Night Creatures

1. Prologue

1. Prologue (Vigilante)

A quiet yelp echoes off of the abandoned stone walls that reach high above the small alleyway as a young boy gets thrown to the ground. Chuckles follow him down as the oldest of the bullies crouches next to him, harshly poking his side. "Aw, look at the little baby," the bully says, pulling the boy up by his hair for the other bullies to see. "Too bad his mommy can't come save him anymore."

The boy scowls, punching futilely at the air in front of the bully's face and earning a harsh kick to the stomach. A pained sound manages to slip past his lips, only making the bullies hit him harder with laughter. Just as the oldest pulls out his pocket knife, the boy glances to the side and meets a pair of yellow eyes hiding at the end of the alley. Dragging the boy's attention back to him with a flick of his knife, the bully sneers, about to mock the boy again when one of his friends interrupts him.

"Jay...hey!" the other kid whispers, her eyes wide and her hands shaking slightly as she tugs the older boy away. Before Jay can snap at her for interrupting his fun, a low growl joins the echoes in the alley, along with the light scratching sound of nails against metal.

A quiet, playful voice laughs past the noise and whispers, almost to itself, "Little fleshy bits playing with my food." Jay curses under his breath, backing up a step, not daring to brandish his pitiful knife at the beast in front of him. That voice whispers again, disappointed this time, "Oh, it's no fun if I can't chase you." Claws on stone sound through the alley as the beast creeps closer. "I suggest...that you run."

The bullies hesitate for a moment, leaping into action only when the beast lunges out from the shadows, growling and laughing as it watches them stumble away. When the older kids are all out of sight, the beast finally turns to the young boy, who only stares at it in shock.

"You okay, Fleshy Bits?" the beast asks, crawling over on its nearly human limbs to poke the boy's face. "Ya look like ya seen a ghost." The Night Creature smiles at its own joke, continuing to play with the boy's face with its clawed fingers. When it gets tired of that, it sprawls itself in the boy's lap, looking up at his still expression with amusement clear in its eyes.

"I-" the boy starts to say, gasping lightly as the Creature meets his gaze. "Uhm, th-thank you. F-For chasing them a-away."

The Creature grins at him, poking his nose again. "Anything for Fleshy Bits."

The Night Creature's own childish actions bring a small smile to the boy's face, and he reaches up to pat its head. Feeling something unusual, the boy looks up at the top of the beast's head to see a pair of fuzzy wolf-like ears. Eyes wide, the boy feels the fur between his fingers, rubbing over the ears like he would a pet dog.

The Night Creature laughs its quiet, playful laugh again and looks up at the boy. "You give good pets, Fleshy Bits."

The nickname makes the boy chuckle and shake his head, asking, "Why do you keep calling me that?"

The Creature tilts its head, as if the answer is obvious. "You haven't told me your name."

"Neither have you." the boy says, though the confusion in his voice makes it sound more like a question.

The Creature blinks owlishly at the boy, a grin slowly overtaking his features. "You're funny, Fleshy Bits." With a sudden motion, the Creature gets up from the boys lap and leans down to his height. "You can call me Ren."

The boy smiles up at Ren, taking the hand the Creature holds out to him. "I'm Liam," he says, letting the Creature pull him up.

Ren makes a sour face at the name, his mouth screwed up into a frown. "I think I like Fleshy Bits more." A crash from the nearby street interrupts any further conversation as a wicked smile grows across Ren's face. "Well, Fleshy Bits, I got some kids to scare. Catch ya later."

And, as suddenly as he appeared, Ren was gone, leaving Liam to shake his head and stumble his way back home.