Experimental Love

Chapter 6

      "You're already up," came the sleepy voice of John. 
"Couldn't sleep," I said simply and leaned into his side when he came up next to me. "It's so quiet." There was no sound besides the soft patter of the rain on the trees. 
"Yeah, you slept a lot after you were shot. You seem okay now though, are you sure it doesn't hurt?" he asked and I laughed. 
"John I'm fine, you worry too much," I joked and he hummed.
"I just don't want to risk hurting you more than you already were. I've grown rather attached to your dumb ass," he said. He kissed the side of my head and left the cave, I quickly followed. 
"Are we going?" I asked excitedly, tail wagging as he laughed. 
"Yeah, it's way past time," he said and smirked. "Let's go." I followed after him as he leads me through the forest. 

      We walked in a calm silence for a while before I got curious. 
"John, can you tell me about your home?" I asked and he glanced over. 
"Why not! I'm from a region within the Hell Worlds called the Shadow Realm, the natural home to most shadow demons, and is ruled by Lida, the embodiment of insanity. It's pretty dark there, the only light coming from the fog and soul lights. The Shadow Realm is the coldest of the Hell Worlds, but that isn't really saying much as the Fire Realm can reach temperatures close to the sun in some places. I'm not sure how anything can live there but most fire demons like it. Some demons live on the surface in the Mystic Forest though," John paused for a moment and looked at me. "Now that I think about it, you'll probably be the first human-born creature to gain access to the forest in hundreds of years," he said and I tilted my head. 
"Why are there no humans?" I asked and John huffed. 
"Because humans suck! They're pitiful creatures driven by fear and greed. They kill purely for fun and have no place in a world such as the Mystic Forest. Humans will probably never be allowed to see the true magic of the world or other Worlds for that matter. I highly doubt the gods will ever let them leave their little solar system. Ice demons live out on Pluto to assure this, nothing could ever get past them." I thought about what he said for a moment. Did they really hate humans that much? Then again, I didn't really know much about either world. The few people I had met seemed pretty awful too. "Besides, I doubt the humans would be able to survive in such a world. Their numbers would drop drastically," he said and I hummed. 
"So I guess I'm really special then," I said and he laughed. 
"You are! Especially as a demon's mortal companion. Most demons either have creatures from the Mystic Forest as their companions or something from one of the many other life-holding planets. Very few humans have Divine soul-equals," he explained and I perked up. 
"What's a soul-equal?" I asked and he hummed. 
"Well to put it simply, it's someone or something that your soul sees as equal to itself. Humans often called these soul mates and I guess it's pretty much the same thing. Someone you're destined to spend your life with, someone you never want to lose,'' he said, voice lowering slightly as he looked at me. My face felt hot again and I laughed awkwardly. 
"Th-that's pretty cool," I said and wanted to slap myself. 'That's pretty cool'??? He basically just said he wanted to be with me forever and all I could say back was 'that's pretty cool'. He seemed more amused by it than anything so I guess that was fine. He just grabbed my hand and tugged me a bit closer. I leaned against him as we walked, basking in his warmth. 
"So... is the Shadow Realm cold?" I asked and he laughed. 
"Not at all, but it's not sweltering like some other places. Don't worry dear, you'll be able to live comfortably there once you get used to the dark," he said and I hummed. 
"I can do that, it sounds nice," I said and he hummed. 
"It is, I can't wait for you to meet my friends too, they'll be excited to see I got a mortal companion."
"You have friends?"

