Old King Caz [Closed | Cazador]

Cazador had grown tired of the politics in Las Noches, more and more he found the hollows he recruited converted into arrancar. He could no long trust that Eve would leave them to evolve at their own pace, he flew silently over the desert his mind drifting through a sea of thoughts. Thousands of voices deep within himself, more often then not he just silenced them yet this time he enjoyed listening to them. Something seemed to caused to cause the voice to grow into a chorus all speaking the same thing, they spoke of pain and hunger and Cazador would feel his desire to feed grow. Pushing away the voices was difficult but he would not let them overpower him. As he passed over the dunes below something tickled at the back of his mind, reaching out with his senses he picked up something. Like a small blip in the back of his mind he felt a nearby hollow and closed his wings letting his body spiral towards the glistening sands below. Last minute he opened his wings once more and with a powerful stroke of his wings slowed his landing, sand blew upwards in slow twisting dust devils.

Closing his eyes and focusing his senses inward he reached out once more, sending out a small band of energy and felt where it was obstructed by another being. He couldn't tell much about the beast but at least he knew it was near likely just on the other side of the dune from himself. Building a weak cero within his palm he sent the beam towards the dune, the sands crackled and snapped as they were turned to glass and shattered by the force of the explosion. Cazador adjusted his wings dislodging sand from them as he waited for the other hollow to be visible through the cloud of dust. “If you want speak do it now before I devour you.” A small laugh escaped his mouth, “Though if I don't like how you speak to me I may just eat you anyway.” While he may have been stripped of his rank and power within Las Noches he still considered himself the king of the desert, not that many arrancar showed much interest in the endless stretches of sand and quartz.

As the cloud of sand dissipated Cazador could start to make out the shape of the hollow before himself, almost like a body trapped within a garbage bag with grotesque limbs barely noticeable. That's when Cazador realized that this little hollow wasn't just small due to his giant size but was genuinely tiny for a hollow even a young one. A curious expression crossed the dragon's features, his finger thoughtfully tapping at the bottom of his mask, “Tell me little one, who are you?” The dragon would keep his own identity quiet for now.

WC 476

He'd watched the other beast settle down among the sands a ways away from his dune, its form a dark stain against the otherwise pristine white sands. To his surprise two bolts of energy shot toward him in a matter of moments after the thing set itself down, the sand beneath him billowing from the impact. As the freshly made glass shattered and the dune itself crumbled, the young hollow let himself fall with it. While the sand settled itself around him he sat getting his bearings while the creature asked questions he could only assume were meant for him.

"Me?" the question came out a squeak, his voice hoarse from having inhaled the fine sand particles. It also produced a coughing fit that sent his small body into convulsions due to its force. Sand fell from the hollow's shoulders and hair as he flung himself forward and back until the coughing ceased. "Me's Cayo~!"

Now that he was a bit closer, and the thing wasn't up in the sky, the young hollow could better grasp just how much larger it was than himself. It was easily ten times his size, it was huge! He honestly had to strain himself from attempting to scale it, after all it was a living being. Kind of. If it was like him, it was already dead. Ish. He didn't care. The point was, it wasn't just something he guessed it was a someone. But just because he didn't climb it didn't mean he suddenly stopped wanting to eat it.

"Can't eat." he shook his head. The thing was silly, it couldn't eat him. He'd already decided that it would be his meal! The meal didn't get to eat the consumer. He laughed to himself about the idea a bit, moving the slightest bit closer to the beast. It did look awful tall. He couldn't remember seeing anything from quite that high. Well, that wasn't quite true. His crash landing into this world had been from far higher than what the beast before him stood at, though he was certain he'd never climbed anything that tall.

