For the longest of time, Loi thought being noticed by a great predator was the most terrifying feeling he'd ever feel, but that was nothing compared to what he's feeling now. The agitating heat of the afternoon has subsided, gave way to the cooling winds of early evening, somewhat easing the tension of the curious crowd outside of the long house. Haru's been inside with that...beast for a couple of hours now, the anguish crying and screaming have stopped, followed by the silence that gnawed at the tanned boy's heart like maggots.

It was the first time Loi has ever heard Haru scream like that, the rage, the pain, the suppressed emotions of all those years broke loose into a tidal wave of wailings. It couldn't have been Haru, the tanned boy thought, it couldn't be his gentle, shy and quiet brother. Shaking his head, Loi gripped the spear in his hand so hard that a small drop of blood trickled from his hand, his teeth clenched behind his sealed lips as he eyed the closed door, wondering what horror the monster has exposed his beloved brother to. Behind him, Loi could hear the quiet chattering of the curious villagers still staying around to see what would happen to Haru. The wailings and crying have amused them greatly, the tanned boy was sure of it, the sounds of them snickering, speculating and even betting on Haru's fate were almost too much for him to handle.

Yet others were more concerned about Quetz, not for Haru's sake per se, but more about the village as a whole. And rightfully so, for once, the elders didn't know what to say about Quetz's presence, everyone were curious and scared of him, everyone but the chieftain, who were more fearful of him than others, as if they've known each other for a long time. There was something about the way the old chief acted around the stranger, a sense of dread radiating outward, slowly infecting the rest of the villagers. It was primal, the feeling of hopelessness of a prey knowing that it has no chance fighting against the apex predator that have cornered it.

- Rai.

-What?! - Loi jumped backward as a hand suddenly clamps down onto his shoulder, colliding against Mitsuki standing behind him, causing both to almost loose their footing. He turned around, scratching his head in awkwardness and forcing an apologetic smile onto his lips as his sister frowned at him. - O-oh, it's you.

- You silly boy. - The older girl scoffed and sighed, her frown relaxed as she turns her gaze onto the door yet still retaining the look of concern that have been stuck on her face since Haru disappeared behind the door. - It's...so quiet. - She said, clearly worried for their youngest brother's safety, but at the same time it was so strange when she didn't mention the monster that accompanied him.

- Hey Mitsuki, do you think...he's safe in there with...it? - Loi asked, irritated by the nonchalant attitude of his sister.

- I am...not sure. - Said the older girl, her voice was a mix of uncertainty and curiosity.

- What do you mean you're not sure? - The smaller boy turned around, frowning in frustration at his sister's answers. - You mean you ignore the fact that he's a literal monster?!

- No. - Mitsuki shook her head. - I-I know he looks...odd, but...his aura, it's...shrouded somehow, I can't sense him clearly as others. It's like...

- Standing in a misty field? - With the setting sun behind him, the towering man walked out from the chieftain's house to the edge of the front yard, enveloping the pair in his shadow. Behind him hid a shaking Haru, blood smeared all over the lower part of his face, his eyes lost with all the thoughts racing in his minds.

- Wh-what? - Mitsuki stood dumbfounded, skin tingling with the phantom sensation of her skin being burn upon contact with the strange miasma that shrouded the man's mind from hers.

As if amused, Quetz chuckled, and Mitsuki felt the mist move, flowing against her but not really. It swirled and flowed and churned, unseen yet its presence was so surreal and overwhelming that the girl could perceive its shape. Sweats rolled down the girl's face, this wasn't like any other times, normally she could "sense" others' moods ad emotion, tingling in her mind and sometime, seemingly even on her skin, all she have to do was to just look at them. But with Quetz, she couldn't feel anything but the crushing weight of his aura in her very soul, like she was crushed under an ocean, but did not drown.

- What have you done to him? - Loi was the first to break the silence, spear rattling in his hands, his face boiled with blood rushing to his head, afraid and confused for both him and Haru.

- Rai, stop.

- What have you done to him? - The tanned boy ignored the pleading, did it come from his sister, from Haru or the chieftain? He did not care, all he wanted now was to plunge his spear deep into that monster's heart. - Answer me! - The crudely forged spearhead pointed at Quetz as Loi roared out, more like a challenge than a command. - What have you done to him!?

