Reading at an 8th grade level.

Sitting bow legged upon one of the lightly dusted tables, Neamo shrouded himself in the thick patchwork quilt he often kept inside of his illogically large doctors satchel, the faint glow of flickering candle flame illuminating the pages of a book briefly entitled, "A beginners guide to necromancy. Your friends, the undead." It was a short and rather bland novel written in the early 30's by the occult fanatic Aleister Crowley, and while for the most part it was nonsense, the idea's of energies and aura manipulation by crystal healing and chanting being confined to the realms of a perverse fantasy, it did actually hold a little merit. Slowly flicking his fingers across the pages, a gummy worm hanging from his lower lip as his mused and tousled hair flopped over his eyes, he grinned for a moment as in front of him laying upon the floor a decomposing corpse lay scattered across the smooth stone, fresh dirt and splinters of wood strewn haphazardly as the remains of a broken coffin mired the ground with filth and bugs. Curling his fingers slowly as if plucking invisible strings, he wafted his palm through the still air before him as with an echoing hum of the ether, the long two pronged spikes rammed into the body began resonating.

Today was one of the rare days when he didn't have Tuzik at his heels, wanting to go out with him or just cuddle up to him.

Instead of the Hell Hound, he had another canine with him. Ostanki. The dog had disappeared some days ago. Being already dead, Alyosha had assumed that Ostanki had just collapsed into a heap of useless bones and rotting flesh somewhere.

But out on his first trip around the graveyard, he had seen the dog curled up at the bas of a large tree napping.

It had been overjoyed to see him and he had been overjoyed to see the dog.

Wanting to spend some time with Ostanki like he used to before Tuzik's arrival, he had led the dog up into the library. The two of them could sit together in a large chair and he could read much like they used to.

Alyosha's eyes flickered to Neamo as he passed him, then down at the mess on the floor. That looked rather interesting. He wondered what the boy was doing.

Strumming his fingers gently through the air as if manipulating invisible strings unseen by human eyes, the air pulsed and throbbed as slowly the arm of the corpse twitched and jerked against the stone. Slowly tweaking his fingers, the surface of his clouded eyes held a faint glow for a moment or two as he pulled sharply, the arm wrenching from the ground as it's back began to writhe and spasm, slowly drawing itself forward as it's body heaved upward unsteadily. It retched, it's jaws slipping open as a shower of flies and old vomit splashed against the ground as long forgotten organs began attempting to resume some order or function, it's body wobbling unsteadily as the matted grey skin of it's scalp shifted unnervingly against the skull beneath. For a moment or two it looked as if it would collapse, but with an expert hum of his lips and draw of his soft fingers, Neamo stabilized the shambling ruin in his grasp. Slowly licking his lower lip as he swallowed the remains of his gummy treat, he sang quietly. "If you're blue and you don't know where to go to, why don't you go where fashion sits-" His hand tapping as the corpses feet slapped the ground unnervingly, tottering before with a groan it opened it's mouth. "GROAAAGHR." It screamed, it's mouth twisting as it's howl echoed through the old library. Shrugging quietly with a smile Neamo's hand neatly closed the book. "Close enough!" He grinned happily, his hand waving dismissively as with a thud and snap the spine of the corpse shattered and collapsed before him, smashing to the ground with a shower of dust and dry flesh as it lay inert, dead. "I smell someone powerful. Very powerful..." Neamo's voice murmured beneath his blanket, looking over as his eyes met Alyosha's own. However his attention was only kept for a moment as throwing back his blanket a wide child like grin smothered his youthful features. "DOGGY!"

Alyosha watched the corpse in front of the boy throw up flies with mounting interest.

It seemed like the boy was controlling his powers. He could control making a body rise from the dead... Alyosha was jealous. He had no control over it. Dead creatures just started following him around.

The Rus' blue eyes followed the boy's movements as he almost flew from under the blanket.

Ostanki, ever the lovable pup, dashed forwards to meet him, rotting tongue lolling out over his jaw which was nothing more than bone.

