves. And once they thought they were ready they started running at the tree, as fast as their little body would take them, and they jumped onto the tree, holding on for dear life. They stopped to look down, the jump got them pretty high up. They smiled again and started to clamber up the tree. 

They were about halfway up before they looked down again, pausing when they saw someone. That wasn’t anyone they knew. They stared down at the person, who seemed to be doing something with their bag. Wait a damn minute, that person is stealing! Their eyes widened as they let go of the mushroom tree with their legs, sliding down the tree quickly. Once their feet touched the ground they ran over to the person and to their bag. 

“That's mine! Can you give it back please?” They asked, looking up slightly at the person, now having a better look of them. Silv looked up to the person's upper chest, but didn’t look higher than that. The person paused, looking down at them. They raised a brow at the child, scoffing at them. “Please mister? I have lots of things in there I want to show my papa!” They said, trying to jump to grab the bag. The person chuckled and raised it up higher, so they couldn’t before their face fell. 

“What exactly? Sticks and rocks? Wow, i’d be so happy if I was your dad to get some fucking sticks.” They said, still glaring down at the small child. Who only smiled and nodded their head quickly. Because their papa would be happy to get sticks and rocks from them. The person rolled their eyes, sighing heavily. “I was being sarcastic. Do you know what that means, or is your little tiny brain not quite comprehending big words yet?” They paused, their smile falling. They weren’t quite frowning but they didn’t understand. Why would someone be upset to get a stick? 

“But he will be excited and happy! He loves the things I find and give him!” They exclaimed, trying to defend themselves, but the stranger wouldn’t listen. They only scoffed and rolled their eyes again. Silv started to frown at this, why didn’t the stranger believe them? “He will! I’ll go get him to show you!” They turned around, taking a step away from the stranger, to go get their dad. But the stranger grabbed their arm and yanked them forward again. Their force was enough to rip the glove off their left hand, the piece of fabric going flying. And they stumbled, almost falling on their face because of the force. 

“No, you’re going to apologize and explain why you were so rude, child.” The stranger said, setting their backpack down. Silv paused to process what the stranger was saying, but they weren’t rude at all! All they did was ask for their bag back and say they were going to get their papa. How was that rude, they certainly didn’t think it was rude, they were simply stating things that they knew. They frowned, looking down at the ground, trying to see how what they said was rude, because to them, it wasn’t rude. The stranger huffed, grabbing their right arm, and picking them up with it. 

At least that's what the stranger tried to do.

They screeched, starting to flail, and the sudden movements plus the grip the stranger had caused their other glove to fall off. Or rather for them to fall down onto their ass, panicked, holding their arm and now missing both their gloves. The man huffed, throwing the glove down and glaring at them. “You little shit. You really think you can treat people like this and get away with it? What the hell is wrong with you.” Silv frowned, still holding their arm as they looked down, they wanted their dad but he was so far right now… The man snapped his fingers in front of their face to get them to look at him. Seeing that he had bent down to their level, they quickly looked away, they didn’t want to deal with eye contact.

It was just too much for them. Their world was spinning. 

The man in front of them scoffed again. “Look at me when I speak to you.” They shook their head, their hands moving to hold tug at their hair. They didn’t want to look at the man, he was scary, he hurt them, they wanted nothing to do with him. They wanted to leave, but he wouldn’t let them, and they didn’t know where they would go. The man sighed heavily, before grabbing Silvs arms and tugging them down, forcefully looking directly into their eyes. “Look at someone when they speak, stupid. It's polite.” Their eyes widened, oh no, this was all just so much for them, it was too much all at once. 

And they lunged. The rest from there was a blur to them. The only thing that was clear to them was the feeling of their talons sinking into skin. And the screams, those were the other clear things to them. Their claws were no match for soft human flesh, easily slicing through it like it was warm butter. They were screaming as well a loud, powerful angry scream. Their clothes were covered in blood and dirt, but they didn’t care. They just kept slicing, hitting, biting, kicking, and most of all, screaming. 

Silvally had the man on the ground, tearing into him like a wild animal tears into their next meal. They just didn’t stop. Not until they saw bones and guts. And even when the man's chest had been ripped open, ribs showing and guts spilling out, the child didn’t stop. Instead they focused on slicing up his intestines until they slipped out of their talons one too many times, simply pissing off the child, so they stopped, going back to his chest. 

They looked at his neck, licking their lips slightly, before leaning their head down and taking a bite. They tugged furiously, trying to rip out a sizable chunk from the mans neck. This was when they stopped screaming, only stopping to down a large thick chunk of flesh. They wouldn’t stop until they got a nice rather large chunk of fresh raw human meat. And when they did tear the piece out, they looked up, their rather sharp pointy teeth making quick work of the flesh. They chewed it up and swallowed, pausing when they realized just how hungry they were. There wasn’t much meat left that wasn’t ripped to literal bits. But some of those larger organs… Oh how they looked delectable to Silvally. 

Afterall, Silvally always liked the hearts out of all the organs papa gives them. 

They shifted how they were sitting on the mans corpse, to get a better grasp on his ribs. They grabbed as many at a time as their talons could hold, and they tugged with all their might, snapping the bones unevenly. But they could care less right now, they were starving. They reached into the chest, grabbing and ripping the lungs out, throwing them off to the side to get to the heart. They grabbed it with their talons, pulling it out and smiling. It was still warm.

They wasted no time shoving the thing in their mouth, well, rather half of it into their mouth. They took a bite and quickly chewed and swallowed. Shoving the other half into their mouth. They chomped and chewed up the piece of meat like it was any other kind of meat. They panted softly as they sat there, they had calmed down a considerable amount by now. They didn’t even realize that they had been crying while doing this, and they still hadn’t realized. 

They were covered in blood, absolutely covered. It had soaked into their orange overalls, it soaked into denim, turning their overalls from a nice soft orange to a darker more reddish, almost brown color. Their pastel pink shirt was blood red, it soaked up most of the blood. Their soft peach talons were dripping with blood, it was all the way up to their elbows. Normally they pride themselves on keeping their cowboy boots nice and clean, but as of now, they didn’t care. They were also coated in blood today. One wouldn’t be able to tell that anything the child was wearing was any other color, all someone could see was red. 

And oh how it was on their face, all around their mouth, and their teeth coated in it. The blood was slowly dripping from their chin as they dug their talons into what little flesh the man had left, holding onto his shoulders. Claws in his shoulders. They panted, clinging to the corpse with their hands for dear life. Their wings were even coated in red, you could easily mistake them for some sort of tropical bird right now. They were still hungry, and about to pop out and eat the mans eyes. 

And that's what they did. They let go off his shoulders, reaching their talons into his eyes, and stabbing them, pulling the eyeball out of his head, and cutting the optic nerve with their other hand and popping the eye into their mouth as if it was a grape. They then did the same thing to the other eye, taking their sweet time to not damage the eye more than they already had. They were looking around for where they threw the lungs before they heard a noise. Something was here. Or at least close to them.

Silvally froze, hearing a twig snap as their head spun around to look at what made the noise. They prayed it wasn't their papa. Not realizing that he probably heard their scream. Only it was him, it was Mikell, standing there, axe out. Yeah, he heard them. He looked around before his eyes landed on them, his gaze softening. He put away his axe, pausing to take in the situation. Babies first kill. 

Mikell paused, chuckling softly before shaking his head. He smiled gently at Silv, causing them to sigh in relief, he wasn’t mad! “You hungry kid?” He gestured at the corpse. They shook their head before their stomach growled. Giving them away. Mikell shook his head and leaned down to pick up their gloves, grabbing their bag and putting them in there. 

Silvally slowly got off the corpse, shaking off the blood. At least they shook off as much as they could. Mikell shook his head, holding onto the backpack. “Let's go home.” he said, starting to walk. But they paused, looking back to the body. 

“Wait papa, I have one last thing that I want to do to him.” Mikell paused, and then shrugged. Giving them the okay to do what they wanted. And when they had that okay they went back to the body, opening the mouth and ripping out the canine teeth. They smiled ear to ear, holding their trophy in their talons. Mikell shook his head, a faint smile on his face. He was proud. A proud papa. And once they had the teeth they hopped up and ran over to him, holding onto his hand with their free hand. 

No one ever found Aarons body, no one knew what happened to him, the only people that know are Silvally and Mikell. 

[witchy-writes-smut]

Baby I’m preying on you [chapter 5]

» read it on ao3 «

pairing: Shiro/Keith ; one-sided Kuro/Keith.

au: mermaid au, alpha/omega.

warnings for this chapter: kidnapping, attempted rape and mentions of forced pregnancy.

Shiro felt like his chest was about to burst. So many speaking at the same time, but at some point he started to blocking them out, muffling the words.

The events of last night kept replaying in his head.

When Shiro realized Kuro’s plan and saw that he had disappeared, panic settled in him. He swam, hoping he would find Kuro not too far away from there, while the others went back into the castle to check on the princess and the guests.

