“I am so, so glad to see you,” Addie whispered, her voice filled with joy and relief.
Tears rolled down her cheek, but for the first time in seemingly forever, they were tears of happiness. Hope filled her, along with something else. The bond formed with this mini, furless, black panther-lizard creature flooded Addie’s veins with power. She felt like she could climb into a thousand attics without growing tired. It was a feeling reminiscent of when she had picked up that strange bauble in Christena’s room, but notched up a thousand fold.
Something else tickled the edge of her mind, too, almost drowned out by the conventional power flowing through her. Though she couldn't see beyond the room's entrance, Addie had an uncanny sense that someone was standing in the hall. Regardless, Addie was quickly distracted by the veins of power coursing throughout her body. It expanded in tight coils of potential energy as her soul intertwined with her bonded companion. The knowledge of using this power became instinctual at the moment of the bond.
“With your first bond, you will experience a rush of power like you’ve never known. Use those moments wisely, Addie. The first few seconds of power will burst throughout your being. Hold on to that feeling and act quickly, because you won’t be able to accomplish those same feats until later, when you and your bonded naturally grow stronger together. We call these first few moments of power Bond Ignition.” Mr. Lomain’s words echoed in Addie’s memory, unbidden.
Ropes of soul-power invigorated her, almost enough to forget the terror of the last few hours, but the urgency to leave still pounded on Addie’s skull. With a moment of silent communication, she reached out her hand to her newly bonded, who responded eagerly, pressing its head against Addie's palm. Together, the two of them tugged, and suddenly, Addie plunged into an eternal darkness.
No pop resounded, no hole was left in their wake, one moment Addie saw her room around her, and the next was total darkness. Addie only realized the teleport ended when she saw the moon and stars above her. It took only a moment more for Addie to realize she was falling. She hit the ground in a heap, scraping her knees a bit, but mostly just tangling her long hair up in the dirt. A gurgling sound came from her bonded, and she realized that silly creature was laughing at her!
“Don’t give me a look like that or I’ll name you something silly, like Squishy.” Addie threatened. The moment of amusement passed quickly though, as both Addie and her bonded knew they had only a few fleeting moments to use the dregs of soul-power churned up through their Bond Ignition. They needed to be wise about using this power, and Addie intended to use it to escape. Again, the two of them pulled on the power, together, merging both of their beings to create a force greater than either had individually. These moments of power intoxicated Addie—they filled her with a profound excitement that came from the authority granted by her newfound powers.
With each successive leap into Realmspace, the cords of power between them continued to pulse and writhe, like a living creature worming between the two of them. The energy seemed infinite, despite merely being the ignition of their soul entanglement. Addie had a bond! Her excitement bled over into her partner, and again the two of them leaped into Realmspace.
When the pair reappeared in reality, the forest around Addie looked completely unfamiliar, though the early morning darkness wasn’t helping. Finally out of her impromptu prison, Addie had a moment to examine her new partner. His black furless form lent grace to his panther-like musculature. Despite being thin, the creature was clearly strong for his size. Corded muscle encompassed most of his form, lending credence to his presumable lethality. His four legs led down to huge paws, much larger than a regular cat’s paws. He spanned about 80 centimeters across, bigger than a cat but still quite a bit smaller than Addie. The triangular ears on his head led down to a pointed snout, with slits for nostrils instead of a traditional feline nose—his overall face somewhat lizard-like, with some spikes. What struck Addie the most, though, were his piercing blue eyes, in direct contrast to his otherwise entirely black body. Within those blue eyes, Addie saw a thousand night skies, with literal stars twinkling, never to reappear in exactly the same spot.
Through their bond, Addie heard the creature speak, “Isn’t this enough? Surely we’re plenty far from the manor by now.” Addie felt more than heard her new friend’s meaning— he didn’t communicate in words alone.
The power that once flowed between them in powerful torrents had begun to wane into a trickle. For a moment, Addie agreed with her partner’s idea, but then, Addie remembered the panic from her previous few hours. The world around Addie went dark at the edges of her vision, and she put her hand over her chest. She slowly sat down in the dirt in an attempt to slow down her breathing.
Absentmindedly, Addie realized she was hyperventilating. ‘We need to move.’ she thought.
Though previous warps involved a partnership between Addie and her bonded, this time Addie desperately and forcefully tugged on her companion's soul. Again. The pair entered Realmspace, and promptly exited. Addie saw the night sky above her and wished to avoid reality for just a bit longer, anything to continue her escape from Christena. Again. This time, upon reappearing, she felt her bonded’s exhaustion as her own, headache, scrapes, and bruises overwhelming, though Addie felt a sort of detachment from these sensations. Again. Addie’s panther-friend could hardly breathe, the final drops of power exhausted. Again. Addie felt a crack tear through her soul as the latest leap into Realmspace consumed their bond itself as fuel. Aga— Stop! Addie looked over to the source of this denial, her bond locked by the other side of her partnership. Addie observed tears on her cheeks, but only passively, detached.
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“Stop, little one. Do not tear us apart so soon,” The panther thing gracefully leaped onto Addie’s lap, and stared directly into Addie’s eyes, just as they had when they first united. “I am here, and our power is great, but we have exhausted it.” With that, Addie relaxed her grip on their bond, hurt, but not destroyed.
Addie missed her dad. The raw, overwhelming feeling engulfed her, overshadowing any recent frustrations the two might have shared. In this moment, lost in the depths of the forest, all Addie longed for was to see her father's face and know that he was safe. She'd gladly embrace any past annoyances if it meant having the comfort of his presence beside her now.
