Over the Falls

Chapter 4

WIRT

Wirt could tell Bill was getting tired. His vessel was still human, even if Bill claimed he could overpower the nature of a human body. Wirt had insisted Bill eat berries from a tree they passed hours and hours ago, but Bill's response was, "Shove it up your butt, Beast. I'm a being of pure energy, I don't need petty things like food."

Now, it was obvious he should've eaten something. Bill was falling behind, his eyes weren't glowing as bright as they usually do, and he seemed to be getting cranky.

"We should stop," Wirt decided. Actually, for the third time, Bill had ignored him and kept walking the first two. But Wirt had a younger human companion once, he hadn't forgotten what they need.

Bill glared at Wirt, but he stopped walking and sat down on a rock. Wirt studied him.

He looked weak, he was even breathing a bit heavier than normal. His outfit was getting dirty and overall he just looked tired.

"Don't worry about me, Beast boy. I'm a being of—"

"No, you're a 12 year old boy. You can't keep forgetting that," Wirt interrupted. He was getting sick of Bill's stubbornness. "Unless you plan on leaving the body."

"And go back to only having power in the state of mind? No thank you. You wouldn't understand this, you're not a demon. You're a human with power over trees. A hippie!" Bill attempted a cocky smile.

Wirt got up close to his face. "I'm a monster with a curse that I can't break. A curse that makes me live off souls."

Bill was still smiling, but his face changed again. Wirt couldn't place the emotion, but he realized he should back off.

With every little outburst of anger, Wirt worried he was becoming more like the thing he was supposed to be, a true beast. The thing he lost Greg to.

Wirt didn't believe Greg was truly gone. He believed he was still in the lantern somewhere, but Wirt had no idea where the lantern was, which was why he was on this trail with a mind demon.

When Wirt thought he had defeated the Beast by blowing out the light of the lantern, he had brought the woodsman's daughter back. But the Beast never really went away. The embers of the candle still burned, a soul had to be taken in place of the one it lost, the Beast was determined to stick around. But on his own, he couldn't survive, so half his soul inhabited Wirt, the other half, the darker half as Wirt believes, still lurks in the forest as a shadow, connected to Wirt in ways he doesn't like to think about.

The soul it took was Greg's. At least that's what Wirt believed. The two brothers had fallen asleep that night in the wood. When Wirt awoke, he had branches upon his head and he craved something he couldn't understand until he took one. A soul. A child had died in the village, his wayward soul calling to Wirt. Wirt cried after realizing what he had done, what he had become. Greg had not been with him when he woke up, but in the place he had fallen asleep was a melted candle. This had to have been a clue, a hint, an item to provoke Wirt into finding the remaining half of the Beast, either way, Wirt was determined to find his brother. After that, he didn't know what he'd do, what would happen.