The night was still, warm and quiet, here in Asunción. At this time of year, the precipitation was at its highest peak, with the rain falling heavily down from the sky so high above. Few stars could be seen, as the gray clouds with an ominous tinge to them, slowly sifted across the sky, blotting out those twinkling heavenly bodies on which mortals would make a wish. And the moon? The clouds tried as they might, but the Man in the Moon saw through the gray and purple overcast above to look down at what walked below.
And the Man in the Moon did not like it.
The trees of this forest stretched high, almost shielding the wild life of the land from the cascading drops, and the branches yet teeming with green life, allowed but a glimpse of the heavens above.
The forest itself seemed like a place lost in time. A prehistoric jungle to the imagination, one of the few remaining places in this would that has yet to suffer the taint of man. So few of those places existed in this day and age; Shangri-La being perhaps the last remaining remnant of what came before mankind. One day He wished that he might see it, the pale One, yet one such as He was unable to walk those paths, despite his power. So, he walked here.
And the Man in the Moon did not like it.
What's that you say? The Man in the Moon is but a myth? A whimsical fancy of a tale or a mere toy with words for the children of yesteryear to tell tales of and wonder about? Untrue. You have but to gaze up at that bright, white orb and wonder at the shimmering light that surrounds it at night and realize and understand -- there is life there. Ancient life. Powerful life. And He did not like that the spirit of fear again walked the face of the earth. More so, he did not like that He was unable to intervene.
This time.
The pale feet, as white as ivory colored chalk, walked across the floor of the forest, a stark contrast in color between white flesh and the green of life that surrounded him. Life that did not ensure when it came into contact with one so foul, as the green fauna set foot upon slowly withered away and turned brown with decay. It was another reason he so enjoyed taking these late night walks without a mortal around to entertain him or sustain his hunger. The tease He Who Soared Above. To toy with one who had power above all, but yet remained powerless to intervene where the shadows crept across the face of the earth. And where shadows crept, so did he reside.
"Why do you insist on playing these silly games?"
Of course she was here with him. She was always with him, ever since she freed him from the oblivion that those cursed Romanovs cast him in centuries before. When she did so, it forced a link between the two, one which allowed her to remain in the comforts of her humble abode, deep in a hidden woods, while he ventured out into the world to amuse himself. Oh she would join him every now and then, but she preferred the comforts of what, in his opinion, was a ridiculous hovel of a home.
Many 'dark ones' sought to free him over the years, but only she had the power to do so. He despised being in the dept of 'meat', no matter how lofty and powerful that particular piece of meat just so happened to be. He owed her much, but the discovery of the role she played in aiding the very ones who banished him left a sour distaste in his mouth where she was concerned.
"Did you not hear me?"
Her tone was a hint more icy than was her first question, and it irked him to have one such as she speak to him in such a manner. He was far more used to being spoken to with respect, and fear. Lovely, delicious fear.
"I heard you, witch." Grimm said as he stopped amidst a small opening in the forest, a circle center surrounded by towering trees and lush plants and bushes. He went on, "I was simply ignoring you. And if you wish to make childish accusations of game play..." He paused, brushing aside a hanging branch to look out toward a flowing stream that ran through the dense forest. "Well, I have two words for you my Lady: gingerbread house'."
"You simply refuse to forget that one silly story, don't you?"
Grimm smiled, a smile that would be charming were it not also the type that could send milk curdling, a cold chill racing down the spine of one who might have been unfortunate enough to see it. The witch was powerful, and a force ff nature -- quite literally. But it was times such as these he did draw pleasure out of reminding her of her own past follies.
Grimm said, "I just remind you I am not one to be judged."
"Hunting then, I take it?"
"A moment my Lady..." He whispered and started to move through the brush...
The beast had its back turned, too content in its evening meal to take note that it was no longer the hunter. It had become the hunted. Quite the sight it was, its likes unseen by any for an age, yet its tale known to adult and child alike in this part of the world. from behind, it resembled a sheep, albeit one with long, sharp talons, but to look more closely you would find a wolf-like muzzle buried in the carcass of a traveler who made a most unfortunate choice for a late night poaching session, and instead came upon the legendary Ao Ao.
