Chapter 4

"Let's take a rest," I said, yawning. It was dusk, and the sun was nearly drowned by the horizon. The forest casted gloomy shadows, and for some reason, it felt kind of familiar...

Issun interrupted my thoughts. "A rest?" He echoed. "We've only been walking for like... Three hours!"

"Three hours is enough to make my paws full off, okay? Well, under normal circumstances. But today didn't have normal circumstances!"

"Oh, please. Your necklace there suddenly creates a force field, burns all the demons in the forest to ashes, and then bounces off mirrors hidden in boulders and then leads the way to the Guardian Sapling! Totally normal circumstances."

I sighed. A wolf's gotta do what a wolf's gotta do sometimes. I stopped, and I turned to fully take in my surroundings. To my right; a small path lead to a cave, big enough to fit me and Issun, even though he didn't take up much space. To my left; a tree with a width of about a small merchant's wagon had fallen, a large rock blocking its fall and creating a suitable den for me and my partner.

"Cave or tree?" I asked Issun, who sighed at my stubbornness.

"I think the cave would offer better shelter, right?"

"Probably." So I walked the small path to the cave, settling down onto the smooth stone floor. I quickly fell asleep, for I was so tired I really thought my paws were going to fall off.

When I woke up, the sun was just barely above the horizon. I yawned, wanting to sleep more. I nearly drew a moon in the sky, but Issun interrupted me.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead! Time to go, go, go! Let's get out of this creepy forest. Now that I've had a good night's sleep... This forests seems kind of familiar, don't you think?"

I groaned. "Five more minutes..." I mumbled.

"Didn't you even hear my question, ya thick-headed furball?" He bounced on my head, trying to get me up.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say," I said sleepily. I was half-awake, half in dream mode. What really woke me up was the sound of the forest foliage breaking as something about slightly smaller than the size of a bear came barreling through it. A dark blue flash of fur crashed straight into me as I curiously walked from my temporary sleeping place.

The impact was so powerful that it knocked me, Issun (who was holding on to my head for dear life), and the blue mass of fur a couple wolf-leaps away. As soon as I had recovered myself, I assumed attack position, snarling at the large furry object. I pounced on it.

"What the...?" I started, realizing that this was no enemy and immediately getting off.

"What the...?" Issun echoed. "What in the name of furball here are you doing here, Oki?!"

"Uhhhhnn..." He moaned. I recovered from my surprise, quickly going to help him.

"Oh, gosh, I'm really sorry!" I exclaimed, turning to my human form to pick him up. He turned to human form, which seemed to happen every time he got hurt. He rubbed his head.

"Uhhn... Ouch. Huhhn?" He looked at me, then up at Issun, then back at me again. "What...? Who...? Oh!"

"Are you okay?" Issun asked. My eyes also portrayed the question. "I think you might wanna hit him over the head, Ammy... Just for good measure," Issun whispered into my ear. I swatted at him in annoyance.

"Hey, Ammy. What are you doing here? And why are there three of you...?"

Three of me? Oh, that impact must've really rattled his brain a little bit. "You might need to lay down for a while, Oki," I told him, concerned. "Here." I dragged him the couple wolf-leaps back to my temporary shelter. Of course, I had questions, but I could save them for later. I sat down, leaning against the back of the cave for support. I gently lowered his head into my lap. Issun muttered some things that I ignored.

"Mhmunn," Oki moaned.

"Sleep." I ordered him. If he hadn't barreled into me, I probably would've taken a nap myself. The morning's activity had woken me up too much to sleep again. About five minutes later, Oki had fallen into a reluctant sleep. As I enjoyed the scenery from my cave, Oki suddenly started thrashing around in his sleep. I poked him.

"Maahh!" Oki shrieked, waking up instantly.

"You all right?" I asked, holding his head in my hands.

"Ammy! No, stop! Go away before they get me! They'll-"

"Whoa, calm down! Cool off, man!" Issun interrupted. "Who's gonna get you?"

Oki took a deep breath before continuing. "There were... Demons. In Wep'keer. I think they took all the villagers... They came for me, talking about how they would possess me as bait to lure you in, so they could..." He trailed off, knowing I got the impression.

"Oh..." I said. I sighed. More evil. This time, using my friends against me. Nothing I couldn't handle, though! I stood up, ready to face this new evil and defeat it before it could gain more power.

"No, Ammy, I only escaped because the two demons were fighting. They froze me, Ammy, literally froze me! This is something we need to know how to fight before we fight it. But promise, please, promise me that if I start acting weird, please just leave me be and run. For your life."

"I can't promise such a thing, Oki. You know me. I'd never leave a friend behind, especially you," I said with a smile. I helped him up.

"But-" He protested, but I interrupted him with a quick kiss. I held him tight, as if our embrace could drive away the evil that haunted him.

"Alright. I get it. You're not gonna leave your friends. I guess... I can respect that." He said after he pulled away. I smiled at that.

"I'm glad you understand. Now, shall we?"

"Wait, Ammy, before we start this new adventure..." He said, taking my hand. "There's something I have to do."