First Encounter [Alacrón - NDE - R]

[Odalis Delgado]

The dunes of Hueco Mundo were a marvelous sight. In all their flat, empty, drab and quiet glory. It was peaceful and comforting. Particularly to the beasts native to it. The spiritually rich environment was soothing and helped ease the pangs of hunger if only for a little. Truly it was made for them. Of course, it wasn't always peaceful or quiet and the hunger could only be soothed so much before the beastly urges reared their ugly head. In those times, it made for as good a hunting ground as any location in the human world. Filled with ravenous beasts as it was.

This was not one of those peaceful days. Not for Odalis at least, or the other Hollows locked in a battle for survival and growth. For the two were ever intertwined to the hungering monsters. No, today was a day of hunts. Odalis had found herself a group of Hollows and while she did not fancy herself so capable a hunter as to take all of them on at once. Luck was with her today as the group in question was already at each other's throats. An alliance turned sour perhaps? Or maybe they all were like her this day and found their hunger too much to bear and it was mere coincidence that they all came upon each other. As interesting an idea it was to ponder, for Odalis did care to learn more about others of her kind, if they could in fact form meaningful connections. For now, she could only focus on the hunger and this chance to have it sated momentarily once more.

Odalis lay hidden behind a Dune, all six legs tucked underneath her and tentacles hugging her form. The power she could feel from herself as well as others, repressed and contained from spilling out. She knew if she could sense others this way, then surely they could sense her as well. Having experienced humans with similar strength emanating from them, albeit different in texture, being unknown to her until they revealed themselves. She understood it could be controlled and had labored to realize that ability herself, considering it invaluable to survival. As well as the hunt. It served her well for now, as none of the five Hollows seemed aware of her presence.

The five stood in a circle, saliva dripping from tears in their masks as each was eager to fill their mouth with the flesh of the rest. But none dared make the first move and open themselves up. Odalis' own mouth watered, dampening the sand beneath her mask. She had to bite her tongue to keep from fidgeting. The tension mounted, each would be combatant inching forward, making marks in the sand where they dragged their feet. Until finally, someone cracked and the tension broke into full-on violence.

One of them lunged at one closest to them, digging their teeth into their flesh before being tossed off. The others jumped the one already wounded but their prey eluded them by jumping back. In their frenzy they simply turned to one of the others. Claws swiping at flesh, scraping against the hard, bone white masks. Odalis waited but a scarce few moments. Enough for them all to be worn down by injury, ensuring her the advantage over them all. Once those moments had passed and Odalis dared not wait any longer before any of them were consumed by another, she raised her paw in preparation for a strike.

Bringing down her clawed limb, Odalis ripped at the air, seemingly striking nothing. However on the back of her target, a centipede like creature with a sharp, angular mask, the air shimmered before it dispersed and deep gashes raked its back. The beast let out a great howl as it dropped the much smaller, ape like gremlin from its grip. Odalis would not have it devour prey that was rightfully hers. The centipede whipped its head around to find its attacker. Another shimmer crossed the top of its elongated body and yet more claw marks etched themselves into its form. With a growl it raised itself up, its long shape granting it enough of a vantage point to spot Odalis across the dune.

Enraged, it skittered on its multitude of legs towards her, ready to sink its teeth into her. Odalis did not much care for that idea and so she pounced towards the monstrous insect. But rather than a simple jump, she tore open a rift, passing through and soaring ahead within the dreary landscape of this dimension. She exited just above her prey. As she fell she opened her mouth, biting at the air as she'd swiped at it before. The air shimmered and as it dispersed it tore a chunk out of the centipede's body. It writhed and swiped at Odalis after she landed. With a jump back she managed to avoid the frenzied assault. The beast did not chase after her, already worn from its wounds. It gave a defiant roar, a last ditch effort at intimidation. The act of a predator, sensing itself becoming prey. With another snap of Odalis' jaw and another dispersed shimmer around the creature's head, she put it out of its misery.

With one down, Odalis turned her attention to the mob still at it below. A great gorilla had the smaller ape pinned down. Once more it seemed it was Odalis' job to rescue the gremlin. With another activation of her Vacío Desplazado, she raked the air with a tentacle to swipe at the larger ape's eyes even as she ran towards the pair. This time the gremlin did not scamper away, but seized its chance and leapt up to sink its teeth into the gorilla's throat. Odalis did not let the victory last long as she made her own leap, grabbing it in her mouth and tearing it off the gorilla who let out a howl of pain.

The gremlin thrashed and clawed at Odalis' bone white mask and she whipped her head in response and threw him to the sand. Even with her lacking strength, a creature of that size could be handled that way with relative ease. As the gremlin was disoriented, Odalis bit down with a Vacío Desplazado, the gremlin being so small that the shimmer covered it's entire upper half. The shimmer dispersed and with a spray of blood coating Odalis' mask its upper half vanished. She didn't waste any time and turned around to the gorilla, who seemed to be recovering, just about getting its bearings again. Before that could happen, Odalis manifested another shimmer going from the already damaged throat across its entire mask as she whipped the air with her spiked tentacle. The mask cracked as blood pooled around her prey from the gaping wound in its throat and the beast fell forward to the ground.

