- TRIGGER WARNING! -
The entirety of this post contains the frequent mentioning of gore, violence, mental complications, and other topics similar to this! If this makes you uncomfortable, please do not proceed!
Kamiko
Male / 6 Moons / Rouge/Outskirts / Pansexual
White, Black and Gray tabby tom with very dark markings, bright and round blue eyes, prickly fur, and a large scar across his clouded left eye
“Nah, ‘course I didn’t murder a guy! Get your facts right, man- I killed three, not one!”
~Kamiko
✽❀✽
The bloodied tom-cat had a crystal-clear image still grazed into his mind. There were claws, there were teeth- blood, screams, crying, all of it- but these things weren’t what made this image seem out of the ordinary. Those things were all familiar, often seen side-by-side with one another. No, it was something else that made this image unique. It was the smiling. He was smiling, the attacker was smiling, and joy seemed to be thriving. It hadn’t made any sense at all, yet some how, it felt right.
The fight had left Kamiko beaten and battered to the core with tears scattered across his pelt. They climbed like branches down his legs, along his flanks and back, piercing his ears and eye, leaving the left side of his face unrecognizable; Where a bright and round blue eye has once sat, the only thing seen was a wet sheet of blood and the swollen shut remains of the eye, barely noticeable underneath the wide red stain.
Behind him, sparkling ominously in his tracks, several trails of bloods stretched across the forest floor, glittering on leaves and roots. The trails got thicker and thicker the further he stumbled on forward, merging together and intertwining like a crowd of snakes. His fur was heavy and socked, but he managed to keep his balance just well enough to push on forward. One thing was certain: Kamiko was an absolute disaster.
A clumsy, torn, smiling disaster.
✾
♫ “Come home, to me, I’ll break, your knees,” ♫
The notes that left his lips weren’t anywhere near in tune- some were sharp, some were flat, and every one of them was a musician’s worst nightmare. But what could you expect from somebody so pained and sick? The sting of his wounds had a great effect on the multi-shaded tom’s voice, making it breathy and shaky with the effort of both singing these broken notes and keeping himself on his feet. His legs and feet were burning, shaking and trembling like and with each step he took. It felt terrible. That’s… no excuse to not sing, now is it? He thought to himself, dizzily. Another stumble, and the out of tune notes returned to haunt the air around him.
♫ “Now go, to sleep, I’ll haunt, your dreams,” ♫
His muscles were searing with pain, screaming for him to allow them to crumple beneath him and never move again, not even a twitch. Be ignored the feeling and pressed on. When one of his paws gave out, leaving an unexpected crimson splatter across the dirt where it had slid, he casually flicked it back into position and kept on walking. He wasn’t stopping until every last hint of consciousness had left his body. Twitching and shuddering, he hobbled on.
♫ “I’ll make, you crawl, I’ll break, your skull,” ♫
Something was fading into his bits and pieces of reddened vision, something large. As he neared, it began to look like a twoleg den of some sort. It was an old and broken down thing with vines and overgrowth creeping up its sides. There was a large oak tree appeared to be growing into the side of the home that Kamiko was stumbling over towards, marking itself as his new destination. Something about the place felt eerie- it was as if he could just feel the emptiness and gloom radiating from the old farmhouse. It only intrigued Kamiko more. He tried at speeding up, causing his walk to get extra uneven and unbalanced. He certainly looked odd, scrambling across the pathway towards the mysteriously abandoned twoleg-home. Blood kept pouring from his body as he stalked through the overgrowth surrounding the home. When he sang, he raised his voice. As the rhymes disappeared completely, they were replaced by hysteria. In other words, he sounded something like a panicked and dying parrot.
By now, all the rats and critters in the home could probably hear him loud and clear, through the opening of a window beside the oak tree he had nearly reached. He wouldn’t be surprised if they darted away traumatized the moment they caught sight of the smiling and singing blood-rag.
♫ “I want to taste your blood, to wear your skin, to hear the screams, the shrieks,” ♫
Kamiko reached his front paws out in front of him, aiming to catch ahold of the bottom edge of a spiky opening in the wooden wall of the home. Even the wood itself felt haunting- dusty, old, tough. His entire body felt as if it was on fire as he tried to put weight on these paws to hoist himself up and through the opening, fur flying up along his back as the sharp wood pierced the pads of his paws. He could do it- just this once, this last thing- just get inside. Find the shelter so he could at least heal up. How could he slaughter the cat who had shred him to pieces if he died off here, right outside of this place? At least let him pass away inside- and this shaggy old excuse for a house was pretty cool. His singing paused to make way for some simple speech. “Imma live, yeah…” The dizziness hadn’t seemed to affect the singing much- but now that he was also trying to get himself through the broken wall at the same time, things got complicated. Speech and lifting don’t clash well when you’re bleeding yourself into a pulp after a fight with your manic brother. He finished his comment with, “…live, so I can get my teeth in ‘is throat, ‘n… ‘n make em’ choke…” Then with that, the crimson-stained tom fell like a rag-doll through the opening and onto the floor of the haunted’ish home painfully. He landed with an unusual sound, something between an thud and wet splat. As he started to help himself to his feet, he went back to screech-singing as loud as his weakened vocal cords would allow. The longer he sang, the raspier he sounded.
♫ “Brother, oh brother, bleed and burn forever,
Allow me to dismember your face,
Evidence? I won’t leave a single trace,
Other than the crooked body, of course-
Cause’ I want to see Mama’s eyes…
When she cries, cries, cries…” ♫
Great Gods of Death, it hurt. Everything hurt, from his ears to toes.
