Hollow-Hearted Life

Chapter 10

I had a nightmare.
A pitch-black nightmare, and I was all alone.
There was no floor, and no walls, and no sky, and my blood was pounding in my ears.

I could only see one thing-six pink, pupiless eyes, with jagged, bent teeth that stuck out from the sides of its jaw. Its nose was like that of a skull, yet it still appeared to have flesh on it-however, it was completely immersed in the darkness all around us, and I could not identify any other features. It was gigantic, towering over me.

It was approaching me, and then...
...
I woke up.
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Riki's still knocked out, it looks like. I had set her down next to Rhuarrin for the night. She should be waking up soon, though. 
Her orange hair is really bright when the sun hits it-I look away and back up at the clouds.
It's nice out, and I feel pretty good, all things considered. I'm still anxious about returning home due to what happened a few weeks ago, but I've almost completely put what happened in those woods behind me. I've faced far worse demons. I feel so bad for that girl-I'll ask if she wants me and Rhuarrin to take her to a specific village after she's up, and if she wants anything else. I'll probably be able to give her it. It's the least I can do-I don't know what would've happened to me if she hadn't let me in (or if I hadn't found my way to her home in the first place), and I've put her through far too much trouble than she needs. 

I stretch out my arms above my head, noting that those damned claws have grown out again-once again reminding me of who and what I am. They're pretty irritating, and I prefer to look as human as I can in the time that I'm alive, thank you very much.

Rhuarrin's sitting right behind us both (I'm practically using him as a pillow), gazing at the woods and skies and also waiting for Riki to wake up. She probably won't faint this time, but will definitely still be startled-if I were in her situation, I would be, too. I'll just wait a bit longer for her to wake up, and then talk to her about what she wants to do later.

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I awoke to grass brushing up against my face, and lay there for a bit to process the events of the previous night. There was a bird-demon, and a snake, and then the bird killed the snake, and then...I think I fainted.

The grass here is different than it was in the Ichor Woods. It's a lusher green, and very soft. I lift my head up slowly, groaning, and saw that bird-demon from last night, with Soleil resting his head on it, not seeming to care about its presence, nor noticing me.

"Mornin', Riki!" He said happily, noticing me at last. I screamed-that bird was terrifying-and he gave me a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, you're safe here. You fainted last night- let me fill you in on what happened."

"This big guy is named Rhuarrin. He's a friend of mine, but you up and fainted at the sight of him. Which, I totally understand." So... That bir-Rhuarrin probably isn't a demon then...Demons don't make friends.

"We took you to somewhere safer, and that somewhere is here." He looked at me with a passive expression. "So, Riki, what do you want to do with yourself now?" He asked. "I've got to go back to my kingdom since, y'know, I need to be there to rule it. You've lost your home-I could take you to a nearby town or return later and help you build anoth-" 

"I'm going with you." I said, with the greatest tone of finality I could muster.

He blinked at me in surprise. "You are?" "You are?" A second, deeper, and even scratchier voice echoed him, and Rhuarrin bent down his head.

"Yes, I am-" It took me a moment to register that the bird was speaking perfectly clear Inglis. "Wait, did that thing just talk?!" I yelped in surprise. It sure as hell looked like it couldn't. 

"Yes, I can." It narrowed its eyes at me. "You idiot dog." I don't like my intelligence being insulted by a bird. "Don't be mean, Rhuarrin." Soleil smacked him gently on the nose, and there was a moment where I had a spike of fear, afraid that he would get his hand bitten off. "Try not to say anything like that again either, Riki." "O-Okay..." I murmured. He still seemed mildly perplexed at my decision to come with him, but didn't ask any further questions.

Soleil climbed onto the bird deftly and easily, as though he'd done it many, many times over, his hand brushing over the orange fur-like feathers, and looked down at me. "You said you'd come with me, so get on. This beats walking all the way to Waix by a long shot, and is much faster and easier. He won't hurt you-at most he'll call you names and insult you." Rhuarrin bent down a bit more to help me get on-I was around half a foot shorter than Soleil-and after hesitating a moment I climbed on, and Rhuarrin flew off. 

I wish I hadn't followed him.

Soleil is a good person, and so were most of the other people I met after this moment in time, but...

Following him changed my life forever.

And in the end, it was changed for the worse.

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I needed a name for a common language that is used throughout each country (though each still has its own language), and since the continent this takes place on is named Ixira I decided to name it Inglis. It's kind of dumb but I'll roll with it. Now that the boring stuff's out of the way, we can get to the good and exciting bits!

This is the first chapter of the wattpad that was completed before the webcomic! Wow! (though, only because the webcomic version is scheduled for January 1st of 2021-next year and a few days from now.)
Here's to hoping for a better 2021! 
https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/hollow-hearted-life/list?title_no=422138