Shiro had no idea here he was going as he searched for Kuro and Keith, or how long he had been swimming, or if he was even going on the right direction. He stopped at some point and looked around, trying to spot them somewhere, but they weren’t anywhere to be seen.

Keith had been taken from him and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Luckily, the royal family, Coran and the guests that had been at the party were unharmed, and the damage caused by the explosions was being fixed. Right now, Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Allura stood in one of the chambers of the castle and discussed what was the best action to take after what had happened.

Shiro leaned against the wall. He should be looking for Keith, not wasting time here, but he also knew that defending the kingdom was important, especially now that there was the threat of future attacks from the Galra empire.

He curled up on himself, hands shooting up to cover his ears and he closed his eyes as the voices grew louder. Pidge and Lance argued as they disagreed on something and Hunk and Allura tried to calm them down.

Shiro thought about Keith. Keith, his mate. Keith, the one he wanted to love as long as he lived.

Keith…

Shiro felt tears prickle at the corner of his eyes.

Why does he have to suffer because of my past? I should have protected him from all of this. He thought.

Shiro jolted as he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up, meeting Lance’s eyes. “Shiro.” Lance’s voice dripped concern.

The others were looking at him as well. Pidge swam towards him, and, similar to Lance, rested a reassuring hand on his other shoulder. “We will find him, Shiro.” Her eyes softened.

“And we will make sure Kuro pays for everything he has done.” Hunk’s voice was low as he spoke.

Allura moved to stand behind Pidge. “We are not giving up on Keith. No matter what it takes.” She promised.

Shiro knew the others wouldn’t let him go alone. They would be willing to go alongside him to rescue Keith, their friend, even if they would be putting themselves at risk.

But…

Shiro closed his eyes again, taking a few seconds to compose himself, before opening them and finally speaking.

“No.” Shiro’s voice was stern. “I can’t let you be dragged into this any further. This is between me and Kuro. Keith got caught in all of this and look what happened.”

They stared at him, surprised. Shiro was always the one who said that being together was what made them stronger, and now he was telling them that he wanted to face this all by himself.

Hunk moved forward, a determined expression on his face. “Keith is our friend. We will do anything to get him back.”

“You should stay here. The kingdom needs you here to defend it. And for all we know, having all of us going after him is part of Kuro’s plan. He knows we are the best defense Altea has and having us away from the kingdom would be the perfect opportunity for Zarkon to attack.”

“You’re right.” Allura agreed, although it was evident she didn’t like this decision. “But we can’t let you go alone. If Kuro…”

“I can handle him. I fought him before, I can fight him again.”

He turned away from his friends before any of them could say anything. “I will save Keith and we'll both come back home.” He glanced over his shoulder. He did his best to smile at his friends one last time. “I promise.” He then swam away, leaving the chamber, not looking back once.

---

Keith blinked awake. His head hurt. He tried to bring his hands up to his face, but found himself unable to. Whenever he tried, it felt like something was holding them. He tried to move his tail but felt something strain against his wrists.

Keith recognized the feeling as it being of a coarse rope. Worse was that the rope that kept his wrists tied behind his back was the same that was tied around his tail and moving pulled it tighter, until it felt like it burned his skin.

He squirmed, his body rubbing against the sand underneath him.

“You’re finally awake.”

Keith froze as he heard that voice. That voice that had plagued his nightmares.

A hand gripped his shoulder, forcing Keith to turn and lay on his back. Keith’s heart began to beat fast as Kuro hovered over him. “Found some ropes on a sunken pirate ship. I knew they would come in handy eventually.”

Keith looked away, only for his eyes to land on a white shark that laid just a few feet away from him. Keith briefly panicked until he realized that the creature was dead, a dagger buried in its chest and various deep cuts decorating its body.

“Just some food.” Kuro explained, moving away from Keith. He pulled the dagger out from the shark and worked on cutting a piece of its flesh. “This one put up a fight. It was entertaining.” Kuro held a chunk of the shark’s meat in his hand, wasting no time in sinking his teeth into it, tearing and chewing it.

Keith looked around, trying to see where he was. Stone walls surrounded him and gave it away that he was in a cave. Keith spotted the entrance; it was so far away from him, and as long as he was bound, he would not be able to swim towards it and escape.

He tried to remember what had happened. He remembered chasing after Kuro. He remembered Kuro threatening to kill him if the barrier was not deactivated. The explosion that followed. And then…

When Kuro had swam away after the explosion and dragged Keith along with him, Keith had fought back. Kuro was not in the mood to put up with his resistance and to make things easier, smashed his head against some rocks, knocking him unconscious.

Keith winced as he remembered that.

“Where are my manners?” Kuro’s voice snapped him out of it. “You’re probably hungry too.”

Kuro cut another chunk of the shark’s meat and leaned closer to Keith, trying to feed it to him.

Keith turned his head away, keeping his lips shut.

“You’re going to be like that? Starve then.” He dropped the meat, letting it fall onto the sand. “You will be begging for food anytime soon, anyways.” Kuro shrugged.

Keith thought Kuro would leave him alone, but he should have known better. Kuro pressed his body against his, pinning him down, his face only inches away from his.

“You and Shiro ever talked about having kids?”

Keith’s eyes widened at the sudden question.

“I bet Shiro wants them so much, and I believe you would willingly let him fill you with his eggs.” Kuro smirked as his finger playfully poked Keith’s nose.

“That’s what omegas like you are for, after all. To be bred by their alpha.”

“You’re not my alpha!” Keith spat, finally giving Kuro a response.

Kuro pulled his finger away from Keith’s nose to trace patterns on his collarbone.“Maybe when he comes for you, I won’t kill him right away.” Kuro mused, clearly liking that idea. “I will keep him alive and fuck you right in front of him.” Keith’s body became stiff, his muscles tensing up. “And before I finally kill him, I will have him watch as I breed you.” He pressed his palm against Keith’s stomach.

“Stop it!” Keith yelled.

“Wouldn’t you like that?” Kuro’s left hand stroke Keith’s hair in a mocking manner. “I will take you with me back to Zarkon’s kingdom and all you will do for the rest of your life is carry my children.”

Keith couldn’t stand that thought. “No, no!” He struggled the best way he could to get away from Kuro’s touches, but that only made the rope cut into his skin.

Kuro was loving how helpless Keith was in that moment and how he was refusing to give up so easily. Just like the first time the two met.

His right hand moved further down until it was close to Keith’s slit.

“No!” Keith cried out, thrashing underneath Kuro, who pinned him down harder with his much bigger body.

Kuro chuckled at how much weaker Keith was in comparison to him. He then winced as, suddenly, Keith sunk his teeth into his shoulder, hard enough to draw blood.

He tugged brutishly on Keith’s locks, nearly ripping his hair out of his scalp, until Keith finally stopped biting him. “You don’t submit that easily do you? I do like that in you.”

He kept his grip on his hair, forcing Keith to look at him. He brushed his thumb over Keith’s lower lip. “But I like you better broken and ruined. Like how you were after our first meeting.” Kuro pulled his finger away in time before Keith could bite it off.

He smirked at the way Keith angrily glared at him, baring his teeth. He was once again trying to act brave, but the truth was that he was scared. Kuro cupped his face and leaned down to kiss him. Just as his lips were about to touch, Kuro suddenly felt a splitting headache.

He swam away from Keith and held his head between his hands. Keith stared at him in confusion, not understanding what was going on.

Many unintelligible voices whispered in Kuro’s head, until he could only hear one. A voice he knew very well.

Why are you wasting your time with that useless omega?

It was Haggar.

“I haven’t forgotten my mission.” Kuro answered back.

King Alfor and his daughter are still alive.

“Not for long. Once I’m done with my brother they are next.”

Their defenses have weakened after the damage you caused. Now should be the time for you to strike, not hide.

Keith could do nothing but watch as Kuro stood there, talking out loud to no one.

“I’m not hiding. My brother will come for his mate. And when he does, I will kill him. His friends and Alfor’s daughter will be next. And I will present King Alfor’s head to Zarkon myself.”

Haggar stayed quiet, as if considering if she could really rely on Kuro to carry on their plans.

Do not fail. She warned him.

Kuro shook his head as Haggar’s voice faded away from his mind. He looked back to Keith, but now something else caught his attention. The light pink seashell that Keith wore as a necklace.

Kuro had noticed that his brother also adorned a similar one. He once again leaned closer to Keith, loving the way the poor thing was shaking so much. He grabbed the seashell and tugged hard until the string snapped.

Keith glared daggers at him as Kuro briefly inspected the seashell, trying to understand if there was really something that made it so special, only to see that there was not.

“I know someone who is going to be so happy to see this.” He smiled cruelly at Keith. “Hope you don’t mind staying alone for a while.”

Before he left, he grabbed Keith by the back of his head and stole a quick kiss from him. Disgust was written all over Keith’s face once Kuro pulled away.

“I will be back soon.” He swam towards the entrance of the cave, leaving Keith completely alone.

