Warmth ~<GreenWind>~

❄️{Sixteen

Lloyd felt his anxiety rise. He was telling himself no. Nonononono. He was terrified to pull away the rest of the brush.

Knowing who it was made him dread seeing the condition. Who knows if he had his eyes cut out or no head at all. He could handle that.

But the cat seemed to reassure his worries and nuzzled him in comfort. Lloyd let a tear fall. It was kind of like those moments when someone asks if you're okay and you break down. It was like that.

The cat gave him a look at if to say, he had to do this. He wasn't alone. So he got onto his knees and with a shaking hand, started moving the brush away.

The more he moved the more he saw. The torn clothes. The mud. He seemed to be in rough shape. He didn't seem to be physically harmed but when Lloyd got to his face...

It looked completely lifeless. His eyes were dead. He had no expression but seemed to die lonely. Lloyd touched his forehead and his hair.

"Why did this happen to you?..." Lloyd whispered. All the tears started falling at once.

He pulled Morro's body into his arms and cried hard into it. The cat had hopped on top and curled up in between them, getting comfortable. Did it not understand?

"Why?" Lloyd cried out once again.

A loud crashing sound caused Lloyd to raise his head up rather quickly. The cave was now much brighter. He heard shouting. The rocks blocking off the cave had fallen. And it wasn't naturally.

He wasn't alone in here anymore. The cat had sprung up too, facing the entrance. His claws were out and its back arched. And he was hissing too.

"Boo." One man grinned and started laughing, it echoing throughout the cave. It sent the cat running.

Lloyd held onto Morro tighter as the cave was infiltrated with a whole bunch of people. Now he was alone in here. He recognized their attire. This was the group who got into the kingdom. They were responsible for all this.

He was surrounded. He wouldn't have run but had he wanted to, he couldn't. He felt small and helpless.

"What do we have here?" One leaned it.

"What do you want?" Lloyd sniffled.

"Awee, he's been crying."

"What do you want?" Lloyd repeated.

They kept ignoring the question. They all seemed unsure of whether or not they wanted to take action or just talk or do nothing.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Lloyd asked. "You're all just a bunch of amateurs!"

"We're waiting." One responded.

"Waiting? Waiting for what?"

"The right time to kill you and make your kingdom ours."

"Why?"

"We've always been here. Stuck. I'm this awful place. Who wouldn't want to see something new for a change?"

"You already killed him...You don't need to kill me too."

"Why would you want to stay alive after this? You can live without your pathetic boyfriend?"

"He isn't pathetic." Lloyd got serious.

"He's dead. That's pretty pathetic." They all laughed.

Lloyd stood up. "No. He. Isn't."

"No he isn't." One mocked.

"You didn't know him." Lloyd was getting mad.

"No? How much did you? He couldn't even tell you why he was really coming out here."

Lloyd lost it and stormed over to the one saying all these things. He punched him right in the face.

"You little brat!" He grabbed Lloyd by the hair, having a whole fistful in his grasp. Then with force yanked him down to the ground, pulling out his sword.

"You really want to try me?" He hissed.

He held the blade to Lloyd's forehead. Lloyd was frozen. He was tense. He was scared. He wanted to stop any of this from happening. But he couldn't.

"Say hello to everyone in the afterlife for me." The man laughed. Just as he was pulling his sword back, Lloyd saw the cat run up from behind the man and run up his back, digging his claws into his shoulders and forehead.

In response, the man dropped his sword. He tried to pull the cat off but he wouldn't let go. He did finally get a good hold and he threw the poor cat to the ground.