Jay sat on the chair full of comfort and lies. He sipped the warm tea and watched carefully as an old man ridiculed him. The air was still, the house old yet tidy and warm.
"Listen, kid. You won't survive this. Your father treated you like an ass, but this-you're chasing after a myth. You can't kill the beast." Deblumme said. The monster. The locals refused to call it the original name, which was Katalon.
He had grown up hating the beast. His damn father, Clauw, had been the man he was when it slit his mother in the throat. "Kill the beast, and I'll let you back in." Those were the last words Clauw had said to Jay, right before throwing a beer bottle at him.
The town hated the beast. The stray and guard dogs tried to get it to stay away, but sometimes there would be a bloodstained dog 'resting' on the street in the morning after a tough battle.
"I have to kill it." Jay had responded. "I won't fail like they did. If I do, I have nothing back to go to." Deblumme sighed, stroking his long, gray beard. "Being an outcast isn't easy. But being a damn fool is worse."
"A damn fool? This thing has been terrorizing the town since before you were born." Deblumme rolled his eyes at the comment. "It's not just that you're fighting this beast. You're fighting the wrong one." The mighty Deblumme, who had been surrounded by an invading force yet had fought his way through a whole army and tore it to shreds, was scared of an animal. Even a few fellow villagers could walk into Wayward forest and not get slained by the beast. Jay scoffed.
"Yes, it seems like I have. I'll be leaving it now." Jay had said, quickly waving goodbye before heading off into Wayward forest.
On the dirt roads surrounded by fields of wheat and barley, Jay started to notice a young, disheveled boy who followed him around. "Why are you following me?" He asked, making the annoyedness of his voice abundantly clear. He stopped. The boy was no more than 8, with blond, messy hair. He wore ragged clothes with patches of dirt on them. An outcast. Jay realized. Like me. He tried to surpress that thought. He'd be back with his father soon. He wouldn't be an outcast anymore.
The boy didn't meet Jay's eyes. "I have no one else. It seems that you don't, either." The boy gave an empathetic look. "I'm Johaness."
I can't just tell him to leave. "Hey, Johaness." Jay sighed. What the hell am I doing? Its better just to leave him alone. "I'm not an outcast. I have a father I can go to." He tried to hide the anger and fear in his voice. Only if I defeat the monster. "You didn't seem like it." Johaness commented.
"Well, I'm so sorry I remind you so much of yourself." Jay spat. The boy gave a wounded look. Jay, for a moment, was reminded of himself. A scrawny troublemaker, who was in over his head. "I'm going no where special. So I suggest you find food on your own."
"I can find food, y'know. If you follow me...we can share it together. I know a good place for shelter and I can find weapons if you desire..."
"I need nothing." Jay responded. Johaness rolled his eyes. "Everyone needs something. Or someone." He grinned. "Are you in love?" Jay grimaced. "Not with this conversation, kid."
"Well, we all come from families. People raise other mini people and then they become adults and yada-yada-yada. So there must be someone else in your life. Correct?" He asked. Jay trotted forward, but Johaness followed. Jay sighed. "Yeah. I told you I have a father."
"So that proves my point. You need your father." Johaness explained. "I can live without him. I'm on my own." Johaness raised an eyebrow. "So you are an outcast."
Jay groaned. "What? No-" Why the hell did I say that? "Listen, kid-Johaness-whatever-, I need gone right now. And I don't know what type of game your playing but I don't care anymore. Leave me alone."
With that, Jay payed no more attention to what was happening behind him. He passed the long roads, looking at the abundance of food on either side of him that he couldn't have. It's not like I know how to make bread in the first place. But when he got closer to Wayward forest, he turned around and saw Johaness quietly ambling behind him. How the hell didn't I notice? Jay thought to himself.
The boy oddly didn't look shocked that he was spotted. He had seemed to have almost expected it. "You're going into Wayward, aren't you." Johaness said, a wary look on his face.
