The Demon in My Mind [Discontinued]

Chapter 10 - Daniel...?

'I-Is this w-what 'kindness' feels like...?'

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As the sun was lowering, the five just goofed off all day in the hidden garden. Robyn got to meet and get comfortable with everyone pretty quickly and the same goes for the three boys even though she seemed a bit nervous at times. Eventually the mixture of reds, oranges, pinks, and purples from the sun setting covered the sky and they eventually leave the garden where only laughter and peace exist. As Boris and Mugman said their 'goodbyes' and were walking home with each other, Sophie offered to walk Star home. She gladly took the offer and as they were walking home, Sophie thought maybe it would be better to know her and become friends. She hated socializing but the awkward silence was too much to deal with for a long walk. Usually Daniel would be chatting up a storm with new people but he was being unusually quiet while walking home.

"Sooooo... Any family in town or are you on your own here?"

Star looked towards Sophie and smiled while responding, "Not really. My Mom, Dad, and little sister do come to visit sometimes but they live in a small town just outside of here." She ended off with a cute giggle that brought a small tint of pink to Sophie's cheeks. "What about you?" The blush quickly went away at the mention of their deceased parents made her heart drop. She looked to Daniel to see if he was paying any attention to the conversation. Luckily, he was just focused on the world around him.

"T-They're outta town" She managed to stutter out while trying not to think about how she felt seeing both of her parents die in front of her. She didn't want someone she just met to know her secrets and past right off the bat. Star just smiled and nodded. This small talk went on for a while until they both got to Robyn's house. "Thank you so much for walking me home! You sure you two are okay walking home this late? Its getting pretty dark out.." She trailed off a little as she looked around, seeing how dark its gotten. Sophie looked around to see how dark it has really gotten but since they're wolves, it wasn't too dark for them. "It's alright! It doesn't seem too dark. I'm sure we'll be fine!" She gave a small smile and Daniel gave them her a small 'yip' as his tail wags. Robyn let out a relieved sigh and nodded as she waved 'goodbye' as she closed the door behind her.

As the two were walking home, Daniel was walking a bit slower than before bu as time passed he progressively got slower. Sophie took notice of this but thought nothing of it and blown it off as fatigue after a long day. She stopped, making Daniel bump into her a bit. "Wanna ride? I bet you're tired from the exciting day you had." He shined a small smile and climbed on slowly. She carried him on her back through the streets, across town, and past a few alleyways. He started coughing after they passed one last shop on the end of town. Sophie's ears lowered in concern but she will have to find out what's wrong with him when they get home. It was getting a bit hard to see in the thick woods but she knew a shortcut to home but the trees and shrubs got thicker in that area. It was the quickest way home and Daniel was not look okay but this was a risk she was willing to take. His coughs got more frequent so she started to blindly run along the trail, back to home. Daniel's fur became a darker shade of brown and his eyes became more dull. He looked incredibly unwell. At that point Sophie knew something was wrong and it wasn't just a simple cough. Sophie went up the stairs, almost tripping, ran past the deck and used her tail to get inside. She set Daniel on the couch while she got a spare wash cloth and a glass of water as well as a bucket, just in case...

As soon as she gathered the items and heard Daniel started to cough and wheeze uncontrollably, she bolted for the living room while trying not to drop anything. When she returned, she saw her brother on the floor, holding a paw over his mouth with something black splattered on his paw and muzzle while coughing uncontrollably. She quickly set everything on the floor and rubbed his back comfortingly while trying not to show any signs she was panicking a lot more than she already was, trying not to worry or scare him more. "It h-hurts *cough* please m-make it go *cough cough* away...!! M-Make this pa- *cough cough gag* pain go away...!" He weakly coughed and begged as he held onto his sister for dear life. Sophie tried using her healing magic to help ease the pain but for Daniel to even relax a little bit, it drained her and she grew tired after a few minutes. He puked and gagged up the same dark liquid a few times in the bucket but eventually his coughing fit had ended and Sophie held him close while he panted. While he was catching his breathe, Sophie noticed what looked like thick, black water on his paw and around the edge of his mouth as it was slowly draining itself out of his body.

'Wait. What's tha- O-Oh....no.... I-Ink... Oh my god...!'

Sophie's ears were pinned to her head, lowered and her eyes were as big as dinner plates as she realized the horrific truth...

Daniel had caught the Ink Illness.

What is up my guys?! I finally got something to write with other than my ancient family computer! I got a chromebook! Welp, its 3:06 im listening to Girls/Girls/Boys by Panic! at The Disco because it's gay as hell and all i gotta say is expect more updates to show up! Srry about the short chapter but I really wanted to get this out since its been a few months since i updated any of my books. Til the next chapter! Bye hoooooooomans!!