"Zephyr come here..." Black said, his voice carrying a tone of unease, though he still moved in front of Zephyr to protect her in case of any danger.
Black looked in the darkness, on full alert, focused.
His golden eyes narrowed with attention and caution.
His unblemished face contorted into a frown and confusion. The terrifying darkness of the caverns loomed over them like a dreadful abyssal maw ready to devour them.
Black looked past their small camp fire, into the pitch-black darkness in scrutiny and attention. Trying to look or spot the source of the unknown movement.
"Just... what is it!!." Black muttered with a calm and composed voice.
Living and hunting in these dreadful, terrifying caverns for so many days, where time itself lost it's meaning for them had taught him to stay composed and keep a cool-head, even in the most unexpected of situations.
Zephyr spoke with an annoyed look..
"Nevermind, whoever it is doesn't matter. We'll just kill it too like the tens of magical beasts and monsters we have killed over the past few days!! ~ " all the while she moved and stood beside Black.
Observing the surrounding with a non-chalant, dismissive even irritated expression.
Hearing her, Black looked at his right side, with raised brows and a slight amused smile. His curled lips parting..
"You shouldn't be so hot-headed Zephyr. Be more cautious, for all we know it could be a Rank 6 monster!!." Black chided Zephyr for being so immature.
For taking the situation so lightly yet the smile not leaving his face.
'Didn't she learn anything over the past seven days. What gives her the confidence for being so negligent'. Black just sighed at her, shook his head inwardly while again shifting his attention ahead.
At Black's chiding, Zephyr also replied with a subtle sly grin hidden at the corner of her lips..
"So what. Even if its a Rank 6 level 69 magical beast we can still kill it if we work together and give it our all. Besides I myself am strong enough to kill normal mid rank 6 creature's easily... Hump.. " she humpted cutely. Looking away from him with a slight angry expression.
As though saying 'I'm angry and don't want to talk to you. How could you scold me!!.'
Looking at Zephyr's cute angry expression, Black stern face melted.
With a Mirithful laughter, he wondered 'So, that's what gave her the confidence, she wasn't being negligent at all. It seems like it was I who was being paranoid. What an embarassment!!.'
Then suddenly he had a funny thought, so with a subtle devious smirk spreading across his lips and with a mischievous glint in his eyes, Black spoke..
"Well yeah... if 'I' couldn't even Accomplish that then 'I' would've been a disgrace, both as a Progenitor and your father. Right Zephyr!!."
Hearing the accursed 'word' again, Zephyr's eyes widened in disbelief as though someone had just broken the biggest taboo in the world causing a pandemonium. She looked at Black practically screaming in frenzy and retaliation,
"BLACK... how could you... Uggghh... I told you not to address me by that word. I'm not your 'Daughter' — just because you are a Progenitor. You say that again and... and I'll kill you!!." she gasped for breath, her fingers pointed at Black practically digging into his chest, her scarlett orbs wide, aglow basically spitting fire both in anger and vexation, her face flushed red both in embarrassment and indignation.
"Hahaha... hahahaha... "
"Hahahaha.. "
Seeing her sudden burst of emotions, Black laughed, as he threw his head back, his hands on his stomach. Trying to regain his composer, and stop the laughter. But he couldn't help himself.
When he watched the many expressions she made in just that 1 second. Even in her anger, she looked both innocent and cute to him.
Causing him to loose his composer and laugh hysterically.
After a minute Black finally calmed down..
"Sorry, Sorry... Sorry Zephyr... I couldn't help it!!." Black spoke looking at her while at the same time shaking his hand side to side.
"Humph.. " Zephyr humpted, not looking at him, still angry.
Seeing that she was still upset, he tried to placate her with an amused smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"Alright sorry, sorry. I said I won't do it again... I also wouldn't call you my daughter anymore. Hehe.. that was last, I promise!!." Black finished with a soft chuckle.
This time managing to compose himself.
Hearing him mention the accursed word again, Zephyr just glared at him silently...
"You won't use it... you promise!! ~ " still she asked, her onyx slits narrowed at him, her voice a pitch louder as though warning him 'that better be the case!!.'
Seeing the subtle warning signal she directed at him.
"Umm..." "Umm..." Black simply nodded.
*Step...* *Step...* *Step...* *Step...* *Step...* *Step...*
*Step...* *Step...* *Step...* *Step...* *Step...* *Step...*
In there little squabble. The unknown creature had already closed a considerable distance. It's footsteps becoming a notch louder with every passing second.
However it was still not visible in the darkness.
Noticing the growing footsteps, Zephyr spoke..
"Whatever this thing is, it disturbed our time together and no less when we were resting. It's clearly a single magical beast or maybe more. Thinking we are weak, good prey for it!! ~ " She looked in the palpable darkness, her eyes wide, slits narrowed. Her expression both a towering anticipation and a slight excitement.
As Zephyr really wanted someone or a good punching bag to release all of her previous frustration and anger. And the unknown creature fits the description perfectly both as the source of her earlier irritation and annoyance and the cause of her conversation with Black, which led to that accursed word, thus her anger and frustration. All of it because of this creature.
"That's true. You're right, how can I forget that. We should just kill it and go back to sleep". Upon hearing Zephyr, Black also realized that it was there resting time. After that good meal.
