In a simple cabin on the outskirts of the woods, a stunning sunset is casting golden rays through a window, giving the room an ethereal atmosphere. Inside, a black haired woman is wearing a simple green tunic and apron. She's highlighted by a blinding golden hue, which is obscuring her face. Stirring a copper pot over a clay stove, the woman is humming a soothing melody while an impatient onlooker is staring enthusiastically at the woman.
A delicate voice disrupts her humming, "Just a little longer sweetie, papa will return from his hunt soon." her words lit a fire in the person behind her, and she giggled after she heard them make an audible nod.
A smile covered the woman's face as she put her spoon down and started preparing the table behind her. Sitting at the small table, a red haired little boy was watching his mother closely. She put out two bowls, two spoons, one plate that was abnormally big, three napkins, and the pot that had finished cooking. Seeing the pot, the boy started salivating. "Not yet, we have to wait."
Suddenly, the cabin door swung open as a big, loud, and cheerful brown haired man presented a white rabbit, "Who's hungry? I caught my finest rabbit yet!" He strode into the house and set the rabbit on the counter.
A cheerful voice answered, "You're just in time, the food just finished cooking." She walked over to the man and gave him a big hug, "But more importantly, my big hunk has finally returned!"
The big man eagerly reciprocated by picking the infatuated woman up and twirling her around, "I've missed you so much! Every Second without my beautiful wife is like an eternity in hell!" His booming voice incited the young boy to jump down from his chair and run up to the man. He bent down and swept the kid up off the ground, embracing both of them in a giant hug. "I can't forget about you either, my darling boy!"
All three of them stayed in the big man's embrace for quite some time before the young boy finally spoke out, "Papa, I'm hungry! Let's eat!"
"Ha ha, Of course you are! You're a growing boy, after all!" The burly man carefully set the woman and boy down, "I've been waiting for dinner as well!" He grabbed the rabbit and set it on the kid's big plate before sitting his son down. He was beaming with arrogance, "A beautiful rabbit, no? I'm quite proud of this catch, I spent all day looking for the right one."
The woman's face pouted with feigned sadness, "Yes, yes, it's so beautiful. Even more beautiful than me, no doubt."
A desperate voice quickly answered, "Of course not! Nothing is as beautiful as you! In fact, this rabbit is like dung in comparison!"
The distraught lady put her hand on her cheek as she cried out, "I can't believe you'd feed your own son something you consider dung."
Silence filled the room as the man was left speechless. It remained quiet until a small annoyed voice cleared the air, "Can we eat now?"
"O-oh, uh, yes! Let's eat." The husband's defeat was clear in his voice. He sat in his chair while his wife harrumphed beside him. She poured him some of the contents of the pot, causing him to instantly recover, "Here it is, my beautiful wife's legendary chickpea and squash stew! It smells so delicious I can't control myself!" Without hesitation, he started scarfing his meal down at an inhuman pace.
His wife, who was now blushing from his compliments, reprimanded him, "Can you even taste it?" She took a moment to study her idiot husband's full face before looking at the boy in front of her. "You enjoy your food, too." She looked down at the dead rabbit before looking back at her son.
Giving a firm nod, he stared at the rabbit lying lifelessly on the table in front of him. He studied it, noticing the dent in its head that seemed to be caused by a rock. His mouth became active as he grabbed it by the nape and slowly raised it to his face. As his mouth opened, a massive pair of long sharp teeth in relation to his other ones was revealed. They were slightly red at the tips and there were small grotesque pores that pulsed invisibly beneath the surface.Â
His mouth got closer to the rabbit until it surrounded a portion of its neck. With a bite and sharp pull, he ripped loose some of the rabbit's flesh and fur, filling his nose with a satisfying smell. Before the blood could seep out, he swallowed and wrapped his lips around the rabbit's wound. Using his tongue, he lapped at the flowing blood. To his disappointment, it tasted incredibly bitter. It lacked the tantalizing allure his instincts told him it should have. He thought back to when he tried his mother's various meals, and how revolting they all were to him. So he was content enough with his current meal, even if it was mildly disgusting.
