Bastard Undead

"Argh!!" He crashed against the ground, feet first and then his arms and legs. A relatively silent ordeal and similarly painless as well although it seemed he had it ingrained within himself that sudden impacts needed some kind of a reaction from him; old habits at this point. He groaned as he lifted himself from the ground whilst staring into the dark–the shallow dark, covered in shadows mostly but everything else was easy to see, here in the area where he'd landed seated directly beneath the light of the moon. A pale eye in the vastness of a dark canvas, somehow it felt familiar, somehow it wasn't. There'd never been darkness where he'd come from as the thought elicited a silent shake of his head. Once the reverence of freedom had left him, confusion found its way without much issue, "Damn that hellhole, where am I now?"

Far from home, hopefully even further than that. A litany of questions floated atop his head but far and few were of any real importance to the current situation. He had escaped, he was…alive? And he was alone. Frowning on that, he could surmise the fact that his compatriots were likely dead, if he wanted to feel awfully pessimistic about it though, or had been flung into god knows what other part of this strange new world. The briefest moment of concern washed over him as that dawned on him and then left all the same, they'd worked together out of mutual interests. Comrades, sure, but that was it. He shook his head and let it all bottle down to the here and now. The area, the freedom; the still prevalent whispers in his head. 

Escaping seemed the hardest part but keeping that freedom was shaping up to be another challenge altogether, he didn't recognise a fraction of where he was. Not the tall structures or the hard, everything seemed an honest dream conjured up from his still reeling head, as a matter-of-fact, "What was that earlier?" frowning at the recollection, he'd never truly felt pain before, he couldn't even remember what pain was but he could recognize it. The only reason he'd dove into this decrepit labyrinth was for that reason alone, he'd felt it—recognised it. The damn voices that made his head hurt, throbbing like a sledgehammer had slammed against the side of it with the full intention of murdering him. At some point it was a sharp sting driving him mad and then a loud scream urging him forward, away, as though something within him told him to run. 

"Tsk, all that for a shabby stroll in the dark…" The pain had subsided but the damage had been dealt, still holding his head in the dark he shuffled down what felt like narrow passageways seamlessly stretching into one another for no apparent reason whatsoever; at least, that's how he saw it. That's how irritable the current circumstances had made him out to be, The area was flanked by the rest of these colossal stone structures, pathways creeping from one narrow branch to another. Did the people here live their days in one giant maze? That'd be a problem, one prison to the next? He scoffed, too annoyed to find the humour in that–if there was any to begin with. Somehow, the situation had grounded itself in far too treacherous waters to entertain the idea of a laugh. More so concentrated on the pathway he'd undertaken that'd now led to a dead end; a tall concrete wall looming above him which seemed to be yet another one of these abominable constructions. He grumbled beneath his breath as a gust of wind buffeted the narrow area with the clattering of foreign metal, glancing back at the sound without much interest; his eyes narrowed as the silhouette of a creature shifting between the shadows where the moon's gaze couldn't reach caught him by chance. Cornered again?! How many more beasts did he have to duck and dive between before finding rest? Taking a hesitant step back and against the wall with sockets for eyes spread wide if his expression could be read, he watched the creature prowl the deep shadows. Like a predator stalking its prey, like a beast drooling for his…flesh?? Soon he caught a glimpse of its gaze, perhaps the only part he'd see of his killer. Its eyes were a hue of violet, brightly so with abyssal slits in their middle. There weren't even just two, when the creature noticed it'd caught his gaze, a second set opened from beneath; now four, four amethyst eyes stared at him through the dark.

'Think, damnit' He could wait, wait for it to attack first and dive beneath the oncoming assault. Viable, he thought to himself although it hinged on the likely-unlikely possibility the creature was just slow enough for him to react to. A dangerous card to play with far too many variables in between but then again, it wasn't as though he'd come this far running on a desirable set of plans. He scoffed, it beat the scorching wasteland, it beat the castle and the gaggle of a few boring others he'd been tied to. "Come on then, have a go!" Provocation seemed a bad idea but what of it? Waiting was just as bad anyways.

