Dolls, Dimensions, And Demons (The Rewrite)

Chapter Two: On the Run.

(Guys if y'all have any questions regarding how Jef's or Good's biology works please ask I am a weirdo who loves to figure out all the little details on how nonhuman characters work

The only explanation on HOW Jef turns into a doll is "magic", but you can always ask why...Yes I want to go on a nerdy rant on fictional characters. And?)

"Oh no-"

A wonderful phrase to mark the end of the first hour of sundown. It had been three days since he witnessed the witch's murder, and the doll boy- who had decided to deem himself 'Jef', for whatever reason- had been struggling through the nightly onslaught of dozens, if not hundreds, of monsters. Despite not being exactly human himself, there was barely a difference when the sun was down, and that was when they were unfortunately the most active. Sure, Jef had orange eyes and a tail, but he didn't count as one of the monsters which was enough to make him a target.

He rarely had to deal with the monsters when the witch was still alive- he was protected by a spell from the witch that kept them away, but when she died, the spell had ceased to function. Now the doll lad was dashing through unfamiliar woods, running from the many bloodthirsty fiends that were hunting him down. His orange sweater had a tear in the left sleeve, and he had dirt and leaves all over his clothing. The orange gemstone attached to the end of his tail was glowing faintly, and it definitely didn't help him hide. To mobs in the distance, it looked vaguely like a torch of some kind, or so Jef could only assume even though it wasn't bright enough to ward the violent creatures away. At least he didn't have to deal with the explosive creepers, they were scared of felines, and Corro hadn't left his side.

Jef abruptly hissed in pain as his bare foot landed on a sharp twig, wincing as the wood stabbed through his skin. The clothes he had on him just manifested when he turned from doll to human, and any clothing items he had on him would disappear when he turned into a doll, including his favourite orange beanie- he wasn't entirely sure how that made sense, but he was glad about it; having to go back to get clothes before the sun set would be a hassle, after all, and could easily lead to some uncomfortable situations- but he never really had any shoes. Corro meowed worriedly at him, and Jef mustered up a smile and kneeled down, impaled foot resting on the top part rather than having the bottom touch the ground.

"Don't worry Corro, I'll be fine," Jef said, before quickly looking around to see if there were any monsters. He didn't hear or see any, for now anyway. "Looks like we lost them..." He sighed in relief, before sitting down properly into a sitting position. The twig luckily hadn't gotten too deep into his foot, but it had stabbed slightly into his heel. Tears welled in his eyes as he pulled the stick out, orange blood dripping from the wound. Corro's eyes- closely watching the brown haired boy- almost seemed to glow in the darkness, although the bioluminescence of Jef's blood was brighter than that. Corro's eyes reflected the light, and Jef's blood produced its own light. They were fundamentally different.

He looked around, but couldn't find anything to put around his injury to help with the bleeding, so instead he took the beanie from atop his head and put it around his foot like a sock, bunching up the extra space of the opening and tying it up to keep the 'sock' tight around his foot, doing so to keep it from being further injured. "We shouldn't stay here for too long... but a short break can help catch our breath... I want some water." Jef murmured, speaking both to himself and somewhat to Corro. The cat laid down next to him, curling up into a doughnut. "You're tired too, huh? We'll find a place to rest soon."

Jef knew he couldn't stay in one place for long, especially in such a dark spot. Light seemed to ward away the monsters of the night for some reason or another, and although it didn't scare them away all the time, they tended to avoid it if they didn't have a good reason to go towards it. The darkness attracted them, and faint lights did too as they usually proved humans were present. Bright lights though, they didn't seem to like at all, and only went towards them if they saw something to attack there. And hopefully, Jef would be able to find a spot to hide that was near bright lights, although that was unlikely.

"Let's g-," Jef was interrupted by a sleepy yawn. He was used to taking short naps throughout both the day and night, but the past few nights he hadn't gotten a chance to sleep. He needed to fix his sleep schedule, but that was much easier said than done. "Let's go, Corro."

An arrow just barely missed Jef's cheek, only a few millimetres away from hitting him. He couldn't have chosen a better time to get up and go, seeing he'd just been spotted by a skeleton. Jef scooped Corro up into his arms before he began to run once more, this time keeping an eye on where his feet were landing so as to avoid getting too hurt. Of course, he couldn't avoid a handful of scratches on his uncovered leg, but nothing impaled him this time. In the distance, he noticed what looked like... light? He turned back only briefly, seeing that more monsters had found him and were chasing after him, before proceeding towards the light. Please let there be somewhere near it to hide!

He was in luck. In the middle of a forest clearing were rows upon rows of bushes, with lanterns hanging from tree branches around the small garden. Jef set Corro down, as the feline wouldn't be attacked by any monsters- he'd carried him just to make sure he didn't lose him- before climbing up into one of the trees. A skeleton. Two zombies. A spider. All of them passed by the garden, briefly looking around for their victim before quickly leaving. The light, it seemed, made them fairly unhappy. They were built for darkness, and maybe the light messed with their ability to see clearly, or they had light sensitive eyes? Wait, but skeletons didn't even have eyes! They were all bones!

Jef slowly climbed down the tree after nearly half an hour of waiting up there, wincing as he landed on his injured foot. He walked over to the garden and looked at the bright blue fruits growing from them. Blueberries. His stomach growled, and he took a few of the berries. He could only hope that the person who grew them wouldn't mind, but he was also too hungry to think deeply about it. After all, running around night after night on an empty stomach was never a good idea.

The rest of the night was restless, a few monsters nearing the clearing throughout the moonlit hours, however Jef was well hidden enough while laying down among the bushes that he was never spotted, and the bloodthirsty creatures never had further reason to explore the light-filled garden.

He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but by the time the sun rose and he became a doll once more, he was out.