Post by Eurynomos on Nov 13, 2016 10:10:53 GMT -5
Hollow - Adjuchas
Basic Information
Name: Eurynomos
Age/Apparent Age: 227/Early-Twenties
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Pansexual
Rank/Position: Homegrown, Free Ranged, Adjuchas Hollow
Languages: English and Gaelic (Spoken only), French, Japanese
Height and Weight: 9'7", 935 lbs (Approximately)
Hair and Eye Color: Pale, almost white, sky blue eyes, with black scleras. His hair is thick, platinum white and grown long to the shoulders.
Voice: Eurynomos has a rather smooth deep set voice, that is most of the time cheerful and melodious. It really is quite the charming voice, that would appropriately belong to a frequently smiling face, with a chuckle not far from the lips. It also has a vicious streak to it however, a stark contrast when it turns more sour and cruel, as it does when Eurynomos is displeased. In these instances, we almost hear a violent and threatening growl at the back of the throat, subtly there behind the rest of his clear and precise words.
Physical Appearance
Description:
Though most of the time, Eurynomos assumes a large humanoid shape, as tall as just previously mentioned (9'7”), this is merely a shape that he choses to contort himself into on a regular basis. When seen unfurled, we see that his body actually more closely resembles that of a Mimic Octopus, as found in nature, albeit much larger. His tentacle appendages - approximately a foot in width at their base - extend just over twenty feet and come to a smooth rounded edge roughly only half an inch wide. When fully unfurled, splayed out from tip to tip, Eurynomos has a full length of roughly fifty feet. Just as with the Mimic Octopus, Eurynomos is capable of expanding or contracting his tendrils to freely adjust their girth, able, in full, to extend nearly the whole foot width, as found near the base of his limbs, to their entire length. Not that he usually goes that far. The suction cups on the underside stretch out and adjust accordingly. As one might assume, these appendages are extremely flexible while, at the same time, capable of moving and striking with the full level of strength and speed that Eurynomos possesses.
To appear as he usually does, Eurynomos wraps around himself the multitude - there must be at least a dozen - of tentacles and more flexible, octopus like parts of his body. The top side of Eurynomos's body has quite the striking pattern of dark and light stripes across its entire length. So when in his usual, approximately, humanoid form, Eurynomos appears extremely bulky and 'muscular', with that strange striped, but in this case, disjointed pattern of black and white all over his body. Given how he is more like an octopus than anything else, despite the way he usually chooses to look, it should also be said that Eurynomos is, indeed, semi aquatic in nature. His form is usually quite moist, and while he can do just fine on dry land for days or even weeks on end, it is safe to say that he enjoys a good soak every now and then.
At the centre of the underside of Eurynomos's body, we have a more vulnerable area that houses a roughly human shaped and sized body protruding from the octopus's main body. When unfurled to reveal the 'naked' form of his smaller, more closely guarded body, we see physically the shape of a man, definitely a man, from which we have an apparent age, which is likely by no means accurate. It is on this part of his body that his mask sits. When in his usual, wrapped up and largely 'humanoid' form, his more octopus like parts curl around himself like an enormous body suit, save from the tips of his toes, touching the ground, which we see protruding from out the centre of two tentacles that split, one forward one back, to form his 'feet', Eurynomos's head is the only part of this 'human' body we see. Some four feet or so distance below the headless 'shoulder line', we see protruding from the 'chest', and mass of black and white 'muscles', a somewhat smaller looking human sized and shaped head, covered in a Hollow mask. While we see no visible neck, that part kept guarded, we do still have the fullness of his chin, and it would seem that he is capable of moving about and posing his head, to look about him and see as most could.
This humanoid growth we see embedded in the rest of Eurynomos's form, is slightly elongated and a little underweight, but otherwise quite nicely toned, approximately five and a half feet in height. The back of his torso, upper arms, and thighs - but not his actual posterior - are the parts that grow seamlessly into the rest of his octopus like body. Like a backdrop to this human body, his octopus main body exceeds the width and height of this humanoid by a couple of feet or so and he can only just, by reaching his arms back roughly 10 degrees, grip the sides of it with his finger tips. His Hollow hole is here on this part of him also, just at the bottom of the throat, just on and above the collarbone. The hole comes out through the back of the neck, just above where his form links up to that of the more octopus part of him. His hands only have two fingers and a thumb, instead of the usual five digits. There is no hair anywhere on him, aside from on top of his head. Apart from all the things mentioned, the only oddity of Eurynomos's more human shaped body is the complexion of his skin. While still technically pink, the exact colour of it, and the smoothness, makes this part of his body seem more like the inside of a mollusc. It should also be noted that this is the same colour as the suction caps that line the underside of his tentacles. In comparison to the black and white striped pattern, which his pink skin gives way to not far from where his human like body links up to the rest of his form, this part of his body looks rather vulnerable and exposed, and the whole of the thing is, indeed, a more sensitive part of him, capable of experiencing greater pain and pleasure than anywhere else.
To appear as he usually does, Eurynomos wraps around himself the multitude - there must be at least a dozen - of tentacles and more flexible, octopus like parts of his body. The top side of Eurynomos's body has quite the striking pattern of dark and light stripes across its entire length. So when in his usual, approximately, humanoid form, Eurynomos appears extremely bulky and 'muscular', with that strange striped, but in this case, disjointed pattern of black and white all over his body. Given how he is more like an octopus than anything else, despite the way he usually chooses to look, it should also be said that Eurynomos is, indeed, semi aquatic in nature. His form is usually quite moist, and while he can do just fine on dry land for days or even weeks on end, it is safe to say that he enjoys a good soak every now and then.
At the centre of the underside of Eurynomos's body, we have a more vulnerable area that houses a roughly human shaped and sized body protruding from the octopus's main body. When unfurled to reveal the 'naked' form of his smaller, more closely guarded body, we see physically the shape of a man, definitely a man, from which we have an apparent age, which is likely by no means accurate. It is on this part of his body that his mask sits. When in his usual, wrapped up and largely 'humanoid' form, his more octopus like parts curl around himself like an enormous body suit, save from the tips of his toes, touching the ground, which we see protruding from out the centre of two tentacles that split, one forward one back, to form his 'feet', Eurynomos's head is the only part of this 'human' body we see. Some four feet or so distance below the headless 'shoulder line', we see protruding from the 'chest', and mass of black and white 'muscles', a somewhat smaller looking human sized and shaped head, covered in a Hollow mask. While we see no visible neck, that part kept guarded, we do still have the fullness of his chin, and it would seem that he is capable of moving about and posing his head, to look about him and see as most could.
This humanoid growth we see embedded in the rest of Eurynomos's form, is slightly elongated and a little underweight, but otherwise quite nicely toned, approximately five and a half feet in height. The back of his torso, upper arms, and thighs - but not his actual posterior - are the parts that grow seamlessly into the rest of his octopus like body. Like a backdrop to this human body, his octopus main body exceeds the width and height of this humanoid by a couple of feet or so and he can only just, by reaching his arms back roughly 10 degrees, grip the sides of it with his finger tips. His Hollow hole is here on this part of him also, just at the bottom of the throat, just on and above the collarbone. The hole comes out through the back of the neck, just above where his form links up to that of the more octopus part of him. His hands only have two fingers and a thumb, instead of the usual five digits. There is no hair anywhere on him, aside from on top of his head. Apart from all the things mentioned, the only oddity of Eurynomos's more human shaped body is the complexion of his skin. While still technically pink, the exact colour of it, and the smoothness, makes this part of his body seem more like the inside of a mollusc. It should also be noted that this is the same colour as the suction caps that line the underside of his tentacles. In comparison to the black and white striped pattern, which his pink skin gives way to not far from where his human like body links up to the rest of his form, this part of his body looks rather vulnerable and exposed, and the whole of the thing is, indeed, a more sensitive part of him, capable of experiencing greater pain and pleasure than anywhere else.
Mask Description:
Eurynomos's mask is a mess of what appear to be black claw marks, and from their directionality, self inflicted ones, that run across the usual smooth white porcelein like base. From the triangular eye slits, through which we see Euynomos's almost human eyes, we see a pair of red trails, like the aftermath of tears, going down approximately two inches. Consuming most of the human like head on Eurynomos, save for the top from where we see his hair grow, the mask goes all the way around, covering the underside of his chin and stopping just short of where the hair line lies on the back of the head and neck. His ears, within the mask, though his hearing is in no way muffled, appear only as a couple of soft round mounds on the side of the head. The mouth of this mask opens up with vastly jagged edges, like a single set of extremely pointed and sharp fangs, a little way behind which we have a more human sized and shaped mouth that opens as much and as wide as the mouth on the mask. With this extra tooth set he is capable of digging in and tearing loose large chunks of flesh, forced back by an inordinately long tongue into his mouth where it is chewed and swallowed.
Spiritual Description:
The Reiatsu of Eurynomos is a deep, dark lilac which, on its edges, or at its thinnest, gives way to lighter shades of purple before eventually progressing to a sandy brown/gold. In its natural state, Eurynomos's energy has a sparse, empty feel to it, as if one were in a place where the air was thin. It wouldn't exactly be cold, but it would be a slightly cooler than whatever temperature is naturally present. However, more so than most, this Hollow's Reiatsu changes drastically with the changing of his moods. It grows sharp and vicious, when he grows angry or irritated, soft, warm and thicker aired when he's happy and content. When it overwhelms an area, immersing everyone there within his spiritual pressure, it tints everything a slight rosy purple colour, with pools of shimmering gold settling in shallow puddles in dips and creases and minor shadows, remaining there even if a stronger power comes along to disperse the rest of the purple haze. Like oil, his energy is smooth and slick, lingering in the places it has been.
History
Snapshots:
Born Nathan, in South Wales (1789)
Conscripted into the British Army, Napoleonic Wars, (1808)
Died in France (1811)
Met Cloe (1935)
Became a Hollow, Eurynomos, near the end of the Second World War (1944)
Was drawn to the Forest of the Menos (1953)
Became a Menos (1954)
Became an Adjuchas (1963)
Met Persephone (1972)
Persphone 'Dies' (2014)
Began anew his pursuit of high Reiatsu targets (2016)
Origin:
Human Life and Death
~ The day was beautiful. The hill, gentle sloped and green. There's a thin layer of moisture from the morning's dew still on the grass, enough to leave wet patches on a person's socks, but not to make the soil as treacherous and slippery as mud. A handful of youths, of various ages, the village's children, are at play. The oldest of them couldn't have been much older than twelve but, as the eldest, she was the one in charge, the coordinator, the responsible one. This high position however, was not sufficient enough for the young girl to go against what she'd been told, which was to stay away from that 'Nathan boy'. It wasn't enough to have her escape the frame of mind that was held by most of the adults, and as such, the assumptions passed on to all the children. Like all of them, she imagined Nathan to be a small, miserable and somehow diseased little creature, not so much a child or a person as perhaps, in her child's imagination, some sort of goblin thing. He was ten, and needed friends just as much as the other children that were there, some of them younger than him. Instead though, he sat down by the stream, some distance away, alone, watching the water go by. ~
Eurynomos was born in a small remote village in the south of Wales during the late eighteenth century, just over a decade or so before the start of the Napoleonic Wars. At that time, before becoming a Hollow, he was simply a boy by the name of Nathan, who lived a relatively isolated life, an only child and son to a pair of pariahs. Being the bastard son of a tavern drunk and a whore from the city, Nathan was not exactly born of the finest pedigree. While his father had been in possession of some amount of money, the son of one of the more wealthy black marketeers in Cardiff, that mostly evaporated when he had to - mostly on the insistence of his father and his father's criminal peers, minor low level crime bosses - buy his way out. Taking his pregnant 'wife' with him, out to the country, they weren't exactly the most welcome of additions to the village.
Nathan's father, not trained in any real craft or accustomed to labour, served for a time as a poor and somewhat incompetent apprentice to the local blacksmith. Though he apparently earned very little, he still had, it seems, enough to drown himself in the local ale. In the end, Nathan's father wasn't around for long to leech off whoever it was he'd doubtlessly found to support his alcoholism. He began to succumb to a degenerating illness that pushed him further into decline, and was dead not that long after Nathan's fourth birthday. In the end, not only was he often, nearly constantly, in a state of intoxication, but he was, more often than not, soiled, dribbling, belligerent, as well as somewhat insane and incomprehensible, not making him the most popular person among the locals.
Not proficient with any other particular skills, and with little to no help from her 'husband', Nathan's mother had virtually no other way to obtain what she needed to raise her child, and see that he was fed and clothed. While she got her fair share of vengeful looks from the local wives, as did the men of the village who gave her any kind of look, she found a few men here and there, some married, who were willing to spare her food or left over clothing, in return for some other 'favours'. While she would still be alive, longer than Nathan himself would be, she never really left the village, eventually dying a sad and lonely old widow, kept alive, as long as she was, by the pity of the locals.
It wasn't until Nathan grew older, into his later teen years, that he was able to find any 'friends'. Even then, he was not exactly a part of the group. He was the butt of the jokes, a pity case who took the abuse in exchange for company. It was in this time that he learnt to be his cheerful self, laughing along with it all. He even got to the point where he could make a fool of himself, on purpose, merely for the attention, or alternatively, to try and satisfy his peer's desire for a laugh in a way he could control. This didn't stop the continuation of some of the other 'jokes' that continued to take place, though he did perhaps experience a lessening in their frequency.
Eventually Nathan, having managed to survive his earlier years, grew to be a young adult. By this time the war against Napoleon Bonaparte had begun and recruitment patrols would come by the village. While not all of Nathan's 'friends' would go off to war, not all of them old enough, Nathan would leave home. In the hopes of leaving the social stigma he had to live with his whole life, and seduced by the usual promises provided by the recruiting soldiers, Nathan was relatively quick to sign up.
Surrounded now by people other than those that knew him from his home village, Nathan got to experience a semblance of normalcy - as best as a person like him could manage - in his human interactions during basic training. It would however be largely overshadowed by the military drilling. Among the other soldiers, Nathan tried to help maintain a cheerfulness. While some might see it as an attempt to keep up morale, a lot would see, in time, that Nathan's motives were entirely self serving. Despite the hardships, Nathan was finally getting to be happy, and he'd be damned if he was going to miss a minute of it. As such, he'd always invite them for another drink, or for some foolish adventure out into the whore pits, always for the next laugh, happy to be around other happy people and getting along well with them, but not actually caring that much for their well being. If someone was sad and upset, he'd do his best to try and cheer them up, naturally, but he'd do so with a callousness. Though he'd be all smiles at first, he would only be frustrated and upset at these people if they weren't co-operating. If they adamantly refused to give up on grief, for say a fallen comrade that'd only died a few hours ago, or something similar, he just wouldn't understand, though he'd forgive them soon enough, until they refused him again. The flip side of this was, when he was upset or afraid, he'd practically demand the sympathy of those around him.
