The next day, mom was back to painting her final few pictures for the exhibition next month and I was going to spend the day doing whatever I wanted. What did I want to do?
Continue that story from yesterday.
Neeks whined softly from his resting place on my bed as I got up from the warmth embrace of my sheets to start my day. "Jasper, come back to bed...! It's too early on a Sunday for you to be getting up right now!" The small wolf Kwami whined, lifting his head only slightly from his tiny pillow before letting flop back down.
I would have responded to his remark, telling him it's really not that early, but he had already fallen back asleep before I could even grab my notebook. I laughed weakly, coughing softly at the ticklish burn it caused, and grabbed both my notebooks, walking back to my bed and setting them there before going out to the kitchen and making myself some hot chocolate to drink while working on the story. When I finished making the drink, I went back into my bedroom and sat down next to Neeks, who huffed softly and rolled over. I gently scratched his belly before opening my writing notebook and rereading what I had already written.
Once upon a time, there was a knight own all throughout the kingdom of Kwamistala as the Dark Knight. Why was he called this, you ask? Well, because he wore light weight, black and dark purple colored armor. He was the handsomest knight in the kingdom, and the most well liked. He was kind to all who came across him, and never raised his sword without reason.
One day, he was assigned by the King of his country to venture into the Forest of Gods and dispose of an impurity there; a vampire who had taken refuge in the forest. Now, normally this would not be that big a deal, because the vampire did not attack humans and had not caused commotion in the villages near the forest, but the Forest of Gods was a sacred place that housed mini gods, and only the highest of knights were allowed into the forest for only a few days, at the most, unless they had been chosen by a mini God in those three days.
The Dark Knight was one of those chosen Knights, a small black cat God named Noir having chosen him only two years before. The Dark Knight was one of the youngest high-ranking Knights ever, the other one being a young girl nicknamed the Miracle Knight with her small ladybug Goddess, Fortune. He knew that this was of a grave offense; a vampire, the spawn of Satan, living in the home and birthplace of gods? It was unheard of, to begin with. So, he took the quest, and he began his journey to the forest, planning to arrive in three days time on horseback.
On the first day, he passed through the town where Miracle Knight was staying, and told the girl about his quest. She and Fortune wished the boy and Noir good luck, which, considering it was from a Goddess representing good luck, was practically a blessing. He soon went on his way, since he had no time to waste, and-
Ah, yes, that was where I left off. Alright, time to continue.
He soon went on his way, since he had no time to waste, and when the second day crept upon it's end for him, the Dark Knight came across some information about the vampire in the Forest of Gods. Apparently the vampire looked young, and had hair the color of snow and eyes the color of blood. He didn't attack the villagers, but he moved around a lot, and seemed to be either searching for something, or running away. Some villagers said they saw a God with the vampire, but they also said it was dark and they could only see sillouettes, so they couldn't be sure.
The Dark Knight frowned, unsure about that bit of information. Why would a god pick a vampire as it's chosen? They were impure, after all. So he pushed it to the back of his mind and went on to the village nearest to the forest, which took up half of the last day. He stopped to replenish some of his supplies, then continued on his way to the forest, stopping right outside and tethering his horse to the nearest tree. The forest loomed in front of the knight, trees thick and dense and glowing slightly the further in he looked. From far away, it looked like it faded into darkness, but he knew that once he was inside, there were bioluminescent organisms that gave the forest light, and the small gods had their own means of lighting their home up.
He and Noir would have to go on by foot from here on out, the cat God landing gracefully on the ground from where he had rested on the Knight's shoulders. He looked at the boy, gave him a grin, and strolled into the forest with ease. The two wandered, in no real hurry to look for the vampire while it was still daylight. They knew he'd be sleeping somewhere dark and away from the sunlight, and while the Dark Knight was to get rid of the vampire, he had no desire to kill the creature- especially not in a forest as sacred as this one.
I bit my lip, trying to think of what else to add before the Knight finds the vampire. I sipped at my hot chocolate as I thought, smiling as Neeks sneezed so hard he woke up. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Aw man, I was dreaming of something good, too!" He whined, flying up to my shoulder. I opened my talking notebook, flipping to a clean page and writing my response.
"Someone's talking about you. Think it could be one of the kwamis? I wonder if it's Adrien's."
Neeks shrugged as he read what I wrote, nuzzling my neck. "He's always liked me more. Y'know, I met their kwamis once in America."
