Nyx
As I wandered the winding halls, I couldn't help but notice the numerous unique and uncommon scents, some so rare that I thought the DNA had been wiped off the face of the planet ages ago, but here I stand now, corrected.
And if I focused hard enough, I could swear I smelled another scent similar to mine, like there was another gene seed here, but I quickly brushed that thought off as it was most likely just a gene seed taken from one of my past kin.
Looking around further, I was honestly quite surprised to find that not a trace of my fellow horror could be found; not a scent mark, not a scratch, not even a simple piece of hair.
'Did they put their scent on this school as a trap? Or is the place an old refugee of theirs?'
I didn't know, but I'd be far more cautious from now on moving forward, as the mere idea of this place being a trap rested in my silver peripheral.
As I walked, I noticed how many of the security cameras turned as I did, suggesting someone was watching.
Bringing my gloved hand up, I waved with a smile that would unnerve most, now whether that was the case for the person watching was beyond me; I may be powerful, but I'm not omnipotent.
Eventually my stroll had me in the west wing, its condition noticeably cleaner than the rest, and also reeking of the horrors sent.
'So, they just stayed in this part of the school?'
I wanted to turn back, to roam the school some more, to make sure my kin wasn't anywhere else, but that would be foolish and cowardly, as I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the one I was looking for was in this wing, the scent all but pointed it out to me.
Sighing, I pushed forth, and almost immediately, my senses felt something watching, with the same amount of caution as I had when walking in; they were watching with some anger, a bit of curiosity, and an overwhelming feeling of protectiveness and possession.
They knew what I was here for, and how they got their hands on it in the first place was well beyond me.
With each step, the pressure mounted, suggesting that I was approaching their domain, unfortunately for them and luckily for me, domains weren't too much of a problem when you could cut the connection they had to it, so I was pretty confident as I walked up to its door, the blue paint showing some fading as the name 'Alice' was engraved on it.
The cameras were also heavily down here as well, with five separate ones staring down the door; however, right now, the cameras were solely focused on me, with every shift of my body drawing action from the electronics.
Ignoring them, I knocked, making sure each one was firm as I didn't wish to repeat.
At first, nothing happened, just dead silence as my knocks echoed down the deserted hallways, bouncing off the sterile environment.
It stirred an unease in me, but said unease was quickly shoved to the side by my pride, it wouldn't allow me to feel anything else.
After a few more seconds, something happened.
Ever so slowly, the door slid open, not revealing the horror, but the one I was looking for, her one silver eye peering at me with curiosity as her skin as black as the night blended with the void behind her.
She wore nothing as her body lay bare, something I'd fix later when I began to teach her proper etiquette, but for now, I observed and took notes on the feature she gained.
First up was the most obvious, with her single eye glistening with silver, and next came the legs, as goat-like as mine, if not hairless; she also seemed to lack the hoves, instead they were replaced with raptor-like claws, three digits up front and one on the heel.
She seemed to lack the skull, but I figured she must have pried it off at some point, a task that should've taken strength like mine to accomplish, so I guess I could add that to the list as well.
Her body was lean and a bit tall, sporting an eight-pack, further solidifying the strength she possibly held.
Looking at her arms, I could see that they were covered in an exoskeleton of bone, two holes drawing them in, sitting in the palms; its a mutation I wasn't expecting as it was one from another variant of my folklore, but it didn't matter, I knew enough on it to know how to teach her to use them.
"Umm, Hi?"
I was snapped out of my thoughts as she spoke, her voice confused yet kind of happy, an odd thing to be, but an acceptable one nonetheless.
"Right," I said while adjusting my black tie, "A pleasure to meet you, I'm Nyx, and I've come to acquire you."
I waited for a response, but never got one as her brain seemed to have blue-screened.
Then again, if someone had the audacity to walk up to me and say they would be taking me, I'd also be pretty shocked, so her reaction is pretty reasonable.
Clearing my throat, I quickly rephrased, "Apologies, what I meant, my kin, was that I am here to take you under my wing, so you do not have to mingle with these... monkeys while trying to get used to your new features."
Her silver gaze refocused as she shook her head of the confusion mounting in it, "Right, um, I don't think I can do that, Mr. Nyx.
Sighing, I figured this could've been an outcome, but an outcome that I could deal with nonetheless.
"Right, let me reiterate, I have come to take you, with or without force; that decision will be left up to you, my kin."
