Ahkra

It wasn't long before it came to my attention that it wasn't just Arc lingering at the edge of my awareness.

Whatever bond we had formed during that first experience stayed; I felt like I could reach out and touch it: a tangible thread of light leading from me to him. I could feel his thoughts and emotions, and I'm sure that he could feel mine. Suddenly, with him by my side, I found myself less afraid of the shadows and creatures that had previously terrified me senseless. He was a trusted friend, and after our harrowing escape of that shapeless nameless horror from my "dream" -- if you could call something so overwhelmingly vivid a dream -- I knew he had my back.

I didn't know that Arc came as a part of a package deal, however, until I began to pick up on the presence of his darker counterpart.

Where Arc felt like sunshine and soft fur and the delicate soft scent of flowers, this new spirit couldn't have been further from it. He felt like cold satin, cinnamon and cloves, and moonlight spilling down from the heavens. That was about all I got, though. He had completely shut himself off from me; his thoughts and emotions were as mysterious as those depthless emerald eyes that regarded me so suspiciously. He had not of that boyish innocence that hung around Arc, either. He was taller with more striking features and hair the most peculiar color of dark red. He was beautiful in the way that you would describe a storm as beautiful -- dangerous and utterly inhuman.

I'll be honest. My first opinion of him was that he was a complete jerk. He ignored me, distrusted me, and wouldn't even give his name. I was highly offended, especially since in my opinion, he was trespassing upon me, and not the other way around.

In time, I would come to change my mind completely and utterly about him, though. The way that he treated Arc with such unexpected gentleness and affection, I soon came to realize firstly why he had come here, and secondly why he had been so icy. His eyes were all for Arc; underneath all of those spines and all that ice was love for the youth. It wasn't that he resented me, personally so much as he was protective of Arc. These were the first emotions that eventually filtered through his hard shell as he slowly opened up to me.

I wasn't nearly as begrudging of his presence after that revelation, and gave him the space he needed. In time, he recognized that I wasn't any sort of threat to Arc, and opened up to me the way a reluctant moonflower opens it's petals in the safety of nightfall. A bond slowly formed between us the way it had with Arc and me, and trust grew between us, step by step.

I still didn't have a name, though.

"You know," I addressed him, "I still don't have anything to call you. I can't just call you 'Guy' or 'Stranger' or something."

Something like amusement flickered in his eyes as he considered the question. From the look in his eyes, I doubted very much that I would be getting a nice straight answer the way I had with Arc. This new spirit had always been more complex and less forthcoming, so this shouldn't have come as a surprise, really. Where Arc wore his heart out in the open, his taller companion seemed to be cloaked in layers of mystery.

"Ahkra is fine." Something like a grin tugged at his lips.

I frowned. I should probably note that this conversation wasn't spoken out loud, in an effort to keep my family and friends from becoming seriously concerned for my well-being. Because this was spoken in thoughts, however, so much more than just words were conveyed with each question and answer.

Ahkra. An interesting word, but the way he thought it, it was just that. A word -- not a name. Ahkra, in the old language, roughly meaning 'darkness'. I could tell that he thought it was fitting. For me personally, it only gave birth to even more questions. I left them alone for the moment. He had given his answer, and that was good enough.

Ahkra it was.