Malion: Up In Flames

Broken

I skidded to a halt at the brink of the clearing. Herross knelt above the body. He ran gentle, precise fingers along the dirth cuts of the body, closing them with jagged scars in their places that had a fading dark glow once closed. He was muttering barks of some language I didn't understand.

"Herross...?" He finished the chant and looked up. He slowly stood. I froze when he looked at me. His eyes... they looked so betrayed. My heart started to pound.

"Decoda..." he gasped before speaking my name and walked towards me, placing gentle hands on my shoulders and blocking my view of the scene completely. He turned me around slowly and deliberately then pulled me into a tight embrace. I felt my throat start to burn and I coughed out a sob.

"It's alright. I know you're afraid. It'll be alright." He whispered softly. After a long moment, I finally was able to regain my composure, still feeling my heart pounding in my chest.

"Come, sit down for a moment. You need a break. I can sense how drained you are." He told me just barely above a whisper. I sighed and allowed myself to slump down next to a tree.

"What's on your mind, my dear?" He said, his eyes full with the most genuine concern. He had a way of displaying everything he felt in the seemingly empty pearlescent white. Maybe it was a part of his power. I was nearly always able to tell what he was feeling whenever he approached me. Was it deliberate...?

"You were so quick to break down... what's the matter?" He asked again, this time slightly louder. My heart sank.

"I don't want to see that again... he looked so much like Kaylum... I have no idea how I could have done such a thing. I feel so mortified. I'm starting to feel like making me a Princess was just as bad an idea as making Carvarak the King." I explained, forcing back my frustration.

"That Joorlin was not himself. He did not have his mind. The last memories Anthony was able to pick out of him were the moments before he joined Orin. He was long dead, Decoda." Silence deafened us for a few long moments before I finally built up the courage to speak.

"I've only seen Joorlins in their beast form... I have never seen someone with such strange ears."

"Joorlins are known to Aslantians as Wolf people. Have you ever heard of them called that before?" He asked and I responded, shaking my head, "'Wolf person' isn't actually accurate. They can take the close form of most canines. Joorlin, the Karmarean word is much more descriptive, meaning "Cani-Man." It comes from Canine. Joorlins spend most of their time in their bestial forms and transform into their other forms when needing to interact better with others. It's for the same reason your family has a true form and their Gaian form. You fit in better this way. They are in many ways, similar to Beneath Walkers like yourself and Kaylum. They are sensitive to certain conditions and resistant to others. They possess a much stronger sense of smell and hearing while their eyes are not as good as yours or mine. Their speed is incredible when in their bestial forms." He explained.

"That... that makes me feel worse..." I growled, "If he was more like me, and I killed him, what's stopping me from doing so to my own family...?"

"Decoda, you've gained a skewed persception of yourself. This is not safe. I think it's best you focus on your wellbeing before you focus on anyone else's." He suggested.

"I guess... It's probably a good idea for me to sort myself out before we sort Michelle out." I mumbled.

"Sort her out?! Is that what you were planning?! Did you leave her in that realm on purpose?! You- you deserve to be sent back to that heinous realm where you cane from, you Demon!" Barbara's voice suddenly pierced my ears as she barged forward. I stood and she looked down at me.

"Barbara, I..." I mumbled, my surroundings brightening up suddenly. I noticed a faint gasp from Herross.

"I knew it! Anyone with eyes like yours is malice!" She yelled and shoved me into the tree I had been sitting against. I grunted and lost balance, landing on my wounded arm. Dispite the safe enough landing, a terrible jolt of pain rushed through me and I yelled out. I quickly got back up to reasure her but all she did was stare at me with a horrified expression and before I could get a word out, she ran.

Suddenly Herross took in a surprised and seemingly relieved gasp. I turned to him and his eyes were bright. He looked at me with shame shining through the white.

"What just happened?" I huffed.

"Theres... there's a lot of fear in the area at the moment. More than usual. This happened when Absinthe attacked too. I can't express how much I hate the feeling of being satisfied while others around me cowar in fear. It makes me feel like an otherworldly being when all I want is to be accepted by the world I watched the creation of. Beneath, I played a part in it's creation..." He rambled. When he caught himself, he held his tongue.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

"It's ok." I whispered in response. After another long moment of silence, Herross spoke up again.

"Please go and talk to Barbara."

"No." I responded coldly. A sharp, short pain jolted theough my chest and I supressed the panic that began to rise.

"Why not? She obviously feels terrible for doing that." He retorted, getting up and towering over me. I teared up while his eyes lit up again.

"Because she thinks I'll hurt her! She thinks I'll do something worse to her! She thinks I'm a monster, Herross... just like I do." I told him through new tears. My heart pounded in my ears and that strange hypnagogic state overwhelmed me again. I couldn't move as I stared at him, his hand raised to my chest and a strange darkness leaking from it. That's when I became hyperaware of everything around me, including the previously forgotten body.