Most of this is just Itzal in his head. The italics in the first paragraph are a memory.Itzal watched as she swam away and he let her. He close his eyes and felt the scar on his neck. It had been a bad wound. It had been a bad fight, he thought, remembering the end of it. Itzal had thought the cut was going to kill him. His uncle had pulled out a knife. Itzal thought that was funny. As he uncle slashed at him, he moved to the side, slashing up his uncle arm with his dagger then ducking away. It wasn't a bad wound but it was enough to make his uncle hesitate. Then Itzal moved in, feigning a slash to his uncles throat, to bring it down across his ribs. His uncle had made a pained snarl and lashed out at him, catching Itzal's hand. Itzal pulled back and winced. But his uncle had followed up perfectly. By the time Itzal brought his hand up to stop the paw he saw coming at him, he realized it wasn't the one holding the knife. The knife had slid from his left should to his neck. If Itzal had hesitated for even a second longer before grabbing his uncle's wrist and slamming his palm into the elbow from behind, he would have died from a severed throat. But he managed to snap his uncle's arm and stop the cut. Then he had slammed the pommel of his dagger into his uncle's jaw, knocking him out cold. It took Itzal a while to stop the bleeding. And when he finally did, and his uncle woke up, the fun began... Itzal came out of the memory as he remembered the screams his uncle had made.
Itzal opened his eyes when he heard Axelle. He was glad the pack was okay. And was thrilled to hear she was moving up as a warrior. He laughed when she mentioned being recognized for her skill with the crossbow. He was sure she would be recognized. He remembered the wound in his leg as soon as she mentioned it and the crossbow. He hadn't really thought about the wound, since it kind of got lost with all his others. But the second he remembered it he sucked in sharply, feeling pain coming from his leg. He groaned but managed to laugh, thought it wasn't his normal laugh. "Yeah, I'll be fine. The water is probably good for it. And it is better than standing on it. I'll probably have to have it looked at. What do you think?" He hoped he wouldn't have to, because that would require letting someone he didn't know very well know he was injured. That went against everything Itzal did.
As he thought about the wound, and Axelle's skill with the crossbow he remembered something from their previous meetings that made him smile. "I guess I was kind of right." He said, smiling at her as he answered the confused look on her face as to what he meant, "Last time we were in Halifax together, and you shot at me the first time with that crossbow, I told you the next time you did it, you might get more than you bargained for. Well I guess I kept my word." He said, with an evil grin. His grin was cold, but not threatening. Eztli might be Itzal's evil side, but Itzal himself was bad enough. He could kill just as easily as Eztli and sometimes he enjoyed it just as much. And though he would never admit it, he liked to blame everything on Eztli. But sometimes it was just him. Times like his uncle and even a few other people, he had enjoyed the killing himself. And, even though he loved and cared about Axelle, he still had to control his urge to show her just how dangerous it was to be around him. It was almost as if they were made to fit each others' needs. He could fill her craving for danger and he would never try and keep her close to him, and except for the one time he made the mistake of trying to leave to protect her from him, he trusted her to protect and look after herself. And for him, she was someone who could understand his craziness and she could also understand just how truly evil or cruel he could be.
He smiled at that thought, though it wasn't a warm smile. It was a hungry smile, a smile that showed part of who he truly was. He wasn't hungry for sex or blood, he was just hungry for who he was. He enjoyed it and he enjoyed that Axelle could be part of who he was. Maybe she was the only person who could ever truly be part of who he was. He glanced at her and his smile changed to a smug one, but that hunger still laid close to the surface, showing in his eyes and the slight curve of his lips. It wasn't Eztli this time, it was just him. "What would you think if I came back. To Anathema I mean? I fit in there better than anywhere else. And I can't stay as a loner forever. He said, smiling at her. His leg hurt and he would probably have to get out soon and take a look at it, but he wanted to put that off for a few more minutes. Long enough for him to hear the answer to his question.
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