Dz, Demeter, Karsh, and Zyggy are the original characters of TikTok creator Ishness.
DZ
The familiar jolt of returning to the front was counterbalanced by someone shoving us backwards. I stumbled, barely managing to keep us from falling. Before I could get my bearings, a raspy female voice with the accent of the Ishness capital city was accosting me.
"Aye, I thought that would bring out the Big Bad Boy," she leered. "You can't possibly be scared of me, eh?"
In her infinite wisdom, Demeter had advised keeping a low profile after everything that had happened with Host. So, instead of matching the stranger's energy, I bit the inside of my cheek so hard it bled, muttering a quick apology as I attempted to pass her.
She stepped with me, keeping herself stubbornly in my path.
I stared down at the angry entity incredulously. She was short and stocky, the top of her curly-haired brunette head well below my chin. Light hazel eyes with goat's pupils were narrowed on my face. Smooth caramel skin blended with sleek patches of bronze scales, giving her a natural armor I would have admired if we'd met in less aggressive circumstances. She wore faded black leather pants and vest, baring her well-muscled arms. A warning, I thought briefly. She'd prefer to be seen as a threat.
"Look, I don't know you," I said, averting my eyes. "And I don't know why you're pissed, so--"
The stranger planted her hands on my chest and shoved again, but this time I was ready. Gritting my teeth, I allowed myself to take one step back in order to keep the peace and make her feel like she'd won.
"Like fuck you're going to just walk away," she snapped. "I have things to say to you, Pain-Eater." The last two words came out in a venomous hiss, forked tongue darting from between her teeth.
I swallowed the rage that threatened to boil up and out from deep in my gut.
"I never wanted that name," I said quietly.
"Oh no?" She crossed her arms, pleased that she'd trapped me into a conversation. "What else didn't you want? A lovable alter ego? Free access to our home despite being human? An ability most of us would kill for?"
I clenched my jaw. Her words cut deep, but I knew better than to let it show. I had spent so little time in Ishness lately, I'd almost forgotten how the entities saw me. How strongly they resented me. How angry they were that I couldn't help them.
"Well?" The stranger's voice cracked. Suddenly, she sounded exhausted, weak. I heard the little girl inside her mind, tired of having to stand up for herself. "Why are you so fucking special."
Her fire had burnt down to embers, but still I felt anger and pain rolling off her in waves. I wanted nothing more than to tap into her mind, become whatever she wanted, and take her hurt away. Like I had done for so many humans, so many times before.
But I couldn't.
Thankfully, no one else was in the town square this early. The dawn mist was just beginning to break, revealing an ancient, intricate pattern of cobblestones under our feet. A few moments passed while the entity caught her breath and I stared at my boots.
"What's your name?" I asked suddenly, surprising myself.
I raised my eyes from the ground to meet her gaze. Now that I was truly seeing her, I could tell she was tired. There were bags under her eyes. Her frayed vest had been mended and patched a dozen times over. Her scales were veined with a sickly yellow tinge. The hard muscles roping her arms told me that she'd had to fight for everything she had, and what she had wasn't much.
