A surprise long awaited update-

Also, art by me

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Seven didn't like the way this part of the forest felt, like at any moment an angry boar or rabid raccoon would jump out and try to maul them apart. The area was dark and gloomy, like all life was drained from it.

The grass underfoot was dry and rustled with each step, a weird purple gray tint to it. Dead tree branches all around them held beautiful glowing crystals, casting a gentle glow in reds, blues, and yellows in the thick surrounding fog.

The thick canopy still blocked out all moonlight from the night sky above them, the leaves above them were also tinted a dark purple. It was eerily beautiful in Seven's mind, if it wasn't for the feeling of always being watched crept along his back.

Mono still held his hand, his boots kicking small pebbles along the beaten path they were taking.

"How much longer do you think we have until we get to the forest witch?" The blind boy asked. Seven looked back to him, being met with a blank, emotionless paper bag with eye holes. What was the purpose of them if the prince was blind and didn't need them?

The question did ring in his mind though. When it was just him, it took him maybe two days at most; but now it wasn't just him. He had Mono now.

It was just him and the blind boy. The prince and the beast.

"A few days," Seven answered him. Mono held his hand a little tighter.

"Days?" He muttered. Seven looked over to him, his tail flicking as he heard him.

"Yeah, it took me-- my mom, my mom a couple days to get there, and she's really fast," he said, hoping he caught himself before it was too late. Mono tilted his head, but didn't seem to want to push on.

Seven lead them down a small dip in the ear, helping the prince down, his small brown cape fluttering behind him as the wind suddenly picked up.

The wind got worse after a few more minutes, to the point Seven felt his tail being pushed up by the wind. Behind him, Mono let out a yelp, letting go of the wolf's hand.

The boy in blue looked back, seeing something fly off in the air. It only took the wolf a second to realize it was the other's bag that was flying off. Without a second though, Seven let go, running back towards where the wind was carrying it, shifting into his normal beastly form.

He dropped to all four, brown fur covering him as his four eyes narrowed to his prey. He took a few long lounges to catch up to it, but in now time, with a final jump, he caught the bag between his razor sharp teeth.

With a Thump, he fell back to his paws. He carefully took the bag from his jaws, mindful of his dangerously pointed claws. Just a little bit of crinckling on the top of it, but nothing too serious by the looks of it.

He gave a small happy noise, tail wagging behind him as he turned and carried the paper bag back to his friend.

SMACK

Seven let out a yelp as his head hit something hard. He opened his two front eyes, seeing a strange floating stone platform. When had that gotten there? It wasn't there just a second ago...

Brushing it off as him not realizing it, he jumped onto it and got down, padding until he came back to Mono. His smile fell as he stared at the sight before him.

Mono stood in a ring of strange floating stone platform, which Seven knew weren't there before. The prince was sitting on the ground, legs huddled to his chest as he covered his head with his arms, a small crown tilted off centered on fluffy brown hair.

Careful to not hit one of the platforms, the wolf turned into his smaller form again, the paper bag still in his hand. He slipped inside the ring, crouching down beside his friend. He gave a small frown as he heard soft sobbing.

"I got your bag back," He said politely, hoping to help quiet down the other's gentle crying. Mono rose his head up, before frantically trying to reach for it in a blind flurry.

"Please let me have it back, you shouldn't see me like this, no one should!" He said back frantically. Seven gave the bag to the other, who pulled it over his head quickly (Seven did have to fix it as he put it on wrong).

The wolf helped the prince up to his feet, being greeted by a hug from him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have acted like that-- I just-- I don't want to scare you, or-"

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere, so you don't have to worry about anything like that," Seven reassured the other. The prince gave a small nod against him, carefully following the length of his arm down to his hand, taking Seven's hand into his own.

The wind howled again, another sharp gust making the two flinch. Mono's small cape fluttered behind him, as Seven tucked his tail between his legs, his hair flattening slightly from the harsh wind.

"Yeesh, if I didn't know better, I'd say it feels like it's going to rain..." Seven mumbled. Suddenly, a loud crack of thunder above the canopy made the wolf let out a loud yelp of fear.

Heavy raindrops started to fall down from the large leaves overhead, falling hard onto them and already beginning to soak them to their bones.

Seven started to drag the other along, the raindrops already falling down harder and harder, not abnormal for the forest, but enough to where he knew the storm would be there for a while.

He lead the prince out of the ring of platforms, making their way up a slope, hair flattening against him as his blue wool jacket began to cling to his thin frame. Mono wasn't as lucky as him, as the bag he wore started to show darker spots from the water droplets, though his cape kept him mostly dry.

The two were able to find shelter under a large, jotted out ridge underneath a rock. The two were soaked to the bone, small puddles formed under them as they sat down.

Mono wore more clothes than him, with his beige turtleneck and brown pants, his cape held in his slightly shaking hands, small boots caked in mud. His bag didn't seemed too damage by the rain, but was noticeably effected, the tips of it drooping a bit and a dark brown color.

Seven, to put it lightly, looked like someone threw him into the middle of the lake and told him to get out by himself. His hair was plastered to him, and his small tail was dripping water. His jacket was darker blue and looked like it had to be glued on him to fit him.

