Nightfall

"Okay. What would you say if I told you I had no name? Names are superficial things for me, but I'm sure you probably wouldn't appreciate the nicknames I would give you. For example, if your name wasn't Epsil, it would be Asshat. Fisher boy here would be Ugly Shirt, and our furry friend would be Fuzzy Ass." she said, obviously not intimidated by his tantrum. Height meant nothing to her. Demons could get taller than that. She didn't care about height.

She put the gun away. "I don't like people. I don't like demons. They all piss me off, especially now. I'll be hostile to whoever I damn well please, because I'd like to save my ass and in this world we live in, you can never tell friend from foe." A dark shadow wrapped around Epsil's ankle midstep, and she hoped it would make him fall. He needed to not be so arrogant. It would get her ever so closer to killing him or turning him into a vegetable, just to shut him up. "That was for trying to intimidate me." she snapped when he fell.

 

The Fisher was quite liking the fact that he now had a few companions along with him, if only for a moment. Cal's comment on souls and soul-eating didn't seem to affect him much despite the fact that Cal admitted to almost killing him. Then the Huntress girl started getting snappy, which could have been avoided. Epsil tried to make things better but only made them worse in the process. The youngest one, also seemed less mature than others, but that probably had to do with age more than anything else. Fisher saw Epsil get tripped by a shadow and as the boy fell, caught him by front of his shirt before he hit the ground and quickly hauled him back upright. "Well, now that we've all kind of met each and made introductions we should be off, or at least I need to be. There is a large and ugly greater demon that needs to be killed before it kills too many people. So, unless you want to stay here and get discovered during the fighting we must be. He's actually following me due to him being angry over a broken horn and missing wing. I'm going to ambush him at a river just north of us on a bridge. If you're joining me come along, otherwise, I bid you a sweet goodbye." And with that, the Fisher continued his walk north.

 

Cal sighed, he found himself getting tired of the girl's company, nor did he find any amusement in the nicknames she planned to give him. He was however appreciative that everyone was still accepting of him. He listened to Hasta's remark about himself and duck fetuses, giving a slight chuckle.

He considered saying something to the Girl, but decided not ranting, he wasn't one to get angry anyway. “It's OK – I don't think you need to worry about me eating your soul – being that nasty has got to make you as empty as your head...” He scratched behind his ears for a moment, not understanding why the girl had such resentment, but continued to follow them regardless. “And if you don't like people – why are you here? Your free to walk away – but you're also free to dislike me – but don't think for a second I'm just going to let you die, you've done nothing against me save saying a few harsh words and hollow threats at gunpoint mixed with little more than tripping someone for amusement – man, people in school used to do that shit – grow up...”

Taking a breath, he replied to Epsil. “I... never said there weren't black and white... I just said I had trouble eating white ones. I've never eaten a grey soul – or anything else along the integer of redemption versus damnation... That's not to say I wouldn't wonder – my mother always did tell me to try new things.” He said sarcastically with a friendly pat on Epsil's shoulder.

Cal heard the fisher begin talking about a greater demon he had to slay some distance ahead, and smiled. “You can count me in – I haven't eaten in a few days if you know what I mean.” Cal looked to his hand, remembering the Coke he still carried. He no longer felt inclined to drink it anymore, it seemed such a small salvation compared to the friends he was now surrounded with, and figured dumping it could be a waste considering the few people that surrounded him may want a drink. “Anyone want a drink of this before we get walking, I'm getting tired of carrying it – so if no-one wants any, I think I'll just dump it.”

 

Hasta sighed and glanced at the irritable girl. "Well then, Anon," he said, trying not to laugh, "would you please not try to kill us for a while and help us deal with Fish-guy's demon problem?" He jumped to his feet and stretched. He kinda wished that the other children were closer to them now. He could lead them to the demon and that would be his problem dealt with. Of course, they wouldn't be useful in actually fighting it, since they weren't allowed to fight back...

