Colors of Remnant

Another day of successful racketeering had been just about finished, escaping just in time before the authorities arrived at the scene. Esmerelda weaved through backstreets and dingy alleyways until she was certain that the police had given up on the search. However, Esmerelda had lost herself in the vast network of alleys in the city of Vale. She had kept walking in hopes of finding a side street she was familiar with to no avail.

Fuck, I'm hopelessly lost here... Esmerelda thought to herself as she tried bringing up a map on her scroll. However, midway through finding directions, an unnaturally cold chill ran up her spine. She felt her pulse quicken, her palms slowly moistened with sweat, and her hair practically stood on end. Something wasn't right. She looked around to find the source of her anxiety.

Dammit, what the fuck is going on? Esmerelda mused, swearing her unease was making her see things.

A short bone, dry and red, spun between Timor's equally stained fingers.

Cities was perfect for him. Lots of corners and back alleys, buildings and walls and hallways to focus and block lines of sight. It broke up the screams, and those who overheard mostly pulled their coats in closer to them, shivered, and moved on. The place was rife with criminals afterall, it wasn't odd that someone was in trouble. That was the problem though, this city was rife with crime. And when what was left of his prey's bodies and bones were found it was blamed on them. While that was optimal if he was some sort of criminal, it was the worst for him. They feared the gangs and criminals instead of him! It would be so easy to paint their tag signs in blood, but he refused to be seen as part of them. He hated criminals as much as he appreciated their smokescreen.

Still, fear was fear...

His stomach rumbled. Thinking of the chase always made him hungry. His stores from the last victim had run out today, only giving him a light snack. It was time to eat. To hunt.

These rooftops were easily bound in silence. Gone were the days of thatch that creaked and shifted, in were the days of concrete and flat roofs. Streetlights and lampposts flashed by as he searched. Someone old, someone sick, someone... Like this lone little doe here.

Timor's smile was so wide it hurt wonderfully.

He moved closer, just a few buildings down from her and in the way of the moon. His black silhouette is all she would see as she turned to look around. As her eyes would find him he would only linger for a moment, then duck behind the low curb around the roof. He wanted her to see him, if only for a moment. Long enough to recognize someone was watching her, that they were hiding from her, and no other details. Imagination was the greatest source of fear.

Keeping low enough to be a spider, he slunk off the side of the building and slid down the wall, creeping closer to her...

SHITSHITSHIT! Esmerelda panicked as she locked eyes with... whatever it was that she saw. Instinctively and hastily, she reached for Pandemonium. She pointed the shotgun in the relative area she saw that thing and...

Just stood there, breathing quickly as her aim shakily remained on the same area down the alley. She had received a forewarning before she had the chance to fire, which would've ended very badly has she chosen to ignore it. It was strange, she had never felt so scared in this city before... Anyway, she had to gather herself and walk home. It was of no use to keep standing here. Esmerelda put away Pandemonium and set off on a route provided by her scroll.

It didn't help that the streetlights flickered on and off as she walked. Despite trying to mentally justify that it was probably nothing, her Semblance was persistently on red alert as she kept walking. As a result, Esmerelda was unable to calm down. Something behind you, something bad, can't kill it because it can and will kill you. That feeling was persistent in her mind as she picked up her pace a bit, hoping that whatever was behind her would just give up and leave her alone.

Oh this one was juicy! The fear radiating off of her was enough to warm him through the night. This feeling was probably the closest feeling Timor Inasis could get to attraction, something he chased with every encounter.

She must have already been paranoid, already been on the lookout for a stalker. Normally he liked to start things off slower than this, but he was fine diving into the main meat of the meal~

Following her was easy. Not only could he feel her, smell her, but she pulled out one of those new gadgets that made light. In a darkened city, that thing was a beacon. He couldn't have lost her if he tried.

So he followed behind her, keeping pace. Sometimes he'd come closer, scrap a nail against a pipe. Even closer, and let out a loud, exhaling breath. Then fall back and let out some tongue-clicks. There was no reason to reveal himself, no reason to harm her in any way. She hadn't fought back yet, proven herself beyond fear. No need to give her anything but reasons to fall to fright.

