(Jake)
...
I have been alive for centuries. It had been nice at first. I had died young and uh...pure according to the Prospitian gods. While it really blew to never get the chance to grow old and die like a proper human being. I don't regret the circumstances of that night and besides I've been able to look over my family bloodline throughout all these years. I've watched them all grow and live relatively happy lives. Though it was sad whenever their time came to move on. A person is judged when they die. They either become citizens of the Prospitian lords in which they are given the chance to be reincarnated or they are sent to become lesser demons to the Dersian land in which they lose their humanity and some can be reborn as monsters on Earth. My case was rather special though as according to Queen of Prospit my actions while alive were "just" since even though I was a hunter I had protected a monster out of love. Now while I am seen as something majestic I can hardly tell the difference between me and the other creatures in the world.
Then there was the night of the incident. My family. The Crockers, Harleys, and Egberts had an annual get together like do every year during the summer. This time though at the request of the youngest child John Egbert (age 8), they decided to camp in the woods for a week. The ride there was full of nothing too dangerous. There was the occasional annoying shadowy figures in the treeline, but they all stood at a distance as they saw me accompany them. They could probably take me all on, but I knew that none of those selfish cretins would try in case they were the unlucky ones I take down with me.
They had rented a small cabin in this well known forest spot. The first day went well. The adults set out their supplies while the children explored the quaint structure. John and Jane were like twins. They had different parents but they were so close in age and identical in looks that it was easy to make the assumption. Their pet dog followed behind them sniffing at the air from time to time but showing no indication of any danger. The thought made me snicker a bit. My dear niece, Jade, had been bitten by a werewolf when she was fourteen. I could never get the full story out of her since she was attacked out of nowhere, but she managed to fight it off long enough to reach the rest of our group. She had turned for the first time during the next full moon and she had thankfully managed to keep herself together and now she has lived decades as the family pet.
...
"Aww aren't you just the cutest little thing!" I cooed over John's sitting position. He really was trying very hard to start the fire on all on his own. Sadly, he was small and weak so he couldn't even start a spark. I hear a huff of annoyance from behind me.
"John! Grandpa already made the food!" Little Jane came running up to the little boy. She put her hands on the side of her hips mimicking the way her mother stands when she is in a mood.
"Bu! But! I amost goth it!" The boy couldn't pronounce his words as well as Jane since he was missing his two front teeth.
"C'mon!" The little girl pulled on the boy's arm and began to drag him away. There was something about the scene that reminded me of a memory from a long time ago. When Jade and I were young and adventurous back in the day. When we were human. It is a bittersweet moment as I hope that neither of them have to go through what we did.
"You can stop fawning over them now." I hear the annoyed voice of the very person I was thinking about. I move a bit to the right to catch the sight of her walk up to where John had previously been sitting. Her voice deeper in her current form but I know that her full transformed form could be even more. Still though I miss the sweet chipper sound it used to have in her youth. Her white fur a steep contrast to the deep black her hair used to be. Her eyes though continued to shine the same bright green they had in her human days. Her attitude though was forever stuck as a snarky preteen.
"Oh! But they're so precious!" I ignored the look that the canine looking beast gave me and continued looking at the pair of children as they approached the cabin's door. Once John had fully relented to eating his Grandpa's food he attempted to race Jane to the door. In response Jane stuck out their leg and tripped him. I heard Jade snort below me. Of course she would; I remember that she used to do that to me.
"It'll only hurt more when they grow up and pass away." Its been us for so long. Sure, as time passes the family is told about our existence so that Jade can remain in the family. Right now she doubles as John and Jane's imaginary friend and their pet dog. At least she did until they turned five. Grandpa Harley believed that it was best that they grew up a little more until they were told the truth. And while the adults know a bit about the supernatural, they are not hunters themselves. Jane and John would get to decide that once they turn thirteen and have three years to train to become hunters. A part of me wants that so they can see me, but it would also be dangerous for them. Opening yourself to the beyond also makes it easier for it to find you. Some people can even live their whole lives never knowing about the demons and other supernatural creatures in the world.
"Bec!" The children called for their pet. Jade perked up instantaneously and began to run towards them both quickly.
"Speak for yourself little missy!" She came up beside John who began petting her soft fur. She barked lightly in return, her tail swishing back and forth. Jane proceeded to force John to wash his hands thoroughly to which John groaned and Jade looked practically offended. She evidently likes the attention, but still becomes offended when treated like an animal. At the very least she got to be held by a living person. At least without the need of them having to become hunters. Although whenever they die I get the chance to hold them before they are called to the other world, but having to watch them die only for a few moments of contact is very cruel.