"Who you?" he returned the question back to the beast, slowly inching closer toward it's base. Perhaps he'd been wrong. It would be rather entertaining to climb it. Plus, it'd be easier to kill if he could scale it and get at its neck. As though it wasn't any big deal, and the thing before him couldn't just outright kill him, the hollow lazily crossed the remaining distance between himself and the other beast. Reaching its foot - paw? -claw? - he reached out and began to stroke it. He knew trying to climb it right away wasn't going to work out well. It'd probably fly away, and either leave him dangling hundreds of feet above the ground by one of its hairs, or it'd raise the appendage and squish him. Neither were very favorable, but he guessed the ride might have been fun in its own right. No matter, he'd already begun to pet the thing he may as well carry on with his initial idea. 

[WC: 517][TWC: 1,038]

Cazador gazed upon the strange hollow, listening as it explained that it's name was Cayo. The little hollow had nearly hacked up a lung before being able to reveal that information though, the dragon was cautious he had learned enough in his time in Hueco Mundo to not take things at face value. Even little hollow like the one before him could be dangerous and if he was like any other hollow it would soon think of trying to eat him if he hadn't thought it already. Clearing away the absent thoughts the dragon focused more on the language of the little hollow. It spoke yet it was clear it had not yet much practice or at least wasn't used to doing such in it's form, but unlike many hollow Cazador had encountered this little one had a rather distinct personality like a child. Not many hollow that adopted that kind of intelligence survived to evolve further yet the ones that did often went on to make something of themselves. He had already decided that Cayo wasn't going to be a meal, not only due to the fact that he would not even be filling but also could prove useful with some training and Cazador always looked forward to training a younger hollow to grow stronger, eventually they would either be a worthy ally or a tasty meal.

A grin crossed the mask of the dragon as the little sack replied to his comment about eating him, “Oh? Are you so sure I couldn't just eat you?” As if to make his point the dragon opened it's massive jaws and snapped at the air before the ever growing closer hollow, the forked tongue of the dragon even reaching out of his mouth to lick the side of the little hollow's colourful mask. “I don't even think it would be one mouthful. Shame I guess I won't eat you for now.” When Cayo asked who he was the dragon burst out laughing at the little beast. “Who am I? I am the one who make sure you grow into a powerful hollow like myself. I am the king of Hueco Mundo, Cazador.” As if to punctuate the announcement of his title and name he surged his reiatsu causing the sand to stir around the two hollow. Lightning cracked and leaped between the dragon's horns as he reared up to full size.

That's when the dragon king noticed the feel of sackbody hands stroking his claw, a irritation rose to the surface within the dragon's mind. How dare the little creature touch him!? Doing his best to keep his temper in check the dragon's tail flashed forward and pushed the little hollow away giving off sparks in warning of touching the dragon again. “Don't touch me with your grubby hands.” He could feel the growing desire to eat and refused to allow his hunger to make him eat someone he could put to use. “Let us hunt little one, show me what you can do. Think of it as a game, whoever brings down the largest prey wins.” Cazador knew of a location nearby that he favoured as a hunting grounds, plenty of gillian and adjuchas to hunt in the area along with the routes the base hollow used to enter the area. It was actually where he had met a young female arrancar just a few days prior.

WC 567/1043

"Nope." his statement was a rather terse response to the beast's question. Of course it couldn't eat him, that was just silly. If anything, he would eat it if it didn't prove interesting. His resolve wasn't even fazed when the beast bit down on empty air, though he did giggle as the tongue flicked against his mask. He liked it, he decided. The beast, that is. Though, he was also fond of the faint tickling sensation he briefly experienced. The notion of the title the beast laid claim to was lost on the younger hollow as the only kings he knew of were very briefly crowned before they were dethroned, and even then their successor only got the 'crown' until the game ended. "Oh-"

"Old King 'Caz~" the hollow laughed as he was pushed away from Cazador, the sparks given off offering him another tickle. Any pain he would have otherwise experienced was whisked away by almost instantaneous regeneration of the nerves. "A merry old soul was he~!"

"Grubby hands! Clean up, clean up~!" the beast clapped it's little hands beneath its bag, his mind reciting the verses of the song before quickly being refocused on another interest. "Game!?" 