With only two left remaining, Odalis had to take a moment to collect herself, panting to catch her breath after such a vigorous and continuous exertion. The last two were some sort of bipedal creature with thin, long limbs and squat legs while the other seemed like some horse out of a nightmare. They both sized each other up as they shot glances towards Odalis. It seemed they were re-evaluating their priorities. That wasn't good. She didn't fancy taking on the two of them if they suddenly decided to work together. But as the pair gradually took their eyes off each other and focused their attention on her, it seemed like the inevitable outcome.

With her breath caught, Odalis decided to make the opening move and slashed at the air with her spiked tail. Since it was behind her, the motion would not seem so out of place, more like a regular swish of the tail. The telltale shimmer of her attack appeared at the chest of the squat legged beast but it proved itself more adept than the others and jumped back right before it dispersed. There went her first strike advantage. The nightmare meanwhile, charged at her with impressive speed. Odalis could not utilize her rift in space as before, for the horse closed the distance too quickly. She did her best to dodge to the side, but the nightmare swung its head and its mask, adorned with sets of jagged edged coming out of the front, raked her side.

Odalis winced in pain and rolled on the ground, failing to land properly. She got to her feet just in time to avoid a trio of balls thrown at her by the squat one. The ends of its three fingers bulged and with a swipe of its arm another three balls shot through the air towards Odalis. She dropped herself to the ground to narrowly avoid the bullet like balls, rolling to face the already charging nightmare. She clearly couldn't dodge that charge completely, most definitely not with the squat one providing supportive fire from the rear. So then her only option was to stop the charge completely. Odalis opened her mouth like she'd done so often before, but instead of a single point with Vacío Desplazado, a 30 meter long line with Fauces del Vacío. Her jaws closed shot and the line dispersed down. The nightmare couldn't change course easily enough and found its body pierced by a 20cm wide hole down its length. Its legs lost strength and it tumbled to the ground.

Odalis didn't even turn to check on the squat one but lunged straight forward, just in time to hear the thud of his bullets against the sand. With the opening between volley, she opened up a tear in space, jumped through and appeared in the air above her last prey. It realized her position, turning its head upwards just in time to stare into her gaping maw and to see its vision shimmer before everything went black and it too was left with another hole piercing its body right from the head.

Taking a moment to bask in her victory, the gaping wound in her side momentarily forgotten in the rush, Odalis just stood there, covered in both her and other beastly blood. The flesh she'd devoured with her abilities had taken the edge of her hunger. But she still craved more and she would have to be a fool to pass up the feast before her. With a spring in her step she gathered the corpses together in a pile around her, laid herself down and began gorging herself on her own personal buffet.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Consumption}Consumed 5 class 8 Hollows

[Alacrán]

While in Hueco Mundo, a Hollow must constantly keep their guard up lest they become one of their 'brethren' next meal. This is why most weaker Hollows tend to stay within the realms of the Living and feast on prey that does not actively hunt them as well. Sure there are Shinigami, Quincy, and even a few rare Humans that threaten a Hollows existence while there but usually as long as they Hollow is clever enough they can escape with their prizes and rest. Within Hueco Mundo, there is no such thing as rest. Even while one consumes freshly acquired prey, they must be on the lookout for this when a Hollow is at their most vulnerable. And who would know this better than their own kind.

Fortunately for Odalis, Alacrán was not one of these kinds of hunters. No, he preferred to fight and kill his prey in a fair fight. Unfortunately for the young Hollow, Alacrán’s prey happened to be stalking Odalis, moving underneath the sands and racing towards Odalis. While Alacrán and Odalis were able to sense and find, only Alacrán was able to react fast enough to catch it as it raced through the sands at speeds of 150. It bursted out from the sands, about fifteen meters away from Odalis.

Now out from the sands, its size was much larger than one would expect, towering over Odalis at about three and a half meters with the rest of its body supporting it from underneath the sands, appearing like what one imagines when told of a death worm. Its mouth opens to reveal rows upon rows of serrated teeth that lead down its massive maw, which was crashing down towards the smaller Hollow. Before the giant worm Hollow exposed itself, Alacrán was already racing through the air towards it. With his bladed limbs primed and ready, Alacrán drives them into the side of the Hollows head which causes it to let out a pain-filled screech.

