ORIGIN

Once this had been the site of carnage on an unheard of scale. Abominations of nature, equal in deformity and matched in battlelust, had clashed within this patch of jungle and driven away all life besides themselves. The careless sweep of curved claws had felled trees here. Grasses torn and soil scattered, ragged earth had remained in the wake of blood spilt and monstrous shrieks, commemorating events as strange as they were terrifying.

Time had brought peace and repair to the place in the passing cycles, though perhaps it was simple luck that neither beast had frequented the area since that fateful day. Recent climate ever rainy and humid, it might not have been entirely out of the ordinary for Leo, but here in particular it was a blessing. Muddy gouges were filled in by green. New roots had established their presence, and from them thin, youthful trunks had sprung up that stretched further and further to touch the light streaming down from a high ceiling. Gradually chirping birdsong and other Lesser sounds had become a stronger presence, younger generations at last gathering the courage to take up residence where their elders had fled from.

It was still behind its neighbors in terms of growth, deforestation dooming its greenery to forever be inches, even feet, behind the rest. Compared to before, though, the grassy hollow was a welcome space that’d only improve the further it flourished.

A true shame all this recovery was bound to go to waste, a fact that became clear as the metallic scent of blood seeped into the air once more. Danger was visiting again, disgusting, destructive, and oblivious as ever.

Buzzing gave away whether the threat was an old or new one. If that certain noise had not been enough to indicate which one, the shrieks accompanying it removed any doubt. Red dripped through the leaves of the sparse canopy, trickling down as a ghastly shower upon the earth just before the trees burst apart, snapping like they were twigs in a giant’s hand; to be more accurate, they were cut down like cane for harvest, and the fingers of the giant were blades haphazardly wielded.

"Frrieennd! Frrrrrieeend?" Karambit cried out.

Uncaring of the mess it left behind, the monster careened through jungle. All eyes on full alert, its body writhed mid-air as forward-facing and tentacle-embedded alike swept the surroundings for sight of the snarling, beautiful, deadly features of their once sparring partner. Clenched tight between front limbs was the source of the bleeding: what barely qualified anymore as a red kooru dangled there, multiple crashes as Karambit had descended into the undergrowth having thoroughly reduced the flesh to so much pulp. Its favorite sort of friend besides the delightful creature sought after, it had been brought along as an offering, an attempt at camaraderie by appealing to one's stomach.

Hopefully, if it found the one it craved to see, the kooru would serve to make their mouth water like its many did.

"Frrrriend? I'vvvve brrrought 'notherrr frrriend! Good one! Let me show," it called out into the wilderness. "And I'll show otherrr thing toooo. Also good! Maaagic."

Every sense dialed to its highest possible setting, any activity amongst the trees still standing and those yet to tumble to the monster's scythe-like claws had as much chance of going undetected as a bird was to spontaneously develop gills and acquire a taste for the deepest and darkest of sea living. Fortunate for the strange amalgamation of cat and whale bounding away from Karambit's destructive path, though, the odds were far more favorable when it came to not attracting its full attention for the attempt at an electrifying performance. Collected static prickled through meat and keratin alike as the gargantuan beast passed by, strong enough to cause it to shudder. Too weak to cause any actual lasting harm, the effects dissipated mere moments after running its course. Already vibrating in anticipation of encountering its beloved misshapen friend once more, the instance could almost be written off as a temporary spike in the strong emotions present.

Perhaps this was some preternatural sense's reward for its growing proximity to the target it so desired. Ever optimistic, the thought gave rise to another searching shriek: "Frrrrieeend! Arrrre you heeerre?"

Another chorus of snaps rang out as yet another row of trees toppled. Splinters scattered in all directions, but it mattered little to Karambit, those that managed to needle its flesh only heightening undying fervor. "Come seee meee! Beeeen sooooo long since seee you!"

"Frrrriend!" it screamed. Claws swept about and struck down more of whatever stood in the way. "Frrrrieend?"

Surrounded by the sounds of its own chaos-making, these should've masked the approach of the aforementioned creature. If not for the blessing bestowed upon every sense, they would've. This difference was all it took to alter fate for the towering meat-insect in the smallest of ways. Instead of Draconua Junior's sudden crashing advance taking it entirely by pleasant surprise, keen eyes captured every wicked twist of its form through the woods seconds before they fell. And so Karambit did not screech before turning to meet it—the fellow monster would actually match the speed witnessed, screeching the whole while.

Coherence was never its strong suit, but now every shred of it had fled from the siren pitch of its voice. Words having no place in an expression of pure ecstasy, one form of communication remained.

"Aaaaaiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—"

Pure noise. Of course.

"—eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

It rocketed forward, all efforts at chopping down forest abandoned for a reckless charge. Wherever the offering it held collided with brittle bark, bits of mashed kooru meat flew off and landed somewhere in the destroyed greenery below. If any part of the corpse would be left to give once it reached its dear hungry friend, truly a miracle would have occurred.

As rapid degeneration had leeched away the health of Karambit's beloved monster, so too did it seem to have an effect on what should have been a collision between two colossal beasts. A screaming launch lost velocity and was gradually reduced to an unsteady drift. Instead of an impact of flesh and fang strong enough to set the earth quaking and winds whipping, the reunion at the midpoint of all the destruction wrought turned out to be a paradoxical affair, gentle amongst so much fallen forest. The malformed Draconua offshoot, weakened as it was, did indeed land its first blow. However, claws gone blunt left jagged cuts shallow enough to cause further confusion in a mind already brewing with it.

