94- Dinner and Drinks

Uroxuz stared down at Mazurka, the fear pouring from him like a river, so sweet and supple, that it washed the room of the foulness that had been so prevalent before, and Skye was so paralyzed that she was unable to scream, finding it near impossible to even breath.

"S… s…. stop… stop! Please!" Mazurka stuttered until he found the strength to speak. "Please. We… we want to speak to you."

"Speak," Uroxuz commanded.

"I, um… I'm Yechiel. Do you… have a name?"

This was the reaction he had hoped for, the mix of fear and desperation, the strength to speak even as every last ounce of a person's being demanded the opposite. Such was truly rare, a delicate, fragile balance, and for that reason alone, he didn't wish to ease their panic, but rather he desired to push it further. Setting his hand upon Kavak's shoulders, his fingers easily stretching down the front of his chest, even with a coil of his own body in the way, adding to the enormity of his appearance. Lowering his head, he turned his nose towards Kavak's cheek and took in a slow deep sniff.

"Please! Please, don't harm him."

Mazurka's plea was heartfelt, and Uroxuz's watched as he shifted onto his knees and lowered his head to the floor. The annoying one had appeared to have learned his place; his current posture being a good look for him. Finding his reaction to be of some amusement, he turned and gazed in his direction.

"Tell me what to call you," Mazurka sounded as if he was begging, but Uroxuz didn't respond.

He was uncertain if he should answer truthfully, so deemed not to answer at all. As far as he was concerned, his name was not for the annoying one to know, for if it was, then surly Tauluthet would have introduced them.

"Yechiel," Uroxuz parroted, hoping to cause more confusion, over providing any real answers.

"Yes, I'm Yechiel, and this," he motioned to Skye behind him, "is Skye. And that man," he pointed at him, "is Kavak."

"Skye. Kavak," he repeated as he sniffed a sweating, silent, terrified foreign fruit that he was holding within the coils of his body.

"Do… can… can you understand us?" Skye questioned, her trembling voice barely more than a whisper as Mazurka managed to get to his feet.

Contracting his body, Uroxuz forced Kavak to groan uncomfortably, Mazurka was growing bold, the balance was tipping, and needed correcting.

"Stop! Stop. Please, please don't hurt him," Mazurka shouted as he took a step back, putting himself between Uroxuz and Skye, his head lowering, his arm stretched out. "Please… let him go."

"No," Uroxuz replied, causing Mazurka to look up at him, shock plastered on his face.

"You can understand us?"

"Yes. Speak."

"Why," Mazurka paused to choked back his fear, "why are you here?"

Uroxuz scowled, "Detestable fruit. Unmistakable stench that lingers."

"And the men, in that alley? The group of five? Why did you kill them?"

"Filth. Wretched, spoiled fruit. Rotten on the vine," he replied with a shiver at the recollection of their tastes.

"Thank you!" Skye blurted out, her sudden outburst drawing Uroxuz attention.

"Shut up, Skye," Mazurka warned between grit teeth.

"No," she replied as she moved along the wall, creeping slowly towards the table. "He needs to know."

Uroxuz watched her closely, surprised by her sudden burst of courage.

"I'm going to reach for that folder," she said, her voice louder and clearer than previous as she pointed to the file on the table.

Uroxuz nodded to her, curious as to what she wished for him to know.

Quickly grabbing the file, Skye opened it up and pulled the photo from the inside cover, holding it up to show him. "This man. You killed this man. He deserved it. You helped bring a woman home to her family," she explained as she put the photo on the table and thrust it towards him before grabbing another photo from the folder. "This is Eliza," she held it up for him to see, "she had been missing for two years. She's alive and back home with her family, because you killed him." Setting Eliza's picture down, she grabbed the rest of the pictures from the file and began to spread them out on the table. "These ones are different though. Did you kill these people because they were going to die?"

"They were ripe. They must be plucked before they rot," Uroxuz replied.

"Is he ripe?" Skye questioned as she looked at Kavak.