In the end, Nathan's life would not come to an end on the battlefield. Instead, it'd be after a night of particularly heavy drinking after a decisive victory reclaiming a city from the 'vile' French Imperial Army. Though his memory of the events had been foggy, he'd just about recall the girl. Here she was, the following morning, with her father. She claimed that Nathan had forced himself on her. Apparently he hadn't been 'welcome' enough, with her. Usually the girls liked a guy in uniform, or so he'd found before now. He didn't even know what she had to complain about. He'd certainly enjoyed himself, he could remember that much. And, when it came down to it, why wouldn't she have had fun? He was attractive, a brave soldier boy. He knew he was skilled. He'd been at least witness to these sorts of things since he was a child. The accusations were brought the ways of his superiors and the thing that shocked him was the lack of response from his comrades. Here were the people he'd fought alongside, gone through the whole grueling training process with, bought them drinks, been their friend, and not one came to his defence. After a relatively short drum head trial, Nathan was brought to the gallows and hanged.
For many years, Nathan wondered as a spirit, marching across the landscape in his red soldier's uniform. While at first, he suffered in the changing of the seasons, shivering in the cold of winter, forced to endure the rain and elements, or else to seek shelter, the longer he spent as a disembodied soul, the more he grew indifferent to such factors. No longer able to interact with the living among whom he walked, Nathan was once more, alone. In vain, he tried, almost as he had done in his youth, to somehow preserve his sanity by surrounding himself with people. Keeping that smile of his, and forcing upon himself a cheerful disposition, he'd spend his time around any place where there would be joyous people, wherever there was laughter or other expressions of human delight. He'd haunt homes, taverns and whore pits, though not that last one so much. More so than any other activity, the pain of being only able to watch sex and not participate was hard to ignore, not to mention certain childhood memories it invoked. In his mind he tried to imagine himself a part of all the other warm happening, so that he himself could be happy. However, in time, he'd begin to realise how hollow and empty it was. While he'd still do it, time and again, out of habit, or desperation, and find himself smiling at first, the return of his sinking loneliness would become all the more swift with every day. The time he could spend trying to cheer himself up, by surrounding himself with others, each day, grew shorter and shorter, as did, subsequently, the chain dangling from his chest.
In time he'd become more and more resentful of the living. Though he never really got to the point where he took pleasure from any serious sorrow, someone's pain or a person's death, he'd begun to take some joy in watching the minor mishaps. For example, he'd laugh at the spectacle of a rich gentleman with his coat tails locked in the door of his house, swearing quite the vocabulary, unbecoming a man of his stature, as he tried to free himself. However, the entertainment would come to an end when the same gentleman in question had their coat rip and suddenly launched themselves, head first, into the spiked railing around his home. He wasn't upset by such a sight, but it would cease to be funny at that point. Of course, he would still go to the local bars and taverns, give a cursory inspection of any festivals, parties, balls or other social gatherings that were taking place.
Eventually, even though he was just a Plus, he'd begin to learn how to make little movements here and there, a dislodged pebble on the road, a glass bottle sent into motion rolling down the street. He'd also spend most of his years there, in the country of France, learning their spoken language. As the years went by, Nathan managed to work his way up from disembodied spirit to mischievous poltergeist, his spiritual powers and reiatsu levels subsequently growing. His capacity to entertain himself would be elevated, a flicked up skirt here, a spilt drink there, a surreptitiously pinched behind, for either gender, as any two people passed close to one another in the streets. For over a century, this was how he passed his time, though he was unable to make much more than these small changes to the physical world. For a century, he would wander.
~ The day was beautiful. The hill, gentle sloped and green. There's a thin layer of moisture from the morning's dew still on the grass, enough to leave wet patches on a person's socks, but not to make the soil as treacherous and slippery as mud. A handful of youths, of various ages, the village's children, are at play. The oldest of them couldn't have been much older than twelve but, as the eldest, she was the one in charge, the coordinator, the responsible one. This high position however, was not sufficient enough for the young girl to go against what she'd been told, which was to stay away from that 'Nathan boy'. It wasn't enough to have her escape the frame of mind that was held by most of the adults, and as such, the assumptions passed on to all the children. Like all of them, she imagined Nathan to be a small, miserable and somehow diseased little creature, not so much a child or a person as perhaps, in her child's imagination, some sort of goblin thing. He was ten, and needed friends just as much as the other children that were there, some of them younger than him. Instead though, he sat down by the stream, some distance away, alone, watching the water go by. ~
Eurynomos was born in a small remote village in the south of Wales during the late eighteenth century, just over a decade or so before the start of the Napoleonic Wars. At that time, before becoming a Hollow, he was simply a boy by the name of Nathan, who lived a relatively isolated life, an only child and son to a pair of pariahs. Being the bastard son of a tavern drunk and a whore from the city, Nathan was not exactly born of the finest pedigree. While his father had been in possession of some amount of money, the son of one of the more wealthy black marketeers in Cardiff, that mostly evaporated when he had to - mostly on the insistence of his father and his father's criminal peers, minor low level crime bosses - buy his way out. Taking his pregnant 'wife' with him, out to the country, they weren't exactly the most welcome of additions to the village.
Nathan's father, not trained in any real craft or accustomed to labour, served for a time as a poor and somewhat incompetent apprentice to the local blacksmith. Though he apparently earned very little, he still had, it seems, enough to drown himself in the local ale. In the end, Nathan's father wasn't around for long to leech off whoever it was he'd doubtlessly found to support his alcoholism. He began to succumb to a degenerating illness that pushed him further into decline, and was dead not that long after Nathan's fourth birthday. In the end, not only was he often, nearly constantly, in a state of intoxication, but he was, more often than not, soiled, dribbling, belligerent, as well as somewhat insane and incomprehensible, not making him the most popular person among the locals.
Not proficient with any other particular skills, and with little to no help from her 'husband', Nathan's mother had virtually no other way to obtain what she needed to raise her child, and see that he was fed and clothed. While she got her fair share of vengeful looks from the local wives, as did the men of the village who gave her any kind of look, she found a few men here and there, some married, who were willing to spare her food or left over clothing, in return for some other 'favours'. While she would still be alive, longer than Nathan himself would be, she never really left the village, eventually dying a sad and lonely old widow, kept alive, as long as she was, by the pity of the locals.
It wasn't until Nathan grew older, into his later teen years, that he was able to find any 'friends'. Even then, he was not exactly a part of the group. He was the butt of the jokes, a pity case who took the abuse in exchange for company. It was in this time that he learnt to be his cheerful self, laughing along with it all. He even got to the point where he could make a fool of himself, on purpose, merely for the attention, or alternatively, to try and satisfy his peer's desire for a laugh in a way he could control. This didn't stop the continuation of some of the other 'jokes' that continued to take place, though he did perhaps experience a lessening in their frequency.
Eventually Nathan, having managed to survive his earlier years, grew to be a young adult. By this time the war against Napoleon Bonaparte had begun and recruitment patrols would come by the village. While not all of Nathan's 'friends' would go off to war, not all of them old enough, Nathan would leave home. In the hopes of leaving the social stigma he had to live with his whole life, and seduced by the usual promises provided by the recruiting soldiers, Nathan was relatively quick to sign up.
Surrounded now by people other than those that knew him from his home village, Nathan got to experience a semblance of normalcy - as best as a person like him could manage - in his human interactions during basic training. It would however be largely overshadowed by the military drilling. Among the other soldiers, Nathan tried to help maintain a cheerfulness. While some might see it as an attempt to keep up morale, a lot would see, in time, that Nathan's motives were entirely self serving. Despite the hardships, Nathan was finally getting to be happy, and he'd be damned if he was going to miss a minute of it. As such, he'd always invite them for another drink, or for some foolish adventure out into the whore pits, always for the next laugh, happy to be around other happy people and getting along well with them, but not actually caring that much for their well being. If someone was sad and upset, he'd do his best to try and cheer them up, naturally, but he'd do so with a callousness. Though he'd be all smiles at first, he would only be frustrated and upset at these people if they weren't co-operating. If they adamantly refused to give up on grief, for say a fallen comrade that'd only died a few hours ago, or something similar, he just wouldn't understand, though he'd forgive them soon enough, until they refused him again. The flip side of this was, when he was upset or afraid, he'd practically demand the sympathy of those around him.
In the end, Nathan's life would not come to an end on the battlefield. Instead, it'd be after a night of particularly heavy drinking after a decisive victory reclaiming a city from the 'vile' French Imperial Army. Though his memory of the events had been foggy, he'd just about recall the girl. Here she was, the following morning, with her father. She claimed that Nathan had forced himself on her. Apparently he hadn't been 'welcome' enough, with her. Usually the girls liked a guy in uniform, or so he'd found before now. He didn't even know what she had to complain about. He'd certainly enjoyed himself, he could remember that much. And, when it came down to it, why wouldn't she have had fun? He was attractive, a brave soldier boy. He knew he was skilled. He'd been at least witness to these sorts of things since he was a child. The accusations were brought the ways of his superiors and the thing that shocked him was the lack of response from his comrades. Here were the people he'd fought alongside, gone through the whole grueling training process with, bought them drinks, been their friend, and not one came to his defence. After a relatively short drum head trial, Nathan was brought to the gallows and hanged.
For many years, Nathan wondered as a spirit, marching across the landscape in his red soldier's uniform. While at first, he suffered in the changing of the seasons, shivering in the cold of winter, forced to endure the rain and elements, or else to seek shelter, the longer he spent as a disembodied soul, the more he grew indifferent to such factors. No longer able to interact with the living among whom he walked, Nathan was once more, alone. In vain, he tried, almost as he had done in his youth, to somehow preserve his sanity by surrounding himself with people. Keeping that smile of his, and forcing upon himself a cheerful disposition, he'd spend his time around any place where there would be joyous people, wherever there was laughter or other expressions of human delight. He'd haunt homes, taverns and whore pits, though not that last one so much. More so than any other activity, the pain of being only able to watch sex and not participate was hard to ignore, not to mention certain childhood memories it invoked. In his mind he tried to imagine himself a part of all the other warm happening, so that he himself could be happy. However, in time, he'd begin to realise how hollow and empty it was. While he'd still do it, time and again, out of habit, or desperation, and find himself smiling at first, the return of his sinking loneliness would become all the more swift with every day. The time he could spend trying to cheer himself up, by surrounding himself with others, each day, grew shorter and shorter, as did, subsequently, the chain dangling from his chest.
In time he'd become more and more resentful of the living. Though he never really got to the point where he took pleasure from any serious sorrow, someone's pain or a person's death, he'd begun to take some joy in watching the minor mishaps. For example, he'd laugh at the spectacle of a rich gentleman with his coat tails locked in the door of his house, swearing quite the vocabulary, unbecoming a man of his stature, as he tried to free himself. However, the entertainment would come to an end when the same gentleman in question had their coat rip and suddenly launched themselves, head first, into the spiked railing around his home. He wasn't upset by such a sight, but it would cease to be funny at that point. Of course, he would still go to the local bars and taverns, give a cursory inspection of any festivals, parties, balls or other social gatherings that were taking place.
Eventually, even though he was just a Plus, he'd begin to learn how to make little movements here and there, a dislodged pebble on the road, a glass bottle sent into motion rolling down the street. He'd also spend most of his years there, in the country of France, learning their spoken language. As the years went by, Nathan managed to work his way up from disembodied spirit to mischievous poltergeist, his spiritual powers and reiatsu levels subsequently growing. His capacity to entertain himself would be elevated, a flicked up skirt here, a spilt drink there, a surreptitiously pinched behind, for either gender, as any two people passed close to one another in the streets. For over a century, this was how he passed his time, though he was unable to make much more than these small changes to the physical world. For a century, he would wander.
Rise to Power:
Plus Existence and Hollowfication
~ Heavy soldier's boots following behind a pair of delicate slippers, two wildly dissimilar figures ascend a narrow staircase together. Keeping close, but not too close, to a young girl, maybe fourteen, dark hair and gentle features, was a man in uniform. From his appearance we could see that he'd belonged to an era, now long gone, and from his chest hung a metal chain, only a few links left now. She carried in her arms a package, in which there would be a new dress, and as they walked together, towards her room, the two of them would speak excitedly to one another. There was a festival taking place soon, and there was so much intrigue and wild goings on among the town that just had to be discussed. His accent was slightly odd, and she knew that this ghost that she'd found was not from France, as she was. Nonetheless, they'd known each other now for quite some time, and while he'd told her what he looked like, and where he was from - though he was a little evasive on the details of how he'd died - it did not frighten her to know that she had following her a foreign soldier from a distant land. The two of them continued to speak right up until they were in her bedroom. She'd laid down the new dress on the bed, had opened up the package, still talking about what appeared to be coconut shy that someone seemed to be setting up on one of the stalls, reached up to her shoulder of her current dress and...
"Oh."
She stopped, blushing slightly. Being so young, she had not thought about it until just then, but... he was a man afterall.
"Ah...erm... excuse me, Monsieur, would you mind turning around?"
Of course, she'd thought of asking him to leave her room entirely, but that seemed somewhat rude. Also, the door was closed now and, given that he could not open it himself, she'd have to go across the room to get the door for him. He obviously could walk through it, but it'd be unkind to force him to have to do that. But in the end, what harm could he do? He was only a ghost after all. She was in a bit of a hurry, the festival starting soon. Not to mention that she was... slightly... fond of him. She knew that he was a gentleman, although, being unable to see him, with only enough spiritual awareness to hear his voice, she had no way of knowing if he was actually doing as she'd asked.
