Just a little snack

Edmund stalked through the grass, enjoying the sensation of earth under paws. It was something he was still growing used to, but the Ancient already loved his new form. After his meeting with Jude, he'd begun his path out of Torchline. He needed to prepare himself for his return. And that took thought and patience. Leaving was hard, but he needed to become powerful enough to protect his family. At the moment he was a burden, not an asset. The molten tiger froze midstride as a familiar sensation bubbled beneath the surface of his skin. Again? it seemed his bloodlust had yet to settle into a regular pattern, his body still adjusting to it. But the need was small now, likely weeks away from reaching the same point as it had days prior. The tiger sat and considered his options. He could wait till the bloodlust was stronger. Or maybe he could act now while it was minimal. It wasn't even clouding his thoughts. Tasting the air, he caught the scent of shore birds and flicked his tail in thought. He was a bit hungry. Might as well kill two birds with one stone. Following the scent, the molten tiger soon came upon a small group pecking at the sand and catching crabs. Crouching into the tall grass behind a dune, he slowly crept forward and waited. When one bird got close enough, he pounced. It was easy, too easy. But as he took his first bit of his snack, the bloodlust faded once more. Edmund the prince of torchline

The killing game was hard.

She needed practice.

Trinket walked along the beach, dragging her doll by its arm. In her other hand, she held a small dull bread knife. She'd decided to keep one of the silverware pieces shed taken from the restaurant in Torchline. It barely had an edge to it, being meant as simple tableware. But she could use it to play the game.

She walked along until she found some crabs crawling along the beach. Crabs had shells. They would probably be harder to kill than a fish had been. It would be good practice for the game.

She set her doll down and commanded it to stand watch. The little doll stood up straight, folding it's porcelain arms. Its head rotated in a complete circle, then back again, glass eyes scanning the area.

Trinket crouched down next to a crab. She tilted her head to one side. Studied the crab. It scurried back and forth, clacking its claws at her. She had never been pinched by a crab before. She reached out a hand towards the crab. She held still, waiting.

The crab inched closer. Trinket moved her hand closer towards it.

The crab snapped its claw down on her hand, pinching her skin tight. She registered the pain, but showed no reaction. Not a flinch, not a cry, nothing. The grab might as well have been holding a doll's porcelain hand.

She stood up, crab still dangling from her hand by the death grip it had on her flesh. She eyed the crab from one side, then another. She began poking it with her knife, trying to decide the best place to pierce the crab's shell...

Edmund glanced up just in time to see a child walk by with a doll that swiveled its head. A slight shiver went down the teen's spine. Now that was just creepy. And her lack of reaction to what was probably painful was even more concerning. The Ancient wasn't sure what to think. This wasn't bloodlust, and the child didn't look malnourished so it likely wasn't hunger. But she was clearly hunting. And Edmunds' big brother instincts kicked in seeing her struggle. The molten tiger stepped out from behind the dune, feathers and blood still on his muzzle. Yet he let out a chuff in greeting before walking forward until he was just a few feet away. As a crab skittered past him, Edmund caught it with his large paw. Glancing at Trinket, he turned it on its back before driving a claw in-between the fissures surrounding the abdomen, where the legs attached. Once the claw was deep enough, the crab slowed the flailing of its legs. Curling his claw downward, he peeled off the plate in the center of its stomach and with a quick jab to the center, killed the crab. Glancing back up at the child, the tiger nodded. Edmund the prince of torchline

Trinket watched without fear or expression as the molten tiger approached. She knew of such creatures, but she had never met one before. She watched its movements, studying every motion of every molten muscle. Curious. She wondered if it might try to kill her and eat her. Curious indeed.

Unexpectedly, the tiger reacted passively, slowly and meticulously killing a crab. She watched carefully, seeing the point where the tiger's claw penetrated the shell. Interesting. She noted the lesson well.

It was at the tiger's simple nod that she deduced it must have been a shapechanger. Molten tigers, according to the knowledge she'd been given, should not show signs of human intelligence. Curious.

Her focus, however, remained on the crab, which still dangled by its claw from her hand. She turned her hand this way and that, looking for a place to pierce the shell. She twisted her hand around so she could grab the shell in the same hand the crab was clamped down on. She registered an increase in pain, but still showed no outward sign of it.

She raised the knife and pressed the tip of the blade in the same place the tiger had with its claw. She pushed the blade as hard as she could, but it was hard to do. She jabbed at the shell a few times, unable to pierce the shell.

