Turning the tables

Chapter 15 - Nicknames

Bill and I spent most of the afternoon relaxing, I of course dried and folded the laundry, then at around 8 pm I got ready to head out and find the umbra. I had gotten dressed into some jeans, a better-fitted t-shirt and a hoodie. I was gathering whatever I would need into my satchel when Bill showed up in my doorway. "I'm coming with you." he declared, and I laughed. "Not wearing that, you're not." I joked. He was wearing a poofy jacket and a bunch of hiking gear, as well as a giant pack. He frowned. "Why not?" He asked. "Well, first of all, you don't actually need any of that, second of all, you look ridiculous," I replied, putting my phone in the satchel before moving on to other essential items like my journal, a flashlight, rope and a pocket knife. Bill pouted, making me sigh. "No, Bill, you still can't bring all of that. Go put it all back." I said, chuckling when he dragged himself out of the room. I turned to leave, but immediately halted once a furious squeak could be heard behind me. Freud jumped off my bed and scurried over, walking with me as I went downstairs and into the kitchen. I laughed as the hedgett took a random slipper into his mouth and ran off to hide it somewhere. I packed a thermos of coffee, four granola bars, and some juice boxes that just happened to be unexpired and in my cupboard. Bill soon joined me, standing before me. I looked up at him and deadpanned. "No," I said, the former demon grinning. "Why not?" He asked me, tilting my hat. "First of all, it's mine, second, it's way too small for your head," I said, laughing as Bill huffed, taking off the hat and putting it on my head. "Thank you, Dorito." I hummed.

"I'm not a Dorito anymore, though," Bill said. I rolled my eyes, "Fine, then, thank you, Billy." Bill's eyes flashed and I began to laugh. "No, absolutely not." he protested, "Fine, bitch boy." I corrected. "No!" He huffed. I thought for a moment, "Triangle?" I tried, Bill frowning. "I'm not a triangle anymore, though!" Bill whined, making me sigh, "What, are you really going to make me find you a new nickname?" I asked, the freckled-faced man nodding rapidly. I sighed once more in defeat. "Fine," I agreed. Bill grinned, "Thank you, Pine tree!" He cheered, making me roll my eyes. "Yeah, you're welcome..." I muttered, checking my bag to make sure we had everything. Once I was sure we had everything, I made my way towards the front door and slipped on my shoes. I checked my bag one last time, just to make sure that I had, in fact, grabbed the crystals earlier, which I had. So, I slipped on my shoes and stepped out of the house. I was met with the cool night air and the beautiful stars. I almost wanted to abandon my mission and just go stargaze. The trees were swaying ever so gently in the breeze, carrying the sweet, fresh scent of pine trees and clean-ish air. Bill stepped out of the house with Freud in his arms, the hedgett immediately making the jump to my shoulders as soon as he spotted me. I couldn't help but smile as Bill stared up at the sky with me, the both of us admiring the sparkle of constellations in the sky. It was astonishing, really, how beautiful a bunch of floating fireballs could be from afar. I let out a content sigh and turned to Bill, "Come on, we have work to do." I hummed, Bill only nodding in response as we made our way into the forest. As soon as we were far enough for the shack to be invisible from where we were, I took the flashlight out of my satchel and turned it on, seeping its beam of light out in front of us.

The crisp air felt nice on my skin as we strolled quietly through the forest, the only sounds coming from distant forest animals and the steady crunch of leaves and twigs below our feet, their fragile pieces crackling ever so gently beneath our weight. We walked for about 15 minutes until I caught sight of a faint pink glow in the distance, a little ways off the path. I gently tugged on Bill's sleeve, letting him know that we were changing directions. He obediently followed me through the wind of trees and brush until we came upon a large pink crystal that was about the same size and width as the one I had found a little while ago. The pink was gentle, almost as soft of a pink that you would expect a baby girl's nursery to be, and I couldn't help but smile as I broke a few big pieces off and put them in my satchel. Bill was standing a little ways away, marvelling as the crystal disappeared, as it had never been there. As if having just awoken late for a zoom call, the seven umbra immediately appeared. I grinned, turning off the flashlight and walking over to them. Thankfully, with the crystals in my bag, none of them seemed hostile, just curious. I walked towards one of them, suddenly feeling very lazy, but the feeling was almost distant, an afterthought to what I was actually feeling, which was marvel and astonishment. As I stood before the one umbra, small wisps of smoke reached out to gently touch me, as if the creature was just as intrigued by me as I was by them. I allowed them to examine me, the smoke feeling freezingly cold, yet burning hot at the same time, though for some reason I was not bothered by it.