The fort stood tall in the distance as Xoris looked at it for what could be the last time. He had no clue how the Stained would treat him, once he got over the mountains, or what he would find there, but he couldn't say goodbye. He couldn't trust himself enough to do that. Instead it was a whispered word on the warm wind as he turned away.

At some point, a line of mushrooms had begun to appear at the edge of his vision, an entire forest of them in front of the mountains coming into view. Even with no map, he recognized the place. It was notorious for Staining so many children, fungus crawling up their arms and into their eyes until it ate away at them completely.

He could barely focus on it though, his head dipping in exhaustion. All around him, his eyes stung even under his taunt skin, worn from crying, but he didn't want to stop. I have to find her. I want to get better.

The thoughts echoed in his mind, keeping beat with each heavy step as he pushed further into the humid desert.

It was morning, he knew that, and yet as he pushed forward, every spare eye closed just to keep it off his mind, he couldn't help but feel like there was an added sense of darkness beyond the limiting emptiness of having his eyes closed. A sense of panic had seized him at some point, of what could be behind him, at his side, even right under his face, and he would never know, but even as his skin crawled and teeth itched, he kept them shut.

But even with only two, he could see it was dark out, everything the same, greyish-toned colours as if it were night, but it couldn't be. Night had ended a long while ago, for sure. Frowning slightly, Xoris dug a gloved hand into the pouch on his belt, pulling out his water clock. It's at least morning by now, right?

He felt he'd been travelling for several turns now, his suspicions only confirmed by the four marbles that had flowed from the right side of the clock to the left. Shoving it back, he finally cast a glance at the sky.

It took him a moment to wonder why he couldn't see it before realising he had to tip his head, its entire presence sitting in just another patch of nothing. His heart beat heavily in his chest for a moment at the idea that he'd forgotten such a simple thing - a Human thing.

Shaking himself, he pushed the thoughts away, tilting his chin up. With his head back, he could see that it had gone from the thin slit of light from when he'd left the fort to complete darkness, the black sky completely covering the blue that always sat behind it.

But why is it closed? It's mid-afternoon. Unless-

His skin prickled as a jolting tension seized the air. It felt like he was near a Vilve, or at least a majik-wielder, but the fields around him were empty. Moments later, the world flashed, dull orange rippling over the sky as it revealed the webbing purple Cracks it always held.

Xoris knew what was coming next, but he always flinched as the world shook moments later after the light, a deep rumbling sound echoing from somewhere from above the sky.

After that came the patters, thudding, rhythmic sounds that sometimes came with the Cracks, pounding like soldiers' feet against the sky. Of course, Xoris knew that couldn't be true. No matter what the legends said, the idea of a god commanding an army and majik up in the clouds seemed ridiculous. So the sounds came from nothing then, echoing hollowly across the empty land, an idea that only unnerved him more.

He glanced at the mushroom forest again, able to see the dark grey caps with the crimson underside now with how close he was. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to rest for awhile. Not because he was scared of Cracks, but he was tired. Besides, the Stained were always over the mountains, Kraim and Ilysi were travelling with no clue of his whereabouts, and he doubted either would move very far if he took a few turns to sleep.

Mushroom stalks rose around him, far taller than himself as he entered the forest, surrounded by fluffy, rolled leaves of the foliage that enjoyed the usual shade and easy access to water with the crimson stream right there.

Normally, Humans didn't come here, even the slightest touch of the fungi able to Stain them, turning them into a Mykhna, but Xoris doubted he could get any more Stained at this point. Instead, he leaned his back against a thick stalk until he was sliding onto the dirt, looking at his surroundings. The ground surrounding the river leaked a putrid-smelling, yellow mixture, the land it touched an angry, blistering red. Above him, the sky flashed and rumbled again, the patters continuing to ring out on waves.

Am I making the right choice?

He was doing it now, leaving everything all to look for a Stained girl. The enemy. It was a last-ditch effort, and he knew that. He just hated the aching reminder of his chest of what that left him if this was just another lie.

Then there would be nothing else to do but take out the Stain. Not that he could entirely do that. He had no place as a hero anymore, but he could take out the strongest of them all, and then no one would have to worry about The Thing of Eyes and Teeth again. Did the Stained go to Lakhira once they were killed? He still didn't know, but it would be over.

His thoughts tapered off after that, quelling until they'd become an empty haze, his eyes flickering closed, head nodding towards his chest as the sky raged above.

It was a peaceful couple of turns, with some semblance of a dream touching his mind. He'd never remember what it was about though as that too was whisked away by the cold touch of metal against his throat.