Jay grimaced. "Listen, kid. I don't know what you're doing following me around, but it's best for you to take your tiny ass and go. This has nothing to do with you." In the back of his mind, Jay heard his father's voice yelling at him. Was it when he did too well, not enough, or just average? Was it when he gave his father food that his neighbor Ms. Lacher had given, or was it when he had asked for time to play with the kids on his busy street? Was anything every enough for his father?
I'm acting just like him, now. Jay realized, finally meeting Johaness in the eyes. "Here." He said, with no hint of sympathy in his voice. Just the respect one human could give to another. "I don't have food, but-" He dug into his backpack. "I've got a compass." He tossed it, and Johaness caught it. He viewed the intricacies of it. "My father got it for himself at an auction. Then he gave it to me." That wasn't the full truth. Jay had stolen it from his father, just to have something for himself. "You can use it for whatever. You have your own path to travel." Jay tried to smile, but the only thing he could manage was a hard stare. Johaness still was looking at the compass. With that, Jay turned around one last time, and walked into Wayward.
Wayward was known for it's abundantness. The fish, berries, birds, any traveler who wanted food could come there. Yet practically none did, besides the few villagers. Jay had been surprised about how beautiful and abundant it really was. It was like walking through a five-course meal. Each step was over something that could be dinner. Jay's stomach growled as he looked around. I should've bought food. He thought.
But throughout his travel, looking for the beast, a thought kept nagging him. Even when he ate berries, or ate the cooked carcass of a squirrel, it never went away. Do I still want to be with my father? Would everything really change if I came back with the body of the beast? He imagined his father's cold stare, his yelling, his beatings. He hated them. But he couldn't be an outcast, destined to roam forever. Right?
It eventually became darker outside. Jay wasn't able to find any trail of giant beast tracks. He wasn't even sure what it looked like. But it had to have been out there.
Jay decided it was best to sleep. He found nice shelter, and glanced at the starry night. He would miss the quiet, without the constant stress he had with his father. With the cloudy thoughts slowly dispersing in his head, Jay fell asleep.
Jay felt the weight of the beast's carcass growing lighter as he approached his father's home. He had done it. Despite the specific memories of how he had destroyed the beast being faint, he saw the beast's carcass of him. It was about the size of a wolf, with strange, long claws and several arms protruding it's back. It had two sharp canine teeth and glinting red eyes. The blood was a trail behind Jay. But he was home. He wasn't an outcast, and his father would finally love him.
He knocked. His father opened the door, and examined the carcass. A tear shed in his eye. "You did it. Your grandmother is avenged." He gave a smile, and wrapped his arm around Jay's shoulder. "I'm proud of you." Jay felt his heart warming. The moment...it was happening. His father would love him.
"But I'm dissapointed. You should know how I truly feel about you." Jay frowned. "What do you feel?" His Father cackled. It felt wrong. His Father never laughed, even on the best of days. "What do you feel?" Jay asked again. The world started to turn black...
And he was back in the real world. The sun was rising, dimly lighting the sky and touching the grasses and moss below Jay. He felt Wayward coming back to life around him. The rivers flowed plenty, and the bushes started rustling once more. But he saw something new. Outside of the shelter, he saw giant footsteps of four. These weren't any normal animal. The beast. He realized. It had been near him. Maybe it had even noticed him, but decided not to act.
He thought about his dream for a moment. It's just a dream. They don't come true. My father would take me back in a second. We'd be an actual family. But he felt doubt pouring into his mind. He didn't want to be a family before. He thought about Johaness. He had felt bad yelling at him. Shouldn't his father have felt the same, every time? Yet he never changed. He's an alcoholic. But that doesn't mean he's set on his ways.
Jay looked at the rising sun. Should I even try to kill the beast? Jay took out his clean sword. It's been terrorizing the village. This'll be for the good of everyone, my father included. I'll kill the beast. Then I won't be an outcast no longer. It's just an animal. How hard could that be? With that, he set off to track the trails of the beast.
