12-10-2017, 04:42 PM
As they travelled, his new master had decided to name him. She (he had by this point come to the conclusion that the master and her friend qualified as actual people and thus deserved their gender-specific pronouns) had called him Afrátos... whatever that was supposed to mean. Awkwardly, somewhat afraid of having his arms sliced off with lasers again, he had informed her and her friend that he actually already had a name... or two names, actually; 'the Ceramic Beast', which had been his creator's name for him, and 'China', which had been the one used by anyone who thought the first sounded too long-winded for use in casual conversation... not that he'd ever had a whole lot of that.
Of course, the only thing the new master took from that explanation was that her predecessor had been allowed to decide his name and he had not objected then... so she insisted that his name would now be Afrátos, giving him no say in the matter. For his part, the fast food – who introduced himself as 'Dane Regan' – seemed to simply prefer to refer to him as a 'thing', which China didn't mind all that much; things weren't food, after all, so at least he didn't have to worry that 'Dane' here might try to take a bite out of him if he got hungry at some point.
He then learned that the master was known as 'Clownpiece'. The Ceramic Beast had no idea what a 'clown' was, yet if a being such as she was only a 'piece' of one, he imagined a full clown must truly be a terror to behold, and dearly hoped that he never ran into one.
It wasn't much longer after that that they came across two more foods. For a moment, China broke out in a grin, thinking that they might be about to fight again, though this time he would be on the winning side.
Alas, his hopes were dashed after Dane simply started talking to the pair... well, one of them more than the other. As Clownpiece and China closed in on them, though, he turned pleading eyes upon his master, not wanting to let this chance slip by, “Can me-me eat one? Please-please kind-friendly master?”
“Huh?” frowning, the hell fairy glanced across and down at him; the height at which she was currently flying put her not far above his head, “Why do you need more food?”
“Me staaaarving, master, not-not eating for so much-much long time, will never survive!” though his voice remained in the same breathy whisper as always, the desperation in his tone was plain to hear.
“You're eating right now.” completely deadpan, Clownpiece pointed at the severed leg clutched in one of the Ceramic Beast's left hands.
China looked at it. The limb had been intact up to the top of the thigh when he had first torn it from the corpse to bring along as a snack for their journey, though by now everything above the knee – bone and all – had been consumed. Guiltily, he hid the food behind his back... as if that could somehow cause his master to forget it was there.
“It not-not fresh-new, though. Please let get more yum-yums!?” by the time he said this, though, they had reached the others.
“No! No eating, bad Afrátos!” his new master glared at him, hands on hips.
“You don't let... your pet... eat?” one of the foods asked, seeming shocked, “Why would you do that?”
“Yes-yes,” China moaned quietly, sidling closer to the yum-yum, giving it his closest approximation of a 'puppy-dog eyes' expression, “so sad, me not get-get foods ever... so much hungry. Please let eat.”
“Aw, pauvre chose...” the yum-yum reached out, as if to give him a hug, and China smiled. His mouth formed on his face, but he chose not to open it, realising that the sight of the vast, fang-filled maw would likely intimidate his prey. Instead, it looked simply like a long, curved line in the ceramic surface... a nice, cheery smile.
It seemed like its guard was well and truly down. It would take just a second for him to sever its jugular, he was sure. China's fingers flexed, all except those still holding the old food behind his back; something else that would likely panic this one, should it catch a glimpse of it. As soon as the prey embraced him, he would act.
At the last moment, though, the two-legs food was yanked backwards by Dane. One appendage lashed out after it, but the master's friend had anticipated this reaction, so had acted quickly enough to be sure the razor-sharp claws would pass harmlessly through thin air.
For a moment, the Ceramic Beast forgot his situation and hissed in annoyance, his eyes narrowing and mouth twisting up into a snarl as he glared at the evil food thief.
Then he remembered. By that point, though, he had lost his chance to move; the swordsman was already in front of him, his expression wrathful. China leaned back sharply, trying to put as much distance as he could manage between Dane and himself, turning his eyes pleadingly upon his master, only to find her looking just as mad.
At least, for a second or so, before a sudden look of shock crossed her face. An instant later, before he had even had time to wonder what this could mean, he heard a loud shattering sound and half his vision went dark, as he was thrown to the ground.
“What the hell, Dane!?” Clownpiece yelled incredulously.
Letting out a wheezing cry of his own, the injured Prime rolled onto his front, dropping the severed human leg in his panic; leaving it lying on the ground, in full view of the two yum-yums. Attempting to scramble away before he was attacked again, a hand clutching the side of his face where one eye – along with much of the upper-left portion of his head – had been caved in by the man's punch.
Only after having rushed behind the hell fairy and pulled her down to the ground so that he could cower behind her like she was some sort of shield, did the Beast look back at his attacker.
Dane's expression had calmed, though his voice remained harsh when he responded to the master's question, “You said you could keep it under control, remember? If you can't stop it from attacking every random person we meet, it's going to have to be put down.”