"Don't move, or it will be the last thing you ever do."

With that, Xoris opened his eyes, or at least, his Human ones as he stood stock-still, unmoving. At his neck was the curved blade of a khopesh once again, held by the dark-skinned man in front of him. He didn't recognize him in the slightest, nor the black, ragged clothes he was wearing. The kingdom's soldiers wore purple or red to represent the gods, the High Court favoured blue, and the Fae had their own white. Whoever this man was, he worked alone.

Despite the weapon against him, it seemed like his attacker was much more panicked than Xoris himself was, beads of sweat dripping down his wide nose. "That's right... just... stay there."

Xoris blinked at him. The natural reaction would have been to scream, to run, to panic, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to. Whether it was the exhaustion racking at his body, or the thought of how he could bite at the blade at his throat or even end the man in an instant, panic seemed so... unnecessary at the moment.

No, he focused on the desperation in the other man's eyes. "... I am staying," he finally answered as politely as he could. "What do you need?"

At his words, the man jumped back, the blade twitching a bit on his flesh, but not enough to cut. "Oh my god, it can talk? I didn't think they were supposed to talk!"

The deep richness of his voice shook as fear rose up through it. He held up his other hand, a crystal softly glowing a rich scarlet hue. "Is this thing broken? Man, I am so sorry." Within moments, the blade was at the man's side as he stared at the crystal, flipping it on one angle, then another. He scowled, flicking his dark brown eyes between it and Xoris as he examined him. "Definitely broken. Again, sorry. I'd never attack another person. I just thought..."

"Thought what?" Xoris pushed himself up, ignoring the sore ache in his body from sleeping in his armour. He doubted he'd be able to fall back asleep after this; not that he planned to anyway. He'd had two rude awakenings now, and decided today was not the day for it. Now he was simply curious. "What exactly were you trying to do?"

"I was trying to find a Stained, or a Beast, whichever one those shadow things are. I bought this crystal from someone because they said it would glow whenever one was nearby. I used to have something similar, but it's long dead by now." He looked at Xoris again. "And now this one's broken too, or it was a scam. Either way, useless."

Xoris mouth stretched into a thin, awkward line as he felt the strong majik the crystal held, the strange, purple bruise on his arm reminding him of his last encounter. He didn't know what a 'skam' was, but he couldn't claim that the crystal was inherently broken, if that was its purpose. He tipped his head at the man. "Why are you looking for Stained?" He couldn't sense a lick of majik off him. Was he a good enough fighter with his khopesh to make up for it? Even if he was, going out looking for fights was an ashclaeve's wish, even for a trained soldier.

"Because..." The man sat down, one knee propped up for him to rest an arm on, and Xoris couldn't help but notice the deep, Crack-shaped scar webbing across it. "I need to find the thing that looks like a broken piece of the night sky. I think y'all call it a Vilve?"

Xoris had no clue what the man meant by it looking like the night sky. After all, Vilves were dark, branching things, filled with what looked like glowing, purple clouds and white speckles of light. In turn, the sky was pitch black when it closed for the night, nothing more, so the comparison was strange.

All the same, Xoris' breath caught in his throat at the mention of Vilves. He could still feel the dense pull of its heka when it had forcefully shoved a Crack in time between his upper and lower half, snapping them back together. He never wanted to feel that again. "That's not a good idea. Vilves aren't like other Beasts. It's better to leave them alone."

"Well I don't have that option!" He shot back angrily, the clear accent he had thickening in anger, jumbling over words almost as if he wasn't entirely used to speaking. "You don't understand. I'm not... supposed to be here. I'm trying to find one so I can get back home. That's all."

Xoris raised an eyebrow at him, propping himself up better against the tree. Granted, he had the girl to find, but there was no reason he couldn't point the man in the right direction. "Where do you live?" he asked. Aside from the fort, there wasn't much else near here, so he assumed it couldn't be far. Even as Xoris offered though, he only shook his head.

"Not here." A harsh laugh came out of his throat as he reached up to brush some of his wild, black curls closer to his head. "I wouldn't worry about it. You wouldn't even be able to begin to understand where I come from. The point is, those bastards brought me here, and I'm not going to rest until I kill another one to bring me back." He spat at the ground in disgust.

A Vilve... brought him here? From where? Xoris knew of people who had claimed to be Palkhiv's Choosen, becoming too close to the Stained and getting dragged along with their movement, teleported thousands of strides away in moments, every one with jagged scars just like the man's own. But, as he continued to speak, Xoris was beginning to gather that the distance he was talking about was far, far larger than any of those.

