Two days later, we were still with the Seer. I wondered why Azen wasn't insisting we leave, but didn't ask him for the fear that he had just forgotten. "Seer?" Azen asked suddenly, looking up from a book. "Just how old are you? This book mentions you, and it's ten-thousand years old." The seer looked up for a moment, and then looked back down at his book. "I'm not sure, my memories blend together." I frowned. I didn't think he was telling the truth, but I hoped Azen wouldn't push him. Krazen frowned. "Shall we go to bed? It's getting late." We both nodded and walked to a room he'd lent us.
"Azen?" I asked while we were getting into our sleeping-rolls, "Who is Crewe?" I saw Azen jump slightly, looking at me in shock. "Where did you hear that name?" He snapped. I frowned. "I saw it in a few books at our base, and I heard the Seer mutter 'Crewe...will...close by...'. Who is he?" Azen sighed and glared at the wall, fear in his eyes. "Nobody. Go to sleep." I looked at him for a few moments, and then turned away. Azen could be a lying bastard sometimes.
The next morning was uneventful. We ate a quick breakfast before preparing to hunt. Azen had his twin knives, Krazen had his bow, and I had a dagger... and my 'Slenderman' form, of course. It'd been a while before I'd been able to use it, and I was eager to get outside and change into the faceless creature. It was hard to describe to Azen; the freedom, the unending happiness, all of my senses so powerful. I was exited.
We walked outside into the crisp, cold snow. It was a bright and sunny day, cool and fresh, and the light glinted off the snow and ice in beautiful ways. I glanced at Azen, and when he nodded, I changed forms.
As soon as I reached inside my conscious to 'pull out' my Slenderman form, I started feeling hot. My vision went dark, and the heat increased, soon being almost painful. I felt my limbs elongate, my face smooth out, my features disappear, and my tentacles grow out of my back and hide, barely poking out. The process felt like minutes, but when my vision came back to normal, Azen and the Seer had only taken four steps. I looked around, smiling. I didn't have eyes, but I could see well. My vision was clearer, sharper, and I could see more on either side of me, as well as above.
I took long strides over to the two staring people, and then bowed mockingly. Azen rolled his eyes and pushed me away, and Krazen just stared, apathetic. They were just a bundle of fun, weren't they? I walked into the woods, covering so much more ground with every step that the two people couldn't come close to my speed. If I could've grinned, I would have. It was funny to see Azen, who was usually a few inches taller than me, come up only about fifteen centimeters past my waist.
I was getting bored walking along the snowy path, unable to talk to the two chatting beings. After the sixth time knocking my head on a branch, I was done. I glanced around, coming up with an idea. I walked out a dozen meters or so into a less dense portion of the forest, and then shot a tentacle up and wrapped it around a branch. I wrapped a second tentacle around a branch a few meters away, and then lifted myself up tentatively.
It didn't hurt at all! My tentacles supported me with ease as I hung a meter off the ground. I wrapped a third tentacle around another branch, and let go with the other two. I swung easily, gripping another branch and keeping my momentum. This could be fun! I swung from branch to branch, acquiring more speed and precision as I went. Soon, I realized I was many leagues ahead. That was when I heard Azen scream.
I immediately dropped and started sprinting. I soon discovered the swinging was faster, however, and swung all the way back. Ten minutes was far too long to be gone.
The pure, untouched white snow was now churned up and dyed red with blood. Splatters of blood were everywhere, and mostly concentrated around a mangled figure on the ground. Azen! I sprinted over and touched two fingers to his slashed wrist. The pulse was very weak, but it was there. I quickly looked around, but there was no sign of the Seer. Had he done this?! Waited for me to leave, and then attacked Azen?!
I shook my head and concentrated on Azen. I needed to keep him alive! He was bleeding out quickly. I carried him as fast as I could to the cabin and laid him on a table before running to a storage room for healing supplies. I ran back and began hastily applying ointments and bandages, stuffing pills down his throat. I overreacted a little, forgetting that demon's healed quickly, and he woke up in the middle of me trying to shove a pill down his throat and panicked.
I immediately stopped and changed back to my normal form. "No!" He finally managed to say, eyes glazed over with fear. "Don't change back! He-" Azen's panicking was cut off by a knock on the door, and a smooth voice saying, "Hello?" I saw Azen pale considerably, and then pass out cold. I sighed, looking at the door apprehensively. I was about to change back when I saw a knife appear out of seemingly nowhere and rest on my throat, drawing a spot of blood.
I stiffened, turning slowly to face my captor. It was a child! He looked to be about ten years of age, and while he looked nervous, his eyes were determined. "If you change forms, both Azen and you will die." He said, his voice childish, but steady. I smiled sarcastically at him. "Alright, kid." He narrowed his eyes at me, and I felt the knife dig in a little more. A loud bang came from the front, and while my eyes jerked to the door, I flung myself backwards, simultaneously grabbing the knife and ripping it out of his small hand.
I twisted around and knocked the kid over with the hilt of the knife, and he fell unconscious as he hit the floor. I felt a bit of guilt worm it's way in. I just hurt a kid! He was trying to hurt me, but he was still a kid! I heard the door creak open, lock broken, and footsteps enter the room. I drew my dagger and faced the person.
I frowned at him. "Who are you?" I asked, wary and curious. The demon had dark red hair streaked with black and silver strands, long enough to cover his ears, but not long enough to get in the way during a fight. His eyes, blood red like a demon's, had a strange twist to them. Flecks of gold were sprinkled through his eyes, noticeable, even from a few meters away. He was tall and thin, and he wore strange clothes. He had on a silver shirt and trousers, a long black cloak covering up a lot of it. His boots were black with red spots. Blood. His cloak had a small yellow-white symbol on the upper shoulder, as well as a red number. Three.
"Who are you?" I repeated again. He grinned and bowed low, as mocking as I'd been earlier with Azen and the Seer. "Crewe, Crewe of the light!" I frowned. "Of the light? You seem pretty damn evil to me, all covered in blood in your black cloak!" He laughed harshly and stood, brushing his hair out of his face, which had a spatter of blood. Azen's blood. I shrank back as he stared into my eyes, shivering suddenly. He had the eyes of a madman. Such blatant insanity, hidden by a calm, 'courteous' demeanor. It scared me.
He laughed again, breaking the eye contact. "Would you like me to show you?" I saw a crazy smile and a flash of bright light, and then I cried out as a burning pain slashed through my chest, sending me to a kneeling position, holding my wound. As I looked back at the spreading blood, I noticed hazily that it was completely straight and clean-cut. As I flashed back to Azen's wounds, I realized that they had been exactly alike. He had hurt Azen that badly! What had he done with Krazen?
I looked up at the sound of more footsteps. The psycho was coming closer! I struggled to stand, to change forms, to do anything! Altogether too soon, I felt fingers close around my throat, and I was lifted up. "Light isn't as good as you humans think. It's much more powerful than the dark, I mean, It destroys darkness, doesn't it? Would you like more proof to light's ambiguousness?" I glared at him. "No." I managed to croak out, my windpipe being crushed.
He took the hint and dropped me, kicking me to the other side of the room. I watched him stalk over to Azen, eyes gleaming with triumph. No! I couldn't let him! I moved to get up, but movement at my side caught my eye, and as I saw the kid's knife hilt rushing towards my face, I heard Azen scream once more as a flash of light lit up the blood splattering the floor.