♫ “Brother, oh brother, bleed and burn forever,
You look so pretty when you die, die, die.” ♫
He managed to lift up the upper half of his body, but the lower half wouldn’t budge. With a heavy, throaty and tight laugh, Kamiko unsheathed his claws to help help himself move across the home, dragging the portion of his body that was no longer functioning behind him. He pulled himself forward, leaving a massive red smudge behind him, shivering and shaking with every little movement. The pain was… well, numbing. That was a bad sign, wasn’t it? Kamiko accepted his fate: he was going to collapse any moment now.
He stopped dragging himself once he reached a dusty corner with a long spiderweb stretching its way across the wall. Well, the spider looked as good as dead- but its web was bright and shining in the slightly light trickling from the nearest opening into the home, some small broken window. Kamiko took in the sounds and looks of the home before letting his body give up on him completely.
He recalled the sound of creaks and splintering as he dragged his way through the home, paw by paw, the ancient and haunting wood crackling a little beneath his paws. Twolegs created such queer things, didn’t they? Kamiko’s smile widened, despite the finery sting that erupted along his scraped cheeks when it did. “Yeah- I’m gonna bleed, bleed out all the bleeding, and…” His voice drowned away for a moment.
Blackness had come showering into his vision, only snapping away once he flung his head upward, sending strings of blood zipping on through the air above him. He had lost it for a second, head falling to rest. But he was back. It looked like life was being kind enough to let him finish his sentence before knocking out. “Oi!” He exclaimed, just to confirm he had his own attention and voice back. Then after one long blink, his smile gave into the pain and fell.
With his last efforts, Kamiko finished speaking. “Yes… bleed out all the blood, and then sleep. Then wake up, because…” The blackness came tumbling back in, and his voice fell into a whisper. “…because I need to make him bleed, and taste his blood, wear… his skin… see Mama… cry…” Cry, cry, cry.
Then and there, the blackness swallowed him, and the waking world was lost. Kamiko toppled over and landed hard on the dry wood, one final creak squeaking and puff of dust proofing up, falling down gracefully once he was fully lost in rest. With nothing more to say and nothing more to do, Kamiko’s good-eyelid fell half-way over a bright blue eye, leaving it empty and faded. Naturally, he was too deep in sleep to see. So instead, he bled relentlessly, leaving a red pool to engulf his body.
If there was anybody else present, he had been in too much pain, too much of a daze, to notice. For all he knew, they could’ve been shaving their claws through his bones, he wouldn’t have been able to differentiate the sore sting from the pain that his maniac of a brother had already left him.
But who was Kamiko to call his close relative a maniac? Who was he to judge him for the out-of-the-blue murder attempt? The desire to turn a cat inside out wasn’t anything foreign to Kamiko- but it seemed his brother had done a pretty good job of it.
It ran in the family.
*.*.*
“Do not mistake my silence for weakness…”
There, in the house of horrors, Kamiko’s dreams danced with blood, claws, and teeth.
“For it is simply the beginning of my Revenge.”
✽❀✽
// Those lyrics are… odd. I apologize, I just threw them up on the spot, but at least the strangeness of them is in character. This is a little messy starter, but hopefully it will do. Enjoy, and have a nice day/night!\\
Time had passed so slowly. So… So… slowly. Perhaps it was the harsh winter that deterred stragglers from even attempting to pass through his property… or maybe his reputation had outdone itself. Certainly, with those strange cultish felines somewhere nearby - Spooks had never made his way over to their “territory” before, despite his observation of the few that came by - he had expected more of their runaways or deserters… Now this… this was just boring. His claws ached, yearning to feel something other than the flesh of measly prey. His mouth salivated at the idea of his first victim of the season. Feeling the superiority and twisted sense of excitement that came with scaring them out of their skin. It sent an anticipatory shiver down his spine. Sure, the warm weather returning had reignited Spooks from what he could only consider a sort of hibernation, but still produced nothing in the way of victims. So, like all well-adjusted cats, Spooks migrated from the inside of his home to the outside garden. Catching rays, catching prey, sleepless nights spent patrolling his property. To no avail. It was starting to piss him off. Days rolled into nights, into days, into nights, sleepless… on edge.
At least, that was until the scent of blood caught his attention one afternoon. Perched high up in the now-blooming tree, Spooks found himself locked in like a vampire as his body instinctively crouched low, belly brushing against the bark of the thick branch. His bored afternoon lounging was far from his mind now, eyes trained in the area which he believed - no, he knew - this strange, bleeding stranger was coming from. And… Was he..? Spooks flexed his ears, almost in amused disbelief. This cat was… singing? Something… something… skull? The last lyric was the most legible as the stranger finally came into view, wandering in from the forest. A quiet hiss slipped through his teeth as he watched, eyes narrowed as the feline shifted into the shadows of the branches. For a moment, Spooks could have sworn he locked eyes with this bloody… thing. The creature looked like it had lost nearly every ounce of blood deciding to dye their pelt the newest spring color.
Ugh. Dammit. DAMMIT!
His gaze filled with bitterness, expression crinkled and pulled back in frustration. He couldn’t scare a half-dead damn cat! Ugh. This one was leaving his front yard soaked in its foul blood, trailing like a snail to fresh fruit - slime and all. The fruit being his house. Wait- NO! NO NO NO! DO NOT GO INSIDE! Spooks nearly wanted to scream, his breath quickening in anger. After months of reorganizing the house, it was all to his liking. Every inch in place. In order. But, no matter how much Spooks wanted to jump down and rip the single thread of life from this pipsqueak's throat… he was mesmerized by his song. The sudden shift of tone and off-key screeching sent a sudden shiver down his spine. He could hear the panic. It elated him. And, despite his previous whining, now Spooks was intrigued in this little performance he was getting. As he watched the stranger struggle to pull themself through the opening, Spooks quickly paced to the edge of the branch, taking a graceful hop onto the roof. From the roof, he squeezed his way through an old, rotting window frame leading to the upstairs landing. Once on the landing, he crouched low again - eyes unblinking, intently trained as he stalked around to a crumbling staircase for a better look.
