"Dad, how do you play the guitar?"
"Well it's not as easy as it looks, Jarrod. It's an instrument that hurts you when you first play it, which is the first challenge. After that, you must learn to read music, after that you practice it and become one with it."
"So you had to do all of that!"
"Yes, I had to but I only did it because I was interested in it! Jarrod."
"Yes."
"To be good at something, you must show interest and pride in it. If you don't, you'll give up in a matter of seconds when you try something new."
I was awakened by the sound of banging on metal as I murmured and grunted.
"Awaken creature!"
"What?" I said, confused before I was being choked by something and dragged out of a bed and onto the ground. I grabbed the thing that was around my neck and noticed that it was flesh with large black stripes going around it, covering some of the flesh. I grunted in the effort to make it release me but it was in vain before it released its grip on its own and retracted back as I gasped for air. I looked to where the tendril-like tentacle was going until it reached a guard on post, retracting into his back.
"What the—Hey! What's going on here!" I said, grabbing the bars of the prison cell that I was in.
I turned to my left to see a humanoid-looking wolf beside me in armor. I backed up quickly in shock as I yelped. "The hell are you!?"
They said nothing as a voice echoed down the prison hall saying, "We should be saying that to you, creature."
"What!?"
The shadow of a wolf appeared as a pattering sound came down the halls. The Demonic Wolf guards stood up in attention as I saw a glimpse of a normal looking wolf, wearing a black robe around it. The fur of this wolf was that of white and gray mixing with each other with orange, piercing eyes. He looked at me as I looked back at him.
"Blue eyes, little to no fur, only white skin, black-short hair. You are an odd one." It spoke.
"How can a wolf talk?" I said.
"Wolf?" He said in a curious tone. "I've never heard of a demon going by that name. Interesting."
"Look, whoever you are…whatever you are. You have the authority to let me out of this cell right? Please let me go!"
He sat in silence as I stood over him. I just now realized how big of a wolf he is. I was 5'9 and his head was at my lower chest…that's when he was sitting down! The guards all of a sudden, pointed their spear's at my neck. The wolf in the robe sprouted out the similar tendril-like tentacles that the guard did and forced the spears down onto the ground. "Please do be kind. He is a guest after all."
Who keeps a guest locked up in a cell in god knows where?!
He looked at me again as he changed his expression from serious to kind. "Please, sit down."
I was baffled but I listened and sat down with him.
"I'm sorry for the rudeness that we are expressing but it is necessary on our part. Considering we have never met a being like you."
"Neither have I." I said.
He chuckled saying, "I'm sure you haven't!" He turned towards one of the guards and said, "Say? Where did we find him?"
"In the middle of the forest, Commander Norlarena found him hiding behind a tree."
"Ah yes. Norlarena did bring you in roughly. I apologize on her behalf."
I had my mouth open the entire time not saying a word for what felt like minutes.
"Um, are you okay?"
I slapped my thighs, accidentally startling the wolf in robes. "Please tell me where I am!!! What even is this place!!! My guess was that I was in hell but when I got here, I just got more and more confused than ever!" I exclaimed.
"Well, you do have the right to be confused. So I'll help you clear your thoughts. Yes, we are in Hell, no mistake about it but where you are at currently. This place is called the Middle Ring."
"Middle ring?"
"Yes, it's the place of balance, where lucious forests thrive while still having the terrifying aspects of the inner ring lingering. As you could already tell since you've been out there for a long time. There are other rings to this place as well."
"There are?!" I said.
"Yes, there is. I thought you would've caught on since I did say we are in the Middle ring." He said, muttering some words under his breath that I couldn't hear that well. "There are two rings, the first one is the Outer ring. A dangerous and cruel place to wander that was once a battlefield, filled to the brim with cladded armor and swords embedded in the ground. With bones laid across the land."
"Could we not speak about that place?"
The wolf perked up, surprised, "Why? Am I scaring you? Or is it that you've been there?"
"Nonsense!" One of the guards said. "I'm sorry to interrupt but that's preposterous. No one, not even someone like him, with the strength of a child, could survive nor enter it."
"Well, I did. Surprisingly."
The guard looked at me with pure disbelief and told me to shut up. I stumble on my words as I said, "I have proof of it as well! Let me-let me—" I went around my waist trying to find my bag with everything I needed, though it was useless because it wasn't even with me. "Where the hell!" I looked around the cell to see if my bag was around until I heard the wolf in robes say, "Is this book what you're looking for?"
I turned my head to see him holding my journal with his tentacles wrapped around it, like it was his hand. "Yes! That's it! Do you have my bag as well!"
"We do and mind I say that I read your entries. Though it was sad to know that you had such hardships, I'm also impressed."
