Dyrin

Chapter 2: The Forest

xXZensukeXx

I pad my paws into Grace's hair. I don't know why she would ever want to visit the king- it's crazy to try visiting him now. She going to get herself killed.

I, on the other hand, need to see the king for several reasons. Firstly, it's my job to let him know about everything that was been happening in Dyrin. I'm kind of like his little newsman. I also have to stock up on more food- I can't get it anymore else, that'd be too risky. And as a third reason.. He's my brother. I have to make sure he's okay.

Siblings in Dyrin share a special bond with each other- in a way, they are connected. When one of the siblings die, the other passes away as well with the same pain. I'm visiting my brother to see if he is doing well because there is a way to kill one siblings without the other being affected. How? How would I know.

If citizens ever visited or saw the king before, they could definitely sense that I'm his brother if they spotted me. This is why I keep to the shadows. They'd definitely kill me if they knew the King Joel would die as well... "Grace, why are you visiting the king? He'll never let you inside the palace anyway."

She grunts, jumping over a mossy fallen down tree. "I just do."

A fake pouts crawls to my cat face. "Come on. I don't have to bribe you with my cuteness, do I?" I whine running my furry head against hers.

She laughs aloud at this, but continues to walk without answering my question. "Graaaaaaaaaace."

"Can you ever be less annoying? I'm taking you to the palace, so I wouldn't anger me if I were you," she snaps with annoyance.

I can tell Grace feels a bit guilty when she pulls her hand to her head to rub me on the belly. "I'm not mad at you."

After several more minutes of her winding her way past branches and such, we reach a long, flowing river. The water runs through the forest with visually no end to be seen. I shift into my human form, mentally wincing with pain. It never feels comfortable to literally bend your body into another shape. "How are we going to get across?"

Grace peers down the long river and sighs. "It's kind of wide, so we obviously can't jump across." She rolls the hem of her dark cargo jeans up so they don't wet. "Looks like we'll have to cross by foot."

I smirk, and lift her up with ease, throwing her over my shoulder. "Hey what are you doing?!"

I step into the frigid water and almost yelp at how cold it is. "Normal humans like you can't cross this. It's too cold." I lunge further into the river, and the frigid water crawls up to my waist. This is a lot colder than I would've ever expected. "Unless you want me to let you go..." I tease.

"What about you!" she snaps. Wow, this girl really didn't know anything about shapeshifters.

"I'm a shapeshifter, we have more advanced bodies," I explain. "You should know that by now."

She sighs. "Whatever. Just get us across quickly."

I pull myself into the water even more, ignoring the freezing river water creeping up my pale skin. Now halfway across the harsh river, I begin to shiver when more gelid water swallows my neck. My feet cannot reach the bottom of the river now, so I kick my feet with immense force to keep afloat the two of us. "I hope it won't get deeper than this.." I manage after a final lunge. I can't risk drowning..

Finally! I near the end edge of the river and the water slowly becomes shallow beneath my feet. Grace jumps onto the land with a thud and extends a hand to help me up.

"You owe me some kitty treats after t-" Before I can finish, I feel a tug at my leg. Something slimy is wrapping around my ankle, tightening more as it cuts into my skin. "What..?" I try pull my foot upwards, but the unknown continues to drag me down. What is this?