#admin bug

Never enter the forest alone

That was the latest piece of superstition being spread around your village, mostly by old widows and young children, but you never believed it. For one, you'd been in the forest dozens of times by yourself and nothing happened. No giant snarling monster, no secret portal to the other worlds, no secret murderer waiting to slice you into a million pieces. The only odd thing you saw there was the baker's wife kissing the blacksmith, but after a bribery of fresh bread, you chose to delete that memory.

The forest had long provided your family with food and shelter, and you saw no reason to fear it, unlike the more urban citizens of your village. You were raised in that forest, you knew every branch from every tree like the back of your hand, and it made you a bit upset that people would start spreading such an awful rumor about the place you loved so dearly.

Jumping over a puddle that had formed from the thunderstorm last night, you walked up the main street of the village, your adventure pack resting somewhat heavily on your shoulders. You'd packed to be in the forest for quite a while since it was prime hunting time, but as the rough fabric of the pack suddenly shifted and brushed against your already sore shoulder, you began internally scolding yourself for overcompensating the trip. You glaced up at the giant arch that marked the boundary between the village and the forest, took a deep breath, and entered.

Desperately trying to avoid getting caught in the sticky mud of the main trail, you paid close attention to the ground, stepping on places that you presumed were solid. Your intuition only failed once or twice, and thankfully the mud didn't go any higher up than your heel. It wasn't long before you found yourself at your spot.

You glanced around the small base camp. There were probably dozens scattered around the forest, each belonging to a different brave soul that dared to traverse into the woods, but a quick glance at the trees forming a barrier around the camp was proof enough that this was yours. Each adventurer was given a symbol, and yours was a star, and unsurprisingly, messy stars had been carved into the trees. Hey, you were a hunter, not an artist.

You quickly tossed your survival pack down, taking a break on one of the nearby stumps as you looked for a granola bar. You hadn't eaten breakfast, a choice you quickly began to regret, but the problem was solved as you pulled the snack out of the bag, quickly unwrapping it and shoving the wrapper into the front pocket of the pack, knowing better than to litter in such a sacred place.

Once you finished your small snack that would probably hold you over until you made your first kill, you took a small roll of fabric from the inside of the pack. It was clear that it took up most of the room inside, as the minute it was removed, the dark forest green bag began to withered and sunk in on itself. You placed the fabric on the ground and rolled it out, revealing all manner of parts for a crossbow. Having done this countless times before, it was no problem assembling the weapon, and before long, you found yourself getting ready to leave to hunt.

Throwing your bag inside the small tent you were provided, you grabbed the bright orange scarf from a branch you'd hung it on last time, and wrapped it tightly around your neck. It was a wonder it was still there. Sure, it was taboo for hunters to mess with other's camps, but you would've guessed an animal would've snatched it down or the storm last night would've blown it away, but miraculously, it was as dry as a desert, and hey, you weren't complaining.

You turned around, holding your crossbow close to your chest as you loaded it with a fresh arrow, the snap of the arrow falling into place filling you with a new adrenaline rush which fueled your journey deeper into the forest. You were careful to watch for the sudden sparkle of silver, an indication of a snare, as you proceeded, your attention darting from the slightest noise to the slightest tremor in the leaves. It wasn't your first time hunting, you knew what to look for, but today, you were oddly on edge.

Had the rumors gotten to you? No, no way. You weren't that dumb, it was just a silly kid's tale and besides, it wasn't even a scary rumor. It was just a provision to not go into the forest alone, it wasn't like some giant monster was going to crawl out of the undergrowth and devour you if you take the wrong step. These woods were practically your second home, and no silly rumors were gonna keep you away from them, nor make you fear them.

Attempting to get out of your head and focus on your objective at hand, you took another step forward, completely forgetting to check for snares.

Within seconds, you were upside-down, at the complete mercy of the metal wire that was now digging into your skin like an arrow into a deer's soft flesh. You let out a hiss of pain, and attempted to grab your dropped crossbow. If you could just get the arrow, then it would be no problem for you to slash the wire, but your fingers just barely grazed the smooth wood of the bow. With each swing, a new wave of pain shook your body, the initial adrenaline of fight-or-flight wearing off.

You tried to reach the tree beside you, just to provide some relief from the blood rushing to your head, but as your fingers brushed over the bark, you could feel yourself becoming tired. It wasn't normal, it usually took a few hours upside-down for you to faint, which caused the singular panic alarm in your body to ring at full volume. If you were left here, you would die.

