Chapter 11: Encounter
Sizzle~
The sound of meat roasting echoed throughout the forest. An intoxicating smell flowed in the air attracting many small critters. They gathered along with the bushes and trees with eyes full of hunger and curiosity. However, none dared get too close as next to the tantalizing meat was a terrifying guard.
This figure's limbs and teeth were covered in blood, and a dangerous aura radiated from the man as if warning all those around not to touch his prey. Such an atmosphere already caused many to run away in fear while the rest maintained a safe distance.
The man sitting next to the boar was Vara. Currently, he had a stern look on his face as he looked at the profile of himself given by Luna.
"Why is there no change in my status? That state I was in was not normal, so it should reflect here."
"That state wasn't special; it was just your survival instincts taking over. You were no different than a starving beast fighting for his life for food."
"Starving..? I wasn't starving."
"Oh, could have fooled me. I think the saliva and crazy eyes speak for themselves."
Vara was currently frustrated, trying to figure out why he went savage once he noticed the boar. He couldn't understand. Minutes before he was perfectly fine. How was that supposed to be him starving?
Losing control reminded himself of when he was enslaved, and that scared him. He would do anything to prevent that from happening again.
"There just has to be something, anything that can tell me why."
"Here's something, if you don't want to starve, eat. If you don't know when it's going to happen, all you need to do is keep eating. Master, your body is still a mystery. There are going to be so many things happening to you that initially, you can't understand — things that you'll love and things that you'll hate. Your life will be chaotic because you are chaos. All you can do is accept and adapt."
Vara looked down at Luna in shock and silence. Her words were repeating in his head.
'All you can do is accept and adapt.'
A smile spread across his face. Vara gently pets his white bracelet, and a laugh escapes his mouth.
"Luna, you never mentioned you were a psychologist. How many other little features are you hiding inside you?"
"Master, it is in my name. The N in Luna means Nanny, which means caretaker. With a mind as unstable as yours, there will be times when you will need care. I am not just a fantastic assistant, you know."
Vara chuckled at being called unstable. It hasn't even been an entire day, and his mood swings have been off the charts. He couldn't imagine what would have happened to him if he didn't have Luna.
"How did Menos make someone like you?"
"There was a reason why he held your arms for so long, and it wasn't because he liked you."
His mood has made a 180. Although he still doesn't completely understand why he went feral, he realized that it had something to with starvation. Since he was starving, all he had to do was eat. Even if he had to stop whatever he was doing and hunt for a meal, he would do that. As if agreeing with his thoughts, his stomach grumbled.
"Thank you again, Luna. I'll start with this boar but afterward, remind me to eat every now again."
"Ok, it looks like most of your future funds will go to eating. Just make sure you don't get fat; I don't think I would fit on your wrist anymore."
Vara laughed once again as he began devouring the cooked boar. The taste of the raw meat couldn't compare to what he was eating now. Bite after bite, the meat went into his stomach, yet the hunger never stopped.
25%, 45%, 60%. Vara was consuming the boar at an abnormal rate. He didn't think all he did was eat. It wasn't until Vara only had a leg left, that he stopped eating. However, he didn't stop eating because he was full. No, he stopped because something or some people interrupted his meal.
"The smoke is this way."
"What does that matter? We're on a mission, remember?"
"What matters is that anyone out here has to have the same objective as us. It won't hurt to check it out.
"Quiet, you'll give us a..... way."
Vara looked behind him, and four people were standing there stopped. A shocked look on each of their faces as they stare right back at Vara. Vara wasn't sure what they were so surprised about, so he quickly swallowed what was left in his mouth to be able to talk.
"Um, do you need something? If it's this meat though, I'm not sharing."
Vara thought what he said was quite reasonable. That was until all four of them unsheathed a sword and pointed at him. He was utterly confused by their reaction.
'I didn't think this meat would be so important to them.'
"Master look at them carefully. They're afraid."
Vara listened to Luna and looked closely at his unexpected guests. Their swords were trembling, and their eyes filled with fear.
"M-Monster!!!"
Vara looked behind himself to see what they were so afraid of, but nothing was behind him. Then the thought finally hit him.
'Are they perhaps afraid of me.'
"Ahhh, took you long enough master. Who else would they be scared of, if not you."
Vara's jaw dropped at the sudden revelation. Was he honestly that frightening-looking?
