Masquerade of Desire

[sVerrine]

The usual summery waft was replaced with a strong ardent wind that morning. As it shifted through the trees, it produced soft rustles which pierced the familiar silence that Dante was accustomed to. He glanced in the direction of wind and a few abandoned houses were completing the scenery.

 

Looking at the strange and desolate houses, a peculiar feeling that he couldn't place a name on was stirring him.

 

'Is one of my parts there?' Dante couldn't tell. Possessing a human had its disadvantages, one being the dimming of his natural instincts which should help him thrive through the Realm. He sighed and started to make paces in that direction.

 

Shortly, the few houses transformed in a cluster and many others, of different forms, colors and materials of construction pervaded Dante's visual frame. As he approached, the amorphous feeling that was born inside him rapidly escaped anonymity; Dante recognized it.

 

'Death.'

 

Yes, he could sense it, all the remaining feelings of those who perished. He casted a glance at the graveyard and saw the numerous places where bodies were buried. Dante was conflicted. What could have killed so many people in such a short period of time? It should have been something powerful; then who survived to bury the fallen ones?

 

Curious by nature, Dante approached until he found himself walking on the main road of the village. He looked around to spot any sort of thing that could catch his attention but none appeared. A wind gusted through, throwing his hair into complete disarray, and the smell of flesh quickly prevailed Dante's senses.

 

'A human?'

 

He walked in the direction of wind and in the faraway distance, on a piece of land, he saw a petite figure. Not understanding what was happening, Dante passed through the village and approached the little human. For no reason, he was cautious when coming close, scrutinizing the other's peculiar features - the beautifying white hair immediately catching his attention.

 

'A demon? No, even in this form I should be able to sense it. Then what?'

 

When the distance between them marked a few meters, Dante stopped and looked at the young man who was sitting, defenseless, on his knees, with his back turned and his hands buried on the muddy ground.

 

"You." Dante's low grave voice broke the silence.

[Key-Tokki]

Kiribua kneeled down, his hands where burreid in the dirt, trying to find the grains of the rice that he had planted a few weeks ago, and to his dismay he felt the seeds, and felt that there was no progress on them. Sighing to himself he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the top of his forearm, it was cool out, summer had passed and it was now coming to that time where winter begins to rear its ugly head. However much he loved winter, he loved the snow, the crisp air that smacked you in the face and woke you up as soon as you walked outside, as much as he loved that, he also hated it. Last winter he nearly starved to death, he was unwilling to eat meat so survived on the meager supplements of rice, and any fruit he could find in the forest neaby, however in the winter it was always harder to find food of any sort. He sighed to himself as he felt his stomach rumble, he resumed digging around in the dirt to find any seeds with any progess. If he wasn't alone, maybe someeone could help him, if the others had not rub away from him, maybe he wouldn't be starving and lonley.

 

He was stuck in his thoughts and didn't hear anyone approach him, and of course no one else was around so never felt the need to be attentive to his surroundings. So when he heard the others voice peirce through the silent he jumped out of his skin, jumping up quickly, turning to see another person, startled that there was actually someone there he stumbled back, only after he righted himself up did he fully take in the others apperance. The man himself was beautiful, that was sure, but who was he and why would he be here? Quietly he looked around a bit to see if anyone else was around, was he hallucinating because he was just that hungry? Confused he looked to the stranger and spoke, "Hello? What are you doing here? Are you lost?"

[sVerrine]

"Hello? What are you doing here? Are you lost?"

 

Dante scrutinize the human and couldn't help but marvel at the boy's features. White hair was adorning his pale face, as two amber chunks were eying the demon expectantly. He initially though that the boy himself was lost, but his inquire made Dante look like a intruder instead.

 

 

"I am not. What happened here?"

 

He looked at the boy's thin pale lips, slightly trembling and at his ridiculously slim body. Something was off, even someone as Dante, who was not accustomed to the human realm, could tell. Curiosity took him yet again.

 

"Is something wrong with your body?"

[Key-Tokki]

The smaller boy shifted where he stood slightly, watching the other closely. Something was strange about him, he seemed to be watching him intently, but why? Maybe it was due to his strange features? That was Kiribua's first assumption, an entire village had shuned him and murdered his mother for his strange looks, so it was not surprising. It took a notible amount of effort to keep from rolling his eyes at the strangers comment, however since it had been so long since he had seen another living soul he chose to try not to scare this visitor off.

 

"Everyone left here, there was a bad crop season, said to be because of some boy in the village, so out of fear and resentment, they left." He answered the others question, however was sure not to mention that he was the boy.

 

Reaching up he almost put a hand to his white hair but remembered that his hands were covered in the soil so chose to simply places his hands by his side. He had to take a few moments to consider the mans question before properly responding, "I had strange parents, I was born with my hair like this, that is all. If anything else looks wrong with me then I have no idea, I haven't looked in a mirror in a while I guess."