Your survival instincts kicked in, and you desperately thrashed, attempting to grab at anything within your reach, which only resulted in more blood sliding down your leg and dripping onto your face. If you kept going like this, you would have your foot sliced clean off by the wire, and just the thought of that made you feel even more lightheaded. Before you knew what was happening, black fuzz swarmed the outside of your vision and finally filled it to the brim, and you fell unconscious.

When you woke up next, you thought it would be in the afterlife.

You wished it were the afterlife.

Forcing yourself to open you eyes, another rush of adrenaline proved that you weren't dead, but you certainly felt like it. Every muscle in your body screamed, scolding you for the lack of blood and oxygen you provided. You didn't ... feel any different, until you looked down at yourself.

You were dressed from head to toe in a robe similar to that of the priestesses that roamed the prayer tower. The fabric was an almost blinding white, with a light pink trim around the middle, provided a bit of contrast and color. Your hands, legs, and neck had been wrapped in bandages. Odd, because you only remembered your ankle being injured. Beneath the bandages, you could feel some sort of paste, and from the ones on your arms, you could see it was a thick plant mixture of some sort. Your crossbow was nowhere to be found, and neither was your scarf, which you really needed as the freezing cold air of the room soon became apparent to you.

You glanced down at your surroundings. A tall cave-like room that was eerily similar to a burial tomb you'd seen in a history book. Sliding your feet off of the cold rock and onto the ground, you winced and let out another hiss of pain as you mistakingly put pressure on your injured ankle. However, the only thing you wanted to do was get out of this chamber, it reminded you of death, something you'd so narrowly avoided, and you didn't want to be here anymore.

You hobbled to the door, putting as little pressure on your ankle as possible and peering outside of the chamber. The opening lead to a small hallway, and at the end was a warm yellow light that reminded you of the lanterns at your house. Forcing yourself to move, you went to investigate the light, hoping that whatever was causing it would be the way out of here.

You hopped into the hallway and watched as the almost suffocating walls opened up into a much larger cave, with a large opening to the forest directly infront of you. The sun had set, and the forest looked more terrifying than usual, or at least what you could see from beneath the thick vine covering layering the opening.

"What are you doing up, little rabbit?"

A cheery voice from behind you sent chills down your spine, and your instincts kicked in, causing you to spin on your good foot to face the disembodied voice, swinging your arm to attack.

However, your attack was quickly dismissed as the figure wrapped a surprisingly strong hand around your wrist, stopping it about a few inches from contact. You glared at the figure, taking this moment of weakness to try and analyze what you could.

The figure was actually a male, who had a sickeningly sweet grin on his face as he simply stared at you. Odd pastel pink hair flew everywhere and remained a mess on top of his head, with stands sticking out in random places. His slightly darker rose-colored eyes were locked with your own, and the spiral pattern inside only made you more uncomfortable as you ripped your hand back in one last act of defiance.

"Oh, I'm so glad you have a little spunk left in you, darling." His voice was laced with an affection so sickly sweet it almost made you recoil, but you'd been through worse, you could handle this.

"Don't call me that. I don't even know who the hell you are." You snapped, before your eyes flicked upwards to something you hadn't noticed before.

Horns.

Resting on top of the stranger's head were two sets of horns. The primary ones were the largest and were directly on top of his head, and curved inward at the tip. Directly beneath those were smaller horns that grew slightly sideways and curved upwards. To confirm your suspicion, you glanced down at the ground. A long, thin, whip-like tail with a fluffy tip was swishing back and forth with an unknown emotion, and kicked up a small cloud of dust around the ground.

"You- you're a-" Your throat felt dry, you couldn't bring yourself to say anything.

"A what? A god in human clothing? An incredibly kind and nice person? Aw, thank you, sweetheart. You're always so nice to me." The boy grinned, revealing a set of long pointed fangs, only confirming your suspicion more.

This boy was a demon.

You didn't think they were real, they couldn't be real. Demons were things in storybooks, not living and breathing creatures. Only a figment of some twisted person's mind, nothing you ever worried about. Yet, as the boy reached out to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear, your blood turned cold once again.

This was no joke.

You were dealing with a real life demon.

