Red Within The Forest

Chapter Nine: A Witch's Cravings

Nia nods her head, "Alright, thank you for sharing." she tells a group of villagers and strolls away. She glanced around; Corvina walked up to her, "Well?" she asked. Nia shook her head, "Everyone is saying the same thing. It's like they're holding back information from us." she replied. Corvina sighs, she crosses her arms, "Well unfortunately monster hunters from the kingdom itself are nothing more but greedy pieces of shits who thrive off of other's demise." she grumbles. Nia taps her foot against the paved dirt road, "Still, you would think that they'd be more than willing to share all that they know given what's been going on." she pointed out. Corvina shrugs, "I hate to say it but it looks like we'll see for ourselves what this beast is capable of next week." she said. Nia nods, "Yeah..." she trails off.

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Gawen watches Corvina speaking with Nia. Anton strolls up next to him, "Something on your mind?" he asked. Gawen looked over to him, "Have you noticed Corvina has been more sick lately?" he pondered. Anton hums, "Kind of. I'm not surprised though, you know how sensitive her stomach is. I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up catching some sort of illness." he said. Gawen sighed, "You're probably right." he mumbled dejectedly. His reply caught Anton's attention, why did he sound sad? Anton's mind started to wander. His eyes widened when he put the pieces together and looked over at him. Anton squints his eyes.

Gawn felt intense energy bearing down at him and slowly turned his head over to where his friend stood. Gawen flinched a bit when he saw Anton's stare. Anton leaned some more, his eyes staring straight into his. Gawen leaned back a bit and his eyes dashed away for a split second. That confirmed for Anton! Now all he needs is to hear it from Gawen himself. A lazy grin traced Anton's lips, "You seem disappointed." he teased. Gawen raised a brow, "What the hell are you on about this time?" he said. Anton hummed as he watched Gawen strolling away from him. The grin on his face never wearying, "You thought she was pregnant, didn't you?" he asked. Gawen stumbled over his own feet but managed to catch himself quickly.

He snapped his head to him, "WHAT?!" he screamed. His outburst caught some villagers' attention. Gawen's face felt warm and his legs lightly shook. He bowed to them, apologizing and stomped over to Anton. He grabbed ahold of his collar and dragged him behind a building. Anton wiggled his eyebrows, "You aren't denying it my good friend." he taunted. Gawen groaned, "Look...it's, it's not like I don't want a small pair of feet running around but...we're not even in the right place to raise a kid yet." he admitted. Anton tilted his head while he leaned against the wall, "You two spoke about it?" he asked. The grin on his face left as his eyes focused on him. Gawen traced his fingers through his hair, "Yeah." he simply replied.

Gawen lowered his head, "I was actually the one who brought it up. When I asked if we would ever want kids, she just looked at me in shock. She said, 'I never thought you wanted any.' I looked at her and said, 'What gave you that idea?'" he stated. He looked up at the sky, watching the clouds slowly dancing their way across. Anton thinned his lips, "What did she say?" he asked. Gawen chuckled when a smile grew on him, "She said, 'When we are officially done with monster hunting, we can move on to our next chapter. But it would mean that you and I are ready for the next step...are you willing to make that commitment?'" he replied. 

Gawen's smile grew at the memory, "I told her I would spend every lifetime with her. No matter how ugly, no matter how challenging, I would always run back to her and only her. I would set down my life if it meant for her to be safe, I can't even imagine how my life would be right now if she never came into it." he stated. Gawen crosses his arms, "She's my light, my everything. She helped me get out of the darkest moments of my life and I am forever grateful. If it wasn't for her and my sister...I probably wouldn't even be here." he confessed.

Gawen heard sniffing and his attention was brought back to Anton. Anton's body shook, "That...that was so beautiful!" he cried. He fell to the floor and started to bawl. Gawen was taken aback by his reaction and quickly knelt down next to him. Anton sniffed, "And here I thought love was dead but no!" he sobbed. Gawen let out an airy laugh while shaking his head. Anton wrapped his arms around him, "So much passion! So much emotion! It was so beautiful!" he stated. Gawen helped him up and straightened Anton's shirt, "Come on, it's not that big of a deal." he brushed off. Anton scoffed while wiping his nose, "Not a big deal my ass! You know I get emotional with this shit, you asshole!" he accused. Gawen laughed and Anton soon joined. Gawen wrapped an arm around him and the two strolled back through the village.