His mother noticed his frown, "Is this one no good as well?" Her husband also stopped eating to look at the boy.
"Mmh." The boy continued devouring and sucking on the rabbit's flesh and blood.
The big man gave his wife a knowing look, "Don't worry, son. I'll find you something delicious in no time!" He tried not to look too closely at his son's gruesome way of eating.
"Now that I think about it, on my way back I overheard the Chegu and Smogu twins say that one of the travelers that was resting in town for the capitol's October festival has disappeared." The burly man recounted in between huge bites of stew.Â
"Don't talk while you're chewing!" His wife shot him a firm glare for his uncouth behavior before continuing with a worried tone, "You teaching our son bad habits aside, that doesn't sound good. You need to be careful when you go out, there's too many people we don't know in town now."
The rambunctious man shrugged before pushing his finished bowl forward and grabbing seconds, "I know, I know. And what do you mean teaching him bad habits? When he finds a wife in the future, she's not going to care if he's a little rough around the edges! Especially if he takes after his pops!"
His wife was immediately outraged, "Marriage? He's still only 6! And he's definitely going to take after me and win over the heart of a good woman before settling down and starting a family!"
Before he could even take a bite of his food, the brown haired man had no choice but to turn to his wife in outrage as well, "Why would he take after you? He's a man so he's clearly going to take after his amazing father!"
"Huh! Big talk from someone who can't catch much more than a rabbit for his son!"
"It's almost winter, there's no way I could catch something bigger even if I was the best hunter in the world!"
"Whatever!" She turned to her son without skipping a beat, "Van, what do you think of having a little sister?"
"Wha-" The man turned to stone at the insinuation.
The boy finished his meal and wiped his blood-covered mouth with a cloth before answering in surprise, "A little sister?"
In the midst of their conversation, the boy's ears started ringing, drowning out his mother and father's bickering; he could hear muffled screaming as the smell of blood penetrated his nose. His parents disappeared before his eyes, leaving him confused. "Momma? Papa?" His confusion quickly turned to fear as he realized he was alone.
Suddenly, a fire bursted in from the bright window, causing him to choke on the smoke that filled the room unnaturally fast. He screamed for help, "Momma! Papa!" But no one answered his call.
The smell of blood became stronger, and his white eyes became stained in a deep red. He looked down and the white rabbit that was picked clean from its bones was replaced with a disfigured human arm with bite marks all over. He screamed with all his might but the situation remained confusing and scary. He looked at the bowls of his mother and father and he saw a severed head in both bowls, staring at him with warped expressions of pain. He didn't recognize them.
Reaching for the side of his chair to get down and escape, he slipped and landed on something soft. He opened his eyes to find the corpse of a man below him. He stammered to get up, but his hands kept slipping. He finally looked down at his hands only to discover them covered in blood as red as the crimson moon, the same color as his eyes. He looked at the intense fire in front of him, only to see his own reflection.
There he was, as pale as a ghost with scarlet red hair. In his reflection was something that shook him to his core, he was smiling.Â
It was a genuine smile born from pure ecstacy at the scene around him. He could feel the emotions of the 'other' him, there was a mixture of fulfillment and joy that stabbed at his heart. He held his head in shock, not wanting to see such an inexplicable and terrifying sight anymore. Tears streamed down his face as the smell of blood overwhelmed his senses. His fear overtook his mind as he teetered in the fetal position, corpses piled up around him. He was truly alone.
…
Deep in the Levit woods, haunting screams echoed from an unknown cave.
Deep inside, an older red haired boy was clutching his chest while he lay on the ground. He was writhing on his back and scratching at the ground. His face was a mixture of anguish and grief as tears streamed down his face.
After several seconds, he slowly relaxed after a cold shock ran up his back. He recovered from his intense fear before opening his eyes, they went from a deep crimson to a pale white. His face was full of tears, but he was awake.
End of Chapter 1: Bloody meal.