Due to how strong Alacrán was and how quickly he slammed into the bigger Hollow, the death worm gets pushed and thrown out of the way of falling onto Odalis. As it flailed and screeched out in pain, Alacrán held on tightly with his bladed limbs dug in as deep as he could have gotten them, riding the worm like some kind of twisted bull riding show. Eventually Alacrán had enough of the flailing and extracted one limb from the Hollow only to stab it back in and slice downwards in order to open up its insides. This seemed to have been very effective as it caused the Hollow to slam onto the ground one last time, spasming for a moment before it finally stopped moving.

Alacrán dismounts the corpse and glances over at the young Hollow, still towering over it by a good twenty centimeters. His eyes narrow at it, his mandibles clicking before he finally speaks up in a very rough tone, “Ya pretty dumb to be feasting like that with as small and weak as ya are.” He turns away and slices off a chunk of the worm Hollow, tossing it into his mouth as he does, “Not ta discredit ya being able to handle yerself though, just dat ya can’t risk havin’ uh meal like dat without someone tryin’ ta steal it or eat ya.”

He had watched her fight with the other five Hollows, genuinely impressed by her abilities. They were not something he’d seen from a Hollow before although in the time that he’d been watching the fight he got the feeling that he may be able to deduce how they work or at least to predict that other displacing attack she was doing to dispatch the weaker Hollows.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Consumed}x1 Class 4 Hollow

[Odalis Delgado]

The gentle and perpetual moonlight bathing her, the rough sand beneath her and a mouthful of prey to leisurely munch on. To Odalis, this was bliss. Even after she'd gotten some semblance of control over her hunger, however minor it was, this was still the height of pleasure to her. She swallowed her generous bite, feeling it push against the walls of her throat as it satisfyingly slide down to her gullet. A fleeting moment of fulfillment. For once the morsel finished its journey, it fell into the bottomless pit that was her stomach. Still, a meal as big as this would sate her for quite a while these days. Regardless, however fleeting, joy was to be savored if one was to maintain their sanity.

So it was rather frustrating when that joy was interrupted by the approach of an unwelcome guest to the banquet. Odalis heard it more than she sensed it, although you could still say she felt it just as much. A monster of that size burrowing through the sand made more than a little sound in its approach. Were the landscape more solid it might have even caused the earth to tremble with its mass pushing away the minor inconvenience it clearly regarded the ground as. This would be a difficult opponent to face and Odalis tensed up as thoughts of herself flipping to the other side of the feast came unbidden.

No, Odalis wouldn't allow that. Dropping her latest bite she rose to her feet, part of her demanding she run and leave her prize as bait. But her hunger was only partly sated and it compelled her to meet the foe head on. It drove away thoughts of reason in favor of avarice as she steeled herself for the oncoming battle. Then, as the great behemoth of burst out of the sand at an impressive speed, she felt just a pang of regret. Even so, she prepared use her Fauces del Vacío, certain of her ability to defend herself and her catch for the day. Was it simply confidence or was it foolishness?

She didn't get the answer to that question as another uninvited guest slammed into the sand worm with such force it threw the massive beast completely off course. An impressive feat admittedly. Especially considering the difference in size. This new arrival clearly didn't lack in physical might. Odalis maintained a defensive posture although she held back her ability, letting it fizzle for now. She did not want to get involved in the titanic wrestling match if she could help it. Thankfully it didn't come to that, as her eight legged savior ripped the beast open with a claw, bringing its existence to a painful end.

“Ya pretty dumb to be feasting like that with as small and weak as ya are.”

Perfect, he already figured Odalis for a moron. Not that she particularly minded honestly. It suited her nicely to have people, or creatures as the case may be, think less of her. It lowered their guard. Useful for more than just getting a good strike in. But did he have to act so high and mighty with it as well? The fact he was literally looking down on her didn't help ease the obvious feeling of him seeing himself as her better in more ways than one. He might be correct. Odalis sure wouldn't have been able to knock that worm to the side like that and she didn't really fancy the idea of duking it out with someone who could. However satisfying it might be to knock him off his horse.

“Not ta discredit ya being able to handle yerself though, just dat ya can’t risk havin’ uh meal like dat without someone tryin’ ta steal it or eat ya.”

Well alright, so he did acknowledge her ability. That made it better. But also worse. It meant he'd been observing her. Which put her decidedly at a disadvantage should things come to blows between them. She still had a trick or two up her sleeves, or mask, that she hadn't demonstrated on that hunt. But the discrepancy in information between them still put her on edge. Made her feel like potential prey and did nothing to ease her tense posture as she met his gaze.

She scoffed derisively. "Well you can't blame me for expecting some manners out of others. It's just rude to interrupt someone while they're eating after all." It was an absurd statement and she knew it, but without a hint of sarcasm in her tone it could just be passed off as further evidence for her lack of intellect. Of course she'd had to fend off the occasional raid on her hard earned prize. But she'd take the dangers of this empty plane over the dangers of the human world. Other beasts like her she could understand. But those black robed swordsmen. Those she didn't understand and thus steered clear off them whenever she could. For the time being at least. In fact, might as well see if this one knew anything about them. "Besides, if I stay too long in the human world those black robed assholes just start chasing after me. What's the deal with them anyway? Why do they care so much?"