Oddly enough, given the advantage that he had in this situation, and the sort of man he was, he would actually do as she asked, turning his back. He wasn't really all the interested in children. The whole situation had caught him somewhat off guard, flat footed. It was endearing, in a way. Did she actually think him tempted? Oh, Cloe, how you're growing up. He had known her since she was twelve, she was and might always be, just that little girl he knew, Cloe. It had come as a bit of a shock really. To think she was actually old enough now to be aware of the gazes of others upon her. They grow up so fast. Of course, it'd occurred to him before now, if he was a boy of the village, the same age as her, how lucky he'd be to have her as such a close companion. However, he was a man, she was a child. Maybe when she'd grown up, but even then, it'd be hard to shake, the age difference...
"All right, Monsieur, you can turn around now."
He would do so, and what a startling sight she was. Her dark hair curled slightly on her shoulders. The dress was a striking colour of royal blue. It flowed quite fittingly to her body and, while not putting anything on display, it was not made to hide any of the 'developments' to her form that had recently begun. Despite all that though, if she hadn't asked him to turn around, he might never have noticed that she was becoming a woman. He hesitated. It appeared that he was going to have to be careful from here on, make sure to knock whenever he came in, give her a bit more privacy now and then. It was a pain, but he'd have to acknowledge that aspect to her now, although it seemed so strange. He just had to hope that, if she were to attract a local boy, she'd still have time for him.
"You look lovely, Cloe."
She smiled.~
It wasn't until some time just before the Second World War, that Nathan came across a young girl by the name of Cloe who, in turn, much to his surprise, was spiritually aware enough to hear him. Only twelve when he first met her, she was a bit too young, even for his tastes. The relationship would be pretty innocent first, though it'd be forced to undergo changes as she grew older. As a child, she was gentle kind and sweet. She taught Nathan how to read, in French since she didn't know any English, and simply thought it silly that this boy from the Welsh village didn't know how already. Everyone these days could read. Though overjoyed at finally having someone to talk to after all these years, he was careful, burdened with caution, so afraid of what would happen if he scared her away. His first encounter with her had been brief, and in some ways he'd been doubtful if she could really hear him. She'd gone her way and he'd gone his and it was only by chance that he would meet her again. While he'd only intended to spend a brief time in this little French town, some distance away from where he'd been killed, encountering Cloe again would ensure a more lengthy stay from this wandering spirit.
He'd been spending some time amusing himself, watching an old woman struggling up a set of stone stairs leading up away from a local canal. She was old and out there alone, far from anyone, save for a chance passerby, and they were rare and far between. He'd sat with her for a time and watched her feeding ducks, then as she'd been going home, he'd noticed that there might be some fun to have as her old withered body tried to transverse the stairs. Tipping her purse, he spread across his lips a slight smile as she fretted, some of her belongings spilling onto the stairs, a small something, he didn't quite see what, bouncing away and into the water. This was entertaining for some time, until she slipped and fell and was thus no longer amusing to him. She lay there, possibly with a broken hip, crying out weakly, and not all that loudly, for help. He'd taken a cursory glance around, there was nobody nearby, and there'd likely be none for quite some time. It was autumn and the day was getting colder. Well... there was nothing he could do, so he left.
This is worth mentioning because, on returning to town, he'd find himself seeing once more, that curious little girl who had, seemingly, been able to hear him some time ago. Of course he'd had his doubts, but the prospect of having finally met someone he could talk to, had made him happy, had given him hope. So he'd once more approach her, speak, and, from how she reacted, though she seemed slightly confused at first, it was apparent that she could indeed hear him. Then what? He'd ponder. This is when a stroke of inspiration came to him and he remembered the old lady. Though he'd had no care for the woman, he had a chance to put himself on good terms with this little girl. Speaking to her, he'd tell of the tragic tale, a dear, kind old woman fallen on some steps by the canal, where she'd been feeding ducklings not far from here, and how she needed help, and how he was so distraught, being unable to help her himself. He followed and watched as she, with some difficulty, convinced the adults that there was an old lady fallen down by the canal and, guiding her the way, saw as she in turn guided a few young men to the woman's aid.
For many years, Nathan would enjoy the company of this young girl. He watched her grow older and, as he did, he would see her blossom into a beautiful woman. While he continued his lecherous surveillance of others, seeing the pretty men and women as they changed clothes, or bathed, or even as they romanced one another, Nathan satisfying his need for 'entertainment', he'd find that, unlike everyone else, Cloe would be off limits. It was strange. Even after she'd come of age, he'd take care not to look her way, speaking only of simple and decisively unromantic things, despite realising quite quickly, that she was becoming an extremely attractive lady, more so, he'd have to admit, than any other woman in the village. While she was decisively off limits, there was a pronounced and far more intense excitement to any accidental exposure to her, from which he would shyly flee. Guilt, a very uncommon emotion for Nathan, was present, to the point where he even considered leaving. Was it that he had some sort of respect for her, or was it just too odd for him, someone he'd originally known as a little girl, now a woman? It was likely both.
When the Second World War came their way, Nathan would find himself haunting a town occupied by German forces. While he had no particular opinions, one way or the other, in regards to the Nazi occupation, or their policies, he would have a strong desire to stay by Cloe's side and be there for her. As it happens, as Soldiers took up holdings, it would appear that Cloe's young and luscious form would attract for her unwanted attention. Limited as he was in his ability to affect the world, Nathan would do all that he could to dissuade these men as they made their advances, though he'd find himself quite helpless at times. It occurred to him quite quickly, the parallels with his own life, given what it was he'd been executed for in his time. Admittedly he'd been drunk at the time, a very small comfort he could give himself, however Nathan couldn't help feel, finally, some small amount of guilt for the rape, overshadowed, in part, by an even greater fear of it happening again. Bottles of wine and the drinks of these soldiers would often, mysteriously, shatter.
In the light of all that was happening, Nathan took to watching Cloe, all the closer. He would follow her, silently, for those moments in which she wouldn't even want him there. It was all too clear to him that an attack on her might happen any time, and he would regret ever taking his eyes off her. This, of course, was only the excuse he used at the beginning. Despite himself, he would find himself flushed at the sight of her, when she bathed or changed. At first he'd look away, trying to banish away those demons, but she was a beautiful young woman now. It would only be a matter of time for someone with Nathan's lonely existence, before he'd succumb. Unfortunately, this was when things would begin to turn for the worst. He couldn't deny the woman she'd become now. A longing and a desire grew in him now, all that innocence turned and fading away as he sought now, more than anything else, the sight of her exposed and naked form.
It would be one night that Nathan would take his stalking of Cloe too far. He had come to watch her, many times, even as she slept. While he'd still have some of the joy, saw some of the laughter as he'd always sought, the days had been somewhat more grim of late. As he saw her, so restful in sleep, he found himself weakening. The sight of her beauty, in the moonlight, and all the hardships they were going through, he'd reach out to her. The decision to do what he did, was not immediate, and even once he'd made that decision, unbuckling his trousers as quietly as possible, he had one thought firmly in his mind. He wouldn't be like the German soldiers. He would be gentle, so very gentle. If possible, he'd hope never to even wake her. However, carried away in his passion, he'd fail in this. Whether it was due to her heightened spiritual presence, or some other factor, he'd found that he could move, and thus feel, Cloe's body more so than any other physical matter. While he would still pass through, when his focus wavered or he moved too quickly, he could still physically make use of Cloe. For the past hundred years or so, this was the closest he'd ever gotten to once more experiencing that carnal delight he'd so indulged in during his life. Unfortunately, she would awaken at just the wrong moment for him, when things were just coming to a conclusion and, while it was strictly speaking too late to stop what was happening, instead of delight for Nathan, there would only be horror. Something strange, anomalous occurred in that one moment, for the briefest of instances, she would be able to see and perceive him, quite the sight to awaken to, and while he'd withdraw quickly, in a panic, becoming invisible to her once more, it was obvious to her what had happened.
After this incident, Nathan would hope for the longest time that she would dismiss it as a dream, but as she became more and more distant with him, even going as far as to ignore him at times, it was apparent that this was not the case. He would act as if nothing had happened, and pretend as if he had no idea why Cloe was upset with him. However, the worse it got, the more she dismissed him, and the more he found himself, once more, alone. As such, he was eventually forced to admit to what he'd done and make amends. Nathan had never exactly been a shining example of humanity's goodness and virtue. In many ways, he was a monster. However, even someone like him was bothered by what had happened. While he'd feel guilt after what had happened, more than anything, he'd just be tormented by the fact that she'd woken up and discovered him. It's possible he would have been quite at ease with doing as he pleased with Cloe, if she were never to know of it. Then again, perhaps he would have felt something. In either case, his guilt now was more tied to having left her with the knowledge of what he'd done, not so much what he'd actually done. Even after all the time they'd known each other, the relationship they'd developed, a huge part of Nathan's regret was knowing how much he'd foolishly disregarded Cloe's importance to him, risked the relationship that he so needed.
He had hoped for uncertainty on her part, for there to be doubt that he could cultivate. One day, maybe, she'd say to him 'I had the most strange and vivid dream about you', and while she'd surely not tell him what it was, he could derive all manner of entertainment trying to pry while, at the same time, further feigning his ignorance. However, this moment would never come and instead, he'd have to confess and have that most painful and difficult conversation, made all the worse by how long he'd tried to pretend as if nothing had happened. Upon apologising, he would desperately come out with all manner of excuses and try with all his being to find some way for her to forgive him. 'He'd been alone for so long'. 'She was so beautiful'. He did not say 'I'd hoped you'd never find out', which he knew would be dangerous, though when she asked him if he thought he could do this without being found out, he'd 'not been thinking' and 'it was a terrible moment of weakness'. All these things he said so shamelessly. While he could say 'I'd never done anything like this to you before', which at the very least was true, thankfully, and 'I feel so guilty about having done this', which was somewhat debatable, the fact that he'd done this thing, and had tried for so long to pretend he'd not done anything, it would be a very long time before she would forgive him. Well, not 'forgive him', most likely, but at least talk to him again. Of course, if he'd admitted to all the times that he'd watched her before now, he would have been in real trouble, not that he wasn't already...
The fact that she chose to ever speak to him again, was partially helped by the circumstances taking place in the world at that time. Her father, secretly involved in the French Resistance, lived an extremely precarious existence. With Gestapo on the hunt for anyone at all connected to the underground movement, and Cloe determined to support her papa, regardless of the risks, she was forced out of necessity to rely on any and all resources she had at hand. Trying to make amends, and wanting to help her anyway, regardless, Nathan's invisible presence was utilised to great effect to keep them safe and to maximise the effectiveness of their operations. Though he'd already been helping, throughout the duration of the war, now more than ever, he'd work hard to undermine the German occupation. It was safe to say that Nathan had a deep desire to make things right with Cloe. It obviously occurred to him, many times, that he could exploit his position, withhold vital information that was needed, in return demanding certain 'favours', in exchange for his continued help. After all, Cloe's power to interact with him physically was still an amazing and valued find for him, he'd likely never encounter anyone else with this ability. However, despite how lecherous and self serving he usually was, this demand and coercion was something he found frankly impossible. There he was, with the means to get what he wanted from Cloe, and he couldn't bring himself to do it. Well, it was clear that he'd made things with Cloe bad enough already and that what he really needed from her was far more than simple 'appeasement'. He genuinely needed a friend, someone to talk to. Even then though, if he could somehow maintain a friendship with her, keep her despite his abuse... The whole thing seemed unconscionable to him, to Nathan, the man who'd appeared at times without conscious, a soldier who'd been executed for his rape of a girl.
When she was sick or ill, he felt sadness at the thought that she would not be around forever, as he apparently would be. It caused him greater despair to think that one day he would watch her grow old. If she was sad, he felt pained that she would not be able to make him happy. When she was happy, he felt that he could share in that joy, and there would be moments with her that would last briefly, before she remembered him and what he'd done. More than anyone in his life, and death, so far, he felt a closeness to her. However, things would not end well. As the Second World War was coming to a close and the allied forces began to liberate French territories, a young American soldier boy, not much younger than Nathan, about Cloe's age, was injured and had to be left behind in the recently liberated French town to be nursed back to health by, as it happened, Cloe herself.
While this young soldier boy's recovery would be slow, it went well and he'd have plenty of time to get to know his nurse. One day, Nathan would come to Cloe's room and find the two of them. He'd known about the soldier that she was looking after, laid down in her own bed even. However it'd been a shock for him to learn that they'd fallen for one another. Of course, after what he'd done, he'd come to term with the fact that she might never fully forgive him, that he would never be anymore than an uneasy friend. On the other hand there were moments when it seemed that maybe she could... Well, with the slim chances of that dream ever coming true, he'd had to tell himself that he'd have to face the possibility of her finding a man one day, or her not always being there for him. However, the sudden sight of her, moved on, he'd not been prepared for how that would feel.
Cloe and the American boy were both fully clothed, their romance no wild striking lust, and in some ways that was worse. The sight of the two of them, lips locked together, that look of serenity and contentment on her face, her eyes closed. He'd stood there silently, frozen in place by shock as he watched the two of them. Then, without saying a word, he left. If he'd made too much of a noise, stumbling down the stairs, and sobbing for a time in the corner before finally managing to push himself out through the door, then it certainly wasn't loud enough to dissuade the two in Cloe's room, who continued. It was a greater pain than anything Nathan had ever felt before and, running outside in tears, the pain only seemed to grow. What was he doing with his Cloe? What was she doing with that boy? As he fell to his knees, he let the tears flow, but as he struggled with each sobbing intake of breath, he'd slowly become steadier, his sadness twisting around into anger. It was as he felt strength returning, enough to rise to his feet and seek out vengeance, that he was forced down, bent over double by a new scorching pain, like a branding iron inside his chest. The chains that'd always dangled from his body seemed to burn with a red hotness. After a moment or two, struggling with the torture, his head was thrown back as he screamed a terrible scream up into the sky, a noise that turned seamlessly into a monstrous howl. They'd not noticed a thing, up until that point. However, hearing that horrific noise from somewhere outside, Cloe stopped briefly in her passion and turned her head, curiously to the sound that only she could hear, much to her young soldier boy's confusion.
