[Flashback] Predatory (Solo)

[Laszlo]

A Recent Dream Quickly Fades ~~~~~ White hair like fine spider's silk, wispy and beautiful as her golden eyes peered through it, hung in a tangle over her thin, fragile shoulders. She was smiling. So lovely, so perfect. She whispered her sweet promises in a voice like velvet. It took his breath away. He could die, just feeling that gentle voice against his ear. But as he lay dying in a pool of his thick blood, he knew he would never hear it again. He gasped for breath, his lungs seizing as it became harder and harder to inhale. He firmly, but helplessly clutched the wooden stake shoved into his abdomen, a broken off broom handle that had served as her makeshift weapon. The human woman, a brunette with dull hazel eyes, gaped down at him in terror. "How dare you," he croaked, the blood bubbling in the back of his throat as he managed a weak laugh. Death was coming. He could feel that cold darkness bearing down on him. "How… urh… how dare you be f… frightened of what you've done…?" "I… I didn't mean to…" But her hands were stained in his blood. She stood there, paralyzed by fear, mortified by her sin. Naïve fool. "You've… gkh…" Suddenly cringing, he swallowed before he regained his voice. Speaking was difficult; he managed it through harsh whispers and halted gasping. "You've killed me." The words felt foreign coming from his own lips, but he needed to hear them. So did she. "Revel in it, wench. Own this murder. Be p… proud of it. I will not… nnh… die to a simpering, pathetic girl, apologizing as she watches me choke on my own blood." He paused to cough. "What a p-petching insult to my existence." "You… you tricked me… I panicked, I… I…" Idiot. She was still putting it together. "You… you never loved me… did you…?" Viratas' sake. It was almost funny that she ever thought he did. "Of c-course not, you weak-minded imbecile." One last smile snaked across his bloodstained lips. "…But you see… the final vengeance is mine. It's too… too late. You will bear my child, azo. And it… will… devour you." ~~~~~ Day 47, Winter 509AV Six and a half bells The Fenwick Home's Guestroom What am I? Sitting upon his bed in the orange blaze of sunset, Laszlo batted the question around in his head like a cat toying with a piece of string. The answer was there, locked somewhere inside his head, but he couldn't quite reach it. It was so supremely frustrating for the information to lie just out of his grasp, as if there wasn't enough that tormented him already. This body, this mortal shell, it felt heavy around him. The cool air wafted on his skin. His dry eyes itched, no matter how much he rubbed at them. He could taste the salty air and the warmth of his own breath. All these sensations, being in the world, it was almost too much. Unable to escape from his own skin, Laszlo could feel himself suffocating. Ethaefal. That's what the fisherman had called him. There were others like him out there somewhere, wandering the world as lost as he was. Laszlo wasn't sure whether he found that comforting, or troubling. Would he want to meet them? Or would further affirmation of his imprisonment on the mortal plane become even more harrowing? He couldn't say for certain. With a sigh, the horned creature turned his head to face the window. The sun now kissed the horizon, shining with a glorious red-orange light, reflected in Laszlo's amber eyes. It illuminated the entire bedroom, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. The Ethaefal leaned back in his bed, resting against the wall, and propped up his knees. Lifting up one hand, he studied the creases in his palm, the whiteness of his fingernails, and the pearly shimmer of his skin. As the light from outside grew quickly dimmer, he prepared to say goodnight to his handsome, otherworldly form. His change was approaching with the night. Vaguely, Laszlo was aware of what he used to be. He knew that he had once walked alongside his beloved Syna in her godly domain. He knew that he once had a true name, but his fleshy lips were incapable of producing the sounds he could distantly hear in his head. The memories of his life among the divine however were fading quickly, like a pleasant dream slowly slipping out of his recollection. The memories of his former lives were almost nonexistent, manifesting only as bothersome nostalgia and persisting familiarity. He was empty, newborn. Laszlo yearned for the weightlessness of his immortal existence, yet the only weightlessness he felt was an absence of substance, of personal identity. Was this what an Ethaefal was? An earthbound soul, plunged back into the cycle of life for some cruel reason? Or perhaps there was no reason. The Ethaefal: hapless casualties of the Valterrian. Five hundred years, and the cataclysm was still claiming victims. Damn the gods and their love affairs with mortals. However, presently that was not his most pressing question. What it meant to be Ethaefal would be an eternal mystery, and he was more or less comfortable with that. Humans probably asked all the time what it meant to be human. It was his night phase that confused him. The fisherman—he'd said that at night, Laszlo would become human! He was wrong. The form he took last night… it was far from human. As the last of Syna's light was snuffed out by the horizon, his change took place. Laszlo's body glowed with a golden flash of light, like the glimmer of sunlight reflected off a shard of glass. It briefly filled the room with a blinding radiance, which then faded only seconds later. On the bed, where the Ethaefal once sat, was an entirely new being. The gentle, pinkish hand that once bore trimmed, white fingernails, was now a dull, sickly gray, and brandished a set of black claws. Laszlo pressed his tongue against his upper teeth, feeling at the pointed fangs that now existed in the place of his canines. His soft, curly light brown hair had become thin, stringy, and silver. Helplessly, he ran his clawed fingers through it, resting his forehead in the palm of his hand. This body was anything but human. Yet, he knew it wasn't unique. A distant memory, faded images from the dream he had last night, told him that his night phase took on the form of another earthbound race. The name of it… it started with an… R or… maybe an S. Or a T? He couldn't quite remember. The claws, the fangs, the churning sensation of hunger… he felt predatory. But what was he?

