Belphegor was feeling many things; anger, sadness, betrayal, and hungry.

His mother always threatened to leave him, but the bitter feelings still hit hard.

She was his everything.

She took care of him, fed him clothed him, and taught him everything he knew (which wasn't much). She may have not been the best parent (many called her obsessed and insane), but she was the only person in the world that even vaguely cared about him. Without her, he was just a weak little boy with nowhere to call home. 

He lost track of how many days it has been since she left him here to follow him.

The one he would call father. As much as he wanted to blame him for his predicament, he knew his mother was to be blamed.

With a frustrated scream, Belphegor kicked a tree but only managed to hurt himself. Thumping his head against the innocent tree, tears began to well up in his eyes.

He hadn't seen any other people for a while and he had no clue as to where he was.

Is this where I'm supposed to die?

He thought to himself as he idly began to pass his hands through his long hair. He only kept it this long because of an offhand comment his mother said that he cherished till this day.

Your hair is really nice.

Such simple words caused his heart to soar. As he untangled his hair, he began to think about what his mother would be like if his father didn't exist.

Would she find someone else to idolize? Would she be different? 

It was when he started imagining a completely different childhood when…

Koschei was a lovely little place in Xunatar’s eyes. Those that society shunned due to their abnormalities were gathered onto the little isle. It was a terrible shame to have such wondrous creatures discarded and isolated. Why, if he could, he would just go and scoop them all up into his hands and whisk them far away. Of course his intentions would be far from good and just; nay he could use some of those talents these inhabitants possessed into his fold. It just mattered if he could cull the weak from the rest of them and mold the remainder to suit his purposes. There was always a price to pay for something, he had learned that early on.

The demon had spent the majority of the day wandering about this forest, reminded of its fickle past. It served as a warning to tread carefully when it came to messing the forces one couldn’t possibly comprehend. Xunatar looked about his surroundings, admiring the artistic taste of what many had partaken in so long ago. The remains of the ancient ropes along the tree branches added a certain taste to the setting.

Reaching up, he was about to touch one of them when a sound stirred his interest; a scream rung from the distance. He had been far too oblivious to notice that another had ventured into these woods of sorrow and slowly did he make his entrance to intrude. Before long the other person came into his view, though he didn’t approach just yet. It looked to be a youth, but his smell brought out a sly smile. Oh he was something far different than just a mere human, and Xunatar had been around his kind many time from how his own children were to not not notice similarities there. Other than an excessive amount of hair that he could see, there wasn’t something something obviously wrong with the lad that showed anyway. But it meant very little if the damage was more internal. His bare feet produced sound after crunching sound as they met with twigs and leaves being crunched beneath their weight with each step taken. Blue eyes lingered onto the boy though they lacked any sort of comfort with their stare.

“Dear child, for what reason do you weep here, all by your lonesome?”, he asked, softly narrowing his gaze. Xunatar was smart enough to keep his distance, for the time being, for he did come without warrant and the child may be frightened already. A humbling smile was flashed and he tilted his head as he pondered why he was out here all by himself. “Don’t worry, I won’t bite. If anything, I’m more like you and far from being like those that inhabit the island.” Each word was woven like silk to the ears as he ready to sunk his hooks into the young man.

Belphegor stiffened in shock and surprise at the unexpected voice. Apprehension began to seep into his bones as he thought of the possible causes. As far as he knew, he was alone for miles in all directions except for nature. His mind immediately went straight to the tales his mother told him at night; about the creatures that lured humans into the forest to feast on their flesh; but he was already in the forest and still very much intact. 

Wiping the tears from his eyes onto his sleeve to see his questioner more clearly, he was surprised to see a man instead of the terrifying creature he imagined.

Licking his dry lips with an even dryer tongue, he answered with a vague, "I…… I'm just lost." Pushing his matted hair away from his face, he turned toward the mysterious stranger and began to fist his unnecessarily long tunic nervously.

"Wh-what do you mean "more like me"? What's the differ-," his sentence was broken by a dry cough as he hasn't had to speak for a while nor could he remember the last time he had seen a river.

It appeared that the boy had been spooked, but given the current situation and location, the God didn’t speak of anything against it. Instead a warm, alluring smile etched his lips as he stood with his back against one of the nearby trees. Either he was pretty brave or desperate to remain in such a wicked place and had truly earned his attention, if just briefly.

Xunatar gazed at him, his intentions unclear to read aside from not going and harming him right there and then. No, he was not like his beastial kin that aimed for pointless destruction and murders. He was much more coordinated and methodical about partaking into such pastimes. “A terrible place to be lost in”, he replied, his tone still soft and assuring as his eyes narrowed just a tad. “Be fortunate the the wolves haven’t indulged into their huntings here yet. I fear that they would not be as kind as I am right now.” That much was true- they despised humans, and even though he smelled something other than that from the child, he would still be ripped apart should some of the werewolves here get anxious enough. That or if they threw caution to the wind. His body language spoke more so than his words, and it was with that Xunatar drew out one of his pale hands from his side and in a moment, a cup filled to the brim with water came forth. With it, his arm extended towards the young one, all while keeping the same smile across his face.

“Now, now. Do not worry about that.” Pushing himself away from the tree, Xunatar and crept closer. “I only meant that you are something…unique to this world. And l am as well. The offer for the cup still stood for him should he want it. “Tell me your name, child.”

Belphegor cringed inwardly at the thought of being viciously being torn into pieces and eaten. He heard the screams off in the distance every now and then, but ignored them because panicking now would hurt more than help.


