"Honestly, Morticia, you're far too easily bored." Morticia threw her head back and laughed. Of course she was bored! What fun was it to simply watch humans meander throughout their daily lives? "That will soon change, Ryerles. I deliberately fetched you first for a reason." The succubus squealed and clapped her hands. With Ryerles on the Tenebrae's back, the three of them had been traveling for some time, flying from Adeluna. "Hurry, Tenebrae, I want to get there before the rain starts back up."

Soon, the unlikely trio darted into the branches of a tree just as the the cacophony of water pelting against the canopy overhead began to drown out most of the other sounds. Ryerles dismounted the dark wyvern and stood by Morticia, hands crossed as she put much of her insignificant weight on one foot, flaming red hair pulled back into a tight "pony tail". "So what was so damned important that it had to be done in the middle of a sodden rain forest?" Simply flashing her friend a mischievous smile, Morticia stayed silent.

The pixie turned her attention to the ground below. On her hands and knees, lavender eyes squinting, Morticia concentrated. Terrible succubus or not, Ryerles knew better than to disturb the pixie. Beneath them, the ground shook as mounds pushed themselves up, soon to be broken by outstretched hands bound in aged woven linen. A total of ten mummies unearthed themselves as Morticia beamed triumphantly. "See? Aren't they beautiful?" Ryerles cooed, kneeling down next to Morticia to peer down at the human sized creatures. "Now what? They gotta be good for something."

Eyes widened with inspiration. Nearby, a few skeletons unearthed themselves. "The average human dies at random places. It's amazing how many are neglected." Morticia observed as zombies approached the skeletons menacingly. Groans and the clicks of bone on bone filled the air under the rainfall, shuffling and shambling. The risen dead were fighting each other, clawing and ripping.

He needed to get away from the cabin, yet deciding to park it and walk into a large rainforest did not seem like one of his better ideas. Just recently returning from Parvpora, and getting turned while he was over their on the job that he accepted, he needed some time for himself. He could still feel his blood boil in his own body, and the worst was the rage that he had to suppress. Sure he had Kaylani by his side, but it was draining and exhausting on him.

The downpour of rain in this place was cooling, even though the temperature was extremely warm and the humidity was through the roof, your typical rainforest. He tried to look at the positive side effects of being turned, such as the longevity and far superior strength and reflexes. He was afraid though that he would never be able to control the beastly instincts and rage and would end up hurting someone. All this was going through his mind and he just walked..not even pay attention to where he was going.

He couldn’t get lost, her scent was easy for him to find, he would follow it to get out.

The swordsman continued to be lost in thought, that was until he heard a familiar noise and one he thought was taken care of. Quickly he knelt down and approached the sound, hiding in the shrubs, approaching the noise. Before him was one of the oddest sights he had seen, mummies and skeletons brawling in the middle of the rainforest. Skeletons were something he could imagine actually being here, but the mummies were definitely not, which meant something had to raise them.

“Risen in protection? ” he quietly whispered to himself? It seemed a poor matchup though, as they were still bound to the laws of their flesh. Skeletons, on the other hand, could fight as long as the mana that bound their bones stayed intact. “No the magic binding them, are the same. This is for amusement..”

Zanar kept low with his hand on the hilt of his blade. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself. Sure he could handle a few skeletons and mummies himself, but if there was a practitioner of Necromancy he didn’t want to get involved. He would just bide out the time and proceed when their little game was over.  He could feel something else was around, perhaps doing the same as him or perhaps the summoner of these foul creatures.

It was exciting to watch the two types of undead brawl each other. A mummy had punched a skeleton in the face. When he pulled his fist back, the skull popped off the spinal cord, stuck on the mummy's hand. He used this as a knuckle duster, pounding the skull into the chest of the headless skeleton over and over, repeatedly until the entire skeleton crumbled to dust, including the weaponized skull.

One skeleton had the upper hand, quite literally. It had managed to pry the entire arm off of its opponent and was using it as a bludgeon weapon, smacking several different mummies as they attempted to retaliate. Wrapping was flying everywhere, little pieces of cotton confetti littering the air drifting as leaves on the wind. Even as Morticia giggled maliciously, she could not change the fact that her laugh was still the sound of clappers gently tingling against different sized metallic bell in melodic harmony.