Her silver gaze narrowed for a fraction of a second before she sighed, her voice speaking up again, "Right, and I'll have to once again, say that I don't think that I can," She paused me before I could retaliate with some more words, "But, not because I don't want too, but because I don't think Alice will even consider the idea."
"Alice?" I voiced my confusion.
She seemed to realize something as she continued, "Ah, sorry, Alice is my 'Claim'."
My eyebrow twitched with irritation at the revelation, It's one thing to be in a relationship; it's an entirely different beast to be Claimed.
It wasn't a situation I was ready for, but one that I quickly adapted to anyway, and it was something that hastily made itself known as my eyes narrowed with dead determination.
"Right, then it looks like your claim will be tagging along, so be a dear and go let them know the news," were the words that left my lips as a frown marred them.
Her silver eye widened, before a pleasant smile graced her midnight face; a thing I was able to make out because of my equally unnatural existence, aka, magic.
"Right, um, but you might want to stay out here while I go explain things to her; I don't want you to be eaten because she found your existence irritating."
"Eat?" Was the only word I got out before the door was swiftly shut, presumably her darkened form galloping off to inform her claim.
It took a moment before I registered the missing pieces falling into place, leaving me to groan at the door as I realized her claim to be the fellow horror I was trying to avoid.
How they ended up with my fellow horror, was not something I wanted to think about, so I opted to think about fate and how much of a bitch it was to me.
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Alice
I could feel the idiot the moment he walked into the school, and I wasn't too surprised he was here either, as it was most likely Claire that drew him in, her mixed genes signaling his arrival.
Currently, I was still lounging in the bed just as bare as Claire, my dress once again thrown aside in favor of our constant sexual activity. I was waiting for Claire to return as she went too talk to him, a task that seemed to be going well if the lack of aggression on either side was anything to go by; actually, it was starting to get more exciting on Claire's side, with her joyous smile reaching through my void and back to me, infecting my lips with the slightest of grins.
However, the sweet feeling couldn't distract me from my true thoughts, their intangible forms running amok with ideas and theories on what the Wendigo boy could want with Claire.
It was stupid and unnecessary, but I for the life of me could get them to settle down, even if I knew we could handle the thing should it have the gale to go on an offense.
My thoughts were torn to shreds as the door to the room opened, revealing Claire with a grin that stretched the Atlantic painting her face.
The sight of her so happy made me want to fuck her again, but I held off, as this seemed to be something just slightly important.
My smaller form was taken in a bone-crushing hug that screamed something was up.
"Alice, my darling, my beautiful master."
Yep, definitely something, something I'd rather know now than later.
"Claire, don't try sugar coating whatever it is you're trying to ask, just tell me," were my words as I watched her gaze morph to nervousness and uncertainty.
She looked away for a second, seemingly thinking of her words before answering, "Right, well, Mr. Nyx said he was here to, uh, take me under his wing, and when I said I couldn't without your permission, he got like all confused, until I told him about your claim, and then he said it was fine, and that he'll just take you too and so I go excited and told him to wait their while I went to explain the situation to you so I could hopeful get you on my side so that we could finally have like, a vacation, away from this void."
My eyes were dead as I processed the word monster, but I eventually got through it as I answered, "Okay, so you're telling me that you'd be willing to go with some random person whom you just met, not even thirty minutes ago because you wanted to go on a vacation?"
Her nervousness morphed into a grin. "Well, when you put it like that, it doesn't sound the best, but something just tells me that he's not a bad guy."
I raised an eyebrow, "Something tells you?"
She rubbed the back of her head as she continued, "Not exactly tells me, it's like more of a really oppressive feeling of comfort, but not your kind of comfort, just something like familial comfort, the kind you get when you're around your family."
I sighed, "Claire, that's an artificial feeling created by the genes inside you, because I can assure you without a shadow of a doubt, had you been anyone but his blood, you'd either be turned into a snack, or converted into one of his mindless beasts; that sound like a good man to you?"
She looked confused, but that was understandable as there were a few things compressed into that sentence that would most definitely catch her immediate attention, such as.
"What does he have to do with my genes?" Her voice rang out, tinted with enough confusion to last dozens of people.
"Ah, yes, I suppose that was something I neglected to mention when you first woke up from the change, but in my defense, I was having some fun and forgot about it, something you can attest to because you were having fun too."
She blushed but didn't refute, as our minds were indeed lost in ecstasy when she woke up.
