Fading Memories

Kies stared at his pillow, which wasn't really a pillow. It was just a bunch of dried stalks that were tied together by more dried stalks. It was very spiky and uncomfortable but since Kies didn't feel any physical pain due to him being an Aeos, it didn't really matter to him.

Kies found the pillow, or rather the materials of the pillow interesting because the pillow had been here for who knows how long and has not rotted or fallen apart. Actually, who even lived here before? Kies didn't know what kind of person would choose to live in the middle of a forest. But that question aside, the stalks that were used to make it were very sturdy. He wanted to know where he could find these stalks because he wanted to use them to patch up the holes in his clothes.

'Well, it's time to go outside and do some more exploring,' Kies decided. He left the hut in search of the stalks. Hopefully, he would be able to find some nearby since he desperately needed to fix up his clothes. He could ask the demons for a new set but he was pretty sure that none of them would fit him, since from what he has seen so far, the average demon here was at least a feet taller than him and was a lot bulkier too. If there were any clothes here that fit him, it would probably be that of a female demon, but even they were probably a little too big for him.

Kies went around the vicinity of the hut to try to find if there were any stalks nearby but had no luck. He decided to not do a second round since he could just ask the demons about it later and went back to the hut. When he arrived he saw that there was a person by the door. As Kies got closer he recognized who it was.

"Ammine, what are you doing here?" Kies asked her.

Ammine stood by the hut and waited for Kies to get closer before saying, "My lord has summoned you."

"Why do you call him something different every single time?"

"That's because uh, it's none of your business."

"Okay then... wouldn't it be easier to just say Tornon?"

The second that Kies said the name, Ammine stretched out her claws and pressed them onto Kies' neck. "How dare you call the king by his name, do you not have any respect!?"

"Err- he told me to call him that."

"I see..." Ammine slowly retracted her claw and shook her head. "I wish his highness would pay more attention to his image."

"It seems like you respect him a whole lot. Is there a reason why you hold him in such high regard?"

Ammine looked away from Kies and said in a soft voice, "Well... there's no particular reason." She then cleared her throat and then looked back at Kies. "Anyway, let's go."

It might've been Kies' imagination but he was pretty sure that he saw Ammine's face turn a little red when she said that. 'Wasn't there a word used to describe that?'

Kies tried to recall what it was but was interrupted by Ammine. "What are you staring at space for? Let's go already!" Ammine grabbed Kies's arm and opened her wings.

"Wait!" Kies pulled back his hand before Ammine could lift him away again before he had the chance to say something.

"What?" Ammine said impatiently.

"Are there any dried stalks here?"

"Stalks? What do you need them for?"

Kies pointed to his shirt and pants which had tears and holes all over the place.

"You can do that later. Come on, let's go."

Ammine tried grabbing Kies's arm again but before she could, Kies jumped back and Ammine gave an annoyed face in response.

"Don't you think I should fix myself up before presenting myself to your king?" Kies asked.

Ammine paused for a moment and then brought her hand up to her mouth and said, "Oh, I suppose so- wait, wouldn't it be better if you just wore some of our clothes then?"

"I don't think they'll fit."

Ammine tilted her head at different angles and looked at Kies. "Hm, I never noticed how small you are until just now. You should've switched bodies when you were still in the ruins."

"Well, it's kind of late now." Plus, she did drag him away before he even got the chance to.

"Alright whatever, just stay here since it'll be faster for me to fly around and gather them than you walking around and picking them up." Ammine flapped her wings and sent out a big gust of wind that blinded Kies a little. When he opened his eyes a second later, he saw that Ammine was gone. There was nothing to do but wait now.

"Do you want to switch bodies?" suddenly came a voice from Kies's wrist.

"Who!?" Kies nearly jumped out of his pants in surprise. After releasing who it was, Kies let out a deep breath and asked Arc, "Why do you appear at such random times?"

"I was here the entire time, I was just on standby since it did not seem like there was anything that you needed my help with."

"Oh, you were?"

"Back to the question, do you want to switch bodies?"

"Sure?" Kies said in an uncertain tone. Arc didn't explain how changing bodies worked to Kies yet. Kies didn't get the chance to ask about it or try it out since Ammine had dragged him in a rush.

"It seems like it will have to wait. That demon is coming back." Arc switched off just as Ammine dropped out of the sky in front of Kies, blowing dirt everywhere as she landed.

"That was quick," Kies noted.

"And I hope you are just as quick. Here, take it. I also got a needle and some cloth while I was at it so you don't have to bother finding and gathering stalks." Ammine shoved the leaves and a small box at Kies and pushed him into the hut. "Be quick about," Ammine reminded him as she closed the small wooden door behind him as he went in.

"Thank you."

"Why are you wasting time talking!? Fix your clothes already!"

"Aright, alright. Sheesh..." Kies walks to the bed and sits down on it and then starts to take off his clothes. He started off with his shirt and when he took it off, he noticed something strange dangling at his chest. He picked it up and brought it to his face to get a closer look. 'Huh, isn't this-'

'Ack!' Kies' suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head and quickly placed his other hand on where it felt like the pain was coming from. It subsided after a second and Kies opened his eyes again. 'What was that?' Kies looked back down at his hand and examined the object more closely.

'Since when did I have this?'

---

Grammar errors, story errors, other errors, and advice, email flightless05@gmail.com

Thanks!