She paused for a moment, silently considering the best solution. Then a thought occurred to her.

She held the knife's edge up to the crab, then commanded it to cut. The knife moved back and forth in her hand, slowly digging its blade into the shell. Too slow. Cut faster she commanded it. The knife picked up speed, moving faster than she could have done with her own bare hands.

It still took some time, but soon the crab stopped moving. It went limp, the claw releasing her hand. The crab fell to the ground.

Trinket looked at her hand. She was bleeding. Curious. She had never bled before. She watched the trickle of blood oozing from the punctures in her skin. Studied each drop as it fell to the sand. Watched it closely as the deep red of the blood was reflected in her glassy black eyes.

Curious indeed.

The molten tiger rumbled in approval as Trinket used his lesson and problem-solved her way into killing the crab. The fact that she did so without holding the knife was noted but the former Abandoned had seen such magic before and assumed it was telekinesis. Edmund was greatly concerned by the child's lack of reaction to harm. The fact that she bled red meant she wasn't an Ascended who lacked pain receptors. Did she not feel it? Or did she just not care? The piercing cut wasn't deep thankfully, the crab too small to do such damage. But it did still need tending to. The molten tiger looked around in frustration, there was nothing usable. His Aunt Ray had taught him that although saltwater was good for cleaning wounds, using the ocean could make the injury grow infected. His ears flicked back in distress as he glanced at Trinket's bleeding hand. He didn't know what to do. No, he did know. With his paw he swiped the sand until he had a clear surface. And then taking his claw he slowly began to write. Gods he hoped she could read. 'Lunarium Apothecary'. He nodded towards the Haulani, urging Trinket to go there. Edmund the prince of torchline

Trinket watched in curiosity as the tiger wrote with its claw in the sand. Most definitely a shapechanger. Surely molten tigers could not write.

She read the name in the sand. An apothecary. She knew of it, at least, the name was included in the knowledge she'd been given. She knew the name of every place in Torchline. But what she did not know was how to navigate the streets. Her knowledge included the sight of the city from above, like looking down at a map. She could use that knowledge to make her way to any large landmarks or notable locations. But simply knowing the apothecary was a place in Torchline, knowing which side of the city it was on, did not mean she could figure out how to get there. The twisting streets and canals of Torchline required more than knowledge to navigate. They required experience. Experience she did not have.

"Show me," she said, pointing at the words in the sand. A few drops of blood dabbled down onto the sand. Then she pointed towards the city. "Show me how to get there."

She waited, still dripping little drops of blood onto the sand, for the tiger to respond.

Edmund shook his head at Trinket's request. He couldn't go back to the city. His letter would be found soon, and it wouldn't surprise him if his mum sent out a search party. The people of Torchline knew what their prince looked like, he'd be recognized instantly and what he'd become would get back to his mum before he was ready to tell her. It just wasn't time yet. Even if the Ancient kept to his molten tiger form, any Attuned would be confused as to why the 'clearly a shifter' wasn't responding to the bond. It'd be suspicious, especially since most Attuned capable of such a powerful shift were either known or noted. Edmund just couldn't risk any of it. Instead, he shook his head again and stood up. Doing a loop, he got behind Trinket and gently nudged her back with his nose, urging her towards the city. This was a journey that the demigod would have to take without him. Edmund the prince of torchline

Trinket frowned ever so slightly when the tiger nudged her. She was not used to being touched. It was unpleasant.

She looked back at the tiger, curious about its behavior. Clearly intelligent, clearly a shifter of some kind. Yet unwilling to lead her where she needed to go.

Curious.

Yet of no concern. She simply gave the tiger a tiny nod. "Very well," she said. She took her doll by the hand and turned towards Torchline. She started walking along the beach, dragging her doll behind her, the doll's porcelain feet leaving little trails in the sand. A few drops of blood dripped from her hand and dotted the sand red, though before long the bleeding stopped as the blood began to clot. By the time she returned to the city, she had completely forgotten about the cut, the pain faded, the need to care for her body faded from her mind. Instead she began searching the faces of the people she passed, looking for someone interesting.

She found a man with a worried look in his eyes. She stopped before him. She stared into his eyes. He looked at her nervously. He seemed unsettled by her, for some reason.

In a quiet voice she asked him, "Do you want to play a game?"

{end}