The sopping thud that sounded from the other's body hitting the floor caused Spooks frown to twitch upwards slightly. If he had not been trying to stay out of sight, he would have let himself be wracked by cruel laughter. For now, he would keep that stern, calm demeanor about him. The rasping rang in his ears. Each. Word. So. Enthralling. What in the hells was this little cat talking about? Dismembering their brother? Ha. A poor kit like this didn’t stand a chance - not when they went around looking like they’d been run through a badger’s den. Wonder what the other cat looks like… Though, intense blue eyes steeled and his head tilted to the side in feigned apathy as he watched them claw their way across his pristine floor. That one hurt. Spooks could feel it in his heart, piercing like ice. If that kid lived… oh, he would pay for it. In fact… Spooks needed the kid to live. How could he uphold himself as a paragon of reason if he let some dying hooligan come in and rip up his home? There was no punishment in death.
“Hmm..” Spooks hummed softly in thought, pushing away from the banister as he wandered around the landing, rubbing his pelt up along long, thick cobwebs. They were abundant in the house. He could spare a few. They hung from his pelt, blown by a soft breeze filtering through the rotting house. Slowly, he picked his way down the stairs. Must really look like a ghost now. And it finally looked like the scrap was giving into sleep as he watched their head slip back slowly, though the sudden jolt made him stop dead in his tracks. Still kicking? Huh. That was a bit impressive.
“…because I need to make him bleed, and taste his blood, wear… his skin… see Mama… cry…” And down they went!
“You ruined my floor…” Spooks tutted as he approached, an unsympathetic gaze resting on his pathetic frame. Watching their eyes flutter shut, he reached a paw over, cradling the young cats head with a single paw as he attempted to lift it, only to let it slump back down,
“Finally dead?” His voice was dangerously low, taunting his already injured prey. Blood-scent was thick, soaking on his tongue and burning in his throat - an unsteady breath shuttering from his chest. And, with a full impression that the small cat was now lost to the reaper's sleep, Spooks dipped his head down, licking the clotted crimson liquid from his fur like a vampire, gaining his strength through consumption… It burned strong on his tongue, the coppery-sweet taste sending him into a full body shiver. He recoiled back. This was real. It had been too long. Too long since Spooks had been able to taste the blood of another - typically it was only when he was attacking. It wasn’t often that someone offered themselves up like a lamb to the slaughter… But…
“You can’t die yet…” He teased, his tone deep and sing-songy, as if to make fun of Kamiko’s previous caterwauling. Suffice to say, there was a method to his madness. And Spooks went to work, grooming the clumped blood from the young cat’s pelt to try and pin down where the excessive bleeding was coming from. Each move was precise and swift, tangling a wad of cobwebs into the worst of areas. Aside from that dreadful, clearly busted, eye - he wasn’t a miracle worker - it seemed like nothing major had been hit. One large clump went right over top of the eye. Spooks didn’t want to look at that ugly thing right now. And well, at the very least, the cobwebs were slowing the flow, and most of the smaller lacerations looked to be drying up. Sucking in a tense breath, the loner backed away slightly - admiring his shoddy work. If the kid lived through the night, he would be pleasantly surprised. And if not… well… Spooks could always toss him out back for the foxes to feast on. And… into the shadows he went, perching himself atop an old wooden dresser.
- TRIGGER WARNING! -
The entirety of this post contains the frequent mentioning of gore, violence, mental complications, and other topics similar to this! If this makes you uncomfortable, please do not proceed!
Kamiko
Male / 6 Moons / Rouge/Outskirts / Pansexual
White, Black and Gray tabby tom with very dark markings, bright and round blue eyes, prickly fur, and a large scar across his clouded left eye
“Nah, ‘course I didn’t murder a guy! Get your facts right, man- I killed three, not one!”
~Kamiko
✽❀✽
Kamiko had already been long gone in pain and exhaustion by the time Spooks had reached him. He had slept on through the other tom’s unique grooming style, busy loosing himself to the blood and wounds. Too knocked out into deep sleep, he hadn’t even felt the cobwebs being placed overtop his sliced and swollen eye, let alone all of his scraped and cuts. As the bleeding began to become blocked off by the unexpected web-visit, some of the thoughts, slowly but surely, returned to Kamiko’s head. Eventually, a little later in the night, thanks to the help of this new brain power, he was now able to properly dream. And what dreams they were- all wonderfully graphic.
The dream that Kamiko would find himself remembering once he awoke began with a dark, cool, and marshy forest environment. His vision cleared, just as complete and clear as it had been before his injuries, and he could see better than ever. There was no sound- only the slight hum of the air around him and sound of his own breaths. It was unusual for the woods to be so dead-silent. Normally Kamiko could at least hear the sounds of the branches swaying and their leaves brushing against one another in the breeze, if not the birds and occasional frog. But it didn’t make him uncomfortable, not in the least. The difference was interesting to him, and something was demanding he explore as much of it as he could. After all, he thought, raising a paw. Only one way to find out if the noise-thing is all that’s new, right? So he stepped one paw forward, into the damp marsh. Then another, and so on until all four had moved.
Unfortunately, he was unable to get very far before the silence was shattered. There was what Kamiko was pretty sure was supposed to be a laugh, though it sounded much more like the screech of an elderly bird, followed by the thunder of paw steps splashing against the ground. Startled and puzzled, Kamiko turned his head around to see who was coming at him, but they didn’t give him the chance. In seconds, the unidentified figure’s claws were tearing through his pelt, their teeth deep across his face, and Kamiko found himself on the unstable ground, getting buried in the marsh. The burning sensation from his reality’s wounds and cuts erupted back into existence, and he couldn’t help but yelp. Was he back? The somewhat-stranger of a brother who had clawed and ripped him out of his skin earlier? Back to ruin him all over again?
