Changed

Chapter Twenty-Four

I gently set down the Scaevus, guilt gnawing at my insides. I had an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the next. One said he deserved it, but the other told me I was an idiot.

I shook my head, erasing the conflicting thoughts bouncing through my mind. I whipped off my shirt, tearing it to wrap as bandages to prevent the scale-ridden body from bleeding out or becoming infected. I sat there in my undershirt, the cold breeze biting at my bare arms. I needed to find it food. But what did it eat? Squirrels? As I thought of dinner options for the thing laying before me, it let out a low grumble and I couldn't help but lift the corners of my mouth as I realized it was purring. It was so damn adorable. It's purring warped into a growl as it's eyes opened and saw me.

"It's okay cutie," I said softly, allowing it's paralyzed self to sniff my hand. "You have to understand I'm not going to hurt you."

I reached out, quickly pulling back as it flinched, rejecting my touch. It reminded me of Hail in that way. The small creature hadn't made any further attempts to bite me - this was good. I scanned the trees for anything I could feed it, and spotted something moving in the grass nearby. A small snake writhed in my hand as I caught it, clutching it's neck; making my arm unreachable to the reptile's fangs. I was squeamish and squealed, whispering a useless apology as I presented it's wriggling body to the Scaevus. The little demon inhaled sharply through it's nostrils and swallowed the reptile whole, a satisfied grunt accepting it's dinner.

"There you go cutie!" I whispered excitedly as it finished it's meal. I curiously watched as the little scaly monster slowly moved it's hindquarters back and forth. I couldn't help but laugh as I realized he was wagging his tail. If it's relatives hadn't tried killing me numerous times before, I would've invested in a Scaevus a long time go.

"You need a name!"

It uttered a small sound, and it was perfect. Maybe my mind had distorted the noise to create a name, but I liked it.

"I'm gonna call you Eb now," I spoke, delighted at his bravery while my hand grazed his ridged spine.

Eb stood, his small claws digging into the dirt as he moved around me - testing his surroundings and his injured leg. He completed a circle and plopped down in front of me, tilting his head as if he was waiting for a command. His loyalty was exhilaratingly astounding, and I was endlessly confused as to why this baby Scaevus was so eager stay with me. I could only imagine what Malus could have done with him.

"Okay Eb," I started, wondering how our first training session would go mere minutes into our introduction. "Can you shift?"

I tried making motions with my hands, unsure if he could understand me. Nevertheless, his scales flickered like images on an old television as flashes of myself appeared in front of me. Eb began panting as he reverted back to his own body. Clearly shifting exhausted him, and he'd need some practice. I didn't even know how I'd get him to shift into Oda; it wasn't like I had a picture of her in my wallet. I praised him, and he proudly snuggled against my leg, dozing off again. I envied his sleep and his darling little snores, and soon hesitantly drifted off beside him.

My eyes flew open no less than an hour later as a deafening screech plunged me into consciousness. I frantically searched for Eb and found him a couple meters away. His head however, was in Hail's hand, a lifeless purple eye penetrating my soul.

"You asshole!" I screamed at him, as he dropped Eb's head coldly, a thump sounding as the poor young Scaevus' blood tainted the yellowed grass a purple-red.

Hail gripped my arms as I reached for him, planning to pummel the absolute shit out of his frigid heart.

"You don't know the danger you were in," he started, pushing my struggling arms away from him. I wasn't listening. Rage filled every inch of me and every cell in my body was dead set on hating Hail.

"You don't know who you just murdered," I seethed, my arms heating as Hail was forced to let me go. I darted away from him, every one of my footsteps charring the grass beneath it. I knew exactly where I was going as I left a baffled Hail behind.

This was the last loss I was allowing to sacrifice.

I wanted to burn Hail to a crisp, but there was a greater enemy that deserved my resentment.

Every ounce of flame boiling inside of me was going directly to Roman's sorry ass.