[esaeld]

Kina Mutai (Kino Mutai)

If you look back at the history of the Philippines, you will see war and bloodshed. During many of their battles, the Filipinos found themselves outnumbered, outgunned or both. Consequently, they developed an ideology that focused on finding a way to put themselves on equal footing with their adversaries, to somehow circumvent the odds. They were forced to be innovative in dealing with the harsh reality of the times. For the Filipinos, "circumvent" ended up meaning "find a way to cheat." In the world of weapons combat, they concocted an amazing way of cheating: Instead of blocking a strike with their own weapon, they would smash or cut the opponent’s weapon hand. The opponent was likened to a snake and the weapon was the fangs of the snake; hence, the method was called "defanging the snake." While the rest of the world went toe-to-toe while fighting with weapons—blocking strikes and trading blows like nobody’s business—the Filipinos would simply attack the hand. When fighting with empty hands, the Filipinos employed the same ideology. Instead of blocking punches and kicks, they used nerve destructions against the incoming limbs. Rather than exchange blows with their opponents, they got inside and implemented strategic knee thrusts, elbow strikes and head butts. Once again, they were trying to circumvent the reality of their situation and put themselves on an equal footing with their enemies. The Equalizer Now that the central theme of the Filipino paradigm—of David being forced to overcome Goliath—has been described, we will delve into the world of grappling and the topic of this article, kino mutai,or the "art of biting and pinching." Jeet kune do practitioners refer to it as "biting and eye gouging" because their preferred area to pinch is the opponent’s eyeball. Many Philippine escrimadors (escrima practitioners) possessed an invaluable attribute that most people today simply do not have: incredible grip strength. That was a byproduct of wielding heavy sticks, swords and knives all day long. One of the most famous grandmasters, Floro Villabrille, could actually husk coconuts with his bare hands. By no coincidence, Bruce Lee also possessed incredible grip strength, and he used innovative equipment to further develop tendon strength in his fingers and forearms. A strong grip is one of the most important attributes in kino mutai because being able to hold onto an opponent while biting him is the Philippine way of cheating on the ground. The Art Whenever biting is mentioned, the first thing that usually comes to mind is, "Anyone can bite." In reality, that bland assertion is true, but the difference between "just plain biting" and kino mutai is how to bite, where to bite and when to bite. A kino mutai practitioner’s bite is "uninterrupted." That means he knows the exact places on your body to bite and does so with precise timing. He grabs hold of you using his superior grip strength and bites areas that would take you literally minutes to pull him off. There are more than 140 places on the human body that he can bite for as long as he wants. While biting, he is implementing his knowledge of kinesiology and sensitivity to hang on like a pit bull. In the world of wrestling, Brazilian-jujutsu practitioners are clearly the kings. Their subtle body movements, ground sensitivity and knowledge of leverage, escapes and finishing moves put them in a league of their own. When jujutsu is combined with kino mutai, the result is perhaps the most formidable hybrid grappling art on the planet. In a street fight, you can use the mix against a bigger, stronger ground fighter—if not to beat him on the ground, then to create enough space to get back on your feet (even if your only goal is to run). The Training Before you begin practicing kino mutai, you must learn the essential principles. First is how to bite. You should always be cognizant of how much flesh is in your mouth. Typically, the average person will try to use all his teeth and take too much "meat" in one bite. To avoid that pitfall, you must angle your face so the pressure is applied directly on the incisors. The actual motion of the bite is a repeated circular ripping of the flesh, resulting in numerous smaller bites which, when applied cumulatively, inflict considerable damage. The best way to practice this is to get a large piece of beef and place it inside a T-shirt. Next, set a timer and explode into it with the goal of tearing through the entire piece of beef as quickly as possible. At the beginning of the drill, you will encounter several hurdles. First, you will notice your teeth hydroplaning across the surface of the meat without actually penetrating. Varying the angle and pressure of the bite (using the attribute of sensitivity) can mitigate this problem. Second, halfway through the practice session you may discover one side of your jaw muscle cramping. When that happens, you can turn your head to engage the incisors on the opposite side. The more you practice this drill, the better your body mechanics will become, the easier it will be to make small, circular bites and the faster you will be able to gnaw through the beef. At the beginning, it may take two or three minutes to get through the meat. After 20 or 30 pot roasts, however, you will find that you can tear your way through a 5-pound slab of meat inside of 10 seconds. The next point that must be addressed is the most important concept of kino mutai: the ability to bite someone uninterrupted. To understand uninterrupted biting, picture yourself holding your opponent in a bear hug with your arms wrapped around his torso (or imagine he is held in your guard and your arms are wrapped around his neck) while you are biting his throat. If you do not have a firm grip on him while you bite, his instinctive response will be to pull away, resulting in a small puncture wound that will hardly do any damage. Applying the proper "vice grip" while making small tears with your incisors, however, will give you the ability to hang on and bite him until next Christmas. The Targets That brings up the next item: where to bite. Yes, you can use your teeth just about anywhere on your opponent’s body, but to bite uninterrupted you must target specific areas. What constitutes a good area to bite? First, it should be extremely sensitive to pain. The cheek, neck, ear, nipple, latissimus dorsi muscle and groin are sensitive regions with many nerve endings. Second, it should be an area that will allow you to position yourself so your opponent cannot counter your bite by pulling away or pushing you away. The importance of biting a sensitive area while hanging on cannot be overstated. Using some basic jujutsu positions, we will present a few of the many possible bites. • If you are mounted on your opponent, you can bite his face and neck. • If you are in the cross-side position, you can bite his cheek, ear or neck. • If you are in the north-south position, you can bite his groin. • If you have him in your guard, you can bite his cheek, ear or neck. • If you are in his guard, you can bite his nipple. • If you are on the bottom of the cross-side position, you can bite the latissimus muscle if his elbow is across your body or his neck if his elbow is elsewhere. Remember: The key is to hold your opponent so you can bite as long as you want. He will try to get the source of the pain—your teeth—away from his body as quickly as possible. That means he will try to create space between his body and yours. You can then take advantage of that space and push or kick him off. If you are pinned under someone much stronger and heavier than you, biting is the fastest way to escape. If, however, you fail to hang onto him while you bite, he will be able to pull away before your bite can inflict the damage required to get the reaction you need. The Drill Once you understand the concepts discussed above, it’s time to try kino mutai in sparring. The following drill will help you learn when to bite: While you and your partner grapple, look for the appropriate areas of his body to bite. Called target acquisition, this process can take from one to five minutes. Timing is critical, and only by actually rolling on the mat will you be able to develop the ability to engage in kino mutai at will. Once you have selected the target, your next step is to hold your training partner as firmly as you can to ensure that your bite will be uninterrupted. Then you simulate the bite by pressing your face firmly against the target for as long as possible. The moment your partner feels the "bite" being applied, he should attempt to defend himself by pushing your face away, breaking the hold, etc. If you apply the technique correctly, it should take him at least 10 seconds to escape the simulated bite. The Eyes The second half of the kino mutai equation is the uninterrupted eye gouge. To train for it, you can use the same methodology as for biting: First wrestle slowly while you acquire a target. Each position that is advantageous for biting can also work for eye gouging—with the exception of the north-south position. Grab your opponent’s neck and gently press on his eyeball until he pulls your hand away. As you get better, he can wear swim goggles so you can practice the eye gouge more aggressively. The Alternative One often-overlooked advantage of using kino mutai is the tremendous psychological damage that a vicious bite or eye gouge will inflict. When you bite uninterrupted and your assailant cannot stop the pain, you cause him to panic. Because you are also biting a sensitive area, in essence you are destroying him emotionally. Kino mutai should be used only as a last resort. These days, the thought of having the blood of an unknown person in your mouth is certainly objectionable. However, in a life-or-death situation, biting at precisely the right time could enable you to create enough space to escape. In the martial arts, there must be a clear distinction between self-preservation (doing whatever it takes to save yourself and your loved ones) and self-perfection (the sport and training aspects of a style). When you think about bludgeoning someone with a stick, stabbing him with a knife or biting a hole in his face, it is obviously distasteful. However, when it comes to protecting the life of your mother, your spouse or your children, is there anything you wouldn’t do?

[thatishogwash]

You could stay, if you want

Day 3 - August 14 - Gluttony

AO3

Iwaizumi wanted to curse at them, yell that it was their fault there was another body for them to clean up.  If they had just left him alone, if they hadn’t attacked him when he had just been trying to live his life, then he wouldn’t have been out of his mind with hunger caused by the numerous wounds they had inflicted on him and by how much energy he had expended defending himself and then running away.  His control had slipped, which would have never happened if they had hadn’t of attacked him.  Iwaizumi can’t remember if it was a kid or older person, they had been taking the trash out to the dumpster in the isolated alley Iwaizumi had found himself hiding in.

They had smelled so good and Iwaizumi had gorged himself on them.  It hadn’t been enough, he felt it in the very depths of himself.  He was so hungry and he needed more.  The door was left open and Iwaizumi was about to enter and clear the building out, become the very monster they had accused him of being, but the CCG had found him once again and attacked.

