guarded by ghouls [g.b.c.]

four.

one week later

i hummed to myself as i flipped through the pages of the book of ghouls, looking for something about earth ghouls.

there wasn't much, and everything i could find was just small mentions when talking about other ghouls.

i was about to give up when i noticed a page that had been stuck to the one before it. i carefully separated the pages not wanting to rip anything and saw the most handwriting on two pages, all dedicated to earth ghouls. a smile spread across my face as i looked for trust, finding it relatively easily.

earth ghouls are very calm creatures. they're grounded and can easily calm a room if they want to.

they're also extremely cautious, yet extremely loyal. once you befriend an earth ghoul it'll be hard to shake them off.

you only get one chance with these kinds of ghouls, so make it count.

usually, earth ghouls can be found in their room or outside. it's 50/50 chance for most.

if you sit with them and fidget with some of the things around the two of you, they'll see that you simply want to talk/spend time in their company. they're quiet creatures who wait for others to make the first move, but once you've had a nice conversation, you can consider your earth ghoul a friend.

if you want to gain a friend in a more dangerous way, wait for a life or death situation and make sure the earth ghoul is right in the middle of it.

save them from whatever is about to kill them, then you'll be on your way with a ghoul who's bound to life debt!

we don't recommend this though, since it does get very debilitating for the earth ghoul.

i rose a brow at the last bit, deciding to erase the thought of binding mountain to me by life debt from my mind.

"outside..." i mumbled, standing up from my floor and shuffling over to the window in my room.

there mountain was, sitting under a tree and reading a book.

a smile graced my face as i quickly grabbed the book of ghouls and placed it in my bag, hurrying out of my room.

as i walked outside, i stepped carefully, examining mountain from far away. he turned the pages in a timely manor, occasionally adjusting the way he sat or reacting to something that had happened in the book.

i couldn't tell what the book was, but it looked old. maybe something that papa told him to read up on?

i made my way over to the tree, noticing mountain glancing up at me and becoming more alert.

i simply sat down next to the ghoul, smiling at him when he looked at me. i got a small smile back before he looked down at his book.

i looked down to the ground, pulling some flowers and blades of grass from the dirt, weaving them into a crown that would hopefully fit around mountain's horns.

after a few minutes, i went to pull another flower from the ground, but there were none left at a reachable distance.

i frowned, looking at the barely started crown in my hands.

a sigh escaped my lips as i started to put the crown down, but mountain's hand got in the way.

flowers sprouted and bloomed around mountain's hand, new varieties showing themselves.

i gasped softly, looking over at the earth ghoul. mountain simply smiled at me, going back to his book and bringing his hand up from the ground.

i smiled, quickly continuing with the crown, incorporating the newer flowers that had sprouted thanks to mountain.