41 Stuck Part 2

We had finally found a place to rest in this hell hole of a soul scape. We had managed to fumble our way to a cave that had been covered by vines. I had checked inside it to look for any signs of the previous inhabitance but luckily there were none.

It was a cave large enough for Kibbles and myself. We had made sure to cover our tracks as best we could. ( Not that Kibbles or I knew what we were doing) and finally took a well-earned break.

We had created a small fire using sticks and twigs after an hour or so of trying. We then created a makeshift clothes horse to dry our clothing.

I was in the middle of inspecting my wounds when I looked over to see Kibbles doing the unthinkable.

" Kibbles, do not lick your wounds they will get infected!" I said sternly.

" Infected?!" Kibbles said confused mid-lick of his arm.

I looked over to see kibbles who was wearing nothing but underpants attempting to lick his own body like a cat, I was equal parts confused and terrified.

" If you want your limbs to go green and fall off your welcome to keep doing that! " I said before looking away.

" I always lick myself! " Kibbles said in a huff.

" As a cat is is fine, but being mostly human at the moment …." is all I could muster in response.

" How do I get clean then?!" Kibbles responded confused.

" You bathe" I replied.

" Oh, when you get in that wooden box? We don't have one though!" Kibbles said as he shifted closer to the fire.

He warmed his hands while his tail curled around his knees.

" We will have to wait until our clothes are dry then look for some food and a way to carry some water to boil" I replied to his questions.

" Meowster…" Kibbles said as he stared at the fire.

I nodded trying my best to stop the frustration building up.

" Are you angry at me? " Kibbles said as his ears drooped.

His stomach began to rumble and his face became a warm shade. Kibbles hid his head in his knees like a child in trouble.

[ Uhhh why do I always feel like the bad guy! ]

I sighed before walking over and wrapping an arm around Kibbles. The warmth of his skin was heating my arm up.

If someone were to look at us both covered in cuts and bruises curled up by a fire back on earth, I wonder if the police would have been called for child neglect.

The thought in my head made me laugh dejectedly.

" I'm not angry at you Kibbles.." I said firmly before being cut off by Kibbles.

His voice sounded muffled as he spoke through his knees.

" But I didn't help you fight and I couldn't run properly so you had to carry me and you even said that the lizard you found was better! Are you going to replace me when we get out of the soul scape!? " Kibbles said as he looked up from his knees.

Kibbles then looked at the Lizard that was perched on the nearby rock and glared at him before putting his head back in his knees.

[ Uh…]

I had to think quickly and come up with an answer that was satisfactory. Upon reflection, I realised I had been a bit hard on Kibbles. It was not like he had been practising fighting like I had or walked in his semi-human form.

" Kibbles, I am not upset at you. I am upset at the situation." I said in my most adult tone.

Kibbles looked up at me from his knees. I wrapped both my arms around him and rested my head on his shoulder.

" You see I didn't even get told what a soul scape is that you keep mentioning. All the Ent said was that I had to find an avatar that matches my magic. Yet, we have already seen plenty of spirit beasts. How can I tell which one is mine? " I said thinking out loud.

" Furthermore I am hungry, injured and very tired. So I am frustrated. Sorry for being hard on you" I finished on.

Kibble's tail at some point, while I was talking, had wrapped around me. I began to pet it absently mindedly soothing the ill-bred feelings in my chest.

Kibbles soft fur had always cheered me up. He may look a little different but he had always been the little Scottish fold cat that I had received from Cupid.

" So if I tell you what a soul scape is will that be helpful? " Kibbles mumbled after a few minutes.

" mm very useful!" I responded still resting on his shoulders.

" Really?!" Kibbles said excitedly prompting me out of my absent-minded petting.

He shifted away from me as I sat up. He then looked at me directly. He wiped the tears away from his eyes before grinning.

" Meowster Cupid left me lots of useful information before I had a soul! If it helps Meowster Yuki I will be useful again! " Kibbles said smiling.

" You have always been useful" I rebutted.

"Meowster!!" Kibbles said as he smiled brightly rushed over and hugged me.

He rubbed his face against mine until I thought my cheek was going to fall off. His hair was rubbing against most nose giving me a pleasant whiff of an earthy scent. But, the tingling feeling it left made me want to sneeze.

" Please get off me you are not a cat right now," I said promptly

" Oh right…" Kibbles backed away a bit and looked at himself before nodding.

Kibbles cleared his throat and looked at me before saying " A soul scape is a place that reflects everything that makes you a person. It is a creation of your own mind and soul. That is why it's named a soul scape. In some other universes, people can come here to train and even grow plants! "

Kibbles looked down at the ground as if trying to remember something.

" This place is probably a forest because of what happened in Tama forest. Most likely also due to your magic element" Kibbles mumbled to himself.

[ So this place is of my own design? How much do I want to torture myself?! ]

" As for the many spiritual beasts. They are physical manifestations of your emotions. Emotions like fear, anger, hope and joy," Kibbles mumbled.

" Can I control this place since my soul made it?" I said loudly in thought.

Kibbles shook his head.

" Can you control your heartbeat? Maybe a little but you can't stop it from beating, this place has been made by you subconsciously." Kibbles said with a sigh.

" Why do I need to eat here? And why do I get injured?" I said in response, I had more questions than answers and it was frustrating. I held my stomach to keep the hunger pangs at bay.

" When you eat here your outside body will be able to get nutrients from the earth energy in the air. Since you are asleep where ever your body is, you will have to manually absorb the earth energy. Instead of with breathing exercises like you normally do." Kibbles responded.

I looked at kibbles trying to figure out what he was telling me. He looked over to a nearby grass patch and shook his head.

" As for your injuries, your mind needs to make sense of this place, so it applies injuries like what would happen in real life. We need to make sure you don't get too injured or you may not ever wake up. Your brain may never function again" Kibbles said with a sad tone.

[ Didn't the Ent say that it would be fine if I died?! ]

" What do you mean? Won't wake up? " I stood up and said.

" Meowster.. We seem to be trapped here for some reason." Kibbles said after a moment.

" But the big tree spirit beast said I would just fail if I died and it would all be fine" I said staring at Kibbles in shock.

" Can't you feel it meowster? There is no outside connection here. So I don't think whoever the person you just spoke about could actually pull you out as they said they could." Kibbles looked at the dirt.

" The only thing that seems to be different is that lizard that keeps following you around. It seems trapped here too though." Kibbles said as it looked at the tiny dragon spirit beast.

" Does that mean that if I die here I will never wake up?" I said gasping.

" Mm we may both be trapped here until our bodies die, " Kibbles said flatly.

" What about Cupid or Rinura? Can't they get us out?" I replied still shocked.

" Normally I can feel Cupid since he made me especially for you... But I can't right now. We are on our own." Kibbles responded.

" What if I complete the mission and tame my magic avatar as the ent said?" I said after some thought.

" It could very well work! " Kibbles said finally smiling.

" But how do I know what is my magic avatar? " I replied.

" Hmm I don't know meowster but when you see it I am sure you will know!" Kibbles nodded to himself and spoke.

I sat back down and thought about what we could do now. Although I felt helpless looking over at the worried Kibbles made me feel like I had to be the strong one.

" Kibbles... We will need to find some food" I said loudly.

" mmm" Said kibbles holding his stomach.

" We will also need to teach you how to fight as a human," I said after another moment.

" Mm" Kibbles replied nodding.

" We will need to make some weapons," I said again.

" Mm" Kibbles responded.

" Are we going to be okay?" Questioned Kibbles.

" We have to be." I said as I clenched my fist.