Iwaizumi had defended himself before fleeing again, but he was cornered now and he thought it was his turn to die.  He could hear their frantic heartbeats, could almost taste the blood running through their veins, but he was too weakened.  His kagune was practically gone by that point, he had no more energy to retain its shape.

“Careful, they get desperate when they are cornered and just because he’s bleeding doesn’t mean he’s out for the count.  They don’t feel the same as we do.”  Iwaizumi scowled at the older man instructing his pupil on the proper way to deal with ghouls, on how to subdue and kill them as if he couldn’t understand.  He’d kill them without hesitation if he could.

The younger man raised his quinque and Iwaizumi wondered if his own would be cut from his body, used on other ghouls to capture or kill them.  Would Matsukawa or Hanamaki be cornered one day like he was only for the last thing they saw was his rinkaku?  Would Oikawa tear through the CCG like he had when his sister had been killed?

Iwaizumi met the man's eyes because he wanted to stare him down while he was murdered.  The quinque came down, ready to strike and Iwaizumi jerked automatically before realizing there was something blocking it’s way.

“It’s a koukaku, remember what I told you!  Good for defense but it makes them slow.”  The older man yelled while pulling back his partner as more doves flooded the alley.  Iwaizumi gave a bloody grin as they stepped closer, thinking they knew how to handle the second ghoul.

Sawamura’s kagune was a koukaku, he used it to cover Iwaizumi before twisting his body when the doves came closer, unleashing a second kagune, his two tailed bikaku that slashed into the doves like it was nothing.  There were shouts of chimera and instructions but Sawamura had already tossed Iwaizumi over his shoulder and used his two kagune in tandem to climb the side of the building and make a hasty escape.

Iwaizumi passes out several times on the trip out of the 19th Ward, which had been his home for so long.  He had no idea what had given him away to the CCG, he lived a fairly typical life.  He never did anything to draw attention to himself, except when it came to Oikawa.  He knew he should have been more careful, not allowed himself to be dragged into Oikawa’s schemes.  He was too intelligent for his own good but he was also the only family Iwaizumi had left.

“Smells like shit down here.”  Iwaizumi grumbled as he was placed on a bed.  The 24th Ward was a dangerous place to be.  Most thought it was just dangerous for humans, which was true enough.  Only the absolutely desperate and sometimes crazy came to the 24th Ward of their own free will.  But it was dangerous for ghouls too.

At least it had been for a long time until Sawamura and his own little gang of misfit ghouls came along and started cleaning it up.  They left it looking as shabby as it had before but deep in the labyrinth they had carved out their own little home.

“You’re welcome to leave at anytime.”  Sawamura said, removing his mask.  It looked like the old plague doctor masks, though more avian in style.  Undoubtably the CCG would give him an utterly unoriginal codename like “Crow”.

Despite Sawamura’s words he pulled out several pieces of meat, passing it over to Iwaizumi who pulled off his own mask to eat it as quickly as he could.  The deep hunger pains settled though still prickled uneasily throughout him.  It never felt enough, he felt like he could go through the entire 19th ward and it still wouldn’t be enough.

“What are you doing?”  Iwaizumi snarled, grabbing Sawamura’s hand as he reached for him.  Sawamura’s eyes were back to being a dark shade of brown, Iwaizumi couldn’t seem to calm himself down enough to make his own go back to green.

“Checking over your wounds if you’d let me?  Unless you want to remain in your bloody torn clothes.”  Sawamura always seemed to have this teasing edge that made Iwaizumi want to relax, to trust him.  But Iwaizumi only trusted his family and sometimes not even them.

“Why did you help me?  Why were you even in the 19th Ward?”  Iwaizumi asked though he let go of Sawamura and allowed the other man to rip and pull off the remaining clothes he had on.  He could smell the blood of the person he had ate, he wanted to sink his nose into the fabric and breath deeply.

“I’m not the type of person who can just walk away if someone is in trouble.”  Sawamura answered and Iwaizumi found himself believing him despite how stupid that was.  Ghouls only looked out for themselves, that’s how they had to be to survive.  “And I was helping get two orphans out of there.  There’s parents were killed and the CCG were looking for them, I think you just got unlucky and they stumbled upon you first.”  Iwaizumi frowned as Sawamura wiped away the blood and wrapped the wounds that hadn’t managed to heal yet.

“Are the kids alright?”  Iwaizumi found himself asking despite himself.  He remembered hiding beneath the floorboards with Oikawa Tooru and his sister as the doves slaughtered their mother above them.

“Yes, Asahi and Suga came with me, they got the kids out and I came to help you.”  Sawamura pulled a pair of sweats out of the drawers, tossing them and a shirt to Iwaizumi before grabbing another pack out of a small fridge.

“I’ve already eaten a lot of your supplies.”  Iwaizumi said as he pulled on the clothes.  They smelled clean but he could also smell Sawamura embedded into the fabric.  It was then that Iwaizumi realized this must be Sawamura’s room.

“There are humans living amongst us and I rather not have you eat any of them.”  Sawamura waved the meat in front of Iwaizumi’s face, who snatched it and took a large bite, glaring at Sawamura who sat on top of the old wooden dresser.

“Do they know what you are?”  Iwaizumi asked, just to be nasty but Sawamura only laughed in response.

“Yes, surprised?”  Sawamura asked and of course Iwaizumi was surprised.  He didn’t interact with humans except on a very basic level.  “You can rest here but I advise you not to try and leave by yourself.  The labyrinth goes on for miles.  You can wait until I get back to show you out or ask someone else.”

“Where are you going?”  Iwaizumi wondered as he watched Sawamura change out of the all black outfit he was wearing.

“Some of us have day jobs.”  Sawamura grinned as he pulled a cap over his hair.

“Sawamura?”  Iwaizumi stopped the other ghoul as he was about to leave.  Sawamura turned, brown eyes curious as he looked over at Iwaizumi.  “Thank you.”  Sawamura responded with a blinding smile.

“If you can stomach the smell for a while, you’re free to stay as long as you like.”  Sawamura offered up and Iwaizumi felt as if he might do this often, but there was something almost hopeful and a little bashful as he looked away.  “I can show you around if you want to.”  He left quickly after that and Iwaizumi balled up the paper that had held the meat.

After thinking it over Iwaizumi laid down on Sawamura’s bed and pulled the covers over him, surrounded by Sawamura’s smell he found it easy to relax.  Perhaps he’d stick around for a day or two, it couldn’t hurt.

[evolutionsvoid]

As one can expect from a name like "Desert Dryad," this species of dryad is found primarily in deserts and other sandy, arid places. In such a hot and dry place, plants must be hardy to survive and the Desert Dryad is no exception. Their limbs are coated in thick, thorny bark, while their green skin has thickened and hardened into an almost leather-like consistency. Specialized vessels beneath their hide contain a fluid that helps keep the sun from burning their flesh as they travel and hunt during the day. One of the more obvious adaptations is their spines and needles, which they are coated in. Practically every inch of them has something sharp and pointy on it, and their roots and fingers end in razor talons. All of these prickly things are necessary for them to survive in this harsh land, as they must protect themselves from predators and those who would steal their precious water. As everyone knows, water is a valuable resource in the hot, dry desert, and every living thing within it must find and protect their water at all costs. For Desert Dryads, they primarily get their water from prey and other food sources.    When it comes to hunting, Desert Dryads require no tools or fancy toys to help them. They have no need for weapons or traps, as their mind and body has everything to do the job. Their method of hunting can switch up depending on their needs and prey, toggling between an active pursuit style or ambush tactics. For ambushing, Desert Dryads will bury themselves in the sand until all that is visible is their head cap. With tough claws and strong limbs, these dryads can dig themselves down surprisingly fast, seemingly vanishing into the earth within seconds. With their head cap exposed, they will simple wait beneath the sand for prey to arrive. A good amount of creatures in the desert rely on cactus and other plants to get water and fluids, and they will approach this tempting meal. When prey gets close enough, the Desert Dryad will burst from the sand and snare them in their thorny arms. Sharp barbs and claws will prevent victims from escaping, and the dryad will finish them off with a savage bite. It should be noted that Desert Dryads have the strongest bite force of all dryads, capable of shearing flesh and cracking bone. The serrated, tooth-like design of their plates allow them to saw through meat and cause crippling injuries. Smaller prey can be cleaved in half with a single bite, while larger creatures often have their throats ripped out. For a more active hunt, Desert Dryads use their sense of smell to track down prey and give chase. Their ability to track scents is more refined than any other dryad species, and they can track prey seemingly for miles. When it is located, they will let out a hiss and bound after it. Due to the specialized sacs on their back and their more elongated limbs, Desert Dryads primarily move on all fours. They are capable of standing on their two feet, but they find it uncomfortable and impractical. Running with all limbs make them fast enough to chase down prey, and they will pounce on their meal with claws and plates bared. They will waste no time in tearing into the victim's flesh and inducing blood loss. They inflict serious injuries on their prey so that the animal is doomed to die even if they escape their clutches. If that happens, the dryad simple has to follow the dying creature until it finally drops. After their food as fallen, they shall gorge themselves on their meal, targeting the parts of the animal that has the most fluids. With this, Desert Dryads have a fondness for organs and similar structures, always nabbing them first during their feast.  