Leaning into the pup as he felt the dog leap against him, Neamo's arms neatly scooped around it's rib cage, pulling Ostanki into his arms as he made soft dog like noises, crooning and kissing the top of his head where the mottled flesh and shagged fur met him whilst at the same time basking in the affection of the wet rotting kisses. "Oh my gawwwd! He's gorgeous! Whose a good doggy? Whose a good doggy? YOU ARE!" His voice clearly delighted as he pulled it close, stroking his fingers down it's back as he held it close, snuffling his nose and face into it's own as he drew the blanket around him and the dog both. "You are just the best dog ever. You are a wonder dog. SUPER DOG! Oh you are just the best. Beautiful gorgeous little man!" Fishing his hand aside into a bag of open gummy worms as he pulled free a handful before sliding them between it's jaws. "Here you go, gorgeous. Some delicious gummy treats for a wonderful guy. Is he yours?" His attention finally turning to Aloysha as his eyes remained wide. "He is a beautiful wonder dog. You are a lucky guy. Wait. Your the powerful smelling one." His eyes widening as his head tilted gently, a grin taking his lips. "Haven't met someone as powerful as you in about a century. You're a necromancer, right?" Patting his side as he invited him over.

Ostanki lapped up the attention he was being given, curling up in Neamo's lap as he was stroked and kissed, yapping softly.

Alyosha watched the boy hug his dog with an amused little smile.

Generally people were repulsed by the fact that Ostanki was dead. Who would want a pet zombie? But this boy seemed fine with it. Even welcoming the attention. It was nice to see someone so accepting.

But... Alyosha's eyes slid to the corpse. He was the same as him. He had the ability to bring back the dead.

"Da, his name is Ostanki," the Rus replied, eyes turning back to the boy. The dog yapped as if confirming that that was his name, nuzzling against Neamo.

Powerful? He didn't know about that. he didn't even know what powers he had, let alone how to control them. Unless he had a raw power that he didn't know about, he didn't see himself as powerful at all.

Alyosha sat next to Neamo when he motioned for him to do so, reaching out to pet Ostanki's head gently.

"I am." A Necromancer. Two months ago he would deny that. A lot had changed about him since he had joined this coven.

Pausing for a moment as he heard the dogs name Neamo's fingers moved to itch beneath it's chin. "I think I'mma call it Oz. Ostanki is a little long for a doggy name. Isn't that right Ozzy? Yeeess." His fingers combing through it's fur as he nuzzled close, kissing the tip of it's nose before easily threading his arms around it, rubbing the soft fur on it's neck. "You said Da. Da for yes. You're Russian aren't you?" His voice gentle as he grinned happily, smoothing his fingers over Oz's ears before offering up his bag of gummy worms. "I spent a few decades in Russia myself. It was GLORIOUS! Much better than France." His face souring. "If you were French our conversation would be shorter. Much shorter. I have an allergy to frogs." His voice a hushed whisper as his eyes glanced shiftily across the room before shrugging it off, snuggling up to Oz. "You are leaking you know." His voice intoned as his eyes met Alyosha's own, his face oddly solemn for such a statement. "Your energies. They are spewing everywhere. Like a crazy fountain of doom!" Wiggling his fingers for a moment before tracing them against the dog's jaw line. "Must make you feel exhausted at times for no reason. Like you can't get up. You're lucky that you've got so much of it, because if I was spewing into the atmosphere like that I would be a little husk man." Drawing his lips tightly to his teeth as he hobbled lightly over. "Like a little old man. I like you. Do you like snails?"

Oz. he had never thought to give the pup a nickname. He rarely used his name anyway. He could talk to the dog without using his name just fine.

His pleasant expression faded a little at the mention of his motherland. "D- Yes." he gave a short, sharp nod in response. Yes, he was Russian. He'd barely been out of the country for a few months now.

Better than France? He didn't think so.

But his time in Russia had been rather unpleasant. He had got caught in the ensnaring webs of the Russian Underground. A place that would make even the best part of Russia seem terrible if you really knew the dealings there like he did.

"We have very different opinion on that matter." He much preferred France.

"Leaking?" What did he mean by that? Crazy fountain of doom...?

Idly the man wondered whether this boy was sane in any form of the word.

His lips pressed together and he gave a little shake of his head. "No, I never feel exhausted for no reason." He never had. Was he supposed to?

Did he like snails? What a random question. "I...have no opinion on snail."

