The Creator's Past | AnotherWorld: Original

Chapter 10 - Past Times

"What happened?" Mocha asked, his brown ears stood tall.

As Sarah took a deep breath and stretched her limbs to answer the curious cat, she found herself piqued by Mocha's cat-like eyes, her heterochromia pupils met the hazel ones. She took a moment to observe Mocha's features, scanning from his cat's ears to his wagging tail, he was quite short for a man, almost the same height as her.

And then her eyes caught at the shine of a pin that once belonged to Felicia, tucked between his worn-out cape.

"Did Felicia give you that?" She asked, pointing to the pin at his chest.

"Oh, this?" Mocha's attention shifted towards his chest. "Yeah, she did. She says it was for protection, it's a tracking device!" He chirped, caressing his index finger to the stiff yet smooth material of gold.

"Oh, I understand..." The mage's words trailed off as her gaze drifted down to her belt, where she spotted a pin with her initial and designs akin to the one Mocha wore. Crafted with care by Felicia, it symbolized her trust and their friendship. "I had one too."

"Oh, it has your initials! Must be a friendship pin, am I correct?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Friendship, is it?"

Sarah took a brief moment to reflect—could Felicia's act of giving a meaningful friendship pin to a stranger somehow make him less of a stranger? Why did she feel compelled to give hers instead of creating a new one, with the letter 'M'? Specifically?

Her eyebrow raised, amused by her own thoughts. A small smile curled upon her pinkish lips, as she questioned.

"Are you her boyfriend?"

Mocha felt hot at her remarks, a blush crept up on his face as he jotted up and looked at Sarah. He bit his lips to control his shyness. Shocked by the inquiry, the werecat shook his head rapidly.

"W-what?? No! I'm-, I'm not! I'm just her friend!" He explained. His small hands waved side to side, denying.

"Ooo, Really? How did you meet?" She asked, leaning closer. She wore a smug grin to her face as tilted her head and kept her chin up. She knew Felicia wouldn't be the type to get along with a guy unless they had a special connection. Either a good friend or a lover. Judging by the pin that was tacked at his cape, that was sure something more than a platonic relationship.

"We accidentally met in.. a forest, and uhm... we get along pretty nice." He explained, saying things that needed to be on the surface. He merely doesn't want to tell Sarah about the details.

"Sounds cliche,... and suspicious." Sarah crossed her arms in amusement.

"I'm...not sure how to respond to that...." He mumbled. His fingers went up to scratch his neck whilst his ears were flattened against his head.

Sarah smiled softly, as she felt the warmth of trust around him.

"You must be crazy to tame a beast like her." She giggled.

Mocha smiled wryly, his hands were fidgeting because of the nervousness that he could not hold.

"Why though?"

"It's something... Happened in the past."

"Can I...know what happened between you two? If you're comfortable..." Mocha asked, impatiently, throwing on his face a forced smile.

"Sure, But it's best we walk to the forest searching for Felicia while I tell you about it, I don't want her to burn the whole forest while she's unconditionally alone like that," Sarah assured as she turned her head to the depths of the woods, wondering what crisis the creator was on.

Mocha's eyes widened, and his eyebrow rose, acknowledging what Sarah meant.

"Right."

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Meanwhile, in the hearts of the forest, the creator had encountered an unexpected being. While she was lost in her turmoil of distress, a man had struck a spell on her arm. Leading to this very moment of battle.

The creator drew her arm forward and recoiled back as she ordered her chains to retreat. She fixated her stance, her mind filled with whispers from her dark heart, wanting to take over.

Scorched remnants of magic and flames had already been strewn across the earth and woods, evidence of Felicia's fight with the unknown man.

"And here I thought you were dead."  His voice finally spoke, sending waves of familiarity to Felicia's mind.

Frustrated by the dim lighting of the night and her poor eyesight, Felicia swiftly summoned swirling flames, circling them both to illuminate the area, revealing the ambusher's looks.

The green sparks from his hand reminded her of a sorcerer's colorful magic. His sleek jet-black hair was neatly combed, accentuated by two striking strands of white. He had a slender build, and his slightly buttoned black overcoat revealed his physique with subtle elegance.

Contrasted with her green striped tie, the shiny pin once again, reflected from the fire had confirmed his identity to Felicia. It was gold carved with a 'D' initial, a chain connected to another pin with the shape of a small amaryllis flower.

"D..Dan.? Is that-" She tried to call.

Yet before she managed to finish her sentence, the man punched forcefully to Felicia's face. She was thrown aback as she twisted in pain, sending her blast in the distance.

Nevertheless, she forced herself to stand up immediately; a simple blow would never knock her down.

Felicia spat out the collected blood that flowed in her mouth, wiping it off with her arm. She stared at the tall figure that was slowly approaching her. Felicia felt a sudden rush of wicked excitement from the punch. The burning sensation had triggered her dark desires, adrenaline surged through her veins as her spirit in battles awakened.

After 500 years.

She felt the weight of the long cloak hindering her movements, prompting her to shrug it off. With a snap of her fingers, the cloak illuminated in a fiery red before dissolving into thin air.

With a devilish smirk and menacing mind, she teased,

"That's just one polite way to greet an old friend, don't you think?"