I was far more than ready to have a very nice meal, with crunchy as appetizer and Bennett as the main dish, but its seems that he may be kind, way too kind, but not totally stupid, and this soldier didn’t seem to wish his story would here, so soon.

So when I touch him with second intentions, suddenly he jolts awake, grabs his gun and points it right at me, the round dark nuzzle aimed right between my eyes, all so quick that makes me question if this was the same soldier who had been guiding me around, looking so gullible, but I guess he had his claws retracted too.

I stop, my hand still stretched but thankfully hidden by the darkness of the cave, and my only reaction is to blink twice and stare at him.

Holding his breath Bennett finally recognizes me and immediately widens his eyes, withdraws the weapon, and takes a deep breath, the fierce sharp look he had a few moments ago dissipates and in place comes that kind smile as he looks away, seemly ashamed of his actions.

“S-sorry, are you ok? Where are we?” He says while looking around us, but I only stare at him without uttering a word.

Now now, with him moving about and awake my hunger is forgotten for a while, but not only because of these little matters, but mostly because… I had just realized something, something troublesome, perhaps dangerous, about the situation I’m in.

When he rested the nuzzle at my forehead, the cold metal brought a shiver down my spine, and a thought rushed in my mind.

…Am I going to die?

Followed by an am I able to die from this?

That is something I hadn’t thought before, if changing forms like this made me have a body as fragile as humans had? I mean, it makes sense, but all was so strange that it was hard to understand, part was human, the exterior, but most senses and strength were still the same as before… I had a sudden urge to confirm, to test things out, to test the limits, to know what the hell had happened to me.

I look at my own hand, soft and tender, those useless nails, these wrinkles, and I touch this hair, reality somehow finally catching up with me and making me far more confused.

And even though I had always been a practical creature, it didn’t mean that things do not affect me to some degree…

While I was daydreaming, however, Bennett starts to stand, brushing his arms and shivering more, breathing out through his mouth and licking his dry lips, looking outside at the shy sunlight that has been trying to trespass the clouds, the constant drizzle, and reach the ground, the entrance of the cave farther enough to not let the rain enter, but not too far as to leave us in complete darkness.

“Wh-what is this? Where is this place?” Bennett says, frowning with a mix of surprise and astonishment in his voice, looking around and walking towards the walls, touching the earth and trying to see something over the veil of blackness.

“What are these…? They are… coffins?” Even though I did not understand what he was saying I still go there to have a look, already aware of the insides of this cave.

“This is a tomb from the Shinzaki people… they have the costume of burying their people standing, and filling it with soil… Don’t know why though, only saw they do it before… but why are all these coffins empty? Perhaps they were preparing the ceremony, but didn't have time to finish? No… it can’t be, the last step is to fill it with dirt, and there are traces of it…”

I guess he keeps talking at this point to avoid the oppressing silence, but I do not see what he is so intrigued about on these walls, they were mere old broken things after all.

“Empty… but not unused. There is soil on the floor… but how… why would they… uhm.”

He steps closer to the walls, passing the tip of his finger at the drawings crafted there, those lines meaning nothing to me, but if they meant something to him there was barely enough light to illuminate the entrance, the sun still raising somewhere on the horizon, so he could only sigh in resignment.

Bennett, intrigued by the place we were in, had a sense of security coming from the daylight and the apparent safety of this empty cave, which leads to him watching the walls in a careful inspection.

But, although the light was starting to illuminate these lands, soon Bennett will discover that this is the most dangerous time of the day; and for me, usually the most fruitful one; Because is the time when the ghouls go and try to find shelter and sometimes, lost in the hunt, had ended up too far from their usual hideouts… which would make so that they would have to hide in someone else’s lair.

Like now.

I hear the creatures far before he does, the low hissing of pain and the steps over the leaves and soil, approaching as I eye the entrance, giving a small sniff only to confirm my assumption that, when night fell, we were followed by the ghouls from the swamp, but, perhaps realizing the bad idea it was, perhaps seeing me transform, perhaps sensing my smell and the blood of their companion, they ended up giving up and not attacking.

But time waited for no one, and already too far from their swamp they got stuck midway, having to decide if they should fall back or advance.

A few fools chose the latter.

A smile starts to form on my face at the food delivery up my doorstep, but then it stops midway once I realize something; that I could not enjoy this meal with Bennett around, hell, I could not even change forms, how was I supposed to fight like this?!

I glance at him, still oblivious to the approaching danger, my eyes going to the weapons he wielded before, wondering if I could take that blade for myself, or if I should leave the fighting to him… for now.

If things go south and I need to attack and have him discover my identity… well, I can at least have a Bennett for main course, and crunchy for dessert… or as an appetizer? Uhm… hard to decide, maybe save some for later too… yeah, that’s sounds better.

But I guess, either way, is a win-win situation for me.

So… Good luck Bennett! I’ll be rooting in the shadows, don’t let the ghouls have you otherwise I will! With those thoughts in mind I step aside, going deeper into the cave, putting him between me and the entrance but close enough that, if needed, I would not allow another meal to be stolen away by those filthy ghouls.

“There are writing, but I don’t understand them.” He says, still frowning, looking at the floor closely, narrowing his eyes to see in the dark. “And the lids… they are-“

He stops talking mid-sentence, however, once he finally hears the creatures approaching, the ghouls, usually so stealthy, could not stop themselves from letting out a low hiss of pain at the uncomfortable contact with the sun.

Immediately his carefree attitude disappears as he takes the gun out, searching for me and motioning with his arm so that I should stay behind him and in silence, pointing at the exit and finally setting his gaze to the shy golden light that illuminated the entrance.

With a single click his gun is ready, and looking pass his shoulder I can see his two hands resting on the grip, keeping a steady aim as we waited for those creatures to appear at the entrance.