Why could she not stay dead?Desya’s thoughts echoed in Kira’s mind endlessly. Her psychic connection to him had not been broken when the thought had entered his mind, and now it tormented her. Though he had spared her, his thought felt like he had driven a dagger straight through her heart. For two years she had not been aware that her heart could still feel the things that humans did so frivolously, but now it was painfully clear. Her heart ached as she watched him leave, as if he had ripped it from her chest and walked away with it, squeezing as hard as he could.
She stayed there for a while after the sound of the carriage faded into the distance, sitting on her knees where he had left her. She listened to the nearby chirping of crickets and the rustling of leaves in the wind, gazing up at the full moon above while her mind replayed his words in her mind. Why hadn’t he just killed her?
Finally, refusing to let herself cry, Kira stood up and tried to steel her heart against the pain. Her former lover had clearly moved on, and she needed to do the same. She was no longer the person he had known, and he was no longer the person she had known either.
Forcing her legs to move, Kira walked aimlessly deeper into the forest. Thoughts of hunger had dissipated, overshadowed by the ache in her heart. Her mind raced with questions she had tried to ignore for two years. What had become of Desya’s life after she had turned? Did he look for her when her death was announced? Did he find someone new? Start a family? Did he ever think about her at all? The life she had tried to let go of was suddenly right back in her face. Why?
“Why, Seluna?” she whispered aloud, stopping in the middle of a small forest clearing and sitting on the ground, her back resting against a fallen log. She gazed up at the moon again, feeling too emotionally exhausted to keep moving. Perhaps she would stay here for a while. It was cold, but not cold enough to kill a blight-born. Not yet.
Pulling her knees up to her chest, Kira hugged her legs and rested her forehead on them. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on the sounds of the forest instead of the disdain in Desya’s thoughts. He hated her. Her eyes began to well with tears.
Before she could start sobbing, Kira heard the crunching of snow and a low, happy voice singing something in the distance. Snapping her head up toward the sound, she quickly wiped her eyes and pulled her cloak hood over her head. From the tone of the voice and the slight trembling of the ground as he drew nearer, she knew it was Ivor approaching.
Rising to her feet, Kira dusted herself off and began walking toward the road that led to Dawnhaven, where she had found Desya. She wasn’t eager to talk, though she was certain Ivor would have noticed her by now as well.
Ivor found himself once again outside of Dawnhaven’s walls and only so soon after arriving. It was only fair that given the damages and distress that he caused earlier in the day that he procure materials to fix the Beholder’s front door. Despite the agreement he made with Sya to give her the stag kill, along with several rabbits, the compensation didn’t sit right with the giant. So here he was on this
magical winter night,hatchet in hand and a song in his heart, Ivor the wild made his way deeper and deeper into the woods. He’d seen the several light sources of what appeared to be a traveling caravan off in the distance, but paid it no mind as he had other priorities that warranted his attention; namely a new door.
Not long after passing the caravan he found a spot where some kind of scuffle occurred. There was no visible blood and nothing metallic hung in the air, just signs of movement, two sets of footprints side by side in front of a large space; had someone fallen? To their knees perhaps… Those same footprints turned back towards the main road; the caravan that passed by? A third set seemed to haphazardly meander deeper into the woods. Regardless of anything that he could discern, the strangest was how everything seemed to almost appear and originate in this spot, almost as if it poofed into existence. Either way, the unknown set of footprints was a mystery Ivor couldn’t help but be curious about, and if luck would have it, he might even find the right tree for Sya’s door.
The entire time he tracked Ivor didn’t let up on his song, the gravelly tune of his people, spoken in his native tongue, reverberated through the tree trunks. Whoever was out here, he wanted them to know he was coming and that, ideally he was friendly. If they didn’t want to be found, they could obviously flee, but it didn’t take long for him to find the source of the footprints. Despite her cloaked appearance, fiery shades of her hair and the piercing crimson gaze that accompanied it gave way to the familiar blightborn underneath. Even if the physical features weren’t apparent, an odd benefit about becoming a blight born, was that it made him acutely more aware of other blightborn. A small smile crept on Ivor’s lips as he hefted the hatchet over his shoulder.