Snuggling close to the dog his cheek brushed it's own, feeling it move as if it was being smothered before pulling back to give it another gummy worm. "Good boy. Here you go." His head bobbing back and forth as he hummed lightly to himself. As Alyosha replied he had no opinion on snails, Neamo's eyebrow sharply raised, a look of stern clarity sweeping his features. "Snails? What the hell are you talking about?" For a moment a coldness wintering those grey eyes as the icy glare he shot penetrated the man before him. "You're not crazy are you? I've heard of mental illness spreading." His voice quiet, slow as he watched him from beneath his blanket, cuddling Oz. All at once the look was gone, the darkness gone from his eyes as they widened and his hand shot to his bag. "Mine! Num num." Puling free a handful of gummy worms and draping them over his face. "Buahaha! I am the worm king! Overlord of sugar!" His body grooving as his arms spread before settling to his sides. Lapping at a gummy worm that hung from his nose a quiet smile took his lips. "You can't control your abilities. Your energy is too strong and you're letting it leak everywhere. That's why you can't do it at will. He was an accident, wasn't he?" Ruffling the fur behind Oz's ears as he cooed gently. "Don't worry, there's no shame in it. We're all young once. My first resurrection was a gold fish. It's usually animals. Humans are more squishy and complicated. There's a lot more to work with." His fingers dipping into the candle wax as the flame lapped over his fingers, burning them as it spread for a moment down his wrist before with a neat blow, it was gone. "Come close. Old man river must touch!" His hand sliding forward. Pressing his fingers to Alyosha's forehead, burning wax smeared in thick globs across him, gliding over his skin as Neamo's thin dexterous fingers drew a sloppy but succinct symbol upon his forehead. "See? Doesn't that feel better?"

Mental illness spreading.

If he had caught mental illness from anyone it would be the man sitting next to him. Neamo was perhaps the most...insane person he had ever met.

All the different mental states of the boy were making Alyosha's head spin. One minute he seemed to act like a not-all-there boy on a sugar rush; the next he acted like a respectable person that knew a lot about Necromancy; and just then he had acted like a condescending bastard.

Oiiii. Alyosha wanted to lope away and forget ever meeting the boy.

But he was curious now. He definitely knew something about him and his powers.

"He was," Lyo agreed, eyes turning down to Ostanki. An accident that he would never regret. Much like Tuzik. He enjoyed the dog's company.

Old man river...

Quite honestly Alyosha didn't want someone as crazy as Neamo anywhere near him armed with hot candle wax. he didn't want anyone near him armed with hot candle wax.

But he stayed still, staring at the boy silently. Neamo could ahve the ability to help him with his abilities. It would definitely be a big help to be able to control his abilities. He'd have to suck it up and just sit through anything that the boy did to him. It wasn't like he hadn't felt any pain before. On the contrary, he had felt more than his fair share before. He had some resistance to it.

His teeth grit together when he felt the burning of the wax against his forehead. it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

But, just as Neamo had predicted, he felt some of the wary tiredness he had always chalked down to physical exhaustion fade. Alyosha was generally a rather physical person. He trained almost every day so he pushed himself to physical exhaustion often. He felt lighter. Less tired.

He hadn't even realised that he had felt like this. He generally felt fine, if not just a little tired from his training.

His lips parted and his brows drew together, one hand raising to touch the cooling wax on his forehead. "What did you do?"

Pulling back solemnly as he stared at Alyosha's forehead, Neamo's hand moved to his pocket pulling out a small mirror that was covered in what appeared to be the crumbs of dog biscuits, his hand raising it steadily. "I drew a duck." His voice intoned proudly with the seriousness of a man trained in the art of duck drawing all his life, and there for him to see was indeed a duck, it's bill jutting proudly from it's waxy body, there upon his skin. "But, the placebo effect lent the idea of me drawing on your head to me helping to seal your energies, and your body responded to the idea by filling in the blanks. Feel it. You're leaking less." His arms waving as if flapping them. "The drawing was always going to be insignificant, you knew that when I started. The significance is drawn by the observer like a tool. However, now that you've done it once, with practice, you'll gradually adapt to it. You're lucky. When I trained in Tibet, the monks drew a penis on my forehead." His head nodding as he leaned down for a moment to kiss the dogs nose before smiling wistfully. "You're more powerful than I was when I started though. You'll probably be better than me with practice, and some teaching. First though. Gummy worms. Sugar is the devils nectar."

He drew a duck. Okay then.

Wait. A duck?!