The initial rampage of Nathan, the newly formed Hollow, in time to be known as Eurynomos, was mindless. He tore apart the French town, slaughtered many, including Cloe and her young American. When his mind cleared and he'd satiated enough of his burning hunger, consuming enough souls, he found himself standing in the ruins of a place that he'd known for the longest time as his home. He looked down at his claw like hands, and desperately ran them up across the mask that was now fused to his face. No longer could he even feel his own delicate, human features. The rest of his body was monstrous and, as he studied his own form, and with more of his consciousness returning, and with it the memories of what he'd just done, there were only more tears for him to shed. However, with the hole in his body, and a heart no longer in his chest, these tears would be the last he would ever shed, the last in a never to be renewed stockpile. A burning hatred and anger washed over him, at whom or what, besides the world, nobody could say. As was often the case, after the physical transformation, there would be the psychological and emotional one. Whatever softness he'd had drained away. Though he'd take a moment or two to mourn for what he'd just lost, and then never again, he set his sights on the nearby mountains. Proceeding on foot, Eurynomos went out in search of his next meal. He was Hollow now.
~ Heavy soldier's boots following behind a pair of delicate slippers, two wildly dissimilar figures ascend a narrow staircase together. Keeping close, but not too close, to a young girl, maybe fourteen, dark hair and gentle features, was a man in uniform. From his appearance we could see that he'd belonged to an era, now long gone, and from his chest hung a metal chain, only a few links left now. She carried in her arms a package, in which there would be a new dress, and as they walked together, towards her room, the two of them would speak excitedly to one another. There was a festival taking place soon, and there was so much intrigue and wild goings on among the town that just had to be discussed. His accent was slightly odd, and she knew that this ghost that she'd found was not from France, as she was. Nonetheless, they'd known each other now for quite some time, and while he'd told her what he looked like, and where he was from - though he was a little evasive on the details of how he'd died - it did not frighten her to know that she had following her a foreign soldier from a distant land. The two of them continued to speak right up until they were in her bedroom. She'd laid down the new dress on the bed, had opened up the package, still talking about what appeared to be coconut shy that someone seemed to be setting up on one of the stalls, reached up to her shoulder of her current dress and...
"Oh."
She stopped, blushing slightly. Being so young, she had not thought about it until just then, but... he was a man afterall.
"Ah...erm... excuse me, Monsieur, would you mind turning around?"
Of course, she'd thought of asking him to leave her room entirely, but that seemed somewhat rude. Also, the door was closed now and, given that he could not open it himself, she'd have to go across the room to get the door for him. He obviously could walk through it, but it'd be unkind to force him to have to do that. But in the end, what harm could he do? He was only a ghost after all. She was in a bit of a hurry, the festival starting soon. Not to mention that she was... slightly... fond of him. She knew that he was a gentleman, although, being unable to see him, with only enough spiritual awareness to hear his voice, she had no way of knowing if he was actually doing as she'd asked.
Oddly enough, given the advantage that he had in this situation, and the sort of man he was, he would actually do as she asked, turning his back. He wasn't really all the interested in children. The whole situation had caught him somewhat off guard, flat footed. It was endearing, in a way. Did she actually think him tempted? Oh, Cloe, how you're growing up. He had known her since she was twelve, she was and might always be, just that little girl he knew, Cloe. It had come as a bit of a shock really. To think she was actually old enough now to be aware of the gazes of others upon her. They grow up so fast. Of course, it'd occurred to him before now, if he was a boy of the village, the same age as her, how lucky he'd be to have her as such a close companion. However, he was a man, she was a child. Maybe when she'd grown up, but even then, it'd be hard to shake, the age difference...
"All right, Monsieur, you can turn around now."
He would do so, and what a startling sight she was. Her dark hair curled slightly on her shoulders. The dress was a striking colour of royal blue. It flowed quite fittingly to her body and, while not putting anything on display, it was not made to hide any of the 'developments' to her form that had recently begun. Despite all that though, if she hadn't asked him to turn around, he might never have noticed that she was becoming a woman. He hesitated. It appeared that he was going to have to be careful from here on, make sure to knock whenever he came in, give her a bit more privacy now and then. It was a pain, but he'd have to acknowledge that aspect to her now, although it seemed so strange. He just had to hope that, if she were to attract a local boy, she'd still have time for him.
"You look lovely, Cloe."
She smiled.~
It wasn't until some time just before the Second World War, that Nathan came across a young girl by the name of Cloe who, in turn, much to his surprise, was spiritually aware enough to hear him. Only twelve when he first met her, she was a bit too young, even for his tastes. The relationship would be pretty innocent first, though it'd be forced to undergo changes as she grew older. As a child, she was gentle kind and sweet. She taught Nathan how to read, in French since she didn't know any English, and simply thought it silly that this boy from the Welsh village didn't know how already. Everyone these days could read. Though overjoyed at finally having someone to talk to after all these years, he was careful, burdened with caution, so afraid of what would happen if he scared her away. His first encounter with her had been brief, and in some ways he'd been doubtful if she could really hear him. She'd gone her way and he'd gone his and it was only by chance that he would meet her again. While he'd only intended to spend a brief time in this little French town, some distance away from where he'd been killed, encountering Cloe again would ensure a more lengthy stay from this wandering spirit.
He'd been spending some time amusing himself, watching an old woman struggling up a set of stone stairs leading up away from a local canal. She was old and out there alone, far from anyone, save for a chance passerby, and they were rare and far between. He'd sat with her for a time and watched her feeding ducks, then as she'd been going home, he'd noticed that there might be some fun to have as her old withered body tried to transverse the stairs. Tipping her purse, he spread across his lips a slight smile as she fretted, some of her belongings spilling onto the stairs, a small something, he didn't quite see what, bouncing away and into the water. This was entertaining for some time, until she slipped and fell and was thus no longer amusing to him. She lay there, possibly with a broken hip, crying out weakly, and not all that loudly, for help. He'd taken a cursory glance around, there was nobody nearby, and there'd likely be none for quite some time. It was autumn and the day was getting colder. Well... there was nothing he could do, so he left.
This is worth mentioning because, on returning to town, he'd find himself seeing once more, that curious little girl who had, seemingly, been able to hear him some time ago. Of course he'd had his doubts, but the prospect of having finally met someone he could talk to, had made him happy, had given him hope. So he'd once more approach her, speak, and, from how she reacted, though she seemed slightly confused at first, it was apparent that she could indeed hear him. Then what? He'd ponder. This is when a stroke of inspiration came to him and he remembered the old lady. Though he'd had no care for the woman, he had a chance to put himself on good terms with this little girl. Speaking to her, he'd tell of the tragic tale, a dear, kind old woman fallen on some steps by the canal, where she'd been feeding ducklings not far from here, and how she needed help, and how he was so distraught, being unable to help her himself. He followed and watched as she, with some difficulty, convinced the adults that there was an old lady fallen down by the canal and, guiding her the way, saw as she in turn guided a few young men to the woman's aid.
For many years, Nathan would enjoy the company of this young girl. He watched her grow older and, as he did, he would see her blossom into a beautiful woman. While he continued his lecherous surveillance of others, seeing the pretty men and women as they changed clothes, or bathed, or even as they romanced one another, Nathan satisfying his need for 'entertainment', he'd find that, unlike everyone else, Cloe would be off limits. It was strange. Even after she'd come of age, he'd take care not to look her way, speaking only of simple and decisively unromantic things, despite realising quite quickly, that she was becoming an extremely attractive lady, more so, he'd have to admit, than any other woman in the village. While she was decisively off limits, there was a pronounced and far more intense excitement to any accidental exposure to her, from which he would shyly flee. Guilt, a very uncommon emotion for Nathan, was present, to the point where he even considered leaving. Was it that he had some sort of respect for her, or was it just too odd for him, someone he'd originally known as a little girl, now a woman? It was likely both.
When the Second World War came their way, Nathan would find himself haunting a town occupied by German forces. While he had no particular opinions, one way or the other, in regards to the Nazi occupation, or their policies, he would have a strong desire to stay by Cloe's side and be there for her. As it happens, as Soldiers took up holdings, it would appear that Cloe's young and luscious form would attract for her unwanted attention. Limited as he was in his ability to affect the world, Nathan would do all that he could to dissuade these men as they made their advances, though he'd find himself quite helpless at times. It occurred to him quite quickly, the parallels with his own life, given what it was he'd been executed for in his time. Admittedly he'd been drunk at the time, a very small comfort he could give himself, however Nathan couldn't help feel, finally, some small amount of guilt for the rape, overshadowed, in part, by an even greater fear of it happening again. Bottles of wine and the drinks of these soldiers would often, mysteriously, shatter.
In the light of all that was happening, Nathan took to watching Cloe, all the closer. He would follow her, silently, for those moments in which she wouldn't even want him there. It was all too clear to him that an attack on her might happen any time, and he would regret ever taking his eyes off her. This, of course, was only the excuse he used at the beginning. Despite himself, he would find himself flushed at the sight of her, when she bathed or changed. At first he'd look away, trying to banish away those demons, but she was a beautiful young woman now. It would only be a matter of time for someone with Nathan's lonely existence, before he'd succumb. Unfortunately, this was when things would begin to turn for the worst. He couldn't deny the woman she'd become now. A longing and a desire grew in him now, all that innocence turned and fading away as he sought now, more than anything else, the sight of her exposed and naked form.
It would be one night that Nathan would take his stalking of Cloe too far. He had come to watch her, many times, even as she slept. While he'd still have some of the joy, saw some of the laughter as he'd always sought, the days had been somewhat more grim of late. As he saw her, so restful in sleep, he found himself weakening. The sight of her beauty, in the moonlight, and all the hardships they were going through, he'd reach out to her. The decision to do what he did, was not immediate, and even once he'd made that decision, unbuckling his trousers as quietly as possible, he had one thought firmly in his mind. He wouldn't be like the German soldiers. He would be gentle, so very gentle. If possible, he'd hope never to even wake her. However, carried away in his passion, he'd fail in this. Whether it was due to her heightened spiritual presence, or some other factor, he'd found that he could move, and thus feel, Cloe's body more so than any other physical matter. While he would still pass through, when his focus wavered or he moved too quickly, he could still physically make use of Cloe. For the past hundred years or so, this was the closest he'd ever gotten to once more experiencing that carnal delight he'd so indulged in during his life. Unfortunately, she would awaken at just the wrong moment for him, when things were just coming to a conclusion and, while it was strictly speaking too late to stop what was happening, instead of delight for Nathan, there would only be horror. Something strange, anomalous occurred in that one moment, for the briefest of instances, she would be able to see and perceive him, quite the sight to awaken to, and while he'd withdraw quickly, in a panic, becoming invisible to her once more, it was obvious to her what had happened.
After this incident, Nathan would hope for the longest time that she would dismiss it as a dream, but as she became more and more distant with him, even going as far as to ignore him at times, it was apparent that this was not the case. He would act as if nothing had happened, and pretend as if he had no idea why Cloe was upset with him. However, the worse it got, the more she dismissed him, and the more he found himself, once more, alone. As such, he was eventually forced to admit to what he'd done and make amends. Nathan had never exactly been a shining example of humanity's goodness and virtue. In many ways, he was a monster. However, even someone like him was bothered by what had happened. While he'd feel guilt after what had happened, more than anything, he'd just be tormented by the fact that she'd woken up and discovered him. It's possible he would have been quite at ease with doing as he pleased with Cloe, if she were never to know of it. Then again, perhaps he would have felt something. In either case, his guilt now was more tied to having left her with the knowledge of what he'd done, not so much what he'd actually done. Even after all the time they'd known each other, the relationship they'd developed, a huge part of Nathan's regret was knowing how much he'd foolishly disregarded Cloe's importance to him, risked the relationship that he so needed.
He had hoped for uncertainty on her part, for there to be doubt that he could cultivate. One day, maybe, she'd say to him 'I had the most strange and vivid dream about you', and while she'd surely not tell him what it was, he could derive all manner of entertainment trying to pry while, at the same time, further feigning his ignorance. However, this moment would never come and instead, he'd have to confess and have that most painful and difficult conversation, made all the worse by how long he'd tried to pretend as if nothing had happened. Upon apologising, he would desperately come out with all manner of excuses and try with all his being to find some way for her to forgive him. 'He'd been alone for so long'. 'She was so beautiful'. He did not say 'I'd hoped you'd never find out', which he knew would be dangerous, though when she asked him if he thought he could do this without being found out, he'd 'not been thinking' and 'it was a terrible moment of weakness'. All these things he said so shamelessly. While he could say 'I'd never done anything like this to you before', which at the very least was true, thankfully, and 'I feel so guilty about having done this', which was somewhat debatable, the fact that he'd done this thing, and had tried for so long to pretend he'd not done anything, it would be a very long time before she would forgive him. Well, not 'forgive him', most likely, but at least talk to him again. Of course, if he'd admitted to all the times that he'd watched her before now, he would have been in real trouble, not that he wasn't already...
The fact that she chose to ever speak to him again, was partially helped by the circumstances taking place in the world at that time. Her father, secretly involved in the French Resistance, lived an extremely precarious existence. With Gestapo on the hunt for anyone at all connected to the underground movement, and Cloe determined to support her papa, regardless of the risks, she was forced out of necessity to rely on any and all resources she had at hand. Trying to make amends, and wanting to help her anyway, regardless, Nathan's invisible presence was utilised to great effect to keep them safe and to maximise the effectiveness of their operations. Though he'd already been helping, throughout the duration of the war, now more than ever, he'd work hard to undermine the German occupation. It was safe to say that Nathan had a deep desire to make things right with Cloe. It obviously occurred to him, many times, that he could exploit his position, withhold vital information that was needed, in return demanding certain 'favours', in exchange for his continued help. After all, Cloe's power to interact with him physically was still an amazing and valued find for him, he'd likely never encounter anyone else with this ability. However, despite how lecherous and self serving he usually was, this demand and coercion was something he found frankly impossible. There he was, with the means to get what he wanted from Cloe, and he couldn't bring himself to do it. Well, it was clear that he'd made things with Cloe bad enough already and that what he really needed from her was far more than simple 'appeasement'. He genuinely needed a friend, someone to talk to. Even then though, if he could somehow maintain a friendship with her, keep her despite his abuse... The whole thing seemed unconscionable to him, to Nathan, the man who'd appeared at times without conscious, a soldier who'd been executed for his rape of a girl.
When she was sick or ill, he felt sadness at the thought that she would not be around forever, as he apparently would be. It caused him greater despair to think that one day he would watch her grow old. If she was sad, he felt pained that she would not be able to make him happy. When she was happy, he felt that he could share in that joy, and there would be moments with her that would last briefly, before she remembered him and what he'd done. More than anyone in his life, and death, so far, he felt a closeness to her. However, things would not end well. As the Second World War was coming to a close and the allied forces began to liberate French territories, a young American soldier boy, not much younger than Nathan, about Cloe's age, was injured and had to be left behind in the recently liberated French town to be nursed back to health by, as it happened, Cloe herself.
