Work Text:
There is a point within the development of the species known as Pillar Men when the mind’s ability stretches beyond that of the body. While a child may be able to understand with relative clarity their surroundings, the speech of the adults around them, and the simple workings of the world- to try and communicate their inner desires and thoughts is near to impossible. This is incredibly frustrating to Wamuu, who follows behind his pair of ‘masters’ with hardly any ability to answer to their requests and questions. They must sense this, however, and do what they can between their work and travels to aid him in learning to speak and make sense of how his body is supposed to function. He can agree and disagree, and pronounce the names of his caretakers, himself, and the younger child who can just barely walk. But beyond this- communication is quite a challenge.
One night as they walk over the plains, the four of them split. Wamuu tails along with his master Esidisi, and Kars takes Santana off in a leather carrier on his back to places unknown. They hunt for rocks jutting from the earth, more material for master Kars’ strange little masks that he churns out by the thousands. Wamuu had worn one of them, once- but he hardly recalls the event. But he spreads the grass beneath them with his little leather-wrapped feet, peeking about for boulders that may have been submerged just beneath the surface.
“Look at that!” Wamuu turns his head as his master’s voice shoots over from a few feet away. He follows it, and finds Esidisi bent over a bush. Lining it are colorful little berries, bunched up between the leaves of the plant and hanging ready for the birds who may pluck them. But the adult picks them up into his own hand, and pops one of them into his mouth. “I would have thought that these would be extinct by now.” He hums, eating another one of the fruits.
Wamuu cocks his head to one side. He has never seen his master eat something before- other creatures used their mouths to eat and chew, but they used their bodies to absorb blood from the living things around them. To see his master using his teeth to bite and chew something like an animal is confusing, to say the very least. The boy opens his mouth and points, giving a soft noise to express his curiosity.
Esidisi turns his eyes down to meet his, and plucks a few more berries from the bush in front of them. “Here, try these.” He instructs the child to open his hand, and places several of the fruits into his waiting palm.
However, Wamuu only stares at the little round objects in his palm. Using his free fingers, he rolls them around, and then absorbs them through his flesh. His master makes a shocked sound, and then laughs. Wamuu closes his hand and looks up. He makes another noise, wondering if he had done something wrong.
“You’ve never actually eaten anything, that’s right.” Esidisi muses. Then, he plucks two berries- one for himself, and the other to give once again to the child in front of him. He crouches down and closer to Wamuu’s eye level then. “Don’t absorb it yet, watch me.” He instructs.
Attentively, Wamuu watches his master. Esidisi takes the berry and holds it between his fingers. “Just take it like this-” He then inserts it into his mouth, right onto his waiting tongue. “And stick it in your mouth.” With of a nod of his head, he waits for the boy to follow him.
And so Wamuu does, taking the small object and putting it into his mouth. Immediately it’s strange- he had been taught not to put random objects in his mouth, as they were bad for him. What made this different?
“Now bite it.” Esidisi flashes his teeth. There’s a bit of a splash as fluid erupts from the bursting berry, in a way not too dissimilar from blood.
However, when the child uses his teeth to bite through the object between his teeth- the sensation that follows causes him to drop it from his mouth and back onto the ground. Some strange thing covers his tongue, as if he can smell something on top of it. It’s sweet and tart, and it runs all the way back to his throat.
“Here, try again.” Esidisi snickers, and then hands him yet another fruit. Wamuu takes it, and puts it back onto his tongue. “Alright, now close your mouth before you bite this time.”
The boy does as he is told- and, although nervously, he brings his teeth down over the fruit. Its ‘blood’ splashes over his tongue and the insides of his cheeks, bringing back the odd sensation with greater intensity this time. Wamuu gives a small hum, covering his mouth with his hand and holding the fruit inside.
“Good, now crush it between your teeth, and swallow it.” Esidisi shows him. Wamuu watches his adam’s apple bob as he sends the object down his throat.
Moving his teeth ever so slowly, half out of malpractice and half out of wishing to prolong the experience, the child chews and finally swallows the fruit that he had been given. He puts both hands over his mouth and makes yet another noise, trying to somehow communicate the overwhelming feeling on his tongue. Esidisi only laughs at him some more, and then takes his hand to fill it with more of the delightful little objects. Wamuu takes them and plops them into his mouth one by one, smiling with teeth dyed purple.
“Esidisi!” Master Kars’ voice cuts from near behind them. Chewing on his last berry, Wamuu looks on as the two men come to greet each other.
