He was shaking. He had no idea where he was. It was dark and cold and so.. empty.

  "Hello?" Devin called out softly. It echoed. It was like the whole place was taunting him.

  "Hello, Devin Trunswick."

  Devin nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around wildly, trying to spot the source of the voice, but to no avail.

  "No, no, child. You cannot see me. Not yet." The voice, a man, said with a wheezy chuckle.

  "Who are you?" Devin called out. He intended to sound confident, like the lord's son he was, but it came out weak, so afraid. He cursed himself.

  "That is everyone's problem," the voice said dismissively. "Why does it matter? We go about our days collecting information that we will never use, or information that is so fragile it will break when used incorrectly. Tsk tsk."

  Devin raised a brow. Suddenly, he felt awfully cold. Had the temperature suddenly dropped? His toes felt like icicles.

  "But I understand."

  Do you? Devin thought with a snort.

  "I do. You are cold and confused so you think recklessly."

  The boy's attention was drawn to a flame illuminating the dark space up ahead.

  "That fire looks awfully inviting, doesn't it? So warm, so comfortable."

  Devin felt a little like a rat drawn to a trap. It looked all fine and dandy until the cage clamped down around you.

  "Go on," the voice urged quietly, "stay warm, little one."

  He felt annoyed. Little one? He was hardly little. Without a word, he warily walked forward, eyes flickering here and there. Finally, he stood in front of the fire.

  He felt tired. Had his bones suddenly gotten heavier?

  "Now, now, you must be exhausted."

  Devin's eyes widened as a pillow appeared out of thin air. His heart was pounding. That wasn't supposed to be possible.

  "Perhaps I should let you rest."

  Maybe this was just a dream? A stupid little dream. If he could just go back to sleep, then he'd wake up in his own bed.

  "Go now," the voice whispered, "lay your head down for a nap."

  Devin slowly lowered himself to the ground, lying his head down on the plush pillow. It felt good.

  "Sleep well, Devin Trunswick."

  "How do you know my name?" Devin murmured sleepily.

  "Shh.."

  When Devin awoke, it was not to his warm bedroom, under his soft blankets, but to a fire reduced to embers and an empty black setting.

  "Welcome back."

  He felt a wave of panic crash over him, before it was gently pulled away, but not by him.

  Dear Tellun, Devin thought, swallowing his nerves, he can control my emotions.

  "This is not the place to be afraid," the voice soothed him, "you are in very good hands."

  He didn't want to be in any hands. He wanted to control himself. But, the thoughts faded as a blanket of calm enwrapped him. He was safe here.

  "Let's carry on now, shall we?"

  Devin slowly nodded, standing up. He pulled his cardigan tight around himself, perhaps trying to cling to something of his own. Then, he began walking forward.

  Another feeling passed through his body. Trust. He trusted that there was nothing lurking about, ready to strike. He trusted that there was nothing he would hit and hurt himself on.

  Suddenly, a light switched on. Devin held up a hand with a disgruntled scowl as his eyes adjusted to the new light. In the centre, stood a table. Was that a book on it?

  "Take a look at the book, Devin," the voice said rather cheerfully, "do you remember it?"

  Devin started forwards, picking up the book off the table when he got there. He brushed the dust off the cover, reading the golden letters. Fairytales. Mother used to read them to him all the time when he couldn't sleep.

  "I do," he responded quietly.

  "Read a few." Devin was already opening the book, flipping through the pages. "Your favourites, do you remember them?"

  Devin nodded, stopping on a particular page. This tale was about a farmer boy who ran into the woods each day to have a tea party with the bears. The bears were always grateful, giving him little gifts every time he'd visit. And then, one day, they gave him the grandest gift of all. But in human eyes, it was a curse, a tragedy. The delicate little farmer boy had turned into a bear, forever roaming the woods, mourning.

  Devin read peacefully, remembering his mother's soothing voice. The thought was ruined by a low growl. His head shot up, pupils wide.

  Out of the shadows stepped a large brown bear, teeth bared. Devin froze up like prey, eyes wide.

  "My, my," the voice mused, "our little farmer boy doesn't seem too happy, Trunswick."

  Devin gulped. He could do many things, but he couldn't fight a bear! He looked around wildly, begging for anything as it lurked closer.

  And there was something.

  The pot of tea sat so innocently, looking so welcoming compared to the grizzly bear about to gnaw on his bones.

  Unless..