"Well, whatever. I'm sorry you got caught up in whatever malfunction this thing was having. I'm not after people." He pushed himself up off the ground, making to leave.

"Wait!" He watched as the man halted, giving Xoris his attention for a moment. "...Are you travelling alone?"

"I was," the man answered with a shrug. "Why?"

"If it's Stained you're looking for..." Xoris flicked his gaze away. This was his journey, his second chance. So why did he feel so alone? Why did every part of him cling to the idea that someone out there could come with him? He was supposed to stay away from people, especially after what he'd almost done.

And yet, nothing in him wanted to hurt the man. That was a good sign, right? He continued, "I-I was heading in the same direction. It's safer that way, if you'd like." He shrunk back, not liking how the man squinted at him, distrust clear on his face.

"Why are you looking for them? I thought everyone here feared them, since they want to kill everyone?" Still, he didn't argue with Xoris as he ran to catch up, armour rattling at every step.

"Well... m-maybe they don't have to. I mean, if one hypothetically didn't want to be evil, couldn't it... find a way to stop? It can't hurt to try and learn why they act the way they do, right?" He beamed up at the man, anything to relieve the tension building in his chest. That was another strange thing about him, Xoris was noticing. He was tall, more so than Xoris, which never happened. Even Kraim- the tallest person he knew- was a full head shorter than him, but now Xoris had to tilt back to look up to talk.

The man only lifted his eyebrows in response, continuing to push on through stalk after rubbery stalk of the trees. "Finally, someone who actually wants to know why anything is the way it is around here." He might have actually seemed impressed, if it wasn't for him wincing as he pushed a thorn bush aside, the barbs digging through his long sleeved shirt, tearing at him. A low hiss escaped his lips as he wrenched the plant out. "Yeah, I guess you can come along. I'm tired of talking to myself, and maybe you'll actually have answers for once. Most of the folks 'round here don't."

"Ah, thank you! I assure you I'm quite knowledgeable; I actually used to be a scribe, believe it or not!" he stated proudly before deflating with a sigh. "Still, you can't blame others for not knowing anything. Most people can't survive an encounter with a Beast, so getting any sort of answer on that end is... difficult. That's why I'm travelling."

"It doesn't have to be difficult. The Beasts don't bother me none. Most of them leave you alone if you don't bother them. I don't see why that's too much to ask anyone else." He shrugged, taking another few steps forward before hissing again, clutching at his arm. "Damn thorns! Why do they have to be absolutely everywhere?"

"That's just what happens when plants get Stained. They become deadly," Xoris informed him, unaffected as they scraped against the metal of his armour. After all, they weren't that far from the river, and if it could Stain the people who drank it unfiltered, it was only logical it carried over to the vegetation itself.

"Of course it does. Why wouldn't it?" It was clear he made no attempt to hide the sarcasm in his voice as he finally pulled his hand away from his bleeding arm. "Why wouldn't everything in this world be out to get me?"

Xoris was about to respond, when he looked down to the puddle of crimson pooling up on the man's palm.

What? But that couldn't be right. The man was Human, wasn't he? But it would be green if he was, unless...

His face lit up for a moment in realisation. Of course the Beasts didn't attack him. We're exactly the same! "Wait, you're Stained too?" he asked, taking hold of the man's arm, examining the cuts.

Instantly, the man yanked back, glaring at Xoris. "No, I'm not! Would everyone stop calling me that?" He tugged the long sleeve back over his arm in annoyance, the blood only leaking through the thin, sweat-filled material, staining it.

"No. That's just how blood's supposed to be... least where I'm from. No greens or blues or any of that. Just red." He shook his head, taking another few steps forward before casting his head over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing at Xoris. "Wait, what do you mean, too?"

Xoris took a step back, raising his hands in defence. "H-hold on... why else would blood be red? I mean, did you get Stained without realising? Or perhaps..."

But the man refused to listen as he glanced at the crystal. It still glowed brightly when the man had put it: a strange, material cave stitched into his shorts. With a flick of his hand, he was grabbing it, rushing towards Xoris with a threatening look in his eye. "This wasn't broken at all then! You're one of those... things!"

Xoris tried not to flinch as the man went from using his khopesh to hack away at plants to resting the tip right above the insignia of an eye on his armour. "Where are the Vilves hiding then? Tell me!"

"What? I don't know!" Xoris batted at the curved, dull inside of the sickle-like blade, knocking it off point. "I'm not a Vilve! I leave them alone."

"What about their village, or nest, or... something? Or are you trying to protect your kind?" The blade was steadied again, now by his face as the man stared down at him. "What are you, really?"