[Laszlo]

It was almost midnight when she came to his door. Laszlo was still sitting upright in his bed, still wide awake as he had been for the past few hours. Afraid of having a dream similar to the one he'd had last night, he'd refused to let himself fall asleep. His amethyst eyes were focused upon the moonlit patch on the wooden floor, wondering if Leth had earthbound children as well, and if they were as wayward as Syna's. Lost in his own thoughts, and tracing an idle claw in circles over his pant leg, his entire body jerked in surprise as a soft knock upon the bedroom door broke the long-lasting silence. Keeping quiet, Lazlo stared at the door in bemusement, wondering who and why would visit him when he'd politely asked not to be bothered. He drew himself closer to the wall and hugged his knees, feeling suddenly nervous. Curled up, he managed to hide himself completely in the shadows of the room and away from the moonlight. Perhaps if he remained silent, his visitor would go away. Anyone sensible would be sleeping in this hour. Another knock. Laszlo squeezed at the seams of his pant leg, digging his nails into the fabric. One sharp nail pierced deeply enough to scratch the skin. He gasped, startled. "Mister Laszlo?" A young woman's voice. Damn it. "Please go away," he called out relucantly. "I need rest." "I just want to talk," she insisted through the door. Her voice was muffled and difficult to hear, but this late at night, there were few sounds to mottle her voice. "You may need rest, but you aren't sleeping. So… can I come in? I'll be brief, I promise." What did she want? All Laszlo wanted was privacy. In this moment he decided that this would be his last night at the Fenwick residence. He owed the family his life and more, after they'd offered him room and board. However, in his predicament… they had become a hindrance. Laszlo did not like this lack of understanding for who and what he was. What he disliked more was having a reason to hide his discoveries. "No. Please… please just leave." The latch turned and the door slowly swung open. Laszlo visibly flinched at the sound, grating his teeth in annoyance. He hugged his knees a bit tighter, keeping himself in the dark. Stupid girl. Couldn't she just go away? How hard was it to just leave him alone? A young girl stepped into the room, turning to shut the door again. She was Raelynn Fenwick, the daughter of the fisherman who had taken Laszlo into his home. At seventeen, she was a woman by Syrlian standards, but in her mind she was still a girl. That youthful jubilance glittered in her vibrant brown eyes, which Laszlo could see clearly in the low light. His vision improved greatly with his night phase, which afforded him the opportunity to examine her just as closely as he had in the day time. Her long blonde hair was silken and gorgeous, pouring over one side of her neck, and hanging down to her waist. Her skin was beautifully fair, easily because she spent most of the time indoors doing the housework while her father was out at the docks. Her nightgown hugged her delicate frame, fastened with a tie at the small of her back and pronouncing her thin waistline. Laszlo wished she'd left it untied. Seeing her this way made his heart beat a little faster. "I asked you to leave." Laszlo looked away with a sigh. There had been pure innocence on her face, and deep concern in her eyes. Raelynn was a kind girl, but the long looks she had given him since earlier that afternoon had been troubling. She was a ripe marrying age, but Laszlo barely even knew who he was, let alone her. Getting involved with this girl, the daughter of the fisherman who'd helped him, was not something he was remotely interested in. "I know, but… you sounded upset. Is everything all right?" Raelynn closed the door. Great. "It's… it's nothing you could help with. I just want some privacy." Raelynn grimaced and let out a sigh. She began to wring some of her hair around her fingers. Her movements drew Laszlo's eyes instinctively back to her. Admittedly, some part of him was glad she came. There was nothing more lonesome than being isolated in a fog of confusion. If only there was someone else who understood, someone who cared… but Raelynn was a simple human girl. What could she possibly understand? "Well, maybe I can't help. But, you know, maybe I can listen?" The persistent girl stepped into the moonlight, casting a shadow across the glowing patch on the floor. Laszlo took an open-mouthed breath and leaned back into the wall. "Why are you hiding there in the shadows? Are you afraid or something?" "Afraid…?" Oh, beloved Syna… just look at her! Standing in the light, further enhanced by Laszlo's sensitive vision, her pale blonde hair glowed like the light of Leth itself. It no longer looked blonde, but white as purity. Then she shifted, and the light caught her brown eyes. They lit up like pieces of amber shining in the sunlight. For a moment, she was a vision from last night's dream. The woman of frail body, of alabaster skin, of glittering, golden eyes. That smiling face, that tender voice… her fangs showed when she spoke. She wasn't full-blooded, like he was, but… Then it was gone. The Ethaefal gasped. The memory slipped out of reach just as her name had begun to form on his tongue. What was it? Who was she? As Laszlo stared helplessly, he felt a strange, yet pleasant pressure in the front of his mouth. An exploratory swipe of his tongue discovered why: his sharp fangs had… extended? "Yes. I guess I am a little afraid." Raelynn put on a warm smile. "Not of me, I hope." Laszlo didn't answer at first. He was a little afraid of her, in some sense. He was more afraid of this sensation that he didn't understand. There was attraction, yes; he understood that. But the face of that woman from his dreams, this shape he took at night, and this feeling… the one that made him feel as though he were the predator, and she was the prey. It didn't make him hungry… it made him feel… something else. "Please go," he said finally, in a weak whisper. Something in him sensed danger. Another part of him yearned to touch her. "No."