Alyosha stared into mirror with wide blue eyes, rubbing at the hardened wax until it had all crumbled off, leaving a distinctly duck-shaped burn in the middle of his forehead. In a place that he couldn't cover with his long fringe.

He knew that he wouldn't be socialising with anyone for the next few days while that healed up enough to not be recognisable as a duck.

Leaking less... he hadn't even felt like he was leaking in the first place. He hadn't felt it at all. And now what he had to show for that was a child's drawing burnt onto his skin and the feeling of being slightly less tired than usual.

A soft amused snort sounded from the larger man. The thought of the boy having a penis burnt into his skin was beyond amusing. And he took a little sadistic glee in knowing that the boy that had embarrassed him with a duck had it worse off with a penis drawn onto himself.

"How do I practise?" He had no idea how to use his powers. He had no idea what his powers were. How do you train something you knew nothing of?

Pausing as he chewed the nail of his thumb he rocked back and forth in his seat, his legs sliding freely down the desk to wave to and fro like a pair of windsocks flapping vaguely in the direction of the wind. "Practice insects. One moment. I shall comply." His hand flapping wildly as he moved to his bag of assorted items. It seemed that the bag wasn't confined to conventional space as he opened it with a snap, the old leathery case falling open into his palms as he leaned into it and began throwing random items onto the table beside him. A half burnt out candle, alarmingly still lit clattered against the wood as it fell followed by a human skull faintly letting out a chattering snore as the bones of it's teeth rattled together. Several packets of gummy sweets slapped to the floor, along with a jar of intestines in brine that had seen better days. "OH MY GOD! I've been looking for this for months!" His voice screamed, an echo sounding from the bag as he almost fell into it, a loud clatter echoing like a stone dropping down a well as within the bowels of the old leather a great rumbling shuddered, but triumphantly pulling out of it he placed a gold inlaid pipe upon the desk beside him, riffling through it as a cat's shrill screech could be heard within and the sound of glass shattering. Finally emerging with a jar of dead crickets he placed it beside his new found friend, a smile of triumphant glee spreading across his lips as his head nodded and he in turn picked up his pipe. "With most animals you have to have a vague understanding of the corpses neurobiology in order to make it move. They are like computers, and booting one up needs a little..." His hands flailing through the air as he found himself grasping for words. "Buggering about. It'd be easier to explain if you opened up a live person to look at their brains. Squishy and difficult." His head nodding sagely. "Insects are like light switches. You turn them on and let them go. Bzzz. Start by reviving one and controlling it. Don't just let it go loose, make it do things for you. Then do the jar. Buahaha! Bug zombies!" His voice rising emphatically before placing the pipe to his lips, a series of dignified bubbles leaving it to float into the air.

He watched as each item was pulled from the bag, brows drawing together slowly in confused worry.

Surely it wasn't normal for so much stuff to be in a small bag like that.

His brows shot up in surprise when he heard a cat. A cat... A cat in a bag. A cat in a bag far too small to hold a cat.

Lyo's eyes fell to the jar of crickets. Lovely.

"How... do I do?"

Did he just...think of the crickets being alive and doing things? Was there something special he needed to do?

Alyosha had no clue.

Pausing as he watched him with the jar of crickets, Neamo's lips pursed as he slowly raised an eyebrow. He looked strangely dignified beneath the quilt, bubbles rising from his pipe to burst above his head, and as he reached over and opened the jar with a pop his nose sniffled. "Firstly. Stop being afraid of them. They are corpses. Corpses are dead. You have the power to control the dead. If you are afraid of them you're not going to bring one back. You force yourself to do something you don't want to. Feel the corpses. Smell them. Taste them." Bringing one of the crickets to his lips before chewing it as if it were a gummy worm, his fingers deftly fishing another out as he passed it to Alyosha."You might not think you're afraid, but just finding them gross is putting a mental block on it. If you don't love creating art, how the hell are you supposed to paint?" Placing it into his palm before fishing free another cricket and biting down upon it with a chew. Pausing he looked across to Ozzy who had settled, whistling sharply. "And one for you boy. C'mon boy. Eatsies." Throwing one to the dog who ate it with a snap and relish. Watching Alyosha comply, his head nodded, puffing on his bubble pipe before retrieving another cricket and placing it in his palm. "Now when you're ready, revive it. Don't think of it as giving it life. That's no good. It's too flappy. Think of it like you are raping it with your brain. BRAIN RAPE. You've got to penetrate the central nervous system with an act of willpower. Force. Once you've raped it, you can turn it on. Don't try to visualise it, try to feel it. Now. Rape this bug."