I raised an eyebrow at him, and he nodded. "Yep. They've moved around a lot. Didn't stay too long in America, though. Too much war was going on and they didn't want to get involved since they weren't apart of the problem." He sighed softly, looking a little sad. "It was a bad time for me and my chosen, which is why Ladybug's Kwami doesn't have too great an opinion of me. Adrien's Kwami, though... I think since he's a God of Destruction, he knew what was going on, and I've always had a good relationship with him. He's a pragmatic little guy, that's for sure. Comes off as a jerk or uncaring like, half the time." Neeks sighed softly and nuzzled me again. "Well, anyways, just keep writing. It looks like you're creating quite the story there." He said teasingly, eyes glancing over what I have written.
"Shut up." I write, blushing a little from his tease before going back to writing the story.
As they wandered, Noir and the Dark Knight found many small Gods, ranging in any and all species to breeds. Each species symbolized something different, but there was a special God in each species, the only one of its kind. They symbolized something specific, and they were the strongest of their kind. Noir was one of these special gods; the only black cat, who symbolized Destruction and Bad Luck, while the Miracle Knight's mini God, Fortune, was the only red Ladybug and symbolized Miracles and Good Luck. These special gods could transfer some of their powers to their chosen, giving them special abilities unique to them and only them.
The gods they passed greeted them and welcomed them, and the Dark Knight gained a little more information on where the vampire had been staying. The Knight noticed how some of the Gods looked displeased, but most of them seemed to be fine with the Vampire invading their home.
The rest of the day was spent heading in the vampire's direction. He had been told by a young turtle god that the vampire was taking refuge in the center of the forest, where it was admittedly the darkest during the day, and where the rivers of the forest connected with the largest tree in the forest. The Knight was only mildly surprised that the vampire didn't stay in the small cabin meant for the few times Knights came into the forest, but then he remembered how it had no way to block the shade when daylight reached it.
The Dark Knight and Noir reached the center of the forest around sunset. The small amounts of dark golden light filtering through the leaves dotted the clearings like stars, and the rivers and streams that ran to the trees looked like molten gold and azures from the bioluminescent algae inside the water. The center tree was indeed the largest and oldest, the trunk of the tree much larger than any human. The Knight looked around, wondering if he was in the right section of the center, when he noticed a splash of red in the fading golden light hanging from a tree. He walked towards it quietly, trying not to alert the Vampire.
When the Knight drew close enough, he saw that there was what looked to be a boy around his age curled up and sleeping on the branch, tattered black and red cape hanging down off the branch behind him. His head was covered by a hood but he could still see the shock of white that was his hair peeking through the holes in the hood, and his pants looked just as torn at the ends as his entire cape did, exposing deathly pale legs. The boy didn't look like he was wearing any shoes, but he was too high up for the Knight to tell.
The Knight stared, shifting uncomfortably as he debated waking the male or letting him wake up naturally. Noir rolled his eyes and darted past him up the tree, much to the distress of the Knight. The distress for his partner was quickly snuffed out, however, when a startled cry came from the boy and he came tumbling back off the branch.
"Ah!" The boy cried out as he fell to the ground, crashing loudly and probably painfully to the ground before the Knight could reach him. The knight winced at the sound of his fall, slowing in his run towards the boy and walking the rest of the way. He noticed now that the boy indeed wasn't wearing any shoes, and his feet and the exposed parts of his legs were covered in many small cuts and scars.
When he was in front of the boy he offered him his hand while asking, "Are you okay?"
"Ow..." The boy groaned as he sat up, hood fallen to reveal a full head of shaggy, snow colored hair covered in leaves and twigs from his fall. He nodded as he rubbed the back of his head, shaking it quickly as if to clear away any disorientation. "Yeah, I'm okay..." He murmured, one Crimson eye still pinched shut as he rubbed his head. The Knight's breath caught momentarily in his throat as he looked at the vampire in front of him, finding him to be the most beautiful person he had ever come across. The vampire was-
Neeks snorted, causing me to look at him. He looked like he was holding back some sort of teasing line, which made me a little wary. "What?" I wrote after switching notebooks.
"A little modest there, don'tcha think?" He asked, making me blush. He was obviously teasing me, but it still embarrassed me. I shrugged slightly, fiddling with the edge of the page. I didn't move to write anything or look at him. Neeks noticed my silence and he nuzzled me again, ears dropping slightly. "Hey, that's not a bad thing for you to write. I didn't mean it in a bad way, Jasper. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."