In the end, it was the mummies who were triumphant with three left. Missing an arm or a hole having been torn in the chest cavity was the extent of the damages dealt to them. "Do it again! That was bloody brilliant!" Morticia ignored her as she flew down toward her creations. Round and round each of their heads she slowly flew, getting a good look at them close up. Intrigued, she descended and landed on a skull. Dainty feet danced circular patterns on the muddy bone which was as tall as she was. She threw her hands out and giggled again, much like a gleeful child.

With a simple hand gesture, the mummies stood as straight as they could in single file. As the first one went to take a step forward, it accidentally kicked the skull out from underneath her. Poor Morticia went tumbling one way, the skull went flying toward the unknown witness, landing only a foot away. Worse yet, the pixie couldn't control her trajectory, or even correct herself, landing in a deep (to her) puddle. She was stuck in the mud underneath the water, and was unable to do much about it. The mummies were stumbling about in chaotic panic.

Ryerles shrieked as she jumped onto Tenebrae's back. The psuedo-wyvern spread his wings and glided down, avoiding the risen dead all together. He hovered over the puddle as best as he could, the succubus leaning over dangerously. "Morticia!!! Morticia!" Being as tall as the pixie, and not a good swimmer at all, Ryerles was unable to do anything at all to save her friend. Sadly, Tenebrae could not see Morticia, resulting in the inability to make any attempts to retrieve the winged woman out of the huge lake, which is of course, from their own perspective. All he could do was pathetically make wailing screeches as he prayed that Morticia would breach the surface.

Zanar honestly had no idea why he stuck around to watch this fight. The first thought of them being raised for protection immediately left his mind, as this was just something far simpler. This whole ordeal was just for amusement, which was made clear within moments. His ears picked up another sound in while the fight was going on, it sounded like a woman’s giggling but it was so faint.  Just a few more minutes and leave, don’t get involved with that you don’t need to.

Within those few moments that Zanar left for himself the fight reached its conclusion with the mummies being victorious, much to his surprise. As he was about to get up and sneak away, the summoner of the undead showed themselves and Zanar just let out a small sighed and shook his head. A Pixie of all things, I should’ve guessed, and one with necromancy at that. Mischievous little things they are.

She was definitely the commander of them, as they obeyed her gestures. Yet the fun and games were over as one knocked the skull out of her feet. This caused the small thing to plummet into a puddle nearby and the mummies started to panic afterward.  Zanar picked up the skull that rolled near him and tossed it at the mummies in order to startle them, and in their hysteria, he quickly sent out an energy wave from his blade sending them to rest once again.

Usually, he wouldn’t care if a practitioner of necromancy met their end, but this Pixie was causing no harm to no one at the moment. It would be more embarrassing for them to die in a puddle. He barely noticed the pseudo-wyvern and flying around the puddle as he knelt down and scooped the pixie from the muddy water of the puddle.

After letting the water and mud drain between his fingers he set the pixie down upon the ground and quickly glanced over at the small wyvern. “If her friend is around, and trust me I can tell there is another presence here, you may want to check and see if she is alright. I am far too large to do anything without damaging her.” He stated.

Out of no where, Ryerles saw a stranger put Morticia's creatures to rest and essentially crowded them away from the puddle where their friend was drowning. It was as if he could not see the pocket sized succubus on the back of the pseudo-wyvern. Thanks to the seriousness of the situation, Ryerles decided to let the ignorance slide. He could do something she could not, and that was pull Morticia out of the puddle. There was genuine surprise as the stranger seemed to be concerned about the pixie.

Morticia remained motionless as Tenebrae landed near her, mournful sounds escaping his throat. The succubus slid off the wyvern's back and ran to Morticia. Fear was evident on her face as her hands hovered over the pixie. "Don't you dare, Morty!" She began throwing her weight on the pixie's chest, pressure located at the center of the rib cage. Soon enough, water gushed forward and Morticia struggled as she rolled over, coughing. As relief flooded through the succubus, she assisted her friend as best as possible.