"Don't touch me." You quickly slapped his hand away, remaining eye contact to prove you weren't afraid when deep down, you were terrified. You liked to picture yourself as somebody who had a plan for everything, but you never once had a plan for something like this.

"That's not nice, little rabbit. You wouldn't like it if I did that to you." The boy's expression turned from happy to cold within seconds. He took your temporary petrification as an opportunity to finish what he started, gently pushing a strand of your hair out of your face. Your eyes shot from the hand withdrawing from your face to the one he kept by his side, the one you hadn't seen move yet.

The one tightly wrapped around the handle of a knife.

Another wave of adrenaline and you backed up, and he seemed almost remorseful that you'd do such a thing.

"Little rabbit? Why do you look so scared? It's okay, you're safe now, you have me." The boy took another step closer, becoming more visible in the bright lantern light.

He was thin, and pale, but he was still taller than you by a few inches, a fact only proved when he took another step closer. He was dressed almost as oddly as he acted, with a puffy pastel purple long sleeve shirt adorned with upside-down crosses and a short black and lavender miniskirt. White knee high socks with bright pink bows contrasted from his outfit, but they were covered up mostly by the knee high combat boots that made a very prominent thud when he stepped forwards once more.

Another step closer.

What disturbed you the most, however, was the pale pink choker wrapped tightly around his neck, with a heart charm directly in the middle. In the center of the heart was only one thing, and it made your blood turn cold again.

Y/N

He had your name carved into his choker.

"-won't ever have to worry about going back to that dangerous place ever again, I promise."

You zoned back in to find him practically on top of you, and you felt terrified. You felt helpless.

You felt like a prey animal.

"Get away from me!" In an act of self preservation, you used almost all of your force to shove him away. He landed against the wall with a thud, and you backed up, the pain in your ankle bringing tears to your eyes, but you quickly wiped them away to focus on the task at hand: getting away from this lunatic.

"Ow. You sure are feisty, aren't you? But I get it, it's gonna take a while for you to adjust to your new life."

"Shut up! You're speaking nonsense!"

"You should've thought about that before you started courting me."

You fell silent, appalled by what this creature was suggesting. You, a human, court a demon? The very thought of it made you sick to your stomach.

"Leaving out all those teeth, bones and feathers just for me. You're so precious, you know that? It's a wonder another demon didn't answer your call." Before you knew it, the boy was back on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck with that same sickeningly sweet grin of his.

"That was trash, I never meant to court any demon!"

"Silly, silly, silly little (Y/N), your innocent facade is so cute! That's one of the reasons I fell for you so hard. And you fell for me too! You wouldn't have left that 'trash' out if you didn't love me right back." The boy purred, getting closer to you once again. You thought about running, but you would never make it. And plus, you didn't have the upper hand here, you didn't have a knife.

"Oh dear! I get it now! You must be so embarrassed that I answered your call! It's not every day your crush returns your feelings. Well, darling, you couldn't just be my secret admirer forever, I had to admit my feelings for you too one day. But, I am a demon after all. I can't just waltz into your civilization."

"So, I waited. I attacked any adventurers who weren't you. I know how attracted to danger you are, my little rabbit. It just happened to be my luck that you fell into my trap! Had it been anybody else, they would've died instantly from the curse I put on the wire, but imagine my delight when I see my cute little darling waiting for me!" The boy finished his monologue, and once you recovered from the initial shock, you couldn't stop yourself from crying. All because you left out some hunt remains, you'd almost gotten your ankle ripped off and now some demon was instant that you were now in a relationship with them. All over some trash. Not to mention, the adrenaline was wearing off and your ankle hurt like a bitch. Everything hit you at once and you felt the tears streaming out of your eyes.

"Oh, come now, little rabbit, don't cry. I hate seeing that pretty face like that. Besides, there's nothing to cry over! I love you back! I love you so much! And now we can live without any disturbances, because I'll take care of you for eternity." You felt yourself being pulled into an unwanted hug and no matter how much that voice inside your head told you that this was wrong, that you needed to get away, you finally ended up melting into an emotional puddle while your captor silently whispered reassuring words, a little comfort in a time like this, especially from the one it was coming from.

"It's okay now, (Y/N), you've got me here now, like it was always meant to be."

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see faint lettering on the collar. You already knew that your name was engraved on the heart in the front, but the faded letterering on the leather made you curious. Between sobs, you were able to focus your eyes enough to read the name on the side of the choker.