Blood.

That which keeps us alive; our hearts beating, our wounds bleeding.

The forest reeks of it today.

The smell reached Jin through his mask. It was strong, the metallic scent almost overpowering. He staggered to his feet from where he had been sleeping in a patch of flowers, and listened intently to the forest.

Silence was the only thing that met his ears.

No fawns calling, no birds chirping, and the wind was still as could be.

"Jin, something's wrong."

Jin didn't respond to Him. Instead, he followed a trail of blood he had spotted nearby, which lead to the ruins.

The way to the ruins was splattered with blood and lined with broken trees, their branches littered across the forest floor.

"What happened here?"

More silence, then a response.

"Honestly Jin, I don't know.."

The two beings reached a wall at the ruins, where crumbled stone splattered with blood lay in a heap at the bottom. Large hoof-prints dug into the earth, as if a large beast was attempting to push the wall over. Blood also splattered the wall and dripped down, forming a small pool at the bottom. Jin spotted another trail of blood leading away from the ruins, towards the pond. Without hesitation, he followed it. This trail was different from the last, with smaller hoof-prints combined with the much larger.

The creature had been chasing something.

Soon enough, the bloody trail of destruction led to the pond, where blood had washed ashore and sat on the lily pads, signaling that the monster had taken a tumble into the pond. Perhaps the smaller deer had gotten away?

Jin continued to followed the trail of the smaller deer this time, which soon showed signs of another deer joining. He followed it over the Twin God's hill, and towards the playground, when he stopped, his eyes traveling up the trail as the smaller deers' prints met with the blood spattered ones of the beast. Farther up, in a pool of blood, lay the largest deer both had ever lay eyes on.



"He's dead."

Believe it or not, Jin recognized the large stag. He had seen its sleeping form occasionally and would attempt to approach, but He would quickly scold him and tell Jin to stay away. Now, He didn't seem to mind as Jin drew closer to the beheaded monster.

Of its own accord, the mouth on Jin's neck cracked open, tasting the air around the beast. Suddenly, it slammed shut, and Jin felt the familiar sensation of his neck muscles being pulled into a frown.

"Demons."

"How do you kn-"

"I just do."

"..."

Jin eyed the ground surrounding the beast, which had several deep gouges carved into the earth.

A fight.

The beast lost.

Slowly, Jin traveled to the bodiless head. The skull leaked blood out of every orifice and pooled around it. The double-hinged jaw caught Jin's attention and He chuckled.

"He's like me, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is."

Suddenly, Jin brought the tip of his mask to the base of the skull, burying it into the blood-stained fur.

"Goodnight, brother."

Jin drew his head back and stepped away. He dipped his head in respect.

"You're free now."