“Over here!” Master Esidisi calls back. He stands back up, and points to the bush that they had eaten from. “Take a look at this, can you believe that these things are still around? It has to have been at least fifteen hundred years now. There were a ton of these bushes just like this outside of the cav-”
“Did you feed these to him?” Kars’ eyes quickly narrow as he cuts Esidisi off mid-sentence. He then turns to Wamuu, who closes his mouth quickly, but cannot help but give one final gulp. Kars tuts, and turns his focus back to the other man. His brows are tightly knit, and his mouth curls into a deep scowl, more than enough to tell Wamuu that he is incredibly displeased. “This is food for creatures lesser than ourselves. I will not allow for either of these children to eat like beasts do. Do you understand, Esidisi?”
Wamuu’s eyes turn to those of his other master. Skeptical in expression, he cocks a brow, but gives in as always to Kars’ command. “Right. Won’t happen again.” He grumbles.
“Very well. Now come, both of you. The sun shall be rising soon.”
Following behind the footsteps of his masters as they return home, Wamuu is once again perplexed. The feeling from before lingers on his tongue, and he keeps the fingers of one hand held gently to his lips for the remainder of the journey home.
...
“Santana! You know Lord Kars will punish us both if he sees these!” Wamuu gasps in near horror as his younger counterpart empties a leather bag onto the floor. Glistening fruits and berries roll out onto the stone, ranging in colors and shapes, but none looking no less tempting than the other.
“What’s he gonna do if he catches us? Shove his hand in our stomachs and pull them out?” Santana snaps back at him. A much smaller boy than Wamuu, his cheeks and sides have yet to lose their puppy fat, and his hair rests on his head that gives him an appearance more beastlike than anything else.
Wamuu, a young adolescent now, is perfectly able to speak his mind and move his body. Normally a proud and graceful creature, he shows some terror at the sight of Santana’s loot. “Yes, he will. Then who knows what he’ll do.”
Santana scoffs, and picks up one of the fruits. “Kars wouldn’t put a hand on us even if we spit in his face, he just likes to act tough.”
“It’s Lord Kars, Santana.” Wamuu insists. Even now, he feels like there are eyes on the wall. Santana is right- Lord Kars had never struck them, but his disappointment alone felt worse than a beating. If they were caught, who could tell what kind of wrath they’d incur?
“Whatever. Are you gonna try it or not?” Santana extends a long, sharp claw from his finger, and uses it to slice the fruit in half. He hands it to Wamuu, who stares at the object’s glistening insides with trepidation.
“You know that our Lords can smell this stuff on us, right? If we open our mouths around them, they’ll know.” Wamuu whispers.
“Then keep your trap shut.” Santana takes a loud, wet bite. Then his eyes close, and he gives a long hum of pleasure. “It’s so good! It’s sweet and soft, I can’t believe everything else gets to eat like this!”
Taking a deep breath, Wamuu takes the fruit from Santana’s palm. He holds it, and runs his thumb over the cut surface of the fruit as the other boy gobbles his own portion down. He’s just a boy, and the temptation of it is too great for him. So- he eats, taking a timid bite from the object, and shivering from the intense sensation that wraps itself over his tongue. This thing is similar, but oh so very different from what he’d been given by Esidisi all those years ago.
The two boys share what Santana had gathered from the forest around them, finding all of the different flavors and textures of what the earth around them produced. For this one thing, Wamuu dares to misbehave.
...
Milenia pass, and a man sits in darkness before an open flame. Hulking, sweaty, filthy bodies surround him, reeking of human sweat and labor. Wamuu, covered in a film of paint and a dark cloak to obscure his horn and birthmark, rests amongst a group of hamon warriors. Using his prowess in battle to infiltrate their ranks and uncover their strategy to slaughter his masters, he hides himself in their ranks. But they gather around a fire together, partaking in human things like booze and bread. A pig rotates over the open flame, crackling and sizzling in its own fat.
Wamuu has never eaten meat- the scent makes him salivate.
A harsh smack comes to his back, and one of the other men shoves a cup into his hand. “Go on now, drink up! You’ve worked hard today.” The human tells him. He snaps up a bent metal plate along with it, stacking plucked meat and torn-apart bread onto the dish. “Eat up, too. You’ll need your energy for when we go to burn those bastards up to a crisp.” He’s offered the food.
