.........
The answer you seek, I am afraid, I cannot give you.
Each tribe has a different name, a different way of seeing them, of worshipping them, fearing them… Hating them.
To some they are monsters. Cursed creatures born of hatred and death itself.
To others they are heroes, champions who protect their land with fire and blood, worshipped as kings or gods of war.
In our tribe, alphas are seen as a will of nature.
Born with a purpose that we, humble mortals, cannot comprehend. Good or bad, it is a matter of destiny.
..............
The room falls silent as we listen to Kayda's explanation.
There was a time when such an explanation would be taken as an old woman's joke.
But that time ended the day a planet appeared in the sky and rays of golden light began to bring mutants.
[And what does that have to do with my boy?]
Yumi asked bluntly. Her hostility dropped a lot, but she still looks at the old woman cautiously.
[In ancient times, my Malkat tribe had a champion… A merman born in the depths, he came to our rivers by chance and settled for love. Although the will recognizes no offspring or race, descendants are sometimes born with some outstanding abilities and maintain a certain level of connection with the alphas. I, as the oldest living descendant, even if my lineage is weak, can at least recognize an alpha when I see one, although he is still quite young.]
Great, surprises never end, do they?
But before the conversation could advance.
[Did you hear that, bitches? My balls have obviously superior genes. Certified by Grandma Fish. You can line up, I'll give three children to each of you; I allow it in my infinite generosity.]
Of course the damn brat will take advantage of the part of the conversation that suits him.
[[[[I DON'T WANT THEM.]]]]
Of course, the girls refuse immediately, disgusted. But for some reason, the goblins started taking off their clothes.
[[[[WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?]]]]
[[Eh? Babies aren't made naked?]]
[[[[[YOU WON'T MAKE ANY BABIES.]]]]]
[Kekeke]
[[[[WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?]]]]
[GYAAAAAAAAAAAAA]
Four simultaneous pinches. Did they really start fighting here?
[Ahhh, I apologize for the children…]
I sigh tiredly and try to resume the conversation with the old woman, but she…
[Na'Risha, what are you waiting for? Go and get those three children for our tribe.]
Hey…
[G, G, G, Grandma?]
[I think we should get back to the point.]
[Hick? No, I don't want to. Grandmaaaaa]
[Y, Yumi, calm down.]
Damn brat, there's no talking to you.
[Cough, we will discuss the young alpha's proposal later.]
[We will not.]
[The Rat Kid only accepts Na'Risha, only the best for the Rat Kid.]
[You shut up.]
This brat really doesn't fear death.
[Well, back to the topic, why are you so sure Astrad is one of those alphas?]
Chief, your performance today almost makes me feel guilty about all those times I thought you were just an annoying troglodyte… Almost.
[I cannot… Well, actually, it is not a good idea to test it… But I assure you, the call is clear.]
[Call?]
[Yes, alphas, as I said, are a will. But that will is not universal and alphas are not all the same. Some built empires, others destroyed them to their foundations. Some remained in their territories without allowing any other living being and others let life run around them. As varied in personality as any living being… but there is something they all share. The Crimson Will.]
As soon as she pronounces that "Crimson Will", Yumi's teeth grind.
[What is that Crimson Will?] Wiston asked carefully; even Astrad is already paying particular attention.
[The Crimson Will is the call of your lineage, an energy that characterizes you. Not red like flame, but crimson like blood. According to the stories left by our ancestor, the youngest summon it involuntarily when their mental stress level is at the limit or their energy has reached a peak. While the most experienced can use it at will.]
The old woman explained calmly, while making delicate gestures with her hands, moving the fire around us and creating silhouettes that told a story.
[The Crimson Will is, for alphas, both their blessing and their curse. My ancestor described it as a call, a desire. Even the most peaceful of alphas responds to it. "Fight". Pure, simple, violent. It is not winning, it is not proving or fulfilling any great purpose. It is not even about competing for territory. It is violence in its purest form, a burning desire that seeps from the depths of their hearts. The simple pleasure of clashing in a confrontation where the only rule is to survive.]
[In other words, you feel like you want to fight Astrad?]
[Not exactly, as I said, my lineage is very weak, I only have a small reaction of familiarity… But my granddaughter… she probably has a strong desire for attachment.]
When we look at Na'Risha, she lowers her head in embarrassment.
[Attachment? Wasn't it violence?]
[Yes, but at the same time, no… I cannot explain it since I only know the transmitted stories. But according to my ancestor, alphas do not feel hatred when they meet. It is quite the opposite, they feel recognition, familiarity. As long as they do not give in to the call and their interests do not clash, two alphas can fight regularly between themselves for the sheer fun of conflict. Like two puppies biting each other, but with the strength to destroy mountains. It is said that the ancestor had a difficult personality, so conflict with other tribes was the order of the day, even without meeting other alphas. Although we don't know if they are all like that, or it was just the ancestor.]
Fun of conflict and difficult personalities…
[[[[[…]]]]]
We all can't help looking at Astrad because the description fits him too well.
