Chapter 9

Black continued stomping forward, with only Red's direction to dictate him. He began to feel tired, finding himself getting lost in thoughts about Red and monsters. The helmet smelled like a fresh river as it sat over his head. It was a pleasant smell. 

Black randomly snapped out of the trance and looked up. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a strange object poking from the thicker carrot stems. 

"Is this another monster?" Black stood straight, ready to run if need be. His hands shook as he held them out as fists. 

The object fell from the stems and in front of Black. Attached to the object was a girl, a girl that took in a face full of dirt. 

"Owww!" 

Her voice was light like a child's but it scratched like an old man's. The object on her head was a white feather attached to a headband, which held her short, brown hair to her scalp. 

Her palms reached out as she scrambled to get up. Black felt safer than ever but was more excited to meet another human in the vast abyss. He watched her stand to her feet, almost stumbling back over. 

Her eyes lit up at the sight of Black's button eyes. She had to be a solid half-foot shorter than him, but it didn't stop her from running toward him. 

"I am looking for my Burd!" 

Her hand flung up and pointed to the feather on her head. 

"Have you seen the Burd with this feather?" 

Black had no clue what she was talking about. He scratched at his helmet with no words to add to the interaction. She leaned in toward Black and got close to him. 

"You didn't eat my Burd did you?" 

Her cheeks inflated like she was about to pout. 

Black felt his face start to burn up from the embarrassing interaction. 

"Lady, I don't know what a Burd is!" 

Black had so many other questions to ask. But she had already begun stomping away. Black ran up and grabbed her by the back of the arm. 

"Wait where did you come fro-" 

Black watched as the world turned upside down. His back crumbled to the ground as he saw the girl standing above him. She reached down and yanked the helmet from his head. 

Her face went red as she stared at Black's facial details. Black returned with the same reaction. She turned away and dropped the helmet at his side. 

"I'm sure you didn't touch my Burd. I'm sorry I said you ate him, I guess." 

Her pouty attitude almost caused Black to laugh. It felt a lot like when White was still a young child. When he would pout over the small problems an older kid like himself wouldn't see to be worth the emotion. 

The girl walked off as Black took his helmet and set it back over his face. He wiped the dirt from his chest and back and found the direction he needed to continue his travels. 

"What is a Burd?" He thought about the white feather. He would turn back every once and a while and see if any other people were wandering the lands, but the next person he saw was Blue standing outside the hut. 

Blue ran up to Black. His arms were wide open for an embrace. Black kept his arms to his side as Blue smothered the bag tight against his back. Blue stepped back, keeping his hands on Black's shoulders. 

"How was it? Did you get to the shrine?" 

Black turned his gaze away to the hut door. There stood Skip. He stared out at Black with a widened gaze. 

"Did he send me to die?" 

Black took a step back from Blue. Blue was visibly confused by the rejecting posture. 

"Did Skip really know I was going to die if I left?" 

Black stared at Skip as he slowly hopped toward him. Blue took a step back as Skip got close to Black. He uninvitingly reached his small paws around Black's waist and pulled him down to eye level. 

Skip whispered into his ear. 

Skip hopped back to the house as Black sat frozen on one knee. Blue looked back to Black. 

"What was that?" 

Black didn't move. He didn't respond. 

"Black?"