“Wait, So are you going to help me?” Athan said, sitting by a table.

He was content since he just had a meal, thinking it was the most delicious dish ever- but he also lived off of stale bread and hadn’t eaten in days so he might’ve been biased.

“Well yes. I have an idea, how old are you and your brother by the way?” Ashe asked while looking through a ragged leather notebook

“Oh, I think I should be around 17, maybe 16? He’s 5 years old though.” He looked at his brother with a smile. The little boy hasn’t woken up yet but Athan was happy to see him sleep comfortably and rest.

“I have good news and bad news.” The witch said while he looked through a scroll.

“Start with the good one?” Athan replied, a bit worried.

“Well, I can help your brother find a better life, and you have what I need to make it happen” 

 

Upon hearing this, Athan jumped up from the chair. Ashe previously thought that the boy’s eyes were gray like his own. Now, looking at his wide-eyed smile, he could see that they were blue and as clear as the sky.

“The bad news...” He continued, choosing no to let Athan’s happiness linger for too long.

“Is that you will likely never see him again, and the price you have to pay is your own soul.” He said bluntly and directly. 

It sounded cold, although the tone of his voice wasn’t much different from usual. It was probably just because of what he said, Athan thought to himself.

“I accept.” Athan kept his reply short and direct as well. Of course he didn’t want to die, but up at that point he’s had no reason to live, or anything to look forward to. His only motivation was to look after his brother, so this deal was something he had the resolve for. Ashe was a bit taken aback by how little thought Athan gave to the matter, but in the end he decided that’s just what kind of person he was.

“Very well then... If you’re curious, your brother, Vulen, will be adopted into a noble family. I know someone who can manipulate them into thinking he's their own. Although I’d prefer not to ask him for help.” Ashe sighed as he wrote in black ink on a piece of paper.

“And he’s going to be a noble?” Athan was ecstatic, this deal sounded way better than he imagined.

“Don’t forget that you’ll die though. Needless to say I’d prefer for you not to, but the rules of this world are strict- and the person I'm asking for help will take you as payment” The witch quickly reminded Athan, making sure he had no second thoughts about the deal. 

The boy who was about to sell himself for the good of his family stood firm. He wanted to do this, and it was better than them dying from hunger, sickness, or being killed by the townspeople. He was also thinking about the rumors he heard back in the town. He thought that the witch was cruel and evil at heart. To be fair he was about to lose his life, but Athan still felt drawn to Ashe- and he definitely didn't feel any evil or ill intent coming from the witch. while Athan was deep in thought, a black moth flew into the witch’s modest hut. It was strange to see a moth during the day and especially one as black as this. It landed on Ashe’s shadow. The shadow grew darker, and suddenly stretched upward as if it was a physical object. Athan flinched and was confused, but looking at Ashe’s calm and neutral expression grounded him. The figure looked more and more human in shape, before a pale man appeared. His lifeless skin reminded Athan of the witch, but it looked even more unnatural. Especially compared to the creature’s thin black hair and eyes- which looked so dark they devoured the light around them. One key difference from Ashe was the guest’s smile, it made Athan uneasy.

“So these are the boys huh.” The figure said. His physical appearance was becoming clearer and clearer. 

“Yes. The older one’s going to give you your payment.” Ashe replied quickly. Despite Athan being used to the witch’s cold and monotone voice, and him being fully ready to embrace his fate, Ashe’s bluntness hurt him a bit.

“Alright thing- I don’t like dragging these out so I’ll just get to it” He giggled in an unsettling way. 

"You definitely do." The witch said quietly to himself. 

Athan felt strength escaping his body as he passed out. His fiery orange hair slowly started losing color, fading into a pure snowy white. A small butterfly appeared from within his hair. It was delicate and frail but it’s wings were a beautiful pattern of yellow and red that looked like shiny gold dust with a sunset as the background. The beautiful insect meekly flew towards the demon standing beside Ashe.

“Are you happy, Chrchili? Now don’t forget about your part of the deal.” The witch looked at Athan’s lifeless corpse in front of him. His facial expression twisted for the first time in a while. Perhaps in sadness.

“Come on, you know demons never break a promise. More importantly, are my eyes deceiving me?! Don’t tell me your emotions are coming back” The guest laughed loudly.

“That’s impossible and you know it, wasn’t it you who cursed me in the first place.”

“Oh come on kid you wanted it that way anyway, it’s only been what- 2 years? don’t tell me you regret it already” The fiend smiled.

“No... Also I don't particularly enjoy talking to you so could you just hurry up and leave with the little one?” Ashe looked to the side, breaking eye contact.

“I will- but first I’ll give you a little gift since you’re feeling down, although my core motive is personal entertainment, as per usual.” He let go of the small butterfly and walked towards what remained of Athan’s body.  Ashe furrowed his brows in frustration.

“If you’re going to twist it or transform it into a piece of furniture I’ll-“

The demon laughed cutting Ashe’s sentence short

“Oh come on I’m not the kindest flower in the garden but I’m not that  cruel, you know”

He touched the body, it did start transforming, but instead of a decoration it turned into a white cat. The butterfly flew onto it's fur and melted. As if dipped in paint, the fur quickly turned from white into a vivid orange with a dark brown pattern. The body started moving, the cat was alive and breathing.

“What did you just do?” Ashe quickly walked over,  petting the cat, which rolled over and twitched it’s ear eagerly.

“A proper witch needs a familiar, don't you think?” Chrchili giggled and grabbed the little brother. 

“You may think I have some weird ulterior motives but, I just want entertainment, as simple as that. Anyway I won’t force you to look at me any longer- you're staring holes into me, you might get me curse" He giggled once more. 

"hopefully you’ll call for me soon though, I want to see how this turns out” As he said that, his and the little boy’s silhouette slowly started becoming less clear, before they finally faded into the darkness.

Ashe was shocked, why would Chrchili do this, it made no sense. There had to have been some kind of catch, Athan was probably a cat mentally as well. It made sense in Ashe’s mind, the demon turned Athan into an animal to mess with him. It was probably more cruel than turning him into a decoration or some kind of furniture... Either way he couldn’t just ignore the cat. The least he could do was to take care of it, and as much as he wanted to deny it, he was starting to feel lonely. Ashe grabbed the cat and laid it on his bed, not wanting it to get cold on the stone floor. He laid next to it and pet it’s fur, with a faint hint of sadness on his face. He continued gently playing with the cat’s fur for a few minutes before he drifted to sleep.

Ashe was convinced that all he was left with was a cat, but in the middle of the night- Athan’s body started changing once again. Ashe slept peacefully, not knowing the surprise that awaited him in the morning.