[Slander for the Rat Kid, it's not my fault everyone is stupid but me. And the language barrier forces me to use the language of my fist in your mouth.]
[[[[Ummm….]]]]
Forget magical energy or whatever, just in personality you are already a total alpha.
[Earlier… Earlier he fought against an orc…]
Yumi explains in detail what happened earlier at the police station to the old woman.
The old woman nods contemplatively before returning to create figures with the fire.
[Even two completely sane alphas can get lost in the middle of a confrontation. Blinded by the desire for more, they can take the fight to the end. When this happens, whether by desire or mistake, the winner takes the loser's crimson energy and becomes stronger… But at the same time, the call becomes fiercer, more uncontrollable… if an alpha is not careful, if he lets himself be carried away uncontrollably by the call… Eventually he will be consumed and become an irrational being that lives only for the eternal fight.]
[[[[[What?]]]]]
Shit…
....
---------- Third-Person Point of View
Incident Log: District 9 Shelter Time: 03:12 AM
The school gym smelled of stale sweat, cheap bleach, and stagnant fear. Hundreds of people slept on lined-up cots, forming a labyrinth of heavy breathing and snoring.
Elias couldn't sleep. Clutching his camera and taking advantage of its night vision, he tiptoed toward the bathroom. The silence was thick, broken only by the electric hum of the vending machines in the hallway.
Then he heard it.
"Click. Click."
The sound was strange, like nails tapping against metal.
[Rats?] — he whispered to himself, and he wasn't entirely wrong.
Elias stopped by Row 14. He panned his camera toward the sound.
And then he saw it, perched on the chest of a sleeping old man. A small, hunched shadow, the size of a malnourished child, but with all the wrong anatomy.
The thing was leaning over the old man's face. One pale, skeletal hand held the man's jaw wide open. The other hand was inside.
Elias felt a surge of bile in his throat. Unconsciously, he switched on the camera's built-in lamp and let out a muffled gasp at the scene.
[Hickk!?]
Fatal mistake.
The light hit the creature. Greyish, damp skin. Hairless. Huge, lidless black eyes reflected the beam like obsidian mirrors. In its claws, shiny and bloodied, it held a freshly pulled canine.
Time stood still for a second. The creature didn't run. It didn't flinch.
Its pupils contracted until they vanished. It dropped the tooth. It opened a mouth full of irregular needles and let out a shriek that was anything but human.
SKREEEEEEEE! — the terrible screech, like nails on a chalkboard, made everyone in the gym bolt upright in terror.
But the creature paid them no mind. It lunged toward the light. Toward Elias.
It was a grey blur in the air. Elias tried to raise his arms, but the thing slammed into his chest with the force of a bag of cement. They crashed onto the hard gym floor.
The impact knocked the wind out of him, but the pain arrived moments later.
Claws as cold as ice dug into his shoulders, anchoring the beast. The creature's pale face was inches from his own, reeking of old blood and rot.
It wasn't going for his throat. It was going for his mouth.
A claw traced a vicious arc toward Elias's face.
[AAAHH!!]
Elias jerked his head violently. He felt the sting of the cut on his cheek, slicing through the skin down to the gum. Hot blood filled his mouth.
The creature shrieked, frantic—a ball of pure hatred and speed. Its long fingers tried to pry Elias's lips apart, forcing his jaw open.
Elias let go of the camera and threw blind punches. His fist connected with the thing's ribs. It felt like hitting wood wrapped in wet leather.
The gym exploded into chaos. Screams. People clutching their children, trying to protect them. Lights flickering on.
The creature stopped. It snapped its head 180 degrees, realizing for the first time it was completely surrounded and exposed.
With a hiss of frustration, it let go of Elias.
It used Elias's face as a springboard, digging its claws in one last time to propel itself. It leapt toward a concrete pillar, climbing vertically with gravity-defying agility, its limbs moving like those of a giant spider.
It reached the ventilation duct in the ceiling. It paused for a moment, looking down with those blank eyes—void of fear, full of promise.
And then it slipped into the darkness.
Elias remained on the floor, trembling, clutching his mangled face as he spat out his own blood and counted his teeth with his tongue.
One was missing.
-------------------
DIARY ENTRY NO: 021
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Dentis collector morbidus
REGIONAL ALIASES:
Anglo Folklore: The Tooth Fairy
Hispanic Folklore: El Ratón Pérez
Web Nickname: The Calcium Collector
NICKNAME (ASTRAD): The Reverse Dentist
📊 THREAT ASSESSMENT CLASSIFICATION:
PARASITUS Its nature is that of a biological parasite with ritualistic collection behavior. It does not infest a body, but a territory, parasitizing it by actively extracting biological parts (teeth) for an unknown purpose, likely nutritional or for nesting.
DANGER LEVEL: GREEN (5 stars)
I'm taking a risk here—its damage is tentatively zero if you don't catch it, but if you do, you're definitely in for a bad time. It's a cornered rat with the strength of a pitbull and a maniacal obsession. It won't kill you, but it'll disfigure your face for a fucking incisor.