[Laszlo]

Laszlo's reaction was reflexive and immediate, his eyebrows shooting upward as his eyes rolled toward the ceiling. A sharp, incredulous laugh erupted from his throat before he could stop it. It happened suddenly enough that Raelynn actually looked startled, and almost stepped backward; and it was loud enough that Lazlo felt immediately self-conscious and wondered if he had just woken up the entire household. "No?" What did she mean, no? Although the Fenwicks had saved his life, and he'd done what he could to repay them by helping in their daily chores, Laszlo was still a stranger. What was she thinking? "What are you even doing here at this hour? What do you want from me?" Raelynn took one of her hands in the other, and stared down at her bare feet. "I woke just a short while ago. I… I've been worried about you. We know so little about you, yet you seem to carry this invisible burden." She squeezed her fingers and twisted. The girl was nervous. She wasn't supposed to be in here. Laszlo sat like a cat in the dark, watching her every movement. "It's complicated. And no business of a simple young girl." Laszlo didn't mean to sound so blunt, though he was beginning to get irritated that this girl wouldn't simply leave like he asked her to. As he feared, he began to hope that she wouldn't go. That she'd stay just a little longer. Perhaps take a seat on his bed. But what of his appearance, the black nails, the silver hair? Could she see him if she got too close? Would she recoil in revulsion? "Beg your pardon, but I am not a girl," Raelynn insisted, looking up. Laszlo felt himself shudder as a large portion of his resolve buckled. "No. You're not, are you?" Laszlo shifted on his bed, unwrapping his arms from his knees. He closed one of his hands into a loose fist, feeling the way his sharp nails pressed into the ball of his palm. "I look different, Raelynn. Your father said I would become human at night, but I'm not. I'm something else." The young woman tilted her head to the side. "That isn't so bad, is it? You're not hideous are you?" Ha. Catty. "I don't think so." Laszlo paused and drew in a slow breath. Something was moving in him, desperate to get out. He was getting tired of fighting it. He noticed that his breaths had become quicker, and more shallow, and that his mouth had gone dry. "You look… so familiar to me, standing in the light. You remind me of a woman, someone I think I used to know." "I do? You don't remember who it is?" "I think she was my lover." Raelynn's eyes dropped bashfully to the floor and she emitted a soft, girlish chortle. It put an involuntary halfsmile on Laszlo's shadowed face. Everything felt involuntary at this point. Whoever he was in the daytime, felt like it had melted away. Some wicked core remained, and its sights were set on this young woman. His sharp vision could easily make out the shy stains on each of her cheeks. "Your lover? Did something happen to her?" She took a tentative step closer, light on her toes. "Is that what the matter is?" Laszlo lifted his hand and offered it to the young woman, turning his palm upward. His black claws glittered as they reached from the shadow and reflected the moonlight. "Won't you come a bit closer, young miss?" Seeing the stranger's wicked hand, which so clashed with his soft appearance earlier that day, Raelynn stared. She hesitated, rooted to the floor, digesting her surprise and curiosity. "Are you afraid?" Raelynn waited for half a moment before answering. "…No." Long fingers closed around a thin, dainty hand.