The tracks were long, but he never once questioned whether or not he was following the beast. He was, and he was sure of it. Eventually, it all lead to a clearing, and there he saw the beast.
It had four strong legs with sharp, black claws that seeped into the dirt. It had shaggy brown fur like a bear and a tail with sharp claws on the three ends of it. The tail lashed as the beast saw Jay. The beast had a beak and golden eyes like an eagle. It had deer antlers. But weirdly of all, it had arms sticking out of it's back, like Jay had dreamed of. It was terrifying to look at. If it's terrifying, then I'll die a hero. A legend. And if I kill the beast, then the whole village will love me. He looked at the beast once more. Or, I'll die a fool, and no one will ever see me again. He sighed, taking his sword. It wobbled in his hands. "Do it." He whispered to himself. The beast's head swiveled. He had lost the element of surprise.
With that, he entered the clearing, swerving his sword in the air. The blade was heavier than he had thought. The beast noticed him, and they charged each other. Jay slashed the beast, and felt a cut on his spine. He grimaced as they charged passed each other. When Jay turned around, the beast was...fine. There wasn't a single drop of blood on him, nor a single wound. It was as if Jay had never sliced it in the first place. He frowned, got up, and charged the beast again.
This went on several times. Jay would slash and stab the beast, each time trying to understand why the second he looked away, he would see the beast completely healthy. Each attack only left Jay more bloodstained and tired. Sweat and blood merged together as they traveled down his head. He was hurt on his shoulder, his hip, his cheek, and so on. The cut's weren't even that deep-Jay would dodge or leap away before they could get any worse. But they still hurt like hell.
Each time, Jay's determination got weaker. How long could he hold this up for? And each time, he was reminded of his father. His father's yelling and beatings and threats were like a scar in his memory that would never fade away. Each cut was his father yelling. Each bead of sweat was his father threatening to send him out of the house. And each heavy breath reminded him of what he had done to Johaness. He didn't want to live with his father again. He couldn't. It wouldn't change if the beast was dead. He realized.
With that, Jay ran. He ran into the woods, but the beast was quicker, and each step Jay took he could feel the beast right behind him, it's breath touching his ankle, and then his calf, and then the back of his knee. He had left his sword behind, so he had nothing else to defend himself with. It was not like any stick could outmatch against the beast, anyhow.
So Jay made a sharp turn right and ran behind a bush. The beast caught up to him immediately, and Jay saw in horror as it started to slash his body. He coughed out blood. There was no escape from his death. He saw the pure rage in the beast's eyes.
Yet he saw something else. He saw tiredness, fear, and even a bit of sorrow. Glimpses of himself. "Wait-" Jay called, but the beast kept slashing it's claws. "Please-I-I don't want to die." The beast stopped. Jay coughed out more blood. He was shocked as it landed on his legs. So much blood. "What I did-what I wanted-it was wrong." His voice was shaky and croaky. "I'm sorry." Tears started to flow out of Jay's eyes. Can it listen? He wondered.
But then, it started to change. It was evolving into a smaller creature, standing on two hind legs. He then saw a young, scrappy boy, who he couldn't help wonder whether it was his own reflection he was seeing.
But then he could see more clearly. The boy was Johaness. Jay got onto his knees. Johaness started to tear up, and Jay put a hand on his shoulder. Although Jay couldn't explain what had just happened, he knew he was seeing Johaness's sweet brown eyes and rugged blond hair. Johaness looked into Jay's eyes, and Jay smiled in relief. Jay couldn't help but forget the pain he felt, and empathize with Johaness.
"You have the compass, right?" Jay asked. Johaness nodded, and opened his palm to reveal the compass. "We can find our own path, now. You and me, Johaness. Now, we can travel it together."
ns 15.158.61.20da2
