#singletear

“Hidden Friends”

Corro sent a glowing slash into the obsidian gate, cleaving one of it’s supports in half. It began to crumble, falling apart. The purple smog dissipated as our pursuers’ voices were growing close. They faded into the sounds of the deep woods. I heard the clanging of metal as he sheathed his sword.

I looked around me, feeling horribly lost. The trees arched up, nearly blotting out the sky and the brush was thick. These were dark woods.

Corro began trudging away, a shadow looming over him. He seemed to be following a game trail. 

I followed him, wading through the underbrush and ferns.

“Corro…” I found myself saying.

He ducked under a fallen tree into what looked like a badger den without replying. I hesitated but eventually followed him inside.

The den was much larger than I thought on the inside. There was a table with a stool, a little alcove for storage and a cot with pelts on it for a mattress. The room was littered with papers with sketches on them.

“Corro.” I called out to him as he was removing him armor. He set the crimson set on a rather rough looking bench, “Or is that even your real name?”

He snapped a glare towards me, his grey eyes having a slight crimson tint.

“It is my real name,” He hissed.

“Why would you help them?” I asked abruptly.

He marched up to me, grabbing me by my tunic, slamming me into his table.

“Because I wanted to know why!” He shouted in my face, “I wanted to find out what would possess a person to wipe out an entire race!”

He sighed as he turned away, his eyes fading back to gray. I rubbed my now sore back, grumbling to myself.

“You should go home. If you follow the game trail past this den it’ll take you to the road.” He sounded broken.

I was silent.

“Don’t worry about me.” He gruffed, “No one really knows about my little hideout here. I’ll be fine. I also saved your old outfit from being burnt.”

I wanted to tell him about Nell and how he was a Daeconic as well but anger muted me. I swiped my clothes and shoes, in frustration. I turned, climbing out of the den without a single goodbye.

 Why was I angry? He had just saved me from an undesirable situation.

Something was different about me.

And I didn’t like it.

I followed the game trail as he said, coming across a dirt road. He never told me which way to go on the road. What an idiot.

I looked to the sky to see the sun was setting. I remembered the ocean I fell into was east of the village. A gust of wind brought the smell of salt from the left of me into my face. I followed the smell of the ocean eastward, my back to the setting sun.

I was coming home a different person, I feared.