[Laszlo]

Laszlo gently pulled Raelynn to the edge of his bed, where she sat down and politely placed her hands in her lap. Remaining in the shaded area away from the moonlight, the Ethaefal watched her, warily observing the changes in her facial expression. Lovely, curious thing. "So…" Raelynn began to wring her gown between her fingers, still visibly nervous, but held to the spot by childish bravery. Laszlo was a mystery to her, and even if she was frightened, she wanted to learn. It made her intelligent, if daft. "What are you?" Laszlo hesitated. "Ethaefal." Of course, she knew that much. Laszlo knew her question had meant something else, but he only had one answer to give her. He had only learned that word yesterday. So had she, probably. "Yes, Father said, but… you're not human at night like he said you'd be?" "No." For a long moment, Raelynn studied Laszlo in the darkened room. She couldn't see much of him, just his shadowy silhouette against the wall. Laszlo held her gaze for a while, until he couldn't anymore, and his violet eyes slid away. He turned back toward the window, heaving a quiet sigh. He didn't care anymore why she'd come. Even if he was glad for the company, she was just a curious, stupid young woman. "You poor thing." Laszlo turned back toward her. "I mean, I can't imagine what you're going through. You don't understand what you are. Or even who you are. You don't even have a name." The Ethaefal narrowed his eyes, then glanced downward. "I was literally born yesterday, as far as I can gather. I have... there's no one. No parents, no siblings. No family like yours. It's just me, alone." He shook his head. "It's a mistake. I shouldn't be here. I want to go back." "Go back where?" Laszlo shook his head again. Raelynn wouldn't understand, so he didn't answer. "Your sister has been calling me 'Laszlo'." Raelynn leaned toward the Ethaefal and gently placed her hand atop his. He inhaled slowly as he looked at her hand, and then at her eyes. The moonlight was still catching them. Those vibrant browns looked more like gold. Her wispy blonde hair still looked white. She was a vision there, sitting in the moonlight. Suddenly, Laszlo couldn't take his eyes off her. "It's a good name." She reached out with her other hand, sliding her fingers across his cheek. Laszlo shivered. "Come a little closer…?" "I-I cant, I…" "I'm not afraid of what you look like." Anchoring her fingers behind his head, Raelynn urged Laszlo to lean forward into the moonlight. He resisted a little at first, but she was insistent. With a sigh, he finally moved closer, glancing away from her face. The light illuminated his gray hair and shown upon his pallid face. She gasped softly, and drew her hand away, but only for a moment. After some brief hesitation, she began gently petting his hair. "Your eyes… they're violet. It's so pretty." Laszlo turned back toward Raelynn. His breathing was becoming labored now. He couldn't resist it anymore. The Ethaefal lifted his clawed hand and gently placed it on Raelynn's cheek. Then he leaned forward and kissed her.

