Callum x Rayla-Darkness

Appetite

Callum woke up the next morning in his bed. He remembered collapsing out it the woods, but he didn't know how he got here. He got up and winced his back was sore. He looked over and there was a note on his nightstand. He picked it up and read it. It said, "Remember to meet me at the same spot after you wake up." It was short and to the point. It wasn't signed, but Callum knew who it was from.

Just then, Ezran walked in. "Morning Callum," he said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Not very well," Callum answered. He still felt worthless. Although, Yalaxy had told him that the entire situation had arisen because he wasn't strong enough. He had never though of himself as weak, but when he looked at it honestly, most people he knew could easily beat him in a fight. He was weak and Rayla probably thought the same. He knew she didn't leave because she thought that. She just thought that she needed to protect him. She was half right. He did need to be protected, but she shouldn't have been the one to do that. It made him both angry and sad that she felt like she had to keep him safe. It was also sobering when he realized that it was, if nothing else, a well founded concern. He was going to have to change that. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice Ezran walk up to get his attention.

"Hey Callum," Ezran said a little louder as he clapped his hands to get his attention. "Breakfast is ready. We are going to leave after lunch today." Callum nodded. Ezran wore a worried look on his face. "You know you can always talk to me Callum," Ezran said kindly.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks Ez. That means a lot," Callum responded. He went outside to the table where breakfast was set up. His nose was filled with an awful stench. It smelled like the manure down by the stables. However, as prominent as the smell was, only he seemed to notice.

"Come and get you breakfast," Soren said as he handed Callum a plate of bread, cheese, and some apple and orange slices. Callum thanked him and sat down. He picked up his fork and went to pick up a piece of cheese. He held it up to his mouth. It smelled rancid. Still though, he thought something was just messing with him and it was all in his head. He ate the cheese. He gagged as soon as he tasted the cheese. It had the texture of raw clay and in tasted like the worst thing he had ever eaten. He tried to hold it down, but the taste was so horrible, he started vomiting.  His friends ran over to him. "Callum, Callum what happened," Soren asked. He was extremely worried about his friend. Callum didn't know what was wrong with him.

"I-I don't know," he said groggily. They got Callum up, and brought him to his room. Lujanne brought him some medicine.

"Don't worry," she said, "it is herbs. No illusions." Callum drank it. He almost spit it out as soon as it touched his tongue. He didn't want to seem ungrateful though, so he swallowed it. It felt even worse going down his throat. He held his face in check though. His friends were extremely worried about him ever since Rayla left. 

"He is probably just sick," Ezran said. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than the others. They all left Callum to get some rest. He didn't know what was wrong with him. Food has tasted fine and smelled fine yesterday. Even Lujanne's grub food couldn't make him this sick. Just then he heard the door open.

"I see you've had quite the culinary adventure this morning," Yalaxy said as Callum recognized who it was.

"What is happening to me?" Callum asked as he doubled over with another wave a nausea. 

"Did you forget? You are a ghoul now," Yalaxy said. "Have you stopped to think about why we eat elves and humans? It is because we can't eat anything else. If I could eat like everyone else then I would. Believe me, it is would be a lot easier then my current diet." He put a bit of emphasis on the word diet. "Normal food is like poison to us. It can't kill us, but the effects of it on our bodies are quite substantial. In addition to making you puke it out to try and remove it from your system, you won't gain any nutrition from it. You will also make yourself weaker. The longer you go without eating flesh, the more your hunger will grow. Being hungry is way more agonizing for a ghoul than a human. It also comes with more risks. If you lose control of your hunger, there's no telling who you'd hurt. Which reminds me," he said as he pulled out something wrapped in brown paper, "eat this and you should feel better." He handed him the package. Callum smelled it. It smelled absolutely delicious. It was nothing like the food he had eaten this morning. He unwrapped it quickly. His hunger was already strong. When he opened it, he saw flesh. It still had fresh blood on it. The sight would have made him vomit before, but he was so hungry. Without even thinking about it, he began eating eat. It tasted a lot better than it looked. It tasted like a sandwich almost. When he finished eating, realization about what he had done hit him. He grabbed his head in his hands as tears began streaming down his face.

"What is happening to me?" he repeated. The question was rhetorical at this point.

"You are a ghoul now. This means you are restricted in what you can eat. It would be far worse if you lost control of your hunger and hurt an innocent person. Trust me, eating is the only way to keep those around you safe," Yalaxy said as he moved to lean against the wall. Callum was able to see him better now. His eyes look like a human's now. His white hair reflected the sunlight to the point where it almost hurt to look at. His skin was pale. His still wore all black, even though it was summer. He looked like he didn't get enough sun.

"This-Where did you get this?" Callum asked gesturing to the food.

"As I said before, I try not to kill the living for food. You humans create more dead bodies of yourselves than I could ever hope to eat. Finding one before someone else does is the tricky part. Usually scavenging for murder victims, people who've committed suicide, and grave robbing is enough, but every so often, I have to hunt," He said as he looked at the ground. "What you're eating right now came from a serial killer in one of Katolis' more out of the way places. I heard your guards weren't able to catch him. I was out of food and I was able to sniff him out. It was an easy kill, considering how many victims he created. I would say that the reason Katolis is a lot more peaceful than most areas is because I've made meals out of a lot of rising criminals. It's not something I enjoy doing. But I have to do it to survive," Yalaxy finished. Callum looked down at the empty paper wrapping. "

At least he didn't go around killing innocent people," Callum thought. Normally he would have said something like that there was no excuse for killing someone, but he had to eat. It was better if it came from a serial killer than an innocent person. "So this is one of the trade offs for this power you talk about," Callum said.

"You can see it like that," Yalaxy said. "Many ghouls thought of it as a perk before I was the only one left. When everyone around you eats like you do, it numbs how you feel about it. Thus, many ghouls ate people like humans eat pie or beef. However, in you case, yes, it is a downside. You do get something for it though," Yalaxy said. "I showed you my kagune earlier. It is the greatest weapon we have. It has great offensive and destructive power, but we are a bit lacking in the defense department with our kagune. Rest assured though, learning how to use conventional weapons and martial combat will help with that. We are naturally faster and stronger than elves and humans. We heal at a faster rate and have more stamina. When I say fast healing, I mean regeneration. Broken bones should take a few seconds to heal as long as you haven't depleted yourself in a fight. However, you can always improve. Having natural strength is one thing, building on it and knowing how to use it is another. I said I would teach you how to use this power and I intend to make good on that promise. When you get back to Katolis, find somewhere where no guards or anyone else will go. I'll meet you there," Yalaxy said as he turned to leave. "Also, when you're infront of people, eat the food whole instead of chewing it, and then fake like you are chewing. Just make sure to throw it up in private later." 

He left Callum with more information to absorb and this only created more questions. But, at least he knew how to eat food to appear normal. From what he could tell, living like this was going to be the hardest thing he had ever attempted. But it was worth it. If he could get stronger, maybe Rayla would finally let him help her instead of leaving him to go off on her own. He was doing this because she was worth it.