Coffin & Feathers [Elisop]

Chapter 14

TW : Violence (Just a lil' bit)

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After this very peculiar day, Aesop couldn't stop thinking about the prospector and the seer. What the hell did the two men want from him, he thought. His mentor was the only person who had shown him affection for most of his life, and now two others had entered his impenetrable shell and made a mess out of it. How to meet their expectations, what to say to them, he didn't know what to do and thinking about this thing called love... scared him.

"Aesop ?"

The boy looked up at the person next to him on the stone bench where he was sitting, Eli Clark. They were both in a small glade behind the manor. There was a large forest behind this one and if you believe that escaping through there is possible, well, it's impossible. No matter how many hours you spent walking through the woods, the forest would lead you back to the mansion. It was like entering a labyrinth with no way out. Well, it was also one of the few places that wasn't bounded by an invisible line separating hunters and survivors.

The place had a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, the rustling of the leaves of the trees created a soft melody accompanied by the chirping of the birds. This natural music made them feel free in a way. The gray-haired young man rested his hands on his thighs and looked at the two glowing blue orbs of the mask the diviner wore.

"Is something wrong ?" the hunter then asked.

Aesop didn't answer right away. He wasn't sure what to say. Initially, Eli had shown up in his room to tell him that he found a quiet corner that the embalmer would surely appreciate and without much questioning, he followed him. However, he was not stupid. He knew that the hunter expected something from him even if he didn't say it in person. Only, was he able to give him the subject of his desires ?

"Who are you, Eli Clark ?" he said, looking him straight in the eye.

For a second, the embalmer could have sworn he saw the hunter's smile falter. Yet, looking at him again, his smile was still the same, strangely perfect. The seer moved his hand closer to his mask to remove it, then laid it to the side. His gaze then moved to the boy's gray eyes. Those eyes. Again. They pierced his soul, it was like being naked in front of a crowd of people. A very odd sensation.

"I could tell you the same thing, Aesop Carl. We don't know much about each other outside of what we see during the matches."

"Indeed."

"Would you like to know more ?"

He leaned a little closer to him as he said this. His mystical gaze gently enveloped the survivor in a kind of sweet dream, his eyelids grew heavier and then... everything went black.

When Aesop opened his eyes again, he was in a forest. An unfamiliar forest though, the trees were much taller than the ones behind the mansion and there was something... menacing about them. Panic seized him when he noticed that Eli was no longer there. Where had he gone ? Where was he ? Was he still at the mansion ? The chirping of birds drew his attention to the top of a tree. He was standing there.

Atop the large oak tree, half lying on a branch the same size as his pelvis, Eli Clark seemed to be enjoying playing with the nightingales and other forest animals. Strange. Did he not see him ? The embalmer was at the foot of the tree, and all one had to do was look down slightly to see him. Then, as if there was a connecting thread between their minds, the hunter lowered his gaze to the gray head and sketched a smile.

"There you are."

Finally, he thought. Relief washed over the young man as he felt the blue orbs of the diviner land on him. However, it vanished to leave in its place a feeling of horror as he saw the latter's owl pass through his body and come to rest on the hunter's arm.