Taste the-

His nose wrinkled in disgust when Neamo bit down on the cricket.

That was disgusting. "I am not going to eat bug." Not a chance. He'd quite happily go an eternity without putting something like that in his mouth.

He didn't find the bug itself gross. But eating it was definitely a gross thought.

Brain rape...

This boy was insane. Well and truly insane.

With a soft sigh, the Russian man closed his eyes and tried to picture forcing his energy - a glowing red light in his minds eye - into the body of the cricket.

As he saw Alyosha fixed in concentration he wrinkled his nose, spotting the cricket left in his palm uneaten. Slyly moving his fingers across to the jar to palm another his eyes watched as he saw Alyosha focus upon the insect in front of him. It was clumsy, haphazard, but there was something about the ferocity of Alyosha's energy which was fascinating. In the silence Neamo's eyes darkened. How he would love to be able to open his skull, to look inside and see what made him tick. The feel of his soft lobes upon his palms, still pulsing with life... Perhaps therein he would find the source of the raw power that blazed before him, for it had indeed been a long time since he'd felt the raw force that the boy exerted sat before him. His lip curled, teeth baring as for a moment his eyes gleamed a steely grey, and reaching out with taught fingers he nearly touched Alyosha's forehead when with a chirrup and curl the cricket began to twitch. His eyes blinked, the pipe clattering from his lips as his hand lowered and a cold shudder like spasm ran the length of his spine. Retrieving his hand before Alyosha could see it his head shook twice as his eyes closed and opened, the bright blue returning in a moment. "See! Lookit. You've successfully raped a bug. Here. Have a treat." Grinning before moving his hand forward and shoving the dead cricket into Alyosha's mouth. "Now you can make it dance... Now mind rape won't work on all things. It has to be fairly well preserved for you to be able to access any form of nerves, and even then this is more puppetry than it is necromancy, but it's a definite start. The larger the brain the more nerves, the harder it is to mind rape, and you are leaking too much to attempt anything bigger. Once you manage to seal your energies, meditation works well, you'll be able to do bigger things. Then you can come back to me and I can show you how to do really cool stuff. Like flying skeleton chairs."

His eyes flickered open when he heard the noise, turning down to the cricket.

A proud little grin curled his lips as he watched the cricket move, only to turn sour when one was forced into his mouth.

He coughed and gagged, spitting it out with a disgusted expression, turning a dirty glare to the other Necromancer. That was disgusting. "Why?" he grunted, face twisting in disgust as the taste of the cricket lingered.

"So now... I just practise?"

From now on all he had to do was practise with dead bugs. That didnt sound too difficult.

Pausing Neamo's eyes blinked. "Why not? Reliable source of protein. Like beef but crunchier. Like I said, you're going to have to get past the idea that things are gross if you're going to take your gifts any further. You wouldn't believe how tasty a seventy year old woman's fallopian tubes can be if you leave them out in the sun to dry for a few weeks." An innocent smile crossing his lips as he licked his lower one before fishing for a gummy worm, chewing it quietly. "Penis's too. Although you have to let them rot in water. Too gristly otherwise. It's like trying to chew through a spine." Bobbing his head in that familiar sage nod which usually followed a horrifying statement revealing far too much of himself. Slowly licking his lower lip he paused. "Coincidentally if you're going to eat soylent greens, I'd get them while they're young and tender. As people get older they get tougher. Chewier. You have to let them tenderise a while. Now a stillborn baby, you can just eat that right out of the womb." Slurping down another gummy worm before sniffing quietly as if he'd smelt something, his eyes widening for a moment before settling into a happy smile. "And yes. Practice more. Try to make them do things for you like go where you want them to, or even pull and push things for you. You'd be surprised how strong bugs can be."

His lips pressed together until the skin around turned white with the force.

This boy...was a cannibal.

He ate people. That made him feel sick. Alyosha had done a lot of fucked up shit in his life but he'd never eaten someone.

He felt sick to his stomach.

"I'll...practise."

He'll put his effort into practising. Hopefully he could find his own way through learning his gifts.

The thought of coming back to this person made him uncomfortable.