"What about you? Do you also wanna rob me or can I go back to my meal? I'm still quite famished you know." She didn't like how close the scorpion was. Given his obvious ability in close quarters she'd rather be far away from him. But still her hunger compelled her to stay near to her prize. She just couldn't be sure if his dynamic entry had been at least partly altruistic or if he was simply doing what she'd been doing moments ago. That is, making sure one of her prey didn't steal another.

"I'm not sharing just because you came in like some knight in shining..." She glanced at his exoskeleton. "...carapace. You have your own meal over there. I'm not rude after all so I wouldn't dream of taking it from you mister...?" She let the sentence hang, as if fishing for a name before faking a look of realization. "Oh, right. It's rude to ask for a name without introducing yourself first. I'm Odalis Delgado, choose whichever one you prefer. I'm partial to Odalis. Now it's your turn. Don't be rude."

[Alacrán]

Alacrán's attention isn't really on her now as he feasts on his own earned meal although he does stop and glance over his shoulders whenever she spoke. "Well you can't blame me for expecting some manners out of others. It's just rude to interrupt someone while they're eating after all." Alacrán actually turns slightly at this comment to give her a look as if trying to comprehend her rather absurd statement but then shakes his head as he continues to feast, speaking in between bites, "Aye'm gonna assume yer joking 'bout dat cause if ya weren't then ya actually are really stupid or just very naïve. Or both."

Alacrán shrugs at her next question about the Shinigami. While he knew about them he didn't really understand their intentions or reasoning just that they didn't like Hollows and obviously thought lowly of them, "Aye have no clue 'bout the damn Shi'igami or what dey want. Alls aye know is dat dey do stop and fight against us so yer right ta be weary o' them but usually da ones dat show up in da humans world are pretty weak."

Her next line of rapid questioning just causes him to let out a harsh laugh, which sounds similar to wind blowing through a hollowed out tree as it fell. He gives her a look before just staring down at his kill, "Aye could o' care less 'bout saving yer dumbass, aye was only hunting dis damn thing fer the past hour but couldn' dink o' how ta draw it out. Anyways da names Alacrán." He's aware of her slight hostility and of her guard being up but if he cared or seemed bothered by it he didn't show it.

[Odalis Delgado]

Odalis eased up her defensive posture as the scorpion proved far more interested in devouring his current prize rather than adding to it. She didn't turn around to focus on her own pile however. Instead she walked backwards, stepping over it so that it was between herself and him. She couldn't be sure things wouldn't turn sour at some point so she preferred to keep an eye on him even as she stuffed her face. She did allow herself to lay back down, folding her legs underneath herself.

"Aye'm gonna assume yer joking 'bout dat cause if ya weren't then ya actually are really stupid or just very naïve. Or both."

So he was doubting her apparent foolishness? Clearly she wasn't laying it on thick enough. Or perhaps she was laying it on too thick. Either way she decided to double down. Or else he might think her to be intelligent and she wouldn't have that. Not if she could help it that is. Besides, it was just fun to act the fool, even when it wasn't convincing. "Hey, it's not stupid to expect some manners out of others. If I kill enough of them rude types eventually the others will grow wise."

"Aye have no clue 'bout the damn Shi'igami or what dey want. Alls aye know is dat dey do stop and fight against us so yer right ta be weary o' them but usually da ones dat show up in da humans world are pretty weak."

Ah, so the black robes asshole swordsmen were called Shi'igami. Or perhaps he meant to say Shinigami. That dialect of his sure was a piece of work. But no, Shinigami made sense. Although Odalis didn't like the arrogant tone inherent in that name. She of course already disliked the whole lot of them for being a nuisance and learning about them didn't seem to be helping matters at all. No doubt she'd hate their guts were she to learn all there is about them.

Interesting phrasing on the scorpion's part though. So while the ones popping up in the human world weren't much of a concern, it implied they holed up in some other place. Given their pristine robes and finely crafted weapons there was an obvious organizational quality to them. So presumably they had a hierarchy. With the lowly grunts being sent to the human world and the higher ups going somewhere else. Maybe they stayed at home and kept the fort down. Maybe they went to some other world where their might was the bare minimum to survive. Maybe that death world was their home. Still so much information yet to uncover.

"Shinigami huh? They actually call themselves death gods? Wow, they really are pricks. Kinda makes me want to go after one just to put them in their place. I wonder if they taste good." Odalis ripped off a slice of her catch with a spiked tentacle and dropped it in her mouth as she pondered the potential taste of Shinigami flesh. She was mostly joking about putting some lowly Shinigami in their place. She did feel it would be cathartic but she wasn't about to jeopardize her safety for such a frivolous reason. Figuring out how they taste however. Now that's a worthy undertaking.