"Damn it, Morty, don't you dare do that to me again, ungrateful pixie." Morticia cracked a smile, tried to laugh but ended up coughing again. Ryerles busied herself with checking the pixie's wings. "Honestly, what were you thinking, taking a swim? Not a wise idea for you. And you should thank the giant over here. Saved your life, he did." At the mention of him, Morticia's head nearly whiplashed trying to look up at him. "You… saved me? Why?" Oh, she was cautious, and very weary. Those they called giants almost never did anything for her kind, and most found her chosen magical path distasteful. There was little surprise as to why she was untrusting of someone who could easily squash her like a bug.

Or steal her wings… Ya, people like her wings for potions… "Morticia! Thank him proper!" Ryerles gently yanked on a wing, grabbing the pixie's attention. With a yelp, Morticia shot her an angry glare. Rubbing her shoulder, her attention was returned toward the giant. "Thank you, for fishing me out of the mud." She stood and gave a little bow to him, yet her eyes never left his face. The giant surely had to be up to something!

He sighed a little in relief when he saw that the pixie regained her brief and tried to laugh at the situation. He never understood what made their kind such tricksters and playful things. She was a necromancer though so he knew not to just brush that off. Her playful demeanor seemed to immediately disappear when she was told it was him that saved her from the mud. “You did no wrong to me, I see no reason to watch something die. Drowning is not the most pleasant way to go, especially by something which you summoned back into this world.”

He gave her a slight nod when she thanked him for rescuing her, “Your welcome,” he said to her, but still noticed she was in a more cautious type of mood. He sighed, “Trust me I am up to nothing, nor do I care about poaching the wings off of you. As I stated, you did no wrong and sure your type of magic is not the most…graceful type, but no harm was done only to yourself.”

“Zanar is the name, guessing yours is Morticia by the way your friend here said it,” He said to her trying to give the small thing some sort of relief. He knew that some people often poached pixies for their wings, as they amplified some effects of potions and were used to craft their own style of potions. He needed none of that stuff and looked down of poaching and slaughtering of anything in cold blood. He chuckled a little at that though, seeing as he was a mercenary himself.

“Was honestly telling myself not to get involved, just wanted to watch the fight between the Skeletons and Mummies. It was quite interesting, helped calm the anger a little bit. But knocking down a few remaining ones felt good In itself. This whole lycanthropy deal is a pain in the rear sometimes.”

Zanar gave his word that he cared not for her wings, and introduced himself. This did nothing to ease her worries. Someone she had grown to trust for various reasons viciously attacked and stole her wings at one point in time. For a complete stranger to give his promise meant nothing to her, steeling her heart against such foolish stupidity as to trust anyone that explicitly again.

Yet, he continued speaking. Morticia’s eyes widened with genuine surprise, grasping every word and deciphering the exact meaning. He found her magic interesting, which calmed his anger, though she didn’t know why he was angry in the first place. However, it was the word lycanthropy that captured her interest. She was familiar with lycans, her first introduction to them became best friends with someone she was very close to.

”Lycan? Why are you so angry, Mr. Werewolf?” While her bell like voice sound as if she was poking fun at him, she was quite sincere in her inquiry. At the same time, she was not aware that lycanthropes could shift into anything other than what she was accustomed to. Standing, her wet wings tucked against her back, the pixie walked closer to him, smiling mischievously. ”I can always create more for you to have fun with, if you need to release some more… stress.”

“Lycanthrope? Ah, I must’ve said the wrong one yet again,” He stated. “No, I am no wolf, but a bear instead. A fair rarer strain that shifters can become, but still just as dangerous if left unchecked.” The question that the pixie asked still fit even if she got the strain wrong from his mistake. “The answer for that I am still seeking myself if I am to be honest. I just feel the primal rage in my chest,” he put his hand on his chest and he felt the warmth of it. “Could be a tormented soul, memories of the past left unchecked, or it could be I do not have the strength to fully control it.”

He hadn’t realized how much he was talking about himself, not knowing if this could be the key to quelling the beast within or not. It helped his mind though, and he could feel some sense of peace falling over his being. He narrowed his eyes and knelt down to look at her when she offered the summoning of more undead to help “aid” him. “You just want to have more entertainment for yourself, do you not?”  He questioned in good humor.

