Vermilion

Chapter 6

On the dark cold cloudless night, lanterns hung on trees, poles, and house walls as mortals roamed within the light. Crisp laughs and howling bragging sounded throughout the unbridled merriment as liquors of certain kind reeked the air.

From the high treetop looking down at the revelry, Pelferous' head rocked gently and his feet swayed with the catchy beat of music the feast provided. As he sat on the branch, he enjoyed such sights – colorful and lively sights – that it held him for a time in a particular place. It was not the first one he saw but he could not help but to dawdle and sated himself with the merriment.

As he lingered on this world of mortals, he found it more interesting as the time went by. There was no doubt that many of their kind have escaped to this luscious land in order to have the taste of mortal living. Few returned but many stayed in here, and who knows what they had done to their existence. At the least, Equetaph was not alone in his fantasies.

Probably, Equetaph was there somewhere, living the life of a vulnerable entity and maybe, though he detested to admit it, enjoying it more than he enjoyed watching the revelry below. However, they would meet him one day. Then pummel him a bit, retrieve the Book of Laws, and settled in this world making it his realm.

Brushing off the thoughts about the lost friend, he dimly remembered the company who stood stiffly behind him. He looked over his shoulder then threw back his head in order to see the stoic face.

"Are you not delighted with the view Sorcrux?" he asked as he shifted comfortably on his seat at the edge of the branch.

The honey-haired Sorcrux did not answer and remained passive looking down at the marrying mortals.

He frowned at the friend. But he was used to that rigid silence of him, in fact it was one of the things he adored about him. And the other thing that he admired about him was his knowledge about the way the mortals live. Of course, it was because Sorcrux had been here before but returned then came with him to be here again. He had asked him why he had returned but always answered him with a glare. After the failed attempts to squeeze out the reason from him, he gave up telling himself that it had nothing to do with his plan of claiming the world as his own.

He waved a dismissive hand and went back to the revelry below.

Oh, how he find it amusing to listen to the music and gibber. How about that? He had seen a number of very small mortals in their journey and Sorcrux said that they grow. They seemed interesting too. Well, maybe it was because he, Sorcrux, Equetaph, and the other belonged to their variety of being never came about as small children. They had been this way since their existence.

As the light of the day crept to the land, the feast gradually ceased and one by one the people went about to leave and some fives the excess of the night. It amazed him how they shifted from a loud marrying crowd to a lowly buzzing groups, like nothing happened. They went around sweeping, lifting, or anything that made the place looked tidy.

A long sigh escaped his mouth. It was a good aversion of his attention but it was over and he had to face the reason why he was meandering far and wide. He pulled himself up and stretched his limbs out of whim then shook his head making his waist-long hair sway with the wind. Reaching to his nape, he brushed his hair and flicked his wrist at the end. No curls. Just that smooth straight red strands.

He turned about with a graceful body turn and smiled at Sorcrux. His presence made him sober and had focused his mind to the retaliation to their beloved Equetaph. It was a bit tricky for them to find such a shrewd entity who prided himself with the excellence in the art of escaping. But one way or the other, he would pin him down.