A twig snapped from within the general vicinity of its hunt, and it lifted its head and inhaled. It could smell nothing, but senses cultivated over the course of many lifetimes warned it that danger was present. Clumsy danger, allowing itself to be heard while it stalked a beast as fearsome as it. It lifted its head to turn and look out into the night, but saw nothing. No hint of another predator seeking to claim its kill for its own. It sniffed again, but sensed nothing, and now, no movement.
Satisfied, it turned to resume its meal when the white hand emerged from the shadows so quickly it had almost remained unseen, and now it hefted the beast off of its haunches and dangled it into the air. It scratched and clawed, but the grip was secure. Grimm inspected the struggling body of the beast and smiled.
He spoke aloud, knowing she could hear him, "Hunting? No. I'm playing."
"Where have you been?"
"It is a question that I have seen in the eyes of the unwashed masses of mortality when I chose this point in time to return to my hobby of torments, mental as well as physical. Nobody has approached me to ask outright, but the thoughts are there. Unspoken. I know. I've heard them."
"Still, there is little harm in having a curios nature. It is simply the way of those that walk the face of the earth to want to know -- more. However, what would show the weakness of mind is when one acts upon those curiosities, and finds themselves delving into dangers they do not understand for the sole purpose of satisfying what they feel as human they have the right to know. And it was that egotistical belief that led the saying of the cat and curiosity."
"I will, however, indulge you with an answer: I simply grew bored with this small piece of the mortal coil and moved on. There is always more to keep one such as I entertained. I simply bided my time away from this den of supremacy, watched, and waited. Patience comes naturally to one such as I, and I have to admit, I was both rewarded, as well as surprised. And it takes a lot to surprise me."
"I saw a child become a man. A child I had desired for my collection, yet lost track of amidst the entanglements I had found myself distracted with. One whom the Lady and I saw as a fitting morsel for her table, and yet when I found him again, he had grown. And I did not care for that at al. Oh how I hate a hunt to go unfinished, and so here I am, and here you are, Casey Gray, the unbelieving protector of the very target I have my sights set upon."
"I do so enjoy it when men such as you look at what is right in front of them in common disbelief. The human mind was always weak at best. They could find themselves facing the horrors of the night, or riding a unicorn, and remain in ignorant bliss, finding any excuse to reason away what they are experiencing. Well, there will be no reasoning for you, Casey. Your size means little save that you are strong, but we faced each other in the past, and your strength was of little use against one such as I. While your strength is your size, your weakness is your mind. You overextend yourself in thinking I am not as your friend fears. He is right, as are the children of the world around you. Has your child ever cried out about the shadows creeping in its room? The monster under the bed? That would be me, Casey Williams. That would be me visiting your flesh and blood. Fight me if you must, but you would not be the first 'giant' I have done battle with in my time. I have fought many giants, and I am the very reason for their extermination from the face of the earth. Is that indeed a fate you wish to follow?"
"And you, Travis Nathaniel Andrews. Cocky. Self assured like any mortal, but vastly overrated like all men. You think to step into the path of a predator and his prey? It is the third man, the giant, that wishes to keep me from my prize, and now you seek to prevent my removing him from the equation, and why? To prove yourself? To boast of your self worth to your peers? To mankind? Well allow me to remind you of just how worthless the human race is, Travis Nathaniel Andrews..."
"It is mankind that poisons its own planet in the name of fuel. It is mankind that uses disease against his own, all in the name of war. It is mankind that strives toward knowledge and discovery, only to end his quests in bloodshed and ruin. It is mankind that discovered mankind and enslaved him. It is mankind that murders in cold blood for riches and prestige. It is mankind that drops bombs that destroys millions. It is mankind that invented those very bombs, just to see if it could be done. It is mankind that is slowly, surely, wiping itself into oblivion, and will have only himself to blame."
"And it is mankind, Travis Nathaniel Andrews, that you face that which walks the shadows, to prove yourself to. idiot. I have faced many a hunter in every age of this earth, and each battle has ended in thee same way. The hunter, became the hunted. The ego of man led to its own downfall. So it was before with they who came before you, and so shall be the same fate that awaits you."
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