Uroxuz grinned, opening his mouth and extending his tongue, he slowly licked at Kavak's cheek, watching as Skye and Mazurka cringed and squirmed in disgust, quaking uncontrollably in shear horror, the color draining from their faces. He knew what they knew, and he reveled in the uttered delight of their belief that they were about to watch their companion die before them.

"Tuhané. A poison fruit of a poison tree. Sour. Bitter. Rotten at the core. Parasites of Baandahg, failed god of conquest. 'Exterminate the weak. Cull thy enemies. Cleave them from the world.' Many trees fell to Baandahg's chosen. Feeding their own tree with the blood of others." Uroxuz hissed and rapidly chattered his teeth finding it distasteful to even speak the failed god's name.

"It's true," Mazurka responded. "It's all true, the Tuhané were a shit bunch of people, but that had nothing to do with Kavak. He is not his people. You can't hold him responsible for what his ancestors have done."

"Poisoned tree, poisoned fruit," Uroxuz remarked as clasped his hand over Kavak's face and harshly bit down upon his shoulder.

Kavak screamed and squirmed, causing Uroxuz's to tighten his coils to the point where he could easily break the man's bones if he truly wished. Skye screamed, falling back against the door tears streaming down her cheeks, as Mazurka collapsed to his knees, aimlessly reaching out, grasping at air, silently begging for this to be nothing but a tremendously horrifying nightmare that he would suddenly wake from.

Removing his teeth from Kavak's flesh, he used his tongue to gather the severed portion of his soul into his mouth, swallowing it down before lowering the unconscious Kavak to the floor.

"Why…" Mazurka gasped as he looked Uroxuz's in the eyes. "Why?"

"Mercy, where Baandahg showed none," he replied as he used his body to push Kavak's towards him. "Yechiel. I accept, dinner and drinks." With a grotesque smile, he licked the blood from his teeth before saying, "You cannot stop Death. You all belong to him," and retreating into his dimension.

Kavak had tasted vile compared to Mazurka, and although Skye smelled better than either of them, Uroxuz opted to move to the upper corner of the room, near the ceiling to experience the new scents that would erupt from their reactions.

Mazurka grabbed Kavak and set his hand to his neck.

"He's alive… He's alive! Skye, call for help! Skye!"

"It's real…"

"Skye!" Mazurka shouted at her as he tore off his shirt and pressed it against Kavak's shoulder, the strange arrangement of puncture marks from Uroxuz teeth making it difficult to stop the bleeding. "Skye, he's alive! I need you to get help!"

But Skye didn't respond as she sank to the floor and clutched at the sides of her head, muttering incoherently to herself. The panic was a delicacy, Uroxuz couldn't ignore breathing in the scent with a fervor. Dropping from the ceiling, he slithered across the room and coiled around her quaking form. Pressing his nose into the back of her neck, he felt every muscle in her body tense and constrict before she fell forward, limp and unconscious.

'Feeble woman,' Uroxuz declared as Mazurka ran to the door and threw it open, shouting for help.

Bored with the situation, Uroxuz left the precinct. He no longer cared to see the reactions as the pleasant intoxicating scents had vanished, and he found no answers amongst these humans; just curiosities and toys to play with. As amusing as they had been the novelty had worn off.

Moving in Tauluthet's direction, Uroxuz began to notice the clarity of the air. The overwhelming aromas had begun to recede, slowly returning to the way they were supposed to be. Bit by bit, he could once again pick out the ripe from the premature, bitter from sweet, rotten from fresh. The orchard had regained its vibrancy. Whatever had caused the storm of repulsion seemed to have passed, yet this did not explain what had occurred. He wanted to speak about his experience but did not think it wise to interrupt Tauluthet, having witnessed the activities of the previous night. Taking a few minutes to recall the intensity of the spicy scent of his master's anger, the raw heat that stung at the back of his nose, and the subsequent cool burn of an icy creek that was Quayleigh's despair, and the way they conflicted and swirled. It was a savory buffet for which he was unable to partake; denied the right to defend her by Tauluthet's orders. But he had repaid Kavak, at least, for the misery he had inflicted, and he had not broken any of the rules while doing so.

He found a strange satisfaction in that thought, even if it had not been a part of his initial intention.

Lifting his head, he closed his eyes and breathed in the scents of the city.