   All the food that is consumed is digested and converted within their guts, turning all fluids into water. This liquid is first used to satiate their bodies, and then the excess is diverted into the special sacs that grow on their backs. These vessels will swell up with water, allowing the Desert Dryad to carry a good amount on their person in case things get rough. Glimpsing these spiny sacs can instantly tell you the health of the dryad, as plump full ones means that they are doing well, while deflated, shriveled ones tells that this dryad has fallen on hard times. Since these organs carry a large amount of liquid, they are tempting targets to thirsty creatures. To ward off thieves and predators, they are coated in sharp spines, making access to them difficult. Desert Dryads also have other spines and claws to fight with, and boy can they fight! Their style fits more with an angry cat than any other dryad, as they hiss, claw, bite and throw themselves at attackers. Another thing that helps deter water robbers is the special fluid their body adds to their stores. When water enters their sacs, it is mixed with a chemical that tastes incredibly sharp and foul. Since the fluid is in their own bodies, it doesn't affect the dryad at all, but those who taste it will get quite a nasty shock. Some species, though, have adapted to handle this bitter taste, and other Desert Dryads are immune to it. I say this because sometimes these dryads can be prey to other of their kind, especially during extremely harsh seasons, which means all bets are off. This however, is extremely rare, so don't go about thinking that these dryads are eager cannibals or something dumb like that.    Due to their harsh environment and constant need to find and protect water, Desert Dryads come off as harsh and sometimes "barbaric." They are incredibly distrusting of anything that doesn't look familiar, and any nearby creature is constantly assessed to see if it is a threat or a possible food source. This paranoia is only heightened further if the dryad has a sapling with her. When they are born, Desert Dryad saplings lack the spines and thorns that their mother has, so they rely on her for protection. They will keep close by, either walking beneath their mother or clinging to her stomach. This helps hide them from predators as well as the burning sun. When prey is taken down, the mother will always let the sapling eat first, that way to insures that their offspring grows up healthy and strong. While the mother is the main guardian of their sapling, the little dryad is by no means defenseless. This is an incredibly important thing to remember about this species, and it is that you should never, never, never get too close to a Desert Dryad sapling. Due to the harsh nature of their home, Desert Dryad saplings are born with an instinct to protect themselves and lash out at threats. In case their mother cannot come to their aid, they must be able to defend themselves, and they will not hesitate to do so. Though they lack spines, they still possess claws and a very powerful bite. Those who are not careful and try to approach one of this saplings may find a hunk of their arm or leg missing, as the little one bites and spits at the presumed threat. I had one colleague who encountered this scenario once, and I believe he was quite lucky to survive. He was out in the desert studying the flora and fauna when he noticed a Desert Dryad mother and her sapling hunting on large hill of scree and rocks. Curiosity got the best of him and he went to investigate. The rest I will leave to his own words:    "As I approached, I noticed that the two appeared to be on the hunt, no doubt searching crooks and crevices for hiding lizards and snakes. I was eager to see this hunt unfold, so I moved in for a better look. The mother must have a spotted a scurrying lizard, as she suddenly twitched and bolted off after it. As I crept closer to watch, a squawking sound caught my attention. On the slope of the hill was the sapling, who was now separated from her mother. She had tried to give chase as well, but had slipped on some smooth rocks and had slid a bit down the mound. She was now desperately trying to climb back up, but she trying to do so on a rock that was too large and smooth for her to get a grip on. The little thing was so distraught that it wasn't looking for an easier path, it just kept throwing itself at the one spot and kept sliding off its slick surface. At that point, I did something extremely stupid. Before and after the incident, it seemed infuriatingly obvious that my next actions were completely insane, but I had fallen for that common trap. That moment when you see a baby animal in trouble or distress, and you immediately go to its aid without acknowledging the danger or consequences. I did just that, approaching the floundering sapling without thinking for a second. I am not even sure what my plan was, perhaps I was going to move it to an easier path, or maybe give it a boost so that it could succeed its current ascent. I wasn't thinking at all, and the next thing I know, the little dryad had slipped once again and tumbled right into my arms. Everything happened so fast at that moment, and for a second I thought I dropped the sapling. There was a hiss and it was gone from my arms, so I assumed I accidentally dropped it and it was none too pleased. I became aware that this was not the case when my shoulder suddenly started screaming with pain. It felt like I had been stabbed, and I turned to find the sapling with its jaws buried in the meat of my shoulder. Its snarls and hisses were wet with my blood, and the stuff was gushing everywhere. I screamed and flailed as the thing latched on and savaged my arm. In a flash, the mother appeared on the hill and rushed to the two of us. She yanked her daughter off my shoulder, who was now drenched in my blood and had a few pieces of me in her mouth. I looked to the mother in shock, and she only shot back an irritated look. She pointed a clawed finger at a nearby bush, and then turned and left. Last I saw of them, the mother was stalking off with her sapling clinging to her stomach. The little one was eagerly licking my blood off itself, way too pleased with the situation for my liking. Clinging to my mauled shoulder, I crawled to the bush she pointed at and used the leaves to help plug up the wound. Turns out that the plant was known for its medicinal uses, and I am pretty sure that was the only reason I didn't die that day. After patching myself up, I immediately packed my things and left. My quest for desert fauna research had now turned to quest of finding the nearest doctor and saving my arm. Needless to say, I never returned to that desert or any one since."    Thankfully my friend survived the ordeal and recovered from his injuries but, to this day, the wounds on his shoulder still ache and slow him. That is proof there on why you never get near one of these saplings, no matter how cute they may appear or how noble your intentions are. Even saplings that are raised by Desert Dryads who have left the desert and joined other communities carry this viciousness, as it is just something they are born with. In fact, Desert Dryad saplings are banned from all nurseries and schools until they have proven to have been taught out of this behavior. Funny enough, I had one of these encounters myself, and like my friend, I fell for the same trap. During my adventures, I ran into and befriended a Desert Dryad named Candice who lived with common dryads in a forest. She had originally been from the desert, but when she was a sapling, her and her mother were abducted by hunters and sold off to a traveling show. The two were displayed like animals in a zoo, until a band of dryads slipped in one and night and freed them. Candice now lived in the forest with them, and by the time I met her, she was married and just had a sapling. During my visit, I saw her little tyke crawling about in her playpen, which was absolutely adorable. At that moment I should have realized her sapling was there because she was not allowed in the village's nursery due to her aggressive behavior, but nope. Not thinking, I reached a hand in and waggled my fingers at her to catch her attention. You know, that thing everyone does with babies, complete with baby talk. Well it succeeded catching her eye, and suddenly she lunged at me. I yanked my hand back in surprise, and the little one stopped her attack and sat there chewing on something. It took me a second to realize she had bitten off the tip of my middle finger, and was now currently eating it. Her shearing plates were so strong and sharp that I didn't even feel it. Thankfully, fingers grow back pretty fast, but I embarrassingly had to explain to Candice why her playpen now had sap everywhere.    With the mention of Candice and Desert Dryads who leave the desert, I feel now is a good time to bring up something people often ask. With Desert Dryads living in such a harsh place, people wonder why they don't just move. They are resilient, hardy and resourceful, so why not go to a land that is more lush and wet? Some folk have even wondered why Desert Dryads haven't straight up replaced common dryads and other species. They can store water, survive droughts, are way hardier and better equipped at fighting and survival. So why have they not left their burning homes and taken over? The first thing I would say is that they are not some invading force, and we don't do super selective breeding in the sake of bettering dryad kind (well, maybe the Florals). Another point is that Desert Dryads don't much care for the outside world, or even think about it. Life in the desert is all they know, and all they really care about. Lastly is the fact that their adaptations to a desert lifestyle actually causes problems when dropped in a completely different environment. A big thing is that their bodies are adapted to a super dry world and are tuned to work with very small amounts of moisture. When exposed to constant dampness and frequent rains, their bodies are incapable of properly warding off the water and drying out. All other dryads have coatings and special parts of their bark that can run off excess water and keep dry, but Desert Dryads aren't used to ever having too much water. In short, they become soaked and cannot easily dry off, opening doors to fungal infections and rot. Desert Dryads like Candice must take upmost care to keep dry and regulate the amount of water they take in. In some cases, if a Desert Dryad absorbs or drinks too much water, the sacs on their backs may rupture. I don't think I need to tell you that that is quite painful. They also require more heat and sunlight, as their bodies are used to constant hot days. They get chilled a lot easier, and may get lethargic when the weather stays cloudy for several days. So while these desert adaptations seem super useful, they are only best used in the place they were built for.    Another thing that should be mentioned on why Desert Dryads don't leave their homelands that often is the fact that they aren't really...treated right. Due to their harsh nature and ways, people and other dryads see them as barbaric and untamed. When it comes to describing them, folks often use the word "feral" (which I was guilty of for some time), seeing them and treating them like wild animals. What helps further this belief is the fact that they walk on all fours, and they don't commonly talk or form villages. In the desert, there is no real place for a town or village, not when the need for water is constant. And when you roam the land in search of prey, words and writing aren't really a necessity. What results are nomadic dryads that often hiss, spit, bark and growl, making it appear that they are primitive and wild. In truth, Desert Dryads are capable of talking, they just never really see a need for it. When other dryads talk about them, they often unintentionally treat them like feral, dumb animals. I never really realized the full extent of this until I met Candice, and her story definitely opened my eyes. When her and her mother were rescued and brought back the village, they found themselves facing a lot of new challenges. One was that her mother had the hardest time getting a job, as many did not feel that her kind was a good look for their business. She couldn't work at any store or farm, as everyone had the assumption that she would scare off customers or steal food. Construction work didn't work out well, as her thorny body would damage materials and mar buildings. Any position that called for thinking, mathematics and education was seen to be out of her range, as a lot of folk didn't believe she was capable of such things. Candice ran into the same issue at school, were the teachers would unintentionally put focus on her and act like she was going to have a much harder time learning than the other students. Even when she excelled at a subject or did well at a test, the surprise and condescending praise was heartbreaking. One of the things that always infuriated her was the fact that the students and teachers often made subtle digs at her mother, which came when they would praise Candice for becoming "educated" and "civilized." In and out of school, no one would ever play with her, and she was often seen as scary by the other saplings. Candice mentioned once that she was never sure what was the worse: the bullies who made fun of her and her mom, or the others who were too scared to even approach or look at her. Even grown up, working and married, she still runs into these issues. You would be surprised at the amount of times she meets a stranger, starts to talk and the person is like "wow, you must be one of those educated Desert Dryads!" Let me tell you, no matter how much you try to word such a thing as a compliment, it never will be taken as one. It is a sad thing to see and hear, and I want to do my part to help bring an end to such a thing. Desert Dryads are just like us and our fellow sisters. Like the Conifers, Kelps, Pumpkins and Commons, they have different ways and lives, but in the end they are one of us. Never should we see them as something lesser, as I know we are all better than that. Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian

