18 Still Here

'Ehh... you're still here? It's been a week...'

"Hm? My shoulder feels better now, I might leave soon. Probably tomorrow."

'Tomorrow? I guess that's perfect then, I'm busy today so tomorrow would be great.'

"You always say that you're busy, but you're just a voice. What are you doing?"

'Some work related issues pop up every now and then, so I have to leave to take care of them.'

"Work? Isn't your work supposed to be supervising me? If you aren't watching over me, then what if something happens and you're not here to help"

'... many 'things' will definitely happen, and I won't be there for some of them. But don't worry too much about it, I will be here to support you most of the time.'

"If you say so. I won't get into anything risky if I know you aren't here."

'Thank you.'

Kuoka sat still whilst staring at the sky. "Shizuku? She's gone again... guess it's time for me to do something too." The valley was still bright with sunlight.

Kuoka slowly picked up his bag and pouches then walked down the hill, one step at a time. He firmly held onto his bag whilst quickly walking towards the pond in the forest. He teeth chattered when water touched his hand.

"I-it's alright Kuoka... it's just some water, nothing to be afraid of..."

'Haaaah...'

He shrieked when he heard breathing from behind him. Suddenly the area around him went dark and he slowly creaked around. 'Haaah...'

...

"AHH!" He yelled when he turned around and saw a wolf, with it's shining gold eyes staring at him in hunger. "H-huh?" The forest slowly lit up again, the clouds were just passing by. What Kuoka had thought to be breathing, was just the wind breezing past him.

"Wh-where's the wolf?" He frantically looked around, but couldn't see a single living creature in sight. "Ah!" He realised his hand was fully submerged under the freezing cold water. "My canteen!" He quickly picked up his canteen from the water.

"At least it's full now..." He sighed and dried it against his clothes. "What am I doing?! I can't get myself wet or else it'll be even colder! Ugh." He tried to dry his wrist against a tree, "Ah! What is it now... what?" A drop of water dripped onto his head.

He slowly turned up and a whole bucket of water dropped onto his head, 'It's raining!' He yelled in his head, his face turned to horror when he saw a yellow pair of eyes in front of him when he looked down to pick up his canteen.

He swiftly picked up his canteen, but didn't put it into his bag, and the water from the rain had already fully enveloped his body so the canteen was slippery. He struggled to hold onto the canteen with one hand as he started running out from the forest. Then he dropped it.

'I can't lose it!' He quickly ran back to his canteen, but some water had already started flowing out. He picked up the canteen viciously and turned in the direction that led to the quickest way out of the forest. A yellow pair of eyes was already blocking his path.

The sky was still sunny, and it had started raining unexpectedly. "I have no choice!!!" He yelled loudly as he charged at the wolf that stuck out from the tree. Kuoka bumped into the wolf, and it nearly bit him when he ran past it.

The floor had already gotten slightly muddy; he slipped as he was running back up the hill, but managed to catch himself on one arm; injuring that arm in the process. 'Ack!' He struggled up the hill slowly, as the floor started to become slippery.

Once he reached the top of the tree. He saw a strange string that hung from a leaf. He didn't take the time to put down his bag, and immediately hid behind the tree to look at the forest. The wolves were gone. As if they were never there in the first place.

He heard a strange sound from above him and he looked up...

"A-" A wolf was already above him. "AAAAAAAA" He yelled and scrambled to get away from the wolf whilst on his knees. "I just said that I wouldn't do anything risky, what's wrong with me?!?!" He yelled in terror when the wolf disappeared into the tree again. "That hair! It must be the sign that a wolf is nearby!"

He violently started slapping himself, as rain was pouring down like arrows. "What am I doing, thinking about all this when I'm stuck out in the rain, now that the wolves are on the hill?!"

'AAAAA' He yelled in his mind; he grabbed his head and started violently shaking it. "I KNOW! I'll just wait for Regalia to come back! WAIT NO THAT'S WRONG. I NEED TO TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW. BUT WHAT DO I DO?!?! Damn it that other voice was so much better than Shizuku! Wait that's also wrong! Regalia is meant to be the good one! IS SHE?!"

He panicked while shaking his head, but that didn't stop the rain. Or the wolves.

They started spreading to the grass. 'ISN'T THIS THING SUPPOSED TO BE STUCK TO TREES?!' He quickly stood up, using his arms to support his legs on the slippery floor. He kicked water in every direction as he ran away from the wolves that were nearly faster than him.

He soon reached a cliff that led to a large fall. "I HAVE NO CHOICE!!" He yelled as he jumped off the cliff, right when the wolves were about to grab hold of him.

'Hey, are you still her- what?!'