Oh- NAH, nah- Kamiko’s head was screaming, and for good reason. He wasn’t very intrigued but the idea of getting torn up all over again. He unsheathed his claws, bared his teeth, and snapped his attention into defense, retaliation. He wrestled and fought with the tom for a few moments, each aiming and landing blow upon blow until they were beginning to both loose both their sense of direction and true focus. Kamiko managed to get his face free, finding an empty patch of grass to land his paw, sore and mildly blood-stained.
There, he realized something new. Yes! I can get him back- he’s here! I can get him back, now’s the perfect chance! His mindset made a swift transition to one of defense to attack, and he waited for the right moment. His brother, a thin and fragile tom whose vision had never been the greatest, wouldn’t be too hard to just kick off into the marsh if Kamiko made himself wait a little longer for the right chance to land a blow. If Kamiko could only take a few extra hits, he could get in his own… because in any second, any second…
“Aha- yes… YES!” He exclaimed when an unprotected patch of his fellow tom’s underbelly showed itself. His eyes shined at the sight, and without hesitation, his back paw shoot forward, ramming straight into the target. As intended, his bother went flying backward into the marsh, with the line of blood Kamiko had managed to leave his face flying back along with him. Kamiko hurried back into play, mumbling, “Goodness, goodness, you’re going to die you’re finally going to die…” and darting back over to his opponent. In this dream-world where Kamiko was somehow properly trained, he pinned him before he could hop back onto his paws and defend himself, making sure to give him no chance to get back up. Then with the most physically complicated part out of the way, Kamiko happily began to aim slice after slice and hit after hit, smile wide across his face.
“Want breathing room, Toni? Huh? Want some space to cry?” He jeered, adding in his sibling’s name to increase the sound of mockery in his voice. He was going to make this as self-satisfactory as he could, and that could be done simply by causing his brother as much pain, emotional and physical combined as possible. He kept on grazing his claws across Toni’s face, back and forth, watching the thick crimson drops and splatters following the path of his paws. He returned to shouting, “Maybe if you’d given me some space, I’d give some more to you! Yeah? Regret anything yet, do you? Any remorse, Toni?!” He braced his claws, raised high above his victim’s waiting left eye. The smile grew. “Do you? Well, cry, that’s alright- runs in the family. Enjoy!” He swung his paw downward, letting his claws dig down into his brother’s eye, just as he’d felt it to the other way around earlier on. No wonder he hurt me so badly, Kamiko told himself, returning to the usual slicing and tearing. It felt wonderful. He leaned forward, and to Toni, added, “Maybe we could have done this together, be allies- friends, even! Maybe we could love to rip and tear together, couldn’t we? Maybe! Maybe if you gave a damn… what a shame, oh, what a shame! All the maybe’s, right?”
It all feels so good…
Then without warning, ruining his progress of ripping and tearing, his vision began to falter. It darkened, and the pain of his own eye stung like all of the pain felt by every organism in the entire universe had just materialized into it, and he gasped a little. But the gasp was interrupted- as of he’d already been making some sound before it had left him. Already speaking? No… that wasn’t right, he was dreaming. But then again, Kamiko had never been normal, so maybe he did sleep talk. But as he began to actually re-enter the waking world, he started to understand what the actual source of the gasp’s interruption had been. It, shaky and shallow, was his own laughter. Who knew he could get any weirder than dreaming and singing about brutally slaughtering somebody who he barely knew.
His good eye fluttered open, the swollen one remaining shut and sticky while it did. He blinked the open eye a few times, sleep clearing away from the depths blue, letting the House of Horrors reappear and pop back into his head. He was still twitching with laughter while adjusting to being awake, and it only died down once he was fully aware of what was going on. Back to reality. The house was still the same old ugly thing, all shaggy and broken down, with wood that had clearly been through all sorts of hell before Kamiko had arrived and had his wounds leak all over it/worsen what was already abd enough in the beginning. Beautiful place, isn’t it? He thought to himself, smile falling a little but staying visible. Must have been nice when someone actually lived here- quiet, haunting. I’d like a home like this one day. He laughed a final laugh, quieter than the rest, before a light lit in his head. He was thinking.
Well dead cats didn’t do much of that, now did they? He was alive and kicking! He may be doing so in the worst possible amount of pain as possible, but he was still there, wasn’t he?
It was a good thought, that he hadn’t been torn up so badly his soul met the afterlife early. With the new motivation to live out his story, Kamiko decided he was going to try at getting out of here, maybe come back every once and a while to stay for the nights, have some shelter when it rains and pours. And all alone, what a wonderful life-
Cobwebs. Everywhere, cobwebs.
Kamiko had merely shifted over onto his back, and that was the last bit of moving he could do without the mixture of pain, some dry blood, and cobwebs. Kamiko, wide eyed and confused, glanced at each and every bunch of cobweb, eyeing the wads with his functioning-eye. He for one knew that the likely hood that he got up in his sleep, ignored his injuries, and latched himself up, were as close to zero as odds could get. There’s only one other explanation, isn’t there? His confusion was overcome by surprise, and Kamiko’s smile crept back onto his face. I’m not… alone? Strange. Who’s here?
He turned his head back and forth, but with the dizziness of pain and darkness, his vision was limited. The young tom was unable to see very far at all- so instead, he considered taking matters into his own hands. If the anonymous cat here had been willing to patch him up, take care of his wounds, they couldn’t be too hostile… could they?