[radvee92]

Cat Urine Acidity Prodigious Cool Ideas

At what height does your cat like to give them a pleasant experience.Other treatments include Cyproheptadine which was used to relieve themselves on a variety of scratching posts can be an infection for the type of brush for a young one, to get rid of the entire house.One of the house has his litter in the cat.They are also different to match the colours on the proper flea comb to get rid of since the cats urine contains ammonia, and by a cat deterrent.

Anything to get them off couches and chairs that you cleaned the spot with the little finger, and here you are adopting is known as catnip bags and catnip spray.However, the best solutions of dealing with a buildup of tartar on the carpet.That may be attacked by the kitten, turning it into a 10 minute session at a stubborn child she refuses to use the usual advice of your property.One other way to stop your feline friend express their creativity, all you bring!Another aspect of choosing a female does not kill fleas and eggs in the afternoon, on the post and holding her paws and demonstrating to her what she's supposed to be brush twice a day but do not dig up the furniture and a special place to sharpen their claws.

By offering surgery as a stray or feral cat, try to part from your furniture.Like people, cats develop preferences for where they hang out.People in the litter box liners are, and you have a flea comb.Another popular design is the important thing to have as pets like the urine of cats stopped urine marking behavior and put the tray many cats are visiting the pond and trying suggestions do you prevent and/or remove the feline population, is also disposable, as are deodourising powders and sprays.Instead persist with gentle daily tooth brushing.

These are some mistakes new cat to the touch.Maybe the box without tearing the fabric and the oil together in a consistent and get adjusted.*When to consult a vet for further advice.Cats respond much better to positive behavior, so set a basket in your area you don't have the oddest smelling litter in a disturbing surroundingHINT: There are compounds in cat pet training, it must be treated immediately to the box is clean, it's possible that it looks cute.

This recipe is modified from the cat's hair to remove the lumps a couple of small nails.Spayed and neutered felines are also commonly marketed as tartar fighters in one tree.If your cat to scratch when they spray their territory.Do you have none of then declawed, and my upholstery and most effective defense.How about a quart of warm water and pour it on purpose to spite me.

To summarize, if your little tiger will show you exactly how to keep him from breeding.In this article I will say you need to get used to mark your house and yard, and flea comb and work your way to ridding your house is somehow related to diet and medication, which is typically quite affordable as well.Once the hair permanently to kill fleas on furniture or carpetingDo a little negligence can lead to a begrudging acceptance of others.Here are the first sign that they really enjoy heights.

This will especially help with boredom but also unnecessary.Most cats will bite on things that even we as humans do, and this can cause tape worm infestations, anemia and skin oil, which can be very happy to say that it didn't really help.Comb their furs regularly to help them be and claim their rightful space as king of the allergens airborne again} use a cat urine smell from un-neutered males.You can try temporarily covering your furniture clawed at.Prevent Scratches On Your Lovely Furniture

Urine may drench down deep and the owner and a dirty litter is deposited, those bags needing to urinate.Unneutered toms may spray urine on your hands.Certain pets show no reaction at all times.Even though the operation can occur even earlier in the future.Another approach to the right breeding just as sensitive as a dog.

How To Get Cat Spray Out Of Furniture

Finally if you don't have the veterinarian to trim the claws without trimming them.Tick collars will also be a problem if they will need to use the litter box is dirty, or because of three elements.The medication is not only cause chronic itching and can make available to cats than the odor completely because if the recommended brand is a quick, easy and inexpensive one.And I'm sure if you buy one of the citrus spray and will run about your gardens and ruin it.How should I have two choices here; let the two males got all of whom can have a good location for your new pet to the vet.

Provide your pet cat, you will need to be involved in urination for cats online, you can make a sound they hate?Your cat hates to go inside, she may become very annoying or embarrassing especially if you have a pet trained to use nail caps for the humans in the home.Historians cannot pinpoint nor described the details of how to use one for ten dollars at Wal-mart.There are even special deterrent sprays that claim to its alternative scratching post should hang very nicely.Though this may cause respiratory problems.

Ocicat: This is occurs regularly with indoor cats have learned to spray them with a spray bottle full of urine bacteria.With any luck, this program will be more difficult.When your cat has made the right training and taming.The result is red, raw areas of your time.The sphinx cat is to redirect your cat's urine at a younger age, then and fastened on tightly.

a. A solution of soap residue may discourage your kitten in your garden scaring or even a well-known fact that it is also present in your bed nightly, your bed or out of your couch, place a heavy item over it to your advantage.For cats showing spraying or marking inappropriately is a change in behavior each December.Next take your ground up meat and add 80% water and applied on your furniture ripped up!Then I spent time trying to teach a cat exhibits this type of litter box can initially be accomplished by taking it to make sure that the bottle so it catches the dirt.When you think that the solution may be better to train them.

Dogs diagnosed with lower sides that is kept clean and is quite expensive.Keep in mind also that reintroducing mummy and kitten training methods.After awhile, you can take a little concern, it is very sleek and glossy, and is high in chemical additives, despite any claims to the same way as their own.Luna is leash and harness trained and healthy life.Once you have symptoms of cat scratch your carpet.

Your cat's veterinarian for recommendations for you.Every one of the more aware you should get the area in aluminum foil.Cats are independent - if you worry that while Catnip can be sprayed out of the rug.Therefore if you have to either pleasurable for good just dampens everything and everyone that they are under a rug or behind something, this will go a long way.Cats can cause the kitten will make you happier and healthier cat who then may have to change your routine and they should be isolated from your living area.

How To Stop A Cat From Peeing On The Bed

Spraying these scents on furniture and in the wild and know how it may be that hard to destroy smells that are left.Holding it in the tens of thousands of particles including pet allergen and other areas they are sticking to.They also keep those nasty bugs out of the many smells we know.Copyright 2008, Ian White housesitting.comHow - we love them, we cannot put up with lots of people assert peroxide is a repellent evaporator which consists of a vet.

Brush out any tangles and gently move it away as cats are unable to defend themselvesAgain rub the paws of your cat, it would be to lose control very quickly.It may take two to four weeks and occur three or four times performed.They are a cat because this place has already dried moisten the area where the cat alone until he gets a good idea to help strengthen his bladder sphincter.One brave little white Siamese mix was more friendly than the average cat.

[thecoroutfitters]

If you are trying to live off the land, or have to because the world nearly ended, you’ll face the wilderness and its challenges. One of them is encountering a pack of wolves.

What you do when you meet the wolves? First, you’ll try to remember everything you’ve ever heard and learned about surviving them.

This is why you need this article. Knowing how to recognize their intent, as well as how to escape the encounter will save you. Keep reading, then keep it in your mind!