“Hello, Ms. Kira! Good to see you! What brings you out into these neck of the woods so late?” The giant asked, delighted to use a reference so accurately, even if the question came off somewhat inquisitorial.
“Evening, Ivor.” She greeted, pausing in her path to Dawnhaven as she tried to push her thoughts of Desya to the recesses of her mind.
“Hunting.” She answered his question, which was true, until she had tried to hunt the Priest of Seluna. She almost turned to walk away again, but a nagging thought reminded her that she needed to eat—lest someone in Dawnhaven wake up with her fangs in their neck.
“What about you?” she asked, her orange eyes finding the hatchet he held over his shoulder. Not a typical hunting weapon.
The giant followed her gaze to his hatchet before returning back to her with a sheepish grin.
“Logging, er…I broke Miss Sya’s door…I believe Miss Eris said it was not..subtle.” he nodded remembering the word right,
“I wish to right the wrongs I have done, but hunting, ahhh…” he trailed off as his gaze wandered the woods, sharp and stoic.
“Hunting..has been difficult, the coming cold is making it harder and the blight does not make it any easier.” As he scanned the horizon his eyes burned like fire, a remembrance of the hardships his village faced, the famine and disease, the pyres filled with starved corpses. Ivor hadn’t gotten a chance to tell the prince yet just how little he had found or how there soon may be nothing left. Dragging himself back to reality, he turned his eyes down towards the smaller blightborn, a small reassuring smile on his lips; an offer,
“Allow me to assist you, they say after all two eyes are better than one, yes?” He hesitated slightly afterwards, counting off his fingers before shaking his head; better to worry about filling his companions belly than proper colloquialisms.
Kira nodded in agreement as Ivor commented on hunting. He wasn’t wrong—even she had noticed the animals becoming scarcer as the days grew colder. It worried her about the harshest winter temperatures ahead. How would she sustain herself when all that was left were the humans in Dawnhaven?
“And four eyes are even better.” she said with a half-smile, endeared by his struggle with the common tongue.
“I’d like that, thank you.” She decided to abandon her retreat back to Dawnhaven for now. It was better to hunt while she still could, and Ivor was providing a necessary distraction for her. She did not want to see Desya in the village again—not so soon, anyway.
“You’ve gotten much better with your language since we met.” She commented, recalling barely understanding him when she first came to Dawnhaven.
“The sage must be a good teacher.”Moving closer to Ivor to begin their hunt together, Kira wondered how he managed to hunt so well. The man was monstrous in size, and his very steps would alert creatures to his presence. Her method of hunting relied on stealth, but he clearly had other talents.
“Hah! Very good, jabool,” Ivor didn’t mask his emotion, however he knew well enough to keep his voice low, lest he scare whatever potential wildlife there may be. Now with a new purpose, Ivor’s footfalls almost seemed to lighten in the snow as his eyes sharpened into a hawk-like gaze. Though he wasn’t nearly as quiet as the crimson wraith beside him, the earth rumbled less in his wake.
“You think so?” He smiled at the compliment,
“it was…is, difficult to learn, but Miss Eris, she has been very patient with me, she takes all the time in the world to explaining everything.” He remembered first coming to her at the Prince’s request, how most everything for the first two weeks was just pointing.
“She was scared at first, of me I think, but we have become good friends, this I feel.”As they walked and spoke quietly amongst one another, a familiar marking caught Ivor’s attention. The two found themselves in front of a particularly tall pine tree, Ivor approached it’s base, scraping off a brown substance from the bark with his fingers. Pressing the rancorous filth to his nose, the scent was all too familiar as he inhaled deeply.
“There is boar in these woods,” a smile as he wiped the excrement on his clothing.