[Laszlo]

Raelynn gasped and lurched backward… but not right away. For a brief, fleeting moment, she enjoyed that kiss. Before her senses caught up to her, she stayed and pushed her lips against the Ethaefal's. He felt her enjoy it before she withdrew and shyly looked at the floor. Laszlo remained there, mildly surprised but hardly discouraged. Though he appeared calm, there was a look of wanting flickering in those dimly illuminated, amethyst eyes. He felt his elongated fangs press against the inside of his lower lip as he watched her. "F-Father would never approve," she stammered in a barely audible whisper, as if she were afraid to hear her own voice. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. I'll… I'll go." She began to get up, but Laszlo took a hold of her arm and kept her there. Raelynn's bronze eyes snapped back to him as she inhaled sharply. "Your father doesn't have to know anything," Laszlo said softly. He canted his head to the side as he looked into her, offering the girl a small, reassuring smile. When he withdrew his clawed hand from her thin, delicate arm, she didn't take her chance to leave. Laszlo could see it clearly; she didn't want to go anywhere. "And don't apologize. I'm the one who kissed you." Bringing the side of her finger to her lip, the young woman laughed with a quiet chirp. The Ethaefal's smile widened. Reaching up, he drew the pad of his thumb softly over her cheek. "You're old enough to make your own decisions, Raelynn." Speaking the woman's name almost made him wince, but he subdued the urge. Something about that name didn't sound right with him. She wasn't the woman he wanted her to be. His gentle smile lost some of its spirit. Raelynn gave a bashful little smirk as she placed her hand against his. Laszlo responded with an elated grin, then leaned in and kissed her again. This time she was less hesitant, going so far as to press herself against him, so he gently closed his arms around her. Although Laszlo in his brand new life had never kissed a girl before, the sensation did not feel new to him. In so many latent memories of his past lives, he knew he had done this before. Raelynn shuddered and released a blissful noise against his mouth, and Laszlo squeezed her. His hand was pressing firmly into her back, and hers was beginning to slide under the front of his shirt. Laszlo tensed, his breath quickening as he realized she was beginning to undress him. For half an instant, Laszlo was unsure about this. What was she doing? Had she ever done this before? Was she ready for the direction it was going? He doubted it. Yet she surprised him by pushing him backward, pressing his back into the wall. Uttering a sigh, he painstakingly pulled her away from him, so he could get a look at her eyes. The roof of his mouth was tingling, pulsing along with the beat of his heart. The sensation went right to the end of the fangs resting against the interior of his lower lip. Laszlo assumed this feeling was only natural, but a part of him feared it. Well… it wasn't fear so much as apprehension, but… "Raelynn…" Laszlo breathed in astonishment, searching her face for any flicker of hesitation. "Don't stop me now," the girl hissed, pressing forward to kiss him again. This time her tongue swiped his lips, and the last of Laszlo's restraint evaporated. The desires of his body took over and he forgot decency altogether. He opened his mouth and met her tongue with his, just as he began pushing the woman's nightgown off her right shoulder. Then something changed. Laszlo felt the texture of her tongue against his teeth. Raelynn suddenly gave a loud yelp, and pulled backward. She quickly cupped her hands over her mouth. "What—" Laszlo, in a hot-blooded fog, blinked rapidly as he attempted to process this sudden turn. Raelynn pulled her hands from her mouth, then looked down at her fingers. Her eyes widened. Sparkling in the moonlight, her fingers were slick and wet—and red. Laszlo's eyes widened too, as he suddenly realized he could taste something coppery in his own mouth. He put it together rather quickly then: she'd caught her tongue on his extended fang. "Goodness… Are you all right?" A thin trail of blood fell from the corner of Raelynn's mouth before she covered it again, then she squeezed her eyes shut and leaned forward. She groaned loudly in apparent pain, as if someone had ripped her tongue out instead of simply suffering a minor cut. Confused, and a little annoyed, Laszlo reached out to touch her shoulder, but she shrank away from him violently. "Wha… what did you do…?!" Raelynn shrieked at him, so loudly that the Ethaefal jerked backwards.