Abyssal slits thinning even further, darkness soon moved and the creature pounced. He tensed for a dive, perhaps a tuck and roll or a stumbling crash onto the ground ahead before bolting down the nearest open pathway but what came next couldn't have been imagined in his wildest dreams. He stumbled back, struck with the weight of something slamming against his midsection. Not enough to call it an attempt at murder, not even enough to assume it'd been a misguided misstep in a likely form of attack. It was pure and intentional, an act of, well…

Staring below him now, four violet eyes although a face far much clearer in the light of the moon to decipher was the furred creature—feline in nature. It had its front paws pressed against him, eyes that had once been slits now wide and playful. "What are you—!" It pushed off of him, stumbling to the ground and staring back. Again, no force with the intent to kill...just...weird? Nearly caught off balance by the ordeal, he stared at it, it was fully within the light of the moon now. Large, about waist high and covered in void black fur. Stout long ears twitched in the light where it crouched down now, a shadowy tail from behind, swishing slowly from side to side as its gaze once again narrowed. Without warning he was thrown back again, brought down to his back with a thump as the creature growled…or...did something similar that wasn't supposed to be threatening? Pinned there yet seemingly far from danger, it stared at him, its gaze now quizzical as it cocked its head to the side just before he pushed it off of himself. Grumbling in annoyance as whilst slowly getting up from the ground as he scoffed. Its four amethyst jewels stared at him, waiting whilst he dusted himself off and then frowned, why was he entertaining this thing? What was it even doing? His eyes narrowed as he realised there'd been several instances now where either it could've killed him or he could've evaded it and ran altogether. Cursing his own lapse in judgement at this point, he watched as its violet gaze trained on him and then it crouched again whilst he shook his head as it did so, "Toying with your food? Just what kind of sick—"

The creature suddenly stiffened, its ears perking up straight as it glanced around. Caught off guard by its change in demeanor, he frowned, lightly unsettled by the possibility that the thing was really planning on killing him(which honestly, why wasn't he running already?) but then came a clattering noise again, this time more distant and towards the long stretch of the labyrinthine pathways he'd taken on his way here as he turned a tentative glance in its direction. A part of him wanted to move again, subtle at first and then urging as the sound hadn't come alone, it was accompanied by—

"ARGHH!! Damnit!" A sharp pain pierced through his head again, throbbing, violating and albeit simply annoying. The creature bolted off without warning, fleeing into the darkness as he grumbled just as a glance up ahead where figures made their way into the light met his gaze, heads turning left then right before straight at him; "Hey!"

'Haaah' He hissed, the pain drilling through him as he shoved his body forward; into the next pathway ahead. Moonlight washed over the world in front of him here, exceptionally bright so perhaps there was an opening. Sprinting forward and towards the light, flanking buildings rushed past him and then disappeared where moonlight mixed with a gradually heavy tint of gold. He dashed past that, onto dark grounds an obsidian black where bright white light flanked his right and eerily lengthened a shadow cast beside him at blinding speeds before he turned—"Huh?"

A horn blared with the sound of screeching wheels as something swerved, veering off course with a string of unintelligible words. Glancing around him, the wind rushing past him as his head rang, more of these blinding lights swerved and whizzed past him as a sudden shout brought him back from his daze. Gazing back, the figures that'd shouted at him were standing on the other side of the area. Pulled back into action, he sprinted again, off the road and back into the golden haze of street lamps illuminating the world below. He stumbled, glancing back and forth as the road had cleared enough for his pursuers to follow just as he bumped into someone. "Ay, watch it!" He stared down at them, two heads shorter than himself, beady eyed and reptilian. He paused for the briefest of moments as they scoffed, dug scarlet hands into the depths of their dark blazer's pockets and pulled out a cigar. Frowning, he wasn't the only odd one either, a few meters away was a grey skinned individual reading something; a newspaper. Behind them was a woman of slightly taller stature, pointed ears and a gaze like gold.

They were all around him, varying faces, varying features. A litany of them that for a moment, froze his thoughts numb. Coupled with the slight crowdedness ahead of him, it was all a little…suffocating. Still stricken with that numbing sense of bewilderment, the rapid sounds of approaching footsteps and the incessant screaming at the back of his head reminded him why he was here and moved him forward. Breaking past the scores of others crowding the area in a wild attempt at escape, he sprinted down and glanced to his side. Perhaps escaping into another one of the pathways from earlier was a viable course of action, it could shake them off. And so he searched, the small crowds seemingly parting at his wake and that of his pursuers–wanting no part in it as the busy section seamlessly turned left into more open air but not a single method of escape wedged itself between the endless assortment of towering buildings.