  Devin slowly reached for a teacup, grabbing the handle on the pot with his other hand. He shakily poured a cup of tea, sliding it across the table.

  The bear stopped, ears perked. It was interested. It lumbered forward. Devin couldn't stop the strike of fear in his heart when he saw the massive claws of a grizzly grasping at a little tiny teacup. He cleared his throat, clasping his hands behind his back as he usually did with company.

  "Hello," he said as politely as he could.

  The bear yawned, then with clumsy claws, reached for the second cup and the pot. Devin watched in amazement as a bear, a wild animal, poured him a cup of tea. The bear offered it to him with a grunt. He smiled grimly, carefully reaching over and taking it. He took a sip.

  It tasted like normal tea. That was relieving. In fact, it was just about the only normal thing he'd encountered so far. Besides for the table.

  "Thank you," he remembered to say quickly. The bear gave a dip of its large head. Devin finished his tea as fast as he could, but by the time he had finished, the bear was already gone.

  "Well done," the familiar voice congratulated him.

  Devin wanted to punch whoever that was.

  "What now?" Devin asked, a little aggressively.

  "Nothing."

  "What?"

  "Nothing. You rely on people, Devin. I would like to see how long you last without them."

  Devin gritted his teeth. "So you're just taking a lunch break?" He snapped.

  There was no reply. Fine, Devin thought angrily. He sat down with his legs crossed, head resting on his knuckles. It was so quiet. It was so dark.

  Devin hated the dark.

  He began to feel queasy inside, but there was no one to suppress his emotions anymore.

  How long had it even been? An hour? Half an hour? Ten minutes? Devin looked around, his nerves on end. He felt miserable. He just wanted to curl up and cry. He drew his knees to his chest and sniffled.

  The feeling was as if he was the last person on Erdas. He missed Dawson's stupid jokes. He'd even kill to talk to Conor. He hated this.

  He sniffled again, and a tear fell. He hated crying. Why was he crying?

  "Hush, hush, Devin Trunswick." The voice returned, and Devin almost leaped in joy. He both loved and hated this guy. "Do not cry. I have been here the whole time."

  The Euran boy stood up, ready to move. "What do I do?" His voice sounded so broken. It was revolting.

  "Are you ready to see me?"

  The question caught him off guard. Did he? What if he turned out to be some creepy old man? Sounded like it. What if he killed him? Reluctantly, Devin answered.

  "Yes."

  Suddenly, the floor dropped beneath him. The lack of ground was absolutely horrible. Devin screamed as he fell, only to slow down right after. There was wind, slowing his descent. He blinked as he landed on his feet again, taking in his surroundings.

  He didn't even notice the black cat in front of him.

  "Hello," the cat greeted him.

  Devin shrieked, stepping back. The cat just spoke!

  "How rude."

  "Sorry!" Devin blurted out. "You just don't find that many talking cats in the good old town of Trunswick!"

  "Pity," the cat sniffed. "Come closer."

  Devin stared at him for a moment. Then, the same blanket of calm that had surrounded him earlier settled on his shoulders once more. He walked forward with ease.

  The cat studied him for a moment, then flicked his tail. It hardly took a second. The cat unsheathed its claws, then swiped, leaving three gashes in his skin. Devin cried out in pain. It burned. Blood was already beginning to seep. He felt a thin warm tongue lapping up the blood.

  "If you wanted my blood, you could have asked an hour ago," Devin hissed.

  "Not fun enough." With that, the little black cat hopped off of its platform, walking away. "I look forward to seeing you again, Devin," he purred.

  "Again?" Devin echoed. There was no answer this time.

 
  "Devin!"

  Devin's eyes fluttered open. It was Dawson's voice that had brought him back.

  "It's noon, Devin, how interesting is your dream?" Dawson laughed.

  Devin groaned. "Pretty interesting," he said truthfully. "When's lunch?"

  "In session," Dawson replied. "Father had me fetch you."

  Devin nodded after a moment. "Tell him I'll be down in a bit."

  Dawson nodded, scurrying off. Devin laid there for a few more moments.

  You have a lovely brother.

  Oh. That's what it was. Him and that annoying cat were practically stuck together in a get along shirt.

  "Don't touch him," Devin whispered.

  Well, I wasn't planning to.

this is literally so many words compared to how much i usually write. anyway enjoy this thingie. it took me like two hours cuz Notes was lagging so bad, man 🦧 also idek how many books and movies i combined here, it's literally the equivalent to Frankenstein's monster.