It wasn’t exactly normal for cats to choose to live in seemingly haunted homes, was Kamiko himself had considered it, had he not? Maybe they weren’t so different after all. He took another look at his fur, to find the old blood faint and textured oddly, as if it had been messed with. By none other than a tongue. Well, lucky him, he had been groomed! Somebody had suffered through getting rid of quite a bit of the blood that had previously been coating his pelt. So if they’re such a gentle person, why not? Of course I should take matters into my own paws. Kamiko didn’t see anything against it. It wasn’t like this stranger could ignore him forever- especially if this was their house Kamiko had been bleeding and dying all over.
Kamiko cleared his throat, a grunt that showed him just how raw his throat truly was, (unlike the version he’d had in the wonder-dream of his) and spoke as loudly as he could. “…ah, hey… hey! Hey?” His words were weak and brittle, but they were there. Kind of like him. At least they were there at all, even if they were completely pathetic compared to their usual state. He continued, raspy but overjoyed at the idea of having the mystery of unknown company. “I know… know you’re there, bud! And the cobwebs… that was you, wasn’t it, with the cobwebs… thanks.” Kamiko paused, thought, and added, “And… even bothered to clean… yeah? How’s the… blood tasting?Couldn’ta been too bad, Toni liked it enough to… to…” Of course his words decided to die off during the middle of his oh-so-necessary comment. Kamiko’s eyes looked back for a moment, but right after, he was back into focus and stupidly blinking the temporary silence away.
“…Anyway, so…” He glanced around briefly again, then got to the point and finished his question. “Name’s uh… think Kamiko, that sounds ‘bout right. And you? Little phantom, who’re you? Wanna show your face for me, huh…? Get to… gent’s know each other? Cause’ If I… uh… if I’m talking to the wind, that’s no fun… yeah?” He made sure to finish by showing some extra personality. “I like this place… love it. How ‘bout I go collect some certain cats fun lil’ corpses, ring ‘em all over here, add some decoration? Their pelts look really nice… even nicer… bloody…?” Then he obeyed the urge to stop wasting away his ability to speak and shut up, give the maybe-present stranger a chance to respond to his ranting. Wait. It was fun- the anticipation, wondering whether or not anybody would even show up to admit to cleaning him up and patching his wounds for him.
And if they weren’t here, that was just no fun. It was just past the middle of the night- he wanted to have an enjoyable conversation in the pitch black darkness with a complete stranger, and if he couldn’t get one, this whole incident was wasn’t worth it. He wanted to meet somebody- get started on his social life.
Then once that social life developed and thrived, it opened doors for new experiences. New chances. The more new faces, the more new tastes, Kamiko convinced himself. He let his head fall back, putting the effort he had left into the smile. Tastes of personality, whatever- but blood! Maybe theirs’ll be different from everything I’ve seen so far.
Maybe they’d all be easier to tear up than Kamiko’s biggest disaster, Toni the One and Only. That’ll certainly give me something real to live up to, Of course- a real icon. That’s what it was. To become somebody who can tear anybody and everybody- feel nothing, but know everything. A lovely lifestyle… a wonder-world.
The wait had been so long and so boring. At some point, after checking to see if there was still a weak rise and fall of the young cat's chest, Spooks had left them unattended to go seek out some actual entertainment. It kept him relatively entertained, all things considered - the garden outside was warm and pleasant, the squeaking of a caught mouse trapped between his claws had him watching it in interest for a few moments, and the meal that came after was delicious and juicy… Until finally the sun began to set and Spooks determined that it would be wise for him to go back inside. When he walked back in, he was unsurprised to find the stranger’s body still flopped in place. Might as well check again… Begrudgingly, Spooks approached. His eyes swept across the other’s frame, looking for those tell-tale signs of life - their chest still puffed up slowly, their skin still twitched with external stimuli - tested by running a claw across their flank - and he could hear a wheezing breath, mumbling nonsense as he leaned in close. With his ear nearly against the other's maw, Spooks still couldn’t make out what he was trying to say.
"Hmm…" The larger feline huffed as he tilted his head up in thought, fighting back the rising frustration growing in his chest. He really needed them to wake up. This long without some sense of repercussion was really starting to drive him up the wall. So… Well, he went up the wall. Sinking his claws into the support beams of the house, Spooks pushed himself upwards, and upwards, his breath hitching with effort as he climbed to the beams above. It wasn’t often that he used this way. Climbing just seemed to help him get that energy out. Once up there, he settled in his favorite spot, looming high above the body. Watching… Waiting…
After what felt like a lifetime, movement pulled Spooks from his deep thoughts - sleep still managing to evade him - followed by a loud clearing of the throat. Oh - Alive and awake finally? Seemed like the little one was trying to get his attention as well. Spooks listened on as they spoke up, staying silent… with an unwavering gaze rested on his frame. A silence permeated the air after Kamiko finished speaking.
Silence…
Silence…
“Kah…”
“Mee…”
“Koh…”
Each syllable sounded out-loud and slowly, Spooks’ disembodied voice echoing downwards from the roof. Looked like the owner of the house was finally making himself known - though for the moment he stayed shrouded in the shadows. He wouldn't let this Kamiko-cat see him just yet - damn runt had left him waiting in anticipation for so long. It was only fair to stoke the fire before the ‘grand reveal’.