He inwardly cursed, lost even further now but not out of options. How far could they keep running? The road was empty again and so he sprinted off to the opposite end, veering into another section of the street turning right just before his pursuers caught a glimpse and followed. Still not a nook or cranny to dive into, why had these structures decided to jam themselves together now of all times? Exhaustion wasn't creeping up, it never could but in no way would he risk the idea of finding out that his pursuers couldn't stop either. In the heat of such thoughts, he hadn't been paying any mind to his next set of actions whilst streaking through the sparsely populated sidewalks. He hadn't even noted the next obstruction before him till he'd already slammed face first into it, a sudden yelp following as he tumbled forward—crashing onto the hard ground with a thud. He cursed, slowed down whilst his pursuers gained rapid meters on him. There was still no easy way out of here but at this point, maybe running wasn't the worst option anyway. In fact, could he enter one of the buildings before they rounded the corner? They wouldn't know where he'd left off to, they'd assume he'd escaped. 

The thought sounded better and better in the split second he'd thought of it just as he lifted himself off of the ground to bolt for an entrance but met the ground all over again, "Gah!" he felt his foot being snagged as he lost balance keeled over; slamming onto the ground again.

"You brat!!" A shrill cry resonated through the air at his fall, "Whamming into people and running off now?!"

Another thud, from his back as something slammed into him. He hissed, pulling himself from the ground in a heated huff. Truthfully, berating the person felt in due order to him but he had no time for that. They'd round the corner any second now and see himself right there for the taking, "Look at me when I'm speaking to you, brat!" Before he could react, before he could even ignore them and bolt off, he was grabbed and forcefully turned on his heels. That was odd, he couldn't feel that a hand had grabbed him; he hadn't even been touched. A force? He was taken by it, firmly so where the eyes of this migraine of a person now stared at him. Wait, why couldn't he move either? He didn't want to deal with this, he didn't have to; two separate attempts at running off had already been made and in no way was his body responding, no, it was–it simply couldn't overcome whatever was holding it still. 'Seriously?!' He hadn't simply been pulled, he'd been captured altogether.

"Oh my, an undead? Well then I guess your master ought to be punished instead, just what are they thinking letting your decrepit self mulling over these streets. Where are they?" The person–the woman asked, a face seemingly riddled by age and bright green eyes the size of saucers staring right into him. Think, you mad man, think. A few seconds had been exhausted here and in the next two, maybe three for generosity and it'd really be over. Think, he glanced over her, a brown fur collared coat, a weird bag slung just below her wrists, a hat as well that seemed jarringly out of place and around them passersby that were treating this awfully too flippantly. Her shrill voice pierced the air again, "Well, point to your master you oaf. I haven't got all day"

The force over him seemed to loosen, still unable to run, to move with any real strength but something had come to mind anyway; "Your hat!" The woman's eyes widened, seemingly bewildered by something. Shocked this was his only response? A little dramatic he'd say, confused was the best he'd hoped from her but this worked out a treat better. He'd been awfully lucky as of late, gleefully so as the unforeseen restraints seemed to loosen more than enough to move. This would be his second gamble, at least right now, take luck by the reigns when it gives you an inch before slipping away from you altogether. The woman couldn't react in time before her hat had been stolen and placed upon his own head, even slower to resist being grabbed and turned around just as a hand rested on her shoulder.

The situation unfolded faster than words could be said as moments after, four individuals came sprinting down the street, shouting something as his grip on the woman's shoulder unconsciously tightened, wind rushing them as his pursuers sprinted past them without a second glance. Shouting meaningless directions to one another whilst turning another corner shortly thereafter; that'd worked? Colour me surprised, not a brain in that skull of white but the damn thing hadn't failed thus far. He sighed but still waited, waited till the sounds of his pursuers were but a memory now, oddly enough the woman hadn't interrupted that and stared ahead blankly before he slumped; taking the hat off. "Tsk, here's your stuff" Shoving it in front of the woman, she stared at him and then back at her hat; scoffing whilst snatching it from his hands.

"A criminal to boot…Hah! and still we call those death lovers people" She dusted the hat off, flicking it a few times before placing it on her head. He couldn't be bothered with her anymore, if his pursuers weren't idiots, they'd likely realized they'd lost him and would track back their steps to find an even bigger idiot still standing in the open like a deer caught between headlights. Then again, he was also lost, so maybe not a deer then; a headless chicken? The woman's voice was drowned out by the noise of his own thoughts, distracted enough that he hadn't caught a glimpse of someone else gradually growing into view before they were already upon him—towering, a looming shadow that finally caught his attention.

