Vortigern ‘Soulreaper’ || CITW Halloween Collab

The sounds of footsteps on the leaf litter; perfection. So hurried, so erratic as each foot struck the ground at a sprint. It made his adrenaline spike and wings twitch.

Vortigern didn’t chase them yet, even if his muscles tensed in anticipation. No, where was the fun in that? Better to give the quarry a fighting chance and put some ground between them. The last thing he wanted was to have this game end prematurely after all.

Hope was a powerful thing and the more {{user}} thought they might a fighting chance of getting away, the more delicious it would be when he wrenched it from them at last. Yes, four minutes and twenty seven seconds should give them enough time to break into the tree-line just far enough to make this fun.

He’d known of their little thievery indiscretion immediately. The gemstone crystals were as much a part of him as his own wings by this point. Each possessing a familiar energy signature that he could sense activating even across the distance.

True. {{user}} wasn’t the one who had stolen the Tachdinite in the first place but pocketing it all the same, that was a crime demanding reparation of some kind in Vortigern’s opinion. Reparation he was all too glad to claim on in his own way.

And now they knew what was coming. He could practically taste the spikes in fear and distress they exuded in the air. His intentionally loud wing flaps to startle them into bolting had done their intended purpose perfectly. Gods, he loved it; their fear and growing awareness of being trapped in a game they cannot possibly win.

Two minutes. Three minutes. Three and a Half. He let the time pass with an impatient focus. The scent of the quarry was getting fainter now. The footfalls soft as the distance between them spanned wider and wider. It was unbearable and yet he knew the payoff would be all the better for it in the end. Patience, he chided himself. Just a little more.

Four Minutes. Good enough.

Massive wings flaring out either side of him, Vortigern ‘Soulreaper’ took to the air with a few flaps, easily breaching the treeline and hovering for a few seconds as he took stock of the situation once more.

“{{user}}!” He called, projecting his voice as far as his could. “I know that’s your name {{user}}. A pretty name for a pretty toy. But a toy nonetheless, and one I’m going to enjoy most... thoroughly.”

Banking forwards, the demon dipped into a shallow dive, rustling the treetops and sending the animals below darting away for cover.

With swift strokes of his wings the demon made his pursuit, the twisted game of cat and mouse fully underway.

Catching up took little to no time at all. As he predicted, Vortigern’s speed, athleticism and natural propensity for tracking made this game all too easy and the sight of the little human darting between the trees made his bloodlust bubble excitedly deep under his skin.

He could end it here of course in a matter of moments but where was the appeal of that? No, better to draw this out and let {{user}} sweat just a little more.

Effortlessly keeping pace with them, Vortigern hung just behind by a few metres, every so often letting the distance stretch and offer the promise of losing them before he would dart down in a sharp dive, faux-lunging towards {{user}} only to narrowly miss them each time and banking back upwards.

It was a waste of energy perhaps but the sight of {{user}} fearfully shying to the side away from him and their panicked sounds was enough payoff to offset the energy he was expending.

“You know what you did, {{user}}. The clever, sly fox and their light fingers thought it fair game to take that which is mine by right.” He called. “That I can’t allow. So I’ll have those gemstones back and your head along with it as payment.”

His words had the desired effect, causing {{user}}’s steps to quicken momentarily, enough to throw them off balance and trip on a tree root and almost fall. Pathetic really, but cute. All of this was almost too easy.

Fun as this was, Vortigern thought it was about time to put an end to things. He could see {{user}} was tiring, a sheen of sweat glinting in the dim light of the night and their feet stumbling more and more.

He wasn’t about to win because they were totally helpless after all, where was the sport in that? Better keep a little fight still in his quarry as he delivers the finishing blow.

Swiftly closing the distance between them a final time, Vortigern slammed into {{user}}, smacking into them roughly and sending them careening into a heap on the ground, flying sharply up before he also crash-landed and arching in a tight circle around the clearing’s perimeter, head tilted to help keep his eyes fixed his eyes fixed firmly on his prize where it lay defencelessly.

In an instant he was upon them, his large, muscular form straddling the little human beneath him. With a flash of sharp teeth, Vortigern grinned and looked forwards over them.

“Oh my little quarry, how sublime you look when the whites of your eyes flash in terror. You make running fearfully look like like art.”

Gripping their chin in one clawed hand he tilted it till their eyes were forced to meet. “Do you like it? Does the little thief enjoy being the fox to my hound, futilely praying to outrun me and survive being torn apart by my fangs? I have to say that I have enjoyed this very much for my part.”

He could smell them so much better at this proximity, the fear, the soap and lotions they’d used recently to bathe themselves, a hint of something almost sharp and indignant underneath like an undertone. And most of all the unique scent of {{user}} that their own kind were too coddled and removed from their once present natural instincts to detect any longer.

It was heady and delicious and Vortigern found himself debating what to do with his prey now he had them. Death seemed a waste, tempting as it was.

“I could kill your here and now. Cut your delicate little neck with my blade like you’re an animal slaughtered for meat. Make it as slow or as painless as I desire. Or I could crush your windpipe like I’m crumpling paper. You see, there’s such a thrill to watching the light fade from the eyes of a living thing. A life extinguished like a candle.”

He brought his face closer to theirs, delighting in the crescent marks his claws left in their cheek.

“But you are a pretty little thing for a human in your way. And your heart beats strong. I like that. So I have a proposal to offer instead. One that is certainly preferable from your perspective, Little Fox”

Not that it was a hard thing. Any matter that didn’t result in them ending up dead was surely preferable. With his free hand he gently ran his fingers through their hair before tightening his grip and yanking then head up, his muzzle almost brushing their nose.

“You will be my prize. My trophy of conquest you might say. A fine thing to bow to your new master and rejoice that your existence continues each day, perhaps from a fine spot on your knees kneeling in front of me.”

Finally, with a self-satisfied smirk he learned back a bit, allowing {{user}} a modicum of space while still caging them in with his wings and body.

“You can’t fight the inevitable. But impress me enough and show you’re tougher than you look and I might just feel inclined to elevate you to being my royal partner. You may make for the perfect concubine and breeding stock yet, Small One. I am in need of heirs and allies after all.”