A Demon-Warlock's Companion

6

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Laurence's POV

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We'd been walking for an hour, following the flimsy map Travis drew. Katelyn had gotten to the point of practically sleepwalking and Vylad seemed to be completely in tune with the sounds the forest gave us.

I kept walking with my head down until I felt a bump, Katelyn must have stopped. I looked up, Katelyn staring intently into the skyline and Vylad was glaring into a direction I couldn't quite decipher.

"Can you hear crying?" He asked sceptically, a confused look on as much of his face as I could make out. I strained my ears as much as I could, anything to try and hear what was described. Sighing in defeat after a good few minutes, I shook my head no. Vylad clicked his tongue and began walking off the path into a small-looking cloud.
Cloud? But we're on the ground?
I gently grabbed Katelyn's arm and pulled her along into the same direction Vylad left in. What was he hearing?

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Vylad's POV

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I could hear footsteps, probably from Katelyn and Laurence. I could hear crying, but not the light kind. It was as if someone was choking on their sobs. I could barely see anything, but that cloud seemed to lead to somewhere nobody would normally be welcomed.

Laurence carefully dragged Katelyn through the cloud as i trudged through it, a dehydrating mist wafting over us. The crying became louder and I presumed we were getting closer, though as we walked closer to a tree, the crying stiffened and a slightly green light became brighter. I took a few more steps and-
It was her.

"Hey..you okay?" I asked as comfortingly as a shadow knight could, she looked up before sniffling slightly and throwing herself towards me. I managed to catch her and hold her gently, giving her a hug.

"Y-you..came looking for m-me?" She asked between breaths, she was all worked up and her breathing pattern was barely registered.

"We all did." I replied, nodding over to a barely awake Katelyn clinging onto a surprised Laurence. "Now c'mon, let's get back to the ship."

Sage nodded, standing up and releasing her grip from me. She seemed pretty shaken up, but why?

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The four had gathered back on the ship, three of them sitting on the deck wrapped in blankets whilst Katelyn had drifted off to her bed.

"So, why were you in the forest?" Laurence asked, of course he would ask the first question. Sage looked at him, cleared her throat, and began retelling the events of the evening.

"You might think I'm crazy, but I heard the heart of the forest calling me. It was sort of beckoning me towards it." She looked at the boys as if asking for permission to continue, they both nodded.
"I'm certain Mr. Chad G. Augustine Au'leopold III said something about my culture but I wasn't paying much attention, the forest was surprisingly louder than him."  Vylad lightly giggled at the last comment, a grin stretching across his partially covered face.

"After that I began walking towards the voice that was calling me, I didn't have any exact directions so I just based my steps on the voice. Eventually I came across the clearing you found me in, but as I stepped into it, solid clouds covered every possible escape route and a dry mist fled into the space. The original voice that called me there began taunting me, saying that I wasn't good enough and other things similar to that. The voice kept echoing in my head, it's like it wanted me to doubt myself and break down." She finished with a relieved breath, a look of unbelieved confusion on her face.

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Short, I know. For that I'm sorry. I've been thinking about my planning for uploads recently and have come across the idea of short but regularly updated chapters, would you guys prefer those over the longer, more detailed ones that take ages to be uploaded? I don't mind either way, but with either choice the length could vary. <3