AGGRESSION LEVEL:
REACTIVE Its aggression is a binary switch. It is 0% aggressive while fulfilling its mission (stealing). It is 1000% aggressive if you get in the way. Its reaction to being discovered is explosive, suicidal violence designed to incapacitate the witness and flee with the loot.
🧬 COMBAT SPECS (TL-DR)
TYPE: Beast / Humanoid
AFFINITY: Earth
🎯 PRIMARY WEAKNESSES (Theoretical):
Bright light (ocular hypersensitivity), Steel (according to folklore), Low physical endurance (if you manage to land a hit).
📌 KEY STRENGTHS (Reported):
Supernatural stealth, Jaws and claws strong enough to extract teeth, Berserker fury when discovered, Exceptional climber (duct access).
📚 ORIGINS AND COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY
Global Tooth Myths: This is the source of all "Tooth Fairy" and "Ratón Pérez" legends. These myths weren't bedtime stories; they were appeasement guides. They were a contract: "Leave the baby tooth (an easy payment) in a visible place so this creature doesn't come and rip out one you actually need."
Celtic Folklore: Associated with lesser Changelings or domestic Boggarts, but with a very specific biological fetish.
Speculative Biology: It is theorized to be a humanoid or primate branch that developed ritualized osteophagy (bone-eating), focusing on teeth due to their high concentration of calcium and enamel, which they perhaps use to build their nests.
Astrad's Analysis: That gold coin under the pillow wasn't a payment. It was a distraction. A bribe so the thing would take the easy tooth and not decide your entire set of pearly whites was a "value pack."
📝 DETAILED ANALYSIS PHYSICAL AND SENSORY DESCRIPTION:
Scant testimonies describe it as a grotesque, small humanoid, the size of a large cat or a small monkey. Its skin is pale, leathery, and hairless. It is agile and moves with disturbing speed, either on all fours or upright. Its most notable features are its hands—with long, slender fingers ending in curved black claws—and its mouth, which is often crammed with stolen teeth of irregular shapes and sizes.
BEHAVIOR AND ECOLOGY:
A nocturnal parasite that inhabits human settlements. It has an anomalous obsession with calcium, specifically teeth. It is attracted to the smell of blood and mild dental decay (loose baby teeth). Its modus operandi is stealth: it enters rooms at night, locates the sleeper, and extracts the tooth with surgical precision. If discovered, its protocol shifts from stealthy thief to vicious berserker, attacking the witness's face and hands before fleeing.
☣️ PROTOCOLS RECOMMENDED ENCOUNTER PROTOCOL (Theoretical):
DO: Follow the Tooth Fairy ritual. Leave fallen baby teeth in a glass or under the pillow to facilitate a peaceful collection. Keep a nightlight on.
DON'T: NEVER TRY TO CATCH OR CORNER IT. Do not wake up abruptly if you feel a presence in the room. Do not assume the noise in a child's room is "just the wind."
FIELD TALE (Testimony from the "Anomalous Encounters" forum, 2011):
"...my daughter lost her first tooth. We told her the Tooth Fairy story. At 3 a.m., I heard a... 'click.' Like nails on the hardwood floor. I went to her room. There was this thing... small and grey, leaning over her pillow. It looked like a malnourished child. I screamed. The thing let out a shriek that curdled my blood, spun around, and jumped. Not at the window, but at my face. It ripped a chunk out of my cheek and vanished through the vent. My daughter didn't even wake up. The tooth was gone."
🎤 ASTRAD'S ANNOTATIONS (THE ONLY SHIT THAT MATTERS):
Goddammit, if anything ruins a childhood, it's realizing the Tooth Fairy isn't some magical being in a tutu, but a fucking calcium-junkie monkey that breaks into your room at night. This is a straight-up plague. It's a cross between a raccoon, an unlicensed dentist, and a jewel thief.
The bugger itself is pathetic. You could probably kill it with one good kick. The problem? You have to see it first. And by the time you do, that thing is already in "berserker" mode, with its scalpel-nails aiming for your fucking eyes because you tried to protect a molar.
The whole myth is a fucking extortion contract. It's not "leave your tooth and I'll give you money." It's "leave your tooth where I can find it easily, or I'll come back tomorrow with pliers and take the whole set, jawbone included." It's the Dental Mafia.
.........….
RatKid Chat:
RatKid4: [Attachment: REC_Shelter_District9_3:12.mp4]
RatKid4: Dammit, if my childhood is ruined, yours is too.
RatKid8: What's with that rookie YouTube intro?
RatKid7: Lol
RatKid10: Lol
RatKid8: … Great, bloody hell, now I have to sleep in an iron mask.
RatKid10: This stopped being funny.
RatKid6: When was it ever?
RatKid4: Dunno why 8 is complaining so much; his magic cat would definitely find a malnourished mutant hilarious.
RatKid8: He sleeps with my sister…
RatKid7: Lol
RatKid10: Lol
RatKid6: Lol
RatKid4: Lol