“This is good find, he was not here before.” Ivor’s eyes scanned the environment, looking for any signs of the creature,
“There,” he pointed,
“the trees will show the way, see the scratch markings? This will not be only way, hoof tracks, crushed plants and grass; all lead to boar.”Kira followed Ivor’s lead, studying the way he observed things. She had been a hunter all her life, but her prey had always been humans, not animals. Admittedly, she had not attempted to hone her animal hunting skills much in the last two years since becoming blight-born. However, as the days grew colder and distant military patrols became scarcer, this skill was becoming more necessary.
“Impressive. I should always come to you when I need a bite to eat…” She whispered back to him playfully, though it was only half a joke. He was already much more successful at this than she had been earlier in the day. If they managed to catch it, the boar would be able to satiate her for an entire day.
Gesturing toward the path that the boar was leaving, Kira nodded to Ivor to continue leading the way. Grabbing the dagger strapped to her side, she prepared to seize any opportunity the boar might give them for a fatal blow.
Ivor smiled sincerely at his compatriot,
“Come anytime at all, Miss Kira.” The two moved forwards through the underbrush, searching for any signs for the position of their quarry. It was amazing what just the environment itself could tell one about their prey. A broken twig meant something stepped there, parted grass showing the path it cut through, even the birds changed their tune to subtle disturbances.
Some half a kilometer or so, the boar presented itself. Haggard and starved it was pawing at the ground for what could have been the very last truffle of the forest. Regardless it was distracted, but outside of his hatchet, Ivor didn’t bring anything with him, not expecting the impromptu hunt. As the light of the moon glinted off Kira’s dagger, however, he was reminded of her speed and strength.
“If you are quick enough,” Ivor spoke in hushed tones,
“aim just behind its shoulders, you will be able to pierce both the heart and the lung.”Kira’s eyes met Ivor’s for a brief moment as he instructed her, a smirk slowly rising on her lips.
If she were fast enough. Ha!
In an instant, Kira ran from the brush and pounced on the boar before it could react.The kill was swift, her dagger striking precisely where Ivor had directed. The boar barely had time to squeal before its life ebbed away, and Kira held it until its legs buckled beneath it. Carefully, she guided it to the ground. She grinned at Ivor, proud of her accomplishment. It wasn't as exhilarating as hunting humans, but the prospect of a substantial meal tonight excited her nonetheless. That, and she realized that she missed being instructed to kill something, which was regrettable.
“Thank you for the help.” she said to him, holding the smile on her lips triumphantly. Ivor had helped her in more ways than he knew.
“You’re quite the tracker.” Kneeling beside the boar, Kira withdrew her dagger from the animal. Blood began to flow from its wound, causing her eyes to dilate. She glanced up at Ivor, a slight pang of embarrassment hitting her at that moment. She had not fed in front of someone like this before. Having someone witness her doing this made her feel like a feral beast.
Just as Desya had called her. Though Ivor was a blight-born, it still felt odd. He did not share the same type of affliction that she did.
“If you don’t mind, I…” she glanced at the blood, her fangs aching to sink into the boar.
“I haven’t eaten all day.”As if Ivor had loosed an arrow, Kira was upon the boar, a clean kill if he ever saw one and instantly the volume went up, “Yes! Very good!” The pride he felt in that moment very nearly mirrored hers. Yet as he approached her and the creature, the blood spilling from its wound, there was hesitation, doubt, maybe even fear in her gaze.
“Why is this? Was this not reason we hunt together?” The man lowered himself in front of her and the boar, legs criss crossed, his behind reverberating the ground as he plopped in place.
“We are friends, no? Friends, eat together,” he looked at the boar, its life fading rapidly and began inhaling. Soon a white mist emerged and found its way into Ivor’s gaping maw. Though it appeared he was breathing in air, it didn’t look as though his chest expanded until the mist entered his body, as if he finally caught his breath. Exhaling both a relief and a satisfaction, he extended his hand towards the boar in a gesture,
“please, eat.”Kira studied Ivor in silence for a moment, stunned by his comradery. He wanted to feed with her? This felt intimate in a way she hadn't experienced since her turning, perhaps even longer.