He ran after Fisher and slowed down to meet his pace once he caught up with him. Hasta began to search through his bag, finding a slingshot and a boomerang. Not as good as a gun, but Hasta knew how to fight with them.

 

"Anon? Where the hell did that come from? I don't like it very much." She made a face at the Hasta boy, and glared at Ugly Shirt for not letting Asshat fall like she wanted, but perked up immediately once killing demons were mentioned. She pulled her gun out again. "But I do like killing demons. That ALWAYS makes me happy. Let's go."

She ran after Ugly Shirt with a bit more of a bounce in her step. She did love a good fight, and Greater Demons brought it. Plus, fighting with these guys seemed like it could bring some additional fun. She approved of it. For now. Hell, once she saw them fight, maybe she'd let them stick around. Ugly Shirt seemed a little fun. Asshat not so much. But the opportunity of getting in a few punches at him was calling her nonexistent name.

 

"Well, you obviously haven't come up with anything better," Hasta said, sticking his tongue out at Anon childishly. "It's better than calling you 'Crazy Violent Girl' all the time. Or would you prefer that?" He quickly grew tired of walking and began to float off the ground, matching Anon's height. He sat cross-legged in the air, floating next to her. The boomerang and slingshot began to float around as well, with the boomerang making wide circles around the little boy.

He glanced at Cal and his Coke. "Can I has a sip?" he asked innocently. "There's nothing weird in it, right?" He was told never to accept a drink from anyone unless he saw them pour it, but caffeine and sugar was good. Okay, maybe not really.

 

Cal turned to Hasta with a smile, content knowing he wasn't about to waste a perfectly good drink. He knew how rare good food and drink as in the wasteland – although in reality, he had no biological use for it, it was all taste for him. He took a few steps sideways until he was beside Hasta, but remained close enough to be inside the orbit of this weapons – making sure he wasn't going to be beaned in the head and spill the drink. ”I won't lie, it isn't clean – but its drinkable. A few cooties and maybe a few grains of sand – otherwise good though – here, have the rest if you like.” He held out the capless glass bottle, the dark brown liquid swaying gently inside. There was no fizz as it was completely flat – but it was a sign of friendship nonetheless.

He cocked his head towards the Fisher and Epsil with a raised eyebrow. ”So, what's your relationship with that greater – or 'Big-Bitch' as you say. Revenge? Sport? Cause I sure as hell haven't fought a greater – just some crazy-ass humans who took one too many shots at me... Poor bastards” He finished his speech with a regretful tone tilting his muzzle down.

 

"I don't know about Epsil's greater," began the Fisher, "But as for my prey, it isn't sport. Nor is it revenge. I'm hunting it because it needs to be killed for the greater good of those still alive to live. The greater I'm tracking attacked me in the night and destroyed my home. Bad idea for it. I know it killed a few people south of me as well because I could see the fire of their building down the beach. They were good people." The Fisher continued to saunter along, questioning just how good an old bottle of coke could actually be. It was definitely flat but he supposed the sugar in it made up for the lack of fizz. "Epsil, I believe it is your turn to share your tale about Big Bitch as you say. And don't spare any details my friend."

 

"Ta," Hasta cheered as he accepted the drink. He quickly downed half of it, apparently oblivious to its somewhat odd taste. You can't be picky during the apocalypse. He began to float a bit closer to the ground and his boomerang moved at a much slower speed. He finished the rest of it while listening to the older boys' stories, occasionally taking small sips while he maintained the most hilariously bored and stoic expression on his face.

As he listened, he saw how similar the two stories were to his own, except the people he were with weren't necessarily good and the demons weren't necessarily his enemy. That didn't mean that he was on the demon's side, mind you; they were the enemy of his enemy although they were certainly not friends.

He sighed, sat up, and began to swing his legs like he was sitting in an invisible chair. "Are we there yet?" All this talk about demons was making him restless. It was either that, or the Coke. He swung the empty glass bottle around violently, although he was careful not to hit his allies.

