I'm sorry to say that this is an extremely, extremely short chapter. I had initially planned on it being much longer, but, as I wrote it, it ended up as such. While writing, I decided that this part would have more of an effect as a standalone chapter, rather than were it to be seemingly placed as a mere footnote to a chapter, which it would have been like previously.

That said, the next post will not continue with Sevrath, and will instead be Katrine for a post before once again returning to him.

As I feel bad for not writing for such a long time, then posting something so small - little more than a teaser - I will try to get myself to sit down and write the next Katrine chapter, though no promises as usual, since I have a hard time with getting myself to sit down and write. Most of my writing so far has been done in the spur of the moment, halting once I falter on a portion, only to randomly resume once more who knows how long after.

If anything, at least it will be spring break soon, so I can't claim to have no time to write.

That said, here's the small chapter. (Don't kill me! .)

“Hello, What’s your name?” The girl asked him sweetly, clutching her skirt with fisted hands and swaying back and forth on her feet.

The boy looked up, seeming to just notice the nearby girl. A sudden mixture of anger and fear appeared on his face at the sight of her, but it was quickly replaced by a look of confusion.

“You aren’t scared of me?” The boy questioned the girl in an incredulous tone of voice.

The girl let out a harrumph at his question before angrily eyeing him, hands on her hips. “Why would I be scared of you! I’m gonna be a Luminescent when I grow up!” She spoke confidently, puffing out her chest.

The boy, however, was not one to be bested. Upon hearing her claim, he quickly scrambled to his feet and stuttered back. “M- Me too! I’m gonna be one when I grow up too!” The boy counterclaimed, with far less confidence, though just as much enthusiasm as the girl. “S-See look! Look how fast I can climb this tree!” The boy challenged, ready to prove his worth.

He quickly scrambled up the tree, and looked down triumphantly. “See?”

“Whoa.” The girl breathed out in astonishment, seemingly unaware of the fact that it had absolutely nothing to do with him potentially becoming a Luminescent when he grows up.

Only after he shimmied back down did the girl remember her manners.

“I’m Katrine, What’s your name?” She said with an ill-practiced curtsy.

“Sevrath.”

The girl beamed up at him before turning on her heel and charging in the forest. The boy could only look in confusion at her abrupt disappearance.

“Are you coming Sev?” He heard her question without turning her back, continuing her charge forward.

The boy smiled back happily, a first of many to come.

Weeks later they lay on the hillside where they first met, staring at the moon as it sent down pulses of evanescent light. The past few weeks had been the best the pair had ever had, as they quickly opened up to each other and became closer than siblings.

“Will you be here tomorrow?” The boy asked nervously, anxious over her answer.

“Of course I will!” The girl quickly exclaimed. “I-I mean, you’re my only friend.” She finished bashfully, averting her gaze.

Hearing this, the boy innocently grabbed her hand. “No.” The boy denied, causing her to glance back at him, a hurt expression on her face. “We’re more than that. We’re like the family we never got to have.” He finished resolutely.

A small trail of tears could be seen rolling down the pair’s eyes as they both thought of the mothers they never got to meet, of the love they never received, and the hate they had received in its place.

A new, faint light began to grow, though this one seemed to originate from the boy himself. The pair failed to notice as it enshrouded them both before dissipating, too lost in their own thoughts.

The sunlight streamed through the leaves of the trees above, beaming down on the earth. The birds chirped happily, hopping to and fro on their perches, paying little mind to the macabre scene below.

Below, entrails littered the forest floor, painting a bloody mural, a frozen scene of the mindless death and destruction left in the wake of time.

That is, until it was frozen no more.

It started with the mere twitch of a finger, the first signs of someone awakening. Soon a soft groan followed in its wake, quiet but startling, as it had originated from what seemed to be corpses.

This alone was enough to caution the approaching carrion-feeders that their carrion might not be as dead as they thought. While they had numbers, they had never been much for courage, and, due to their small size, often only found it when in large numbers against a dying or weakened foe.

Though most of the scavengers faltered, there were a few among the crowd which were brave enough to inspect the source of the noise. Sidling up on hesitant, cautious feet, they slowly approached. Though the prey before them was covered in dried blood and looked to be nothing more than a corpse, they did not lower their guard.

It was not until they heard a soft whimper, similar to that of a wounded animal, that one of the group found its courage and crept up the final few yards to the prey.

Even as the creature approached the source of the noise, the forest once again fell silent as the groaning paused abruptly. The sudden lack of sound caused the creature to seemingly gather its courage as it nudged at the body, which seemed to have finally drawn its last breath.

That is, until the dead boy’s eyes snapped open.

His eyes were clouded, a mixture of confusion, tiredness, and relief that, in most circumstances, would have hardly seemed threatening even to the weakest of creatures, especially as he faded back into unconsciousness soon after. However, those around him did not seem to have the same view, as they all simultaneously staggered backwards in reaction. It was as if they saw something beyond their small abilities of comprehension as they all began to retreat, sensing that they boy was someone they would not, no, could not, allow themselves to attack.

Despite this, their bodies displayed none of the symptoms of fear. Instead, an entirely different, instinctive emotion seemed to have swept through the group like a gale before they fled from sight entirely.

The sunlight streamed through the leaves of the trees above, beaming down on the earth. The birds chirped happily, hopping to and fro on their perches, paying little mind to the macabre scene below.

Below, entrails littered the forest floor, painting a bloody mural. However, that mural was not one of death and decay.

For within lay a boy, wreathed in dried blood, clutching a similarly dyed wolf pup in his arms in a protective manner, as if shielding it from all but his warm, compassionate embrace.

As a side note, is it proper to post the Katrine chapters as a supposed interlude, or should I just name them as their own chapters unto themselves?

Initially, I posted it under the guise of an interlude as I had planned for her to not be reintroduced to Sevrath for quite a while. However, that is not to say that things integral to the story do not occur to her during this time. Along with this, her chapters are still about the same word count as Sevrath's. (This chapter notwithstanding)

Anyway, was just wondering if it would be considered as a misrepresentation of her importance.