As Kituo latched his hands onto the lantern, time seemed to pass slower than a turtle walking across an empty field. He was sure that it would be the end of him. There was no way the wolf was going to leave him unharmed. He winced as he felt what he thought was the beast's hot breath scorching against the back of his neck. Summoning an ounce of determination, he grabbed a hold of the lantern and yanked it close to his chest as if it were a baby and he were its parent. For a brief, almost celebratory moment, the green light which the lantern emitted falsely delved Kituo into sanctuary. He reflected on the earlier rat attack and how the light of the lantern seemed to ward the pest away. Kituo was hoping that it would do the same for him now.

To Kituo's surprise, he hadn't been torn to shreds yet. He took his chance to inspect the lantern and become formally acquainted with his life line. He was more fascinated with the light it gave off rather than the object itself. The forest around him was dark and menacing. To Kituo the lantern was the closest thing to the sun he had seen since his arrival. However, unlike the sun which was essentiailly a giant ball of flames, the lantern was not ignited. Instead it was lit by a different means. Encased within its glass was something oval shaped. After taking note of the additional details, Kituo realized that it was an egg. This baffled him. Since when did eggs glow? Then again, since when did people wake up in the middle of random forests? He snapped himself back into focus. Now that he had the lantern he could be on his way. He looked towards the tall guy. 

[i]Finders keepers.[/i]

He would only be a liability anyway. Whatever he was going through, he would have to go through it alone. At that point Kituo's ultimate concern was none other than his own survival. Did he feel bad for what he was about to do next? Did he feel dispicable for this decision? Yes but still it made no difference. It was in Kituo's nature to perform such acts. He wasn't the knight who rescued people in need. He was the peasant who ran for cover when his town got raided. He secured the lantern only for himself and no one else. The most he was willing to do was wish the tall guy good luck in his own endeavors. Now he had to be on his way.

[i]What was that?[/i]

Kituo's dark brown eyes zipped from side to side. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like there was something looming around. Oh wait - there was still a big black wolf towering above him! He had gotten so involved with the lantern and his own plotting that he forgot about the immediate threat. He had to find a way to separate himself from the wolf. While he had a feeling that it wasn't as much of a threat as he perceived it to be - after all it had yet to butcher him - Kituo knew his luck was about to run out. His physical condition wasn't up to par with his ear still leaking blood and his sanity was far from intact. The way he saw it there was no good a wolf could do him given his circumstances. He took a step back and was thrust into another change.

The wolf was docile. It simply sat in the grass with its eyes locked onto Kituo. If its behavior was supposed to make him feel more at ease, it didn't. The beast's yellow eyes pierced through Kituo like the sharpest of arrows. Its gaze must have contained venom for Kituo felt his joints lock at eye contact. Kituo dragged his sight down to the lantern and pulled it back to the wolf. The lantern wasn't having any affect whatsoever. For all Kituo could register, the wolf was bathing in its radiance just as much as he was. The fear nestled back into Kituo. The lantern was able to ward away weaker troubles but apparently it was ineffective to the might of bigger foes. 

[i]I have to get out of here![/i]

He may have been over thinking but what else could he could do? He had learned from his encounter with the rat that animals were in no way predictable. They could not be read like fortunes. The wolf may not have been indicating that it wanted to devour Kituo but he had no trust towards any creature. The wolf's mere presence was enough to beckon suspicion. It was probably scheming to chase Kituo down when he turned his back as if he were a typical deer. Perhaps he could try running backwards so he could keep his attention on it. Such a preposterous idea was bound to fail but at least he wouldn't die blind to his assailant. 

[i]SNAP![/i]

Kituo's eyes pulsated as he felt the metal beneath him crumble and wither. He stood ontop of a void before plummeting. Physically he was going anywhere but mentally he falling further into despair. The darkness fogged his vision as if were a dust storm. His only connection to the world above besides the lantern, which he held onto tighter than ever, was the ominous draw of the wolf's howl. Kituo assumed that it was either mocking his calamity or expressing regret at saving its dinner for later. As Kituo continued to fall the wolf's voice dissipated. He was now trapped in the darkness without any formidable aid. Not even the lantern's green glow was capable of breaking the obscurity. Kituo was dead. Finally.

Okay, so he was wrong like before. 

He vaguely make out shapes as he fell but he could not form any specifics. The speed at which he descended made observing next to impossible. What he did see was nothing more than speculations that would not latter matter for they quickly fell out of his reach. His heart ripped as he whisked by the edge of a protruding stone. Well, at least he still had a bit of luck remaining. That was the only factor he could give credit to for his survival. The hope that was given by the lantern and its vibrancy was merely a placebo effect - a fallacy that stemmed only from Kituo's deepest desire. It was only a light. What could it really do against the world's true horrors. He had seen monstrosities illuminated as much as they were shadowed. All the light did was make the macabre easier to see. 

Swoosh! Swish!

The light made the truth clearer to Kituo - that his ordeal was not yet over. Leaves brushed against him, their blades swiping his skin as he emerged from the abyss and into another portion of the unknown. 

[i]H-huh?[/i]

The glimpse of butterflies shocked Kituo more than the giant wolf and the vicious rat. They were so gentle that their essence was almost unrealistic. Alas, like all else that inspired him, they did not stick around long for him to cherish. The speed of Kituo's shifted from that of a meteor soaring through the atmosphere to that of a floating feather. The darkness still encompassed him but it no longer was so remote. Although it might have been a delusion he conjured just to help himself adjust, Kituo felt as though he accommodated to the darkness. Now that he slowed down, he could at least rest his heart before it popped. He accepted that his fate was out of his hands for now. He spread out his arms and legs and embraced the fall. 

[i]Pop![/i]

Kituo felt a smidgen of liquid splash his skin. This awoke him from his swift respite to a veil of bubbles cloaking him. Kituo pulled the lantern up towards his chin as the silhouettes of a familiar shape brought themselves to him. People. Two to be exact. As if it had a magnetic pull, the lantern drug the two into Kituo's orbit. Like he they also had bubbles shielding them. This brought questions into Kituo's mind. Were these people also in the forest above? Were there others where they came from? Just where were they going and would they go there together? Kituo looked at the newcomers and initially wanted to withdraw. He was reminded of the tall guy who was formerly in his company. If Kituo was here then what became of him? Would Kituo be to blame for his fate if it ended up bad? He didn't want to know.

[i]Guuusssh! Whooom![/i]

As they continued to hover, Kituo scanned what lay below. He was blessed with an ending to his nauseating trip. The sound of the waterfall and the breeze graced what remained of his ears. His body temperature cooled, his chest flattened, and his breath steadied. The grass massaged his feet as he reunited with the land. Never before had he felt so grateful for the ability to walk. Coating the trees was a shine that dwarfed that of the lantern's, small insects being the candles that brightened the view. 

Shortly after regaining his composure, Kituo took to the adjacent creek. It was exactly what he needed. He was wounded so perhaps a bit of water would remedy some of the pain and bleeding. He splashed his face to clean off the blood, allowing some of the water to enter his mouth to quench his nagging thirst. He indulged himself with the creek until he obtained his fill of water. Standing up, he returned to his own dealings. While the scenery was different from before, he still found it to be weird. What intrigued him the most was the faces of animals embedded within the bark of the trees. They were white and static to Kituo. They weren't real but artificial which did not make them alarming.

But there was something else that was.

"W-who are you?" Kituo asked. 

It was too soon. Way too soon. He had only just recollected himself when he saw the horned specter. And it definitely saw them too.