 

Cal nodded slowly at Epsil's story. It wasn't a particularly nice was – and that was putting it lightly. He thought about responding but thought it was best to just keep silent and make their way towards whatever deserved the death they would bring it.

Cal thought it ironic that they called it 'big-bitch' yet by the way Epsil described it, it was not all at weak or anything else the old world considered 'being a bitch.' Sure it had a temper, but it wasn't particularly unique – however it did sound big, very big. As he walked, Cal brought his shotgun back behind his head, resting both ends on his shoulders as he wrapped his paws around, getting a better grip. He walked purposefully and smiled when he saw Hasta enjoying his drink. It was such a small thing, but a sign of trust is a good one, especially out here.

Suddenly, a quick sharp pain shot from Cal's midsection into his esophagus, causing him to double over and wretch what appeared to be a dry, gray, sandy material, leaving a light spot of dirt below his muzzle. The black wolf coughed a few times, spitting out what remained of whatever it was that was inside him and cursed. “Jesus fuck-- don't start this shit now.” A streak of blue-black liquid dribbled out of his nostrils and down to his chin, making little black drips on the sandy substance causing a strange reaction forcing the black blood to boil instantly and fade away, leaving a foul smell of decay in the air.

Cal didn't stand. Instead, he slowly brought one knee up and rested his arm against it, and dropped his shotgun in annoyance, pointing to the gray dust. “That's what happens when you don't have a soul – when they say: 'return to dust' during holy rites – this is the shit they're talking about. So technically, I'm already dead. Read the history books, I'm one of those old vampire things – drinking blood is just something stupid people made up to make it seem more appealing...” He forced himself to take a breath. “I... I'll be with you guys in a minute – just a little dizzy. Hard to keep my body from reaching out to you guys... but I'll manage.”

 

She looked at the wolf in disgust. "That is vile." she said irritably regarding the retching. Then the smell reached her nose, and it immediately wrinkled. "And that is disgusting. You can walk on the other side of Fisherboy here. I'd rather not have my soul be eaten only to have it puked up on the ground. And I'd rather have you not spill your guts on me. If you did, I'd have to kill you again and burn my clothes with your body. Took me three weeks to get this outfit together. I don't give a rat's ass if you're a dead man walking. I'll happily kill you as many times as I need to get you to stay dead." Her disgust turned to a glare, showing that she meant her words.

 

Hasta forced himself to look away; the sight of watching Cal vomit was nauseating. He instead began to stare blankly at the rim of the Coke bottle.

He couldn’t hear the footsteps until Epsil pointed it out. The sound of laughter was still ringing in his ears, even though it was still miles away, but the sound got on his nerves. He dropped his legs and fixed his posture so he was standing and plucked his boomerang out of the air. The first things he saw were the masks and he immediately got into the defensive. They weren’t anything like the ones those kids wore, but that didn’t mean they weren’t from a cult or something as well.

Hasta listened carefully to their conversation and only let his guard down after he heard they were hunting a demon. Definitely not from the Yellow Sign. But the masks still unnerved him.

 

The Fisher was fascinated by the fact that Cal vomited sand. He had never seen anyone throw up sand before, but that was probably because he hadn't met another being that ate demon souls. While concern for Cal was high it was quickly out weighed by two masked people with a weapon pointed at Epsil. The five could probably take on the two so long as the two didn't have powers that could devastate the area around them. The Fisher lay down and put his ear to the ground, he could hear heavy footfalls coming from over a mile away, and they were coming fast. "Hey guys, we should probably get to that bridge now. My dear little friend is about to show up and crash our party and I can't tell how many dear little friends my dear little friend is bringing along." He didn't wait to hear what anyone else said because he had already started running full speed towards the bridge. It would be easy for him to kill just about anything so long as he was on that bridge. It was something he had always wanted to try, and hopefully it would work.

