"Don't listen to idiots, they're way of thinking is contagious. You may turn into a muscle head." Raya Responded with cutting eyes and a smile.
"Im not a muscle head."
They all walked back towards the camp dragging the boar along while throwing small shots at each other in laughter. Damon was battered up, but was only bleeding from a small wound on his head. His makeshift armor did its job, it protected him while he was being plowed through branches.
As they sat around a fire, Damon investigated his body a bit, he felt stronger and renewed in a strange way. He was beyond sore, but yet strong. Raya and him cut and cleaned the boar. They hung its body up by tying a strong vine around its hind legs several meters away from the flames draining the blood.
It took all three to pull it up after throwing the vines over a strong limb where they tied it to the base of a tree. Damon cleaned the meat with his rain and washed the skin thoroughly before hanging it near the fire to dry.
"You're going to wear that thing as well, hell you're going to weigh yourself down too much to do anything. " Jasper spoke placing meat on a thin wide slab of stone that was placed over the fire.
"No, well not all of it, im going to make a bag, then a cloak with the rest. We should cook a good amount of meat to carry with us, we're going to have to keep it covered for it to last a few hours." He responded getting to work.
"You sure you weren't a leather worker before getting snatched up by that big greasy bastard." Jasper asked.
"I have no clue what that is."
"Its someone who makes clothing and accessories out of animal skin. Its not many of them around anymore since technology has taken over in that department." Raya said shifting her legs towards the fire.
"By the way, count me in with the next beast crafting session. A cloak would be nice, she added looking at her torn and battered shirt. It was almost to the point her chest was exposed. A rip that begun near stomach was gradually going up.
"You too." Jasper exclaimed. He then paused while adding. "Well you are a girl, a real man can be bare chested all he wants."
Damon shook his head before responding. "Well, real man. Lets see how long it takes you to reconsider those words."
"Is that another challenge?"
"You Damn right it is."
"Hmph, a real man never backs down." Jasper said puffing out his chest before gesturing a handshake to seal the bet.
After a full meal, Damon volunteered for first watch, Raya was several feet away from the fire curled up at the base of a tree. He watched her thinking about the hug. Looking at jasper who was sprawled out like a starfish with his mouth wide open. He chuckled and shook his head.
Damon thought about how much he had changed in such a short time, Raya and Jasper was the sole reason. He considered them friends, he didn't know exactly when they had become his friends but felt it was so with every fiber of his being.
"Jaspers amazing, he'll be a strong awakened soul one day and so will Raya, she's impressive without an ability. " he thought.
"Will i slow them down, do I have what it takes to keep up." He thought twisting his lips nervously.
Giving himself a light smack against his head, he straightened up. " I do have what it takes, if my ability is trash than ill have to rely on strengthening my body and mind. I can also use enchanted weapons one day. They're used all around, no matter how strong or weak a person is. " he thought.
"Heck, one of the toughest people in history had a weak ability, she endured it by obtaining a special weapon that complimented her power, or so it was said." He murmured to himself.
Letting his mind drift in ways he could improve his performance, a steady cold breeze swept through the area making Raya curl up more. Taking the cloak, he carefully placed it over her.
"A real man doesn't need warmth." He said with a smirk watching Jasper shift and curl into a ball.
A little time passed and Damon was preparing to wake up Jasper so he could get some rest when a chilling presence emerged. The air became colder and the fire suddenly dimmed down to a small flame. He could see the chilled air through every breath he took.
"What the...." he couldn't finish his thoughts as he slowly stood up cautiously looking around. He immediately called out to Raya and Jasper who didn't move an inch. Walking over, he touched and shook them to no avail. They're bodies felt frozen, not in a cold manner, but in the form of paralysis.
Chills crawled up his back, he felt as if someone was looking at him from the vail of darkness that covered the forest. An in depth silence had manifested around them. The nightly sounds of insects was absent and the air was like frozen waters.
Looking around, his eyes strained as he tried his best to locate the threat lurking in the shadows. After a quick scan, a feeling of sureness surrounded him. He couldn't see it, but for some reason he could tell something was just beyond one of the trees.
As if his intuition was right, emerging from the darkness was a pair of red pupils with a purple iris. Damon stumbled back nearly falling on to the low burning fire. Picking up a log from the fire, he waved it forward before stuttering words escaped his lips.
"St, sto, stop, dont come any closer." He shouted fearfully.
To his surprise, the eyes ceased from moving forward as if it was listening to his command, but what Damon heard next brought unimaginable fear. A double toned monstrous voice spoke with a low growl.
" what are you?" It asked making Damon legs tremble. It spoke low, but a dark vibration flowed with its words installing fear in its wake.
Damon said nothing, he couldn't. Fear kept him from whispering a single word. It wasn't until the ominous aura disappeared, only then did he find his tongue. It was clear whatever this being was, made it so he could speak a little easier.
"I, im Damon."
The eyes moved closer before the being spoke again. Damon couldn't hear a single step, no shuffling noises as it moved or nothing. It was like the eyes were floating in the vail of darkness.
"What are you, as in race." It asked, its double toned voice traveling through the trees.
Damon brows moved and furrowed in confusion. As far as he knew he was human, and so that's what formed from his lips.
"Impossible, you're able to move while in my presence, only my bloodline and a few races that doesn't exist anymore has ever been mobile while in my midst. You're something more than human, perhaps a new type of flesh, a superb rarity." It said, as if it was born from the darkness itself, multiple rows of sharp jagged teeth appeared gleaming with a vigorous, yet unsettling grin.
Damon stepped back in horror as his lower extremity began releasing a warm fluid that ran down his leg.
The grin disappeared and darkness returned where the mouth of the entity initially was, its eyes became fixed on Damon as if it wanted him on a deeper level. Damon could see its eyes were filled with a lusting pressure. It then shifted towards Raya, its smile returned along with a blood red and cloudy white liquid that seeped between its teeth.
Looking at Raya as well, Damon called out to her seeing she had moved from her previous position. Her eyes were still closed, but her body gradually moved as of she was fighting to wake up. Jasper was doing the same, his muscles bulged and veins sprawled throughout his arm as he too fought to wake up.
"Three ultra rare fruits, must resist, still not ripe. It said in a strange tone as if it was biting its tongue.
"Delicat, exquisite and superb." It said gaining its lustful composure as its eyes were set back on Damon. The eyes began moving backwards slowly and just before they disappeared. It winked at Damon as one last grin formed.
The air changed back to normal and the fire regained its well formed flames. The gasping of breaths made Damon turn to see Raya and Jasper visibly shaking with blood shot eyes while fighting to control their breathing.
"Raya, Jasper." He called out rushing over.
They both were breathing as if they had ran several kilometers straight, wheezing between breaths like they were having a asthma attack. Damon frantically talked to them over and over trying to calm them both. Little by little they're mood began to turn as their eyes cleared. The redness surrounding their eyes receded and only then were they able to calm themselves and think clearly.
"I saw it, I could see it all, everything." Jasper spoke softly grabbing Damon by his shoulder with lost wide eyes.
Raya grabbed her hair after pulling her knees towards her chest. She mumbled to herself and rocked back and forth with tears running down her face.
Damon stepped back looking at them with watery eyes. His throat was tight, he tried forcing himself to speak, but it all came out cracked and sounded like gibberish. Shaking his head, he gathered himself.
"Raya, Jasper, what did you see?"