"But anyway, the genes are the reason you look like and have most of the things you do, with a few exceptions; these genes didn't come from nowhere, however, as at some point in the past, you or your mother or your mothers mother or even her ancestors must have been injected with a gene seed of his, and before you ask, being infected with one of these will inevitable turn you into something similar to him, hence your form, but, thanks to my accidental intrusion with my own gene seed, your memories of what you were before the transformation were preserve, keeping you as my sweet Claire instead of turning you into another him; but the real mystery that eludes me is why it took so long, as without unnatural help, a regular human wouldn't be able to go so long while keeping the gene seed at bay, it just isn't possible."
After finishing my mini rant, my coal eyes rose to meet her silver one, their being having fallen down at some point during the middle, what I was met with was something ranging from shock to acceptance, so maybe she did know something about the transformation, if only a hint from somewhere in her past.
She shook her head as she responded, "Right, well..." or tried as something seemed to have caught her tongue.
It didn't take but a second for a frown to form as her thoughts seemed to dwell somewhere deep, somewhere that was looking too deep for her mind to dwell as her eyes scrunched in frustration and confusion as she looked to recall something; an event or action maybe? It had to be one.
Sighing, one of my pitch tentacles snuck around her waist before pulling her into my arms, the hands of which got a nice handful of ass; the action seemed to draw her out of her descending thoughts as she moaned at my fingers wandering minds, definitely a complete accident when a finger or two slipped inside, definitely.
"Listen, Claire," I continued, burying my face into her crotch as my tongue wandered around her pussy, "thinking of something like this with your undeveloped mind won't do you any good, so for now, just let things be, and try to figure them out a few years down the line, preferably, when you get a grasp on your new limits and restrictions, only then, will I allow you to ponder on the nature of your existence and how it truly started, am I understood?"
Her moans did not cease as she panted out, "Y-yes -hmm- m-master," she didn't get to say much more as she hungrily tried pulling my head closer.
But I was a tease, so I pulled back, ending her short-lived masturbation session while drawing on the void for my dress, its rugged form quickly appearing on my body as the crown on my head darkened some.
Looking at the quivering legs of Claire, I smiled.
"Put some clothes on, we're going on vacation, and I don't need any other eyes other than my own staring at your beautiful body from here out." I didn't give her time to form proper words as I walked out, aiming to keep the Wendigo boy company. It had been decades since I last saw him, and we left each other on pretty good terms when we split up to find our own territory, so it'd be nice to see if he was the same racist bastard he always was.
I paused at the door as I wondered if my exit would mean more alarms, but then again, I didn't think they would be so stupid as to not raise them when the idiot walked up to my door and knocked; that was a pretty clear sign that he wasn't normal, and was plenty to go into full alert about.
My thoughts were proven right as I opened the door to find nothing blaring, with even my exit being ignored as my coal-like gaze fell on the silver seas that were his eyes; they were a striking color that, call me biased, I thought looked better on Claire.
His gaze turned sharper than any knife I could think of as soon as it registered who it was in front of him; a smirk spread on my blank face as I appreciated the appropriate amount of caution; Claire often made it hard to remember that I was something to be feared with how much she dotted on me.
"I have to say, I'm surprised to find you here, 'Ender' or is it Alice now?" was his further response, his tone filled with both remembrance and steely indifference.
I chuckled before bouncing back, "Right, I could say the same for you, 'Mr. Nyx'. Last I checked, you said names were irrelevant and unneeded, yet here you are, standing here with a name and in an attire that would make even the darkest of funeral clothes look away in shame."
He clicked his teeth, "Right, I didn't miss how much of a bitch you were 'Alice'," were his words as he drew out my name with mockery.
My grin stretched as my eyes darkened, "Watch yourself, mangy mutt, I'm not shy of eating rotten bastards like you."
His silver eyes dropped in-depth as a grin of his own began to stretch, "You can certainly try, you pathetic excuse of a woman."
This was the last straw for us both as we approached each other with deadly intent; our forms mutating in mere seconds as we prepared for the inevitable.
Yet everything ended so fast as we embraced in a hug, our human arms enveloping each other as we welcomed each other with nothing but intent.
"Been a while, stupid brother."
He scoffed, "Maybe it should have been sooner, 'little' sister, as your manner needs some heavy reconstruction, before your even conversation worthy."
I scoffed myself, "Right, like mister perfect here is any better, you antisocial bastard; I'm sure even a rabbit could do better, and them bastards are literally the embodiment of antisocial."
The hug was let up as our sinister smirks turned lighthearted.
"Well, it looks like I won't be needing this," he said while he dispelled an erasure circle.
