The human's face paled, beads of sweat forming on his brow as he fumbled over his words. "I… I didn't mean any offense," he stammered, voice cracking. His fear was tangible, an acrid scent in the air that Arthur found somewhat amusing. The man tried to steady his breathing, his gaze flickering between Arthur's blood-red horns and the razor-sharp claws flexing against the rocky ground.
Arthur observed him with mild curiosity, far more than he'd afforded to most creatures in the Scorching Badlands. There was something faintly interesting about this human—a trace of energy unfamiliar yet not completely foreign. It wasn't the raw, primal essence he'd sensed from other creatures he'd devoured, but it was there nonetheless, stirring some buried instinct within him.