"Friend of yours, ma?" To call their voice intimidating wouldn't be an understatement, to tell you their mountainous stature, their eyes of gold, their reddish skin on a face only a mother could love with a tailored suit that seemed the only thing that gave charm to the damn thing hadn't stalled his thoughts dead would be quite the missed opportunity of showcasing just where hubris might land even the luckiest of individuals. There was probably a plan to be found somewhere…maybe not, one couldn't tell but he surely didn't seem to think there was. In some intuition, he felt as though a part of him told that a clean getaway wouldn't be the easiest thing to accomplish here.

The man–no, was it more apt to call this walking behemoth a 'thing'? Seemed to frown as it got a better look of him, its scarlet gaze staring him up and down as the woman grumbled. "No, some lost undead is all" She commented, staring off somewhere; to the ground where it'd only occurred to him now that the impact earlier had caused the woman to drop a few of her belongings. The behemoth glanced over, disinterested in him, it seemed at the woman's comment's but paused at the mess, "What happened here?"

She scoffed, "The dead fellow bumped into me so give me a hand now, boy"

"Dead fellow?"

He was halfway through turning around and bolting it before the monster turned, a dejected groan slipping past where lips would've been as he glanced back, the figure now fully upon him again. "You don't cause a mess without cleaning up," he gestured to the floor, "Pick it up."

"I'd rather argue with its previous owner so leave the thing, it irks me that it's still standing here"

"Previous owner? So it has a will of its own and you're letting it go? It bumped into ya"

"Mercy…"

"It's basic manners!"

He wanted to leave oh so badly, they were arguing, maybe now was just right. Testing that wouldn't hurt, it never really had but before he knew it the thing casted its gaze back on him.

"You, dead guy, were you listening? Pick it all up"

"Crisis, Mercy—"

He winced, a whisper growing in his head as heart started to sink. He needed to leave, he needed to leave now. Damn his intuition, the back of his mind wanted the incessant noises to stop than worry about some ogre. Irritation and desperation culminating together and any decisions going forward were bound to be brash, so when he'd decided enough was enough and attempted to bolt back up the street he'd come and where his pursuers had entered from before disappearing. The mere fact it wouldn't be such a successful endeavor didn't float past his mind as this time he did feel like he was being grabbed, by large hands to boot; exceptionally strong too. 'Damn' The thing pulled him back, its brutish face anything but friendly now whilst it glared at him and as the all too familiar footsteps clopped into earshot and dangerously closer than before—

Oddly enough, however, it wasn't just himself that was readily alerted by his pursuers steady approach. Whether sensing it just as much or catching a glimpse of them in its peripherals, the giant ogre of a man glanced back–grip tightening on him as the woman groaned. "Now look at what we're involved in!" She hissed within a whisper as the thing turned, bewildered and frankly confused; "Involved…they're not here for us..?"

"They wouldn't have been had you let the damn thing go, how many times have I told you to trust what I do?!"

"But—"

They weren't exactly approaching as quickly as he thought they would, a quick glance told of the fact that they had their sights set on questioning others present on the street. Had they not seen what he looked like at all, better yet had nobody else but the woman? That was odd, beneficial but odd as the thing glared at him again, "Then we leave him, right? I can fix this"

"There wouldn't have been a need to fix anything had you just listened, haahh, but that'll do" Wait, were they planning on handing him over? He'd scowl if they could see it, they forcefully restrained him here simply to compromise a perfect escape, what were they–sleeper cells? It couldn't end here, think, think, think. This time, however, a plan was evading him faster than sand slipped through the gaps of splayed fingers. Damn it all, this sucked. He cursed beneath his breath because a plan had come to mind, albeit, not tasteful. The two had been annoying already but one had to work in uncomfortable situations eventually; "Wait, wait, wait! I'll help pick things up, just keep me away from them"

"Hah! Helping a runaway against the inquisitors? I won't be involving myself with some lost souls' sins, hand him over when they ask for him; is that clear, Mercy?" His heart sinking at the remark, a pale gaze soon turned to the thing still holding him hostage. Scarlet hues for eyes stared at him intently, the glare still there but he hadn't answered the woman's question before that expression suddenly became unreadable, glancing back at her. "They won't punish him, not for what he did"

"I told you—" But the thing didn't listen, staring back at him with that same threatening glare again, "Let this be a lesson on your manners"

Before he could truly understand what their words meant, he heard footsteps, he felt his head wanted to split in two as a voice came through from beside them. "Sorry…you..three.." They panted, incessant panting as one of the few that'd chased him from earlier held up a hand, "Have…you..seen someone..a suspicious individual—anywhere?"

