I don’t want to.
What do you mean, you don’t want to? Of course you want to.
I don’t want to. I just don’t.
Why not? To hunt is your deepest instinct. You want to hunt. Why deny it?
I normally get to choose what I hunt though. I don’t want to hunt them.
Again, why?
I… I don’t know.
You deny yourself. You are the Huntress, the Raptor, the Axe. Death is your domain. Why are you not embracing it?
I normally only hunt for food though. At least, I used to.
You are hungry. There is prey to be hunted. You can feed. Take them all and feast for days.
Eh, I don’t think so. Panvok don’t taste very nice. Their flesh is acidic.
Why is their flesh acidic, and why not eat them anyway? When has that stopped you in the past?
In the past, I hunted creatures of the forest. Not sapient beings. It’s not right. It’s what I feel separates me from other monsters.
You are a monster, you do not deny it. How many have you killed in the thousand years you have existed for? Yet you are unwilling to hunt the prey that did this to you?
Well, in my current life, not many. You know how I change with each rebirth.
Maybe so, but those instincts are still present. And surely your feelings are overwhelming. After all, that scum impaled you on its blade. Yet you remain here, on the ground, bleeding when you know you can strike back.
I’m not a fool. The predator knows when to back away. I’m the predator, I’m backing away.
Is that not cowardice?
No, survival of the fittest. Death to the weakest. There’s a reason why the hunter goes for the weak and disabled. It’s insane to attack the heavily armoured ankylodon instead of the small alogon.
You consider that telepath to be the same level as an ankylodon?
Yes.
But you know you are better than that. You are the Raptor, after all. Death chose you as its mistress.
Actually, I met death once, he was a nice guy before his mum blew him up. I’m technically a Life Goddess.
All the more to fight. You let a lowlife telepath defeat you.
No, I didn’t let him win! He outpaced me while I was busy listening to you. Plus, Relkir is one of the most powerful Rethavok alive. Even before he and I ended up becoming deities.
He still defeated you. Left you here pinned to the ground. Surely you want revenge on the filthy mind-toucher?
You go on about my instincts, my instincts tell me to avoid him. I trust my instincts.
More than you trust me?
Yes. If anything, you hold me back, keep me away from my maximum potential.
So you refuse to hunt.
I’m not going to risk being pinned twice. Or worse, get myself actually killed.
But you have the desire to hunt.
My instincts tell me that going after Relkir again is a bad idea.
So what will you do? Listen to your master? Your master demands that you hunt. Your instincts tell you that you should hunt. Your injured pride tells you to hunt too.
You have a good point.
So you will hunt.
Yes.
What will you hunt?
Oh, I think I’ll leave it as a surprise. You don’t need to know.
Yes I do. You should listen to me.
I’m bored of listening to you. Go away.
You cannot just tell me to go away.
Sure I can. Go away, stupid voice. All you do is make me lose. I would have beaten Relkir if I hadn’t listened to you.
You are blaming me?
Yeah. Now fuck off.
You cannot-
Yes I can. Get out of my damn head.
But-
I said: GET OUT!
Nooooo…
Good riddance. Now to get this blade out of my chest and go for a real hunt…