I shook my head, worrying at my lip. Neeks flew in front of my eyes, frowning slightly and ears dropping further as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Jasper, look at me. Pup, it isn't bad that you wrote that about a character modeled after you, especially if the character saying that is modeled after the person you like. You want Adrien to think that about you, right?"
I nodded slowly, slowly moving my gaze from Neeks. He sighed, flying closer and licking my cheek before nuzzling it again. "I shouldn't have laughed. I'm sorry, Jasper. I just thought it was cute of you and wanted to tease you a little. Keep writing, I want to keep reading it." He flew back to my shoulder and after another moment of getting rid of my embarrassment, I began writing again.
The vampire was reaching for the Knight's hand when he suddenly froze, both eyes staring wide-eyed at the Knight. The Dark Knight looked at him confused, worry sinking in as the vampire stayed like that longer than he should.
"Are-"
"Ah!" The vampire's scream cut the Knight off, and the vampire yanked his hand away so fast it was a blur as he scrambled back a few feet, eyes still locked on the Knight and filled with fear. The Knight, frozen in his position of reaching down to help him up, bit his lip and slowly straightened up, looking at the vampire with concern.
"Is everything alright?"
"W-What are you doing here?!" The vampire's voice cracked, and the Dark Knight winced at how hoarse the boy's voice was.
"I'm allowed here..." At the vampire's small amount of confusion in his eyes, he elaborated. "I'm a knight... The Dark Knight, if you want to get specific... I was chosen by one of the gods here?" The vampire's confusion grew, but he was still tense, and the Knight sighed, running a hand carefully through his hair. "Anyway, my name is Felix. My partner's name is Noir."
As if on cue, Noir dropped down between the two, eliciting another yelp from the boy and causing him to scramble further away. Noir stalked over to Felix, jumping up to his shoulder and yawning loudly. "Give it up, Felix. The kid ain't gonna relax anytime soon. You're probably the first human he's come in contact with in a week or two, given the freshness of those scratches." Noir studied the scratches along the boys feet and legs and his tail flicked in irritation. "Some cat gods went after him, too, but most of those tears and cuts were caused by running through brambles and other sharp things in forests and nature in general." Noir's tail flicked again, his nose scrunching up in what almost looked like disgust.
"What I don't get, though... Is why do you smell like one of us?" Noir jumped down again and walked over, sniffing at the vampire. When Noir was reaching the vampire's waist, a snarl was the only warning he had before a large white wolf appeared, standing over the vampire protectively and dark, molten silver eyes staring right at Felix and his God. Noir scrambled back with a hiss, back arched and fur standing on end as Felix pulled out his sword on reflex. The vampire cowered behind the wolf, his hands tangling themselves into the wolf's thick fur.
The wolf snarled, crouching low to cover as much of the vampire as possible, almost as if it was protecting him. Felix frowned and quickly put his sword away, holding his hands up to show he wasn't going to harm the other male. "Hey, it's okay. We won't touch him, promise." He said to the wolf, who only continued to growl.
Noir's fur slowly laid flat, and his posture relaxed as he stepped closer, sniffing lightly at the Wolf's paw before the wolf moved away from the cat God. His nose crinkling again, and he sat back on his haunches. "What the...? You're one of us?"
The wolf didn't respond, still guarded against the Knight and God. Felix sighed softly and took a few hesitant steps forward before sitting down in front of the vampire and wolf, glancing over the wolf to try and see the vampire. "What's your name?" He asked, watching as the vampire peeked out from behind the wolf.
"O-Oliver..." The vampire said softly, not meeting Felix's eyes and his cheeks dusted with red. Felix smiled and nodded, still not moving closer.
"Oliver, huh? That's a nice name." He got a small nod from the vampire, who slowly shifted into a more comfortable position behind the wolf. His arm slipped over the wolf's back, wrapping loosely around his neck as he pulled the wolf off him. The wolf relaxed almost immediately and nudged the boy lovingly. Felix bit his lip, watching the exchange and glad that the vampire was a bit more comfortable now. "Oliver... Do you know what this forest is?"
Another small nod, the vampire gnawing at his lower lip and exposing one of his fangs. "The... The Forest of Gods, right?" He said softly, pressing into the wolf's side a little more. Felix belatedly noticed that the boy's cloak was clasped with silver chains, and he winced a little when he noticed the faint burns on his neck where the chains had pressed against before being secured under his shirt's collar. He nodded, smiling a little more.