- Isn't it obvious? - A man walked out from the crowd, one of the hunters, one that Haru recognized, it's the same person that have attacked him earlier, whose son was killed by the bear when he was harassing him. - Isn't it obvious? My brothers! My sisters! The Walker has blessed us with His divine presence! He has come to deliver us from that monster! Rejoice! My friends! For we are save! We! Are!

A loud crash silenced the man, along with any snickering of approval passing amongst the villagers. The hunter frozen in place, unable to move as he feels Quetz's burning gaze burning against the back of his head. He felt his feet and hands turned cold, as if the chill of winter, no the hands of the dead were gripping at him, pulling, dragging, forcing him to turn around to look at his deity, his village's guardian, his executioner.

- Ancestors have mercy...

The hunter gasped and fell to his knees, the strength in his limps vanished, sapped from him just by looking into the burning amber eye filled with hatred. With the setting sun behind him, Quetz looked impossibly tall, his silhouette impossibly dark against the brilliant orange and yellow, a towering figure of blackness, save for his eyes, burning brightly with what could only described as liquid fire. Behind him, Haru pressed himself more into the bigger male's cloaked form, around him coiled the long white tail, its beautiful coat of white fur was made bloodied by the splinters of the crushed planks just a few steps away. The boy was shivering, tears rolled down his reddened cheeks, mixing with the patches of dried up blood still stubbornly stick on his face before dripping onto Quetz's coat.

The snickering began again, piercing the white haired boy's heart and mind with what felt like a tsunami of thorns and daggers. He clung to his giant of a companion's cloak, pressing himself against the man's firm figure, seeking whatever solace he could offer, but they kept on coming. Haru could never heard them clearly, the streams of insults and curses were muffled, overlapping and drowning out each others before they could reach his ears, yet the ill intentions and distasteful feeling toward him were all too obvious. It burns like fire and stings like a swarm of wasps, it sensation of their hatred washing over his body was so surreal yet so faint that the white haired boy could do nothing but to stand still and cling against Quetz.

- Stop it...please...make it...stop... - The white haired boy mumbled and buried his face into his companion's cloak again.

Something snapped inside Quetz when he looks at Haru still holding onto his cloak, quivering, barely able to stand up right, clearly distraught by the constant bombardment of insults. An urge arose from deep inside him, telling him to protect the boy from all harm, even if it means butchering all of these human. But it wasn't anger or hatred that drove him, no, this was something more primal, darker, purer than the confusion and madness unleashed by wrath and hatred. When once a hurricane of fire swept through Quetz's heart and mind, there's now a sense of calmness and serenity, gently caressing his thoughts.

The white haired man turned to look at the snickering crowd, then the hunter, then Haru, and a small smile appeared on his lips. Almost gracefully, he stepped off the wooden platform in on stride and turned around to look at the boy. The child in front of him was still sniffling, his face was a mess of tears and blood, streaming down his now pinkish cheeks. So fragile, so soft, so sensitive. Quetz thought to himself as he runs his finger on Haru's face, wiping away the tears in a gentle, almost maternal way, before wrapping his arms around the boy's small frame and pulled him close. A loud, almost synchronized gasp was heard coming from the villagers, seeing their white haired savior hugging the bad omen in a gentle way, but he didn't care. A small chuckled escaped his lips as he hears Haru yelped, surprised from being lifted off the platform and put him down. The older male pulled his companion into his chest gently, caressing the boy's hair with his hand gently then leaned down and whispered to him softly.

- I got you Runty, don't worry.

Haru wanted to say something, anything to express his doubt, his fear of Quetz leaving him again, but his lips were locked in place, half closed and shaking, all he could do was staring up at the older male with his shimmering violet eyes. Without any hesitation, the white haired man leaned forward, closed his eyes and pressed his lips against the boy's forehead gently, causing another wave of shock to ripple through the crowd. Smiling down at the startled boy, Quetz stood up and turned toward the man still on his knees, confused and shocked of what has transpired.