"Cole." He grinned, instantly recognizing the pretty ones, unmistakable scent. For it, more than any other, was unique in its aroma. While far from the ambrosia of Quayleigh's natural fragrance, Cole's was enticing for a similar reason; the complexity. And much to Uroxuz's delight, the pretty scoundrel was nearby.

Finding his way into Cole's studio apartment, he watched his favorite curiosity as he paced, half dressed, about his living room, book in hand.

The scent of impatience was thick in the air, along with a mix of something sweet that Uroxuz's didn't recognize.

On the floor was the imprint of the tattoos that Cole had removed from Dylan's body, and spread over the couch, coffee table and floor, were books, scrolls, and papers.

"That insufferable little shit!" Cole shouted as he threw the book across the room, before rubbing his hands up his face and over his head.

Uroxuz could smell the frustration, and approached the book, while Cole made his way into the kitchen. Caring nothing for the book's contents, he lowered his nose to the book, wanting only to smell the points where it had made contact with Cole's skin. There was a lingering odor, that would dissipate quickly, and when he caught it, a clearer image of Cole's emotional state came into view. There was an essence of passion, a desire for knowledge. He had been reading for quite some time, but that had become cloaked by the anger and frustration of not finding the answers that he sought.

Leaving the book, he turned to find Cole coming towards him, and moved away, giving him a wide berth as he picked up his book. With a heavy sigh, Cole moved to his couch and sat down, lobbing the book onto the table.

"Another book, another damned unanswered question," Cole muttered as he leaned back and groaned.

"Why are you upset?" Uroxuz questioned as he left his dimension and appeared some distance from Cole, not wanting to startle him with unnecessary proximity.

"The hell!" Cole shouted as he abruptly turned and stared at Uroxuz. Shaking his head, he took a few breaths, his hand on his chest. "Dammit Uru, could you at least knock when you show up? You damn near gave me a heart attack. What are you even doing here?"

"Curiosity," Uroxuz answered, not entirely certain himself what had possessed him to find his way there, nor the reason he had revealed himself. "You are frustrated. Why?"

"I'm looking for answers and so far, I've come up with nothing," Cole replied as he breathed a sigh of relief, beckoning him closer. "Well, you here now, may as well make yourself at home."

Uroxuz slithered closer as Cole got up and cleared off the other couch, shifting the books and papers onto the table and floor.

Crawling up onto the couch, Uroxuz unexpectantly found Cole's hand holding the underside of his jaw.

"Uru, whose blood is this?" Cole questioned with a stern expression before lowering his hand.

Reaching up, Uroxuz wiped at his cheek before sniffing the back of his hand.

"It is of the poison fruit. I marred the Tuhané filth for bringing harm to Quayleigh."

"Tuhané? You mean Kavak, the detective from last night? What did you do to him?"

"Do not anger pretty Cole. He is alive. I would not disobey Tauluthet's commands. His time has not yet come."

"Don't you pretty Cole me," he remarked as he went to his kitchen grabbing a paper towel and dampening it. "Next time you show up here with blood on you, you wash up before crawling onto my sofa. As for the Tuhané, he had it coming."

"The annoying one said something strange to me. He said, 'he is not his people.' He smells of the poison tree and tastes of the stain of Baandahg. If he is not of his people, then of what is he?"

"I'm pretty sure," Cole began to explain as he sat down next to Uroxuz's and started to wipe the blood from his face, "that the annoying one, meant that you shouldn't hold Kavak responsible for the actions of his people. Given that he wasn't there to stop them and never partook in any of what they did."

"Then he should rebuke the failed god and cleanse himself of the beasts influence. He is an extension of his gods will and his god is filth to be cleansed."

"Going a bit overboard there, don't you think?" Cole questioned as he turned Uroxuz head to look at his other cheek.

"Bah, I should think you in agreement Mau. The La'jhirawah suffered the same fate as many of Deaths tribes beneath the failed conquest of the Tuhané."

"Bit hard to see it as a failure when you be all that's left of a lost tribe," Cole replied as he motioned for Uroxuz's to lift his hand.

