Show No Fear

Redrum’s golden eyes followed Enyo’s every movement, sharp and intense, his muscles coiling with restrained energy. Her approach had his throat burning, his hackles bristling pleasantly as he faced her, an oddly curious tilt to his crimson skull. She briefly wondered if she were back for a new clash, but alas that was not the case today.. Her words cut through the stillness of the night, drawing his usually split attention away from the shadows that clung to their surroundings. His ears focused on her, drowning out the sounds of fauna. His gaze roamed over her, lingering on the way her head lifted with that particular blend of arrogance and command. For a moment, his lips twitched into a faint, tooth-baring grin — amusement interlaced with something darker.

“Enyo–wants to borrow–Redrum’s strength.” His voice, broken by uneven pauses, carried a mocking lilt as he prowled closer, keeping a pace that always seemed half a step behind her yet never quite out of reach. You could say he was walking a tightrope, one false move from falling. “As–she wishes.” There was an edge to his tone, predatory, a challenge hidden beneath those halting syllables. He moved with feral grace, skull low between his shoulders as his muscles continued their twitching sporadically, dancing as though some unseen current of tension ran through him.

—--

But the sudden shift in the atmosphere once they crossed into the new land made him still. His ears flicked, trying to catch the faintest changes in the air. The void-like darkness ahead pressed against his senses, whispering of something unknown and unseen. The brute knew to trust his senses, whether they made sense or not. The massive stone pillars took up space, sure, but they were as lifeless as the area around them. They were all that was alive here, maybe.

“This place...” he murmured roughly, eyes narrowing as he swept his gaze over the desolate expanse. “Calling—doesn’t it—feel like that?” His voice rumbled, a lightness to his tone that was nearly ominous. Yet despite the unsettling atmosphere, he showed no sign of reluctance. If anything, the strange land seemed to draw him in like a moth to flame. He was quite happy to be there.

When the tremor shuddered through the ground beneath them, Redrum’s reaction was almost instantaneous. His frame tensed, claws flexing into the dirt, and his head whipped to the side as if searching for some unseen threat. “Interesting. he growled, ears flattening briefly before flicking forward once more. A shiver ran down his spine, and he bared his teeth, the sharp glint of fangs visible in the darkness.

Yet, even as the earth trembled again, more violently this time, a low, uneven chuckle bubbled up from his throat. “Ah… our challenge,” he murmured, almost to himself, eyes bright with anticipation. His gaze cut sideways to Enyo, watching her stance, her readiness. For all her self-assurance, he could sense the tension simmering beneath her controlled exterior. A small, savage smile pulled at his lips.

“Can’t afford—to be… be afraid—now, can we?” he rasped, voice low, conspiratorial. His posture shifted subtly, weight balanced, prepared to strike at a moment’s notice. Whatever lay hidden in this land, whatever dark force sought to unsettle them, he would meet it with tooth and claw.

As Enyo pressed onward, Redrum followed closely, a dark red shadow at her side, his movements liquid and soundless. He did not speak, but the intensity of his gaze never wavered. Each step brought them deeper into the unknown, and with every heartbeat, his excitement grew.



"Murder"