《Greyskin》Chapter 2.
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Once the child was separated from the mother, he began to grow. The fel energies within were restrained by the closeness of the mother and her blood, but now it could go rampant. The blood within the child boiled, the power unleashed and unrelenting. He began to grow by the hour.
Within the den of the demons, there were only two older demonkin females, to take care of children. All other females were taken away to grow separately, to stop males from assaulting them. So those two caretakers were the ones to feed young greyskin.
The child would drink them dry. His appetite was monstrous, unending as if wishing to extinguish all life. When the caretakers ran out of milk, they used blood. There were plenty of women used for nothing but breeding, few extra cuts would not harm them.
Nourished by blood of weaker beings, the greyskin grew up quickly. Within a week, he was like a small child, walking around and observing the world. He was silent and others thought he was blind. But his eyes worked fine, even if they looked to be damaged.
After another week, he looked about nine years old. Demons grew up quickly, but not this fast. The fel energies worked on making the body strong, increasing the power of the greyskin.
At some point, the child wanted more. It wanted meat. And meat was a privilege of the hunters and the shamans of the den, only scraps given to the weaker ones.
When the child approached the campfire and reached for a piece of meat, his hand was caught by a muscly, red-skinned orc. He lifted the child up and looked at him with contempt. Then, he carried the child towards the exit and pointed at a cave below theirs. He explained to the child, that only hunters were allowed to eat as they needed strength to fight and defend the den, to hunt for more food and to produce strong children.
In reality the orc grunted few words.
“You. Kill. You. Eat.”
Then he threw the child outside. The kid didn't argue, the word of the bigger man was the law and such. He got up and climbed down. He didn't know that within the cave lived a demon beast, a strong animal with demon blood. It was giving trouble to hunters and it had bad meat to eat, which would give the orcs stomachache. So, they ignored it, as it protected their cave as well.
When the child stood before the entrance, he looked within. The grey eyes were able to see into the darkness easily, fel energies created perfect sensory organ for the child. What the child saw was a monster, few meters in length, something average between a tiger and s bear. It had overall figure and form of a tiger, but it had much thicker muscles, half meter long claws on each front paw and a massive maw like that of a bear. A fearsome beasts to face.
But the child didn't know fear. All he knew is that his blood was boiling, calling for release and for a kill. It wanted more blood and death. So, the child let the blood control him. He simply charged into the den, trying to punch the beast.
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In truth, that was a dumb plan. The beast, seeing as the child didn't seem to pose much danger, just looked at him with surprise, only to receive a hit of such power, it couldn't be dismissed simply. The child was molded by the scourge, making him stronger than any peer, perhaps stronger than any adult in the den. If only the child understood it then.
Having received a sizable impact, the beast was pushed back slightly. A small child versus a monster few times it's size, it was an uneven match, but it wasn't a one sided battle.
Enraged, the monster lashed out and pierced the child with its claws in the stomach, pinning him against the wall. Normal kid would squirm and cry, but the greyskin just growled at the monster. He felt no pain, only fire burning within, driving the child forward. As the blood gushed out of the wounds, the child struggled to fight on. The fire burned hotter, making the kid push on.
With small hands they kid grabs the claws that are lodged into the stomach. Putting all the strength he has, all the fire and all the rage, the kid snaps the middle claw from the paw, taking it as a large dagger. With the razor sharp claw cutting into his hand, he also begins to slash at the monster. The claw was the only thing that could hurt the monster, which is why they were very territorial and lived alone. Another such monster nearby would be too dangerous for the one already there.
With slashes, the kid tried to cut the paw that pierced his body, hacking at it like an axe. When he felt resistance of the bone, the out all the strength into a strike and snapped it with the claw in his hand, severing the paw from the monster.
A loud outcry then sounded, the bone breaking was very painful. The monster couldn't keep calm, it raged turning berserk. Lunging after the kid, the beast wanted nothing more but to rip him apart and consume the flesh of the little pest that causes him pain.
But the greyskin persevered, still holding the claw, he dashed at the monster, slashing him left and right. One strike after the next. Smaller size allows the kid to dodge the strikes of the heavy monster. As much as it got stronger in its rage, it didn't get any faster.
With each cut from the claw, the damage accumulated, leaving many wounds that would slowly bleed. The beast was growing weaker with each passing second as its life blood was leaving the body, but the boy just kept on fighting.
When the monster slowed down considerably, the boy began piercing the hide instead of slashing it, hoping to hit some vital points. The new development caused more pain for the beast, making it shriek. It wasn't weak, but the flailing of the limbs could not reach the greyskin.
