nothing ever lasts forever.

Chapter Seven

I roamed The Ashwood Forest, watching in delight as the sun set. I wasn't in any particular rush, and it was a lively stroll, just to enjoy the nature. As the moon rose, calmness washed over me. As I watched the scenery around me, I realized. This was just a dream. Damn it. I really wanted this to be real..but..if this was a dream and I knew it was a dream was I lucid dreaming? I tried to think of things that could come true. "You're not lucid dreaming," An oddly soft male voice called out. I whipped around, trying to find out where the voice came from. "Over here dumbass," The voice chuckled. Finally I pinpointed where the voice was, and surely enough, two red orbs stared at me from atop a tree branch. In their pools, a black slit that hinted at the darkness within the creature. "You look new," I commented surprisingly bravely, edging backwards slightly. Even though this was a dream, that didn't mean I couldn't end up getting hurt. Right? Whatever it was, it growled lowly, a terrifying sound that came from deep within. I audibly gasped. 

"Wh- who are you?" I cautioned, believing that it would actually answer truthfully. "The monster under your bed," The voice answered sarcastically. "alright, time for you to wake up now." He said boredly, snapping his fingers. And just like that, I awoke. 

I sat up in my bed, blinking rapidly. I tried to rub the tiredness from my eyes, and when I looked up, I saw Kiriel standing in the doorway staring at me. "Dream?" She asked simply, walking off to probably go do something. "Yeah, how'd you know?" I answered, getting up to follow her around our room. "Heard you mumbling," Kiriel said, beginning to make tea for us. "are you going to go back to the forest again?" She asked slyly, in a lower voice. I froze. How does she know? Did she find my journal? Or maybe I was talking about it in my sleep? If she knows then who else knows?

"How..?" I began, soon being cut off by her voice.

"You may be fooling other people, but not me Zeph. I'm your roommate, and I know you. You don't go shopping all day, you get too overwhelmed. And I noticed how you were acting differently ever since Mr. Tomes mentioned the forest." Kiriel confessed, grabbing both our teas and sitting down on the couch in the lounge room. "I have to, Kir. Something's going on in that forest. I need to find out." I expressed, taking her hands in mine. 

She squeezed my hands, her face expression becoming softer and sadder. "I know you won't let me come with you, but please, please Zeph, please for the love of all things you enjoy be safe," Kiriel pleaded, her auburn eyes meeting mine. I stared into her eyes, and a small smile crossed my lips. "I will," I assured in a soft voice. 

{~}

I found myself wandering the forest again, an oddly sweet scent hanging around in the air. I could only describe it as, a sweet, familiar and comforting scent. Something out of the ordinary caught my eye, and as I turned to look at what it was, subtle chills ran up my spine. Claw marks in a tree's bark. Not just any claw marks though. There were five individual grooves where the claws had struck, two being noticeably smaller than the rest. That was no creature's claws, that was as if some sort of humanoid had claws. Fuck. 

I sprinted away from that scene as fast as I could. I did not want to meet the creature that made that indent in the tree. But..what if that creature was the thing the school didn't want us to encounter? 

As my thoughts raced, I also raced physically, still running as fast as I could, even though the scratch marks must've been long gone by now. My eyes teared up from the wind, and I tripped over a tree root that had somehow found itself at the surface. "AHHH!" I screamed, barely catching myself with my hands. As I blinked away my tears, the sight that literally lay before me chilled my bones and would forever be ingrained into my mind. 

A deer fawn, or- well- parts of it lay strewn in front of me. Several bite and claw marks were in its hide, and its brown eyes were wide in fear. My breathing quickened by the moment, and my nose scrunched up at the scent I breathed in. A sour smell, with fruity undertones. Specifically orange undertones. Clearly from the smell alone, this fawn had been here for a little while, as it was decaying. But why did it smell like oranges? I don't know.

{~}

I sat on our couch with my head in my hands. My mind raced, and all my thoughts were in shambles. There was absolutely no forgetting what I'd seen earlier today. With a shaky sigh, I sat back in the couch, smiling up weakly at Kiriel as she approached me. "Hey, how'd it go today?" She asked enthusiastically, plopping down into the couch. "..Don't. Please don't," I answered softly, not willing to talk about what I'd seen. She replied with a little 'okay' and promptly laid her head in my lap. I absentmindedly ran my fingers through her hair as a calming mechanism. Maybe she knew that I needed this kind of physical affection to soothe me. 

It worked temporarily.