While this young soldier boy's recovery would be slow, it went well and he'd have plenty of time to get to know his nurse. One day, Nathan would come to Cloe's room and find the two of them. He'd known about the soldier that she was looking after, laid down in her own bed even. However it'd been a shock for him to learn that they'd fallen for one another. Of course, after what he'd done, he'd come to term with the fact that she might never fully forgive him, that he would never be anymore than an uneasy friend. On the other hand there were moments when it seemed that maybe she could... Well, with the slim chances of that dream ever coming true, he'd had to tell himself that he'd have to face the possibility of her finding a man one day, or her not always being there for him. However, the sudden sight of her, moved on, he'd not been prepared for how that would feel.
Cloe and the American boy were both fully clothed, their romance no wild striking lust, and in some ways that was worse. The sight of the two of them, lips locked together, that look of serenity and contentment on her face, her eyes closed. He'd stood there silently, frozen in place by shock as he watched the two of them. Then, without saying a word, he left. If he'd made too much of a noise, stumbling down the stairs, and sobbing for a time in the corner before finally managing to push himself out through the door, then it certainly wasn't loud enough to dissuade the two in Cloe's room, who continued. It was a greater pain than anything Nathan had ever felt before and, running outside in tears, the pain only seemed to grow. What was he doing with his Cloe? What was she doing with that boy? As he fell to his knees, he let the tears flow, but as he struggled with each sobbing intake of breath, he'd slowly become steadier, his sadness twisting around into anger. It was as he felt strength returning, enough to rise to his feet and seek out vengeance, that he was forced down, bent over double by a new scorching pain, like a branding iron inside his chest. The chains that'd always dangled from his body seemed to burn with a red hotness. After a moment or two, struggling with the torture, his head was thrown back as he screamed a terrible scream up into the sky, a noise that turned seamlessly into a monstrous howl. They'd not noticed a thing, up until that point. However, hearing that horrific noise from somewhere outside, Cloe stopped briefly in her passion and turned her head, curiously to the sound that only she could hear, much to her young soldier boy's confusion.
The initial rampage of Nathan, the newly formed Hollow, in time to be known as Eurynomos, was mindless. He tore apart the French town, slaughtered many, including Cloe and her young American. When his mind cleared and he'd satiated enough of his burning hunger, consuming enough souls, he found himself standing in the ruins of a place that he'd known for the longest time as his home. He looked down at his claw like hands, and desperately ran them up across the mask that was now fused to his face. No longer could he even feel his own delicate, human features. The rest of his body was monstrous and, as he studied his own form, and with more of his consciousness returning, and with it the memories of what he'd just done, there were only more tears for him to shed. However, with the hole in his body, and a heart no longer in his chest, these tears would be the last he would ever shed, the last in a never to be renewed stockpile. A burning hatred and anger washed over him, at whom or what, besides the world, nobody could say. As was often the case, after the physical transformation, there would be the psychological and emotional one. Whatever softness he'd had drained away. Though he'd take a moment or two to mourn for what he'd just lost, and then never again, he set his sights on the nearby mountains. Proceeding on foot, Eurynomos went out in search of his next meal. He was Hollow now.
Call to Action:
From Hollow to Adjuchas
~ The noise was terrible, loud and chaotic. In the hundreds, possibly the thousands, there stretched across the dark plains, a great mass of black bodies. Here and there we see a flash of white, as some small part of some mask was shown in what little light there was. It was not just the lack of light that would make them hard to make out, most of those uniquely patterned bone like masks now covered in blood. There'd be screams of fear, or pain, of anger, of triumph, from a multitude of different types of creatures. Some of them were like enormous mammals, some were more like insects, their sounds echoing out amidst the clicking of mandibles and the like. Other creatures here were unlike any one sort of thing found anywhere in nature. They were all there for the same goal though, to feed an unfeedable hunger, to eat and continue eating until they were either eaten or... something else. Through it all, we hear the sound of flesh being ripped, torn apart, consumed. In the heart of it all, his hunger all the more burning and violent than any other, is a single large Hollow, growing more grotesque and unidentifiable, little pieces of it being torn away as the swarms came at him again and again. However, for each Hollow that came to him, there was only a swift end and there seemed to be little that would stop his feasting. With each creature being consumed, the parts of him that were damaged seem to grow back, stronger and bigger than before, and gradually, but slowly, he seemed to be changing, becoming larger and larger... ~
For many years, the Hollow Eurynomos wandered through the mountains, soon to be known as either cursed or haunted by the locals, any deaths that took place being ultimately blamed on rock slides, or wild animals or those kind of things, but occurring too frequently for locals not to form superstition around it. His form that of a base Hollow, he didn't possess any of the more extravagant physical attributes, powers, or feeding method that he has today. Instead, his form was like that of a large black bear, slaying his opponents with a single swing of his enormous paws, before consuming what remained. Having been a relatively unsympathetic/empathetic person to begin with, it wasn't difficult for him to overcome any difficulty he might ever have had in killing another and eating them. Eventually he'd be drawn towards more spiritually dense centres of energy and encounter other Hollows and Spirits. To begin with, he'd need to slip in through already open Garganta, but in time he'd learn to create his own. Finding himself, at times, in a place that he himself called 'Le Monde des Ombres', the world of shadows, he would in time learn that this place was called Hueco Mundo, and more specifically, the Forest of the Menos. He'd find there, in that place, a bountiful supply of other Hollows to eat. Having no empathy for either his human prey or those like himself, he would not hesitate to pick off the smaller groups or lone stragglers.
On one occasion, he'd encounter a couple of Hollows, together preying on a woman. This was the first time he'd ever seen a Shinigami. While she was young and pretty, she was not one of the strongest members of her kin. She would not stay 'pretty' for long. He'd watch. The way these two Hollows toyed with her, he couldn't help but think of this situation, as it was so similar to him, with both Cloe and the German Soldiers, and himself and the French girl, from his brief time as a soldier, whose name he couldn't even remember. While these Hollows would be, as most base level Hollow kind were, void of sexual desire, they would still take pleasure in prolonging her suffering in a way that seemed familiar to Eurynomos. He'd contemplate this situation, as he'd hear her cry and scream. He shrugged. If they wanted to do that to their food, he eventually concluded, they were free to do so. They were predators with their prey, as he was often now, what care should there be for her? There was no reason he shouldn't do as he wanted with others, not that he cared to do those sorts of things. Unlike those two Hollows, Eurynomos found that playing with his food held no appeal. He felt no need to be entertained, only hunger.
While at first this hunger was simple and satiated by a meal or two a day, it would gradually grow and become ever swifter in its renewal. He would eat as much as he could during the day, up until he needed to sleep, and find himself starving the moment he awoke in the morning. The pain would become worse over time, affording him less and less time to rest his head. Eventually he would be forced, as so many hollows were, to the heaving, squirming pits where Menos Grande were born. Sleep no longer in the picture, for days he would feast, endlessly. There would be no gorging, since that would imply a fullness and an end to his hunger. Instead, he would be as the empty vacuous void, ever being filled but never to be anything but nothingness seeking something to consume. As a Menos, his movement was slow and sluggish, it would take him many years to consume enough of his kind, to evolve further, but Eurynomos would continue, without end, without sleep, no goal in sight for the end of it, just endless hunger. In time, Eurynomos would emerge into the desert above as the Adjuchas we would all know today. He would travel, for a time, between worlds, a lone creature. On Earth he would keep to the shorelines, staying near or in the water, and would continue, much as he had done before, killing and consuming. However, it would become apparent and clear to him that he would need to keep hunting down and eating those like himself. For this he would come back, as often as he could, to the vast deserts of Hueco Mundo.
Eventually, after quite some time, Eurynomos would find himself a small pack, a band of Adjuchas like himself. First introductions being difficult in these circumstances, he'd keep a close eye on them, waiting for the best moment to come forward. In time, he would have himself an opportunity. Finding himself quite the nest of lesser Hollows one time, and eating his full, he came to them to offer what plenty was left over. Though they were naturally distrustful at first, with him popping up now and again, bearing gifts, or coming there way with warning of impending danger, either Shinigami, Arrancar or other Hollows, they'd soon allow him to be more and more welcome with them. He'd join their group, much as he would any other group, with a smile, some generous contributions, some shameless flattery. A part of his want to join the group was because of one particular member of this pack who stood out for him, an exemplary figure from the rest. Her name, he'd learn, was Persephone, and he found that she was a strong and prideful thing. For some reason, she peaked his curiosity. She was clearly quite powerful, willful in her own way, yet she'd not taken charge of the pack. While she never submitted to anyone else, it appeared that she was content with quietly following the rest.
She confounded him. On the one hand, she seemed quiet and reserved, the typical shy type. On the other hand, it didn't seem as if she had a softer side. He couldn't shake her. He never heard her laugh, never saw her flustered by some of his more inappropriate innuendos, or actions. No matter how he tried, she simply stared at him with that harsh coldness of hers. While he didn't want to risk an open conflict, being a newer member to the group, he would struggle for dominance over her, most of the times subtly, other times not so much. On the occasions when the friction between the two of them became too obvious, Eurynomos facing the threat of rejection from the group, she'd give him leeway, dismissed the severity of any of his discretions, saying that he was no bother and that he could stay. Those were the times that she won. The provocation, which she never seemed to rise to, wasn't always on his side. At times it seemed like she went out of her way to make a fool of him, which usually he didn't mind, he could play the fool and get a laugh from them all, however, this was different, he wasn't playing the fool, he was being made the fool.
In time though, he'd start to see that, in some ways, she seemed much like himself. She too seemed to have a cold disregard for the feelings of those around her, and only seemed happy, though it was the hardest thing to tell, when the rest of the group was at ease. While she didn't appear to be indifferent to Eurynomos, it was difficult to know which way she actually went, whether she was glad to have him around or not. She never seemed to rise to his usual taunts so, gradually, he'd begin to temper his more vulgar ways. It was an odd and new sensation, having never experienced this for anyone before, but there seemed to develop, over time, what might be considered a sense of respect for her. In some ways, as well though, he could be more ill at ease around her, he didn't have to try so hard, but he would still come out, habitually, now and then, with some of his more jocular manners.
It seemed the strangest thing to him in the world, but he actually found that, by having reduced the frequency of his attempts to cheer and play the joker, that he'd ended up striking her more effectively. Though he was careful, extremely careful not to make a thing of it, to not make a fuss of it there and then, or later when the pack was gathered around, he actually, one day, by the most remarkable stroke of luck, saw a slight smile on her. It'd been because of him, he was certain, they'd been looking over the newest nest they'd found, that they were about to raid, and he'd absent mindedly made some little joke or humorous comment. He hadn't really been trying, at all, and that's why it struck him as odd that this was the moment it actually worked. It'd been so tempting, at the time, to make a follow up to that joke, to maybe hear her laugh aloud, but he dared not risk it, especially since they were having to be stealthy at the time.
From that point on he tried his hardest to show how powerful and strong he was. Save from her, who he felt was roughly on his level, he was stronger than any member of the pack. He was more powerful and dangerous, in fact, than the entire pack put together, Persephone not included. 'The others only slow us down, only make us weaker. We could ascend to such greater heights, the two of us.' He could feel it, after all these years, she was finally warming up to him. Once more, he found himself focused, obsessively on a single individual. He wanted her, with him and only him and only her. The others were only in the way. Every time the two of them were sent out together, when it was just the two of them, he felt that this was how it should be. She became beautiful to him, in a way, and he could tell that she felt it too. Never for anyone else, did he ever see her smile, and he would see her do so more and more.
In time, he gradually began to dissuade her to disregard the rest, and join him and only him. While at first, she seemed to feign a horror and rejection of his disloyalty and plans to do away with the rest, slowly she began to drop the act and came around to his way. She knew how things truly were, as well as he did, and subtly the two of them started to become more and more distant to the others. Though he had no way of knowing if it was a trap, if he could genuinely trust her, if she was truly willing to turn against the others that she had been with for so long, he felt that he had no choice but to take that risk. Nevertheless, keeping a close and suspicious eye on her, to try and see if she was in some way still in communion with the rest of the pack, Eurynomos began to plot, with her.
One night, when all their plans were made, Eurynomos took the plunge and saw for himself the moment of truth. To his relief, he found that Persephone joined him and, together, they disbanded and dismembered the pack. At the end of the mayhem, once they had made a meal of their former allies, the two of them fled into the night, like a pair of juvenile delinquents, giggling together, fleeing from their daring vandalism of school property. They had actually done it, after all their plotting and scheming, all their secret liaisons, so many times they'd almost been found out, it was finally the two of them, together, nobody else, for as long as they both lived. Once they'd gotten some distance away, as the rush of what they'd done started to die down, Eurynomos found himself surprised as she set upon him most violently. At first he thought that she in turn was now turning to betray him, however, he wasn't fooled long. Though they fought quite brutally and viciously with one another, both proving, as he'd originally suspected, an even match, at the very end of the fight, Eurynomos took it upon himself to turn their struggle into something quite different. Grappling onto her tight, he let a stillness settle on their rapid fight. A subtle and purring growl escaping from him, he leant in and slowly ran his tongue up the side of her neck. Loosening his grip slightly, allowing her to move, he witnessed her, usually so cold, proud and controlled, responding in kind, turning just as ravenous for him as he now was for her...
For a long time, the two of them were together, hunting, killing. Persephone had once been a noble courtesan from some ancient Japanese region and, being the kind that could not allow his generosity, which he frequently showed, to go unpaid, she taught him the language that so many Hollows seemed to speak. With her, he'd learn more about his unique abilities, finding that he had available to him a subtly different means of feeding and hunting. Of course, in turn, she now had the freedom to learn more about her powers and abilities, the two of them growing together. Her abilities granting her great perception of others, and his power allowing him an advantage as long as he matched the state of his prey, the two of them would be a perfect pair in the hunt. She seemed to take great joy in watching him display his more 'salacious' abilities and he in turn found himself choosing more and more often male targets, figuring that this was perhaps more to her liking, though she would sometime give him leave to pick out woman and even at times picked them out for him. He would drain most of their energy, and at the end, almost invariably, she would kill and eat the prey, turning afterwards to Eurynomos if he was still aroused, as he almost always would be, seeing to both of their needs, her own appetite normally being wetted quite severely by the lengthy and noisy show previous. Sometimes she would participate, on the rare occasion during, but more often than not, she would have her part at the beginning, scarring and driving their prey Eurynomos's way, where he'd lie in wait.
