Where a cub once stood, a proud beast now stands. The tiger glances over toward Kanata briefly, a look of respect written in his eyes. It’s been quite a while since they’ve seen each other, but Maharaja does not forget. He will never forget the respect that Kanata has earned in the household of the witch.
Jaejoong agrees though, with a nod, as he hears Kanata speak. Letting Maharaja loose on the traveling coven of intrusive witches is a good idea. If the beast happens to bite an ankle or a butt, well, that can’t be helped, right? The witch looks over toward his oldest friend, not missing the half hidden smile the other wears behind his scarf. For some reason, it makes him feel a fleeting sense of calm.
Well, as calm as anyone can be standing here in the middle of the eerie woods with the fire crackling in the distance. Somewhere off to the right a wolf howls, but the witches bounding around the fire seem to pay it no mind. A loud, abrasive laughter suddenly erupts, followed by an unnerving chant.
“Well, fuck. Guess that’s our cue. It’s going to get really ugly if we let them finish this chant.”
This is all Maharaja needs to hear. He leaps into the woods and takes off running toward the fire at full speed. Massive paws slam against the ground with his running, powerful legs snapping twigs and rustling bushes as he streaks past. A loud growl erupts from his jaws, echoing off the dead branches of the trees.
Only one witch spots him first. It’s already too late.
Kanata would probably pay to know exactly what’s going on inside Maharaja’s head. On the other hand, he gave up on knowing what Jaejoong thinks long before that night. Sometimes he feels like he could almost guess it, but he always allows himself to doubt.
He leans against one of the trees, as his gaze follows Maharaja’s movements through the forest. The air is chilly, but it’s probably something more than cold that makes Kanata’s hairs stand up on his arms, and a shiver tingle uncomfortably at the back of his neck. He almost doesn’t need the Witch’s words to be sure that whatever is going on around that fire can’t be good. Or even just slightly bad. It has to be terrible, something Kanata doesn’t want to witness. And he is genuinely scared, even if he tries his best not to show it.
All of a sudden he would like for Maharaja to hurry, to scare (or, yes, even kill) those people fast, because whatever horror they are trying to bring back, or create from nothing, is going to cause much more destruction and pain than Kanata can probably imagine. And he knows that.
“They are going to run away...” Kanata says, in a soft breath, and he really, really hopes that, as he hears Maharaja’s growl, and he knows that sound should be scary too, but right now it almost makes him sigh in relief.
The tiger is huge, and the light of the fire makes the shadow he is casting even bigger. Kanata notices that first witch, the one who spotted Maharaja before everyone else could react, or move, and for a moment he pities him. But it’s a feeling that doesn’t linger. This isn’t the moment for the boy to feel sorrow for someone else’s misfortunes.
“They are going to run away”, he says, again, and his voice shakes slightly.
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