Hitirus emerged from the treeline, carrying the dead Threshers in his arms. The forest was quiet, almost shocked by what they saw him carrying.
And truthfully, he too was shocked. Just because he was a tyrannical brawler doesn't mean he has the ability to remain stoic. Especially when he cant even rule over himself.
The scent stopped continuing between two trees. Odd patches of exposed soil laid around, obviously hinting at something being beneath it since the rest of the forest was grassy.
"You've done enough for me, Scaler. Can you try to bring out a Zegus or - or a Thresher out?" Hitirus asked.
"No, they are all independent. Whoever gets dragged out by your body will be here, just not me," the Scaler replied.
Powerful legs quickly transformed into less impressive ones, while the arms grew more muscles, and torso matched. However, his body didn't resemble a Feral.
Instead, he looked like a blend between Thawed and Zegus. Ideal to make him seem bigger, while also making him seem less threatening than an actual Thawed.
Once the transformation was done, Hitirus turned to the nearest mound of exposed dirt. He took a deep breath, then pressed on.
"Threshers! Hey! I've come bringing horrible news, and the remains of your loved ones..." his voice went quiet towards the end.
Instantly after saying what he brought, a Yonie poked his eyes from under the soil. His eyes were large and innocent, further expressing purity with the crystal green eyes.
"Huh? Y - Yomie? Y - Yonie?" the Yonie sounded hurt.
He went back down into the tunnel, seemingly to ask somebody else for something. Which left Hitirus awkwardly standing alone with the duo in his arms.
So instead of holding onto them, he rested the Yomie down. He then placed the Yonie right over her, then he adjusted her arms to wrap around the poor Yonie.
By then, twenty Yomies erupted out of the tunnels. All of them glared at Hitirus, knowing the odds of him being the killer were high.
Yet they didn't want to pass judgement, not yet. Everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
"Creature! My name is Vytora, the mother of this family. Tell us your name and what happened," Vytora demanded.
Hitirus bowed, showing submission. "My name is Hitirus, mother Vytora. I..." Hitirus paused, feeling guilt wash over his body. "I... uh... f - fou... no - no. I heard! Yes, I heard a Feral attacking your little ones."
Vytora narrowed her eyes at Hitirus, almost sensing something was off. "Uhuh... may I ask, what kind of Feral was it?"
"Dunes Feral - it was a Dunes Feral, mother Vytora. She was a wild one, ripped your Yomie apart like nothing," Hitirus answered.
The other Yomies whispered to one another, seeming more furious than before. None of them ever heard such lies in their lives.
However, Vytora didn't want to judge too quickly. So she pressed on with more questions, aiming to poke holes at Hitirus' story.
"Dunes Feral, was it? That's odd, Coshire doesn't have any of those. Never had one, never will."
Her response struck odd to Hitirus. There was clearly a desert in Coshire, and Zeek proved Dune Ferals do exist in Coshire.
But something was telling him it was best to not counter her word, but to exploit her lack of knowledge about the outside world.
"A great calamity, mother Vytora. It struck Yarno, pushing Variants out. Which even impacted the population on the nearby island of Galaad," Hitirus lied.
"Huh? What kind of calamity? Galaad? And... Yarno?" Vytora asked, bewildered.
"Yes, my mother Vytora. Haven't you heard? A Primed emerged from the most malicious heart and plagued both regions. And you obviously know of Yarno's large deserts and extreme heat!" Hitirus added.
Vytora glanced at her Yomies, wondering if they had any idea of what Hitirus was talking about. WHich they didn't. They simply stared and took information.
Which caused Vytora to reconsider the possibility of her Threshers' death being Hitirus. After all, Hitirus wasn't a Feral. He seemed like an overly large Zegus.
"I - I never... knew that... um..." Vytora awkwardly glanced all around. "You look like you're telling the truth. So please, if you see the Feral, kill them for us."
"Of course," Hitirus agreed.
He turned and walked away from the encounter. Trying to play it off cool until he was out of sight from the Yomies. However, as he walked, he had the urge to turn around.
That wasn't the right thing to do. He had just killed those Threshers when they were minding their own business. Not even trying to attract any attention.
"You ended up fulfilling half of your promise," the Scaler whispered into his mind. "Are you sure you're content with the outcome?"
"Huh? What - oh, yeah - of course. I'm fine," Hitirus replied.
"We share the same brain, its obvious you don't. You wanted to come clean, but stopped yourself because you were afraid of what might happen," the Scaler explained.
It was true. Hitirus didn't feel happy with his decision. Even though it was a clever trick, he still doesn't think he did enough. Which left him wondering what to do next.
Part of him wanted to come clean, the other didn't want to. It felt like a conflict where he lost no matter what the result was.
"You've hit your mental block. Let me give you some advice. If I were you, I'd master myself. Learn how to control every Thresher, Thawed, Zegus, Feral. So this never happens again," the Scaler suggested.
Hitirus thought about it for a moment. The idea allured him, making it seem perfect to strike some of his major goals.
"There's an issue, I have no idea how I mastered you. Th- "
"'Master' is the wrong term. You tamed me. To master me, you'll need to know how to tie my skills as a powerhouse with another Variant," the Scaler interrupted.
"Right, sorry. I'll need to figure out how to tame the rest," Hitirus sighed.
"Sit awhile and wait. I'm sure they will find you," the Scaler suggested.