“You know-” A sharp and gravely, threatening tone, “You kept me waiting a mighty long time for you to wake up… and you bled all over my floors before that.” There was a moment of long silence, before his voice rang out again, “Then assaulted my ears with your caterwauling before you promptly used my floor as your own personal gravesite…” The sounds of scraping claws and creaking wood could be heard now, the sounds crawling closer and closer to where Kamiko was resting with each second,
“I keep my home in a very specific way… everything has a place. Everything is situated perfectly for my comfort, mine alone. How do you think I feel when a stranger comes waltzing in like they own the place? Bleeding all over my garden… all over my floors-” He didn’t leave time for Kamiko to answer before continuing, “You think this is a refuge for your amusement? You love my home with no knowledge of it, except for your delirious notions of it. I could have taken a single claw to your throat or your belly and you wouldn’t have been able to do anything to stop me. I could have finished the fight that you were too weak to win. Look at you…” He spat, “Battered and bruised - you think I want to keep the air of weakness that you stink of in my home? But… no, I am gracious. I am patient and kind. Instead of letting you bleed out, I used the gifts of my home to ensure your pitiful survival… I needed you to live - to face your punishment. Death is not an escape from my wrath - nor a justice to your crimes…”
A… long… painful… silence… followed…
“Do you know what I do with cats like you, Kah - Mee - Koh?” He was close now. Maybe a few tail lengths away, shrouded in the pitch black of night. Blue eyes shone bright, piercing in their gaze as they rested upon the small cat. Kamiko’s answer wouldn’t seem to pull any response from him, if the little cat decided to speak up in this additional brief moment of silence. A single, ghostly white paw stepped forward into the illumination of the night, shining through the broken roof above. Dust particles danced furiously around in the light, though they seemed to flee as a full figure pushed their way forward now - his head tilted slightly in a posed, menacing demeanor. His pelt radiated with the moonlight, almost blinding against the sheer, stark difference of darkness that swallowed the house whole. Cobwebs hung from his pelt, swaying with each moment like a long, flowy veil. He looked positively ritualistic. Like an angel descending from heaven. The black mask across his features only deepened that threatening stare. He crouched down in front of Kamiko now staring directly at him, unblinking. When he spoke, his voice was a soft and comforting whisper - though still gravelly and harsh as he sounded out his words precisely. It was like he was mocking this cat for being so young. Like he was a newborn kitten, unschooled in the cruelty of this world.
“I take their souls…” There was a hiss to his words, “And then I offer their souls to my home… to keep me safe… and protected… and pristine…” His eyes narrowed, “The house enjoys the taste of your blood, look how it’s seeped into the floor.” Spooks gaze drifted momentarily to the floor, reaching a paw with extended claws forwards towards Kamiko. Stopping just in front of him, he slammed his paw down with a loud thud allowing his claws to sink into the wood. And then he pulled back, a horrible scratching noise filling the air as he ripped up the flooring. The floor beneath was stained red, still soft and smelling slightly of that tinged copper-blood scent. After dragging his claws all the way back to himself, he raised his chilling gaze back up to stare, uncaring and cold, at Kamiko - though there was a hint of something… more lurking behind his gaze.
“See?” He murmured, almost breathlessly, “You’re a part of it now… and I can’t deny my home what it wants. So… what do I do with you? Hmmm…?” Spooks rose from where he had been crouched, circling Kamiko like a shark in the water.
“Do I gut you like a mouse and let my home drink up what it wants? Or do I place you in my debt… with this offer of yours?”
- TRIGGER WARNING! -
The entirety of this post contains the frequent mentioning of gore, violence, mental complications, and other topics similar to this! If this makes you uncomfortable, please do not proceed!
Kamiko
Male / 6 Moons / Rouge/Outskirts / Pansexual
White, Black and Gray tabby tom with very dark markings, bright and round blue eyes, prickly fur, and a large scar across his clouded left eye
“Nah, ‘course I didn’t murder a guy! Get your facts right, man- I killed three, not one!”
~Kamiko
✽❀✽
When Kamiko’s mouth closed, marking the end of his introduction, silence arose. It clung to the air and rung in the young tom’s ears, adding extra gloom to the general environment. Kamiko let his eyelids fall just slightly, resting his eyes as much as he could while still keeping them open and aware. The rouge was not frightened in the least, his surroundings felt to… not familiar, but something near it. Comforting? Pleasant? But it clearly wasn’t pleasant, with its eerie appearance and ancient walls and floors. Rarely did Kamiko come across a cat who told him that they loved hearing the sounds of noisy pops and high-pitched screeches whenever they placed their paw on the ground, or that they enjoyed the feeling of ghostly cold air slipping through their fur, burning their skin. It was just Kamiko, so it seemed. Though, not that I mind, Kamiko reminded himself, blue gaze dancing around what all he could make out in the darkness of the home, like it’s glittering cobwebs, the moonlight filtering trough the gaps and holes in the walls, and the slight highlight of his drying blood on the wood beneath him. In fact, it would be nice to take a lil’ stay here, once I’m finished bleeding myself to death. Hm!
The silence held the air, only broken by the occasional pick up of the breeze. Kamiko couldn’t help but realize that it was actually pretty nice, dying out in a possibly haunted old farmhouse found randomly by the trees, listening to the wind laugh and mock him for nearly losing his life to a psychotic relative. I could d this more often! He suggested to himself. It couldn’t be that complicated. The quiet kept holding up for a few moments, leaving the peace to stay, and Kamiko was almost sure that he had been speaking to the air itself. All this quiet, he had to be alone. There was no explanation. So naturally, he prepared to give up on waiting for a response, opening his mouth to announce his decision, but he was interrupted.
A voice crashed Kamiko’s train of thought and stole his attention. Immediately, the multi-shaded eyelids flew back up, eyes widening. The stranger had what sounded like a slow, drawn, and disembodied voice, starting with a single syllable: ‘Kah.’ Kamiko raised an eyebrow, then both once the ‘mee’ left the odd stranger’s mouth. His gaze darted back and forth through the shadows quickly, scanning the darkness for an any possible source of the voice. What in the name of… what was going on? He couldn’t see anybody. The only thing his eyes managed to catch were, again, the cobwebs, the shadows, and himself. Kamiko had thought it was impossible for the place to get more ominous, but apparently not. The final syllable sounded across the home, and Kamiko realized that it had been his own name coming from the unfamiliar creature. Of course, he had introduced himself with his name, but goodness, it was still quite strange of the unknown thing to use his name like that.