Esmerelda's unease and anxiety only grew as she continued walking. She wanted nothing more than to shoot at whatever was behind her, but There and Back Again did not agree. DO NOT FIGHT! DO NOT FIGHT! Esmerelda heard metallic scraping, tongue clicks, and breathing. She focused her Semblance on whatever was stalking her, but could not get any reliable information. She had to see the freak that was stalking her, and staying hidden from her only made her anxiety grow. Against her Semblance's judgement, Esmerelda reached for Pandemonium once more. She aimed at the darkened alleyway behind her, albeit shakily and unsteady.

"Who-whoever you are, f-fuck off! Th-this is n-not funny!" Esmerelda shrieked as she tried her best to pull the trigger, and...

STOP! DO NOT FIRE!

Esmerelda could not bring herself to pull the trigger again. Her knees felt weak, arms heavy, and her palms sweaty. All that she could do was start running away. She broke out into a full sprint, hoping that she could outrun the hidden stalker.

Everytime he had stared down the barrel the hand that held it always shook. Always, it was out of fear of him. Bullets were bad, generally speaking. But when you had Aura, and a strong aura like his own, bullets were an inconvinience.

The scared doe faced him, pointing her gun at him. She told him to go away, that this wasn't funny. But her eyes stared past him, the shadows fully cloaking his body. He waited and savoured the taste of this fear, wondering if she would ring the bell that signaled the end of the meal, or keep indulging him.

She chose the latter.

He let out an excited tongue-slobbering sound as he ran after her, crouched low and his arms swiping out wide as he ran, his bare feet slapping the pavement behind her. His blood surged and sang with the chase, the power in his calves and thighs as he ran after her, the song of blood and bone pounding in his ears! Yes, yes! Run forever, little doe!

Esmerelda looked back to see the thing that was chasing her. A pale, grotesque figure with a serpentine body clothed below the waist. This freak of nature seemed to be enjoying this a little too much. Esmerelda involuntarily shrieked upon seeing such a menacing sight keeping pace with her. She had to lose this... thing, and fast!

Esmerelda skipped forward in time five seconds, turning down a back alley and using her webs to propel her onto the roof of one of the nearby buildings. By skipping ahead in time and breaking his sightline, he would have lost sight of her without a clue of where she went. She stopped, figuring she had lost him. She held her hand to her mouth and tried to control her erratic breathing.

FUCKING HELL! What the FUCK was that?! Esmerelda thought sharply as she tried to regain composure over herself and her breathing, which approached hyperventilation after such a scare.

He could take her, one good leap and he'd have her! He could push his legs just a little faster and her screams would be in his ears! Oh but that would end the hunt too quickly, and he had just started! She was the best chase he'd had in weeks! He'd keep this going all ni-

Gone. Just gone. One second there, and then she simply wasn't. No theatrics, no smoke or lights, just... air. He took his last few steps and halted halfway under a yellow light hung outside an alleyway door. His body went still. Not still like people do, where they still shift slightly and breath, but still like a mannequin. His eyes scanned his peripheral and scanned, his ears were open and his nose smelt the air. The general smell of concrete and night, the smell of stale animal urine, the lingering smell of the woman's natural musk and adrenaline...

There it was, her smell. It was faint, but it was still present. His nose took in the air like an animal, slowly leading his head towards... the roof of that building. His body animated into motion once more, prowling forward to the corner. He spotted webs, trailing down from the rooftop. He stepped closer, nails making a small scratch against the bricks. He took the webs in one hand and brought it close, breathing it's scent in deep. Yes, this was hers...

Claws rasping on stone, Timor slowly crawled up the side of the building like a spider. Every movement sounded like a knife sharpening on a whetstone as he drew closer. The doe's smell was stronger now, she was right above this lip. He put one hand and his claws up, slowly, finger by finger, tapping down on the stone. "Thine smell..." He spoke, a voice of rotting flesh and old bones, "So good... Little Doe..."