Friends? She pondered the notion, feeling an emotion stir within her that she could not yet recognize. Whatever it was, it made her heart ache—differently from the way Desya had.
“Friends.” she affirmed, a faint smile returning to her lips as she observed the mist seemingly drawn out of the boar and into Ivor’s body. It was fascinating to watch another type of blight-born feed, though her primal instincts quickly refocused her attention on the boar.
Leaning in, Kira’s fangs sunk into the animal's neck as easily as a hot knife through butter. Closing her eyes, she savored the taste and the rush of endorphins that surged through her body along with it.
As Ivor sat and watched Kira feast on the boar, he was reminded of his tribe. Some of the men from his village believed that eating the raw heart of a strong animal would lend them its strength. Ivor wondered how they would feel if they could consume an animal's soul. In essence there was no true power to be gained, just the strength to carry on and the memories housed within the meal consumed.
“I wonder something, Miss Kira…Do you…feel as I do?” The words were a bit difficult, that wasn’t quite what he wanted to say, but it was close.
“When I eat something, I feel…what they felt,” he nodded towards the boar,
“in its last moments of life, it felt..scared…I have been feeling this in many animals, everything is scared.”For a second, Kira almost ignored his question, her primal instincts urging her to continue feeding. Fighting against that urge, she forcefully pulled herself away from the boar and sat upright. Her eyes were fixed on Ivor again, her lips now stained crimson with fresh blood dripping down her face.
Kira furrowed her brow sympathetically as Ivor spoke, though she couldn't fully understand his perspective. She shook her head, wiping a drip of blood from her chin.
“No, I don’t feel anything from the animal…” She glanced at the creature, pondering why it had been frightened. It hadn't sensed their presence or known it was being hunted, as far as she could tell.
“It’s usually the opposite for me,” she explained, turning her gaze back to Ivor.
“I...” She hesitated, unsure of how to simplify her condition.
“I make them feel.” she gestured to her fangs,
“Poison. It makes people feel... happy.” she downplayed it slightly. The poison she could inject from her fangs made people elated and euphoric, but it could be lethal.
She looked back at the boar, licking her lips clean of any remaining blood.
“Do you know why it was scared?”“I see,” the response was somewhat deadpan, though Ivor wasn’t really sure what he was expecting for an answer. While blightborn were becoming more numerous, those who shared similar abilities were few and far between, especially those with abilities like his.
“If I had to be guessing, it is probably the blight,” he looked upon the animal’s remains,
“the cold makes food hard to find already, but if the blight poisons the only good soil around, it forces the animals to move outside of the normal hunting grounds.”Ivor moved towards the boar, running his hand along the side of it, feeling its ribs poking through its hide.
“A scared animal is a dangerous animal, it is best you put it down, otherwise it could have hurt someone.” Ivor sighed,
“I cannot blame them for being scared, I was too once; how could you not be afraid of something you do not understand?”Kira frowned as Ivor explained, her eyes looking over the creature. It was certainly skinnier than what a healthy boar should weigh, which was seeming more common in most of the animals Kira had been hunting down over the last two months. She suddenly felt guilty for stealing the life it had left.
How could you not be afraid of something you do not understand?His words lingered in her mind, tugging at her heartstrings. She no longer understood herself. Was she the scared animal that needed to be put down? She was dangerous and could hurt someone—that much was certain. She had nearly taken the life of their moon Priest and her former lover. She had been inches away from making one of the biggest mistakes of her life.
Snapping back to reality, Kira gently placed a hand on the boar and closed her eyes.
"Thank you for providing us with this meal. May the moon goddess guide you in the afterlife." she whispered, echoing a ritual she had seen small tribes perform during her missions.
Opening her eyes, Kira met Ivor’s gaze again.
