Don't Go Into The Forest

Chapter 2 – “Don’t Go Into the Forest”

The firelight crackled low as Renji lay in the ruined shrine beneath a sky of cold stars. The wind murmured through broken stone. He closed his eyes.

Sleep came easily. Dreams did not.

A soft voice whispered in the dark.

> “Renji, listen to me, baby. No matter what you hear... don’t go into the forest.”

He remembered it now, the soft rustle of her robes, the warmth of her furred hand brushing his cheek.

He was just a boy then. Ten years old. A little fox with too much curiosity and not enough fear.

> “Okay, mama...” he had said.

But his ears twitched, and his tail flicked with mischief.

The sun rose gentle and golden over their little home on the edge of the forest. His mother went to gather herbs. He waited... for a little while.

Then he ran.

The woods smelled like rain and moss and freedom. Birds chirped. Leaves swayed.

He wandered deeper, his bare feet soft on the dirt, tail swaying behind him.

Then snap.

He paused. A stick broken behind him. A breath not his own.

A figure stepped into view. A man. Dressed in black and gray, carrying something long and metal on his back.

> “Oh hi,” little Renji said, tilting his head. “Are you lost too?”

The man didn’t speak.

Then another appeared. And another.

His ears twitched.

> “Mama said don’t talk to strangers...” he muttered, stepping back.

But it was too late.

One grabbed him. His scream echoed through the trees.

She came for him like lightning.

His mother. Her silver hair wild, her claws drawn, eyes glowing with fury.

> “LET HIM GO!”

She tore through one of them. Another fired something, a net wrapped in magic. She shrieked. They grabbed her from behind.

> “RUN, RENJI!” she shouted.

He tried. They caught his tail. He cried out. He bit, scratched, kicked.

They didn’t care.

They dragged him away. Bound in ropes laced with iron dust. His mother screamed his name until her voice broke.

Renji gasped awake.

His chest heaved. His hands trembled.

Moonlight poured through the cracks in the roof. He touched his face. It was wet.

> "Every night," he whispered.

Every night, that dream came. That memory. The one he couldn’t kill.

He curled tighter under the blanket, tail wrapping around him for warmth he couldn’t feel.

> “If I had just listened...”

He whispered it to the night.

But no one was there to forgive him.

Only the stars.

Only the lie.

End of Chapter 2

> Author Note:

And that's it for Chapter 2 💅

Did you cry? Good. Renji suffers so you don’t have to.

Chapter 3? Oh... I could write it. I might write it.

But you know what motivates me?

Comments. Bookmarks. Support.

So if you like watching hot demon boys with tragic pasts slowly fall apart (and maybe fall in love),

do your part 😌

👉 Support this novel and check out my other chaotic, half-updated masterpieces

👉 I’m 19 and tired, feed me validation

Until next chapter~ 💋

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