[Laszlo]

"I… I didn't mean t…" Laszlo felt guilty, yes, but he was distracted. There was something else he was supposed to be worrying about. It felt as though it should have been obvious, but like all of the memories of his former lives, he couldn't quite grasp it. The feeling of apprehension he had felt earlier grew into concern. Raelynn's tongue wasn't very badly injured, though it was bleeding enough that her lips had become stained in red. She seemed to be in an inordinate of pain, quietly groaning into her hands. Sending another fearful glance at Laszlo, she stood up from the bed and backed away, pressing her back into the far wall so she could more privately focus on her suffering. The Ethaefal didn't watch her. His eyes were staring at nothing as he concentrated, trying to pluck his buried latent knowledge from the nothingness. Laszlo knew he should have been more concerned, but something more was nagging at him. A memory just out of reach. What had he done to her? Why had he even kissed her? She was the daughter of the fisherman who had opened his home to him! He should have warned her at least about his fangs. She had no way of knowing he had anything sharp in his mouth. The roof of his mouth was still tingling, and with a new feeling of dread, he was starting to remember why. Laszlo opened his mouth and felt at one of his elongated canines. To his surprise, he felt something like a groove on the outer edge. When he drew his hand back, there was liquid on his fingertips. Not saliva, and not traces of Raelynn's blood. His keen eyes could make out a few greenish yellow droplets on his fingers. Instinctively, he identified it. "Venom…?" Laszlo murmured. Then he remembered. That feeling of concern now became a sense of urgency. He looked up at Raelynn. "You're poisoned," he told her in a voice that was soft and grim. Without warning, Laszlo's bedroom door flew open, startling both Raelynn and the Ethaefal as it slammed into the adjacent wall. Standing in the doorway was a short, but broad-shouldered man with a thick build. It was the fisherman, of course. Raelynn's father. The Ethaefal had no words. He didn't need his buried experiences to know that this did not bode well for him. He sat paralyzed on his bed, watching as he waited for the fisherman to put it together in his head. In just a few seconds, those kind old eyes would be filled with rage. Oh Laszlo, your second day of your newest life, and this is the sort of person you're turning into? "What is going on here?!" he roared. The fisherman was already angry. He must have heard Raelynn cry out in pain earlier. Laszlo braced himself. There isn't a word to describe the level of rage that lit up in the fisherman's eyes when he turned to see his daughter, backed into the wall nearby. Her hands were still clasped over her mouth, smeared with miniscule, but noticeable amounts of red. More importantly, the thin nightgown she was wearing had been pulled off of one of her shoulders. The fisherman turned to Laszlo, whose shirt had been ruffled and halfway taken off. The Ethaefal sat there like a mouse cornered by a cat, knowing its death was coming. There isn't a word in Common to describe the look in the fisherman's eyes that Laszlo saw then, but there should be one. "You didn't…" he growled. Laszlo opened his mouth to defend himself, but he couldn't find the proper words. It wasn’t as if nothing had happened. He assumed that Raelynn's father was leaping to dark conclusions about what had taken place, but what could Laszlo say? What was his word against an angry parent's? "I… it's… R-Raelynn? Could you…?" "Don't you dare!" The fisherman marched forward until he was at the foot of Laszlo's bed. The Ethaefal's mouth hung open. The tingling in his fangs had become an aching. Damn it, was that what being a Symenestra was? Death in a frail package? What good was that? Wait a minute, what was that word? "Don't you dare speak to my daughter, you monster!" The fisherman's eyes then widened. They were already wide with fury, but there was something new there now. Recognition. "A… a Widow? You're a Widow? I invited a Widow into my own home?!" Widow? "I didn't know, I swear I—" "AAHH!" For the fisherman, there was no more need for words. He lunged forward, and Laszlo was too dumbfounded to react in time. Although Raelynn's father was a head shorter than Laszlo was, he was heavier and far more muscular. The fisherman descended on him like a rabid animal. Laszlo tried to defend himself by holding out his arms, but his thin limbs were easily taken and held aside by large, rough hands. Raelynn was shouting uselessly at the struggle, but her words were lost to Laszlo's ears as her father growled through his clenched teeth. Laszlo tried squirming and twisting out of the stronger man's grasp, but this form was thinner than his day phase, and somehow not quite as strong. In fact it felt more fragile, and the way the fisherman was holding Laszlo's arms, he feared the bones might actually snap. In another instant, he stopped worrying about that entirely, as he found both hands clenched tightly around his neck. The angry father was holding nothing back, squeezing