 

Shifting back in his spot, he returned the question, with a question, "Why are you here then, if you are not lost? No one ever comes here, I would know." As he spoke he took the opportunity to really take in the mans stunning apperance, and it was rather breath taking.

[sVerrine]

Dante's first impression on the human was: 'What a brat.' He found his attitude, which had the display of superiority, to be rather unnerving. It was true, though, that the demon was accustomed to be addressed differently as he had an important position in the Demon Realm for a very long time.

 

He weighed the boy's first words and couldn't help but wonder at the truth behind them. The feeling of 'Death' was still persisting in the atmosphere, so a simple matter as a 'bad crop season' couldn't have killed a few hundred man. Also, the child's presence was itself dubious.

 

"What about you then? Why didn't you leave?"

 

To be sincere, Dante was not speaking about the boy's features, because he didn't find them strange; white hair was really common in the Demon Realm - it was a color that he was accustomed to see.

 

"I find nothing strange in your features, I was talking about your body. You are absurdly thin and you were trembling earlier."

 

The boy's question inflicted a pensive expression on Dante's visage. The reason he was there? Was it mere curiosity? Probably, but he couldn't say this to a mere human child because it will ring strangely to his ears. But again, he had no other reason in his head that would satisfy a human type of reasoning.

 

"I found the inanimate state of the village strange."

[Key-Tokki]

Kiribua listened to the other and looked down at himself, noticing now for the first time in a while that he really had grown extremely skinny. He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged lightly, he was never a good farmer, or cook for that matter so it made since that after everyone was gone he became such a stick. Looking back up at the stranger he spoke, "Left left because they had reason to, but I did not, so I stayed. Plus, this is, or at least was my home once, it would be sad to just leave it all alone and desolate, people should take care of there homes. As for my body," he motioned down the length of his lithe figure, "I am not a good cook, nor farmer so do not eat much of anything, so it makes since I would be unhealthily thin." He looked around at the lonely, abandoned looking village and nodded slowly, "This inanimate village used to be very lively, it was full of children and animals, it was really some place a person could call home." As he finished his stomach let out a loud rumble and he groaned, annoyed at his need to eat.

[sVerrine]

Dante listened to the boy's pessimistic lines presenting his miserable life, and couldn't help but wonder why he was even alive, when he presented no such ardent desire for living.

His mere words were spoken in such manner, as if they could bite you any moment with their harshness.

 

"I have no desire of criticizing the village, of what it was once. Curiosity made me wonder why you are still living here, alone, when you could go instead in the next village, get a job and start a new life." Was this not common sense among humans?

 

Dante thought that maybe he couldn't understand the boy's desire of staying there because he had another nature, of a demon's, so he was incapable of growing attached to anything. He did not knew the meaning of 'home'; was really there a difference between the 'house' you live in and spend your days and 'home'?

 

He also couldn't understand the human's negligence towards his own health either. If he was aware of the fact that his body was not fit for leading a healthy life, then why didn't he do something to change his circumstances?

 

"I do not understand you." Dante finally confessed.

[Key-Tokki]

The white haired boy shifted where he stood, he brushed his hands off on his already dirty pants as he thought about what the other said, before replying. "Well, this is my home, I used to think that maybe everyone who had left might come back for me one day, maybe forgive me for whatever they thought I did. But I suppose I really should have figured out by now that no one was coming home." He laughed softly as he took a step back before continuing, " I don't want to go somewhere else and risk the same thing happening, and besides, I don't really mind being alone." Even he could tell that he was lying about the last part, he was tired of sleeping by himself, eating by himself, farming by himself, he was tired of being so alone in this deserted little town. His stomach let out a low grumble as he stood there, clearing his throat he looked up at the other man a bit confused. "You don't understand me? I do not think I am that complicated." He murmured softly as he looked around. "I would offer you some food, but I'm afraid i'm all out. I could make you some tea if you like?" He offered, making to turn to walk to the nearest little hut.

[sVerrine]

Although the boy admitted nonchalantly that he was not such a complicated being as Dante thought, the man wasn't at all convinced. The human waited in that remote and isolated village for everyone to come back and forgive him, but the place lacked food, which was essential for humans, as Dante observed. That was like a death wish, wasn't it?

 

Dante shook his head and glanced pensively at the peculiar lithe boy whose countenance betrayed loneliness and hunger. Similar with the Demon Real, nothing came free either on the Human World, so the demon put his hand in his pockets and then revealed some bread and fruits he had collected from the forest. He didn't need food to maintain the dead body he had possessed, but thought that having food on him would make him look less suspicious when encountering humans, who were dependent of the things he held in his hand.

 

"I will give you these in exchange for the tea. Is this a fair trade?"