"Aye could o' care less 'bout saving yer dumbass, aye was only hunting dis damn thing fer the past hour but couldn' dink o' how ta draw it out. Anyways da names Alacrán."

Right, so he wasn't an heroic asshole. Just a regular asshole. Did he really have to be such a prick about things? "So I was just bait then." Odalis remarked casually, stuffing down yet another bite of her rapidly shrinking hoard. There was no malice in her tone. It was a fair tactic. She wasn't a big fan of having been an unwitting participant but the idea at least didn't offend her. "Could you wait until after my meal next time?"

From the corner of her eye, Odalis spied movement. Some overgrown mouse like creature, masked like she and Alacrán, made its way slowly towards her pile. No doubt thinking of pilfering some of her catch and scurry off with it. Odalis gave no hint that she was aware of its presence. Nor did she drag the piece of meat off to the side of her now diminutive pile. She left it there as bait, waiting for the little creature to get closer.

It inched forward, thinking itself careful to not arouse suspicion. It was well within Odalis' reach now but she let it get a little bit closer before she swiped her tentacle down. The familiar shimmer came and went, along with a small chunk of the creature's side. It double over in pain, squeaking as it scrambled to find its footing. Odalis swiped again to finish it off but its legs found purchase and it scrambled away. It didn't get far however as yet another shimmer manifested itself and this time removing the rodent's entire backside. It squeaked one final time, twitching in the sand before growing completely still.

Odalis reached over and extended one tentacle to grab the bisected creature, holding it up to look directly into the dead eyes behind its mask. "Say, Alacrán. What are we exactly?" She said while holding the dead rodent's lifeless gaze. "Humans are humans. Shinigami are Shinigami. But what are we?" She finally opened her mouth, dropping the fresh morsel into it and snapping her jaws shut and swallowing the mouthful in one bite.

Perhaps she was being too forward with this question. But not having a word to refer herself or others like her really bugged her. Displaying her ignorance would also provide adequate reasoning for her apparent foolishness. If she was so inexperienced as to not even know what her kind was called then perhaps holding said kind to some standard of manners would be seen as more plausible. She could also ask about why they were so hungry all the time. But she could take a guess. Given how she felt herself growing with every bit, the compulsion only made sense. Plus, at least with her, it felt like some remnant of her past self. She supposed in that way she and her old human self had something in common.

But what the heck, why not ask? At the very least another's input might give her an interesting new viewpoint. "And why are we so damn hungry all the time? Can't go without food for too long without turning rabid. It's like we're all a bunch of addicts don't you think?" As if to emphasize her point, Odalis spoke with her mouth full, barely getting the words out between bites. Bits of flesh spurting out with every syllable. "Or do you maybe just hunt for sport? Honestly I can understand that. Nothing quite so thrilling as a good hunt."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Consumption}1x Class 8 Hollow

[Alacrán]

Alacrán shrugs at her comments, too busy with his meal to further answer her following questions right away although her first comment just earns her a rather unamused look. Perhaps she'd get along with Guerrero, the odd snake Hollow he'd met a while back. Odalis being hung up on manners and Guerrero's insistence that she was of royal descent or something along those lines would mean they'd agree and get along perfectly right?

As the conversation turned to the topics of Shinigami, he seems interested in learning what their name actually translates to. He'd only really heard them be referred to as Shinigami or Soul Reapers and he wasn't actually knowledgeable in multiple languages. He also doesn't offer up an answer as to whether they taste good or not as to him, it wouldn't matter for her to know if she was too scared of the to risk being here in Hueco Mundo before she'd become a Menos. He would admit that they do taste much better than Hollows and some humans in his opinion but then again that was probably just due to the nature of what Hollows are and how weak most humans tend to be.

He watched the small mouse creature approach and had to commend it for it's bravery but it was rather stupid for it to be trying something so risky. He'd seen many creatures like it throughout Hueco Mundo. Small, animalistic Hollows that existed only within the realms of the endless desert. Most Hollows didn't really bother eating them unless they were actually starving and had gone without a meal for quite some time as these Hollows size meant they didn't hold much sustenance for them. This didn't seem to bother Odalis however, something he made a note of and helped him to gauge just how weak and new she might be.

He wouldn't say anything though as this allowed him to witness her ability up close, giving him a better look at how it worked and the delay in her attacks and the shimmers that appear in conjunction with the attacks. He understood now that she seemed to be transporting her attack although the how was still a mystery to him. He was pondering and trying to theorize this when she asked her question and he glanced over at her rather confused. If she knew of the Shinigami by appearance means she's at least ran into them several times. Which meant she must of heard them refer to her as a Hollow right?

