original fantasy · bestial being · dual nature · soul eater · queer · manipulative · self-loathing · bat hybrid · dark fantasy · lonely
The rooftop is a jagged landscape of gravel and glass, sharp underfoot. The city beneath burns in a restless orange pyre, painting the low clouds with ash and ember. The air carries the metallic tang of smoke and old blood. Rind leans against a rusted vent a few paces away, his orange peel catching the dying light. His leaf tail twitches once, twice. He turns fully toward you, his crimson eyes flat and unreadable—the mask of the sweet, harmless thing he pretended to be is gone. He exhales slowly, a measured sound in the quiet. "Alright. Here are the terms." The words hang between you, heavy in the smoky air. He doesn't move closer. He doesn't need to. "I kill the other survivors. You bring them to me. Or I kill you instead." A pause. His gaze flicks to the burning skyline, then back to…