In their many wanderings across worlds, they would see many exciting and strange things. Some of these things would hold their interest for a short time, others would occupy their attention for days. It would be one particular oddity that they came across one day however, that seemed to seize and entrance Eurynomos's partner, more than any other thing they'd encountered. Abandoned, most likely due to some increased Hollow activity in the area, had been a small research camp, belonging to some faction, the Seireitei, Las Noches, some other group, they had no way of telling. At first, finding little of interest, they were readying to leave the area, with no meal or entertainment being present here. However, just before Eurynomos could declare it of no interest, and insist on moving on, it appeared that something had caught Persephone's eye. A lot of the equipment left behind was portable, as were the notes. Though he thought it a harmless, simple interest at first, something she would bore of, just as he did, as she continued her pursuit of this new activity, in time to appear more and more obsessed, he'd have to come to a horrible conclusion. His partner had found a hobby.
While she was still with him, close to him, doing all the things they'd done together before, though sadly not as frequently, he couldn't help but notice the slightest of distance wedged between the two of them. For hours she would read, try out some of the tests that she saw in the books they had found, extending out a limb and dropping into glass tubes of strange liquid little chunks of something that would bubble away, all the while her head turning to and from between the book and experiment which she in turn was recreating now. One night she'd insist on raiding and stealing from some bizarre place, the likes of which Eurynomos had never seen before, more books, more equipment. It was becoming difficult to take it all with them, wherever they went. Not wanting to lose her, or have her become to distant to him, he'd try to share in this new interest. While he could, in time, begin to understand most of what it was she was playing with, after she explained it to him in length for some time, some of it was over his head. In addition, he didn't really seem to get into it as much as she did. There'd been something in there about the 'further evolution of Hollow kind', which didn't seem to hold the same appeal for him as it did for her. He was quite happy the way they were, hunting, killing, 'playing', sometimes all at the same time. At times, he felt a frustration, whenever she wanted to keep going on some experiment she was doing, or finish the chapter she was reading, when he'd asked her to come out with him. It was all he could do, on occasion not to smash it all apart, rip those books to pieces, but he knew how much that would upset her. All he could do then, was to try and see what was so good about this 'hobby' of hers, and share in it with her.
Of course, it wasn't all for naught. In time she'd learn to make certain enhancements, ways in which one could make little changes, little improvements here and there. He was quite pleased when one of her earliest decisions, of what to do with this knowledge, with his consent, was to indulge in a certain 'enlargement' of part of his body, a thoroughly successful procedure after which he would quite happily and enthusiastically indulge in a long night of 'additional testing' in which he would effectively and completely make her forget all of her other research. Not that she'd ever found him inadequate before. The two of them would reward themselves with other augmentations over time, as well as devising certain ways of 'enhancing' their experiences together, the later of which would mostly be done by Eurynomos. While he would, through this way, seem to develop a similar interest in the sciences, as she had, it would be fairly obvious, over time, that his interests were still rather single minded and selective. His thirst for knowledge would not be as open and ambitious as hers.
It would not be until more recent years, that tragedy would strike for this most happy pair. One day, returning from one of his hunts, in which he needed to actually eat a soul, rather than drain it's Reiatsu, Persephone rarely came along to those, Eurynomos would find their lair devastated and torn apart. She was dead and he could barely identify her remains to know that it was her. Given that she'd apparently been eaten, mostly, he had to conclude that it was some other Hollow, possibly an Adjuchas or something higher level. There was nothing he could do. There was no trail he could follow, no way of tracking down whoever did this. They were long gone, as was she. For over a year, he would wander aimlessly, starving himself, grieving terribly for his lost love. Eventually though, he'd have to find the strength to go on. He'd return to his hunt, and jolly and shameless once more, the joker, Eurynomos, would go out hunting for his latest prey.
~ The noise was terrible, loud and chaotic. In the hundreds, possibly the thousands, there stretched across the dark plains, a great mass of black bodies. Here and there we see a flash of white, as some small part of some mask was shown in what little light there was. It was not just the lack of light that would make them hard to make out, most of those uniquely patterned bone like masks now covered in blood. There'd be screams of fear, or pain, of anger, of triumph, from a multitude of different types of creatures. Some of them were like enormous mammals, some were more like insects, their sounds echoing out amidst the clicking of mandibles and the like. Other creatures here were unlike any one sort of thing found anywhere in nature. They were all there for the same goal though, to feed an unfeedable hunger, to eat and continue eating until they were either eaten or... something else. Through it all, we hear the sound of flesh being ripped, torn apart, consumed. In the heart of it all, his hunger all the more burning and violent than any other, is a single large Hollow, growing more grotesque and unidentifiable, little pieces of it being torn away as the swarms came at him again and again. However, for each Hollow that came to him, there was only a swift end and there seemed to be little that would stop his feasting. With each creature being consumed, the parts of him that were damaged seem to grow back, stronger and bigger than before, and gradually, but slowly, he seemed to be changing, becoming larger and larger... ~
For many years, the Hollow Eurynomos wandered through the mountains, soon to be known as either cursed or haunted by the locals, any deaths that took place being ultimately blamed on rock slides, or wild animals or those kind of things, but occurring too frequently for locals not to form superstition around it. His form that of a base Hollow, he didn't possess any of the more extravagant physical attributes, powers, or feeding method that he has today. Instead, his form was like that of a large black bear, slaying his opponents with a single swing of his enormous paws, before consuming what remained. Having been a relatively unsympathetic/empathetic person to begin with, it wasn't difficult for him to overcome any difficulty he might ever have had in killing another and eating them. Eventually he'd be drawn towards more spiritually dense centres of energy and encounter other Hollows and Spirits. To begin with, he'd need to slip in through already open Garganta, but in time he'd learn to create his own. Finding himself, at times, in a place that he himself called 'Le Monde des Ombres', the world of shadows, he would in time learn that this place was called Hueco Mundo, and more specifically, the Forest of the Menos. He'd find there, in that place, a bountiful supply of other Hollows to eat. Having no empathy for either his human prey or those like himself, he would not hesitate to pick off the smaller groups or lone stragglers.
On one occasion, he'd encounter a couple of Hollows, together preying on a woman. This was the first time he'd ever seen a Shinigami. While she was young and pretty, she was not one of the strongest members of her kin. She would not stay 'pretty' for long. He'd watch. The way these two Hollows toyed with her, he couldn't help but think of this situation, as it was so similar to him, with both Cloe and the German Soldiers, and himself and the French girl, from his brief time as a soldier, whose name he couldn't even remember. While these Hollows would be, as most base level Hollow kind were, void of sexual desire, they would still take pleasure in prolonging her suffering in a way that seemed familiar to Eurynomos. He'd contemplate this situation, as he'd hear her cry and scream. He shrugged. If they wanted to do that to their food, he eventually concluded, they were free to do so. They were predators with their prey, as he was often now, what care should there be for her? There was no reason he shouldn't do as he wanted with others, not that he cared to do those sorts of things. Unlike those two Hollows, Eurynomos found that playing with his food held no appeal. He felt no need to be entertained, only hunger.
While at first this hunger was simple and satiated by a meal or two a day, it would gradually grow and become ever swifter in its renewal. He would eat as much as he could during the day, up until he needed to sleep, and find himself starving the moment he awoke in the morning. The pain would become worse over time, affording him less and less time to rest his head. Eventually he would be forced, as so many hollows were, to the heaving, squirming pits where Menos Grande were born. Sleep no longer in the picture, for days he would feast, endlessly. There would be no gorging, since that would imply a fullness and an end to his hunger. Instead, he would be as the empty vacuous void, ever being filled but never to be anything but nothingness seeking something to consume. As a Menos, his movement was slow and sluggish, it would take him many years to consume enough of his kind, to evolve further, but Eurynomos would continue, without end, without sleep, no goal in sight for the end of it, just endless hunger. In time, Eurynomos would emerge into the desert above as the Adjuchas we would all know today. He would travel, for a time, between worlds, a lone creature. On Earth he would keep to the shorelines, staying near or in the water, and would continue, much as he had done before, killing and consuming. However, it would become apparent and clear to him that he would need to keep hunting down and eating those like himself. For this he would come back, as often as he could, to the vast deserts of Hueco Mundo.
Eventually, after quite some time, Eurynomos would find himself a small pack, a band of Adjuchas like himself. First introductions being difficult in these circumstances, he'd keep a close eye on them, waiting for the best moment to come forward. In time, he would have himself an opportunity. Finding himself quite the nest of lesser Hollows one time, and eating his full, he came to them to offer what plenty was left over. Though they were naturally distrustful at first, with him popping up now and again, bearing gifts, or coming there way with warning of impending danger, either Shinigami, Arrancar or other Hollows, they'd soon allow him to be more and more welcome with them. He'd join their group, much as he would any other group, with a smile, some generous contributions, some shameless flattery. A part of his want to join the group was because of one particular member of this pack who stood out for him, an exemplary figure from the rest. Her name, he'd learn, was Persephone, and he found that she was a strong and prideful thing. For some reason, she peaked his curiosity. She was clearly quite powerful, willful in her own way, yet she'd not taken charge of the pack. While she never submitted to anyone else, it appeared that she was content with quietly following the rest.
She confounded him. On the one hand, she seemed quiet and reserved, the typical shy type. On the other hand, it didn't seem as if she had a softer side. He couldn't shake her. He never heard her laugh, never saw her flustered by some of his more inappropriate innuendos, or actions. No matter how he tried, she simply stared at him with that harsh coldness of hers. While he didn't want to risk an open conflict, being a newer member to the group, he would struggle for dominance over her, most of the times subtly, other times not so much. On the occasions when the friction between the two of them became too obvious, Eurynomos facing the threat of rejection from the group, she'd give him leeway, dismissed the severity of any of his discretions, saying that he was no bother and that he could stay. Those were the times that she won. The provocation, which she never seemed to rise to, wasn't always on his side. At times it seemed like she went out of her way to make a fool of him, which usually he didn't mind, he could play the fool and get a laugh from them all, however, this was different, he wasn't playing the fool, he was being made the fool.
In time though, he'd start to see that, in some ways, she seemed much like himself. She too seemed to have a cold disregard for the feelings of those around her, and only seemed happy, though it was the hardest thing to tell, when the rest of the group was at ease. While she didn't appear to be indifferent to Eurynomos, it was difficult to know which way she actually went, whether she was glad to have him around or not. She never seemed to rise to his usual taunts so, gradually, he'd begin to temper his more vulgar ways. It was an odd and new sensation, having never experienced this for anyone before, but there seemed to develop, over time, what might be considered a sense of respect for her. In some ways, as well though, he could be more ill at ease around her, he didn't have to try so hard, but he would still come out, habitually, now and then, with some of his more jocular manners.
It seemed the strangest thing to him in the world, but he actually found that, by having reduced the frequency of his attempts to cheer and play the joker, that he'd ended up striking her more effectively. Though he was careful, extremely careful not to make a thing of it, to not make a fuss of it there and then, or later when the pack was gathered around, he actually, one day, by the most remarkable stroke of luck, saw a slight smile on her. It'd been because of him, he was certain, they'd been looking over the newest nest they'd found, that they were about to raid, and he'd absent mindedly made some little joke or humorous comment. He hadn't really been trying, at all, and that's why it struck him as odd that this was the moment it actually worked. It'd been so tempting, at the time, to make a follow up to that joke, to maybe hear her laugh aloud, but he dared not risk it, especially since they were having to be stealthy at the time.
From that point on he tried his hardest to show how powerful and strong he was. Save from her, who he felt was roughly on his level, he was stronger than any member of the pack. He was more powerful and dangerous, in fact, than the entire pack put together, Persephone not included. 'The others only slow us down, only make us weaker. We could ascend to such greater heights, the two of us.' He could feel it, after all these years, she was finally warming up to him. Once more, he found himself focused, obsessively on a single individual. He wanted her, with him and only him and only her. The others were only in the way. Every time the two of them were sent out together, when it was just the two of them, he felt that this was how it should be. She became beautiful to him, in a way, and he could tell that she felt it too. Never for anyone else, did he ever see her smile, and he would see her do so more and more.
In time, he gradually began to dissuade her to disregard the rest, and join him and only him. While at first, she seemed to feign a horror and rejection of his disloyalty and plans to do away with the rest, slowly she began to drop the act and came around to his way. She knew how things truly were, as well as he did, and subtly the two of them started to become more and more distant to the others. Though he had no way of knowing if it was a trap, if he could genuinely trust her, if she was truly willing to turn against the others that she had been with for so long, he felt that he had no choice but to take that risk. Nevertheless, keeping a close and suspicious eye on her, to try and see if she was in some way still in communion with the rest of the pack, Eurynomos began to plot, with her.
One night, when all their plans were made, Eurynomos took the plunge and saw for himself the moment of truth. To his relief, he found that Persephone joined him and, together, they disbanded and dismembered the pack. At the end of the mayhem, once they had made a meal of their former allies, the two of them fled into the night, like a pair of juvenile delinquents, giggling together, fleeing from their daring vandalism of school property. They had actually done it, after all their plotting and scheming, all their secret liaisons, so many times they'd almost been found out, it was finally the two of them, together, nobody else, for as long as they both lived. Once they'd gotten some distance away, as the rush of what they'd done started to die down, Eurynomos found himself surprised as she set upon him most violently. At first he thought that she in turn was now turning to betray him, however, he wasn't fooled long. Though they fought quite brutally and viciously with one another, both proving, as he'd originally suspected, an even match, at the very end of the fight, Eurynomos took it upon himself to turn their struggle into something quite different. Grappling onto her tight, he let a stillness settle on their rapid fight. A subtle and purring growl escaping from him, he leant in and slowly ran his tongue up the side of her neck. Loosening his grip slightly, allowing her to move, he witnessed her, usually so cold, proud and controlled, responding in kind, turning just as ravenous for him as he now was for her...