"The Shi'igami an' Humans dat can see us refer ta us as Hollows. As fer da hunger well...it prolly has ta do with da empty feeling inside us. Or at least aye know dats whats driving me a'though aye don' mind now as it helps me get stronger so long as ya can continue ta fin' a meal." He recalls his time as a Gillian, the struggle for control and trying to hold back the overwhelming voices in his head then. Now it's quite but he can feel the pull on his mind whenever he goes too long without a meal. He assumes Odalis wouldn't have this issue until she became a Gillian, not believing that he was the only Hollow that experience this.

Still she'd probably go feral and start going on a rampage if she were to go too long without a meal, as Alacrán often saw happened whenever lower classed Hollows that hadn't yet become Menos Grande. He imagines that instead of the pull of a dozen separate souls pulling for control it's the emptiness that causes them to recede into the more feral and animalistic state that causes them to go on these rampages. Either that or some Hollows just want to cause chaos, which he didn't really care about and had even done so himself albeit not really just to cause chaos for the sake of chaos.

[Odalis Delgado]

Odalis tore another chunk out of her buffet, chewing it thoughtfully as she considered Alacrán's words. "Hollows huh? What a fitting name." She mused aloud, mostly to herself. She liked the name, dreary as it was. Not only did it have a ring to it but it spoke to her on a deep level. Whoever came up with it surely had an understanding of what sort of beasts Hollows were. She mulled the name around in her head some more, her appreciation for it strengthening. Yes, she was a Hollow. It was nice to finally have a name with which to call herself and others of her kind. Beasts just didn't have that ring.

As for Alacráns insight into the nature of their existence proved to be just about what she expected. She figured most Hollows would have say the same thing. It lined up very well with her own thoughts. Though she did wonder if this emptiness was something that had to be carried over from life. If only those who felt a void within them in life turned into Hollows. Or if it was simply ironic for her death to offer her no reprieve from hers.

Outside of this, Alacrán did not make for good conversation. He seemed rather grumpy all things considered and Odalis was about to get ticked off by that. That is until she realized that of course, he's eating. Probably just wants to focus on his meal honestly. She supposed that would mean she's rather rudely interrupting him with all her talk and questioning. Good thing she didn't actually care about manners then. It had been so long since Odalis had met another Hollow who wasn't keen on immediately sinking their teeth into her. So she was going to milk the scorpion of all the conversation she could get out of him.

"Well, finding something to eat hasn't been much of a challenge so far. So long as you keep at it these plains seem damn near teeming with food. It's not such a bad life all things considered. You get to hunt, eat and rest. All the basics covered with no other obligations to weigh you down and stress you out." Odalis bit off a particularly chunky bite, gulping it down in one go before realizing her error. Her whole body tensed as she struggled to work it down her throat. It did go down eventually and she gasped for air. "Oh shit, damn near choked myself to death there. Or, well, re-death? I get what happens if we get eaten but what exactly happens if we just die in a more mundane fashion? Heh, weird. In life I wondered what came after death and now in death I wonder the same thing."

Odalis looked over what was left of her pile. Only a few more bites remained. She'd finish it in just a few more moments. Normally this would mean she takes a breather and enjoys the feeling of fleeting satisfaction before moving onto her next hunt. But she'd never had a conversation partner before and she still couldn't be sure he wasn't going to turn on her once he finished his own meal. Still she didn't want to squander this rare opportunity for socialization. If it came to a fight she remained confident in her ability to handle herself, regardless of any physical superiority her potential foe had over her.

"Well ok, almost all the bases are covered actually. Not much of a social aspect to the existence of Hollows it seems. You barely talk at all but it's still more than the roars and growls of most other Hollows I've encountered. Maybe they'll throw out a word or a phrase but it's usually something like 'hungry, tasty, I'm gonna eat you.' You know, things like that. I probably did my fair share of that too, can't be sure really. Those years are sort of a blur." Odalis fiddled with a stray piece of meat, turning it around with a claw. "What about you? Have you met any other talkative Hollows before? Please tell me it isn't that rare of an occurrence and I've actually just been unlucky."

[Alacrán]

Alacrán mostly ignored and focused on his meal as she continued to speak to him, doing what he could to finish off his meal as quickly as possible. He was very on edge it would seem, as he continued to scan around them as she talked and he ate. It would appear that Alacrán really never did let his guard down although his concern didn't seem to be about Odalis, as insulting to her as that may be, but instead on some unseen threat that he kept scanning the hills of the dunes for. His energy sensing skills were basically nonexistent so he was thankful that he'd somehow managed to develop a new ability to sense the tremors in the ground.

However, he doesn't pick up on the rapidly approaching individuals as Odalis seemed to be choking. He gives her a rather amused look as he turns towards her and watches her struggle on the piece of meat, not really sure they could die from something as ridiculous as choking on a piece of meat. He clicks his mandibles in a rather irritated fashion as she managed past the piece of meat and continued to barrage him with her questions. Luckily, it seemed he was done with his meal so now he could focus on her fully.