As the man crept closer, Belphegor stumbled back a few steps in anticipation. Everything about the man was warm and inviting, and the cup of water seemed heavenly right now, but his mother always told him to be wary of strangers.

She always told him that family stuck together, but she isn't here now, is she?

"Belphegor." Eyeing the water suspiciously, he briefly looked up at the stranger to search for any ill intentions, but saw none. "Why are you here?

He felt delighted by the boy’s reaction. One could never be true careful for there were plenty of wolves among a herd of sheep. Xunatar, if anything, was definitely one of those cunning predators but he wasn’t the sort to be licking his chops and jump right in with fangs ready to sink into his prey. Oh no, he preferred to take things much slowly than that.

“Trust me, my dear boy. Should I had wished harm upon you, it would have already been done.” His smile faded just a tad and he planted the cup onto the ground and backed away. If the lad was truly thirsty, then his instincts would go with one of two ways. Either he would continue his resistance or cave and give into the temptation. Xunatar cared not which was picked.

Belphegor offered his name while still wearily of the lord’s presence. The amusement returned to him and his arms folded against his chest. From the distance, he heard the chilling howling in the air and turned his head towards that direction. “The pups are out to play now”, he let slip out before his eyes serpentine over to Belphegor as more of them could hear from the distance. “Fear not, they won’t lay a claw or fang onto you. Not while I am here with you.”

“I am here because I have a fondness for this island. Many things that are discarded from the rest of the world come here to find purpose. Like our friends out there hunting. Shunned and ridiculed by the fairer races, they return the favor in these parts. I’d suggest that if you venture into their city, to steer clear of them and keep your head down.”

His face portrayed a shocked look before chuckling. “Forgive me, where are my manners? My name is Xunatar.” His blue eyes flickered with the reveal of his name. 

The way Xunatar talked about the werewolves fascinated Belphegor. Growing up, he only heard bad things about them and was surprised to find someone with a different belief.

The thought of water only made him thirstier, and at this point he didn't care of the possibility of poison. He was right about him being easily able to kill him; hell right now a housecat could probably beat him. Even at full strength he wasn't that much. 

Wobbling over to the cup, he gulped it down greedily as if it were to be his last; which was a possibility if he didn't get out of the forest soon. If what the man says is true though, he should be alright as long as he was with him. 

When the last drop was gone he set the cup back down and was already feeling way better than he felt this morning. Slightly embarrassed by his eagerness he asked yet another question to fill the silence.

"You said that they wouldn't attack you…. What makes you so different?"

He watched with a keen eye as Belphegor finally gave into his thirst and finally drank the water. There was no tricks beneath his sleeve; his offering was simply as it was. As he had said before, had he wanted to do something towards him, it would have already been done. As soon as the cup emptied, it filled up once more with water. “Not everything in this world is what is seems to one’s senses. The line between reality and fantasy can be murky at best.”

To prove his point, Xunatar waved his hand right in front of him and change some of the scenery around them; the trees around them glowed a bright and vibrant purple hue. It served to help make these neck of the woods a bit less frightening. While he could have done a lot more than that little trick, he remembered that his powers wouldn’t be as absolute as they could be because of Parvpora.

“Perhaps I had misspoken. They probably would attack me if I gotten in their way. But it would be ill advised for them because I am a demon for one thing.” Xunatar brought forth a glass of wine between his fingers and sipped at it with the manners of a seasoned gentleman. Once he pulled the rim away from his lips, he removed the enchanting color from the setting. “For another thing, I am something grander than most. Something more divine. If they strike, I can do more than handle them. But I do not blame them- it is only in their nature.”

“Indulge me, tell me how you came to be lost here, Belphegor?”

Disappointed that the show passed by quickly, Belphegor took a moment to think about the last few weeks.

"Well… my mother and I were visiting Kurayo to search for my father when she had suddenly decided to take a trip. I wasn't expecting her to suddenly ditch me in the middle of the forest because it's normal for her to make sudden descisions. The abnormal thing though was the man that came with her. I knew for a fact that he wasn't my father and she wouldn't tell me who he was, or where we were going. I just remember us traveling for a few days and waking up one morning to see my mom the stranger run off with the one horse we had. They never came back." The bitter feeling rose up again, but now that he had something to distract himself with, it wasn't as bad.

He watched as Xunatar sipped the wine and pondered as to why people drank it. He once had a taste of it and sworn himself off of it for life. He hated bitter things with a passion.

The boy had somewhat reminded him of one of his sons. As the lord looked to him, he could see similarities in him to Colden. The big difference was that Belphegor seemed a lot smarter than his envy filled brat. Something that he could truly appreciate.

He seemed to be filled with resentment over his mother and the man she was with, which Xunatar had a few suspicions as to just who he could have been. Perhaps she took a new lover and couldn’t handle the burden of raising a child any more. Especially if she knew about the boy’s heritage alright. Being discarded and left to fend for themselves would typically make the opinion of the victims more jaded. He seemed to be in control of himself for the most part.

Taking another sip, he could hear the wolves drawing nearer, likely they had found some prey close by, or it was this they sought. It mattered not to him if they sought for their flesh; they wouldn’t have it today.

“How utterly terrible of her. I’m not one that appreciates those that abandon their children. Such a shame that a fate had fallen onto you, my good boy.” Conjuring up an apple close to Belphegor, he tilted his head and flashed a smile. “You might as well eat up, how long has it been since you sought out food?”