...
The day ended and the second day of the outdoor vacation started just as easily. Things were going good until the evening came. Something about the sensation in the atmosphere felt off. There was a sudden spark of negative power coming from somewhere in the woods. It was faint, but I figured it was just another lost soul that had become corrupted in Derse and made its way over to this realm to join the other dark figures. I watched over my family throughout the night. The energy had either faded or gone away because I no longer felt it.
...
The children decide to go hiking for the majority of the day so they were busy preparing their packs in the early morning. I floated around the area until Isee Jade off to the side staring off into the forest. "Are you okay there?" I ask her.
"...Nothing. I just thought I felt something." She mutters quietly and then turns around to pick up a a bottle that rolled away from the children. She moves so casually that it actually makes me think that she's trying to hide her worry. That has me even more concerned. Well, it doesn't hurt to be a little more alert.
"Oh! Thanks Bec! Now the bugs won't bite me." Jane happily shakes the bottle and sprays herself with it. Her sweet little voice drawing me away from my worries.
"Augh! Geth away from me!" Cries John as he gets hit by some of the bug spray. The boy really doesn't like being sprayed with chemicals. His pet salamander had gotten sick when he had played around with a bottle of his father's hair spray and then had held it.
"You'll thank me when the bugs don't bite you!" Jane taunts as she sprays straight at him this time.
...
I fly above in front of the group as they go through the forest. Grandpa Harley follows below me. While he doesn't speak much to me he does acknowledge that I am guiding them down the safest path. Jade trots near the back keeping an eye on the kids who keep arguing with one another. John has had one close call when he attempted to climb a tree off the side of the mountain path. She keeps nudging him whenever he tries to go of the trail.
"The stars shine brightly out here since the light of the city don't obscure them," says Grandpa Harley.
"Should we camp outside?" Papa Egbert questions out loud. the children had different reactions.
"But we're already outside?" Jane confusedly states.
"I wanna!" John squeals as he jumps up and down. "Wanna see the stahs!"
"But there are animals and bugs outside!" Jane complained fervently. If it were up to her they would be far away from the forest. She was more sensitive to the darkness around her and preferred more populated areas.
"You ar a scaredy cat!" Sings John. The young boy didn't have a care in the world. Jade says he looks a lot like me and might even grow up to be fascinated by the supernatural and become a hunter.
"No I'm not!"
"Yeh you ar!"
"That's enough children." Papa Egbert interjects, "look John you can camp outside with Grandpa Harley while Jane stays inside okay?" Good old James Egbert. Always a voice of reason.
[...]
"I should go with John. I can manage better in the wild." Jade argues.
"Jade you're better at tracking. If something were to happen out there you can find us faster than I can you." Praising her capabilities always being the easiest way to make her agree.
"Fiiiine. I'll guard the cabin." She has the audacity to lowly growl at me.
[...]
The day had gone by with no problems. John, Grandpa Harley, and Papa Egbert had gone a few miles up the mountain and prepared a campsite with no problem. I started feeling that same eerie sensation in the air. It felt stronger which unnerved me, but I still didn't consider strong enough of a threat. At worst it would turn out to be a fledgling or a random small opening in the forest. Whatever it was it was either very weak or far away. "Whaaa!" I became startled by the sudden cry of the eight year old boy. He had tripped over a tree root and was trying his best not to cry. I leaned down beside his sniffling form and placed my hand over his bruised hands.
"There. There. My brave little man." John seemingly leans into my touch and giggles softly. He then abruptly stands up and starts wandering around again. He's such a handful. It doesn't take long for his father to see his boy all scratched up due to trying to catch a rabbit and he heals him by himself. I realize that I'm not really needed for these small things. John's dad is protective and highly skilled in many things.
I watched as John hugged his dad and then went on to go around to collect firewood. The scene touches a sore part of my heart. I never had any children. I was put in charge of training Jade from the moment she had decided to become a hunter at the very young age of ten. Still though Jade had only been a few years younger than me but at times she acted older. I guess that's why I acted so recklessly and jumped into every dangerous situation that crossed my path. Now though I really need to concentrate on looking over them. What else did I have to do? Protecting my family was what I lived for. What I died for.
I watched as the group sat around the campfire eating smores and recounting tales of monsters in the dark and of a brave reckless hero. I couldn't help posing and reenacting the scenes in the story that I knew by heart.
I watched as they laid down to sleep under the bright stars, a blanket of darkness with no actual monsters lurking about. Too scared by the old man carrying charms and their guardian angel glowing intensely in the dark.
[...]
The quiet semblance of the night was broken by a familiar howl.