to a point beyond pain. Laszlo couldn't even cough while his windpipe was being crushed. Overpowered and out of options, the Ethaefal clawed uselessly at the fisherman's hands. With sharpened nails like he had, he felt himself doing some damage to the other man, but the blood rage was overwhelming his other senses. Raelynn's father didn't even notice the cuts on his hands. He just wanted to choke the life out of this strange man who had touched his daughter. "You were going to kill her, weren't you?! Bring her back to your nest!" Purple splotches began to fill Laszlo's vision, and soon enough he was practically blind. His mouth was wide open as he instinctively tried to gasp for air, but all he could manage to do was make weak gurgling noises as saliva bubbled at the back of his throat. "I welcomed you into my home!" Was this it then? His second day of life, he was going to be murdered by a floozy's angry father? What a petching disgrace. What would happen to his soul? Would he go back to the ukalas? Or would he reincarnate again, this time with absolutely no memory of what he was supposed to be? No. Clenching his teeth, Laszlo pulled his hands off the fisherman's and began to reach outward, groping at his assailant's face. I will NOT die like this. Not again. Laszlo's claws found something, and he immediately dug into it. The hands around his neck released. Someone howled in pain. Groaning hoarsely in sudden relief, Laszlo rolled over in agony and began swallowing air in huge gulps. He clutched protectively at his throat, every new, precious breath burning his injured flesh. His ears rang loudly enough to render him temporarily deaf, and for several peaceful moments, he was allowed to recover. His vision slowly went back to normal, though his eyes had watered profusely from the pain and suffocation. When his hearing returned to him, all he could hear was Raelynn screaming. "Father! Father! This is all my fault!" Laszlo pushed himself back up, and turned to see what the matter was. That man had just tried to kill him, for the gods' sakes! What about Laszlo? "Oh…" The fisherman was on the floor with his hands over his eyes. His face and chest were smeared in copious amounts of blood. Crimson seeped from between his fingers, and ran down his cheeks. "No… this can't…" Laszlo looked down at his own hands. They were bloody, like the fisherman's. His claws had saved him. But… he hadn't meant to do that. He hadn't meant to scratch out the man's eyes! He was just defending himself! "What have I… how did this…?" All he had wanted was to be left alone, but Raelynn, that stupid girl, had imposed herself. Now she was bleeding and poisoned. Her father was very likely blind. How could this happen? It was time to go. Laszlo slipped off the bed and began to edge toward the door. He expected Raelynn to look up and notice him, but she was too busy tending to her father. He was yelling indiscriminate curses about Laszlo as well as certain gods. I'm sorry, Syna, the Ethaefal thought to himself sadly. She must have been ashamed of him. He could have done better. He could have turned the girl away. He paused by the window. Something had appeared in the doorway, blocking off Laszlo's escape. A small girl, Raelynn's younger sister Courtney, stood there with her hand on the doorframe. She stared at the scene with fearful confusion, stunned into silence. She kept looking between her father, and Laszlo. Laszlo looked back at her, his jaw hung open in astonishment over the whole thing. "Laszlo! Come play when you're done. I'm bored, and Rae-Rae never plays." "Run along, Courtney. Don't bother our guest." "What… did she call me?" "Laszlo. It was the name of our family pet, a raven. He died last week." "So why would she call me by the name of a dead bird?" "Well, I reckon she thinks you're Laszlo, reincarnated into the next life. Bless her heart." "I've been a lot of things, but I don't think I've ever been a bird. Why would she think I was Laszlo?" "She says you fell from the sky." How could this have all gone so wrong? Laszlo's shining amethyst eyes were locked on Courtney as she stared at him. She had been so fond of Laszlo. Now she didn't even recognize him. The Ethaefal was gone, and in this place was this… Widow, which had injured her sister and blinded her father. "I'm sorry…" he whispered to her, though he was sure she couldn't hear over her family's commotion. She wasn't moving from the doorway, so Laszlo popped open the window instead, unwilling to get any closer to her. With all this noise, the Knights were bound to come investigating. Best Laszlo not be around to have to explain this all. Just before crawling through and making his escape, he gave another look to Courtney. "I'm sorry." That was when Laszlo decided that it was probably a good idea to keep his night phase as discreet as possible.

[Templar]

Laszlo: Observation: 2 - Seduction: 4 - Wrestling: 2 Lore: Contemplating your existance - Symenestra at night Medical: Very sore neck for a couple of days which will tone down to nothing in the matter of two weeks with rest. Legal: Expect knights to be looking for someone with Laszlo's description in the city.