The Creator's Past | AnotherWorld: Original

Chapter 4 - The Meeting

"Wait!" He rasped under his breath.

But confusion lured into the mind, as the impact was not delivered, only a small gust of wind breeze through. Henceforth, the eagle was flapping his wings, oscillating before him. Holding a letter at its beak, it waited for Mocha to take it.

Mocha took time to position himself nicely, his white skin flushed red due to the embarrassment.

"Uhm... For me?" He asked, communicating with the eagle with a raised eyebrow. Allegedly if it would understand.

"What is this? Who sent this...?" He took the letter, pinching with his index and thumb fingers, not ever wanting to make any physical contact with the bird of prey. He jerked a step backward after seizing the envelope in his hand. The eagle only stared at him endlessly, fluttering its dark brown wings.

"Hmm.." His eyes stared at the beige envelope while flipping it back and forth, hesitating to open its contents. He speculated why such an eagle, sent a such letter in a such forest. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the envelope, it had little smudges of ink smeared everywhere.

Impatiently, the eagle screeched. Urging Mocha to open it up as it would not want to wait for his sweet time.

"Geez alright! I'll open it!" He raised his voice, yelling at the big raptor. Thus the eagle left, whipping and fled away rudely. Mocha could tell.

"Can't even wait for seconds." He mumbled annoyingly. Then, he opened the envelope, revealing the letter inside. His small fingers unfolded the paper, curious to see what had been written. Was it a clue? An instruction to lead him somewhere?

His eyes carefully examined the words, the message was written in bad handwriting. It looked like scribbles of nonsense. He had to squint his eyes and read every single letter slowly to decipher it.

"It's so sloppy... Who on earth would have such messy handwriting..." Mocha mocked the writer's awful penmanship, it looked like they didn't spend much patience and time to write at all.

Soon, he managed to comprehend it. The message wrote;

'Walk in a straight line, do not turn back, get to the mansion immediately or you'll be rotten outside there.'

'From, F'

"Straight line?" He lowered the letter and his vision sharpened, allowing him to see the cobblestone path that lay in wait.

"What the..?" His pupil dragged along the endless path. Mocha swore there were only trees and bushes everywhere, no clear path to be seen. As if it was silently constructed while he was occupied with the letter.

Eventually, he got it.

He knew it must be one of her doings. She must've built the cobblestone path within seconds with her witchcraft.

"It's her, definitely." The werecat snorted. His face lit up with a sense of understanding as he finally grasped the concept.

He sighed and folded the envelope back the way it was, gently putting it in the front pocket of his sling bag. He strolled along the path until he found the mansion that had been mentioned. His tail swayed from curiosity and concern, wondering what might happen next.

This was all a bit tiring for him, and a lot to consume too. First, he was chased away by the guards at a village who accused him of stealing. Next, he almost got killed by a 6-foot-tall woman with her magic chains. And now he was walking to meet her, wondering what she would do to him and as if he had the choice to escape.

As time passed by he finally reached the mansion. There was nothing left to be seen as difficulties, except the only problem was, the mansion's location itself.

"This is ridiculous! on top of a mountain?! Really?!" Mocha complained, his high-pitched voice was loud enough to be echoed through the realm. His neck craned to his back as he trailed his eyes to the high mountain, witnessing a huge mansion built exactly on top. And the only way to get above was the giant, countless stairs layered in front of him.

It was draining for Mocha, to walk about half an hour straight. And now, he had to climb. The mansion's stairs were grand and imposing, towering over the landscape and stretching upward towards the sky. Constructed from hewn stone blocks, each step was carefully carved with intricate patterns and decorations. Mocha admired the work of art but he still felt annoyed by who made it.

He sighed as he saw no other alternatives to get to the eerie mansion. "This better be worth it, at least..." He murmured.

He proceeded to ascend the stairs slowly and cautiously, ensuring a firm grasp on the gilded railing.

***

The eagle finally arrived home and landed gracefully on Felicia's arm as she spread them out for the flying raptor. Felicia was standing on the balcony, facing her open room. She enjoyed the wind brushing against her maroon hair while waiting for her eagle to return. She laid her back on the cold, hard cement, letting the chilly air wash over her face.

"Have you delivered it to him?" Asked the immortal.

The eagle squawked as an answer.

"Good." Felicia smirked. "Let him make his way."

The eagle squawked again.

"What? He's not immortal. It's not like he can do anything to harm us, dear." Felicia traced the bird's mane with two of her fingers, communicating spiritually with the raptor.

"And I'm dying to have something to be entertained with."

***

"Finally!" He let out a sigh of relief as soon as his foot reached the top of the long stairs, the climb finally complete. His hair was a mess and slightly drenched from his sweating.

"I have never climbed that many stairs in my life, damn it!" He whined. The man slowly controlled his rapid breathing, he hunched over slightly, lowering his center of gravity by grabbing his thigh as he struggled to stay upright.

Eventually, he felt better. He was now focused on the big, wooden, carved-gold double door that stood luxuriously in front of him, looming its shiny price. The mansion was tremendous yet apprehensive, built with durable concrete and masonry. With a modern, stylish touch, painted in jet black with white here and red there. Elegantly structured on a huge mountain and circled by tall pine trees that give off a mysterious vibe. It felt like an extravagant, haunted mansion.

"She must've been wealthy..."

Out of the blue, the door cracked open. Mocha flinched at the sudden movement. There behind the door stood the creator toweringly, with her eagle on her broad shoulder.

"You..."