The first thing he says after being unhelpful for over a day and it was something ominous. How much south could he even take in his life anyway?
Reis had no time to fret over superstition or argue with the guardian. The kidnappers were already awake. If he stood here arguing with an invisible entity, all the struggle would be pointless.
So he ran. South. As fast as his body allowed him to, ignoring the uneven stones and blades of grass cutting into his feet as well as the fog blurring his vision.
That was a bad idea. Reis realized that sooner than he anticipated.
The hasty decision didn't work in his favor and just left him more injured than before.
Forests weren't the best running tracks, especially when you can't really see where you're going. Even plain ground could become an obstacle.
Reis realized that only after having his sleeves torn for the third time just to avoid slipping.
But in the end, he managed to drag himself into the shadows. The ghost of a person found the most secure formation of bushes. He curled into a ball, pressed his back against the rough bark of a tree blurred by darkness.
"He couldn't have gone far! Find him!" The Counselor's roar tore through the quiet of the forest, followed by the sound of crashing.
The shouts filled the silence of the forest. Hurrying footsteps shook the ground.
Reis shut his eyes and controlled his breath. The mercenaries were no joke. One sound could get him captured again.
He was good at staying still, just like he did for half a day not long ago. They wouldn't find him easily. It was one thing that they managed to find him in the palace. That was like the most lightened place in the kingdom.
And the Eastern forest at night, plus the fog, was basically a semi-void. He just needed to be as quiet as a mouse. Or a tree. Pretend he was a tree.
"Meow."
Yeah, meow. Meow?
Reis looked down at the source of the sound. The glowing eyes almost scared the soul out of him at first glance.
The small ball of fur slowly became visible as his eyes adjusted to the dark.
Didn't he say mouse? Where did a cat come from instead?
The ball of fur stared at him with its glowing eyes.
Reis waved his hands to usher it away.
Shoo!
The wide-eyed feline ignored his gesture and continued to stare with terrifying intensity. "Meow!"
Shh!
Forget going away, the furry creature the size of a shortcake climbed onto his lap and started rubbing against his stomach.
It took no more than a few seconds. No waiting for permission. No nothing.
|Due to your affinity with felines, the kitten sees you as its own kind.|
|The kitten thinks you are its mother.|
The what now? What part of him looked like a cat?
'No. Absolutely not,' Reis hissed in the privacy of his mind. This was not the time and place for whatever this creaturewas trying!
'I am in the middle of a kidnapping, you tiny menace!'
The kitten ignored his attempt to push it away, letting out a loud, vibratory purr and kneading its claws into his blood-stained shirt.
Reis felt the soft vibration flow through his body, momentarily calming his thumping heart.
"I see footprints here!"
But that didn't last.
Reis was out of his wits. He was in no condition to appreciate affection. He needed to find a way to move before they caught up. But there was no way he could outrun them if they caught his trail.
He stood up, planning to move, but his shirt caught on the thorns, tearing off with a sharp rip.
And that much was enough.
The bushes were shoved aside with a violent rustle. The Counselor stood there, his face flushed and his eyes wild with a mixture of frantic relief and pure, distilled bitterness.
Reis took a few steps back, but there was no way to run. They'd catch him either way.
|Please be patient.|
Patient? At this rate, he'd become an actual patient! Well, technically, he already was one. Healthy people didn't look like what he did.
|You look more like a beat up peasant than a patient. However, your face doesn't match with that idea.|
|A resentful spirit would be a more accurate description.|
"You little rat," the Counselor spat, stepping forward. "You actually dared to run!"
Reis smiled bitterly. So much for being a mouse. Rat, Spirit, Demon, beast, was there anything else anyone would like to call him?
|Would you like to keep a record of it?|
He ignored the blue screen and turned to the counselor, his smile widening. Insanity, was it? He didn't know, but smiled because it was something Ann would do.
"Don't tell me you really believed I wouldn't?"