1500 words exactly. i had to cut out a good portion of the story qwq the original is here if you'd like to read itJish didn't know where he was. It was all black. He had been running- that much he knew. Towards the armory, yes, where he could hide from the others. But a hole had torn in front of him out of thin air, and he tumbled through. Now he was here. But where was here? Jish peered through the inky darkness, but couldn't make anything out. A white paw with pink pads appeared from out of the darkness. Jish gasped, flinching back from the open palm. A strange noise, almost like a chuckle, emitted from where the paw was coming from. "Don't be afraid, little one. I'm here to help you. Come with me." The paw beckoned Jish, who hesitantly took it, allowing it to drag him out of the darkness.
Light stabbed at his eyes, and Jish lifted his forepaws to shade them. His stomach curdled; Jish felt like he was about to throw up.
Once he grew used to the brightness, Jish realized he was in a forest. A castle sat in the distance, but something was wrong. No birds chirped, no bugs buzzed. The only noise was the wind and his and the other kalon's breathing. Jishkoya gasped as he saw the kalon who had saved him.
His rescuer grinned, almost shark-like. "Hello and welcome! It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He held out his paw, and Jish shook it quickly. "I'm sorry for the unpleasant way I had to use to get you here, but I assure you, it's for a good cause. What is your name? I can't continue to refer to you as 'little one' forever."
"J-J-Jishkoy-ya...." Jish managed to stutter out. He began to wring his paws in worry. "But what can I call you, s-sir?"
The white male gave a laugh, deep and hearty. He took a breath to regain his composure. "You can call me Ghost, kid."
"Gh-ghost??" Jish gulped. This kalon was becoming more frightening by the second. He wanted his siblings. He wanted his parents. He wanted his corner in the back of the blacksmith's shop. The small kalon began to sniffle, and he knew moisture was pricking at his eyes. "I w-want to go hooommmeee!" He wailed, hiding his face from the other male by covering it with all four of his paws.
Ghost blinked, his face softening. "Hey, uh, kid- Jishkoya... I'm sorry. I don't mean to scare you. You don't understand. I need you. It's important. Just... trust me. You are safe here. I won't hurt you." He lifted his paws as if to console the small child, then decided against it. "Uh, here," he pulled a tea biscuit out of his tuxedo pocket, accompanied by a fancy handkerchief, then handed them to Jish. Ghost crouched down so that he was eye-level with Jish, speaking softly. "I know it's not much, but I hope that will help." He turned away, muttering to himself. However, Ghost hadn't counted on Jish's remarkable hearing "This was a mistake. I should send him back and pretend this never happened..." Ghost looked...almost distressed.
Jish knew what that felt like, thinking something you did was a bad idea, wanting to undo it. Feeling like a failure. He sniffled, wiping his nose with the handkerchief and taking a bite of the biscuit. "D-don't worry..." he whispered.
Ghost lifted his head. "Thank you for understanding. Would you like to come inside while we wait? It may be a while..." He gestured towards the castle, which Jish assumed must be Ghost's home. Jish was about to nod, but a voice called out from the woods.
"Richard, what are you doing with that child!?" A blue and black striped female sped towards them, stopping before she neared too close.
Ghost looked surprised to see her, but he regained his composure quickly. "Adelaide, m'dear," he bowed slightly. "It's great to see you again!" A large smile spread on his face, one quite different from what he had shown Jish earlier. Jish suspected that there was a reasoning for that, but couldn't put his paw on what it could be.
The blue kalon's face hardened into a frown. "Send him back. He has no place in this timeline."
Ghost looked shocked, almost injured in a way. "Not even a hello..?" He straightened up to his full height, looking down at Jish, then back to Adelaide. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm afraid I can't." He lifted his wrist, tapping a broken watch. "Used all the battery to bring him in. Of course, you could always give him a lift," a wink went along with the last line.
A growl began to edge into her voice. "Listen, Rich, just...just stop. You're hurting the timeline. One day, it might be irreparable." She exhaled, quiet despair creeping into her words. "Please."
Ghost's voice saddened. "How else would I ever see you? The only thing that ever gets your attention these days is if the
timestream is broken. You don't care about me, or the world, or... or
us."
"Richard... 'us' never happened anymore. And no one is to blame for that but you."
Jish flattened his many ears. He had no idea what was happening, but he knew he didn't like it. He could feel that he was about to cry again. Crying never solved anything. It only made it worse. But he couldn't hold it back, and fat droplets began to slide down his cheeks.
Adelaide noticed. She padded towards Jish, making soft, consoling noises. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay... look, I'll get you home, don't worry. Is that what you'd like?" Jish drew away, whimpering. He didn't know what he wanted anymore. He missed his family, yes, but they didn't accept him. His friends...? He had no friends. His home? It wasn't anything special. He didn't want that home, but he wanted a home. A place where he would be loved and accepted. His home was not that place. He could already tell, this forest and castle would not be that place. This blue kalon, Adelaide, seemed like she wanted to help. She wasn't scared by his mutations-- she didn't think he was gross, or weird, unlike everyone back home. She would take him for who he was.
Jish allowed Adelaide to wrap him in an embrace, and he closed his eyes. He was quite a young kalon, old enough to play on his own, but always needing to be back with his parents before dark. All the stress was tiring him out. Adelaide sighed, turning towards Ghost. "Look at him. He's scared, exhausted, and utterly alone here. What did you think you could gain by this?"
Ghost sighed. "I got to see you. Wasn't that obvious?"
"Richard, I'm sorry. I'm not as heartless as you think." Adelaide stood up, holding Jish in her arms. "I'm going now. And I'm going to send him back home."
Ghost nodded slowly. "Alright. Do take care, Adelaide. You know where to find me if you ever..."
"I won't."
The blue striped kalon walked into the forest, Ghost soon disappearing from view. Jish sighed, nestling his head into the female's shoulder. He didn't know why he trusted her so much. He barely knew her. Yet... he felt that it was right to stay with the strange orange-haired female. "Adelaide? Who was that?"
It was a simple, innocent question, yet Adelaide winced. Jish froze, worried he had done something wrong. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
Adelaide shook her head, signalling that it was fine, and took a breath. "Someone I thought I loved."
After a while, Adelaide came to a stop. Jish looked around. Nothing seemed any different about this area than the rest of the forest. Adelaide placed him on the ground. "Alright, kid. I'm sorry you had to go through this. What year and city do you live in?" Jish was confused. Now that he had time to think on the walk there, questions swirled in his head. He only knew one thing.
"I d-don't want to go back."
Adelaide tilted her head. "Why not? You're family, friends... everyone you know, everyone who loves you is back there. You want to leave that behind?"
"Why did you leave Ghost behind then?"
Adelaide hadn't been expecting that. She spoke slowly. "It's... complicated."
"W-well... it's complicamatated for me, too..." He lowered his ears.
Adelaide chuckled softly. "I understand. Do you want to go back and say goodbye?"
Jish shook his head no. "They'll try to make me stay...I-I'll miss them, but...I don't belong there."
"Well, whaddya say we complicated kals stick together?" She held out her paw for a fist-bump.
Jish stared at it for a moment, then pressed all four paws to her single one. "Boom," he whispered softly, giggling to himself.
Adelaide stood up, rubbing his head into a mess. "If you wanna stay with me, you've got a lot to learn."
"I want to learn," Jish smiled, finally feeling like he fit in. He had to admit, it wasn't a terrible feeling.