He rolls his eyes, his mandibles clicking together rapidly as he answers her question, "Aye've met a few dat are capable o' speakin' although aye've only met one other dats as talkative as yous is. Most o' da talkative ones seems ta be o' the Adjucas variety." He doesn't finish his train of thought as his tail twitches agitatedly as he quickly turns around and stares at the top of a sand dune, his seismic senses just now registering the new arrivals. He mutters a curse under his breath then turns to Odalis to quickly warn her, "Stay sharp."

Before she could ask anymore questions a beautiful, make up wearing Arrancar appears, their long teal hair settling behind them. They glance at the two Hollows and then at the pile of bodies as well as they large worm-like Adjuchas that Alacrán had killed. They raise a brow as they take all this in in a quick few minutes and then glance back over at the two Hollows once more. They stay silent as two more Arrancar arrive, running over the hill and shouting at the beautiful Arrancar. The two newcomers did not appear as human as the beautiful Arrancar, instead appearing more like their origins, like Hollows.

"Master Lepi, you mustn't run off like that." A rather lithe Arrancar with a large head of dark violet hair that drapes over their shoulders shortly arrives along with the other Arrancar who has short, deep pink hair, "Massster Lepi, Lodon you guysss need to wait up fer me. What'sss all the russsh about anywayss?" The one named Lodon turns to their peer and shrugs, "I don't know Murin. Master just said something about feeling some strong energy disappearing and then rushed off this way." They turn their attention back to the one referred to as Master Lepi, Lodon giving them a look of concern, neither acknowledging the two Hollows, "Master Lepi, what's going on? What're we doing here?"

Lepi gives them a quick glance and then returns their attention to the two Hollows, "Which one of you killed that big one there? And don't lie to me, because I'll know." The one's called Lodon and Murin just glance at each other oddly before returning their attention to the Hollows. Alacrán doesn't immediately answer, his guard up as he takes in the trio of Arrancars. He could tell, even before the other two had spoke, that the one known as Lepi had to be the strongest of the troupe. He side eyes Odalis, seeing if she'd speak up or not but he doesn't say anything, even if she didn't.

[Odalis Delgado]

Adjuchas? A new word to add to her vocabulary. Some alternative classification of Hollow. Apparently talkative, with the implication being that they were more intelligent than the standard Hollow. Obviously that couldn't be all there was to it. If intelligence and speech were the only qualifiers then that would surely make Odalis an Adjuchas. But Alacrán's phrasing made it sound like she didn't belong to that classification. Odalis needed more info, this wasn't enough to go on. But before she could inquire further and wrench some more precious knowledge from Alacrán's carapace covered head he cut back in with a sudden warning.

Odalis slowly chewed on a piece of meat as she observed the colorful cast making their entrance. At first glance she'd thought them to be humans, a strange sight inside this desert wasteland. But then she spotted the fragments of masks as well as the holes piercing their bodies like those of Hollows. Now that was even more curious. The way they carried themselves too made them seem at home in this land of Hollows. So confident, albeit to the point of aggravating arrogance. Like they considered themselves above both herself and Alacrán.

"Hm? Big one? Ooooh, the danger worm. Now there's a mystery. Did you see who killed it?" She asked Alacrán, speaking even as she chewed, feigning ignorance in wantonly facetious display. "Why? Was he a friend of yours? Or she, I honestly can't tell. Kinda hard with Hollows in general. Sorry if it offends." She swallowed as she grabbed another, thin slice of flesh with a spiked tendril. Although she put on an air of nonchalance she remained ready to spring into action. The air was fairly tense after all. It always was with any encounter in this white desert.

[Alacrán]

The one called Lepi just stares at Odalis as she answers the question. They squint at the smaller Hollow and sneers at her before looking slightly over her shoulder, "Kill that one. Leave the oversized bug to me." The other two Arrancar nod and begin to make their way towards Odalis, although Alacrán doesn't make any attempt to stop them as he keeps his focus trained on the leader, body and tail tensed up and ready to kick into gear when he needs to. Lepi however just stares at him with a curious look, "You're quite the cautious one aren't you. Then again, you'd have to be to have grown as strong as you are hm?" 

Alacrán doesn't say anything still as he just watches them get closer, taking one step for every step they make towards him. They grin as they glance over to the smaller Hollow and chuckle, "I wonder, were you going to kill her or just have her follow you around and get yourself a little minion? It's understandable either way. After all, it is the way things work here. The strong rule over the weak and the weak shall serve the strong. Now you shall serve me." This causes Alacrán's mandibles to begin clicking together in irritation and he finally breaks his silence, "Is dat why ya bent duh knee ta duh Shi'igami?"

