[Revenant] Crimson Stained Walls

What they thought was all part of a single entity turned out to be predator and prey, the thought of themselves being one rung lower in this relationship stung for a moment.

The insect was quick to dredge out their weapon from the stone to face this new creature, but it didn't look like they were part of their diet. It was some sort of bottom feeder, seemingly specialized in churning through the odious flora, at an obnoxiously brisk pace. It looked meaty and delectable, however, it also looked like it made short work of the plants that bit back, and if that was correct, then it was resilient to its most potent weapon. The revenant spit-chattered, cursing this damnable inadequacy. Not taking the slug's indiference for granted, the insect kept its wings high, letting it move on and unclog the way so that it could hurry out and commence their hunt.

Watching this slug take its sweet time reminded the mantid of how crude that method of consumption was. Perhaps at some point the mantid would repurpose its own mouth for something useful to quell that instinct once and for all.

The insect felt that intrusive tinge again, tensing its muscles and letting their wings tinge once as to scout their surroundings with noise. It couldn't perceive anything else here, physically or spiritually, which meant the culprit must be this critter, quaint. The Revenant gave a slow snarl, raising its scythe to cradle it in its hand, there was enough disapproval in this headspace, it didn't need theirs. The insect paced closer to the exit, incurious and impatient, although it was apparent that the slug was the opposite on both ends as it felt the slug readdress it with blank quandaries. The insect is here for fresh prey, much as this monster presumably is, there was no more conversation to be had.

It hurried up, that's as much cooperation as they would demand.

The monster didn't flinch as the creature coasted off of the transparent surface, seemingly of its own design, there had to be an explanation as how it managed to stay alive for so long outside of merely being not worth the meat-to-chew ratio. With no more significance to be drawn from the strange room other than the home of some underground creature, the mantid chose to depart and backtrack, seemingly having to settle for one of the exits they had discarded. The monster briefly jerked its head to their right, as if a fly buzzed uncomfortably close, snarling off the foreign sentiment as they walked off their own way.

Finally, something less up to their speed.

Even though it was literally their goal when making the dive to the messy network of sewers, the mantid had not calculated being so close to the surface already. The insect skittered with care, they've been having mountain treats for a while now and apparently have a mountain of mountain treats at their beck and call back home, it would be nice to have another tender human morsel for a change. The monster wasn't much for their conversation, but they sounded weary, not necessarily tired, but of faltering conviction for being at a task too long. An interesting lesson learned from stalking caravans, slaying prey mid-conversation was quite effective at dispersing morale.

Emerging upwards and violently splitting this person from toe to head sounded like a helpful, fear-inducing entrance, however, the mantid could hear two voices but not clearly assess the terrain above, nor whether there might be more people around them, so they would invite their curiosity instead with this faulty-looking food delivery trap that these humans engineered for some unimportant reason. The Revenant took a swift, subtle horizontal swipe just below the grate, with nothing but playful intent. It then moved its costae to peek from the grate and hold tightly to the bars before reaching out with their hand and pulling it open, raring to catch the falling human with their scythe and retreat back into the shadows.

It is usually of poor form to skewer someone's spine; it robs them of air and silences their screams, the Revenant sought to forego that precious bit of wisdom for once.

The nuances of human nomenclature continued to elude the mantid. This "Jack" was completely different from the last one.

He tasted about the same though, hardy meat, tempered by the fear of death, a delicacy to the monster's probosces. The creature hugged its morsel with the costae on its back, to prevent itself from making a mess as it evaporated from chest to head, then absorbing the rest of his existence limb by limb. The mantid stayed to the shadows, its presence only announced by a soft sizzle. The monster held position, equally focused and intruigued, the first one took but an ounce of effort, and it expected the second one to take even less.

The human had already forfeit their life the moment they chose to climb down, for their demise was already waiting for him, invisible, lurking, a slash of energy congealed in time and space, ready to open them up. Of course, the Revenant couldnt afford to put much heft into it, it wouldn't cleave them in half, spines were odious like that, but humans aren't so resilient. The insect considered itself accurate enough to slice their throat with it if they were careless, but it would be more interesting if they weren't and the insect had to unleash the strike less optimally. What would happen then? If their stomach tore open? If their eyes were gouged from their sockets? If their arms were severed enough to render them a burden, but not enough to ease them of it?

The mantid finished their plate of fear, itching to pull the trigger and season the next one with terror.