And now we're right back to where we started. At this rate, travelling alone would have been a better idea, but Xoris found it hard not to sympathise with him slightly. His lack of understanding was... incredible, to say the least. "I'm Xoris, the Thing of Eyes and Teeth."

"I don't know what that means! I don't know what any of this means," he cried, putting a hand to his face. Xoris watched him lower the weapon again. "Why can't any of this ever just be simple? You're a monster, right? That's what being Stained means? Where's your home then?"

"I don't know."

Was his home with the other Stained over the mountains, or the place he'd left behind? "That's... that's what I was trying to find out." Tears pricked at his eyes, just as salted as rain. "I wish I could give you an answer, but I can't."

A weariness began to spread across the man's face, his eyes that had been so wide in desperation before now wincing in lost hope. He sat down on the crenated, step-like fungus ledges running along the edge of the river, putting his head in his arms. "You really can't, huh? So it's the same as ever, just a wild chase to try and find a monster? I thought this crystal was supposed to help me find them, so why did it lead me to you?"

Xoris also took a seat on a short mushroom, using it like a stool. This was exhausting; his head was already throbbing from the lack of sleep, and the pounding sounds from the Crack above wasn't helping. "It's most likely because it's all the same energy. I became Stained about three Cracks ago, or- well, I supposed today makes four."

"So if you're one of them, why do you look so... Human?" He gestured to Xoris. "I thought I was hunting creatures like what attacked me in the first place."

Xoris frowned. "I don't have to. I look like this because I want to. If I didn't, would you be more inclined to fight me?" The man had already held a blade to him twice, and as much as Xoris wanted to help him, he would leave if it happened a third.

"I... Probably not. I don't wanna hurt anybody. Just... do what I have to in order to make those space creatures take me back."

"Well," Xoris began, pushing himself up. If that's the case, we really are headed to the same place.

He had no doubt that the Stained lived together, and while some Vilve did venture out further than the others, if there was any semblance of the Beasts having their own society, they'd be there. "We can look for them together then. You're much too confused about everything to do it alone, and I could use the company." He smiled again, offering the man a hand to help him up. "But for now, let's get out of this forest..." He trailed, still unsure of the man's name.

"It's Will."

"Wi-ll?" Xoris tried to form the word. I've never heard a name like that before. It made sense that he hadn't, but it was strange all the same.

"Yeah, just Will. No long, fancy, convoluted title like you." He let himself be tugged up, his odd, black shoes steadying on the slippery ground. "And I'm good with that plan in case the sky opens to let the rain in."

"Rain?" Xoris cast another look up at the pitch-black sky. Rain only came in large, salty drops when it was open, not during a Crack. The noises did sound similar though, now that he thought about it. What a strange metaphor.

"Yes, rain. As in literal rain. Now where are you planning on going? Is there a town or something nearby?"

"Um, well... no, I generally try to avoid those. I was thinking more of a cave." Despite not having had a single thought or urge in the turn or so he'd been walking with Will up to this point, he figured the less Human contact he had at this point, the better. The cave had been his first planned stop anyway. After all, it made sense if Beasts lived in the dark, tight spaces so close to the mountains, so if they happened to be there, it covered two goals in one trip.

"That'll work," Will agreed, using his khopesh to cut down another mushroom in his path. Part of its spore-filled underside scraped against him, but Xoris noticed that it did nothing, his skin unaffected. "Any reason you avoid towns? Do the folks not like you because you're Stained?"

"Something like that." Xoris pulled out his map, scratching at his teeth absentmindedly as he tried to angle it up with the mountain range in front of him. It wasn't difficult, given the fact that Kaezhia Peak was right there, a good thirty or so times larger than all the other mountains.

"Well that's a terrifyingly vague answer," Will cut in, interrupting his thoughts. "Did you do something wrong, or are they just being racist?" He stopped, glancing at Xoris, still scraping at his teeth. "And why do you keep doing that? That's like the fourth time this trip."

With a jolt, he yanked his hand away from his mouth. Wherever Will came from, Xoris was sure that teeth itching was not a common issue there. As for his other question though... "Not really."

After all, he'd never even truly killed people. Most of them had been Beasts, and if they hadn't, then it was Fae who hadn't wanted to help anyway, or Humans that committed acts so heinous that they hadn't deserved to live anyway. True, the way he had gone about it disgusted him, but what he had done wasn't wrong.

And yet, he couldn't stop his mind from drifting back to the night before, as he'd taken hold of a sword as he'd crept towards a room with one intent in mind. "But... I could have, so it's mostly likely better to prevent anything from happening. Besides, it's not like I'm going to find any of the Stained there."

