Lucius looked up at the setting sun, the day was almost over and he didn't have much sunlight left. He made the decision to find a place to camp for the night, rather than attempting to travel back to the farmhouse through the darkness. Setting off toward the west, he held his breath for a moment as he stepped over the invisible boundary between the church clearing and the forest, relaxing his stiff chest with a long exhale when his body passed though without issue.
"Phew..."
He glanced back at the now-destroyed clearing one last time before turning and making his way into the forest. The air was beginning to chill with the setting of the sun, and the sound of the leaves crunching under his feet seemed to be louder than ever due to the growing hush of the forest around him. He had a general idea where the closest farmhouse was to his location, so he moved west until he found the dirt road that would lead him to his destination. He followed the road until he came to a mailbox that marked the location of a long driveway, nearly invisible between the thick expanse of forest on each side. He walked down the winding driveway until he reached a clearing that contained a well built log cabin in the center. A long row of well cut firewood was stacked nicely in the front yard, Lucius grabbed a few of the best-looking pieces and added them to his storage ring before continuing to the front door of the cabin.
By now the sun was completely hidden behind the distant horizon, and the last lingering rays of light were quickly draining from the sky above him. He tried turning the doorknob first, and when he found that it was locked he simply continued to strengthen his grip until the cheap locking mechanism failed with a loud crack. He pushed the door open and watched the door handle fall to the ground with a clank before rolling across the floor and bumping against the wall.
"Oops."
He chuckled as he looked into the dark cabin with a wry smile on his face. He had some practice picking locks, but to do so would be a slow, tedious, and frustrating process, it was much more satisfying to put his superhuman strength on display. Sense Danger had not sent him any warnings as he approached the door, so it was probably safe, but he decided to carefully check each room inside just to be certain. Lucius strolled past the broken door and walked directly toward the wood stove, he had seen the chimney from outside so he had a general idea of where it was. As he walked through the dark cabin his eyes lingered on the photos covering the walls. A man in a red flannel shirt and jeans chopping wood, a small red haired girl blowing out birthday candles surrounded by friends and family, a family portrait of the man and the girl together with a short, brown-haired woman who looked a lot like the child, almost certainly mother and daughter.
"Where are you all... Are you still alive, somewhere?"
He let out a sigh before moving his gaze away from the photos as he reached the wood stove, there was a pile of starter logs stacked up beside it so he grabbed one, placing it inside the stove along with a few logs from his ring. With a bit of effort the fire soon took hold, and the room was embraced by a warm flickering light. Once he had a steady flame he pulled a candle out of his storage ring and lit it on the fire before standing up, he used the light from the small candle to explore the remainder of the house. As he walked into the kitchen he noticed signs of habitation that appeared to have occurred after the end of normal civilization. A dozen or so empty food cans lined the countertop, each containing its own dirty plastic spoon sticking up like little flags of despair, letting every observer know just how desperate the people who lived here had been. The cans looked old, containing a light layer of dust that told Lucius they had been sitting untouched for at least a week, maybe more. He casually rummaged through the cabinets for anything worth taking, but it was slim pickings, all that warranted keeping were a few unopened bottles of spices. Any food that had been here was long gone.
He did a quick search through the bedrooms, expecting to find nothing, and not being surprised when he was right. He walked back to the warmth of the woodstove and pulled a can of soup from his storage ring, popping open the top and placing the metal can directly on top of the iron stove. As he waited for his food to cook Lucius took off his backpack, gently removing the clothes that held the sleeping body of the small mystical creature, gently placing it beside the stove and letting the warmth spread over it. The fire felt good in the chilly night air, some of the logs he had used must have been from a pine tree, because the strong but pleasant smell of burning pine soon overwhelmed the musky wet smell of the cabin. As he watched the fire flutter and burn, with the occasional pop from the damp wood, he saw bubbles start to float up to the top of his soup. Giving it a quick stir with his spoon before scooping up a chunk of potato and carefully touching it to the tip of his tongue to check the temperature.
"Good enough."
Lucius cracked open one of his new containers of spice, a vividly red cayenne pepper, and added a few dashes to his food. Spicier was always better in his opinion, though that might have been a consequence of being forced to survive off low quality food most of his life. When your food was cheap ultra-processed garbage, it was preferable to just numb your tongue with the pleasant sting of capsaicin rather than taste it. When Lucius was about halfway through his meal he noticed movement from the pile of clothes in front of him. The little bat stretched out its winged arms as it arched its back with a deep yawn, before sitting up and rubbing its eyes for a moment. When the tiny creature was satisfied that it had properly rubbed the sleep out of it's large eyes, it lowered it's hands and turned to look up at Lucius.
"Father... I'm hungry."
The same childlike voice he had heard in his mind the first time the creature spoke, appeared once again. Lucius raised an eyebrow as he stared back, before scooping a chunk of meat out of his soup and holding it out in front of him, motioning towards it with his head. The little bat looked at the meat with a wrinkled nose, shaking its head as it crossed its wings in front of its chest defiantly.
"Don't want."
Lucius shrugged as he stuffed the chunk of meat into his mouth. "Well, I've got some beans and a couple apples... Oh pickles too."
"No, no, no." The bat closed it's eyes as it shook it head from side to side in sync with each word it spoke.
Lucius raised his eyebrows as his head tilted down toward the creature, looking at it for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Well you are out of luck, that's all the food I've got."
The little bat stared back at him for a moment before turning it's head to glance around the cabin slowly. It raised its nose into the air and sniffed deeply a few times before it's eyes shot open wide as it stared off into the darkness, towards one of the other rooms.
"I want the human child, the one under that bed."