'Who likes to work with a stomach full' Black was feeling like that, causing him to catch Zephyr's disease, that is, getting irritated and annoyed by the unknown creature.
Seeing Black understood what she was trying to say...
"Umm..." "Umm..."
She nodded. Her expression like an old sage.
"that's what I'm saying, how can some 'lowly' monster disturbe our rest time. For such a crime its only salvation is a swift death".
"No, No, No... that won't cut it. A thousand death is a must Zephyr"
"Really, isn't that quiet exaggerated".
"No, it's not..."
"..."
While both Black and Zephyr were lost in there own world, squabbling.
The said creature had already closed the distance enough to finally becoming visible at around 50 meter away in the empty pitch-black darkness aglow by the small fire and the crystals.
The creature. It was a massive, towering giant scorpion, about 5 meter tall. With a amethyst-purple exoskeleton.
its segmented, curved tail ending in a stinger, surrounded in a dark venomous haze. Its distinctive pincers twitched rhythmically. As it moved its eight legs, causing the earth itself to trimble with each movement. It's 12 compounded eyes glowed crimson in the pitch-black darkness past the small fire.
They glared at Black and Zephyr with a predatory look...
Black and Zephyr had also stopped bickering, looking at the scorpion both in scrutinizetion and observation...
The air turned both solmen and heavy as though shimmering with a dark energy. Giving it a thrilling and exciting tone as the two pairs, One Golden, One Scarlett stared at the 12 deep Dark-Crimson compounded eyes that shone with a eerie gaze.
They were venomous, baleful even malevolent.
...
As a nocturnal creature, The scorpion took pride in it's ability to hunt in the dark and liked to ambush its prey's as it used its potent venom to subdue it. It took pleasure when he saw the eyes of it's prey as they looked at him both in terror and despair.
It both excited and thrilled him.
The scorpion felt intoxicated as he gazed at those despair filled eyes...
It should've been no different this time too. He had spotted them all alone in these caverns, by the small camp fire side.
'Humph... They must be thinking that the fire would keep the predators away. Fools, sure it would keep those weaker, lowly creature's away from them. But so what, strong and higher magical beast like myself who had gained sentience would feel nothing by it. The fire would only make them easier to spot... hehehe... Making for nice and easy meal... hehehe... mind-less creature's... hehehe... ' the scorpion thaught, as it crackled in a broken eerie manner.
if someone else heard his thoughts, they would simply puke blood at how narcissistic he was even as a lowly mortal beast.
Meanwhile the scorpion itself was both thrilled and excited, his bestial instincts were aroused when he thaught of the look of despair he would see on the two creature's faces.
They were clearly weaker than him.
Thinking that, the scorpion advanced towards the two creature's with both a rash heedlessness and a controlled prudence.
But instead of the look of despair and terror the insect magical beast was eager to see, it saw a look filled to the brim with contempt and disdain directed towards him. Causing the scorpion to abruptly stop in it's tracks, taken aback, dumbfounded, even bewildered.
'Why are they looking at me like that, as though 'I'm the prey instead of the predator'' he thaught, confused. His beast mind couldn't compherend as to why they had such a look.
"Eww... It's a insect Black. Such a disappointment, if it was only a beast we could've atleast gotten something to eat for our hard labour!!." Zephyr said in disappointment, her voice a pitch lower.
"Yeah... you are right as an insect. It sure doesn't have any meat in it. But why don't you look at the brighter side, as a poisonous insect if you eat and absorbe it's core. It would surely increase the potency of your poisen by many times as you resonate with it, right".
"Whaa... how come I didn't think of that. Am I turning stupid by eating so many cow meat. No it can't be right. I'm such a smart girl. How can I be stupid, right I know it's because... of this insect... I'm in such a bad mood because of it. That my mind isn't working properly and turned stupid!!."
Zephyr spoke in realization! angered as she glared at the culprit — the disgusting scorpion.
The scorpion heard the two creature's talking, and as an intelligent beast. it understood every single thing.
The two creature's totally disregarded him, mocked him and even looked at him in contempt and disdain.
As the realization hit the magical beast like a thunderbolt in a storm, The scorpions compounded eyes widened — It felt humiliated, indignant even insulted as though his Pride was hurt.
He was disgraced by these two insignificant and lowly creature's.
The incandescent rage he felt at the humiliation, his blood boiled, his mind burned in a murderous frenzy, the 12 compounded eyes glared at the two creature's not hiding the ginormous killing intent.
It spoke, in a deep fury that broadened on madness, his 12 crimson eyes aglow in the dark caverns..
"You two creature's have the nerve to disregard and humiliate me like that.. " it's voice husky, broken even hoarse. Still loud, booming even thunderous creating a contrast between them. like light and dark.
"I, Scor'ell swere on my very being that I would kill you in the most brutal manner and use your heads as a trophy to wash away this humiliation". The scorpion finished, with a predatory grin reeking of malevolence and evil, a foreboding reminder of its sentience. its voice loud, booming, even thunderous. Shocking the surrounding hinting at the towering fury and the raw power contained in it like a looming death sentence.
These two weaker creature's had the audacity to humiliate him —
...