Machine
William swept around me. His fur and wings seemed to ripple with each movement, as if he were a wispy shadow.
I reflexively stepped away from him. My legs bent and I squatted into a ready stance. "You followed us?"
He hummed to himself, then nodded in confirmation. "My intentions aren't violent, at least not immediately so."
My legs straightened with a slow hydraulic hiss. I left my stance. "I have places to be. State your intent."
He scratched his chin with those bronze-colored claws. "I have come to throw down the glove." He looked over at the devastation of the chapel with an unreadable gaze. "I have a proposition."
I slowly tilted my head. "Go on."
"I wish to bury the hatchet tomorrow. Captain Roland shall come before me and face the due punishment for his transgressions. Else, I shall lead my horde unto war." He spoke his declaration with utter ease. It wasn't practiced as much as proper. It sounded completely reasonable when he spoke it.
"I can tell him. However, he is a coward. I think it's best if you prepare to fight," I replied calmly. "He won't give up his life."
William sighed. "I suppose so." Then he looked away.
"You seem—disappointed," I stated. A surprising curiosity filled me.
"Contrary to my appearance, I am no butcher. A good match, a good hunt, I can get behind. However, those men—the ones who follow the captain—they are innocent," he replied, a slight discomfort in his tone.
I looked over at the ruined altar. "You will still slaughter them. Why not simply let it go?"
William looked toward the altar alongside me. "I wish I could. But I am not in charge. The will of the collective demands revenge for the lives taken. I can forgive in my mind, but never can we forgive in heart."
I saw that he had no intention of attacking. I decided to take my seat on one of the surviving benches. "Collective?" I asked.
William eyed the bench. "Yes, it's the will of the Great Gullet, the Hungering One. He is the lord I bow to."
I refocused my lenses in intrigue. "Tell me more."
He snapped his fingers. "Exactly that." I shook my head to indicate confusion, but he explained himself without much pressure. "You already have knowledge, yet you want more. That's the Great Gullet."
I clicked my tongue in understanding. "So you worship desire. That doesn't explain the physical and very real phenomena all too well. But I grasp the concept. You serve a god of primal hunger."
"Ay." He leapt over the bench. His massive body moved with a chilling grace, totally silent. Then he sat down. "I used to smoke in my youthful years. Eventually it stopped feeling as good."
"The mind adapts. Nothing feels too good for too long," I commented.
He shook his head, an easy, knowing smile on his lips. "It's no property of the mind." He tapped his forehead. "It may be explained away by science. Yet it runs so, so much deeper."
I did the equivalent of an eyebrow raise by rolling one of my lens shutters halfway. "Are you saying it's supernatural?"
"It is extremely natural. Only, it's driven by a sentient force. A being who taxes each experience and attenuates it." He wrapped his thick arm around the back of the bench and grasped the wood by my shoulder. The gesture felt amicable. There was not a drop of malice in this being, at least not now.
"Such avarice. A single being has little right to hoard experiences in such a way," I replied, not truly irritated. More so trying to elicit conversation.
"Yes, it can be seen as greed. However, my lord takes the bad with the good. Pain fades, guilt falters. Not to mention, this process drives us to grow and find new avenues of enjoyment." His words sounded practiced now. However, he spoke them with warmth.
I nodded. "Thanks for the explanation, William." The words didn't feel right coming from me. But they left me as if by instinct.
He tightened his grip on the wood and leaned closer to me. "Anytime." He shifted his posture. He placed his hands on his lap and leaned back.
"I did something fucked up. I was hurt by someone, and I mean really hurt. I was gonna let it go. But something else happened that day. It had nothing to do with it. But I guess I had enough. I had my payback, with far too much interest." He sighed once more.
"Over the cries of the damned. Over the black knives of the Hateful. Over the adulation to the heartless god once worshiped and now departed. I had a single thought. A blasphemous, beautiful thought," he continued. His smile turned into a sharp grin; his eyes stood upright now.
"What was that thought?" My neck joint pulled my head back and nestled it curtly.
"I deserved better. I wanted more," he replied, a Cheshire cat smirk creasing across his lips, bearing his teeth. "And the Gullet billowed back."
He shifted his posture, sitting upright to show respect. "He would let me drape myself in finery. He would let me drink of the finest wine. He would let me dine in the finest halls."
"The catch?" One of my shutters clicked.
"Some wouldn't appreciate my new body. I don't see that as a price, however." He flexed an arm, his biceps brimming with implausible might. "In exchange, all I need to do is give to others what I have been given. A lending ear, a charming host, and a good meal."
"Your god seems… benevolent." I tapped my talons against my lap.
"He is not universally generous. He is starving, so he shows empathy. Think of it as an understanding he gives when he sees unfulfilled desire. He grants us what we want. The only cost is receiving it." William settled back down, a relaxed look in his eyes.
"Roland was simply acting in self-defense when he killed your men. The desire for freedom is something you oughta understand." I attempted to deviate the conversation, to perhaps prevent the battle I knew would come.
"I made my intentions clear. I would have dinner with Master Shen, then let you all go. Instead, I came to find my comrades slaughtered." There was pain in his voice. He pushed it back, but he couldn't hide it from me.
"Shen told us a different story. He stated you planned on releasing him and letting us starve," I spoke, surprise briefly coloring my features.
He gave me a befuddled look. His brow creased. When he spoke, he seemed weary, confused even. "I did not say that." He seemed lost. Then he stood up abruptly and kicked a piece of rubble.
The stone smashed through the masonry. The force of the kick lifted dust across the chapel floor. William's fists clenched. "That lying piece of shit. I'll have his guts for garters."
He ground his teeth, snarling in a low voice. Then he pressed a hand to his chest, taking a deep breath. "This changes things."
I stood up and looked him in the eye. "What will you do now?"
William looked down ponderously. "I will come tomorrow with my men. Shen shall come clear things up, and the captain too. It's either his head or Roland's. If they fail to show, I will be forced to attack."
I patted his back, not giving it a second thought. "Hopefully it won't come to that."
He ruefully laughed. "Yeah, hopefully."
I walked to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."