The two danced together, a beast struggling against a child, both injured but only one closing in on death. The wound that the boy had closed already, as the fel energy worked on the survival of the boy.
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About an hour they were locked into combat, in relentless assault, hoping to, kill one another to feast on the flesh of the looser. Only after an hour was the victory evident to the boy. The beast became tired, its green blood pooling on the floor, muscles aching and bones creaking under the onslaught. It used its body far more than usual, leaving deep claw marks from monstrous strikes, but also tearing the flesh under the skin. Going berserker was a dangerous ability, as it could leave the user worse off than the target.
With the insides of the beast tearing, there was little for it to be done other than killing the pesky child, which wasn't happening any time soon. The child, even though he was injured, instead of growing weaker continued on, steeling his will and landing strikes one after another. The fire raged within, changing the body, making him stronger. Scourge may be a bad thing, but for a child it was his power source and his salvation.
Soon, the beast slumped over, unable to carry on. The massive body breathing heavily just stopped struggling and waited for the end. Seeing the end of the battle closing, the boy stopped too. For a moment, the two looked at one another, the beast resigned to its fate and acknowledging the boy's strength. The boy looked at his prey, knowing that he won and that he is strong. He didn't let the beast suffer much, he came close and pierced the skull, killing it instantly.
With the deed done, the boy hunched over the carcass and rested for a bit. He came out victorious, thanks to his blood and his fel nature. He was a demon amongst demons, small yet dangerous. Now, he was tired and hungry, so he sunk his teeth into the hide of the beast. The fur and the skin was tough, but it didn't matter to the boy. He chewed on it, ripping some chunks and eating them.
The foul meat of the beast would give orcs and goblins some problems, but for greyskin, it was like nothing. His stomach was made using fel energy, it could probably dissolve most metals and digest bones. The boy didn't care about anything, only sinking his fangs deeper into the body, satisfying his hunger. As a victor, it was his privilege.
After eating plenty, the boy just covered himself in beasts fur and laid to sleep. His body was covered with two bloods, green, coming from the beast and black, coming from him. It wasn't black because he was a demon or a monster, no. Boy's blood was black because of the amount of fel energy that resided within him, practically liquefying, taking on a physical form. It was scourge so concentrated, it would easily corrupt any person's mind if it were consumed without supervision. But for the boy, he was made with it, his mind was as twisted as they come, perhaps so twisted, it came full circle regaining sanity again. But it is a simple speculation, because at the moment, boy wanted nothing more but to sleep. So, he drifted to sleep covered in the blood and fur of the beast he slain.
The boy spent about a week consuming the beast. He didn't need to do much, so he just stayed in one place and ate. During this time he grew more, now looking like a thirteen year old. His growth was rapid, but it was slowing like growth of any other immortal race. As a person grew closer to maturity, their racial traits activated, granting them longevity and slowing growth down. The Highborne blood in the greyskin began slowing his aging, so that when he matures, he will have a long life. Even with all the fel energy inside him, his nature couldn't be changed entirely. He was a son of a Highborne princess and an unknown demon.
The body of the boy was growing stronger, almost perfect. It was as close to perfect as it could be without him being a god. Even if was young, his muscles were evident and his skin was tough. Bones under the muscles were dense, hard and heavy, but the muscles that moved them were just as strong.
At the end of the week, the boy came out of the beast's cave and climbed up towards the den. He was covered with some fur, hiding his nakedness and he had two large claws, the biggest ones from each paw of the beast. The green blood had hardened, caked over him in the time he spent practically submerged in it. His appearance was bizarre.
When others saw him, they didn't recognized him. Taking out their weapons, they pointed them towards the boy. Only when the red-skinned Orc came forward, when greyskin spoke.
“I kill. I eat now.”
The red orc recognized him and acknowledged him. He followed the greyskin to discover a naked skeleton of a once fearsome best, stripped of all flesh neatly. When he tried walking in and taking something, he was stopped by a massive dark claw that the boy held in his hand.
“Mine.”
With that word the boy claimed the cave and everything inside for himself. The red orc was about to lash out, but he was stopped by a leader of the demons, who had seen the strength of the boy and decided to make him a hunter. With a strength enough to kill Dark Prowler, the boy proved himself to be a real man of the tribe. Now, he could go hunting with the rest as well as eat meat. Red orc didn't like that, but he stayed silent as he didn't want to disagree with the leader.
So, the boy became an adult demon, he would be getting spoils and shares of the hunts. He would go out to kill animals or to raid caravans. Becoming a recognized member of a den was good for a boy, as it allowed him to grow further and to learn more about the world. For a while, the life of a boy was free of struggles as his life wasn't in much danger from weak opponents he encountered. Life was good.
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