"Yeah, this is the Forest of Gods. You know you aren't allowed here unless you are a high-ranking knight, right? And even then you have to be chosen by a god here, like Noir, in order to stay as long as you'd like or need to." Felix said softly, smile gone as Oliver continued to look confused and scared.
"B-But Silver said it was okay for me to be here..."
Felix frowned faintly, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "Who's Silver?" He asked softly, wondering just who told Oliver he was allowed here. He looked over at Noir to see that his jaw had dropped, and the cat God's wide green eyes were fixed on the wolf.
Neeks whined softly, making me chuckle a little. I looked over him with fake annoyance, seeing that he was pouting. "Why'd you name me Silver? That's such a boring name...!"
"Then what would you like to be called?" I wrote in my talking notebook, and Neeks hummed in thought.
"Um... I-I don't know! Um... Tivachi! Name me Tivachi!"
"Tivachi?"
"Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah!" His tail wagged as he came up with name, eyes shining happily and nearly sparkling. I laughed silently, shaking my head playfully as I went back and erased the name Silver for him.
"B-But Tivachi said it was okay for me to be here..."
Felix frowned faintly, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "Who's Tivachi?" He asked softly, wondering just who told Oliver he was allowed here. He looked over at Noir to see that his jaw had dropped, and the cat God's wide green eyes were fixed on the wolf.
Felix looked from Noir to the wolf, slowly putting the pieces together. "Wait, so the wolf is Tivachi? Is he a God?"
"Yes, he is. He's like Fortune and I." Noir said, walking forward and bowing gracefully in front of the wolf. "He's the only white wolf... and he stands for Freedom and Instincts." Noir looked over the wolf and then Oliver, sitting down again and curling his tail around his paws. "He wanders, choosing his chosen from a certain code that only he knows, and one or two requirements must be made besides the code. It's rare he ever finds someone worthy of being his chosen, and it's even more rare for anyone- human, vampire, or God- to see him face to face."
Felix hummed in surprise, following Noir's lead and bowing for the wolf God. "What are the requirements?" He asked Noir curiously, wondering if he even had the answer. Noir opened his mouth and was about to answer when he was cut off by a new voice.
"Freedom."
Felix looked over to Tivachi, who was looking at him with a small wolfish grin on his face. "My main requirement is a desire or need for freedom." Tivachi repeated more thoroughly, his voice slightly deeper than Noir's, calm and steady. He sounded kind and loving, and Felix watched as Oliver relaxed further at the sound of his voice. The wolf licked at Oliver's hair, gently pulling out the leaves and twigs stuck in it, tail swaying gently back and forth as he cleaned the boy.
"My pup here needed freedom from his chains, and I've been trying to help him along." He nuzzled Oliver, who let out a soft giggle and smiled gently. Felix felt his cheeks warm slightly, enjoying the small smile that made the boy even more beautiful. He found he liked it much more than the scared Oliver he had been seeing so far. "Come, Oliver, you don't need to be afraid of these boys. They're friends."
Oliver nodded and moved away from Tivachi a little, blushing lightly and rubbing the back of his neck. "Um... Sorry for what just happened... I, uh, I haven't met a friendly person in, well, centuries."
"It's alright. I understand." Felix smiled leaning back a little and using his hands to keep himself from falling any further. He studied the boy a little more and hummed in thought.
"Oliver, if you don't mind me asking, why haven't I heard about you before?" At Oliver's confused look, he clarified what he meant, "Most vampire's are known far and wide, for some reason or another, but you... I've never heard of you. An albino vampire is more unheard of than a vampire who doesn't attack humans."
Oliver's eyes widened slightly, a soft "Oh." slipping from his lips before he looked away, lightly biting his lower lip. Felix noticed how they were dried and cracked, a deep cherry red when the skin had broken or been torn.
"Well... I was... I was locked up, for a long time. I... I used to be a prince, way back when my family ruled an entirely different country here, before it was destroyed and taken over during a war..." Oliver became silent, looking like he was trying to remember something. "What was it called... The, um, the Celcists-Kwamistals War?"
He looked to Tivachi as if to make sure he had said the war's name right, receiving a kind smile and nod in return. He looked proud for a moment before turning his attention back to Felix. "I.. I got turned during the war by a rogue vampire. I don't remember her name... Or much of what she looked like." Oliver rubbed at the side of his neck, his hand slipping underneath some of his hair and exposing pale flesh marred with burns, with two angry red dots evenly spaced apart. "My family panicked and because they thought I was going to attack them, locked me in the dungeon. They lost the war, our line died out, and I was left alone in the ruins of the castle, stuck to a wall by heavy metal chains."