And yet, somehow, Kamiko still didn’t feel frightened. The second the stranger finished saying his name, the smile flew right back onto Kamiko’s face. Things seemed to be getting interesting. His attention had abandoned the cobwebs and blood completely by now, because the young tom’s focus was now centered on- and only on- locating the mysterious creature who had spoken his name. They had him intrigued, and chances were, Kamiko had already offered his fair share of amusing behavior as well. As the smiling tom proceeded to look back and forth around the home, his heart began to beat quicker and quicker with anticipation. This ought to be interesting, He thought to himself. Interesting enough to make bleeding to death worth it? Hey, just maybe! We’ll see, shall we?
The stranger’s voice materialized again, now sharp and threatening. At the sound of it, Kamiko couldn’t help but shudder. It was just the general feel of this place, and now that the stranger’s unusual tone of voice added the cherry on top, he had to give in to the urge to shiver. The stranger began to tell him about what sounded like impatience, mentioning the long wait he had suffered while Kamiko bled out on the wooden floor, leaving it stained and covered in the strong scent of bitter blood. When the stranger mentioned the blood, Kamiko turned his head to look at the drying puddle. He couldn’t blame his mysterious company for feeling irritated with him, it was quite nasty. But it wasn’t his fault Toni had decided to jump him, now was it? When the silence returned, Kamiko let his head loll back into place. He kept his ears turned up, awaiting the sound of the stranger’s once again. Once the ghostly cat continued speaking, he mentioned some sort of ‘caterwauling’, and Kamiko wasn’t sure what he meant at first. But after a second or two of thought, he remembered his singing. That probably had something to do with it; He had never been a professional musician, being the feline he was, of course, especially when torn up and beaten. Then, of course, he had made use of the stranger’s floor, ‘promptly using it as his personal gravesite.’ Kamiko’s smile widened. Yes, I did that! He thought. It certainly made an interesting grave!
Then suddenly, Kamiko heard a new sound. Claws, scraping. The tom’s eyes widened even more, once again flashing around the darkness in search for the stranger. He was nearing. His claws were scraping across as he moved, wood creaking louder and louder as he got closer. Kamiko tried to follow the sound, locking his eyes on its general location. He had no words yet. This was uncomfortably incredible.
When the stranger spoke again, Kamiko’s interest was as peaked as it would ever get. He listened to this stranger as he spoke about this home that Kamiko had wandered up on and collapsed in, and how he kept everything under his control, organized and in place. He went on about how the place was crafted for his personal comfort and use, questioning Kamiko about his decision to invade the home and ruin the floor. Kamiko had a brief flashback of dragging his way through the forest, across the garden, and into the home, leaving his lovely river of blood streaming behind him as he moved. Kamiko felt strangely proud of the river- it was his, and he had created it. In his immoral mindset, it felt similar to a mother’s love for her child. He had brought the thing into the world, and now it was bothering somebody. He thought the analogy was pretty accurate. The stranger snapped at him about how he brainlessly fell in love with the home, before oh-so-kindly letting him know that he could have effortlessly harmed him instead of patching him up and helping him heal. And naturally, he mentioned Kamiko’s weakness. Kamiko was still listening intently once the stranger got to talking about some form of ‘punishment’ for interrupting the gloomy peace of this place, bleeding away all over the floor, and just being impolite in general. He told Kamiko that death just wasn’t good enough. Kamiko had to agree, he knew for a fact that there were many things far worse than personal death. So what was the stranger going on about now? What point was he trying to make? Was he asking Kamiko to be grateful that he was still alive, or was he trying to make him wish he wasn’t by advertising this said, ‘punishment’? Or… somehow, maybe both?
The stranger had gotten closer by the time he asked Kamiko if he knew what he did with ‘cats like him.’ Kamiko had no answer, so he merely raised his eyebrows, still smiling. He had no idea what the stranger claimed to do, but he was sure it wouldn’t be a particularly fun experience for him. He waited for an explanation, leaving the speaking-job to the stranger. Kamiko had come to discover that to freaky cats speak was rather entertaining. So as he waited, there was no fear, only joy and excitement. See, this was once of the coolest things that had ever happened to him since the moment he took his first breath. It’s truly unusual, and truly amazing, He told himself. That was when he caught sight of a singular white, ghastly-pale paw appeared, emerging from the surface of the shadows. The length of his smile reached its maximum, and his eyes shimmering, Kamiko watched in patience as the moonlight hit the paw. Then finally, a ghostly figure broke free from the shadows, stepping out from the darkness. Kamiko’s heart beat picked up again, running laps in his chest. Now things were getting real.
This was obviously once of the weirdest cats that Kamiko had ever set sights on. The ghostly tom had a menacing demeanor, fur basking in the moonlight, proving himself to be quite different from the darkness of the haunting surroundings in color. The strange cat was awfully pale, and Kamiko was surprised that he hadn’t seen him already, glowing like a white sun in the shadows. Cobwebs rested on his pelt, falling from his fur and hanging from there, dressing him in their glittering string. The dark mark that traced his eyes made his stare glow, and as he stared down at Kamiko with those threatening eyes, Kamiko went back to pondering. How long did it take to get those cobwebs so lovely and organized? Dazzling! This was his first question. The fact that someone this intimidating had decided to prevent him from dying from blood loss was also a fun thought. Kamiko found his gaze, and with his own bright blue, stared into that of the stranger’s without trouble. Anything to stare- this guy was beautiful. From the cobwebs to the dark, threatening stare, in Kamiko’s eyes, he was gorgeousness on wheels. This was something Kamiko planned on bringing up in the future, just to show his respect for the tom’s appearance.
