Chase woke up the same way he usually did these days: on the back of his canine companion.
His eyes slowly opened, and the colorful, distant tree leaves of the Dark Forest were the first thing he saw that morning.
He yawned, stretching his arms tiredly while petting the fluffy mane of the mismatched-eyed wolf that burned with neon-green flames.
The wolves had the innate ability to shift their flames into different kinds of hellfire, as they had during the fight with "that" thing last winter.
Chase didn't know exactly how long it had been since that night; however, based on the trees starting to change colors, he guessed it had been around five to eight months since the wolves had killed the hollow of the muddy cavern.
He recalled waking up the same way he did this morning—except it was definitely not as peaceful.
The first thing that happened after he had recovered his energy was helping the wolf pack send off their fallen family. It wasn't something he expected to do inside the Dark Forest, but he was glad he could give the hellhounds that had given their lives to save his a proper burial.
However, it was also a harsh reminder of his past home and the people he had grown up with, but he pushed these unnecessary thoughts away.
Everything else felt like a blur to Chase. The fighting and struggling had been relentless, but befriending the wolves made the passing months a little easier.
He mainly trained his elemental energy as the wolves escorted him through the forest, but there were definitely other encounters with dangerous monsters—just none anywhere near as deadly as the hideous hollow.
Chase had also learned that the reason he rarely ran into monsters in his early months was because of the wolves as well. He realized this after seeing just how lethal the six hellhounds were.
They were also highly intelligent and could even understand him when he spoke to them or gave them signals. The wolves were incredibly stealthy, like a swift wave of shadows that could wipe out entire groups of monsters in mere hours.
The agile canines gave Chase something he desperately needed: protection while he slept. Surviving the Dark Forest was such a challenge because it was impossible to survive a night of sleep without someone standing guard.
Not only did the wolves stand guard, but they also let him sleep on their backs while they traveled even during the perilous night.
This gave Chase enough time to heal swiftly from his injuries and get the proper rest to be somewhat useful in a fight.
He was finally able to study his own powers and learn a thing or two from the wolves that had taken him in.
It was still strange, however, because the wolves seemed to acknowledge Chase as some sort of second-in-command; when he gave an order, they listened without hesitation.
He assumed it was because he was human, but over the last few months, he began to doubt that theory.
He let out a sharp whistle to let them know he had woken from his nightly sleep.
The wolves immediately stopped, and the one he was riding lay down to let him get off.
Three of the wolves began to rest, while the other two walked off in their own directions to hunt or replenish their thirst.
The wolf with mismatched eyes, however, just watched the boy with its tail wagging as he went to get water.
The seven of them had continued to follow the stream northeast, which eventually became a large river as they crossed the forest.
Chase climbed off the youngest wolf and walked over to the riverbank, kneeling down by the calmly flowing water.
After dumping what was left in his makeshift canteen, he filled it back up in the river and then palmed the bottom of it.
He called upon his flames and began to heat up his hand as he held the canteen out in front of him.
As the water boiled, he looked down at his reflection in the river water.
His once golden hair had been stained a medium brown from all the mud that had gotten into it.
He had tried to wash it out, but because of all the magic properties in the mud, it was no use.
He didn't mind the change, though; in fact, he welcomed it. The darker hair made him harder to spot when he was hiding from dangerous creatures.
It also didn't look that bad either, which was another welcome change.
Chase looked below his scarred and dirty face. His body had grown, even if only slightly.
He had grown around two to three inches since his descent into the forest and even gained a little weight, making him no longer just skin and bones.
It wasn't much, though—compared to other kids his age, he would still be considered "skinny."
However, it was hard to find proper nourishment inside a cursed forest as big as this one, so he wasn't all that upset about his current state.
He wore a makeshift padded leather long-sleeve shirt and a pair of leather pants in the same style. Teaching himself how to sew had been surprisingly fun, as he'd made countless pairs of black leather clothing in the past months through trial and error.
Using his dagger to hunt and puncture holes in the leather, and a needle he'd found from a long-dead porcupine, learning to sew had actually become quite easy for him.
He was finally happy with the pair he'd been forced to make most recently—after his clothes had been burnt off by his own flames during a fight with a savage camel-like beast.
Why there were monsters that looked like camels in the Dark Forest, Chase had no clue, but it was funny to think about now.
Chase smiled as the pain from his flames wavered, then set his canteen into the side pocket of the same bag he'd had since his third year of grade school.
He stood up quickly and motioned to the wolves that it was time to start walking again, and with that, the group of seven continued on their journey to the City of the Sun.
A somber expression replaced his joyful one as they walked.
'How much longer until I'm out of this damned forest?'