For a long time, the two of them were together, hunting, killing. Persephone had once been a noble courtesan from some ancient Japanese region and, being the kind that could not allow his generosity, which he frequently showed, to go unpaid, she taught him the language that so many Hollows seemed to speak. With her, he'd learn more about his unique abilities, finding that he had available to him a subtly different means of feeding and hunting. Of course, in turn, she now had the freedom to learn more about her powers and abilities, the two of them growing together. Her abilities granting her great perception of others, and his power allowing him an advantage as long as he matched the state of his prey, the two of them would be a perfect pair in the hunt. She seemed to take great joy in watching him display his more 'salacious' abilities and he in turn found himself choosing more and more often male targets, figuring that this was perhaps more to her liking, though she would sometime give him leave to pick out woman and even at times picked them out for him. He would drain most of their energy, and at the end, almost invariably, she would kill and eat the prey, turning afterwards to Eurynomos if he was still aroused, as he almost always would be, seeing to both of their needs, her own appetite normally being wetted quite severely by the lengthy and noisy show previous. Sometimes she would participate, on the rare occasion during, but more often than not, she would have her part at the beginning, scarring and driving their prey Eurynomos's way, where he'd lie in wait.
In their many wanderings across worlds, they would see many exciting and strange things. Some of these things would hold their interest for a short time, others would occupy their attention for days. It would be one particular oddity that they came across one day however, that seemed to seize and entrance Eurynomos's partner, more than any other thing they'd encountered. Abandoned, most likely due to some increased Hollow activity in the area, had been a small research camp, belonging to some faction, the Seireitei, Las Noches, some other group, they had no way of telling. At first, finding little of interest, they were readying to leave the area, with no meal or entertainment being present here. However, just before Eurynomos could declare it of no interest, and insist on moving on, it appeared that something had caught Persephone's eye. A lot of the equipment left behind was portable, as were the notes. Though he thought it a harmless, simple interest at first, something she would bore of, just as he did, as she continued her pursuit of this new activity, in time to appear more and more obsessed, he'd have to come to a horrible conclusion. His partner had found a hobby.
While she was still with him, close to him, doing all the things they'd done together before, though sadly not as frequently, he couldn't help but notice the slightest of distance wedged between the two of them. For hours she would read, try out some of the tests that she saw in the books they had found, extending out a limb and dropping into glass tubes of strange liquid little chunks of something that would bubble away, all the while her head turning to and from between the book and experiment which she in turn was recreating now. One night she'd insist on raiding and stealing from some bizarre place, the likes of which Eurynomos had never seen before, more books, more equipment. It was becoming difficult to take it all with them, wherever they went. Not wanting to lose her, or have her become to distant to him, he'd try to share in this new interest. While he could, in time, begin to understand most of what it was she was playing with, after she explained it to him in length for some time, some of it was over his head. In addition, he didn't really seem to get into it as much as she did. There'd been something in there about the 'further evolution of Hollow kind', which didn't seem to hold the same appeal for him as it did for her. He was quite happy the way they were, hunting, killing, 'playing', sometimes all at the same time. At times, he felt a frustration, whenever she wanted to keep going on some experiment she was doing, or finish the chapter she was reading, when he'd asked her to come out with him. It was all he could do, on occasion not to smash it all apart, rip those books to pieces, but he knew how much that would upset her. All he could do then, was to try and see what was so good about this 'hobby' of hers, and share in it with her.
Of course, it wasn't all for naught. In time she'd learn to make certain enhancements, ways in which one could make little changes, little improvements here and there. He was quite pleased when one of her earliest decisions, of what to do with this knowledge, with his consent, was to indulge in a certain 'enlargement' of part of his body, a thoroughly successful procedure after which he would quite happily and enthusiastically indulge in a long night of 'additional testing' in which he would effectively and completely make her forget all of her other research. Not that she'd ever found him inadequate before. The two of them would reward themselves with other augmentations over time, as well as devising certain ways of 'enhancing' their experiences together, the later of which would mostly be done by Eurynomos. While he would, through this way, seem to develop a similar interest in the sciences, as she had, it would be fairly obvious, over time, that his interests were still rather single minded and selective. His thirst for knowledge would not be as open and ambitious as hers.
It would not be until more recent years, that tragedy would strike for this most happy pair. One day, returning from one of his hunts, in which he needed to actually eat a soul, rather than drain it's Reiatsu, Persephone rarely came along to those, Eurynomos would find their lair devastated and torn apart. She was dead and he could barely identify her remains to know that it was her. Given that she'd apparently been eaten, mostly, he had to conclude that it was some other Hollow, possibly an Adjuchas or something higher level. There was nothing he could do. There was no trail he could follow, no way of tracking down whoever did this. They were long gone, as was she. For over a year, he would wander aimlessly, starving himself, grieving terribly for his lost love. Eventually though, he'd have to find the strength to go on. He'd return to his hunt, and jolly and shameless once more, the joker, Eurynomos, would go out hunting for his latest prey.
Personality, Behind The Eyes:
Personality: To most, Eurynomos seems quite the sociable and fun loving guy. While, as a Hollow, he has to live mostly a hunter's existence, most of his interaction being as a predator with their prey, on the rare occasion he decides to sidle up sideways to a pack of other Hollows and smile, he makes himself most welcome and brings joy wherever he goes, providing a stark contrast to the usually quite grim mood of most Hollows. He has quite the 'appetite' for both those human shaped and Hollows alike, both for food as well as other needs, and is frequently on the prowl. For the most part, this is the only side of him that most people get to see, the happy and, in some ways, fair hunter. However, if you anger or upset him severely, or if you get to properly know him, or end up his prisoner, you might find yourself delving into a much colder, dark interior. Within, you'll find a rather uncaring and callous brutality and, if he thinks he's done with you, after all the smiling and laughter, and other things, you might find yourself, if you aren't careful, surprised by how bluntly and simply he'll toss you aside and discard you.
Positive Traits:
Joyous
"How about another round? But not you... like we need to spend another night dragging you home, haha!"
The life of the party, Eurynomos loves a good joke and can tell a good one or two at times. Despite everything, he tries to always smile and be jolly around others. He is often found laughing and has, it seems, a very fond and easy going sense of humour. While he may, on rare occasion, have a moment of despair in which he'll sadly but openly share his troubles, normally on a one to one basis, once it's out in the open he will more often than not bounce right back. He dances, he sings, and often encourages other people to do the same. He finds shyness endearing and even if a more reserved person turns him down, he'll likely insist, taking them by the hand and dragging them out to the dance floor to get them to 'shake it loose'. If everyone else isn't having a good time, he's not having a good time.
Confident
"Hello, I'm Eurynomos, remember the name, you'll be moaning and screaming it later... well... mostly moaning."
Eurynomos has no trouble with being bold. While he has, as any person does, setbacks, he doesn't usually let them get him down. Continuing to stride onward in life, he very rarely hesitates in anything, usually just going for it. This is not to say that he is impetuous. He takes care to evaluate situations and people as they come to him. However, once he's decided upon a course of action, he will typically go all the way through with it. While other people may be afraid to do certain things, Eurynomos is no stranger to biting the bullet, staying calm in the face of adversity and going for it if he wants or needs to.
Patient
"Of course, take all the time you need."
Having spent many years waiting for the next exciting thing to happen, Eurynomos has no problem going along with another person's pace. Willing to spend hours just sitting in wait, Eurynomos can be surprisingly still, given his more energetic personality. When he has to wait and he knows he's having to wait, an odd quiet can fall over him. He stays, almost vacant, an odd coldness coming about this usually so much warm and inviting individual. No, he doesn't mind having to take things slow, if anything, inside his own head, he feels excitement, the building anticipation, though it doesn't show externally.
Adaptable
"Well, that is kind of odd. You don't see one of those everyday. Still, I can work with this."
While Eurynomos normally has quite clearly in his mind what it is he wants, when circumstances suddenly shift and become unusual, or not as he'd expected them to be, he is quick to adjust. In some cases this means abandoning the thing that he was after, other times this means making the best of the situation at hand. Sometimes he finds himself getting out of the unexpected something better than what he'd originally hoped for and other times not. In either case, he accepts the unpredictability of life, and tries to make the best of it, relishing those times when things go well and calmly accepting when they don't. If there wasn't a bit of adventure, a bit of the unexpected, what would be the point?
Generous
"Here we go. I hope you all like donuts."
Taking quite the enlightened view that people, and getting along well with them, having them like him, are far more important than any material goods, Eurynomos is usually quite willing to give away what he has or even go to great lengths to please other people for little in return. While he probably wouldn't sacrifice his own happiness for another person, giving up something he genuinely wanted for himself, he is quite happy to take an inordinate amount of time putting other people in a good mood. When he sees another person happy, he usually smiles himself, not least of all because it's easier to have fun with them at that point.
Inquisitive
"Now, let's see if we can't make a little progress figuring this out."
Having spent many years exploring the world with Persephone, and discovering many new things through experimentation and scientific study, Eurynomos has at least 'some' taste for figuring out how things work and uncovering the truth behind many mysteries. While his desire to understand the world was not as virulent and strong as it was in his partner, he does still possess this trait in enough quantity that he will at times go out of his way, abandoning some of his other wants and desires, to pursue knowledge and to know what he does not know.
"How about another round? But not you... like we need to spend another night dragging you home, haha!"
The life of the party, Eurynomos loves a good joke and can tell a good one or two at times. Despite everything, he tries to always smile and be jolly around others. He is often found laughing and has, it seems, a very fond and easy going sense of humour. While he may, on rare occasion, have a moment of despair in which he'll sadly but openly share his troubles, normally on a one to one basis, once it's out in the open he will more often than not bounce right back. He dances, he sings, and often encourages other people to do the same. He finds shyness endearing and even if a more reserved person turns him down, he'll likely insist, taking them by the hand and dragging them out to the dance floor to get them to 'shake it loose'. If everyone else isn't having a good time, he's not having a good time.
Confident
"Hello, I'm Eurynomos, remember the name, you'll be moaning and screaming it later... well... mostly moaning."
Eurynomos has no trouble with being bold. While he has, as any person does, setbacks, he doesn't usually let them get him down. Continuing to stride onward in life, he very rarely hesitates in anything, usually just going for it. This is not to say that he is impetuous. He takes care to evaluate situations and people as they come to him. However, once he's decided upon a course of action, he will typically go all the way through with it. While other people may be afraid to do certain things, Eurynomos is no stranger to biting the bullet, staying calm in the face of adversity and going for it if he wants or needs to.
Patient
"Of course, take all the time you need."
Having spent many years waiting for the next exciting thing to happen, Eurynomos has no problem going along with another person's pace. Willing to spend hours just sitting in wait, Eurynomos can be surprisingly still, given his more energetic personality. When he has to wait and he knows he's having to wait, an odd quiet can fall over him. He stays, almost vacant, an odd coldness coming about this usually so much warm and inviting individual. No, he doesn't mind having to take things slow, if anything, inside his own head, he feels excitement, the building anticipation, though it doesn't show externally.
Adaptable
"Well, that is kind of odd. You don't see one of those everyday. Still, I can work with this."
While Eurynomos normally has quite clearly in his mind what it is he wants, when circumstances suddenly shift and become unusual, or not as he'd expected them to be, he is quick to adjust. In some cases this means abandoning the thing that he was after, other times this means making the best of the situation at hand. Sometimes he finds himself getting out of the unexpected something better than what he'd originally hoped for and other times not. In either case, he accepts the unpredictability of life, and tries to make the best of it, relishing those times when things go well and calmly accepting when they don't. If there wasn't a bit of adventure, a bit of the unexpected, what would be the point?
Generous
"Here we go. I hope you all like donuts."
Taking quite the enlightened view that people, and getting along well with them, having them like him, are far more important than any material goods, Eurynomos is usually quite willing to give away what he has or even go to great lengths to please other people for little in return. While he probably wouldn't sacrifice his own happiness for another person, giving up something he genuinely wanted for himself, he is quite happy to take an inordinate amount of time putting other people in a good mood. When he sees another person happy, he usually smiles himself, not least of all because it's easier to have fun with them at that point.
Inquisitive
"Now, let's see if we can't make a little progress figuring this out."
Having spent many years exploring the world with Persephone, and discovering many new things through experimentation and scientific study, Eurynomos has at least 'some' taste for figuring out how things work and uncovering the truth behind many mysteries. While his desire to understand the world was not as virulent and strong as it was in his partner, he does still possess this trait in enough quantity that he will at times go out of his way, abandoning some of his other wants and desires, to pursue knowledge and to know what he does not know.
Negative Traits:
Sociopath
“Your friend just died? I'm sorry to hear that. You're still coming, right? What?! No?! Do you know how much that messes up my schedule?!”
While this trait has become more pronounced since his Hollowfication, though he was a pretty nasty piece of work to begin with, one of Eurynomos's more defining features, though he does a pretty good job concealing it at times, is his complete lack of empathy for people other than himself. His motives always completely self serving, he concerns himself only with his own happiness. It should not be said however, that he completely ignores the feelings of others. He has found that it is much easier to have a good time and enjoy himself if the people around him are, in turn, in a good mood. The amount of effort he is willing to put in to cheering other people up however is limited. If he encounters someone in the midst of grieving or in a particularly bad mood, if he can't bring a person around easily, depending on how easy it would be for him to find someone else, he might well disregard this person, in favour of finding someone who is more willing to have a good time, leaving the saddened individual to sort themselves out in their own time.
Vengeful
"Now I get to show you why nobody crosses me."
While Eurynomos is usually quick to forgive and pass off any minor offence, when someone does something to truly displease him, Eurynomos is able to hold a grudge with the best of them. At times letting it boil and wait under the surface, taking the approach of 'best served cold', other times Eurynomos allows his vengeance to strike hard and fast. When he comes to exact punishment, Eurynomos is often harsh and vicious in his treatment, a person who has incurred his wrath rarely making it out alive. If they are lucky, he makes it quick.
Manipulative
"It's terrible, really. If I were you, I'd find some way of getting back at him for it, and you know, I have the perfect idea on how you could do that."
Eurynomos is the perfect user. With no qualms when it comes to things like telling the truth or respecting another person's feelings, he will often find ways of twisting and contorting things so he can get people do what he wants. While at times he seems to take a perverse joy in tricking people into doing his bidding, sometime doing it so well that they find themselves thinking it was their idea, he does on occasion have his own objectives that he's working towards when he engages in his subtle mind games.
Disloyal
"Well, I'm done. It's been fun guys, if you survive, drop me a line some time. I'm just sorry there are only enough parachutes for me and my luggage. Ciao."