My eyes widened with recognition as I watched the lines fade, "Damn, you were really preparing to go the whole nine yards to take your new kin back, hm."
His natural scoff bit back, "Damn right, I haven't been able to make a single conscious kin in the past two hundred years; there wasn't a single chance in hell I wasn't taking them with me when I found out there was one a few states away."
I raised a brow, "Have things really been that bad?"
He sighed in defeat. "I suppose you wouldn't have kept up with my folklore, but these past decades have done numbers on my nature. Where I was once depicted as a cunning monster, now rests another depiction of me as a beast that infects others' minds to turn them into crazed, mindless beasts that seek nothing but to eat; it's made things difficult."
I winced. I wasn't affected by that kind of thing since I wasn't actually an entity of folklore, but I knew from my adopted brother's many broken powers that one's tale often reflected on the entity it was based on, so it was only a wonder what ability and consequence he gained from this new one.
"Another thing," He spoke furiously, "The fuck are you doing making a claim, and on my own kin for 'Ekos' sake."
"Ahh," my mind was jerked as I registered the lack of details for that situation.
Clearing my throat, I spoke, "In my defense, I didn't know she was your kin when I did so."
He groaned. "Even then, Alice, it's a claim, you're not like other folklores or similar entities, once you die, you won't be able to reemerge into reality, you'll be stuck in the dimension your true forms constrained in, unable to do anything until the universe is under inevitable erasure or some other reality somehow merges into this one, like it did before."
I rolled my eyes, "Ya, no, there will be a difference if I die because Claire would die with me, and since her soul now bears a piece of mine and mine hers, I'll be able to pull her along, meaning that problematic loneliness will no longer be a problem as we could spend all of eternity together, fucking like rabbits and cuddling; hell, if I wanted too, I could impregnate her as well, its nothing beyond my ability."
His blank stare was all I got back in return.
Our conversation was interrupted as Claire walked up behind me, dressed in the same thing she wore when she walked in the first time, if not a bit bigger; her claws draped over my shoulders as she looked at 'Nyx'.
"Sorry if she was a bit bity while I wasn't here, Mr. Nyx, she doesn't really like much of anything when it comes to stuff outside of our voided space."
The brief taunting smirk that danced on his face before he responded made me want to drill Claire as painfully as possible with the thickest tentacle I could muster, but I knew she wouldn't mind as long as she felt it was making me happy, so I withheld the idea; it was unnaturally hard to punish her in any meaningful way these days.
"All is well, Ms. Claire, or would you prefer 'daughter'?"
All at once, my brain had a massive aneurysm as utter hatred overtook my sterile mind, its wrath only held back by the lovingly soft arms around my chest.
Claire chuckled as her grip on me tightened with comfort, "Just Claire is fine, I don't think Alice would appreciate someone other than her having even a slight claim to my existence, so it's better not to tempt it, though your offer of fatherhood is nice."
My rage fell away as she presented a completely acceptable argument, with no implication that I was controlling in any way possible, not one.
But with that clarity came an idea, as my ingenious mind worked on something.
Clearing my throat, I spoke up, "Actually, I wouldn't mind if you wanted that, Claire, it's not every day you get a willing father like him after all."
His change in expression was immediate. His gaze focused on me with heavy scrutiny and caution, which is odd considering he had built this trap in the first place and would have no one to blame but himself when he fell into it.
Claire brightened a bit as she rephrased her earlier words. "Well, as long as Alice doesn't mind, then I wouldn't mind either, so it's up to whichever you prefer."
The gaze of scrutiny never left me as he spoke, "Right then..."
He sighed before turning away to answer, "I suppose I wouldn't mind either, either. So for now, we can just mix it up when we begin your training, with me referring to you as my daughter outside of the activities."
I could feel Claire beaming behind me, and I felt great elation at how that smile seemed to draw something akin to realization from Nyx, his silver eyes looking at me with frustration as he realized he fell for the setup.
I quickly piped in as I pointed out something that would make the damage irreversible.
"Wouldn't that also make me your daughter, Mr. Nyx?"
If glares could burn, I'd be ash.
The damage was further deepened as Claire interrupted right before he spoke, her enthusiasm leaking into every word.
"Ahh! I forgot we're technically married, aren't we, so that would make you his daughter-in-law."
I found great pleasure watching him descend into mock despair, his gaze fading with reluctant acceptance as his mind caught the full scope of my trap.
