The Devil's Bane: (slightly more than) a short story

Chapter XXX: Soul Animals

This looks like an evil lair to me," Dess commented bluntly.

"It does," Charlotte replied. They were in a flower patch, mostly tulips and roses.

"If the Devil wasn't here, I would love to hang out here," she sighed.

"Me too," Anthony agreed.

"Does everyone have weapons on them?" Mei asked everyone, looking around. "I think so." Dess said. Dess had his double-edged sword named Valland, Charlotte had her naginata, Anthony had his gauntlet and water hatchet, Mei had her katana, Cade had his scimitars, and Felix had his scythe and throwing stars . Dess slowly walked over to the giant trapdoor.

"Guys--I really don't think this is a good idea. I feel unprepared." Charlotte suddenly said.

Felix paused. "If it makes you more comfortable we can just camp out here until we all feel prepared," he said.

"Okay. I guess we can train one more day," Dess sighed.

Charlotte smiled softly and said happily, "Thank you guys!"

Felix nodded and Dess smiled lightly back at her.

Felix had bought a few more tents from the neighboring town. Everyone ate some bread and fresh-caught fish. The team was just joking around and chatting around a campfire.

Mei looked up at the sky. "It's getting dark. Should we head to bed?" she asked. Cade sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess we should."

Mei nodded, "Me and Cade are heading to bed. Goodnight everyone!"

The rest of the group one by one headed to the tents. Mei and Cade were sharing a tent, Anthony, Gerald, and Felix were sharing a tent, and Charlotte and Dess were sharing a tent. Eventually, Charlotte and Dess were the last ones out.

"I guess we should put out the fire," Dess shrugged.

"I guess we should," Charlotte replied. Dess grabbed a bucket of water and put out the fire. Dess started to walk over to their tent and so did Charlotte. It was silent for a moment as they got into the tent and into their sleeping bags.

"Hey, uh, Dess. Just in case I die, there is something I want you to know...I've figured it out just recently," Charlotte suddenly said.

Dess looked over at Charlotte. They were both sitting down. "I...so...I think I have a crush on you. I've been thinking about it for a while and I really want you to know that before I get murdered by the Devil's lackeys," Charlotte confessed awkwardly as her face turned a soft red.

Dess blinked and stared at Charlotte. Her wavy, blonde hair was blowing lightly in the faint wind. Her eyes were shining brightly. A crimson red blush was forming on Dess's face. "I...Char, I do too. I know. I know, I've been pondering that lately too. You're so kind, funny, and just everything good in the world," Dess answered, his brown hair flowing slightly in the faint wind.

Charlotte blushed, "I--really?"

Dess nodded, looking down at the ground.

"I'm so glad I finally got that off of my chest," Charlotte whispered happily.

Dess flushed, even his ears turning red. "Me too Charlotte."

A few moments passed of the two friends just staring at each other.

"Well, I guess we should get to bed," Dess said as he broke the silence. Charlotte nodded firmly and decided, "You're right."

The two curled up in their sleeping bags and fell asleep, pondering this thing that had happened.

*****

The next morning, they decided secretly that no one could know about this, uh, relationship until they were both ready.

When everyone woke up, Felix went up to them. "I heard some talking last night," he told them. "What happened?"

"NOTHING!!" they both shouted, not looking at Felix.

"Ohhhh-kay..." Felix said with a wink.

*****

They decided to cross through a nearby village, since it really could be the last time they ever did that. As they were admiring the scenery around them, an old man walked up to them.

"Hello," the grizzled man said.

"Hi," Gerald said. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I'm Joe Bottom's brother, Josh Bottoms," the old guy said. "I heard you were on a quest to slay the Devil. The Devil killed my brother. So, I want to help you out, so here are some magical badges."

Josh gave a phoenix badge to Dess, a bear badge to Felix, a pegasus badge to Charlotte, and a shark badge for Anthony. He also gave a thunderbird badge to Cade, a border collie badge to Gerald, and a raven badge to Mei.

"Thanks, sir, but what do these do?" Charlotte asked.

"These make you transform into your soul animals," he said. "For example, Dess, by pressing that button on your badge you can turn into a phoenix."

Dess pressed the small, thin button on his badge and he immediately turned into a large, fiery bird. Dess squawked in excitement and everyone stared, wide-eyed.

"And by simply wishing you want to be a human again--" Josh started to say, but Dess was already back to being human.

"Woah," Dess said, looking at himself. "That's...that's AWESOME!!"

Josh nodded. "Yes, it is."

By then, Gerald had turned into a border collie and back again. And soon everyone was doing it.

"Thank you, sir, this is really kind of you," Charlotte thanked the old man again.

"No problem, kids. I'll see you around, after you decimate the Devil," Josh said as he walked away into the town.

"This has been a long ride," Anthony suddenly said.

"Yeah...yeah it has," Felix replied as the lengths and hardships of the journey set in.

"Hey, Felix, why didn't you turn into a turtle?" Cade teased.

"Hey, I'm trying to!" Felix joked.

Everyone laughed. Felix mustered a small smile.

Felix had something nagging him in his mind, but he did not know what. Maybe it was his secret plan that no one else knew about. That this was his last time to joke with his beloved friends.