In a place like the Black Fens where typical evolutionary biologies failed to thrive under a sunless sky, Cross abandoned the need to conceal his third eye beneath a bandage, finding in the strangeness of this darker world that physical aberrations and abnormalities weren't worth owlish stares or hushed whispers. He found it easy to exist within the infinite shadows, but though he chose to linger a while, he knew he didn't belong out of sight, tucked away in the nooks and crannies belonging to the world's forgotten things--he belonged in the light amongst fellow humans.
But with his soul wearing thin after a month of separation from his compatriots, he found refuge in huddling around a small fire on the main street with a few of those belonging to the Fens. His heart insulated with warmth and company who cared little for his features, he allowed his mind to rest within the undulate thrashings of the flames, inattentive to those passing by on the street-- until a blot darker than shadow bled into the corner of his vision.
His head snapped up and his third eye bulged to behold a black presence hovering around a man who traipsed down the street. He watched the man's gait for a moment, searching for signs of fear -- but he walked without worry or hurry, leading Cross to believe him to be unaware of the danger breathing on his shoulder. He stood sharply and hurried to catch up until he was within feet of the man.
「Stop,」 he called. Thinking the entity to be a cursed spirit, he knew he could not deny its nature, but neither could he reject his unique obligations to both the spirit and the Earthling. His mind pulsed, his thoughts thrumming in his brain as blood-beats that then slowed to reverent silence before the dread curse. Motionlessly, it turned toward him and smiled, baring layered rows of fangs that whorled down into an unseeable chasm ...
Cross' eyes snapped back to the man. 「There's something attached to you. I believe it's a curse.」 / @ilsecng