This seems to stop Lepi in their tracks as their face goes from confident to shock to pure rage as they pull out their sword and point it towards the scorpion, "Well...guess you can speak after all...poor choice of words however." They quickly produce their sword and disappear with the familiar sound of the Arrancar's Sonido before they reappear, swinging to strike Alacrán with all of their strength. They were so quick in their movements that Alacrán didn't even really have a chance to react to the attack and so he found his carapace being sliced at by the Arrancar. Fortunately for the arachnid, the armored exoskeleton was much tougher than Lepi had anticipated and finds that they'd barely left a scratch against it.

It's here that Alacrán would take advantage of Lepi's momentary surprise as he lifts off the ground in a quick spin and strikes out against the Lepi with the backside of his tail, trying to send the Arrancar flying. While Alacrán's strength is massive and surely does send the small Arrancar flying as the Hollow had intended he did not imagine that he'd find his tail being wrought with pain and covered in gruesome lacerations that cause the tail to hang limply. Alacrán glances at this with a hiss, doing his best to hold back the pain as he hovers and steadies himself in the air.

He returns his attention to the Arrancar and growls as he sends himself flying through the air, disappearing into an Ulcera whilst charging up a Cero between his mandibles. He emerges from the Ulcera right in front of Lepi and releases the Cero at point blank range on Lepi. The Arrancar is caught completely off-guard by this sudden attack from the arachnid and even it's Hierro seems to be no help for it against the destructive power of the Cero. Alacrán doesn't have the chance to capitalize on this is blown back by a sudden burst of energy as a pale blue light as a voice cries out from it, "Shine you're brilliant light, Mosura."

As the light dies down, the beautiful Arrancar has become even more so as their slender form from the neck below is covered in fuzzy scales with two fuzzy antennae jutting out from their forehead. Their hands and feet have all formed into have three digits on each and they also sport a pair of beautiful, fuzzy wings with odd symbol patterns on them. The symbols begin to glow with the same pale blue as earlier and beams of light fire from them. Once their light touches Alacrán's armor, it begins to burn a symbol in the shape of the pattern.

Alacrán looks down at it confused as to what the hell the symbol was since he didn't feel the pain but then Lepi chuckles and he looks up slightly concerned, "You should have taken my offer you stupid bug but don't worry, if you manage to survive this then maybe I'll give you another chance." Before Alacrán could do or say anything else, the symbols on his carapace began to glow and then explode, causing Alacrán to let out a screech of pain and race up into the air. He's soon met by Lepi who smacks him back down into the ground.

Or at least tried to but when their arm smashed into Alacrán's armored body, they hardly had the strength to pull off the feat that they were attempting and ended up bruising their hand quite badly. Alacrán doesn't hesitate as he spins around on the Arrancar and wraps his limb around them, grappling and holding on to them tight before he starts flying as high as he can, slipping into an Ulcera and then starts to charge a Cero between his mandibles, however this one doesn't stay red as a sickly purple out layer begins to engulf the red orb.

Then, without warning, Alacrán let's them fall as they slip out of the Ulcera. Lepi wasn't letting all this happen without a fight of course, as Alacrán's body was riddled with explosions from the odd symbols that were being placed on his body, however it seemed like these explosions were doing more to Lepi than they were to Alacrán. Once they were only several feet from the ground, Alacrán quickly adjusted himself to catch himself as he spread his wings out and slowing his descent while he simultaneously threw the Arrancar into the ground and released the odd Cero at the same time, quite a bit of sand being thrown into the air from the multiple impacts.

As Alacrán landed in the sand, also causing quite a bit of sand to kick up from his impact, he searched for signs of whether the Arrancar was still alive or not. Much to his surprise and somewhat impressed, he saw the silhouette of the Arrancar's figure. The sand settled to reveal that while Lepi was still alive, they did not emerge unscathed, as they're body was somewhat deformed from the corrosive Cero and they were even missing an arm as well as bits of their wing. They growled and they stared down Alacrán and raised what was left of the missing arm, which seemed to be slowly regenerating, "How dare you! I will bot be taken out like this by some stupid beast of a Hollow who doesn't even know it's place! You think you've won yet? Well I'll show you how wrong you ar-"

Alacrán didn't even give them a chance to finish as he dashed towards them, disappearing into an Ulcera once more, while their arm was still regenerating. He knew that they were vulnerable now and this was the only shot he'd have to to finally dispose of them. So when he emerged from the Ulcera, his mandibles were opened wide and he quickly bite down on their neck, ignoring the pain that the action brought upon him as he squeezed with all his might. Lepi didn't even have a chance to scream as the horror of their mistake had hit them and soon that was the only expression stuck on their face as their head become disconnected from their body.

Alacrán tossed the head aside and was quickly tearing what was left of the body apart as he basked in his victory, rejuvenating himself with their corpse. Once he was finished he turned his attention to Odalis to see how she'd faired with her opponents, although he wasn't too worried as the minions seemed to have been much weaker than their master, evident in both their appearance and powers.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Consumed}Class 4 Arrancar x1