Addie used the back of her hands to rub the tears off her cheeks. She had spent most of the night crying, and now her eyes felt uncomfortably puffy and sticky. Dirt covered her body, and the scrapes on her legs still bled, reminding Addie of her recent tumbles. All of this was overshadowed by a deeply unsettling ache itching up throughout her soul, making this moment truly miserable.
Addie remembered how hard it was to fall asleep last night. In the past, if she had trouble going to sleep, she would just think about how her dad was right down the hall. His presence within the manor comforted her and allowed her to drift into a peaceful sleep. Now, Christena said he was gone. Addie couldn’t even begin to fully comprehend what that would be like.
Today seemed so fleeting. So impermanent. Addie had an irrational urge to call out for her dad, to ask for his help and have everything return to normal in an instant. A second part of Addie’s mind intrusively reminded her that such a thing was now impossible. It felt worse than the time she dreamt Dorple had mauled her and chased her around the house. At least, back then, Addie just had to wake up.
“Hesitation is defeat,” echoed her new bonded through their connection. For a moment, Addie was taken aback that her companion could speak in complete sentences. She had always been told that bonded couldn’t truly speak, only give vague impressions and feelings to their human counterparts.
“Parables? Really?” Addie asked incredulously. “What does that even mean?”
“Do not dwell so much on the past. Focus on this moment.” Squishy advised.
“Well, what do you want from me? We’re lost in the middle of the forest, at night mind you, my soul aches in a way I didn’t even know was possible, you are covered in scratches and bruises, my dad is being eaten in some kind of horrible ritual, and did I mention that I have no idea where we are?
“We appear to be in the forest.” Squishy deadpanned.
“Yes, I know that!” Addie snapped, flustered. “You are a silly cat!"
“I’m not a cat,” Squishy retorted with dignity.
“You are a silly cat, and so I’m naming you Squishy.”
“A name befitting a warrior.” Addie couldn’t tell if Squishy was being sarcastic or serious.
“A silly name for a silly cat. You are silly and snuggly, so now your name is Squishy.”
“My foes will tremble at my paws when I announce myself,” Squishy replied.
“Do you even realize what you are saying?” Addie asked, incredulously.
“Of course, I know. I learned Borian through my bond with you, after all. Your language is my language. Squishy is a fitting name. I will carve it into the annals of history.” Somehow, someway, Squishy seemed pleased with his new name. “It is the name given to me by my master, after all.” Through the bond, Addie felt numerous sensations cross over to her: Squishy felt puffed up, regal, as though a name had been bestowed befitting an honorable warrior. But also she felt his smugness, as if he could singlehandedly transform the meaning of ‘squishy’ to something fearsome.
Then, Squishy focused back on Addie’s earlier statement, “Being in the forest seems perfectly reasonable to me. I never once worried about being ‘lost’ before. I would hunt, then I would sleep. Being lost is a decidedly foreign, human concept, to me.”
“I’m glad you like your name,” Addie replied sheepishly. “But of course, it’s possible to be lost! Being lost is when you look around and realize you don’t know how to get home.” Addie hoped this important concept was getting through to Squishy.
“I see. I never had a home before.” Squishy trailed off for a moment, then continued, “But I do know what it means to be overwhelmed by your own mind.” At this admission, Addie looked back and focused on her companion’s speech, “If you lose track of your goals now and wallow in what could be, your father stands no chance. To hesitate about decisions here in the forest is to lose, whether mentally or physically. Christena has previously triumphed in the battle of mind. It is now up to us to overcome the mental hurdle and win utterly on the physical front.”
At his words, Addie was reminded of a small hope. Christena had said last night that her dad was still being used as ‘fuel’ for the ritual. Addie clung to the idea that he could still be saved with all her heart. She did not want to live in a world where just the simple act of hearing her father’s voice became impossible.
“You’re right! We need to get back quickly. We need to save Dad!”
Addie acted on impulse, tugging on the bond once more. She strained against her weathered soul, and with a great tear rippling through Addie, reality popped out of existence, only for Realmspace to immediately spit her back out with a whoosh of force, only a mere few steps away from her last position.
Addie collapsed into the loam, unable to move. A great pain racked through her body, but that was nothing compared to the damage she felt inside. Her soul seemed like a fragile piece of paper, torn halfway down, teetering on the edge of oneness, barely held together by its untorn lower half. Why did I do that? That was so stupid.
To her left, Squishy fared no better, completely sprawled out in the dirt. “And I’m the silly one, clearly.” Squishy huffed out. Addie’s whole body hurt too much to bother with a response.
With growing dread, Addie realized her dad would just have to stay alive long enough for her to make it through the forest intact— survival becoming her focus. Though the outskirts of the village were regularly swept through for danger by Dorple and Rob, Addie had no idea just how far away from the village she was. To add to that, night was always filled with more dangers in the wilderness than daytime. It had been several hours since Christena locked Addie in her own room, so with any luck the sun would be rising soon, but another obstacle presented itself. Addie had yet to sleep.
“Rest, young one. I have good senses. I’ll wake you if there’s any danger. You may as well sleep where you lie. I doubt you’ll be able to move anytime soon, anyways.” Though Addie didn’t like it, Squishy was right. She was more worried that even if danger did come to them, they would both be too exhausted to escape.
Addie closed her eyes, and though he wasn’t her dad, being so close to Squishy did give Addie some sense of security. Enough to close her eyes at least. Serenaded by the sounds of owls and crickets, Addie drifted off.