 

Cal folded his ears back as he had to listen to more bitching coming from his favorite downer. ”Thanks for the compliments Wendy Whiner, I'll remember that the next time I'm feeling hungry, besides, you have to sleep sometime."He gave a witty smile as he stood up, taking the shotgun with him as he toted it with his left hand. ”And no thank you Epsil, though I appreciate the offer, I only barfed out my appendix I think – useless anyway.”

Cal took a few steps as Epsil and the strange masked humans spoke. It was clear that they were no threat – at least, not right now, but Cal remained suspicious. To him, wearing a mask conceals someone's identity, and while allowing from some escapism and anonymity, it allowed for someone to feel a sense of distance from less-than-good intentions. ”If you're hunting Demons, just leave me all the food and we'll get along just fine.”

Then, Cal heard dinner calling – a big dinner. His eyes lit up, the silver within began to glow spontaneously as Cal listened to fisher, and cracked a smile. ”Think you said, 'dear little' enough? Either way, I prefer 'all you can eat buffet' only, with a lot less MSG.” Then, suddenly Cal walked over to Epsil, pulling his Punisher shirt over his head and handing it to Epsil. ”I'm probably going to transform, and I want something to change into after, It may seem strange now, but If I change while clothed, they'll get wrecked, and I'll be walking around naked – figured I save you all from that, however you'll have to deal for a few seconds.”

He tossed the shirt onto Epsil's head playfully, hoping his musky smell wasn't too much, as he undid his belt and  dropped his pants. ”Anyone who's offended by dick, look away now, in other news, I'm going to become a monster – so don't shoot me... - I'm talking to you Wendy...” With that, Cal stripped, allowing for easier transformations, and giving him something to change into later.

Cal looked into the distance, towards the sound of heavy footfalls, a small amount of red light seeming to emanate from under his chest. ”Osunat!” In his quick outburst of the name, he clutched his chest, almost dropping to his knees in pain as he let out a final cry. ”RRRRRAAAAUGH!!!”

In an explosion of fire and red light, Cal was transformed, leaving a could of gray smoke where he once stood. As the smoke cleared, a hulking creature with a semi-lupine head stood. It had leathery skin with small patches of fur on its back and face. It eyes glowed orange, revealing a baleful intelligence. It had long, razor-like claws and teeth, standing at least eight-feet.

Osunat's ears shot forward at the sound of the greater demon's footfalls, and it began sprinting on all fours, rushing towards the sound without hesitation – it was very hungry...

 

She groaned at the new transformation of Wolfboy. Of COURSE he was doing something new. Eating souls, walking around in a wolf's body, turning into a fiery monster... was there anything else this guy could do? And here he mentioned he just barfed out his appendix. Once he ran off, she snapped. "Oh my FUCKING GOD! Is there ANYTHING that he can't do? 'Oh yeah, let me just casually puke my appendix out and go eat some demon shit!' Repulsive creature, I don't understand a lick of him. She yanked his shirt off of Epsil's head and threw it on the ground, leaving it behind as she walked after the creature.

"Also, you two new kids' masks make me uncomfortable. You should take them off. They're unnecessary." she called back with a wave of her hand. "And my name isn't Wendy."

 

Hasta blinked in surprise at Cal's rather flashy transformation. The deafening cry he made almost made the poor boy soil his pants, but he managed to control his bowels. It wasn't scary, per say, rather, quite surprising. But if that caused that sort of reaction in him, Hasta had no idea how he could fight the Greater. He rolled his eyes as he heard Anon whining about Cal and had to resist the urge to knock her over with his boomerang. She strode away to where Cal and Fisher went off to and the kid sighed. He glanced at the two masked ones. "Don't mind Anon, she's a bitch. No one really likes her." Although, he did agree with her when it came to the masks, but he thought saying that out loud would be a bit rude.

He gave the masked duo a nod before speeding towards the bridge, passing Anon by the way. He stayed behind Cal, mostly out of fear of what would happen if he were to get in the wolf man's way.