“Nooo,” China moaned, pressing his face into the fairy's back, in a childlike attempt at hiding... if he couldn't see the fast one, then the fast one couldn't see him, right? “Me be much good-good, please not hit-hit!”
Of course, the only thing the new master took from that explanation was that her predecessor had been allowed to decide his name and he had not objected then... so she insisted that his name would now be Afrátos, giving him no say in the matter. For his part, the fast food – who introduced himself as 'Dane Regan' – seemed to simply prefer to refer to him as a 'thing', which China didn't mind all that much; things weren't food, after all, so at least he didn't have to worry that 'Dane' here might try to take a bite out of him if he got hungry at some point.
He then learned that the master was known as 'Clownpiece'. The Ceramic Beast had no idea what a 'clown' was, yet if a being such as she was only a 'piece' of one, he imagined a full clown must truly be a terror to behold, and dearly hoped that he never ran into one.
It wasn't much longer after that that they came across two more foods. For a moment, China broke out in a grin, thinking that they might be about to fight again, though this time he would be on the winning side.
Alas, his hopes were dashed after Dane simply started talking to the pair... well, one of them more than the other. As Clownpiece and China closed in on them, though, he turned pleading eyes upon his master, not wanting to let this chance slip by, “Can me-me eat one? Please-please kind-friendly master?”
“Huh?” frowning, the hell fairy glanced across and down at him; the height at which she was currently flying put her not far above his head, “Why do you need more food?”
“Me staaaarving, master, not-not eating for so much-much long time, will never survive!” though his voice remained in the same breathy whisper as always, the desperation in his tone was plain to hear.
“You're eating right now.” completely deadpan, Clownpiece pointed at the severed leg clutched in one of the Ceramic Beast's left hands.
China looked at it. The limb had been intact up to the top of the thigh when he had first torn it from the corpse to bring along as a snack for their journey, though by now everything above the knee – bone and all – had been consumed. Guiltily, he hid the food behind his back... as if that could somehow cause his master to forget it was there.
“It not-not fresh-new, though. Please let get more yum-yums!?” by the time he said this, though, they had reached the others.
“No! No eating, bad Afrátos!” his new master glared at him, hands on hips.
“You don't let... your pet... eat?” one of the foods asked, seeming shocked, “Why would you do that?”
“Yes-yes,” China moaned quietly, sidling closer to the yum-yum, giving it his closest approximation of a 'puppy-dog eyes' expression, “so sad, me not get-get foods ever... so much hungry. Please let eat.”
“Aw, pauvre chose...” the yum-yum reached out, as if to give him a hug, and China smiled. His mouth formed on his face, but he chose not to open it, realising that the sight of the vast, fang-filled maw would likely intimidate his prey. Instead, it looked simply like a long, curved line in the ceramic surface... a nice, cheery smile.
It seemed like its guard was well and truly down. It would take just a second for him to sever its jugular, he was sure. China's fingers flexed, all except those still holding the old food behind his back; something else that would likely panic this one, should it catch a glimpse of it. As soon as the prey embraced him, he would act.
At the last moment, though, the two-legs food was yanked backwards by Dane. One appendage lashed out after it, but the master's friend had anticipated this reaction, so had acted quickly enough to be sure the razor-sharp claws would pass harmlessly through thin air.
For a moment, the Ceramic Beast forgot his situation and hissed in annoyance, his eyes narrowing and mouth twisting up into a snarl as he glared at the evil food thief.
Then he remembered. By that point, though, he had lost his chance to move; the swordsman was already in front of him, his expression wrathful. China leaned back sharply, trying to put as much distance as he could manage between Dane and himself, turning his eyes pleadingly upon his master, only to find her looking just as mad.
At least, for a second or so, before a sudden look of shock crossed her face. An instant later, before he had even had time to wonder what this could mean, he heard a loud shattering sound and half his vision went dark, as he was thrown to the ground.
“What the hell, Dane!?” Clownpiece yelled incredulously.
Letting out a wheezing cry of his own, the injured Prime rolled onto his front, dropping the severed human leg in his panic; leaving it lying on the ground, in full view of the two yum-yums. Attempting to scramble away before he was attacked again, a hand clutching the side of his face where one eye – along with much of the upper-left portion of his head – had been caved in by the man's punch.
Only after having rushed behind the hell fairy and pulled her down to the ground so that he could cower behind her like she was some sort of shield, did the Beast look back at his attacker.
Dane's expression had calmed, though his voice remained harsh when he responded to the master's question, “You said you could keep it under control, remember? If you can't stop it from attacking every random person we meet, it's going to have to be put down.”
“Nooo,” China moaned, pressing his face into the fairy's back, in a childlike attempt at hiding... if he couldn't see the fast one, then the fast one couldn't see him, right? “Me be much good-good, please not hit-hit!”
![[Image: chinasig3.png]](https://image.ibb.co/gG00sd/chinasig3.png)