The man's grip on him tightened as he grumbled beneath his breath and finally glanced to his left. Better able to see who'd been chasing him all this time, or at least one of them. He made note of the fact that they wore dark garbs—perfectly fitted, accentuated in some areas lined with bouts of silver and other items gleaming from beneath dark coats but not entirely visible. The group of them seemingly split between asking around the rest present on the street as a more normal looking man stood in front of them, dark haired but frizzled with deep blue eyes and ivory skin slick in sweat. His bone white features wouldn't show it but he was nervous, scarily so but they'd been chasing him for god knows no reason, the question was why was the abomination gripping his shoulder suddenly tense as well. He wouldn't get a straight as they immediately seemed to compose themselves, "...Not a thing, mother and I came from the store"

Shifting furtive glances between them, the dark haired man in front nodded with another huff but almost grinned, a show of politeness perhaps, "We were pursuing someone, lost them sir. This was the last area we remember seeing them entering in, if there's anything you can remember—"

The thing frowned, he didn't think this thing could feel any taller than it already was but somehow it–stood straighter perhaps, made its voice sharper. "What part don't you understand, we saw nothing and we heard nothing"

The man in front gave a complicated expression, unreadable but their words still steady before glancing over to stare at him, "Is that—"

"An undead we bought" (Bought!?)

The man frowned, soon noticing the mess lining the ground, "Did something…happen..?"

"A backwater necromancer couldn't do their job, the damn thing dropped what it was holding" He was more than surprised when the woman chimed in, garnering the man's attention as she frowned; "Is that all? Do my son and I strike you as awfully rich with time?"

"We have orders from our superiors—"

"I really could not care less, are we done here?" Emerald eyes narrowed, the ogres body tensing and for a long few seconds there was an awkward sense of silence before another person–another of their own approached the man. Words seemed to spoken, brief and inaudible as the man relented, glancing back at them with a pause; "Sorry for your time"

That was it…they left, staring at them for a while as they retreated; he didn't allow himself a shaky sigh of relief till he was sure they'd left earshot and only then till they rounded a corner all over again and disappeared from sight. Silence permeated between them for a while and then the beast yelped, "You hulking, oaf!! How many more times are you going to completely ignore what I tell you?! Do you no longer see me as your mother?"

"Ah! Ma! You told me never to disrespect someone, this thing disrespected you!"

"And I told you to listen, what would you have done had things gone south?! Speak!"

"I'd deal with it! I'd deal with it!"

Staring at the odd spectacle, the things grip still tight on his shoulder, somewhere..somewhere deep in his heart(metaphorically of course). He almost felt..pleased? Justice was being served, as much as it was both their faults he was here to begin with but a small victory was still a victory at the end of it all. This continued for a few minutes more before he was suddenly yanked back, yet again that unsightly face glaring into his soul much more harshly than before. "Run and you'd wish we'd handed you over"

He raised his hands, "Wouldn't dream of it, I'll pick this all up and we can all go our merry ways"

The thing growled, scoffing with a grin like he'd said something funny "We saved your life, skells, this stuff's marinated the ground and you're asking me to give it back to my mother like that?"

He frowned and glowered, "You said—!"

He didn't listen, he didn't want to. Gesturing behind him, flickering neon lights above a small building, "Get us new ones and then carry them for her, you're an undead anyway"

Protest, oh he surely would, was he the type of idiot that would? Of course not, he could run but he'd been caught once. He could do so when he was far enough away but had they really not thought that far ahead? Luck had been beside him long enough but she reasonably despised those arrogant enough to test her limits, so perhaps the safer option this time around? He grumbled to himself before glaring at the thing, "What do I do?"

**

A khaki brown bag was slid in his direction, the man behind it staring at him as it looked him down and over; reasonably normal looking although he couldn't help but notice an odd mismatch with his ears. "Erm…you did want a bag with this stuff right? Did your...mas—"

He handed them a wad of cash, shoving it in front them of with a hiss practically seething at this point, "Shut up"