#I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS AND MATRI INSPIRED ME TO WRITE IT BUT I DID IT ALL IN ONE SITTING AND IT'S 4:10AM AND I HAVE WORK TOMORROW AND

[evren-writes]

Snake Eyes

Deep in the forest, something twisted and horrid lives. With eyes that lie like a snake, and horns twisted like the devil, people warned of its cruel nature. If you were to ever enter the forest alone at night, you’d be found dead by dawn with no cause identifiable by man.

And while the village told no living soul to dare step foot in those woods, Arren didn’t like to be told what to do.

That didn’t make his self-inflicted task anymore enjoyable, however. While spite and desperation was an excellent motivator, wandering for hours in the dark was absolutely fucking annoying.

Arren growled to himself as he brushed dirt out of the scrapes and cuts on his knees. A beaten, broken part of him didn’t care if it got infected, almost wished for it, but the fire burning deep within him suffocated those thoughts in smoke. He would succeed and bring the head of the monster to that shitty town and make them beg for him back.

It was either that or burn the whole place to the ground and leave nothing but ashes, but the ever persistent ache of what they had done kept his sensible side frustratingly sharp.

A sensible side that immediately evaporated once the wind carried a hissing laughter along with it. The sound was smooth and silky, with a little bit of smugness mixed in. Arren hated it and would relish in murdering this motherfucker.

“What brings this little, lost light to my forest?” The voice taunted, seemingly enjoying this game very much.

“Don’t call me that.” Arren said flatly, obviously having the exact opposite experience.

“That’s- That’s not how this works.” The way the voice wavered filled Arren with bitter satisfaction.

“Well, if you want to stop being a dumbass anytime soon, my name is Arren.” It’s not that he particularly wanted to be on first name basis with the horrible beast of the forest, he just disliked the nicknames more.

And, to his surprise, the monster laughed in response. It was snake-y or smug in a way that decided life or death. It was just. Happy.

What the fuck?

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to meet someone like you!” The voice exclaimed out, and suddenly, it wasn’t a part of the wind anymore.

It was right behind him.

Arren whipped around, hand reaching in his coat pocket, ready. The figure that walked out of his shadows was both exactly what was described and not at all.

Golden horns that curved back like a goat rested on its skull. Two green snake eyes gazed at him with a giddiness, and beautiful golden scales rested under those eyes like makeup. And other than scaled hands with deadly claws at the end, it looked fully human.

Human and not as scary every had made him out to be. Half his head was shaved and wild black hair fell across his face. His clothes looked like a torn funeral suit, with several different kinds of flowers pinned to his lapel, most of them purple.

This would be easier than Arren thought.

Before he could curl his fingers around the hilt of the small dagger he had brought, the monster spoke up again.

“So why are you here, then?” He asked, walking towards Arren, who stepped back several steps in response.

“What?” Arren hissed back, not in the snakey way, but in a very angry human way.

That made the monster stop. His smile slowly dripped into a frown and he looked away uncomfortably. Pulling at the cuff of his suit, he answered.

“People usually come here to die.” He said softly, avoiding eye contact. “I try to chase them off, but it doesn’t work. They’ve accepted their fate and I’m always too late.”

That didn’t make any sense at all. With reluctant confusion, Arren let go of the hidden dagger and brought his hand to his side again. It would be so easy to stop this thing in the heart while it refused to look at him. He could gain his place back and his sins forgiven.

But at the very core of his being, Arren was a learner. He craved knowledge and the answer to mysteries more than he did redemption. If he killed the monster right here and now, then he would never learn what any of that meant.

So for now, he asked questions.

“How did you know I wasn’t here to die?” He asked, though it sounded more like a demand with his forceful tone.

At that, the creature perked up and looked at him. A smile tugged at his lips again and another laugh escaped his mouth. Yeah, cruel fate his ass. This thing was a complete fucking loser.

“Well, for one, people who want to die don’t usually call me a dumbass.” He responded, and Arren thought that more people really should. “And second, the light thing I said actually meant something.”

Oh, now that was interesting.

“So it wasn’t just a dumb nickname?” Arren asked, subconsciously stepped forward and ending up standing face to face with the monster.

“Yeah! That’s what these are for.” He said, pointing to his eyes. “It’s difficult to explain, but people who are about to die here look dark and foggy inside. You were like looking directly at a forest fire, and I don’t just mean because you’re hot.”

