He could see them rising from the ground, shadowy, with bones exposed. He could feel their nails raking across his flesh, not realizing that he was clawing at his own skin. Internally, he was split and fractured into a thousand pieces. Long, ragged hair hung around his face and down almost to the ground as he walked in a low, four-limbed crouch—animalistic and feral, despite his form. Jaws cracked apart as he snarled quietly, walking his hands up a tree from the ground to midway up the trunk. Slowly, he dragged them downward, shredding the bark and removing the blunt edges to his nails, worn down by constant travel, in the manner of a feline.
Again and again he did this, until he was satisfied with the ends of his claws. He could smell something alive. Head jerked, removing the hair suddenly from his face—pupils shrinking to pinpricks from the light. Teeth clicking together once, he approached the unmoving figure, crawling close, aiming to place one hand against the skeletal flank. Head lowered, sniffing curiously at the creature, searching for the scent of rot and outward decay.