Herbalists' Cache painted thus he slipped from the canvas

He came from the shadows when called; his face painted nearly to the brow with fresh blood, coating his throat and chest, his forelimbs, everything was a dazzling bright red. His eyes were tired. Between his bared teeth was the head of a young creature — a fox perhaps? No, it was bigger... A wolf.

As Tetsubo emerged in to the light, he tossed the newly acquired object away as if it were as useful to him as a rotten shank of meat. He stared out at the world beyond his immediate vicinity (which happened to now include a beheaded vagrant), but did not seem to notice the fine-boned stranger; at first he peered right over his head, then right at him, but did not see him, not until a curious dark shape made a dive-bomb attempt towards the severed head.

When the raven landed, it hopped towards the face and began to test the limits of both the skin of the dead wolf, and the patience of the living. Tetsubo noticed the bird — and he returned to himself. He ran his tongue over his lips, curling it across his nose, and then looked back to Armand with a semblance of awareness returned.

hm? the boy grunted, curious as to why the nether would lead him in to the path of yet another living thing, considering how his interaction with the last one had gone.