They'd been walking for hours by now. The sun was rising but they'd been up nearly all night. Mitch's had stopped walking not too long ago, and was now riding on Jerome's back. The bacca's paws dragged the ground, him getting slower with every step.
Mitch pat Jerome's back. "C'mon bud, let's rest for a bit..."
Jerome nodded slightly in agreement and Mitch hopped off him. The two walked over to a nearby tree where Jerome nearly collapsed to the ground. Mitch sat by him with a sigh, his hand gently running through the others fur.
They were silent for a while before Mitch spoke again.
"If this was an act to get us alone you can cut it out now."
The bacca looked at him confused.
"You can stop now! You've had your fun!"
No answer.
"Dammit Jerome why can't you just talk to me! What happened to you?!" Mitch's voice rose as tears welled up in his eyes.
Jerome lowered his ears and looked away.
"Why does this have to happen to us! First I almost die, then whatever... this is happens to you! I just wanna go home.... I-I j-just-" Mitch broke down, tears streaming down his cheeks. He looked down at his lap to find Jerome's head resting there. He sobbed even more, burying his face into the bacca's fur.
"I w-want things to go back to the way they u-u-used to be..."
"I may be able to arrange that..." a voice spoke up nearby.
Jerome's fur bristled as Mitch looked up. He nervously scanned the area. "H-hello?"
Kala stepped forward. "Hello again..."
Mitch stiffened. "What? You here to stab me again? Can't you see I'm already hurt in more ways than one?" He had a tight grip on Jerome, keeping him from attacking. Low growls came from the bacca. "I'm not afraid of you anymore, you know!" Mitch tried to sound tough, but it wasn't working too well.
"I'm not here to hurt you... At least... Not right now."
"Then what are you here for? Here to make fun of me? Call me a jerk and tell me I'm overreacting like the others did?" Mitch frowned at even mentioning the others.
"To possibly make a deal with you... You want your friend back, yes?"
He raised an eyebrow. "O-of course I do! Look at him! Are you the one who caused that?"
"No. This realm has strange effects on people..."
"Even if this place does weird stuff that c-can't be true! He promised me he'd never revert to this no matter what!"
"Not everyone has a choice to defy this place."
Mitch only fell silent and looked back at Jerome. His growls had grown quiet, but he still looked ready to attack at any second.
"I could help you, you know."
"You can?" His voice was quiet.
"I could reverse the effects on your friend here... but there might be some consequences..."
"Of course there's a twist... What is it?"
"Do you want your friend back?"
Mitch hesitated.
"Well?"
"Deal."
Kala stepped back and cast a spell on Jerome, swirls of magic flowing around him. "Just keep in mind, I revert him back to how he was and lets just say you'll owe me a favor later down the line..."
Mitch's eyes widened and he watched Jerome cautiously.
Jerome looked at Mitch, seeming scared by the magic around him.
The magic vanished mere moments afterward and Kala simply nodded and stepped back. "My job here is done. Farewell." And vanished before Mitch could say anything.
"W-wait!" Mitch held out an arm toward Kala as he disappeared.
When the magic disappeared Jerome was lying motionless on the ground. Mitch ran over to him and shook him.
"Jerome? Jerome, wake up."
It was a second before the bacca awoke. He sat up and stared at Mitch with wide eyes, his ears were down and he seemed nervous.
Mitch gave a small smile. "Are you okay....? Everything back to normal? T-talk to me... Please!"
Only silence filled the area.
(welp. Things are going downhill very very quickly...)