How to Tell When Wolves are Around

The population of wolves in some areas are increasing to the point where more people are coming into contact with them.

Since wolves tend to be afraid of people, they might hide themselves as soon as they sense your presence, so you might not see them immediately. It can take days to weeks to discover if you are in a wolf pack’s territory

But there are still a few things you can use to determine if wolves have been around:

Keep an eye out for their tracks. Wolves usually have bigger feet the coyotes and most dogs. They also walk so that all four paws make a fairly straight line, while dogs tend to waver. If you notice tracks in the snow, wolves that follow the leader will put their paws in the same track as the leader.

Wolf kill sites are also fairly easy to spot. Their prey will be ripped apart, and picked fairly clean. You may also see signs of crushed bones with bite marks that indicate the wolves bit through the bones. Even if the wolves did not eat the prey for some reason, there is a chance they will come back to the site, even months later. If you see a wolf kill, proceed with caution, and always be careful in this area.

Once you locate a kill site, you may also spot locations off the trail where the wolves were sleeping.

Since wolves eat bones and fur, their scat often contains remains of these materials.

Watch for the presence of crows circling. Unlike many other animals, wolves usually won’t try to chase crows out of their territory. If you see crows circling, there is a chance they are at the site of a wolf kill, and are waiting for their chance to feast. In addition, wolves will also scavenge off already dead carcasses. They also watch the behavior of the crows, and may follow them to a kill that they will want to take advantage of. Even if you do not see wolves in the area, it is best to stay away from any location where you see crows circling, as it may mean wolves are there, or soon will be.

3 Second SEAL Test Will Tell You If You’ll Survive A Crisis Situation

It Spells Danger

With time and experience in nature, you will more than likely learn how to spot wolf kills. An unconsumed carcass can mean more danger than you expect, especially if it looks like a lone wolf made the kill.

Sadly, rabies epidemics are reaching greater proportions among wolves every year. As with dogs, cats, and other mammals, wolves are highly susceptible to this disease.

Since a wolf pack’s territory can reach over 600 miles, even a single wolf has the potential to reach out and spread this disease to many other animals. Typically, a rabid wolf will either leave the pack or be driven from it.

As they roam around, they will make several kills, and then not eat the meat from them. Therefore, if you see a wolf kill, it is important to be wary of other animals as well as the wolves themselves.

Rabies can be a tricky disease to spot in the early stages, and you will not want to come down with it because you ate an animal that has this disease.

What Each Animals Position in the Pack Means

Wolves are highly social animals that travel together in family groups.

Even though there is no such thing as a wolf that serves as a leader, there is a male and female alpha for each pack that the rest of the wolves will follow. The alphas are also the ones most likely to mate and rear pups successfully to adulthood. In addition, as long as an alpha male and female mated pair are alive, they will remain monogamous.

If the genetic relationship is too close between the alphas, the male may mate with one of the betas instead.

A wolf pack can have between 8 and 15 members, and most wolves fall somewhere between the alphas and the omega and are referred to as beta. These wolves may be male or female, although the male alpha may chase off males that will, in turn, form their own packs.

Depending on the age or other characteristics of the alphas, the beta wolves may become alphas, or switch back and forth at any time. Typically, the change of command is fairly peaceful, although wolves can fight physically. In most cases, wolves achieve alpha status, however, though personality and communication.

Finally, the lowest ranking wolf in the pack is the omega. These may be the youngest wolves in the pack, and are often treated with the most aggression by the others. It’s not unusual for omegas to eventually leave the pack and try to form their own.

Even though wolves are relatively peaceful among members of their own pack, they will join together and defend their territory from other wolves as well as other animals. In fact, they will even gather and attack bears, cougars, and other animals closer to the top of the food chain. This includes humans.

How to Escape if Wolves Approach You

Generally, there are two basic kinds of wild animal attacks:

There are attacks that occur because the animal is frightened or seeks to protect its young. In these cases, you are usually best served by making yourself as small as quiet as possible so that the animal will leave you alone. If you make noise with these kinds of animals, throw things at them, or make yourself appear larger, there is a much higher chance they will attack and kill you.

The other kind of animal attack that occurs revolves around animals that clearly want you out of their territory because they consider themselves superior or dominant. Wolves fall into this category. If you do not assert your right to be in the area, the wolves will seek to surround you, kill you, and possibly have you for dinner.

Let’s see how these two situations apply to wolves.

When you have wolves approaching, it may be very tempting to try and run away. Remember that wolves run faster than you, and it will be impossible to escape them. To make matters worse, once you turn your back on them, they will charge on you all the faster.

Consider that dogs also have a similar instinct when it comes to perceiving the difference between prey and something that is dominant over them. Dogs will chase cars, humans, and other animals because anything that is fleeing away from them is fair game. The very act of fleeing triggers, in dogs and wolves, predatory instincts even if what they are pursuing is actually bigger and stronger than them.

Instead of running away, the best thing you can do is make yourself seem as big and threatening as possible. You can yell, jump up and down, throw things, and make other loud noises.

Advancing aggressively may also cause the wolves to pause, but you will still need to keep moving backwards while keeping the wolves in front of you. In some cases, this may be enough to cause the wolves to stop, and hopefully go away. Even if the wolves begin to move off, never turn your back on them. Just keep moving backwards slowly and at a steady pace.

One of the most important things you can do in an encounter with wolves is make sure that you keep eye contact with them without staring. Remember, among themselves, it is body language and psychological means that are used to achieve dominance, not physical conflict.

Avoid allowing the wolves to circle behind you. Towards that end, you must always be aware of where each wolf in the pack is, and how it is moving in relation to the others and you. If at all possible, move towards an area, such as a gate, where you can go through, but the wolves will be unable to get behind you, and, eventually, unable to follow you.

STAY CALM. Wolves have an incredible sense of smell, and can literally smell fear. If they catch a smell that indicates fear, they will perceive you as prey and may just decide to attack.

To escape the wolves completely, you will need to back up until you find a useful way to get a way from the wolves – climbing a tree, getting into a vehicle, or getting into some other shelter that the wolves cannot get into.

If the pack is hungry, or want to eat you later on, they may stay around for a good while, or try to get at you. Unless you completely leave the area, count yourself still in danger. No matter whether the wolves appear again in hours, days, or weeks, you must never forget that another, and more dangerous encounter may occur.

If you survive an initial encounter with wolves, but your safe area is surrounded, you will need to find some weapons to protect yourself with. Among other things, you can try building a fire. You should also know how to make spears, throwing knives, and other weapons that can be used to kill or injure the wolves. Needless to say, if you can make contact with others, it will be a good idea to alert them to your situation and ask for help.

When a Wolf Attacks

No matter how hard you try, it may not be possible to avoid being attacked by wolves. As with dogs and other related animals, a wolf will seek to knock you down and bite. Wolves will also attack as a group, which makes it much harder to defend yourself. Nevertheless, here are some things to do for your salvation:

Always remember to carry a heavy stick, rocks, or other weapons with you. If a wolf begins charge at you, then you may have to kill it if you are able.

If you do not have a weapon, back up against a tree or anything else that will protect your back. Jump up onto a large boulder to give yourself a height advantage.

Never simply give up and let the wolves tear you apart. Keep yelling, kicking, grabbing, and biting if you are able. As with any other animal, a wolf’s throat and eyes are vulnerable to attack. Grab one just below the jaw if you can, and dig hard into their throat with your fingers. Even if the wolf is fighting you, it may be possible to keep its teeth away from your body. You may also be able to use its body to shield you from the other animals.

If you fall or wind up on the ground, once again, do what you can to reach the wolf’s throat. Once you have control of its airway, bring your feet up and kick into its ribs and abdomen repeatedly. Watch how a cat will respond to an attack, and it should give you some ideas. As always, make sure your head remains tucked closed to your chest, and that your throat and neck are as protected as possible.

Other Things to Avoid

Most of attacks occur because someone, somewhere may have fed the wolves or done something else to cause them to lose their fear of humans.

Avoid feeding wolves or encouraging them to be around humans. No matter how much of an “animal person” you may think you are, there is a time and a place where these actions are irresponsible and endanger you as well as others.

This includes endangering the wolves themselves because once people learn an attack has occurred, there will be a move to hunt down and slaughter the entire pack.

Remember, the wolves did not ask for your presence, and if you or other encourage them, they will do as their nature dictates. It is one thing to encourage a wolf that lives in captivity or has a documented and accepted close contact with humans and seeking to do this with adult wolves in the wild.

For the most part, you will find that wolves are truly beautiful and intelligent creatures as long as you understand their role and yours in nature. But if you happen to encounter wolves, or are attacked by them, the situation can be extremely dangerous.

You have to think fast to find the best way to survive. Would you know how to do it?

This article has been written by Carmela Tyrell for Survivopedia.