This time, Wamuu has no choice but to quietly accept the offerings. His masters will understand, surely. He excuses himself away as he brings the cooked flesh to his mouth. Meat is an absolute, complete, and total contrast to fruit. It’s not sweet or incredibly wet at all- he has to chew harder, and allow the food to sit in his mouth longer, better appreciating its flavor. Bread is also a new experience, so soft and yet dry at the same time, all the better when he merges them both together.
From this point on, Wamuu cannot hold himself back from the forbidden pleasure of eating as other creatures do. Nothing sustains him like blood- but meats and vegetables and spices bring him pleasure beyond all else in life. Perhaps it is the illicit nature of it- his masters did not care if he partook in things like sleeping, sex, and booze, but to eat the grimy food of humans was a sin. Meat and vegetables are savory and salty, fruits are decadent and sweet, things like spices and honey taste as heavenly as sunlight has to feel.
From beneath his robes one evening, he takes a sliver of bread from between the folds of it. He takes a slow and thoughtful bite, admiring the wonderful little crunch of the outside as it melds with the soft inside. Laced with honey, the bread’s sweet flavor sticks to his tongue.
“Wamuu.”
The man all but jumps out of his skin, dropping his vice entirely. While he’d been distracted, Esidisi had turned the corner to face him. He remains with a straight back, his arms crossed tight over his chest. The younger freezes in place, his shame sitting plain to see on the stone beneath them. They do not speak to one another as Esidisi approaches, lifting the bitten-from bread off the ground. He grunts, and Wamuu’s immortal heart thumps harsh against the back of his ribs.
There is a soft crunch as Esidisi takes a bite. “That’s good.” He muses, and reaches into his pocket. He takes a gold coin, and flicks it into the air. Wamuu catches the metal piece, his jaw hanging open. “What? Did you think I was going to snap at you?” Esidisi speaks with a full mouth. “Go buy yourself something else, just don’t let Kars catch you with it.” He swallows, and then places his hand on his chin. “Shit, now I forgot what I came in here to ask of you.”
...
Wamuu’s feet crunch the snow beneath him. The world around him is dark, but lit so brightly with the glow of electricity. The world had changed much, and even with his massive intellect, he struggles to comprehend the immense changes humans had made to this world. His masters step in front of him, whispering amongst themselves their plans to crush Jojo and his minions.
His nose catches on something wonderful, and it pulls him along, charming the disciplined warrior so easily to move. Wamuu is ushered to a bright window, glass glowing with golden electric light. Peering in, his eyes land upon a shelf of equally golden pastries, laced with butter and honey and glimmering fruits. Red berries look eerily similar to the red stone, and orange slices sit atop sugar-coated bread, and berries such a familiar shade of purple lie nested in light and flaky bread.
“Don’t fall behind, Wamuu. Come.” Kars calls out to him from several shops down the way. He nods, and tears himself away.
...
“Wamuu.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“The battle that you will fight tomorrow is perhaps the most significant that you have ever faced. Not only will your victory ensure us the sun, but also, you will slay the man who stole Esidisi’s life from him.” Kars stands above the kneeling man. He holds one arm at his side, and one behind his back. “I have brought you something, to cheer you on, I suppose.”
Wamuu turns his head up patiently as his lord extends his arm. In it is a tiny white box, crafted from paper and neatly folded into place. The warrior, takes it with both hands, supposing at first that it is some sort of finery for him to wear. But as it crosses hands- it enters his nose, as well. He hesitates, and keeps his hands held out.
“My lord, I cannot accept this.” He states. “It is forbidden.”
“Mmm, then I suppose you think I haven’t detected your sneaking about behind my back.” Kars turns his head up, leering down at the other man. “If you believed that I could not smell fruit and bread on your tongue, then you would be harshly mistaken.”
Wamuu turns his nose down in shame, setting the box in his lap. “Forgive me.” He states.
“Do not ask my forgiveness. We have yet to become perfect beings- even I have my vices.” The elder of them speaks. “Now, eat and rest. You must be at your finest come dusk.”
He’s left alone in the heavy quiet, holding the box in his lap. With ginger fingers he peels off the white lid. In a sugar-coated nest of bread are bunches of little berries. He picks one from its place and pops it into his mouth. Its juices are sweet and tart, running all the way to the back of his throat. Each bite is perfectly bittersweet, sticking to his teeth and dying them purple.
He eats half. Someone else would like the taste of it as well.