That One World

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

We pulled into a parking lot on the side of the forest near my house. My nervousness faded a bit on the ride here, because R happily filled the long silences with random chatter, just about the scenery and other miscellaneous stuff. I loved the way his brown hair threw off light and highlighted his features. And those red eyes...

Unfortunately, when we pulled in the spot directly next to the woods my fear intensified. Was he going to kill me in the woods and leave me to rot?! The possibility of that seemed nonexistent, but I still worried. Honestly, the only thing I was worried about was finding out that this whole mess was real. What if he wasn't crazy and this ended up to be real? What if I was an enchan-whatever-he-said? What then?

He got out then surprisingly opened my door for me. Crazy boy has class, I thought to myself. I took a deep breath and accepted his outstretched hand. He pulled me out of the car, shut the door, and we began walking. Into the forest.

"Alex, I know that this is going to seem crazy. I just need you to trust me. Can you do that for me?" He was talking as we walked, seemingly to know where he was going. I was afraid if tripping over the nature so I kept my eyes glued to the forest floor, noticing the brush and trying to keep my breath steady. Both from the exertion of hiking and the hyperventilation that I felt would start at any time.

"I have no other choice." I replied shakily. There really was no other choice for me, we were in the middle of a forest. If I screamed no one would hear me. I was beginning to feel that it was okay though. I really had no feeling of unease from R at this point.

"We're almost there." R kept walking. This entire time I've been staring at his back, except when he would look back either to make sure I was still there or say something to me. He looked so at ease in the midst of all scenery. Like a small transition from city stress to nature breath. It was fascinating to see him in his element.

I looked again at his back. Was I missing something? I felt as though he looked different... Or something was off... Wait. Did he change his shirt?

The rips that were torn into the fabric of his shirt were gone. It was a whole shirt again. How is that even possible? I hadn't seen him with another shirt... So how could he have changed? Plus he was with me the entire time from the car into the diner. Come to think of it, I don't remember his face being battered-looking over dinner, either. I was about to open my mouth to say something about it when R stopped walking and looked back at me.

"We're here."

It just looked like any other part of the forest. We had been walking for some time just to come to a random place. This would have saved so much more effort if we just stopped ten minutes before. I sat down on a nearby log to catch my breath and rest my legs.

"Well? Are you gonna show me, Oh Mystical One? Or are you just gonna stare at me like a jerk some more?" I was seriously starting to get pissed. He dragged me around for the past four hours on crazy Sihde chases, an awkward dinner date thing, and hiking through a forest for forever. I was about fed up. Unless he actually gave me an explination, or at least an answer, I was going to be a bitch. Point blank.

My attitude earned me a sarcastic looking smirk. God he was handsome.

"I'm sure I can handle it." My voice was hard. "I'm tougher than I look."

"If you say so. Just don't go running into the trees screaming for your life. I don't need to save you again sweetie." His cocky tone was getting to me.

"EXCUSE ME. I was the one who lost them, smartass. While you just sat there looking stupid I had to throw my car in reverse and run down those freaks."

"Well if you hadn't screamed in the first place, they wouldn't have seen us. You might also recall me having to jump up and actually fight those Sihde. I also had to grab your keys because you just sat there and enjoyed the fun."

"And I also remember you getting a huge-ass scratch on your back and a bloody lip. Where'd those go, huh?"

He looked at me, a small smile and a killer gaze. "I'll tell you once I show you."

"Okay then! Just do it Mr. Mystical."

He gave me a cocky grin and a wink. That's when he changed.

Before I could even say another word, he was moving. I don't mean he was walking away, I meant he was shifting into something other than human. His limbs were twisting, some growing, some shrinking. His skin was fading into something beautiful and red. Scales and smooth-looking strips of shiny crimson. His hair all but disappeared as he fell forward on all fours. His hands and feet turning to claws as soon as they hit the forest floor, long black talons ascended from sharp bony fingers. His spine arched and grew, extending into a sleek torso with an orange underbelly and dark red back. His clothes were seeming to melt into his skin. From his end a long, beautiful tail grew. More scales the color of the sun appeared to cover it's length.

From his broad chest a thick muscular neck supported not a human head, but the head of a beautiful monster.

A snout of red dipped in black protruded from the face of a serpent. Ears pointy as a cats but leathery, tipped black and fading ombré red. And his eyes... Basic mirrors of his human ones, just bigger and brighter. Like the red lit itself on fire. That's it. His eyes were the color of liquid fire.

Slowly, as he sat up, patterns of black slithered across his body. Like vines growing through his skin, it was beautiful, captivating, and mesmerizing. Fire patterns and thorn weaves flitted down his back an spiraled down his tail. It crept up his neck and framed his face, entrapping the scales around his eyes in a mask of dark fire.

He sat back, wrapping his tail around him, much like a cat. He lifted his eyes to meet mine, and I didn't see the beautiful creature in front of me. In his eyes, I saw him and him only. The human and the magical being. It was a gorgeous moment in time.

So it was true. There is a mystical world.

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My favorite part to write so far! Hope you like it;)))))