"Krrrrrrmmmm?"

At first, the blackness gushing out of the great maw of the disastrous beauty had been no cause for concern. Karambit, in fact, couldn't have been more thrilled by the sight: to go without seeing such splendor for so long to now be met by an even further improved version of what it'd remembered had almost caused it to collapse from a combination of weak knees and weaker flight muscles. Its heart had raced wherever it might be in that moist mass of meat considered to be a body, elevating the ambient buzzing to even worse intensity than before. But then there'd been the roar which had sounded more like the creature was slowly deflating than gearing up for a most joyous meeting.

So unlike the pure menace remembered. Lacking despite the Oil-drenched glory present for eyes to feast upon.

Why? How could it be so wonderful and yet so tired, like one of their friends after a rough play session? They had barely started to enjoy each other's company, but it already sounded exhausted.

"Frrrieeennn?"

The buzz died down while Karambit puzzled over this, mandibles flexing. Its pool of thought shallow, any explanations that could be conceived of were limited. Furthermore, they would be absolutely wrong, as proven by the next action to be taken. Staring into the rows of teeth advancing toward it, a single word had bobbed to the surface of its mind and offered itself as the correct answer to the bafflement: hunger. Not one to bother verifying hunches, the obvious solution was leapt to, doubts a phenomenon unknown and likely never to be discovered.

"Yes!" it screeched. "Havvvve frriieeeend! Tasty and good!"

Uncaring of whether it would lose life or limb, the insect shot forward, spindly front legs outstretched. The food offering dangled between them, such a mess that it appeared more a limp red rag than a Lesser anymore. Many smacks against trees had caused the sole identifying feature left, the kooru's head, to become a bloody lump peppered by shards of crushed and exposed bone. Not much of a stretch to assume the meal might not go down smoothly.

Perhaps the entire upper half of Karambit would be better, its coordination so faulty that everything but legs succeeded in diving into open jaws.

Doubtful that many would claim a cavernous mouth, overflowing with Oil, to be an enviable place to be wedged in. Far more likely it would be deemed a nightmare destination. Trapped in such an intimate position, one could see the promise of death awaiting down the dark passageway known as the monster's gullet. Once the pain of teeth shredding flesh failed to register anymore to screaming nerves, this was where any remains of a being would slide to eventually be deposited as rotting ingredients in a ghastly brew of liquefied insides.

Karambit, its mindset running ever contrary to popular thought in the caves, found no fear in this prospect. As the aforementioned serving of meat creature writhed in clamped jaws, hemolymph pouring out to saturate its squishy exterior while the thorax was rent apart, buzzes accompanied shivers which were equal parts exhilaration and agony. Since the draining fluids clogged spiracles along the front portion of its body, the less articulate mouths embedded in the bundle of tentacles at the tail tip raised the most commotion possible. Not a single intelligent thought could be discerned from the series of shrieks and drones emanated.

"Sssssss—Eeeeeeeee! Frrrrrreeeee—Innnnnn!"

Front set of legs disabled by the sharp shear of teeth at the point where it met the main body, the kooru offering Karambit toted had plummeted into the grasses and jungle debris below. The claws on the two pairs of legs left flailed about, seeking to hook upon and pry away the fangs descending down the length of its friend's neck.

"Cccc—nnnnn! Eeeeeeeelllp! Mmmmm—eerrrrr! Ffffff—eeeee! Mmmmmeeee!"

So far, the efforts only worsened the likelihood of freeing itself. Each strike dug those claws within its own flesh, and frantic yanks pulled off awful chunks of insect meat to litter the surrounding area.

What a mess—a complete and utter perversion of all Karambit had set out to accomplish on this fine day. Such a disappointment for a monster's expectations to fall so far from reality.

"Eeeeee! Etttttt! Eeeee-ooooo!"

Make no mistake the disaster being referred to; its friend taking sustenance from the clear fluid oozing out of myriad wounds, shredding meat into ragged succulent ribbons, was not the issue here. Those were ordinary bonding experiences any creature possessing its unique brand of sanity would deem desirable to go through. The true problem resided in the inability to help its devourer, stuck as it was inside the decaying beauty's jaws.

Yes, they would be together if it was successfully consumed. Hunger would be satiated by one not originally intended to be the meal. But then what? Although clueless, Karambit recognized the wrongness of the twisted being's current state. Without someone to literally leap into the open Oil-soaked maw, who's to say it would ever be able to sustain itself again. Too slow and tired to catch wilier prey, starvation might soon follow. And once the last dregs of energy drained from its gorgeously misshapen limbs, inevitably it would collapse.

From within, nothing could be done about this. Karambit needed to be outside, much as impending doom thrilled the insect to its core. Only separate could it provide its friend aid longer lasting than a moment's gorging on flesh. Hunt when weariness prevented the other from doing so.

"Puh-leeeeeeeeee! Ssssssss!"

Consciousness was fading, but still it struggled. The cries of toothed tentacles had not ceased, and now the air began to quiver in sync with them. Let it go, the message was. Cough it up so that both might survive to eat another day.