"Noey, hey, Noey. Wake up!" A voice yanked Noah out of his fantasies. Dazed, he slowly opened his eyes, trying desperately to hold onto the blissful feeling of the first conversation with his one true love. The voice called again, this time the words hit Noah in the stomach.
"Wake up ya lovesick bastard! It's me! Your best, and only, friend!"
Allister?
"Allister?!" Noah's eyes shot open as his body flug up in a tense seated position. He swung his head around, trying to pinpoint where his dead companion was. Or was he really dead?
The sudden movement gave Noah shooting pain throughout his skull. He cradled it in the exact spot he always did and slowly arose from the chair. He called out again, his voice dry and scraggly. "Allister? Are you actually here, or just a figment of my delusions?"
A laugh was heard in the room, before a pair of hands clobbered Noah on the shoulders. He lost his balance, turning to try and find the source of the force.
"Of course I'm here, you buffoon! What'dya think I was? A phantom? A ghost? Man, I wish I could phase through walls and see naked women." The hands could be felt embracing Noah, and of course he just stood there awkwardly. Noah let his hand drop from his skull and called out again.
"Well, where in Zeus's name are you?" He wiggled out of the pressure of the could-be-Allisters-imaginary-hands. He wandered to one of the beds, then closer to the closet. A banging could be heard from inside the closet, which caused a shriek from the inner workings of his being.
"Right here!" Allister yelled before jumping out of the door, tackling his friend. Noah shrieked, violently kicking the attacker. Allister only laughed as the kicks did nothing. He covered his friends mouth before laughing again.
"Oh Noey Noey Noey...Is this any way to greet an old buddy? Trying to kick their body which is no longer a part of the mortal realm?"
Mortal realm?
Noah only stared in awe and panic, before trying to lick his hand.
He was left with the taste of the thick, musty air which plagued the Inn.
Allister removed his hand after seeing the amount of effort he took to lick it off him. He flopped to the side, allowing Noah to stand up in a hurry and sprint to the other side of the room to grab his messenger bag. He yanked his knife out. It's point directed to the imposter.
"Who in the underworld's name are you?!" He screamed at the figure which looked too similar to his stupid yet reliable friend Allister.
"Noah! It's me!" His tone was on the edge of pleading and irony. He took a step forward, hands raised and eyes as alive as they can be. "Look at me. No, not my rotting corpse of a body, my eyes. I know I look strange, but I can explain as much as I know." He took another step, Noah's knife still ready. "Okay, not ready for a close up. Fine, fine. Just put the knife down and I'll talk. I've been cursed." He blurted as a last resort.
Noah's deadpan expression changed to one of curiosity as he slowly lowered his knife. This imposter was looking more and more like his old companion after each passing second.
"Go on." He uttered, knife still gripped.
"During that fight with the Wendigo, you're right, I did die of blood loss. I wasn't entirely lying when I said a fae helped me. She did, but she wasn't one of the peaceful forest dwellers. She was a dark fae, very, very dark. After I died, she practically ripped my soul from the afterlife back into my body, then she tied it to yours just because she was bored. I can't remember her exact words, but basically, I have to help heal your own soul so I can be released." Allister's hands were trembling, his eyes on the brink of tears.
Noah's knife stayed at his side, his expression unchanging. Allister pleaded again. "Noah, Noah please. I'm stuck to you, just like I've always been, but this time until you clean up your act." He let out a helpless chuckle. "Y'know why that vision was so good before I woke you up? Cause I was there! I'm in your head, and I can control what I want. Well, not entirely, only because you're so fucked up I can-" Allister stopped his rambles as he saw tears escaping Noah's eyes.
He dropped the knife, his knees collapsing as he fell to the floor sobbing, his head in his hands. Allister rushed over, placing a hand on his shaking shoulder. Noah flinched at the touch, but not at the action. Allister knew this reaction all too well, and embraced his friend as his sobs subdued.
"I'm sorry, Al, I'm so sorry." He muttered as he tried to hug his friend back. He failed, falling face first into the floor. The two laughed, and Noah got himself up. "Also, why the hell can I not touch you?"
Allister chuckled as he hit him on the shoulder. "Well, for one, I'm cursed. Second, your soul is fucked. If you were healthy and pure-ish, you could kill me again if you really wanted. Your own insecurities and demons are blocking you from getting to me. At least, that's what the fae said in a very eerie, poetic way." He laughed. "I don't do it any justice."
Noah looked to Allister as himself, not this imposter. He took a moment to process what he just heard, and to assess how messed up his friend looks. He looked the same, but his skin grayer and his eyes cold and tired. Although, Noah could almost see the smallest trace of warmth and friendliness that he knew so well.
"Now that you're here, I should probably catch you up on what the fuck is going on." Noah sighed, flopping into the chair nearest the window. Allister crashed to the floor, putting a thumb up.
"I'm all ears, but kick me if I fall asleep."
YOU ARE READING
All I Have Are the Stars
Fantasy"'I tell the stars about you' Ashlynn broke the silence after they had both been staring at the sky for an ungodly amount of time." Nothing has ever gone right for Noah, it never has. The only time he's had hope was when Ashlynn, his beloved, was st...