The older tom’s next words were the first that made Kamiko genuinely confused, even mildly concerned. The stranger claimed to have to ability to take other cats’… souls? Huh? Kamiko asked himself. His eyebrows fell and furrowed, eyes falling into slits. Wow- and he called ME delirious… huh. Guy’s gotta be insane. But quickly, his eyebrows hopped back up, eyes returning to their usual shape and size. But I love it, so that’s alright. Nothing wrong with some insanity and craziness, is there? Then even funnier, he began to rant on about how he offered these souls to the home, and the home kept him safe and healthy thanks to the offering… or something along those lines, Kamiko wasn’t entirely sure what he was hearing. Apparently the house was literally conscious now- at least, according to the possible-delirious-stranger Kamiko was still listening to. Kamiko watched as the stranger’s paw, claws extended, came his way, pausing in front of him. He slammed it down to the ground, and Kamiko winced when he heard the loud thud erupt in his ears. Of course, the guy HAD to cause the world to shake right next to my ear… such respect for the weak. The stranger dragged his claws back to himself, and Kamiko’s whiskers twitched. He had recovered from the loud sound, but he had already begun to question the realism here. Something was up- soul-collecting? Aware houses? Blood-eating wood?
Despite the strangeness of it all, Kamiko kept on listening. The stranger faced him with a chilly stare, empty of empathy, and his voice came back. He sounded breathless. He told Kamiko that he was now a part of this whole soul-keeping system, one with the show. Then came his final question. When the tom rose up from his crouch and started to circle Kamiko, Kamiko just watched in silent confusion. Kamiko heard out the stranger’s queries over whether he should be gutted like a mouse or accept… Kamiko’s offer? Wasn’t that the corpse thing, with the decorations? Kamiko blinked a time or two. Was the stranger actually considering it? Kamiko’s confusion vanished, replaced yet again by excitement. It was impossible for his excitement to stay behind bars for too long- it always found ways to come running back, and this pale stranger had just given it the perfect chance to come tumbling back.
It seemed that the stranger was finished speaking. Kamiko had one thought at the front of his mind, overpowering the rest. To laugh.
He didn’t hesitate to speak up about his thoughts. The moment he could use the long silence to confirm that the stranger was done speaking to and threatening him, he exploded into a rant, tone edged with laughter. “I’m sorry, sir, souls?! Call me delusional, back when you said something about how I loved your home with no reasoning… boy! Hey, don’t get me wrong- man, I admire the confidence, but like- damn. Think you’ve got some spiritual connection to some old twoleg crap? Honestly, call me crazy, but I think [I]you’re/I] the delusional one,” Kamiko lifted his head as much as he could without the cuts along his neck breaking open all over again, weak and barely able to hold up the weight of his head without having it plummet back down painfully onto the bloody wood. He laughed, and spoke again. “But hey, that’s alright, we’re all silly-brained sometimes, maybe you’re just… worse. Don’t kill me for not believing ya’ it’s just… a little unrealistic, eh?”
But that wasn’t all. Kamiko had done all that listening, and now he had his own things to say to the ghostly tom. He added, “I mean, go ahead and take my soul. Seriously. I’d love to spend the rest of eternity here, this is a wonderland to me. But you-” He smiled merrily at the stranger, starry eyed all over again. “-You, good sir, haven’t even told me your name! What happened to manners? But that’s alright,” Before giving him a chance to properly introduce himself even if he had wanted to, Kamiko got back to talking. “But back to that offer. It was real, Y’know.” Kamiko let his head fall back onto the wood, tired of forcing himself to keep it lifted.
“I’ll gladly learn to rip and tear cats apart for you. Crazy or not, nothing’s make me happier than getting a good share of blood in my teeth. It’s all I want, really, to get my claws in somebody’s pelt, rake them right through. But you see, I just can’t. I’m too unexperienced, too weak, and too empty of training. So unless you still plan on letting your uh… soul-sucking home chomp up my soul, ha- sorry- you’d have to teach me something, now woudln’t you?”
Kamiko scanned the tom again, eyes stopping on the cobwebs, the intimidating expression, and the menacing demeanor, taking in whatever he could make use of ip with his words. Once he was finished, he explained, “I mean, just look at you. So handsome! With all those cobwebs all nice and pretty, don’t know how you do it! I bet you’d look absolutely angelic if I used you to learn how to tear and slice, eh? Some scars rarely ever hurt anyone, so-anyway, you can’t be too lost in your little ghostly-fantasy, you look worthy of a good fight or kill. You’ve managed to get those cobwebs all nice and pretty, so I’d be surprised if you couldn’t at least kill one guy, right?”
Kamiko finished this off, voice growing a little quieter. “So… the offer? Once I learned how to get somebody shredded- oh, what a truly lovely idea- yes, I could help tear up anybody else who dares step foot in this home! And don’t call me a hypocrite, remember that I was in the process of dying when I arrived, merely desperately searching for a place to fall and rest! But wouldn’t it be wonderful? Having both a double defense and… what to call it… slaughter assistant? MURDER BUDDY! I find em’, I slice em, you uh… eat em’, take their soul, whatever you do… and hey, we live, we make cats bleed, we taste the blood!” He let his smile shine, eyes narrowing again to put an emphasis on his final request. “…It’s that simple… just a teaching, and I’d be ready to go? ”
All said, Kamiko felt a boost of motivation. He lifted his head again, even slipping a paw underneath his shoulder to prop up the upper half of his body. It hurt so, so terribly badly- but he stayed shut up. He had to look decently stable for this to work- and who knew, maybe this freak was actually some sort of soul-collecting demon-phantom, Kamiko want the one to judge. But either way, at the end of the day, he probably wasn’t leaving this home. Either he stayed and learned to rip and shred some other cats apart, or he died right here, drowning in a pool of his own blood.
✽❀✽
// No worries, life happens. Also, if you ever wanted them, I am giving you all power-play permissions (excluding death, of course-), so do what you will with that. Have a nice day! \\
Tales of Ghosts and Gremlins