The white haired man stood there for but a heartbeat, calmly gathering his thoughts, his ideas, before walking toward the hunter. Talons clawed deep into the sand, leaving deep trenches as they pull back with each step like a promise to the man of what they could do. It took Quetz only a few steps to reach the quivering hunter, an insignificant insect too arrogant and entitled for his own good. He eyed his prey, head tilting slightly to study the life he's about to snuff out. The white haired man bent down, digging the claw of his index finger into the hunter's cheek and pulled downward, feeling his prey shaking from fear and the burning pain on his cheek. How pathetic, he thought to himself, he wanted this human dead, a snap of his neck should do it, but then, a quick death wasn't enough, it'd be too merciful. Clawed fingers expanded, clamping around the man's throat and lifting him up effortlessly as he struggles futilely to escape.

- Quetz! Stop! - The chief rushed out, attempting to stop his old friend from killing another one of his people. A death glare stopped him dead in his track, cold and sharp like a razor sharp knife made of ice cut into his mind and soul.

Gods, those eyes, amber orbs burning with fire so cold it burn just to look into them, and burn the chief did, his skin blazing with invisible fire as he falls on all four, gasping for air, just for a brief moment. A punishment, a warning, Quetz will not suffer anyone to jeopardize his work, he will not be taking orders, especially from a human. The white haired man slowly turned his attention back to the man, now turning blue from the lack of air, his limps flailing desperately, gripping, kicking, clawing, anything to get himself free. Quetz smiled sadistically, lips curling back to reveal his interlocking fangs shinning with glee in the dying light as he begins his execution.

To the untrained eyes, it would seems like the man was slowly withering, his skin turned pale grey, draping over exposed bones as his muscles deflate. To the keenest of eyes, the space around the man was distorted, shimmering like heat rising from the fire, rushing from his body and into Quetz's forearm. But to Haru and Mitsuki, the affect was all too clear, the hunter wasn't dying, nor was he simply withering, his soul was being torn from him.

It is both a gift and a curse, for both of them, for anyone unlucky enough to be born with it, a sixth sense that occasionally warns them of dangers or lets them peek into the feelings of others. They could see things that others can't see, feel things that others can't feel, but it's they have not seen anything like this. At first it was just small streams of bluish green miasma escaping through his skin. Soon there were dozens of vents spilling out that strange mist until every millimeter of the man was cover in it, rushing out of his struggling and into Quetz's arm, being absorbed through his skin as the white haired man smile gleefully, sadistically.

The shroud of mist slowly took form, solidifying into the shape of a man, a ghostly clone of the hunter, writhing and struggling as it's being ripped out of its mortal shell. Bit by bit, the soul and life force of the man was torn from him, shredded and absorbed by Quetz, until the husk of a man that is the hunter was almost limp and lifeless, twitching and jolting weakly, his skin a sickly dark grey, draping over what used to be a muscles packed body. A smile of pure malice formed on the white haired man's face as he observes his prey struggling, dying, a sense of satisfaction that he gladly embraces every time he have to kill a human. Yet Quetz knows it will be over soon, no matter how many he kills, no matter how brutal he is, the feeling of joy and vindicated would be over too soon, leaving him with his self pitying, endless sorrow and regret for his past mistakes. And so he savors each kill, killing them as slowly and painfully as he could, by his hands the lowly human will know pain and suffering, they will see the true face of terror, of wrath and ruin, they will know...

- Keto! Stop! - A sudden tug on his cloak dragged Quetz out of his thoughts. His amber eyes widened in anger, seeing what left of the human's tattered soul slipped from his grasp and flown back into its body.

The white haired man felt a trickle of blood dripped from his other clenched fist, a jolt of stinging pain rushed to his brain from his clenched fist under the cloak. There was a tense silence when Quetz glued his eyes on the shriveled husk of a human struggling with every painful breath. Who would dare? The voice he heard was muffled, drowned out by the pumping of boiling blood in his ears. It doesn't matter, it never did and never will to him, it would be just another feeble human to kill, Quetz thought to himself as he slowly turns his gaze downward. But as soon as he did, a wave of shock washed over him, eyes widened when he saw the frail, shaking body that was hugging him tightly.

It was no human.