His pants were fine, though were just as wet as everything else on him. His feet were also caked in mud, but that seemed to be the new normal for his smaller form.

The two shivered from the cold the rain brought, sitting next to one another in hopes of keeping warm. The raindrops pounded heavily on the rock ledge, small droplets falling down from the end of the rock in a small stream that started to flow down hill.

The wolf was use to this type of rain, the kind that came unexpectedly and was relentless in it's effort to seemingly drown anything and everything in sight.

The prince on the other hand, seemed far too spooked by the thundering and loud rain noises. Since he lost his sight, his other sense seemed to kick into full gear. The thunder echoed in his ears, practically violating his eardrums with its angry roars.

He stayed next to his companion, shoulder to shoulder with him as he held his knees close to his chest. He felt Seven move his arm, putting it around his shoulder and pulled him closer, shivering just as much as him.

"Hey, Mono?" Seven muttered lightly. The prince tilted his head up to him, or at least, he hoped he was looking up at him. "Maybe you should take your bag off so it can dry? That way it doesn't rip on you?"

His shoulders tensed at the statement. Take his bag off? In front of his (only) friend? No, what if he got scared by his eyes and left him here, alone, in the forest, blind and helpless-

He shook his head, hands coming to his bag, gripping it nervously in his hands. "No, it'll be fine..." he whispered.

Seven must have sensed the fact of how scared of the thought he seemed to be. His voice grew softer, "Hey, it's okay if you don't want to take it off, I was just wondering. If you feel better with it, you can keep it on."

And there was that worried attitude his mysterious singer had showed him before. He showed him over and over he worried for him, giving him flowers, making sure he felt safe. It was so much different than when he was home.

The servants only really made sure he was fed and not in harm, normally leaving him alone upon his father's orders. For what reason, Mono was never sure. He could only guess it was because of his face and how much he reminded everyone of his mother. His mother was widely loved and was very much missed, seeing him must be a hard job for most.

But Seven was diffrent. He didn't treat him differently or give him special treatment, no formal talk or call him 'your highness'. The thought rose a few questions, like if Seven even grew up in the kingdom.

It wasn't like he was complaining, he liked being treated normally. He liked the physical contact, like the hugs and hand holding. It made him feel special, in a diffrent way, like even if he wasn't the prince, Seven won't have given a second thought as to treating him the same as he was now.

Mono didn't realize he started getting drowsy until Seven started to gently hum. The memory as to who's side he was normal huddled against made a small excited look flicker across his face.

"Seven?"

"Yes?"

"Can you sing for me?"

Mono heard and felt Seven's heartbeat quicken, pounding a bit rougher in his chest. "Sing?" Seven mumbled over him.

"Yeah, like you use to do when you were at the ledge," Mono said. He sounded nervous, like he was suddenly filled with a small bout of anxiety of some kind.

Seven shuffled slightly where he was sitting at. "I... I could try. It's been a bit though, s-so it may not be that good," he stated.

Mono smiled under his bag, eagerly awaiting to hear the same voice he had heard for as long as he could remember. The same beautiful and amazing voice that made him decided to find who its owner was and got him in the mess to begin with.

What came from him was definitely NOT the same voice he loved.

The calm, unwavering, melodious voice was replaced by a cracking, scratchy, practically pain inducing noises that reminded him of some sickly crow's cries.

Seven suddenly let out a fit of coughs, the sound of him hitting his chest in hopes of clearing it made the prince begin to fill with worry.

The boy beside him whimpered, giving a small final cough. "I'm sorry, that was horrible, I haven't warmed up and my throat is too dry to sing properly," he apologized quickly, almost stumbling over his words.

Mono carefully rose a hand, fingertips brushing over the other's lower jaw. There was a damp line down his cheek, making the other frown. Had he been crying while he was singing? Was he really that ashamed he couldn't sing?

From the feeling, Mono could almost guess what the other looked like. A softly rounded face, a small, slightly pointed nose, soft cheeks. He almost seemed the way he always thought his secretly signer would look like.

"It's okay. Don't cry," he mumbled to him. He rolled his thumb, hoping he wiped away his tear tracks off his companion's face.

He felt Seven lean into his hand with much hesitation, like he had never had this type of physical contact done to him.

Seven laid his cheek in the other's hand for a few more minutes, before finally pulling away. "We should get some rest," he suggested. From his spot next to him, Mono nodded his head in agreement.

The two were now by the side of the ridge, huddled close once more. Mono rested his head on the wolf's shoulder while Seven carefully pressed his cheek to the other's bag. The two held hands, fingers weaved between the other's, Seven's tail resting on his leg in an attempt to stay warm.

The rain slowly lulled them to sleep, in the silent, yet comforting, company of their partner.

Tomorrow they would have to keep pushing on, but right now, right there was fine.

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Finished - June 1st, 2021

Happy pride month everyone!

Between the time of me working for nearly 7 or 8 hours straight and remaining awake from all the caffeine in my body, I was able to write this chapter fully.

I was going to include another drawing, but all I have this, so uh...

Yeah.

Hope you all enjoyed!

Take care!

Idon'tknowtohateitorbeproud-