He didn't care about what the game was about, he was excited. When it came down to it, he didn't even care if he won or lost. Obviously it was more fun to win but he knew better than to expect winning every time. Especially when he fully took in how big the other beast was, winning seemed less likely. He though he heard Cazador say something about hunting, though it was possible he misheard thanks to the pulse pounding in his ears from the excitement. "Like to win! Wanna win! Gonna win~!"

"Let's go, let's go, let go!" his impatience reared its ugly head, a forewarning to the temper that would follow if his desires were not met. He all but bounced as he waited for the larger hollow to explain the game and where it would take place. If he was lucky, perhaps it'd be a distance away. One the other hollow wouldn't want to wait for him to cross to, thus allowing him to ride on its back. The notion made him more excited, so much so that he really did begin to bounce in place as he waited for his explanation. 

[WC: 394][TWC: 1,432]

The dragon was at least amused by the antics of the small sackboy, through he had his own motives he was quite malleable for now. The older this hollow would get Cazador was sure he would be less easy to shape and mould in a direction that the dragon wanted. “It's very simple, I will take you to a forest, there will be snacks there for us. Whoever can eat the biggest one wins.” It was simple and not very far from the truth, the hollow who could consume the largest or most powerful prey often won in the game of life and death each played out in the dunes. In comparison to the life a arrancar lived in Las Noches was simple and safe, sure they had to deal with more invaders then the hollows roaming the desert did but they had a advantage of numbers working towards a common goal, at most out here you got small packs that worked together to pull down prey that was to powerful for any individual to pull down on their own.



It was to soon to say if Cayo was worthy of joining with Cazador, though his life had always been strange. Trapped between the desert which was home and the fortress of Las Noches which was his desire, at least for this hunt he would work with the little hollow. He flapped his wings and took flight, circling back around to snatch Cayo in his talons before making his way toward the quartz forest, even in the distance it looked like nothing more then a pit with a few quartz tree branches sticking out. As they grew closer Cazador went into a dive, once he breached the opening it was a completely different world under the desert. Thousands of quarts trees held up the desert above them with the spiritual presence of hundreds of hollows throughout the hollow hunting grounds. He dropped Cayo from his talons the fall wouldn't be terribly dangerous at this point, besides the little hollow was suppose to be bait for his prey.



Rising back to the rock ledge just below the opening he watched Cayo below him, he would watch and judge the small beasts abilities and see what needed to grow. His presence was likely felt through the whole forest and he ws sure more then a few powerful hollow would come if not to try and eat Cazador at least to make a attempt on a easy snack like Cayo.

WC 417/1460

The breath was knocked out of the young hollow as he was hefted into the air, held within the talons of the large dragon. Direction was no longer a concern to Cayo, not that it really had been in the first place, as countless dunes passed beneath them on their venture. He didn't know where they were going but at this point it didn't matter. A cry of glee tore itself from his lips, the passing winds stealing the sound and carrying it away to make it sound more like a shriek. "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~" 

His eyes widened as the hole their 'game' would be taking place in came into view. Exhilaration made it feel as though his stomach had fallen far past his feet and now hung below him, the feeling only growing as they grew closer to the drop off. The cries of pleasure had long since died out as they flew over the opening, a silent wonder overtaking the hollow's small mind. Green eyes glittered in awe as he, briefly, took in the sight of the countless skeleton bare trees holding up the sands above. A distant memory chimed in his mind, trying to remind him of something but he couldn't be bothered to focus on it in the moment. There was too much to take in!

Before he even had the opportunity to do so, Cazador began to fall. Alarm hit the smaller hollow first and he craned his neck to look up at the beast. The dragon bore a determined expression, not one of worry, so this was meant to happen then. The feeling of near weightlessness one experiences on a roller coaster quickly filled in the void behind his alarm and Cayo found himself enjoying the free fall.