It wasn't long after that when we left the school as a black pendant of a triangle bearing a bloody eye in the middle, which sat around my neck to keep me from experiencing any negative side effects for traveling so far away from my domain.
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Oliver
I couldn't do it. I couldn't not think of the secret between Abbie and Ms. Circle; it was an impossibility.
My mind wouldn't stop thinking of how much I could do to Engel, of how much I could ruin with this piece of information; it wouldn't be hard at all, just a single gamble, and I could get the pest wiped off the face of this planet.
But some annoying ass feeling kept obliterating the notion, kept denying me my freedom, and it was fucking infuriating; like here I was with a solid option to rid myself of him, yet my mind chooses to rebel like a rebellious teen and force me to discard it.
It was driving me up the walls with rage as I was forced back to the drawing board; yes, I had a literal drawing board dedicated to making plans to ruin Engel, but that was irrelevant, as I scrapped another idea.
Each time I tried recalling something, anything that could help me get to Engel, anything that could leave him broken if even slightly touched wrong, yet every time I'd recall something, I'm reminded that there was nothing, not a single friend, not a single item, not even a pet, there was nothing; everything that could be taken away had been taken away, and yet he still persisted, still endured, still infected.
The marker I was using was sent flying through the wall as my anger got the best of me.
My crimson gaze flickered a pink that was quickly suppressed, as I continued muffling my true nature; everything ached as I did so, and I was left even more infuriated when it stopped.
I was starting to see red as my plans became more and more drastic, until eventually, I found one, one that appealed to my very being, my nature, my DNA, and it a something I could do, something I could make happen, something I could manipulate.
I grinned as my crimson gaze flickered and fought with the pink, constantly fighting for control, however, I ignored it as I tried to muffle the manic laughs breaching my vocals, their insanity leaking in every slight chuckle as I drew up the baseline. I just needed to figure out how to corner him somewhere secluded, somewhere no one ever went, and I had the perfect place.
"How symbolic would it be to ruin him in the ruined garden?"
Jotting down the location, I quickly made for my phone, only hesitating slightly as I dialed the number of my math teacher; her number was easily found if you asked the right faculty for it.
The phone rang for a second, and then another, before finally, on the third ring, someone picked up, just not the one I was expecting, as Abbie's voice peered through the phone.
"Uhh, hello?"
My eyebrow raised for a second before I remembered that Abbie was put under Ms. Circle's temporary custody. I would bet my right arm that that custody was used as an excuse by both for more than just kissing, as they had privacy in her home.
"Ah, Abbie, I haven't heard from you in a while. How's life been treating you?" I asked in mock curiosity.
There was silence for a moment as he took a second to respond.
"Oliver? Why are you calling?"
I was confused for a second, thinking that maybe Ms. Circle had swapped places with him, but then I realized that it was still Abbie.
"Wow, I must say, Abbie, maybe you hooking up with our teacher really was for the best. I mean, come on, look at that confidence boost, you're like an entirely different person," were the words that slipped out of my mouth.
Sure, it let go of my advantage of surprise, but the opportunity to spout that grazing insult was too good to pass up.
The other line froze for more than a few moments as I was left to wonder what was happening on the other side.
However, that wouldn't last long as the phone spoke again, this time with the deep and demanding voice of Ms. Circle.
"What do you want, Oliver?"
I chuckled, "My, not even a hello?"
A scoff was heard on the other side as she ground out another response, "Speak now before my patience runs thin."
I could tell my words were getting to her, and while it was nice to get that kind of reaction out of her, it was also dangerous, as it could trample my plans if pushed too far.
"Alright then, in return for signing a nondisclosure pact with you, I need you to help me with something."
The silence was brief as she responded, "And that is?"
I grinned as I realized I'd won her over. "I need you to get Engel to the ruined garden a bit away from the school, and I need you to make sure no one wanders over for a few hours after."
The sigh I heard from the other side was telling, but it wasn't rejection, so I knew she would go along with it.
After the sigh came a single question that I pondered on. "Do I get to know what you're planning?"
I rubbed my chin in thought, contemplating whether it was a good idea or not to tell her, but I soon discarded the notion, as what I had planned would be seen as vile to everyone who wasn't a psychopath or me.
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A distance away, Alice sneezed, and that really annoyed her, as she shouldn't even have allergies, she was a fucking eldritch being with the power to turn reality into her plaything, not something that could be easily affected by regular pollen and shit like that.
Many other entities across the globe thought the same, as they mutilated people.
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"No," was all I said before I hung up.