Arren peeled back his lips into a snarl. The sound furious and indignant, and that asshole had the gall to laugh at him. A sound so bright and delighted maybe he was the fucking forest fire here. Fuck him.

“But you still didn’t answer my question.” He said suddenly, snapping Arren out of his simmering rage. “Why did you come in here?”

Arren didn’t owe this thing anything. Meeting a monster in a forest and having him tell you a few interesting things didn’t mean he had to spill his whole stupid life story.

Except he was going to anyways. Not because it was boiling over the pot and definitely because he desperately needed to tell someone.

“I was going to kill you.” Arren said, feeling a bit of disappointment at how little the monster seemed bothered. “So they would let me back into my home.”

The monster tilted his head as he took in this information. Then, his lips pursed themselves into a frown and he gently reached forward. Arren froze. So many different reactions exploded through him, all involving attacking this thing right now, that it left him motionless.

It let the monster gently sweep the messy hair out of his right eye and gasp at what he saw.

Arren knew it looked bad, probably even worse from the last time he checked. A long, messy cut that went from the top of his forehead to halfway down his cheekbone. Bloody and with his right eye crusted shut, probably for the best.

He hadn’t bothered to clean it or treat it in anyway. He had just immediately run into the forest to get away and never looked back.

“Why would they-?” The monster started, but Arren didn’t let him finish.

“Because I tried to kill my father.” He said simply, as if it wasn’t horrific news.

The monster opened his mouth to speak again, likely to spew so many more questions that it made Arren sick.

Abruptly turning away, Arren spoke again. “Don’t.”

Thankfully, his boundary was respected, and he didn’t hear anything. His heart was beating fast in his chest. Finally he had come out and said this to someone willingly, but feeling it all flood back was so fucking upsetting and he hated it. Hated all of them.

Except he had nowhere else to go and he didn’t want to die.

“You can stay here.”

Arren jumped when he heard the monster speak up so abruptly and turned around. A clawed hand was extended towards him, and the expression on this supposed cruel beast was wild and welcoming, like this was some kind of exciting new adventure.

Briefly, the thought dealing with the devil flashed in Arren’s mind, but that was only after he had already took the devil’s hand. For some reason, this idea was a lot more welcoming than his first one.

“Plus, I think I have an idea on how to keep you safe.” The monster spoke up, a grin embodying his features.

“I don’t need you to keep me safe.” Arren bristled, but he couldn’t help the curiousity welling up within him again. “What is it?”

Gesturing grandly, the monster pointed to his own right eye. Arren could feel the reckless and exciting energy radiating off of him. Arren would be lying if he said it wasn’t as infectious as it was worrying, but he was a liar so he wasn’t going to say that.

“I’m going to give you my eye so you can see the ins and outs of this forest like I can!” The monster declared and Arren stared at him blankly.

“What the fuck are you even talking about?!” He suddenly yelled, realizing that yes! This situation could get even weirder! “How do you even know you could do that?!”

The monster’s expression took on a more sullen and distant look as he stared somewhere past Arren’s shoulder.

“There are some things about me that I just know.” He said, sounding far away. “Like that I used to be a human before this and that I had a different name.”

So there was even more mystery to this place? Also this was when Arren realized he had never bothered to ask if the monster had a name. He was so used to it just being a creature that stalked and haunted the woods, that he hadn’t even realized that it could be someone.

“So what’s your name now, then?” Arren asked, finally deciding to be polite.

The monster seemed to snap out of it and turned to look at him. His features softened and he looked a lot less sad. Arren decided he liked this version a lot more. Meaning, that he found it the least annoying.

“Blight. That’s who I am now.” Blight said, looking stronger and more sure of himself now. “So, are you in or not?”

Blight, huh? A poisonous name that promised of death. It didn’t feel quite fitting for what he knew now, but Arren liked how it sounded. Powerful and threatening.

As for the question... What else did he have to lose?

“Fine. Fucking whatever.” Arren grumbled, crossing his arms and Blight just laughed in response again.

Reaching a hand out, Blight gently cupped it over Arren’s right eye. It aggravated the aching sensation and brought a sting along with it, but that was fine. He watched Blight take a deep breath and close his eyes, and suddenly Arren felt dizzy and the world was literally spinning around him like some sick punishment for all his crimes.

He wanted to cry out, beg for all of it to stop and say he’d never do it again. He wasn’t sorry but it didn’t matter because the sickness outdid any pain he could ever feel and he had learned his lesson.

Then, everything abruptly stopped.

The world was different.