Page 42 of A Soul to Touch

He grew lost and hypnotised by the flickering flames that danced before his orbs, billowing mild heat in his direction.

A heaviness, a deep burden, began to sink inside his chest, causing his heart to quicken. His hearing rang as the sounds around him dampened. His fur even puffed when his skin tightened as disquietude trickled down his spine. Within moments, his orbs shifted to white.

As much as the fire disturbed him, he found it near impossible to look away.

Fire was hot. And Faunus knew that itburned.

He hadn’t realised his breathing had become strangled until Mayumi startled him as she sat in front of him once more. Her sudden appearance out of nowhere caught him off-guard, making him choke on a panicked pant.

Thankfully, she didn’t notice his change of behaviour as she shoved some white, fluffy substance into her mouth. He thought it might have been mashed potato. He knew there was carrot on her plate simply because it was still whole, but he couldn’tquite name the other vegetables she had on offer for herself. Everything was steaming as if she’d boiled it.

She’d also brought a chunk of the bread and dipped it into some sort of sweet, possibly berry, sauce she’d drizzled over everything.

“That appears to be a lot of food for one human,” he commented, noting that her plate was rather full.

She shovelled it into her face, licking messily at her lips with smacking noises. He grew wildly fascinated by her doing so, that cute, stubbly, little tongue dabbling out. He wondered what it felt like, if it was softer or firmer than his own since it appeared shorter and fatter.

“I’m hungry,” she answered around a mouth full of food. “And this is nothing. You should have seen how much I ate back at the stronghold. Everyone used to make fun of how much I ate and never gained weight except in muscle.”

He didn’t understand why someone would pick on another for eating well, especially since he was rather envious of a humans’ capability to feel full. Even now, his stomach gave the tiniest grumble, always empty and never satisfied no matter how much he gorged.

He’d started giving up on sating it.

“You asked me how Duskwalkers differ from Demons and everything else living,” Faunus casually started. “One way is that our stomachs are never filled, and we absorb our food no matter how large it is as soon as we eat it.”

Her pretty, dark eyes lifted from her plate to him as she paused.

“Another is that, although we have a heart, stomach, and lungs, they are not made of the same muscle as all other creatures.” He laid his hands in his folded lap and ignored her dumbfounded expression. “We may bleed, but if you are to puncture any organ within our body, we will reform around thewound or weapon so we can continue normal functionality. Our insides are soft, mouldable, which makes it near impossible to stop us. Whereas our outsides are much firmer and harder to pierce. An attack that would cause a deep cut on a Demon would only hit the surface of our bodies. We can still come to harm in that we are slowed, and blood loss will make us dizzy, but we will never cease moving.”

Blood would draw from deeper within, sucking their strength to replace what was lost. They would attack anything moving, even if it was a blur – such as a person or shaking bush.

“I thought you didn’t want to share this with me,” she said with furrowed brows.

“When did I say that?” he asked while cocking his head.

“Well, you didn’t answer me when I asked you about it.”

“That was because I was unsure of where to start.”

She pursed her lips before squinting her eyes with what he gathered was either suspicion or annoyance. Then she lifted a forkful of food and blew on the steaming green vegetable to cool it.

He wasn’t sure if she was waiting for him to continue or not, but he took her lack of response as an invitation.

“You mentioned that you were able to consume as much food as you wished and only gain muscle, that appears to be a trait in which we share. We start out almost hollow in body and begin building muscle over time. However, we also absorb our food so completely we start taking on its characteristics.” He waved his hand to the side. “This is similar for Demons, but they produce waste whereas we do not.”

“So, you’re similar but different.” Her eyes glinted with a mischievous hint when she added, “Does that mean you’re just a big softie deep down inside?”

“I already stated that,” he remarked with his head leaning to the side in confusion. “And you just... never mind.”

“There’s a question we’ve always wanted to know the answer to.” Mayumi looked away from him to her food, but her eyelids lowered as if she was attempting to be blasé. “Why are the Demons growing human skin? Those who do are able to speak intelligently, although they refuse to tell us anything no matter what we do to them.”

“They are becoming human. I am unsure of how deep the transformation will go for them, but they gain humanity with each human they eat. They grow skin and mimic your kind’s way of life.” He tilted his head down to look at his claws. “Although Duskwalkers gain humanity in the same way, it has already been shown that we will never become human, nor begin taking on your characteristics no matter how much we try. Our forms are mostly permanent.”

“Have you tried?” she asked, and he was unsure of why he heard a hint of concern in her tone.

“In the beginning, when I realised my mind was changing, yes. I didn’t want to remain in this form. But I met another who is much older than me and has gone to greater lengths. He has informed me that there is simply no point.”

“What about Demons, then? Do you take on their characteristics?”

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