Oliver shivered from the memory, and Felix frowned. "That's terrible."
Oliver shrugged, look down and lightly digging his foot into the dirt a little more. "That's life. Or whatever the heck this is for me. Anyway, Tivachi found me about three years ago and broke my chains for me. He took me from the castle ruins and protected me as he took me to the nearest hiding place. He brought me food and explained what he was and why he helped me while I regained my strength. Then the villagers found out I was there and I've been chased by villagers or hunters ever since."
"I told my pup about this forest because he's still unwell. His strength has yet to really return to him, and he's not eating like he should. I go out hunting for him when I can but normally I don't have the time because we are either running or I need to protect him as he sleeps." Tivachi finished nuzzling his chosen gently.
Felix nodded, quiet as he took in this information. "What do you need to eat?"
"I drink blood from dead animals, and it can be anything. Tivachi tries to get as big an animal he can get without killing any of the village animals."
Once again, Felix nodded, biting his lip lightly as he exchanged a glance with Noir. They couldn't kick Oliver out- he was chosen, for one thing, and for another- this might just be the only safe place left for him. After a silent conversation between chosen and God, Felix looked at Oliver and smiled. "Alright, I've got an idea. Come back to the castle with Noir and I. My King, King-
I stopped, staring at the page. If the character based if Adrien was a knight, I wasn't going to make his father the King. I figured I should make it whoever gave him the black cat miraculous, but who was that? I looked to Neeks, who seemed to know my question without me even writing it down.
"I don't know if it's his first or last name, but he likes to be called Master Fu. You and the others will meet him eventually, but for now just call his character Fu." I raised an eyebrow at Neeks, switching notebooks again.
"So you want me to name him King Fu?"
Neeks read what I wrote and burst out laughing, covering his mouth with one of his paws. "Wow, okay, maybe we should call him something different." He giggled, wiping away an imaginary tear from his eye.
"It wasn't that funny, was it?" I wrote, an amused smile crossing my lips. Neeks shrugged, still smiling, and started trying to think of names.
"King...Cedric?" He suggested. I shrugged, writing down my own idea.
"King Jun?" Neeks hummed in thought, tapping his chin lightly.
"Works for me." He said with a final shrug, settling himself on my shoulder again. I nodded and started writing again.
My King, King Jun, is friendly." Felix started carefully, "He was chosen by a special god here, too, and he won't let anyone harm you. You can stay with Noir and me in our room there, and you can have large animals blood when we but her cows and the like for food! We don't need a lot of their blood, and it's better than wasting it. No one there will care that your a vampire!" Felix personally liked the sound of the plan, a grin spreading on his face before he was even done speaking. Oliver didn't look too certain about it though, nervous as he stayed close to Tivachi.
Tivachi looked thoughtful, his head cocking to the side a little. "Jun, huh? I met him once, when he was a little toddler. I always knew he was destined for greatness. Do you not choose the ruler by blood?"
Felix shook his head, smiling a little. "Not since many kings prior to King Jun. Our country's King Cedric, from about 20 years after the Celcists-Kwamistals War, had no heir, and so he chose from the high-Knights that had been chosen by a god. He picked the most trustworthy, and since that King's reign had gone so well they turned that into the new way of choosing a king. We haven't had a bloodthirsty ruler since."
Tivachi hummed and nodded, looking at Oliver. "We should try it, Oliver. I think you would like it."
"If you don't, I'm sure King Jun will let you stay here." Felix added quickly. Oliver's face became even more flushed, and he shrugged weakly. "Whatever's safe, I'll do... It seems wrong for me to be in a castle though... Are you sure people won't get mad?"
Noir scoffed, standing and stretching as he eased the boy's worries. "If they get mad, ignore them. You're our friend, Oliver, and you were chosen by a powerful God. They're just sore losers."
Oliver was quiet, looking at Tivachi before the others. He took a deep breath and nodded, biting his lip again. "O-Okay. I'll go with you."
Felix grinned, his happiness almost infectious as it caused even Oliver to smile a little. "We'll leave tomorrow night."
I sighed as I closed the notebook, pleased with the progress I had made. Checking the time on my phone, I saw it was around 2:30, and I got up to go make something for me to eat. I grabbed a few pieces of candy and handed them to Neeks, who whined happily as he munched on them. I left the room with him, setting the notebook on my desk on my way out. I'll continue the story some other time.