Ink and Flesh

[Ciphas]

Once he had gorged himself upon the feast he had warmed over the fire, he made short work of scouting the perimeter of his territory. Traps he had set earlier in the day were checked and prizes were pried from the metallic jaws of the crude but effective snares. He returned to his den with another human body slung over one shoulder and a generous row of kodashi vipers dangling lifelessly from his fauld. He dumped the body of his humanoid quarry onto the ground and a plume of ash emerged from both of their forms with the motion.

The ash veil had been generous as of late, providing not only sustenance for him but allies for the remnant that he served. His face twisted into a venomous sneer as he thought of the outsiders Matier had guided to them; more sisters unfamiliar with the trials he had faced to earn certain privileges. He was eager to prove their folly if they challenged him but knew that with his freedoms, a certain game of charisma had to be played. Not an easy feat for someone like Ciphas, who simply preferred to destroy rather than banter over semantics.

Then, there was her. An autumnal wind had blown her intoxicating aroma to his habitat, laving his predatory senses and immediately drawing him to the old stone monoliths a short jaunt from the river. He had watched her, taking in the potters' tools and crystals that she handled with care. Each deft motion of her hands was like watching a pendulum, hypnotizing and lulling him into a false sense of calm that Ciphas both despised and craved. Taste her and be done with this foolish obsession, the beast inside snarled. But, even the beast knew that the most rewarding of prey was not an easy catch.

When night had fallen, he moved before his altar within the warm, pelt strewn innards of the cave. Reptilian leather armor was slowly drawn from his hulking frame, disassembled and then placed with respect onto the grotesque, bone mannequin he had constructed for such a purpose. Kneeling on the thickly heaped furs before the pedestal, he lit the partially melted candles of pure black and crushed a handful of opopanix resin over charcoal burning in a skull censer. The dim light flickered and a coven of smoke trails twisted around him seductively, caressing his skin and imprinting upon it the scent of mulled wine and the fall harvest. He inhaled deeply and placed his palms facing upward on his muscular thighs, his mind stretching out to find her presence. His breath hitched. It seems she had found him first...

He was a bird of prey, tracking her every movement through his domain from the darkened canopy above. She paused at the fire, extracting her knife and then a piece of meat from the carcass that hung there. He held his breath as she consumed it, a sort of understanding dawning in her eyes as the morsel slid down her throat.

Yes..... the beast hissed with pleasure.

She stepped within the cave and he manifested behind her; no longer an observer but a force to be reckoned with. Her back met with the solid wall of his chest and his large hands came up to capture her waist in a biting grip. She pried at him but his grip only tightened. An unseen force caressed her locks away from her shoulder and a most feral chuckle prickled at the tiny hairs at the back of her neck.

"Couldn't stay away, could you?" He purred against the elegant slope of her neck, the tips of his filed teeth teasing her flesh.

[Kamurda]

Bones... Amber... And garnet....

Those were the thoughts and images that passed before her mind's eye as she felt his presence more potent as moments unfolded in the semi-penumbra of the cavern.

Blood dripping on furs, pooling before slithering away into signs concealed by obscurity....

Patterns formed in her mind, feeding on the free-flowing inspiration that engulfed her soul, right as his body encased her own against him.

Fire crackling in the distance...

Ever the creative fierce one, Kamurda's senses responded to animal instincts as much as a deeper yearning coming from her artistic magick.

Needles perforating flesh...

She bit her lip as his teeth teased the delicate and tattooed skin.

"I like a challenge; and you might present one."

Was she poking the beast? She was; but she had never been known to take the road most traveled.