Hey, you! Yes, you! Come back here! Did you really think I wouldn’t open the door for some trick-or-treaters tonight? You have to excuse my slow speed, I’m not the youngest anymore, you know? Now, why don’t you come on in? It’s not often that I’m getting company these days.
Oh, hey! Watch the step! Don’t wanna have you break your neck at my front door.
Now, where did I put all the candy bars for tonight?...
Your costume? Oh, yes, dearie, it’s quite spooky! But do you know what else is spooky? My memory, of course! Look, I can remember horror stories from decades ago like I’ve heard them just yesterday. But when it comes to what I actually did yesterday? Who knows? Certainly not me!
You know what? Now that you’re already here, I might as well tell you a story or two, and maybe I’m gonna remember where I put those candy bars. Does that sound like a deal? You are gonna leave my house with candy AND goosebumps! Just like it should be on a night like this!
Just let me think of a fitting first story… Ah! I think this one is perfect! It’s dark, it’s bloody! Your generation loves this gory stuff, isn’t that right?
So prepare for the frightening tale of
The Blood Mistress
Honchkrow blinked. Bright daylight was pushing through the remaining leaves of the tree that her nest was located in. She had no memories of how she came back home last night. It had been a long evening with her friends who lived in the nearby forest, and she had lost count of how many fermented Mago Berries they had eaten over the course of the evening. Probably too many, if she didn’t even remember how she came home.
Maybe her servants would know. She ruffled her feathers and sat up, preparing her throat for the call that would make her servants appear out of all directions, when all of a sudden she felt a searing pain in her neck. She flinched in shock and cawed, and now she felt a strange dizziness, coupled with exhausting weakness. The daylight seemed to be even brighter than before. Honchkrow squinted and raised a wing to protect her eyes from the blinding sensation. Since when was she so light sensitive? And since when was the autumn sun burning so hot on her feathers?
She quickly searched for a shadowy spot, before finally calling her servants. Usually, her cry was majestic and booming deep, and she was very proud of being able to call in hundreds of Murkrow servants with her call. But what left her throat now sounded more like the first chirps of a newly-hatched Pokémon. Honchkrow cleared her throat and tried again. This time, it sounded way more majestic. Still not as deep as she was used to, but at least she wasn’t chirping like some common Fletchling. Now she just had to wait for the swarm to appear.
The “swarm” that came to her consisted of a single Murkrow that was a light sleeper and that had been snoozing in a tree close to the one Honchkrow was sitting in.
It shook the sleep off of its wings and flew over to its boss. “Mistress called!” it croaked.
“Yes, I did!” Honchkrow answered shortspoken. Talking caused her pain. “What happened to me last night?”
“Mistress was on way back, when mistress got attacked!” her servant answered. “Mistress called for help, and swarm came. Swarm drove off attacker, but mistress was unconscious.”
“What attacked me?” she asked. Her head was starting to hurt as the dizzy feeling washed over her once more. She was already sitting in the darkest shadow the tree had to offer, yet the light was still feeling too bright for her eyes. Closing them helped, but not much.
“Attacker had yellow eyes. Glowing! Had black wings! Had segmented tail. Pointy stingers! Had big pincers! Had six sharp teeth. Buried in mistress’s neck!” the Murkrow recalled.
“Buried in my neck? Did… did it drink my blood?” she asked.
“Blood, yes! Blood everywhere! Swarm cleaned mistress after bringing mistress to nest. Then swarm let mistress rest. Swarm told me to guard mistress.”
“Thank you, little one. This won’t be forgotten. Tell me, the bite of this creature, is it still visible?” she lowered her head and presented her neck to the loyal servant. The Murkrow tilted its head, before exclaiming: “Pointy and red!”
“I need to look at it myself.” she decided. “Bring me smooth, shiny rock!”
The Murkrow flew off, to get its mistress what she had ordered.
Honchkrow knew it would take a while before it came back, so she tried inspecting the punctures with her wing. But when she touched them, the pain was unbearable, and the dizzy feeling had fully grown into nausea now.
She had to lay down. But every time she found a good resting position, the afternoon sun had moved so far that the burning rays hit her, so she had to move again. This was repeated several times, before she couldn’t bear it any longer. She stepped out of the nest, flipped it over, and crept under it to hide from the sun. Her eyes immediately accustomed to the total darkness, and she could see like it was still bright in her hiding spot. And suddenly, the burning sensation was gone. And now the nausea gave way to a new feeling. One of power. Unfortunately, this didn’t last long.
Honchkrow screeched in pain, when her beak gave an audible cracking sound, followed by it seemingly pulling at her skull.
Her breathing was shallow now, and she lay there defeated. The burning, hot pain that had been pulsing in her neck wound had subsided, and instead an icy cold was now quickly spreading through her body, paralyzing her, and taking her life.
“Mistress? Me brought smooth, shiny rock!” the loyal servant cawed in front of the flipped nest, and the mirror shard that it had brought with it reflected the evening sun, illuminating the tree in the last sunbeams of the day. Usually, this was the time when the mistress woke up. That she was still hiding under the nest wasn’t something she normally did. And that’s why the Murkrow tried to lift its mistress’s nest, before it suddenly got pulled under it with one fell swoop of the wing underneath. A surprised scream was the last thing the world heard of the poor servant that stayed loyal to its abrupt end, and that served its mistress even now, one final time.
The nest fell to the ground, and in it the lifeless body of the Murkrow that had been drained of all its blood. It landed next to the mirror shard which had fallen down before, when the surprised Murkrow had loosened its grip around it.
Honchkrow spotted it in the shadow of the tree and flew down to finally take a look at herself. Her beak was pointy, like it had grown teeth, and was still tainted red from drinking. And her already red eyes were now glowing in a bloody tone, just like the moon that was slowly rising behind her. She felt mighty and powerful. And she still felt thirsty. Her servant had been so happy to help her gain new strength when she needed it most. She was sure that her swarm would do the same for her well-being.
Honchkrow soared into the night sky, cleared her throat and let out the highest-pitched screech she ever heard from herself. She wasn’t even sure if the swarm was able to hear it!
But then she heard a rustling, coming from the forest near her, and hundreds of Noibat came to answer their new mistress’s call.
<What a perfect night!> she thought. <What a perfect night!>
You can get your own Count Honchkrow if you can successfully mate a
Honchkrow and
Gliscor.
Great job.