      After what felt like forever of walking John said we were almost there. Eventually, we came out into a clearing as the sun was about mid-way through the sky. In the middle, there was a huge rock pile and a ton of water crashing about. 
"Woah... what's that?!" I asked excitedly, clutching John's arm. 
"Haha, that's a waterfall Arlo, and the Mystic Forest is right on the other side. Just follow my lead," he said and I nodded. He let go of my hand and ran at the water, hopping from rock to rock over a small pond, and right into the waterfall. I stared for a moment before mimicking his movements. The rocks were slippery and cold under my feet, but when I jumped into the waterfall I didn't get wet at all. On the other side, there was a small tunnel, a waterfall on either side. John was standing there with a grin. "Now get ready to do the same thing again, let's go!" he said excitedly and I grinned. He raced forwards and leaped into the opposite waterfall and I waited a few seconds before following. When I came out on the other side something was instantly different. The very air of this place had a sort of energy to it that just felt better. The water of the pond and waterfall were practically glowing. There were also no people around. Well, they were people, but not human people. Their lower halves were deer! They seemed to be resting near the water's edge and nodded at John and I when we walked past. 
"This place is so pretty!" I said as I looked around. There were trees as far as the eye could see, and they were so tall. Vines with glowing leaves hung over the huge branches, filling the whole place with soft light. It was so peaceful as John took my hand again and lead me through the forest. Together we walked for a while, John letting me take in all the new sights and smells. Eventually, I turned to him. 
"Can we go to your home now?" I asked hopefully and he nodded. He started leading me through the forest until the trees started to thin. We came out into a canyon and the first thing I noticed was how dark it was. When I looked up the moon was out, which was weird cause I remember it being mid-day when we left. The canyon wasn't empty despite the dark. Many lumbering forms wandered the dry and surprisingly hot canyon. While the forest had been a cool green, this land was a dry red and orange color. I jumped when I heard the howl of another wolf from behind us. I whipped around, fur standing on end. 
"Calm down Arlo, you're fine," John murmured and dragged me further into the canyon. Around us were the sleeping forms of what I imagine to be fire demons. "Don't worry about waking them, fire demons sleep like the dead," John said as he stepped over one of their tales. I nodded but still tried my best to be silent. "Here we go!" he said happily as we came across a huge swirling portal. It was a mix of gold, orange, black, and a few flecks of white. John squeezed my hand reassuringly and we walked into the portal. A tingling sensation filled my body but nothing else happened at first. "Shadow Realm!" John said and the portal turned pitch black around us. It felt like something grabbed me and started dragging me down. 

      I gasped as I opened my eyes. Everything around us was so dark, but I could still feel John's hand in my own. I squinted up to where I thought he was and eventually my vision adjusted so I could see him. 
"You good?" he asked and I took a moment before responding. 
"I think so, it's hard to see though," I said and he nodded. I think he did at least. 
"You'll get used to the dark eventually. Just don't let go of my hand, it's easy to get lost in this place," he said and I took a deep breath. Slowly we made our way through the dark landscape, fog all around us. There were the vague shapes of buildings and other creatures around. A huge demon creature passed by us and John seemed to talk to it. It looked like a deer but a lot bigger and had a bunch of fluffy fur around its neck and chest. It also had what looked like a long tail with more fluff on the end. "An imp," he said and I nodded. Slowly my vision adjusted and I could see better and better. There were a lot more demons around us than I thought. Everything was eerily silent too, the only sound was the occasional drag of something's tail against what I imagine to be stone under our feet. With a shaky breath, I looked up at John again. His eyes had taken up a slight glow, but he seemed very relaxed. I pressed closer to his side and sighed quietly, looking ahead again. John stooped down a bit to be able to look me in the face. "Don't worry, it's only this creepy at first, it'll get better once we get to my house," he assured me and I grimaced a bit.
"If you say so," I murmured, not wanting to be so loud in such an overly silent place. He squeezed my hand and bit and ran his thumb over my knuckles. I couldn't see his expression through the darkness, only his eyes were visible, and it was always impossible to see how he was feeling through his eyes. Soon we arrived at the steps of a large black building, it looked kinda like a hut. We walked inside and everything was a bit brighter. Inside was very nice, a dark stone that seemed to glow, and inside was a calm but comfy space. I wasn't sure what everything was, but it seemed nice. 
"Get comfy, this is your new home. I'm gonna go call up some friends, I'm sure they're wondering where I've been," he said and summoned up a small black fox made of shadows. He started writing something and I walked into another room of the house. It was a lot bigger on the inside than the outside. I settled down on a soft and comfy surface. The name couch rang out in my head and I nodded, knowing most of John's tricks by now. I stretched out on the couch and closed my eyes, I could definitely get used to this. 

~~~~~~