⤷ closed starter for @unspoolcd
there were always ghosts in hero's walls - haunting his dreams in the form of haunts && frights, leaving him breathless in the dead of night too many times. there were always monsters in the woods, lurking beneath his nose, taking the shape of harmless souls to hide the depravity they did in the dark.
but the ghouls that never let hero rest weren't supposed to appear in the daylight. they weren't supposed to be following him in a way he couldn't outrun. the shadows had him on edge, the paranoia already thick in his nervous system growing until it was nearly all-consuming. he kept his hounds with him, both of him, at all times now. to protect himself from the dark. they were obedient && fierce, just like hero himself - except when they see an ocelot lounging down in the fallen leaves for a midday nap.
" echo! no! " hero shouted, whistling sharply as the bigger of the two dogs burst forward with a howl of attack. he didn't use leads for them, he didn't need to, because they always listened. with oak at his side, hero ran to catch up to the coonhound, patting his head to assure him there wasn't danger in the sleeping wild cat. " shit, i'm sorry, they've just... been on edge lately. somethin's gotten into him, he's usually a sweetheart. you probably get this a lot, but... shit, is that your pet cat? see somethin' new every goddamn day on this island. "