While he'll usually stick around with a group of people for a while, loving the inside jokes and the reminiscing of old times, unless he has really bonded to a person, Eurynomos has no loyalties beside himself. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Not just in adversity, Eurynomos will move on at times, never looking back, if he feels that all the fun to be had has been had and things are starting to get stale. It should be said that anyone who try to cling onto him, force him to stay, may get more than just a bit of cold shoulder, Eurynomos not enjoying the sensation of being (metaphorically) tied down, forced to stay in one place.
Two-Faced
"Yes, of course, I am obviously, ever, at your disposal..." {I will throttle you in your fucking sleep, you little trog!}
Though Eurynomos appears rather shameless, to most, willing to debase himself in front of others for a laugh or to get what he needs, he does secretly have a prideful side to him. To put it in simple terms, while he is happy to play the fool and have people laugh with him, it only inflames him to have people make him the fool and have people laugh at him. The manner in which he hides his displeasure with other people, continuing to joke and get along with the people he is now actually loathing and already plotting the painful and vicious demise of, makes Eurynomos a dangerous specimen indeed. To even the most perceptive of individuals, he is capable of hiding his true feelings. While he is usually quite shameless when it comes to his particular 'proclivities', if you do find something that might embarrass him, be careful. Caution is advisable when dealing with him, because even if it's all smiles and flattery, if you've made some comment or taken some action that has ticked him off, it's best not to fall into the trap of thinking everything is alright between the two of you, and not locking your bedroom door at night, might be a fatal mistake.
Control Freak
"What was that? Did you have something you wanted to say? Right, I thought so."
A culmination of his more sociopathic nature, his self centeredness, in which he places himself as the only thing of importance, and his tendency to manipulate those around him, Eurynomos is adamant in his desire to be the dominant personality and to have things progress at his pace, when possible. While he has no aspiration to take on the leadership roles, and be in charge that way, he wants strongly for the people he does manipulate to end up doing things his way, to get what he wants, to have them submit, either consciously or not, to his will. Though he isn't too exact, not a perfectionist for this, as long as they end up serving him one way or the other, forwarding his agenda in some small way, he will be content. Unable to keep people around via deep emotional connections, or meaningful interactions, he instead finds little ways to force people to stick around. On many occasions he has found himself experiencing pleasure, to a lesser or greater degree, in those instances where he has taken control of another. As you might expect from this, when he is forced to submit to the will of another, to become subservient, while he may serve, if it suits him, or if he has no other choice, he will seek to take the lead again the moment he is able to. Perhaps doing so behind a person's back without showing his displeasure and remaining 'happy to serve', his resentment and grudge at being made another person's 'instrument' will bubble away under the surface, hidden and in private. If and when he does regain the dominant position, he'd likely seek out vengeance with whoever had forced him to submit, revenge for ever having been forced to do anything, but also making certain he never has to lose his power again.
Obsessed
"It may have taken me fifty years, but I finally have it!"
While Eurynomos has, on occasion, formed more long term 'relationships' with people (and sometimes 'people'), it might be more accurate to say at times that what he experiences could be more accurately described as obsession rather than love. This trait, it should be said, does not always apply to 'who' he is with, it can also apply to things that he has decided he wants for himself. Whether it be possessions or titles or knowledge, or anything else, once Eurynomos has set his mind strongly on wanting one thing in particular, it is hard to shake from him that. Being forced to give up on something he's decided is far too much like being forced to submit to the will of another person, or to the world at wide.
“Your friend just died? I'm sorry to hear that. You're still coming, right? What?! No?! Do you know how much that messes up my schedule?!”
While this trait has become more pronounced since his Hollowfication, though he was a pretty nasty piece of work to begin with, one of Eurynomos's more defining features, though he does a pretty good job concealing it at times, is his complete lack of empathy for people other than himself. His motives always completely self serving, he concerns himself only with his own happiness. It should not be said however, that he completely ignores the feelings of others. He has found that it is much easier to have a good time and enjoy himself if the people around him are, in turn, in a good mood. The amount of effort he is willing to put in to cheering other people up however is limited. If he encounters someone in the midst of grieving or in a particularly bad mood, if he can't bring a person around easily, depending on how easy it would be for him to find someone else, he might well disregard this person, in favour of finding someone who is more willing to have a good time, leaving the saddened individual to sort themselves out in their own time.
Vengeful
"Now I get to show you why nobody crosses me."
While Eurynomos is usually quick to forgive and pass off any minor offence, when someone does something to truly displease him, Eurynomos is able to hold a grudge with the best of them. At times letting it boil and wait under the surface, taking the approach of 'best served cold', other times Eurynomos allows his vengeance to strike hard and fast. When he comes to exact punishment, Eurynomos is often harsh and vicious in his treatment, a person who has incurred his wrath rarely making it out alive. If they are lucky, he makes it quick.
Manipulative
"It's terrible, really. If I were you, I'd find some way of getting back at him for it, and you know, I have the perfect idea on how you could do that."
Eurynomos is the perfect user. With no qualms when it comes to things like telling the truth or respecting another person's feelings, he will often find ways of twisting and contorting things so he can get people do what he wants. While at times he seems to take a perverse joy in tricking people into doing his bidding, sometime doing it so well that they find themselves thinking it was their idea, he does on occasion have his own objectives that he's working towards when he engages in his subtle mind games.
Disloyal
"Well, I'm done. It's been fun guys, if you survive, drop me a line some time. I'm just sorry there are only enough parachutes for me and my luggage. Ciao."
While he'll usually stick around with a group of people for a while, loving the inside jokes and the reminiscing of old times, unless he has really bonded to a person, Eurynomos has no loyalties beside himself. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Not just in adversity, Eurynomos will move on at times, never looking back, if he feels that all the fun to be had has been had and things are starting to get stale. It should be said that anyone who try to cling onto him, force him to stay, may get more than just a bit of cold shoulder, Eurynomos not enjoying the sensation of being (metaphorically) tied down, forced to stay in one place.
Two-Faced
"Yes, of course, I am obviously, ever, at your disposal..." {I will throttle you in your fucking sleep, you little trog!}
Though Eurynomos appears rather shameless, to most, willing to debase himself in front of others for a laugh or to get what he needs, he does secretly have a prideful side to him. To put it in simple terms, while he is happy to play the fool and have people laugh with him, it only inflames him to have people make him the fool and have people laugh at him. The manner in which he hides his displeasure with other people, continuing to joke and get along with the people he is now actually loathing and already plotting the painful and vicious demise of, makes Eurynomos a dangerous specimen indeed. To even the most perceptive of individuals, he is capable of hiding his true feelings. While he is usually quite shameless when it comes to his particular 'proclivities', if you do find something that might embarrass him, be careful. Caution is advisable when dealing with him, because even if it's all smiles and flattery, if you've made some comment or taken some action that has ticked him off, it's best not to fall into the trap of thinking everything is alright between the two of you, and not locking your bedroom door at night, might be a fatal mistake.
Control Freak
"What was that? Did you have something you wanted to say? Right, I thought so."
A culmination of his more sociopathic nature, his self centeredness, in which he places himself as the only thing of importance, and his tendency to manipulate those around him, Eurynomos is adamant in his desire to be the dominant personality and to have things progress at his pace, when possible. While he has no aspiration to take on the leadership roles, and be in charge that way, he wants strongly for the people he does manipulate to end up doing things his way, to get what he wants, to have them submit, either consciously or not, to his will. Though he isn't too exact, not a perfectionist for this, as long as they end up serving him one way or the other, forwarding his agenda in some small way, he will be content. Unable to keep people around via deep emotional connections, or meaningful interactions, he instead finds little ways to force people to stick around. On many occasions he has found himself experiencing pleasure, to a lesser or greater degree, in those instances where he has taken control of another. As you might expect from this, when he is forced to submit to the will of another, to become subservient, while he may serve, if it suits him, or if he has no other choice, he will seek to take the lead again the moment he is able to. Perhaps doing so behind a person's back without showing his displeasure and remaining 'happy to serve', his resentment and grudge at being made another person's 'instrument' will bubble away under the surface, hidden and in private. If and when he does regain the dominant position, he'd likely seek out vengeance with whoever had forced him to submit, revenge for ever having been forced to do anything, but also making certain he never has to lose his power again.
Obsessed
"It may have taken me fifty years, but I finally have it!"
While Eurynomos has, on occasion, formed more long term 'relationships' with people (and sometimes 'people'), it might be more accurate to say at times that what he experiences could be more accurately described as obsession rather than love. This trait, it should be said, does not always apply to 'who' he is with, it can also apply to things that he has decided he wants for himself. Whether it be possessions or titles or knowledge, or anything else, once Eurynomos has set his mind strongly on wanting one thing in particular, it is hard to shake from him that. Being forced to give up on something he's decided is far too much like being forced to submit to the will of another person, or to the world at wide.
Loyalties: Eurynomos currently has no loyalties to anyone besides himself. While he was, until recently, bound to a 'partner', with their death he finds himself with little more than the passing associations he indulges in now and then, often moving on to the next exciting group of people he can find, when he can.
Goals and Achievements: Eurynomos, existing only as a Hollow so far, has not really achieved much really worth mentioning, besides working his way up to Adjuchas class. In terms of his future aspirations, at the moment, Eurynomos only has his more immediate hunger to drive him. That said, this hunger should not be disregarded as a legitimate motivation for him. While he has no specific plan with which to find such a place, he does at times find himself wanting to discover and establishing for himself, somewhere, a more permanent lair. A place in which he can set up a home and, more importantly, keep a more stable, sustainable and easy to access daily food source. In fact there have been a number of 'edibles' that, despite finding them quite delectable/entertaining, he has had to let go, much to his disappointment, lacking a place to put them. It is at these times, and when his 'hunts' are not going all that well, that his desire for a permanent and secure location in which to set up is all the more peaked.
Eurynomos Power Within
Aspect of Death: Envy. Due to Eurynomos's personality, it has always been difficult for him to form meaningful relationships with people. Even when he does manage to build these sort of connections, there is still very much a demand, on his part, for attention and interaction, and what he experiences, as a relationship, tends to be 'dysfunctional', at best. Eurynomos's abilities extend as part of his more manipulative nature, reaching out to seize enviously what other people have. In this case his Aspect of Death exists in a more literal sense, to take and steal the energy of others, but even then the power is steeped deeply, and relies on, Eurynomos's desire to have what other people have, to force others to be as he is, or to warp himself into a reflection of that around him.
Hollow Power, Parasitica: By assuming a similar emotional state as his target, or by forcing them to assume a similar state to him, Eurynomos is able to adjust the ‘type’ of his own Reiatsu to allow him to absorb the energy of others.
Power Description, Empathic Reiatsu Absorption: Unlike most Hollow’s who are only able to feed off the Reiatsu of other beings through consumption, Eurynomos is capable of draining the energy directly out of his victims as a leech would drain blood from its victims. This is typically done via contact, using the suction caps on Eurynomos's many appendages. The rest of his body, once his Reiatsu is synchronised with his opponent, is capable of absorbing energy, to a greater or lesser degree allowing him to resist any adverse effects that would usually occur, though only the caps on his limbs are capable of extracting it.
Though he still requires the consumption of souls from time to time, Eurynomos’s hunger for Reiatsu at least can be satiated via methods less violent than those usually employed by Hollows. This process while painful for the target, if done rapidly, can be done without causing any harm if done slowly over a period of several minutes, or hours depending on the target. Ultimately his ability to drain his opponent comes down to how well he can duplicated in both himself and his target either some powerful sensation, for example pain or pleasure, or alternatively/in addition some notable emotional state, joy, fear, anger, etc...
Powers, TLDR:
In regards to the absorption portion of Eurynomos’s powers, this of course naturally includes an element of 'acclimation'. While this mostly serves the function of protection, making it harder, for anyone running on the same ‘wavelength’ as Eurynomos, to harm him, this power is also useful for the purpose of masking and hiding one's Reiatsu. By camouflaging his own Reiatsu, making it a nearer match to that of his target, Eurynomos can make his approach harder to detect, his own signature becoming difficult to discern from that of his target. The range of this power is much the same as the range of his own Reiatsu perception. Another thing to mention about the 'acclimation' portion of Eurynomos's power is that, while mostly a bi-product of the feeding/absorption process, and by no means an absolute power, it is a dangerous ability for him to have in more even matched combat. When both he and his opponent are taking damage, there is a cumulative effect incurred. As pain is inflicted on either side, Eurynomos will become more and more resistant to the enemy's power. That said, this ability has little effect on physical attacks, and is normally most effective against energy based strikes such as Kido and Cero.
It should also be noted that there is a rather glaring weakness in Eurynomos’s power. Since he himself is not all that capable of empathy, disregarding the feelings of others, should he encounter anyone bearing towards him feelings of sympathy, pity, or any other feeling that he himself is incapable of, his powers would likely fail. Furthermore, on the rare occasion he might encounter such a bizarre creature, capable of feeling such things towards a Hollow, he’d probably find himself weaker and far easier to harm, their Reiatsu having a greater effect on him than usual. The observation might also be made that ‘emotional synchronicity’ might be a more accurate term to use than ‘empathy’, since Eurynomos does not actually empathise with his targets.
It should also be noted that there is a rather glaring weakness in Eurynomos’s power. Since he himself is not all that capable of empathy, disregarding the feelings of others, should he encounter anyone bearing towards him feelings of sympathy, pity, or any other feeling that he himself is incapable of, his powers would likely fail. Furthermore, on the rare occasion he might encounter such a bizarre creature, capable of feeling such things towards a Hollow, he’d probably find himself weaker and far easier to harm, their Reiatsu having a greater effect on him than usual. The observation might also be made that ‘emotional synchronicity’ might be a more accurate term to use than ‘empathy’, since Eurynomos does not actually empathise with his targets.
OOC and Notes:
Action Text is in this format.
"Normal Speech is in this format."
"Onomatopoeia is in this format."
{Thought is in this format.}
Red - cb0000
Gold - e6b116
Dark Gold - e66116
Sky Blue - 0988f7
Dark Blue - 4750ff
Green - 27ba11
Dark Lilac - a125db
Lighter Lilac - e6198b
Player Alias: Fen
Desired Starting GP: As high as I can get, maybe 1,000?
Were You Referred By Anyone: When I first came here, it was via Google.
Other Characters: Alexander V. Terada, Shinigami