'I mean other than my teeth, eyes, skin color, and hair; I look like any normal person...'
'Hah, master clearly forgot he's covered in blood. Honestly, he needs to take better care of his appearance. It looks like he just massacred a small village.'
Vara annoyed at being called a monster, faced the blades pointed at him with a stern look.
"Hey, that rude, calling someone a monster all of a sudden."
Vara took a step towards the four to try to communicate better, but as he took that step forward, they took a step back. Vara paused before taking another step forward, in which they again took another step back as they began sweating in terror.
Vara was beginning to get annoyed with the bunch.
"HEY! You all are the ones pointing a sword at me. Either do something with them or get the hell out of here!!!"
Vara's yell seemed to be the trigger that set them off because they began running away, screaming. Two of them even dropped their swords as they ran away.
Vara shook his head in annoyance as he watched the group run further and further.
"Well, that entire experience was pointless. Why pull out your swords if you're just going to drop them or run away."
"Um, I think this is going to be a problem."
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"Master, have you forgotten; you're lost in the middle of this forest. Not only have you scared away the only people that could lead us out. But if they do come back, they will probably be back with a large group of people to kill you. Please actually use your brain in the future. You're making my job harder than it needs to be."
"..."
Vara's eyes widened, and he looked towards the direction that the men left in and then back at the remains of the boar meat. He deliberated to himself and then grabbed the giant pig leg before sprinting in the direction that they left.
'Can't run on a soon to be empty stomach.'
As he ran, he took large bites of the leg until nothing was left and he chucked the bone to the side. Vara ran through bushes and streams searching for any small clue that would tell him the direction they left in.
Through this journey, the blood on his limbs was either washed away or wiped on the leaves he ran through. Vara no longer looked like the gory mess he once was. He now looked like someone who faced his fair share of battle in the forest.
"They couldn't have gotten that far. You can only move so fast in this forest while avoiding animals and trees."
"Alright, and then what will you do when you catch up to them."
Vara winced as he didn't think that far ahead. Vara was too worried about what would happen if he didn't catch up to them that he hadn't considered what would happen if he did.
"Well this is troubling, if I catch up to them, they will think I am hunting them, and then they will either try to run or fight. Either option does not help me."
He continued to run as he thought as the gap between them would only widen if he stopped moving. Then an idea hit him; one that would solve both of his problems.
'They ran because they thought I was a monster.'
"They aren't wrong master."
Vara rolled his eyes and ignored Luna.
"So, I just have to shapeshift into someone else and have them lead me to town. How's that Luna."
"Ah, why did I get stuck with a simple-minded master. Did you forget that we never figured out how long you can sustain the transformed state? It could be hours or even minutes, and in the end, you will be left drained."
"That's not something we can worry about right now. I am drawing close, and I can't appear from behind or else those cowards will be suspicious. I guess now is as best of a test drive as any."
Vara shifted through the memories in his head before he finally picked a persona. As he was searching for the right persona, he found the young men grouped trying to catch their breath. He slowed down and proceeded to move around them as quietly as possible.
Once he found a spot, he began focusing and started his shapeshifting. His body and head quickly shifted into a young black-haired man. The hair was short, and the appearance exhibited innocence and youth. He wanted to show them the face opposite of the one they saw. Instead of a face they fear, this face will be one that someone naturally wants to help.
"Alright, that should do it."
"Master, remember your eyes and teeth."
"Oh, right."
Vara stopped moving as he began to increase his level of focus. For some reason, his eyes and teeth were the hardest things disguise on his body. He needs to maintain absolute focus and experience no moderate changes in emotion for the shift to remain.
Closing his eyes, he felt his eyes tingling and his teeth shifting. The feeling was extremely uncomfortable like he was trying to keep his innermost self-hidden from the world.
When he opened his eyes, his pupils were now both dark brown, and his teeth had changed back into those of a regular human.
'I am going to have to get used to this feeling, but I can clearly say I don't like it.'
Vara began getting in character as his expression changed into one of concern. He rushed towards the direction of the men, and when he was in their line of sight, his acting began.
"Are you guys alright; I heard screaming."
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Blazerado
Blazerado Uploads will be slightly inconsistent and random due to life and all its wonders and hardships, but I will be constantly continuing this story. Thank you for your patience.
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