Picking up the skull of one of the skeletons nearby he looked at it. “The dead should not be disturbed, souls deserve to rest. You may not be causing any harm to anyone, but I personally still disapprove of necromancy in this usage.” His words were stern, and he may have offended the pixie before him but he would stick by his ideas to the end
.
He threw the skull away and brushed his hands off. “So what is your story? Most of your kind do not dabble in necromancy like you do?” She may have been curious about his ursanthropy but that did not mean that he wasn’t curious as to why a pixie decided to take on dark styles of magic.

"A bear, huh? Just what us little ones need, someone to get even bigger, all the easier to squash us." While the succubus may be grateful he saved her friend, she still had a sour sense of "humor" when it came to things easily ten times bigger than she. Yet, despite it all, Morticia was beginning to warm up to Zanar, to the point of relaxing her shoulders. She nodded knowingly to his words, knowing too well how dangerous any shape-shifter could be, especially if they are the cursed variety. Whether it be received or born into, each strain was still a curse.

Hiding her ability to relate to some of his self-evaluation, Morticia smirked at him, crossed her arms, mischief written clear as day in every curve and feature. "Maybe I do. Maybe I just want to see a bear in action." She giggled, tapering off at his words of the dead. Her lavender eyes gazed upon the corpses of mummies and skeletons alike, strewn about and damaged from the fight. He was right, but, there was a reason she did this… Wasn't there?

A sigh escaped her as the inevitable questions were broached. Of course he was curious, they all were. Zanar had shared something intimate about himself, so it was only fair she did the same. "No, most pixies do not dabble in most magic, spending their efforts in their pranks and cruelty. I knew he had been slipping, something was off at the end. Before I could piece the puzzle together, I found myself in this land, no way back. I… became lost on so many levels. Physically.. Mentally… Necromancy saved me… but, it could only do so much." The succubus narrowed her vision at the pixie, presented with information she had not known, and thus something to figure out.

Desperate to turn the subject away from herself, knowing she may have presented a hundred more questions with her explanation, the pixie inquired a question of her own. "So, were you born or 'gifted' with this… something-thropy?" Ryerles's eyes could be felt on her back before she flew forward, hovering by Zanar's head. "Enough with the small talk, Mort! Let's summon more of those things and overpower him so we can get leave." The pixie sighed. "Ryerles, you've got a lot to learn." "Honestly, I don't understand your obsession of the giants." "I spent countless years watching and studying them, so naturally I have a fascination. Now, you can play nice, or you can go wait for me at a distance."

”So you are one of those who was forced unto this land eh? Sadly I do not know of your confusion, was born in Bohar.” He had heard of people coming to these lands from a different world, never had truly met one though. This pixie probably studies the necromancy arts in order to keep her bearings from what he surmised from her words. That he could understand as he trained far more often now that he was inflicted with the ursanthropy curse. People always find ways to cope with their own minds, even though those ways may not lead them down the path that they want to or end up causing harm to others. ”The mind is a crazy thing, is it not.

He was about to answer the pixie’s inquiry but was interrupted by the succubus who had decided to fly in his face. He listened to their slight argument, obviously, the succubus did not approve of him even being here or alive for that matter. Such was typical of a being of demon blood, he was kind of grateful that she was as small as she was or things may have turned out different. Morticia, on the other hand, dismissed her suggestion, driving her off. ”Spiteful thing are we? Do you honestly think I could not fight off the damned? I already have stated I have no quarrel with you or your pixie friend.”

He turned his attention back to Morticia, ”No I was not born a Ursanthrope, I was turned. Quite brutally at that also, would have died also if I wasn’t saved.” Zanar pulled down a bit of his tunic showing the large claw mark scars on his chest that ran through his raven tattoo. ”Was on a what I thought was a simple job, it ended up being an ambush of three more of my kind that had full control of their powers. Back then I was just a simple human so I was easily overpowered not to mention I had someone else with me that I needed to protect.”

He could still see their faces when he slept, and the pain of the wounds still ached to this day. Not only was he trying to escape the primal fury building in his chest, but those memories as well. ”Being on the edge of death…does things to a person. The pillars I thought I was once on were no longer, crumbling down into the depths of deaths darkness.”