Andesine

Monsters are just Puppets without any strings

The light sound of rain could be heard outside of an abandoned apartment complex. Although it wasn't much warmer within the old building than it would have been outside, it was at least dry. And a dry place away from the rain was plenty to suffice for a wingless griffin and her small colony of stray cats. The griffin fit into the setting of the worn out building quite well. Her dark purple fur was messy and uneven, pointing in every which way on her body. Her tail curved around her body and rested over the top of her hind paws. The long shaggy fur from her tail barely covered the tips of her paws, and her forepaws were tucked under her body. The griffin rested on an old sofa, covered with rips, stains, and a few springs sticking out here and there. The sofa likely smelled moldy too, but being a griffin, Andesine couldn't tell. A normal animal of Raphtire would not have been happy in such a situation, but Andesine seemed perfectly content.

The ten-member cat colony was scattered throughout the living room of the apartment unit. They were all asleep, with some of them huddled in different corners, a few sprawled in random places on the dirty floor, and a couple of them were on the arm rests of the sofa. Andesine was enveloped in a sense of peace as she laid on the couch, with her single visible eye staring idly out the balcony door. It may have been a little warmer if she closed the door, but a little chill didn't bother the griffin at all.

Despite her poor living conditions, Andesine didn't have much to worry about. Unlike most domesticated animals in Raphtire, she didn't have to worry about finding a place to live, money, or taking care of any offspring. It was unfortunate that other animals within the city didn't understand her way of living. They would exclaim that she was filthy, abandoned by society, and homeless, although she personally disagreed with the last two statements she heard often. Andesine definitely had a home in this apartment complex. Perhaps it wasn't luxurious, but it was definitely enough to keep the weather off her. The griffin would admit that she did feel a bit left out by the population, but her cats kept her plenty company. Plus, they at least didn't complain much, they only made a racket when they expected food. She didn't often have the opportunity to argue her points though, since most animals would be scared off by her appearance. The griffin wasn't able to argue that she was much to look at, and this was even with her "injuries" on her torso and head covered in what she thought was rather appealing navy-colored linen.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of things that did worry the griffin, and it was near impossible for Andesine to escape one of these problems. It didn't help that one of these issues had their own little way of tracking her down. Andesine's head instinctively turned one hundred and eighty degrees towards the main door when she heard a sound in the hallway. It wasn't an expected sound to come from an old building, such as something falling over or breaking. Instead, the gentle symphony of violins, cellos, and flutes emitted from the hallway. The music itself was soothing, but the suddenness of it was enough to put Andesine and the cats on edge.

A few of the cats instinctively bolted out of the unit through various ways. Some bolted into another room, while others fled through the open balcony door. The only felines that didn't flee were the two black cats that were on the sofa with Andesine. Instead of running away, they had jumped onto the floor and were now hissing and shrieking angrily at the doorway, fur raised and backs arched. The fur on the back of Andesine's neck was also raised. She attempted to quietly climb off of the couch she had been resting on, but the creakiness of the old furniture gave away the fact that she was moving. She knew that somebody else knew she was there anyway, so there was no point in trying to be sneaky. Once she was off the sofa, the griffin made her way towards the door.

The closer she got to the door, the louder the music became. The music sounded classical, however the griffin had never heard this particular melody before. What was familiar was that she was beginning to feel her focus slip.

Turn back, it's a trap!

Andesine shook her head, ignoring her conscious to turn tail and flee. While part of her was frightened of the fatigued reaction she was having to the music, another part of her felt agitated. Yet the biggest feeling of all was drowsiness, as she finally made it to the door of the apartment. The griffin felt like she had been walking for minutes, when in reality it only took her some seconds to reach the door. As she walked out the apartment's door, her ears twitched, and her head snapped to the right. She instantly caught sight of a small radio that was out of place in the dirty hallway.

Turn the radio off! Turn it off, hurry up!

Andesine's mind was racing with an obvious solution to her problem, but her body refused to cooperate. Instead of taking any sort of action to stop the radio, the griffin sat down in a sloppy, sideways position. Her vision constantly switched between blurred and focused. She wasn't sure when another figure appeared in the hallway, but when she finally was able to notice who put the radio in the hallway, an angered shriek escaped her beak.

"Now now, what's the matter? Poor thing, you look exhausted." A female voice cooed. Andesine's ears laid flat against her head at the familiarity of the voice. She squinted her right eye in agitation; however she wasn't able to do much else. Now sitting at the side of the radio was a second griffin, who was a bit bigger than Andesine. The griffin's fur was a bold blue color, and many light-colored stripes on her face gave her a bold appearance. She also wore an elaborate purple coat with silver lining. Andesine recognized this griffin, and knew that there was usually more to her getup as well. Andesine was less concerned with the other griffin's sense of fashion and more on the expression that she had on her face. Her eyes had the look of a killer, and their red color only made her predatory stare worse. Only a fool would have thought that her concern was sincere.

