Thread by @cake_human

#xuexiaomonsters (cw // major character death )

When he was 15, XY was beaten nearly to death by a man who found him in bed with his wife - nevermind the fact that XY had been in bed with him as well in the same bed not long before.
It'd not been the first time he'd nearly died.

He had more scars than he could count and wounds that never stopped hurting, until the pain simply became a background noise in his mind, something that only visited him as he tried to sleep.
Dumped on the side of the road in the woods, there was little hope for him.

It was getting dark, the dogs would come sooner or later to rip him apart - it wouldn't be the first time, XY had seen dogs on the periphery of town, fighting over a small limb. A dead kid, someone who hadn't been as lucky as XY had been to make it this far.

Until now.

His consciousness slipped away, and the last thing XY remembered hearing was a scraping noise.
But he woke up, woke up in a warm place. His pain was there, but it had numbed down to the pain he was familiar with.

His eyes opened, and his head fell to the side.

It was a small shack, a basic fire pit in the middle of the floor, with some kind of pot over it.
Next to it, a large figure sat beside the fire. It was slim, but tall, back hunched over to fit in the shack. It had noticable bumps protruding from it's spine, and a heavy tail.

Long black hair fell across it's back, and into it's face. Horns splintered off from it's head like lightning. The face itself seemed longer, but much of it was hidden behind those strands of hair. Four arms were folded under it's chest, legs similarly looked cumbersome.

"I hope you season me first." XY got out, his voice scratchy as it protested leaving his throat. The beast looked towards him, and XY could see, even in dim light, that it's eyes were scarred over from an old injury.

"I am... helping... you." It said, as if speech was difficult.

XY passed out again after, but awoke to something warm pressed against his lips, salt on his tongue. Some kind of broth was poured into his mouth, warming his belly. It tasted good.
He cracked open an eye and saw one of the creatures hands, three fingered, holding his chin.

Another, supported his back, holding him upwards.
XY closed his eyes again, playing asleep. He'd never felt something like this take such soft care of him. This world wanted only the strong, it punished hope and love - it didn't care, so XY never had.

But this ...thing did.

"Do you have a name?" XY asked days later, able to sit up on his own now. The creature moved around the shack with precision, even if it couldn't see, like it had been here a long time. But, it didn't fit right, and almost seemed as though it wanted to move on all 4s, or all 6s.

"...XXC... Is what I am called...I like it... It is a beautiful name."

XY wanted to laugh about it, to jeer at such an ugly beast having such a name - but he couldn't.
"Warm?" XXC asked, coming in closer, and wrapping his tail around XY.

"Yeah," XY muttered. "Warm."

When XY was strong enough to leave, he stood at the shack door, looking outside, into the woods. They were far away from everything - there was the start of a garden out in the front, but it was a bit pathetic looking. Nothing in proper rows.
"Are you leaving, friend?" XXC asked

"No." XY turned around. "Not yet. In a few days."

"I will miss my friend." XXC said, 3 hands pausing on a basket he was weaving with some success.

"Maybe a week then, if you'll miss me." XY grinned at him, before walking over to XXC, and sitting beside him.

XY lived with XXC for many seasons after that. There were some things he never found out, like what XXC was, where he came from. But, XY never really cared about any of that, what he liked was how enamored with the world XXC seemed to be. He liked it when XY told him about things

Any rabbits in the garden, any birds that came by, the stars and the snow fall in the winter.
He also had a kind laugh, and enjoyed laughing. He didn't know any jokes, so XY told him every single one he could think of. Sometimes he had to explain them, but XXC still laughed.

"I'm going to get the biggest fish you've ever not-seen!" XY stated loudly one morning, laying against XXCs side, tail curled around him.

"What occasion?" XXC asked, confused.

"There is none, no reason. I just want to." XY laughed, and stood. XXC hummed to himself in thought.

"I will wait for you." XXC said happily, before touching the end of his nose to XYs nose. XY felt his face flush, but looked away, not that XXC could see it.

"I'll be back in no time." XY said simply, before leaving. He knew where the best place to catch fish was.

It was aways away, but they were at least three times bigger than anything nearby their shack.

XY had been fishing for a few hours when he heard the first mumblings of something wrong, and had packed up his fish by the time he found out what had happened.
"3 children, missing."

XY frowned as he passed a group of people, not used to seeing them much anymore, and still disgusted by their ability to gossip and hearsay.

"I heard there's a monster in the woods. I bet it's responsible!"

XY paused, mid-step, stomach turning. The hair on his neck, standing.

"We need to stop it before it kills any more of our sons!" A woman yelled, to many murmurs of agreement.
XY wanted to slit their throats.

"A group already went out to stop it!" A man said proudly. They'll bring back it's head!"

XY dropped the fish and ran.

He'd never moved so fast in his life, branches sliced the side of his face, and his legs burned. His blood boiled, and he couldn't hear anything around him.
There was just one thing he needed.

The sun was starting to set.

XY broke through the treeline around the shack.

He froze.

There was a group of men in long robes outside the shack, with swords out. XY watched in mute horror as a few of them came out of the shack.
He momentarily hoped XXC had escaped, had fled.
Three more men emerged from the shack, dragging out the body of XXC.

His body was bloody, stab wounds clear on pale flesh. He was limp.
He was dead.

"He didn't even struggle." XY heard one of the men say. "Why didn't he fight back?"

"It's just a stupid monster, don't try to reason with it." Another scoffed, kicking XXCs side.

"Something just seemed off," another seemed more uncertain. "We didn't find any of the children..."

"Doesn't matter. Let's just cut off the head and take it b-"

Before the man could finish, a pitchfork had gone through his chest.

XY stood behind them.

They would all die.

XY collapsed against XXCs side, tugging a limp and cold tail around his body. He looked up at the stars, as he bled out. But, he didn't feel the pain.

"It is a beautiful name." XY said simply, looking up until he couldn't see anymore.