Ian:
Going to the North by train was one thing. I was always prepared for that. But stepping into it like this, straight from clean air, felt different. It felt wrong.
"Look around. She must be here," Miss Rue shouted, as if Clementine would be sitting nearby.
I moved deeper into the forest.
"Where are you going? She must be here somewhere," Miss Rue called out.
I ignored her. Of course Clementine was not there.
"Clementine," I called out several times. If she had been nearby, she would have answered. ๐ง๐๐๐๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐๐ท๐๐.๐ค๐ฐ๐
So I went farther in, toward the deeper parts of the dark North.
I could no longer hear Miss Rue. As I walked through the woods, I noticed the faint scent was everywhere. But when mates are not marked, that kind of scent only appears if someone has bled a lot. That terrified me.
I even came across one of the bat people. From the way it had been torn apart, I could tell without a mistake that my Clementine had done it. So maybe she had been spying on them.
"Clementine!" I yelled, not caring if a monster heard me and came to attack.
Even if something tried, I was sure it would catch Clementineโs attention. She would come and save me. I laughed at myself for thinking like that.
I was desperate to find her. It had been two days, and I had not seen or heard from her.
As I walked along the road, I saw something appear in the far distance. It was a tall shape, standing with its long limbs moving around. Its head stretched forward with no features. I studied it for a few seconds before I grunted under my breath.
"That is a hollow man," I muttered, recognizing it from my grandfatherโs drawings.
Now I understood why my grandfather had been so adamant about making sure I remembered each and every monster from his drawings.
"Do you remember how to kill it?" my wolf asked, and I began to nod, not breaking eye contact with the hollow man.
"Yeah," I replied under my breath, shifting my weight, "but it is not easy. And remember, I am here to find Clementine, not fight monsters," I added.
Before I could move closer, I heard a strange disturbance in the distance, almost like screeching and howling. My body went on high alert.
"That has to be her," I told my wolf, then broke into a run.
The noises died out far too fast, and that scared me. I slowed near the theatre doors, forcing myself to breathe evenly.
I remembered this specific theatre from the drawings as well. I stepped back, trying to steady myself. I closed my eyes as those drawings came back to me.
"The Watchers," my wolf muttered, and I nodded faintly.
I remembered those drawings had scared me the most because I was afraid of clowns. People who faked smiles and hid their true faces.


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