"Well, I did have to go without water for 15 days."
I then heard gasps and cracks of their voices echo as they stood in shock. "You've gone without water for 15 days!" The wolf said.
"Well not for a long time, I did have a pouch of water but it didn't last long."
"Well it still is an impressive feat. I couldn't have gone on long enough to even be where you are now."
I chuckled at his compliment as we sat in silence.
"We have a lot of things in common." The wolf said. Catching my attention.
"We need food and water to survive. We have the same emotions of fear and happiness. Not to be rude but I didn't think that you had the basic intellect to even speak with me, that was until I was coming down to speak with you."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
The wolf chuckled at my remark, "And it seems we have the same type of humor." He turned to one of the guards and said, "Bring some food and water for our guest and I."
He saluted in a strange way and went to get a meal.
"You're really going to treat me to a meal?" I said.
"I said it before that you are a guest, even though this doesn't look like it."
______________________________
The meal had arrived and it was warm. I ate the meal with gratitude but when it came with the cups of water. I had nearly drained a gallon of it. When I finished the last cup, I sighed in delight as I noticed the absolute shock in their eyes.
"You must've been parched!"
"Thank you for the meal." I said.
The wolf in robes smiled and nodded his head as he had his plate ready in front of him. I expected him to use his tentacles to grab the utensils and eat like that but something stunning happened. The wolf in robes started to change his form in front of my eyes, going from a large sized wolf into the same form as the guards were in, a humanoid-looking wolf. He was shockingly big, seeming bigger than the guards standing by. He grabbed the fork and knife with his hands and cut the steak and ate it with a hint of politeness.
The now humanoid demon wolf swallowed his steak and said, "Now, I must know." He took another bite of a cut piece of steak. "What are you?"
"Well—"
"It is a question that everyone has been asking since they laid eyes upon you and I'm growing curious as well." He looked at me with an intimidating stare, changing the atmosphere in an instant.
I wanted to know what he was but I felt like if I asked first, I would be dead on the spot. So I answered hesitantly. "I'm…"
"Mm?" The wolf hummed in anticipation.
"I'm…a human."
"A human." He took another bite. "This is the first time anyone has heard of one. A rare sight indeed." He took another bite. "Where do you come from? I know that you weren't born here in hell. I confirmed it when I read your journal."
"Then you must know the place." I said.
"I want you to elaborate." He said. I felt like I said the wrong thing and I was at strike one.
"It's…a place called earth. It has the same environment as in the middle ring."
He took another bite. "Is this so-called earth, filled with humans like you?"
"Yes, as well as other creatures."
I looked at how much he had in his dish and it was about a quarter left. He cut a piece of it and ate it. "Other creatures? Is it the same as ours?"
"Somewhat like that but, less horrifying to look at."
He put down the fork and knife on the plate and laid it beside him. Seeming satisfied from what I said with his hand on his chin, "This is interesting. Way too interesting."
He looked up and smiled, "I'm starting to like you."
Was that whole introduction just to let my guard down??? "Um…now may I ask?"
"Mm, what is it?" He said with his ears pointing upwards.
"What are you exactly? Like, your species."
He stared at me, chuckled and said, "I have been asking too much from you. It's about time to answer your questions." He stood up from the floor, showing his true height. He was a giant compared to me and the others here. "I am an Akam. Specifically, I am the king of this country."
"Wait. YOU'RE A KING!!!"
"SHOW SOME RESPECT TO THE MAJESTY!!!" The guards shouted towards me.
He placed his hand on the guards and said, "Calm down, no need to be so aggressive but yes. I am a king. The place that you are in is the Kingdom of Solistice."
Baffled at this realization, I noticed that I was being rude and immediately bowed down to him. "I'm sorry for being rude to you, in any kind of way!!!"
He laughed, "It seems like you also have kings on earth. So intriguing. Raise your head up, it's disgraceful to put your head down like that."
I looked up as I saw more of him. He was, of course, taller than anyone in this room. Still having his piercing, orange eyes and the same mixed white and gray fur but he was covering himself with the robe he had on, now around his waist showing what his physique was like. The noticeable change was that he had grown hair, showing gray curly hair on his head, looking more elegant than I had thought hair could be.
A guard's voice could be heard echoing down the hall saying that the king was needed. The king looked at me, "Well, it seems like our time has ended. Though this will not be the last. Expect me tomorrow…say, I haven't gotten your name yet! How rude of me."
"Well, it's Jarrod."
"Well then, Jarrod, I'll see you tomorrow." He said, transforming back into a wolf and started to walk away from my cell.
I laid flat on the hard floor as I smacked both hands onto my face. Thinking that this was going to take some time to get used to.