That was until he felt, or rather didn't feel, Cazador's talons around him any longer. Spinning his body in the whipping winds he saw the larger beast fly back to a rocky ledge. They'd been about to play a game, hadn't they? Why was he just letting the younger, smaller hollow take the first turn without outlining the rules? His body quickly turned back over as he shrugged to himself and he spread his limbs as far as he could out from his body. The sack the encompassed his body quickly ballooned, catching air and slowing his fall. It wasn't much but it was enough for the hollow to get his bearings.

Below him was a hoard of hollows. By sight they seemed to all be separate entities but they felt, to some part of him, very much the same. One of the pseudo branches of the nearest trees quickly rose to meet the young hollow and he landed in a belly flop on it's surface. He could feel his ribs and sternum snap from the impact, the sound softy echoing around the immediate area. As he stood, the pieces were already realigning and in the earliest stages of healing. The pain was nothing new, which was a blessing as his mind quickly focused on the group of hollows below.

There were, maybe, six. Four of them seemed to circle two others. Those two, despite the fact that he was still some distance away and shouldn't have been able to register this, seemed to be holding hands. King Caz could surely have made an easy meal of them, he presumed, so maybe this was a test? He spared a look back toward the dragon, his mask catching light from the hole in the sands, before he lept from the branch.

This time the fall was on his own terms and he knew what awaited him. If this wasn't a test, he didn't care. It was going to be fun either way. Mirrors materialized around the group in the form of a large box shape in an instant. Muffled cries from within the soon to be tomb, likely of confusion, could be heard by his ears even mid-fall. His feet sank into the mirror's backside rather than slamming on their surface, letting the hollow use the momentum from the fall to propel him into the realm of his reflections. 

He could see the hollows, all of them bewildered at just what had befallen them and what their fate would be. At this point, their fate was sealed and none of them knew it. Without a warning, he let himself be propelled out of the mirror's surface. Using the momentum from the fall meant that he didn't need to use Sonido, letting his attack remain a surprise as he tore all four of his limbs out from his sack. His tiny form scaled the first hollow with ease, his talons and fingers digging into the flesh and using the bony outcroppings as leverage to push him upward. As he reached that one's head, two others made a blind break for the walls. Unfortunately for them, he'd gotten much better at his games. Early on in his hollow life, he'd lost a considerable amount of prey to the gaps in his walls. No more. These were sturdy and completely solid. They wouldn't break unless he wanted them to. 

Pushing off with his feet, his talons gouging the eye sockets of his first victim on his way off of them, he shot toward the closest body. This one, a bipedal wolf hollow, had readied themselves in the time he'd scaled the other one, their skin already radiated the power he'd come to expect from those of his kind who didn't seem to posses regeneration abilities. The tips of his fingers found purchase in their gut as their fist connected with his jaw, the punch sent him into one of his mirrors but not without his fingers making deep tracks in their abdomen. 

The mirror he hit shattered, on his will of course, allowing light to flood into the room. Pieces of the glass twinkled in the light, begging the two who'd tried to run to step over his body and exit the trap. Like a moth to a flame, they took the bait. As they each tried to step over the small hollow, his hands snapped up to catch their ankles before he swung them both with such force that he sent them through panels of their own. Each one passed into the realm of reflections free of his grip.

The last two, the two that'd been holding hands, stayed right where he'd seen them before he set the room up around them. They cowered together each one holding the other. More memories rang in his mind, this time something danced on the tip of his tongue. Before he could be bothered to figure out what was troubling him, he quickly drew a hand across either of their throats. The razor sharp edges to his skeletal fingers easily slit the soft flesh and they quickly crumbled.

"There's no place in this world for those as weak as you." he turned, his gaze slightly unfocused, and exited the box of mirrors. Without his attention on them, the mirrors quickly deteriorated and fell away into nothingness. All that remained was the bodies of those who he'd slain. "You're not even worth a turn."

"Caz! Hey Caz! How'd I do? Do I win!?" his gaze rose to where he thought he might find his new friend, his body nearly bending in half backwards from the effort.

[WC: 1,231][TWC: 2,663]