- H-Haru? - The older male stuttered, confused as to why the boy was preventing him from delivering the just punishment for the human who have done so much to torment him.

- P-please...stop it... - The boy cried out, pulling on his companion's cloak, begging for him to stop. - Don't torture him...please...don't...

The anger was gone, the craving for the fleeting sense of satisfaction and vindication were gone, yet Quetz didn't feel empty, not in the normal way that he usually feels. What remained was that urge, that instinctive sense to protect Haru, invigorating his very being just by looking at him. A large thud caused Quetz's ears to twitched, he spun around, surprised to see the dying human laid broken on the sandy beach, black, slimy blood oozed from his cracked skin. The white haired man tilted his head slightly, trying to comprehend the situation, his hand has released the human without him even noticing, but why?

A painful groan caught Quetz's attention, it was the human, shivering weakly on the sand, still alive, one step away from death, but still alive. Snarling, the man lifted his foot, attempting to snuff the life out of his prey in front of the other villagers, still mortified by the turns of events. It would be an example for all of them to how easily he could kill them, but no sooner has the tip of his talon reached the hunter, Quetz felt another tug on his side. Again, it was Haru looking at him with those deep violet eyes of his, begging him to let the human live. It was just too much, the white haired man sighed, defeated by his small companion, he reached inside his cloak and pulled out a small glass vial filled with blue liquid.

- Here. - He coldly raised the vial above the hunter, crushing it in his paw and let the liquid dripping down his broken body, before turning to Haru. - Be thankful of the kid.

With a whip of his tail, Quetz turned around to hold Haru's hand and walked toward Mitsuki, leaving the villagers in awe when the man starts to regenerate his body. The girl's expression was a mixture of terror, shock and confusion, all mashed up together and frozen in an unearthly manner, her arms locked around Loi's neck, choking the now pale and limp boy while his hands were clutching as hers. The white haired man narrowed his eyes for a second and reached out his hand in front of Mitsuki, snapping his fingers loudly, causing her to jump backward and release the suffocating boy.

- Nee-chan! - Haru called out, letting go of Quetz's hand and rushing toward his sister, hugging her tightly.

- H-Haru? Are you ok? - Mitsuki asked, though she was still a bit traumatized, she still instinctively asked and checked her little brother. Her fingers gently caressed the boy's cheek, touching the patches of blood still stubbornly clinging on. - Haru, what is this? Are you hurt? Did...did he hurt you?

- No! - Haru shook his head furiously, embarrassingly trying to recall his actions. - I-I...bit him.

- You what?! - Mitsuki's eyes shot open in shock, she looked at her brother, then to then to Quetz rubbing the faint impression of a bite mark on his neck, then back to her brother again.

- It's nothing. - Said Quetz as he adjusts his shirt and cloak, one ear twitching annoyingly at the frantic screaming and praying as the human he almost killed has regained most of his strength, he will live, deformed and broken, but he will live. - Come. - He reached out his hand toward the children. - We need to prepare.

- Prepare...for what? - Mitsuki asked.

- We're leaving this place. - The voice that answered was that of the chieftain, only a few steps from the four of them.

He looked so different without his usual stern look, almost as if he has been transformed into another man completely. There was a sense of dread in his voice, as he acknowledges Quetz, flinching with every motion of the white haired man. It wasn't just because of his claws and fangs, as far as Mitsuki knew, but something else hidden even from her gifted sight.

- Wh-what are you talking about? Leaving? - Asked Loi, sitting up and rubbing his neck.

- This land is no longer safe for your kind, young one. - Quetz replied, eyes looking out to the setting sun. - Something bad is coming to this valley, you have two days to evacuate out of here.

- Two days? - The tanned boy's jaw dropped.

- Could be one, - The older male nodded. - worst case scenario it'd be tomorrow, I'll try to buy some more time if that's the case.

- What about...Haru? - Chief Quang asked, nodding at the small boy still being held by his sister.

- I'll...think about it...when we get to the camp. - Quetz replied unsurely.

- Right, I'll leave you to do the packing them. - The chieftain nodded and turned to walk to the other villagers but not before glancing over to Haru, mumbling quietly: - I'm sorry.