I Was Walking Along, Minding My Business

As they walk, Enki notices that the roar of the river sounds dulled and far away. A frown tugs at his lips as he skirts another, grinning skeleton while the pretty lady talks. Her question has his pale blue gaze turning up her as he nods thoughtfully before saying, “Maybe it means rebirth? I haven’t seen it but mommy says that, after it gets cold, everything will spring back to life. Could it be that is trying to showing us something… more?” Questions tug at his mind as he turns his attention back to the path, allowing them to roll through.

She questions if he has seen the statues yet and Enki’s ears fall to his head as he shyly hunches his shoulders. Chancing a glace to the lady he gives his head a shake in the negative before saying, “Uh, no. Not in person. But I’ve heard ‘bout them!” That has to count for something… right? Enki shares his name and he is given hers; Kitsune. A dreamy sigh rolls past his lips as the pink boy blinks at her with yearning in his young eyes. The pretty fire-kissed wolf is the pup’s first crush and he almost forgets about the nature around them.

That is, until the smell of a rotting corpse hits Enki square in the nose and pulls his gaze to the base of nearby bush. Letting out a startled yelp, the pup backpaddles away from the flayed carcass, squeezing his eyes shut in a vain attempt to keep the image away. A voice whispers in his ear, the words indistinct but the meaning coming through loud and clear; fear. Heart thunders in his chest as he opens his eyes to blink up at Kitsune, the scared boy practically whimpering, “I don’t like this place anymore. Can we leave?”

Small body moves to press against one of her legs as his head swivels to scan the area. The thick fog makes it impossible to see far but Enki swears he sees shapes moving further out. Maybe they are animals fliting around but the pup wouldn’t put it past the strange magic to be making him see things. The autumnal magic does little to fight off the boy’s worry and dread.


"Enki Klein"