"Don't come near me, Eisen! Get any closer and I'll kill you!" Andesine spat. Despite the venom behind her words, she was finding it more and more difficult to keep herself upright as the classical music continued to play from the radio. Even though her claws were bared in defense, her body slumped forward until she was unwillingly lying on the ground.

"Don't be like that, now. How about you go on ahead and go to sleep? You'll feel much better." Eisen's tail twitched behind her as she watched Andesine with amusement. She didn't appear threatened in the slightest, if anything she was quite entertained as she watched Andesine struggle to keep her consciousness. "Mmm, looks like this song isn't quite right either, is it?" Eisen mused out loud as she studied Andesine's reaction to the radio. Her tone of voice also held a bit of mockery to it. "Maybe next time I'll find the song that will finally kill you. Although I personally don't plan on there being a next time. Why not be a good girl and not chase after me without your head on, hm? You're quite monstrous when you do that."

A sound that was a mix of anger and panic came from the griffin's beak when she noticed Eisen had stood up. "You crusade around this town like you're a hero, but you're just as much of a monster as I am." Andesine hissed, clawing at the warped wooden floor. She could barely focus on anything at this point; her head even felt too heavy to move. The amount of time her eye spent closed became longer with each blink, no matter how hard she tried to fight off the urge to doze off. Andesine couldn't fall asleep now, not here, but even she knew that now it was too late. Eventually her body ceased all movement, and within a matter of seconds her mind finally slipped into slumber.

Fortunately for Andesine, it took more than decapitation to kill her. But it was the same old song and dance with Eisen, who insisted on trying to keep the griffin's head as a trophy. It didn't help that it was a rather lousy song at that.

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Name: Andesine
Sex: Unknown
Gender: Female
Age: 1000+
Species: Voideater trapped in a griffin's corpse
Height: 3'5" (quad); 5'3" (human)
Voice: Oftentimes scratchy, as if something is lodged in her throat.

Personality
Andesine has a rather friendly disposition, and is one to try to make good first impressions on others. Her manner of speaking is usually formal, as long as she isn't provoked or in one of her music-induced trances. She prefers finding quiet places to meerly sit and think about things, opposed to constantly running about. Although outgoing, she is used to solitude.

Appearance
The griffin usually doesn't get the chance to prove her worthwhile as an individual, due to her ghastly appearance. The left half of her head as well as her upper torso are usually bound by linen wrapping, or some other type of cloth. Andesine is usually careful enough to not make her binding come loose, but occasionally they slip off. The permanent injuries under the cloth is surreal; neither fur nor flesh covers her face or the left half of her torso. Under the bandages her skull is completely exposed, and her eye is completely missing. Instead of being any sort of insight to the inside of the griffin's skull, the eye socket is pitch black. An eerie void is also present where the griffin's rib cage would be, as well as fog-like mist within the empty space. No impression is visible on the bandages when they're wrapped around her, so it's nearly impossible to tell anything is wrong with Andesine when she's covered.

Aside from her usually hidden injuries, Anderside looks like a standard female griffin, minus wings. Her fur consists of varying shades of muted purple tones, with spots on her back, shoulders, and her paws being the lightest. The fur on the underside of her tail is notably longer and more shaggy than the fur on the rest of her body.

She has yet an even more horrific appearance, only seen when especially ravenous or enraged. Where her eye is missing will glow a brilliant scarlet. Geometric wings in the shape of cut gems will hover where true wings should be. It's unknown if she can actually fly while in this state, however she's capable of moving so fast that it makes no difference.

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About
Living for thousands of years allows one to build up quite a history. Most of these centuries are a blur to Andesine, yet people from the past would be all too familiar. She wasn't a celebrity, instead something to be greatly feared. She wandered the land as something ominous, unembodied. In old books, it's rumored she first appeared when a village suffering from famine spiraled into desperation. Cannibalism spread through the few survivors, and their growing madness was what fueled the Voideater into existance.

The horror doesn't end there, for the Voideater's hunger expanded far beyond the lust for flesh. When there were no more bodies to consume, it began to devour this village in a literal sense. Not a single structure remained, leaving the land barren and flat by the time the monster moved on. Even nature was fearful of this beast that sentient minds had summoned, and wild animals were smart enough to flee while they still had a fighting chance. They were not to escape easily, however. Many animals were persued by an angry red glow, absorbed into a void once surrounded. The Voideater would find new villages and towns to devour in this same horrific fashion.