"Baandahg sought to conquer this world, to rid it of all living things, thus smiting Death from existence. Baandahg was incapable of such a task. He failed and his chosen people now suffer the consequences of his desires. He is known only to the Tuhané and thus he has failed as a god."

"Well, you get no argument from me on that. Still doesn't explain your hostility though."

"Does it not?" Uroxuz questioned, while Cole cleaned off his hands. "Baandahg sought the end of Death, he is our enemy. His eradication is inevitable, but he should be punished for his arrogance, foolishness, and pride."

"So, you aren't going to be apologizing to Kavak any time soon?"

"He should be thankful he maintains his life!" Uroxuz shouted, causing Cole to respond by dropping his hand on to the top of Uroxuz head.

"He be an easy target, Uru. I'm not about to lecture you on your moral choices; it not be for me to try and change your ways. However, it be unwise to attack him again. Giving them a personal experience like that, it's going to make them want to find you. I just hope this doesn't affect Quayleigh and what she's trying to do."

"The poison fruit will rot as it should. I've tasted him and found him vile. I will not end him without orders, but I will defend Tauluthet's mate regardless. They should not have made her suffer!"

"It almost sounds as if you like her," Cole replied with a smirk as he took the dirty towel to the kitchen and tossed it in the bin.

"Primitive concept. As she is Tauluthet's mate, so is she mine."

"You going to have to clarify that statement, Uru. I think you be confusing somethings up."

"I confuse nothing. She is the same as Tauluthet, and that makes her mine as he is mine," he replied as he closed his eyes and thought of Quayleigh.

"That be all fine and good, but what exactly is she to you, if Tau wasn't in the picture?"

"Boundless succulents. A delicacy beyond comprehension." His entire body quivered at the memory of her flavor. "She is the divinity in mortal form, the taste of a god, and none, save I, shall ever taste her."

"She be little more than a meal to you?"

"Bah! Pretty Cole, you cannot begin to grasp the lengths that I would stretch to obtain a single drop of such decadence. I will savor her for eons and be grateful that I was blessed to be touched by her mortal hand. Fathom your existence, for compared to her, you are a meat sack. You are nothing."

"No need to be so bitter now. Jealousy doesn't look good on anyone. You should just admit that you like her and be done with it."

"Pestilent flesh thing, you understand nothing," Uroxuz rebuked as Cole grabbed a tea towel from a drawer and tossed it at him. Catching the towel, he began to dry himself as he spoke. "I have tasted the bitterness of love and the sweetness of regrets. Passion that burns like flames in my mouth. The thick sludge of desperation that tastes of excrement, and hopeless confusion which is of sand. But she is pure ambrosia. Sweet, fragrant syrup, smooth and silken like the warmth of her flesh. This is not jealousy, for no other shall ever know of such perfection as I. This is devotion beyond mere platitudes. For but a promise of a taste, I am a slave to her being."

"Devotion, love, obsession; there often be a fine line between them things."

"If you wish to speak of love and obsession, Tauluthet is to whom you should speak. For it is he, not I, who is your rival. Yet, Pretty Cole, you have already failed. I do not need to taste her to know the flavor of her emotions."

"Oh Uru, you still have a lot to learn," Cole chuckled. "I've never been a rival to Tau, and never wanted to be. Quays never been as happy as when she be at his side, and that not be something anyone can compete with. Including you."

"I need not compete; I have already won."

"Ha! It's easy to win when there be no competition. Tell me, how many others you see lining up to take your place?" Cole asked with a smirk.

"You mock me?" Uroxuz wondered as Cole filled a kettle with water and set it onto the stove top.

"Nah, mon amie. I just be playing around a bit. You feel better now though?"

Uroxuz hadn't even noticed that his confusion had abated, and his mind had focused. The unanswered question he had about what had happened to him earlier had ceased their meaningless echo and were now clear.

"You came here for a reason, Uru, and it wasn't out of curiosity. Care to give me a real answer as to what you wanted or perhaps you simply prefer to help me out for a while?"

Uroxuz shifted from the couch and joined Cole as he made his way over to the transfer of Dylan's tattoo on the floor.

"Pretty Cole, I believe I shall do both."