Dark Parables: the Curse of Briar Rose.

BackTracking... Lots Of BackTracking

Emily's POV:

Okay don't panic, he's fine...he's not dying in a ditch somewhere. For all I know, he could have just gotten lost finding a tool or got his tail caught in a nasty patch of briar thorns...this place is getting more and more overrun with them... 

No no no! Focus!  I can't start thinking like that! If I do, I'll just end up sending myself into a spiral of intrusive thinking...and then that ember-eyed monster will start clawing her way out...

 As soon as I pass through the castle's arching entrance where I found the pickaxe, I travel back over to the lion fountain to see if Parn was excavating around there. Before I have the chance to call out to him, I spot something glimmering under the moonlight peeking through an overgrown brush.

Is that...a bottle?

Reaching my gloved hand carefully into the prickly brush, I methodically pull out a little purple bottle with a black cap sealing the top and with a little label reading glass cleaner  along the inscription along with a small, brown rag tied around the neck of the bottle. 

Why is all this random stuff just lying around? And how did neither of us find this earlier?

 Whilst internally questioning the logistics of where this cleaning solution and rag came from, I hear a snap from a thin briar branch breaking behind me. I hurriedly turn around, nearly falling backwards from the quick, sudden movement, only to be met with two differently-hued eyes and a shadowy, clawed hand coming around my waist to save me from another potential fall.

"Emily? Little mouse, careful now. It would be very unlucky if you got soaked in old, grimy fountain water, wouldn't you say?" My kitten companion remarks with a playful smirk and a charming glint to his golden eye.

"Parn!" I exclaim in surprise as I swiftly wrap my arms tightly around his waist and I squeeze him close to me in a bear hug that nearly lifts him off his toes. 

"Heh, did you miss me that much, Detective? I was only gone for a moment. I wanted to see if we left anything behind by Briar's statue."

 Setting him back down, I whack him upon his upper arm in a flurry of light, airy punches as if he were a snare drum in response. 

By the moon, he nearly gave me a heart attack...but I'm thankful that he's fine.

 "YOU JERK! You had me worried sick, I was scared half to death that something came after you out here! I'm just glad you're okay, but don't do that ever again!" I shout in a frustrated yet worried tone as I huff a large strand of hair out of my face before I pull him back in for another secure hug, as if to reassure myself that he's right here beside me again. 

"Emily...I-I'm sorry, i didn't mean to frighten you...I promise you, I will never stray far from you. I promise..." He stutters apologetically as he hugs me back as he strokes the back of my head gently and comfortingly. As I rest my cheek softly against his chest, I can't help but notice a silver owl key hanging low around his neck.

"Where did you get that?" I ask as I point out and nudge the key around his neck with my index finger before I take a careful hold of the nocturnal pendant in my hand and I stare up at him.

"Oh, this thing? It was what I found over by Briar's statue. It was hanging high from her staff where neither of us could see it earlier in the night. Did you put all the pieces of the owl together?"

 "Yeah, it's all together now. I was just missing the key for it." I say as I pull away from the hug and I let go of the owl key to let hang against his collarbone.