"True," came Will's terse response as a raised white bump in the land came into view.

Xoris breathed a sigh of relief as they came closer. Finally. That took so much longer to get to than I thought. The front of the lump of stone had already been shattered in for mining purposes several Withers ago, but if the empty carts surrounding them meant anything, the Beasts had long since forced it to be abandoned.

"I thought you said we were heading for a cave." Will peeked his head inside as Xoris stepped in, already taking off his cloak and shaking his hair wildly to clear his tired mind. "This is more like a tunnel."

"It's not a mountain cave. It's a mining one," Xoris explained gently, glancing around. Even when the sky flashed with colour, it was pitch-black after the initial entrance, the light barely reaching to coat the white stone walls, but that was hardly an issue for him. Even without opening the rest of his eyes, he could see that the cave was large, a surprising amount of meat still clinging to the dripping red walls and floor, and only more to be found further in.

It didn't bother him though. While the idea of eating it forced a feeling of nausea through his chest and arm, it didn't seem so bad if it was simply sitting there untouched. If anything, that was how it was supposed to be.

"That means nothing to me." All the same, Will finally worked his way in, tossing a small bag to the floor with a thud. Xoris winced a bit as it landed with a squish onto the fleshy ground, not sure why the quiet sound had aided his headache so much, but he ignored it as Will continued, "I hate to ask this, but can you light a fire or something? I know it's hot, but I can't see a thing."

Xoris went to shake his head, then stopped as he processed what Will had said. "No, I don't have anything for that. Besides, it's nice in here."

"I thought you people had majik. But really, you're not even going to try and rub two sticks? You'd rather just sit in the dark?"

"If you really want me to, I can try but..." Xoris paused, taking in the scene around them. The soft dripping of water somewhere deeper in the cave, the abundance of heka in the air, thrumming along the walls, letting him know that everything would be all right with its sturdy, protective hold as old as time itself. Perhaps it was because there were no Beasts, but here, he felt completely safe. "I'd rather leave this place untouched. It's... sacred."

"It's a goddamn meat tunnel." The words were harsh and bitter. "Tell me how that's sacred. Doesn't it bother you? Like, at all?"

"Maybe if it's being eaten, but just like this..." Xoris looked around, trying to find what Will took issue with. "It's natural."

"To you, maybe," he responded, but Xoris was almost too tired to care what he'd consider more natural. What else did he expect out of a cave? Will had said that wherever he came from, it was beyond his fathomings, but that seemed ridiculous. Everything did. His head was killing him. The only thing Xoris could think right now was how much he wanted to feel the weightlessness of his own body again and drift back off to sleep, but now he wasn't alone.

He flicked his eyes over to the other person in the room. Granted, Will wouldn't be able to see what he looked like in the low lighting, and Xoris could more than handle a negative reaction, but he didn't want to scare him, or worse.

"Um, Will?" he called out, hoping to catch his attention. Xoris smiled apologetically as he looked over. "If you don't mind, you interrupted when I was trying to sleep earlier, and I would like to try again. That being said... I'm known as The Thing of Eyes and Teeth for a reason, so if you could avoid attacking me again, I'd appreciate it."

"I said I wasn't going to attack you." His voice sounded blank, unable to care as he continued to watch the Crack outside. "If you're not a Vilve, then as far as I'm concerned, you're not my enemy. Besides, for some reason or another, you're trying to help me when everyone else just... called me crazy or pushed me away. So, I'm not about to kill you in your sleep, if that's what you're worried about."

Xoris nodded, trying to stifle the yawn clawing its way out his mouth. It escaped anyway though, as he released his hold on the heka in his chest, pushing out as a warm breath of air from his hand. He laid on the warm, hard stone, eyes spacing out as sleep drifted closer.

Still, one more thought tugged at him as he lay in the dark."It's not for some reason or another. You clearly need help, and some directions, so I'm doing what I can." Another yawn broke through his words, scraping past his fangs. "It's what a good person would do."

"You're trying to be a good person, and a monster? A bit ironic, isn't it? I don't think you're supposed to be both."

A small chuckle reached his ears at that, causing a toothy smile to tug at the skin on Xoris' side.

"Well, I'm going to try," he murmured, his thoughts slowing as he relaxed. Even with Will being right there, something about this place put him at ease. It seemed right for him to be there, as if he was a part of the land itself, comforting and welcoming. One by one, his senses became undone, the last thing he noticed being the colours fading as he finally fell asleep.