Stiff wood creaked beneath the weight of the Eteni. It sounded rough, as if someone ran their dull nails across it.
Hylo stumbled closer to the table, trying to picture the kill back to life again. There was confusion in her mind, eyes, and movements. She was unsure of where to go.
Being a hardened warrior, born to enforce and killed to protect a cause seemed like a simple idea in her mind. She was naive, unable to comprehend just how many twists and turns it took.
"I can see you don't want this. Just know, Hylo, you are here to learn. Your experience here will carry onto future plans," Ether's voice shivered. He handed her a pair of scissors. "We need to cut the wool off."
She stared at her father's hand, it stretched out far to reach her. There was a strong paralysis taking over, her brain was telling her to shut down completely and cry.
"These conditions aren't right for you to learn in, hm? How about we sing, you and me, Hylo. We can sing while we prepare the Eteni," Ether suggested.
Frigid air escaped out her lungs, forming a loose cloud that was washed away by the still winds. Hylo was frozen in fear, unable to move a muscle towards the lifeless creature.
Ether turned his attention to the body, then began snipping away at the leg. "When cold winters arrive," he sang aloud. "Together we hide. Let our warmth free us from a finite storm. Cause by the end, a true flame is who we adore."
Hylo didn't realize her lips following along. "Together we hide, future generations will thrive. Mountainous sentinels shed us our pride."
She stumbled closer to the limb body. Muttering the words, causing clouds to form before her face. Her eyes fell onto the Eteni's glazed green pupils. All life was drained from it.
In response, Ether changed the song. "Little, little pawns are we. Die for our mothers, see? Spit on my body, char my corpse. For I am a little, little pawn."
The sudden shift in tone, from a Thawed's Stomp Song to a Zegus War Tune, unsettled Hylo. Although, she did not feel threatened. Her eyes were fixed on the body.
"When my mistress calls, Legions will fall. Drop your burden onto my shoulders, we dare to care. For our mantle, there is none to compare. You may repair our bodies, but our souls are broken. Forgive the lost that have spoken," Ether continued.
Hylo stumbled back, looking up at her father. "What is the song about?"
Ether stopped snipping and singing. "Pick this up," he ignored the question. "Start cutting here, I'm almost done with this piece."
Instead of fighting back, Hylo nervously crept closer to the leg her father worked on. She shook like an earthquake, trying to maintain her body steady.
With the first snip, she breathed out heavily. On the second snip, she tried her best to keep her breathing under control. By the third, she was barely getting enough air in her lungs.
"Don't stress. What's going through your mind right now?" Ether asked.
"Neddy, I do not want to mess up. You'll get mad at me," Hylo's voice crumbled.
Ether patted her head. "I see, you think I am forcing you to do this? Well, you're forcing yourself. I'm here to support you. That's what I've been doing this entire day today. Just watching you."
She glanced up at him, trying to figure out what he was going to say before he could mutter another word. Except she couldn't understand what was going to happen next.
"Guess what?" a tender hand fell on her cheek. "I am not doing anything, just singing. You coming closer, singing along, even cutting the wool? All that has been you alone."
Hylo paused, taking a moment to process what he meant. Then she carefully studied the warmth in her father's smile, then the lack of warmth in the Eteni's body.
She gasped, realizing where all the pressure came from. Her shoulders relaxed and the shaking slowly went away. The ever-scaling cold steel came into focus, she adored the feeling.
A few more snips later, and Hylo realized she felt comfortable with the cutting. So she continued until the pink skin from beneath the soft wool poked its head out.
Then, her father placed a cleaver right before her hand. She flinched at the sight of such a tool, instantly shutting back into her shell.
"We've been doing a lot of cutting and the Eteni needs to be prepared. The blood needs to be poured out, usually the feet is the best place to do that from," Ether said.
Hylo watched him lift the knife over the shaved portion of the creature, then heard it effortlessly cut through to the other side, striking the wood beneath.
It came to a sudden halt with a quick thump. She jumped in shock, feeling something usually warmth running her cheek.
Rogue drops of blood landed on her, she stood too close. Her eyes widened in horror, trying to comprehend what just happened.
"Look at you!" Ether laughed. "Messy little Hylo! You look so innocent and pretty like this," he dropped on one knee. "Careful, though. Do not let the blood get inside your mouth."
"Wh - what happens if I... accidentally let some f - fall in..?" she struggled to speak.
Ether rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "It tastes salty and weird, you don't want that. However, we can use the blood for something." He glanced over at their home. "Orako said he wanted some creature blood to remind other Infinus Scalers of their roots."
Hylo breathed heavily. "Are all Ferals this scary?"
"No, many are great friends. I used to have this close friend, Oria, she was a Feral. And probably the one who encouraged me to get with Pearl," Ether chuckled. "Anyway, take the scissors and work on the belly."
She gulped down her shock, trying to keep cool beneath the sight of her caretaker. Instead of trying to argue with herself over her decisions, she went on to briskly cut off the wool.
While she focused herself onto it, she did not realize the new kind of song Ether was singing. It belonged to Threshers, the type of song a dad would sing to his kids.
Innocent dreams of swinging through flower petals and drinking the sweet nectar from within mixed with careless humming formed a Thresher's Communional Voice.