MANIC MONSTER DISPLACEMENT

Chapter 16 - CLOAKED IS THE SHADOWS

It feels like it’s been awhile, strange. It’s only been a day or so, right? Cain didn’t know, he was still so caught up with everything. Now that it’s on his mind, he was struggling to think of how long he’s actually been here. A few days? A few weeks? It’s probably been around 2 months, or something like that, if Cain had to guess seriously. Anyway, Cain was waiting on The Sea Devil at the moment. He wondered as to what EXACTLY he was going to do, as, the so called ‘help’ he had been offering was as vague as ever. But, Cain wasn’t going to refuse anything that could help his situation. That is, if it was actually helpful. He really hoped it was.

The Sea Devil, or, Idoneus, whatever he said his name was, Cain kinda forgot, didn’t mention when he’d arrive. Cain, just for a moment, thought that it could’ve been one of those genie type things. Where, ‘oh, I’m finally here!’, and it’s been a thousand years. So, like, you’re long dead. But Cain wasn’t too sure about how long sirens lived. Thankfully, Cain’s small bout of anxiousness was eased when the massive siren appeared out of nowhere behind him. I mean, it peaked it for a small moment, but that’s going to happen no matter what. The people in this world seemed to struggle with the concept of alerting others to their presence. “Hey, took you long enough,” Cain greeted, sliding his phone down into his pants pocket. Idoneus chuckled, still looking strange without an actual mouth to do so with. “Finally used to that, hm? I was wondering when you’d get numb to it,”

Cain watched as the siren scanned his surroundings, poking around. He didn’t mind that much, this place wasn’t really his. He had no reason to get angry, that is, unless he starts prodding around Cain’s personal belongings. “Real nice set-up you’ve got here,” Idoneus complimented, with the slightest hint of sarcasm laced in his tone. “It’s better than being in the middle of the ocean, I’d imagine,” Cain nodded, walking over to the balcony. Overlooking it, it was the same old forest he’s been looking at for ages now, although the trees have become a lot more barren now. The multicolored leafs now littering the ground and decaying, instead. “I’ve never loved water, so yeah. I’d agree,” Cain said, kicking a small stick through the railing, and down onto the ground.

“I’m sure you’re plenty impatient already, I’m not evil enough to keep you waiting further,” Idoneus said, having looked around the treehouse to his content. Leaning against the railing, he looked down at Cain. “There’s a scout,” He started, catching Cain’s attention before he continued. “He’s been known to lurk around, in the shadows, in the woods, anywhere, really,” Idoneus said. “Humphrey told me that he has some information that you’ll find useful, though, unfortunately…” He sighed, putting a hand on his hip. “He wouldn’t budge on whatever that sacred information was, for whatever reason,” Cain smiled a little, grinning. “So, there’s someone more painfully cryptic than you? Didn’t think that was possible,”

Idoneus laughed at that, putting his hands back onto the railings. “I do love my puzzles, but, I’m sure he has his reasons,” Idoneus shrugged a little, turning around to walk back into the front. Cain trailed behind, having a small question or two. “Was that it? Just another piece of information I gotta go on a fetch quest for?” Cain asked, somewhat miffed. He was kinda grateful, but, he was getting tired of having to run around. “Oh, don’t be like that. You have all your friends to help you, don’t you?” Idoneus said, before giggling a little. “No, no, you’ve exceeded my expectations, in a way… I’ll help you catch the bastard, I decided on that long before I came here, anywho,”

Cain sighed again, though this time it was a sigh of relief. That was going to make things a lot easier. “Thank god,” He muttered under his breath, peering up at Idoneus. “I want to know what he’s hiding, as well, anyway. So, I have no reason to not help, aside from sheer laziness.” Cain thought for a few minutes, his other question quickly reentering his brain as he did. “Wait, so, what do we do??” He asked, making Idoneus cross his arms, shrugging. “I’ve been told he likes the night, so, we’ll wait until then. I will plan the rest,”