Esmerelda screamed reflexively as the monstrosity climbed up onto the edge of the building, falling back onto her rear as she backed up suddenly. For the third time now, she reached for Pandemonium. A vision entered her head of her shooting this freakish monster, only to be savagely ripped apart in seconds. She was practically frozen in fear, unwilling to pull the trigger as her shaky aim remained on the freak of nature.

"What do you want, you freakish bastard?" Esmerelda growled, trying to wear a mask of bravery to conceal her fear and apprehension.

He pulled himself slowly, even as she screamed and backed up. His body slithered over the concrete, keeping low, hair and darkness hiding his eyes and facial features. He paused, that statue-stillness taking over once more as he was less than a foot from her.

His head tilted ninety degrees in a sudden snap. She hadn't pulled the trigger yet. Pointed it at him a few times, even now. But never shot at him...

"Not a one have restrained themselves as well as you have and asked the question. You are as interesting as you are delectable. I desire..." His stomach gurgled. "Well, I'm famished, and thee are worthy of a meal." From one hand he made a light flicking motion, and the bloody bone piece from his last victim would roll next to her arm. Along with his breath smelling like a slaughterhouse, he also had an odd accent, not really belonging to any of the kingdoms. "However I delight to see thine legs of yours spring in action..." One hand lifted and one of his long claws ran softly up the side of her calf. "Exercise and self-care are clearly of import to you... Why doth you refrain from pulling thine trigger? Surely I am a threat to thy survival~ Why don't thou strike me?"

Without a doubt, it was certainly strange to hear this... person speak. Esmerelda couldn't discern a place of origin from his accent, vocabulary, or diction. He seemed out of this world in more than a few regards, and yet, not too alien to be unbelievable. Esmerelda had to resist the urge to kick him as his claws ran up the side of her calf.

What. A. CREEP! Esmerelda thought as the stranger's claws ran up her calf. She shuffled back just a bit, just enough to keep his filthy claws away from her.

"Because I know what happens when I pull the trigger against someone like you..." she replied to the ghastly man. Remarkably, if Esmerelda can converse with him, she could probably reason with him.

"Anyway, if it's 'meals' you want," Esmerelda began, recoiling slightly from his abhorrent breath.

"I can work something out for you, if you'll hear me out... and not eat me." she concluded, hoping that the prospect of easy meals in the future would be enough for him to lend an ear.

His curious expression turned into a sour frown. "You seek to feed me? To appease me?" His tone got angrier and more vicious until he was spitting. "Oh thou must think so little of me, proposing that I don't enjoy my hunts!" In a flash his forehead was touching hers, his eyes beautiful and bright and so so insane.

"Ì̷͚'̴̻̿ḽ̸͊l̶̟̈́ ̴͍͑f̶͇̾e̴̕ͅe̶̥͝d̵̗̋ ̵͕̔ọ̵̈́n̵̜̚ ̵͔̅ẏ̷̥ơ̵̡u̶̦͠ ̵̬̀a̸̫͑ṅ̴̡ḏ̶͝ ̵̮̀w̷̛̮h̸̞͂o̸͕̅e̵̡̍v̴̧͆ê̴͈r̸̙͠ ̴̝̆Ȉ̸̭ ̶̜̐w̶͎̕í̶̮ş̷͝h̷̢̉ ̶̛̦ẇ̶̰h̵͈͠e̶̟̊n̴̼̔ ̸͓́y̷͈̍ó̴̲u̸͖͑ ̷͉̂b̶͚͊õ̴̩r̸̘̚ȅ̸̗ ̶̨̑m̴̜̍ȇ̵̮!̸͍̾"


A smear of red in her vision as he leapt over her to the edge of the building, then the next and next until he landed on a chimney. He was now a black silhouette against the silver moonlight. The figure's arms reached up, long thin claws fanning out one by one like the feathers on the wings of a great bird.

"MAKE SURE TO BE ENTERTAINING!"