Døllmaker | Cyan

(eighteen)

Sound carried through these tunnels in such an ominous fashion. The growls and grunts of agony, both physical and mental, traveled through the hollow halls. It was just quiet enough that it fell into the background, but loud enough to weigh on a weary mind. Without someone as fearless, and albeit, numb to this place as Ryan by his side, Ricky found himself trembling. He shouldn't be showing any sign of fear, given what he's walking into, but it was a little hard not be a little shaken by the prospect of facing up with some unknown evil creature.

He entered the tunnel in which he was supposed to meet one of Kuza's "pets". Ricky was the first one here, to his knowledge. He wasn't exactly sure if that was a good thing or not. It gave them plenty of opportunity to size him up in their approach. No matter which order he and the other party arrived in, he was going in blind. And, he had a feeling that somehow, they weren't. It was easy to assume there were eyes and ears in these walls.

A growl, much louder than those that echoed through the tunnels, rumbled the walls. Ricky's eyes doubled in size. Every instinct in his body told him to fucking run. While he didn't completely flee, he definitely took a few steps back. He suddenly tripped, falling back into something hard that he didn't recall being behind him before. Ricky turned around as he stumbled back, hearing that same deep growl again. The creature that he had just heard on the complete opposite end of the tunnel was now right behind him.

Perhaps it was fear, or perspective, but he swore the thing was ten feet tall. He fell back on the ground, too shaken to look at it's face, yet unable to completely look away. The way it growled made him think he was seconds away from becoming a meal. Ricky tried to move back the best he could in his current state.

"Croc! Stop it!" A voice called from the end of the tunnel.

He leaned forward to get a closer look at Ricky. His features were that of a humanized crocodile, which explains the name. Croc laughed menacingly, "I couldn't help myself. It's been so long since I've got'ta scare the shit outta pathetic human. I love the way their fear smells." He stood up straight, stepping over Ricky. "You ain't really human no more, huh?"

"Please, forgive him. We all get a little cabin fever living down here, and we all deal with it differently." The gentle one said.

Ricky finally pulled himself to his feet. He was rather thankful that there was someone here to keep that beast in check. If they'd been alone, he had no doubt Croc would've killed him and came up with an excuse to tell Ryan. Ricky dusted himself off and caught his breath. He looked up to locate the sweet soul that had prevented him from being devoured.

He was thin and covered in tattoos, with long black hair and piercing blue eyes, just like Ricky. If Ricky didn't know any better, he would've assumed this guy was just another goth kid. His hair was pulled up into a loose pony tail with a few stray strands framing his face. Even being pulled up, it still reached his waist. There was black and mossy green eyeshadow shaded around one of his eyes. Upon noticing that, though, Ricky realized his other eye was... Missing. Where there should've been an eye on his left side, there was just a huge patch of scar tissue.

The silence fell between them awkwardly. Paris didn't leave the comfort of Kuza's cove often. He rarely interacted with new beings out of embarrassment of his deformity. He shied away when he realized Ricky had spotted it.

"Anyone ever tell you staring's rude?" Croc sneered.

"I- I'm sorry. I've just never seen someone so unique." His response was only followed by a scoff from Croc. Ricky recognized it'd be best to just change the subject. "My name's Ricky, by the way."

"We know." He muttered.

Paris glanced up at him, giving him a bit of a look. "Please, try to be civil." He sighed, "This is Croc. He might seem like he hates you, but truth is he asked Master to come with me. He wanted to meet you, even if it was just to get your scent. Any who, my name is Paris. It's a pleasure to meet you, and to have someone new in the tunnels... That's not a disgusting Frankenstein monster."