11 End of Chapter Three || Nightmarish Chauffeur (1/2)
When they reached several meters away, the beast demon turned its upper body towards them. As it focused its gaze on the two, its sunken eyes blinked with small stars that seemed to shine far away. Its mouth gaped open a little, and upon the sight of Essairyn, it tipped its head slightly to the side.
While unquestionably horrifying, the nightstalker had a somewhat dumb way about it that made it oddly endearing to the girl. With that impression, Essairyn halted three meters in front of the beast.
Realizing Essairyn was about to try conversing with the beast demon, Akari squawked under her breath, ”Are you nuts?!”
”We're about to see,” the girl murmured in response, garnering a look of utter disbelief on the fox's face.
”So..” Essairyn shakily began, ”you're a nightstalker.” The nightstalker just stared at her vacuously, and she scratched her head.
”Umm, I heard about what you did back there. Thanks for doing that; although, I'm not really in a position to thank you since I'm not really close with the solh'vunds or anything but.. Uh.. yeah, thank you. That was kind of you,” Essairyn finished with a small smile.
Internally, Essairyn was smacking herself for acting so awkwardly and saying thanks to the beast as if she were looking for a conversation starter with a human person instead. Even though the civility was uncalled for in this untamed world, perhaps she was just too used to being polite.
The nightstalker tipped its head to the other side, still staring. Then it suddenly smiled; its face wrinkled in a decrepit way, and its eyes were still the same unblinking state.
'Okay,' Essairyn thought, 'that's kinda creepy.'
The nightstalker reached out a slow hand to the girl, and she looked at it perplexedly. The hand looked as if it was made of thick roots encased in hardened soil and covered in a thin veneer of transparent ash. She glanced up at the nightstalker who was still smiling.
”Uhh… You want me to step on your hand?”
The nightstalker nodded, but the weight of its moon-shaped horns made its head bobble more than nod.
While Essairyn was hesitant to trust the beast demon so easily, she recalled how it had wordlessly healed the solh'vunds pups. She also remembered the pack leader's words on how it helped balance and maintain the forest. So with a leap of faith, she stepped onto the nightstalker's palm and released her magic circle. Meanwhile, Akari clung to her with a wary face.
As soon as both of her feet landed, the nightstalker slowly bent its elbow and began plodding through the forest with her positioned in the front. She blinked, wondering where the nightstalker was taking her and why.
After a few paces, the nightstalker picked up some speed. With its tremendous height and long strides, the forest flew by in spurts.
As she rode, she noticed red pupils flickering in the undergrowth below. The sight of them made her quiver, and she looked up at the nightstalker. It was facing forward with a dutiful expression that made Essairyn feel somehow relieved.
A minute later, they arrived at the outskirts of the ancient tree.