“That must be difficult, to always feel what your meal felt right before death.” Her thoughts drifted to the humans she had hunted over the years—the terror they felt in their final moments. If she had been afflicted with Ivor’s condition, she likely would’ve preferred to starve.
Ivor smiled, appreciating her respect for the boar and concern for his well-being,
“It is not all so bad, sometimes taking on the bad helps us grow to be better.” He thought for a moment,
“It is not always easy, but life was already hard, how could I not expect new life to be just as hard!” Ivor laughed strong and hard, the sound echoing through the woods.
“I thank you, Miss Kira,” the giant gazed into her crimson eyes,
“we blightborn, may not be easy to understand, but I like to think, on nights like these, that we are all not monsters, that life here is possible, together.”Kira took a deep breath as Ivor spoke, trying to steady her fragile emotions that threatened to burst from her chest. She had already been in a vulnerable state when Ivor found her. The barrier she had worked so hard to build had been broken down, and he had caught her off guard. Of all the people she thought she’d allow herself to cry in front of, she never imagined it would be Ivor. Yet, tears began to well.
Feeling like something was caught in her throat, Kira remained silent for a few moments, averting her gaze to the frozen ground beneath them. She tried to think of anything but what he had said, but her mind had turned against her tonight.
we are all not monstersDid he truly believe that?
YOU ARE DANGER!The memory of Desya screaming at her with fiery hatred in his eyes flashed through her mind.
You do not belong in civilization. You belong to a class of undead that need to be eradicated.Kira closed her eyes tightly, as if she could shut off the torturous memories. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, silently she cursed herself and clenched her fists. Not here!
She took a trembling breath, overwhelmed by emotions she had tried to bury long ago.
“I- I’m sorry, Ivor.” She wiped her eyes, refusing to make eye contact with him until she could get ahold of herself.
She chuckled then, somewhat of a nervous habit from embarrassment.
“We are certainly not easy to understand, are we?”Ivor wasn’t sure if he had said something wrong or something right at that moment. From tearful to composed, Ivor wasn’t sure what to do other than to continue on with the conversation as if nothing happened; No, that wasn’t right. Perhaps to continue was to draw attention away from something that was clearly painful to Kira, something that Ivor wasn’t meant to know or understand, at least not now. So, he smiled and replied,
“No, we are not. The village elders, they had this saying ehhh…if I had to translate it would be… ‘Ignorance begets strife, understanding begets fellowship’. I like to think, Dawnhaven is the first step to fellowship.”Ivor then stretched before hefting himself up and offering a hand to his friend,
“We must do this again sometime,” quoting directly from one of Eris’ tales as he lifted Kira with ease,
“but in all un-jesting, if you need anything Miss Kira, you come to Ivor, he will help or listen.” Finally able to meet Ivor's gaze again, Kira steadied her breathing and looked at the massive hand he offered. Gently, she took it, her hand completely dwarfed in his. Though her hands had known labor in the past, his were rougher, the callouses along his palms telling their own story. She allowed him to haul her to her feet, a faint smile on her lips as she ignored the ache in her chest.
"Thank you," she replied softly.
The giant then looked around spotting a solid wide trunked pine,
“I think I have found my tree, I would ask if you will be alright on your way back, but I has a feeling you will be okay on your own.” Ivor’s gaze turned to the now evaporated boar before returning to Kira,
“Eh, is the meat..safe to eat now?” He used an index finger to point towards an incisor,
“The poison, I mean. I could bring it back and make jerky?” Would salt even counteract a poison?
Her fiery orange eyes found the boar once more, her smile growing in amusement before she returned her gaze to Ivor.
“Yes, it’s fine. There’s no poison in it,” she assured him, gesturing to her fangs for a moment.
“I can control it.” It was one of the few aspects of her transformation she was able to control, luckily.
“Thank you again, Ivor.” She gave him one last glance as she started towards the road to Dawnhaven once more.
“I’ll see you around.” 
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