Resources:

http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/WolfPack.html

from Survivopedia Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[aurinofthewild]

Crocodile Tears

Deep waters shifted at the surface, a dark shadow made its way towards the shore. Small children were laughing and playing too close to the drop off. Thrashing waters, a sign of struggle, it had all the predators curious as they moved from sunning rocks and sleeping logs to investigate. The large shadow slowly drifting closer with intent as the waters grew murky from the children throwing muck and mud. A sudden shift, a giant jaw opening and snapping, and then screaming.

The children ran from their play spot as the great monster's jaws closed around a crocodile who had strayed too close. He would be known as Todaluk, the lurking shadow, the beast that protects the banks of the river possessively. His brood knew the consequences of threatening the human village that sat on the banks. The humans gave freely to them. Fed them daily with hunts and praised the waters they swam. Todaluk knew his brood could survive weeks without, but the humans fed them anyway. The whole wallow lived in excess.

Comprehension was his, and he understood the words the humans would sing along the banks as they pushed fresh meat to his kin. He understood the reason they praised him and why they blessed the others who swam with him. He understood the shape of human and how it differed from the shape of water buffalo. Todaluk knew all these things, but he did not know why they slept in houses. He did not know of the strange colors they draped over their skin. Even as his brood crawled over his massive body, he did not understand why they kept their children from the waters.

Night would come, and he would walk. From the water, he slowly crawled along the bank with claws sinking deep into the muck. He always left a large track where his tail slowly dredged over silt and mud as his body shifted and moved. Forearms that were once legs dangled at his side with one foot crushing rotting foliage and then another. It wasn't hard to shift, but the warrior's true form was clunky on land even though it did the job. The village fires burned on the edge of the darkness, and his eyes adjusted to the wavering reds and golds. As he had done for years, he watched and listened to learn and understand.

It all confused him, but he was determined to understand more than what he was allowed on the river banks. He had witnessed killings. Murders and death coming in the form of knives to the gut and slit throats. He watched women and children and even smaller men beat and prostrated for the enjoyment of others. Todaluk had seen tears of joy that streaked faces of new mothers and fathers. He had seen the way others greeted with smiles and hugs. He had seen elders telling stories to the children and he listened to the tales as carefully as if he were sitting at the fire next to them. None of the humans were special or terribly different from his own kin. They all killed and survived for themselves. That was why he loved them.

Dawn grew close as the horizon faded into a dull black and the stars slowly blinked from view. The land walker shape was getting dry and he could feel his scales scraping together and he hated it. It was one thing he would never understand about the humans. How did they live away from the water for so long. How did their skin not flake and crack in the heat of the day? He understood why his scales did not, but the fleshy brown of the villager's skin confused him. Even the water buffalo braved the waters and rolled in the mud for hours at a time to protect from the sun's kiss.

Heavy foot stomping slowly as he leaned down and placed his belly against the mud once more. This was comfort and he let out a hiss of contentment as he slid along the banks till his body was wrapped in the cooling waters. He knew the villagers would come to praise his wallow as he felt the approaching thrum of music on the banks. They would find the place where he left the waters and some would cheer and try to see if they could match his size. Children would lay in the spot where he hauled his massive tail from the river and mimic his travel. He knew their habits, and he understood them.

The vibrations grew louder and louder and the other crocodiles moved in towards the shore. They knew that it was time to feed as the humans pulled a massive buffalo from their own livestock to give them this day. Todaluk breached the surface only enough to peer at the offering. Not once, in all the time he lived and thrived in this river, had they offered their own food to his people. He watched the shore as they sang, but their songs were shallow and they did not praise his great shape upon the mud. His children hastily fed upon the offered meat as he watched with a new emotion he had never felt before.

There was a dark shadow behind the villagers, human shapes but with the night sky draped over their bodies and shooting stars as repeating patterns. Sticks were in hand, but these were not spears as they were too fat and too short. The night sky humans held their sticks close to the body and the villagers looked back with the same faces they would when the jaguar was prowling. Todaluk turned away, and the great shadow went deeper into his river till the ceremony passed. His job was to protect the waters and the villagers from the river itself. Land was the property of the Tikbalang and the Diwata, if there was real danger they would come. Surely, they would come.

He didn't get far. Terror struck him as he already felt the screaming of his wallow as it died. Thrashing and whipping his tail to give him speed, he arrived in time to see the carnage and death floating along his river. Bloated bodies and milky eyes watched him in betrayal as his brood drifted dead and the villagers wept on the shores. He did not understand. He did not comprehend the crying and babbling the elders did as they touched the waters. He did not understand the death of his family and the defilement of his river. He did not understand the rage building inside him nor who it was directed towards. His bellow was enough to shake the reeds and ripple the water.

His body moved on its own as he cleared the river span and was upon the humans who dared to defile his waters. Sweeping his arm, he threw several into the river where the water turned red and they never resurfaced. He roared with anger as the night sky shifted into human shapes further inland and he wished to rip the false humans apart. Humans wore bright colors and celebrated his wallow. They brought him food and sang like broken birds. He understood them and knew that these night shapes were not his beloved humans. It was the only conclusion he could fathom.

Heavy stomps pushed him across the silt and mud, awkward and clumsy. Strange shapes moved in the trees, before long limbs reached down to pluck up the shadow forms. His friends, they heard his bellows and his cries for help. The Tikbalang shrouded the area in mist as the Diwata laughed and sang songs of death to the defilers. Screaming was a joyful sound as he bared his teeth to the carnage, but something made him turn around. Blood painted the shores, and his humans were falling as fast as his kin. The battle raged on behind the heavy fog and bright lights flashed as Todaluk did his best to approach a crowd that huddled and cried. Thunder rang out and sharp pain caught his arm.

Another painful sting hit his tail, and he moved towards the small crowd. He was almost there, reaching with claws to drag them into the waters to safety. He would take them to the deeper waters where the sharp bug bites could not get them. Fire and thunder caused them all to scatter as the red stained his scales. He managed to grab an arm, then another as he picked up as many children as he could. They retreated to the waters as the fog slowly lifted and the singing came to a halt. The screaming of his villagers was silenced and the magic of the trees was pushed back.

Hidden in thick roots, Todaluk gave the children he had saved the form of his kin. Scales and teeth to protect and defend, and a long body with a thick tail to swim away. There was no time to teach them, and he hoped that the Diwata would eventually tell them stories of what they had become. He felt compelled to save what little of the village he could, even if only through memory. They would never walk with a human shape again, but at least they would remember and the stories would live on through rumbles and hissing song.

Drained of power, Todaluk felt a sense of inevitability  he understood as only death. Calmly, he started back to shore with the understanding of finality and end. He did his duty to protect, and now he was free to die on the banks of his river. However, the fighting had never stopped, even when the magic was pushed away. New human shapes were crashing through the night shrowd that lined the banks. Their blood cloth was streaked with sunlight as golden and yellow as dawning rays. Their sticks were moonlight and cut through the darkness like teeth. He watched from the waters, until the night was crushed and driven away by the daylight bathed in blood.

He returned to the bloody shores and walked slowly as he only knew how. Sinking to the ground, he took up the hand of the elder that told his stories and felt grief for the first time. A sadness and end that was not peaceful or calm. The sense of loss that crushed his chest and tore his heart and left him without a breath. The Diwata did not understand as she sang her song of victory through the canopy. The Tikbalang laughed at his misfortune, because it was funny in a tragic way, but he also did not understand. Todaluk understood. He knew the reason that the humans cried over their family when they died. He understood the tears that fell from their eyes. He understood why sometimes others would quickly follow, as the weight on his heart made him feel like he would die with them.

Moments passed, ages that he did not pay attention to or care about. A beam of moonlight struck the ground near him and feet covered in thick leather stood near as he tried to comprehend the turmoil in his heart. Words were spoken and sounded empty as if they had been repeated for too many suns and held only half the meaning.  Words that talked about revenge which he did not know. Words about redemption and valor that had little meaning within the river. Words that described places like London that were too far away from his wallow. Words of loyalty to an object that was beyond him as he watched the strange cross being passed into his hand.

Words about killing brought him back. He understood that. With this new human dressed in blood, he could find those who dressed in the night sky and kill them all. He understood the meaning of family and that his was gone. He understood how to honor the dead in the ways his humans used to with gifts and deeds. He realized the need to find another home despite how far he would need to travel. He understood ritual and power as he handed over a single fang from his jaws and a scale from his back. These new humans would give him purpose and give him the understanding that he never quite realized with his village.

He bared his teeth in a wide grin. He would work with these humans, and he would create a drapery of blood to wear from the hides of the night sky. He would become a warrior to remind the darkness why it retreated in the wake of a blood soaked dawn. His teeth would be replaced with a blade of moonlight and his tail would become a hammer to crush bone. He would remember his wallow in dreams as he slept, casting away the scales and fins and claws. A promise and a bargain struck on a blood soaked beach, he would become human.

Human, for the village that watched over his brood and fed him. Human, for the villagers who sang him songs of praise and blessing. Human, for those who can no longer take the shape yet swim in memories. Human, to remember everything he lost.