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The sound of hooves thundering behind Sharpness edged closer and closer as his heart hammered harshly in his chest.
Damn.
A thick, plum-coloured wave of mist assaulted his sight, blinding him to the path forward that he so helplessly ran toward.
His lungs starved for fresh air and he felt his insides violently twist as his remaining adrenaline forcefully snapped his consciousness awake.The noises seemed closer than before but greatly muffled in his ears. Before his mind could catch up, the rest of his senses had gone starkly numb. The throbbing pain in his limbs was the only reminder he was alive.
Still fighting to survive. Still running to get away from his pursuers.
He couldn’t let them win. He had to get out of here. Away from here.
His boot caught something hard. It sent him tumbling down, his numb body sinking into what felt like a strangely soft, velvety surface as he desperately clung to his remaining consciousness.
A fish on dry land. That’s what he was reduced to. Gasping for air to fill his lungs. Entirely at the mercy of the suffocating unknown that awaited him. Stalked him. Hungrily watching him as prey to swallow him whole.
⋆༺𓆩⚔𓆪༻⋆
Warmth seemed to have laced around his fingers with a lighter weight on top of his chestplate.
The numbness had barely cleared and now his eyes had seemed to be glued to his lids, refusing to open. His limbs were grounded in soreness from the lucky escape while his throat was locked in a painful spasm.
The weight on his chestplate was gone but the warmth stayed. It was tight around his hand. Gripping onto it. As if telling him to hold on. Once again, the weight had brushed against his armour, tracing towards the centre. There, it stopped.
A sharp push jabbed at him, jolting him upwards and ripping his eyes open. His jaw dropped as a thick, metallic fluid welled up from his throat, and he retched it out.
“Ew, gross!”
A disgusted yet amused voice rang in his ears. Sound was lost for so long he’d almost forgotten it. His eyes—on the other hand—were met with a soft purple hue of a mop of hair.
Sharpness blinked twice. It seemed to have… ears.
“My eyes are down here.”
Sharpness adjusted his gaze and looked down to see the creature that was now leaning on his armour.
It had bright sun-kissed skin, deep with freckles around its nose. Its irises burned with a deep raspberry red—startling, like velvet catching sudden light—and its lips formed a playful smirk.
It looked almost human, but the rabbit-like ears on its head said otherwise. The eyes said otherwise. Heck, even the voice sounded off.
“Hey.”
Sharpness snapped back from the maze of his circling thoughts. The creature had moved closer, its face inches away from his.
Sharpness averted his eyes, looking down at his hand where he had once felt the warmth, only to find it enclosed in the creature’s own grey-tinted fingers.
Strange.
A sun-kissed face with a metallic, yet warm hand. Every instinct screamed at him to pull back, but the contact was so deeply comforting that his body simply refused to fight.
“What? Too shy to look me in the eye?” the creature teased.
Sharpness scoffed and tried to form words; his throat was so parched and coated with the rotten tang of blood that he made a few incoherent noises.
“Sh.” the creature laughed. “You shouldn’t try to talk after coughing up all that!”
Sharpness felt weirdly mocked. He couldn’t tell if it was trying to help him or just found him amusing. Whatever it was, he really didn’t want to be a part of it.
He tried to shake the creature off but it was agonising to move. He could just barely sit up, if it weren’t for the creature's grip holding him.
Sharpness stopped struggling and looked past the creature’s face. The mist was gone. In its place, a breathtaking sanctuary opened up. It was filled with rainbows of colored mushrooms, while oddly shaped flowers were sprinkled in the distance. Ahead, trees painted in different shades of green rose from a carpet of soft, lush grass.
It all felt like a beautiful and hauntingly calm fever dream.
“Are you seriously going to ignore me?” the creature pouted as it pulled out a misshapen gourd and popped off the lid. “Drink.”
Sharpness tried to shuffle away but the creature held him firmly. No escape.
Reluctantly, he parted his lips, allowing the creature to pour the liquid from the gourd into his mouth. The taste of dried blood washed away, instead filled with sweet nectar following onto his tongue.
His pain seemed to faintly disappear as he felt his strength slowly build up. Some type of healing potion?
“Feeling better?” the creature inched closer and whispered. Sharpness nodded, trying to look away as he shifted his weight, attempting once again to throw the creature off.
“Relax big guy! I don’t want any trouble, and I've clearly helped you.” The creature grinned. “Plus if I wanted you dead, I would’ve let the hunters finish you off.”
True.
Sharpness couldn’t argue with that.
“I’m Jude.”
The creature stood up and offered him a hand.
“You can talk now.”
Sharpness took a breath in.
“S-Sharpness. I’m Sharpness.” He managed and reached for his hand as the creature hauled him up.
“Ha! Suits you for a knight!”
“What are you?”
One of its ears lifted at that.
“Well, what do you think?”
“Some eldritch spirit disguised to trick me?” Sharpness narrowed his eyes at the ears while scanning the creature. It wore lacey purple and black garments with leather belts hanging off from its waist. Brass goggles dangled from the side of its head and now its face was plastered with an offended scowl.
“Do I look uncanny to you?”
“Quite the outfit you have going on there.”
“Rude.”
“What?”
“I should just leave you stranded here you ungrateful cricket.”
“Hey! It’s not like I willingly signed up to be here…”
“Good luck finding your way on your own!”
“Wait up!” Sharpness caught its wrist. “Sorry ‘bout that.”
“Even if you are, what reason do I have to continue helping you?~”
Sharpness gritted his teeth. He could just feel the amusement lining its voice.
“Please…”
With that, the creature got closer and lifted its hand, caressing Sharpness’ cheek. Corners of its lips twitched, trying to break into a smirk.
“What am I to say no to that face~” It teased. Sharpness felt his heart speed up but he couldn’t tell if it was out of fear or fluster.
“Cute~”
Was it flirting? Mocking?
“S-sto–”
“Too much?”
Sharpness nodded.The creature backed off, instead tracing his arm and holding his hand.
“It’s almost hunting time…” the creature mumbled. “ We have to get inside soon or we’ll be goners…”
“What are yo—”
“Sh.” the creature cut him off as its ears turned and fell. “ Might wanna quiet down, pretty boy, the forest isn’t all calm and peaceful.”
The creature tugged his arm and led him towards the stony, beaten pathway.
“Let’s go.”