[Ch 3/?] Dreamscape
I actually haven't been called back to work for the past few days and on top of being worried about that, it's really put a damper on my productivity levels. On top of that, I've consulted with a lovely girl who does Russia much better than I do, My girlfriend >u< She's the Ivan to my Alfred. She says my Russia needs adjustments, I agree, and I'm trying. I don't think I did it right, but I hope he's not too OOC.
Anyway, enjoy!
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Ivan woke up groggy and disoriented, not something he was used to. Usually he slept with one eye open and one hand on his knife, poised to attack at the slightest provocation. It didn't pay to sleep too deeply in the Dreamscape. That was one of the easiest ways to los your life. Another thing he wasn't accustomed to was waking up with his arms wrapped around something warm. Something warm and breathing.
He was awake in a flash, wondering if something had snuck onto his platform in the middle of the night. It couldn't be too harmful if it had stayed there without killing him already. Most creatures would have sucked the life out of him or devoured his flesh and a succubus would have already been gone by the time he woke up. But this was still here and hadn't seemed to even put a scratch on him.
He looked down to see a tuft of blonde hair brushing against the tip of his nose. Oh, so it was only the brat. He could deal with that, it just required a bit more tact and stealth than killing some hapless creature that had snuck up on him in the night. Though he wasn't sure if waking up cuddled with a creature was more or less awkward than waking up cuddled with Alfred. At least he could stab the creature.
He started to disentangle himself with Alfred, working slowly and carefully to wiggle out of the deathgrip the boy had him in. It was like a vice! The boy must be much stronger than he thought, perhaps he had some potential. But that would all have to be dealt with after he extracted himself. He sighed and gingerly picked up Alfred's arm to move it, frowning when the blonde whined and cuddled closer like he was trying to take away a teddy bear. The thought of himself as some giant teddy bear didn't quite sit well with Ivan, who growled quietly and tried once more to break the grip without waking the teen up.
Only, he misjudged how much force he'd put into the shove and Alfred woke up, poking his head up and looking around like he didn't know where he was. He probably didn't, the poor thing. He remembered the first few nights he'd spent in the Dreamscape. He'd always expected just to wake back up and everything would be okay and he would be back in Chicago; Katyusha shaking him, trying to wake him up for a 10 am class. Natalia would be cooking blini and the smell alone would be enough to get him up out of bed.
His train of thought was broken as their eyes met and held there. Alfred looked like a deer caught in the headlights as he froze, staring up at Ivan like he thought the larger man was going to eat him. Ivan winced and tried to untangle himself faster, but the American beat him to it. He completely freaked out, shouting incoherant obsceneties as he scrambled away. He tripped over himself, hit his head on the trunk of the tree with a dull thud, and fell the 5 feet to the ground to land on his ass.
Ivan was tempted to laugh, but the situation was awkward enough as it is without adding the boy's anger at being made fun of to the list of woes. The teen had a touchy temper, as he'd learned yesterday while trying to ignore him until he went away. Or perhaps he was just an attention seeker who didn't appreciate being ignored. If he was a betting man he'd bank on the latter.
He swung down out of the tree and extended a hand to help the teen, who was glaring up at him like this was all his fault, up off of the ground where he had fallen. Alfred took the hand and hauled himself up, rubbing his sore bottom and wincing. "Not the greatest way to wake up, I'll admit." He joked wryly, giving a grimace that Ivan was sure was supposed to be a smile.
"I agree, you are lucky that I did not kill you. When I woke up I thought you were some forest creature that had crawled onto the platform." He remarked casually, smirking inwardly as the boy paled. He was quite easy to rile up. He may have just found himself a new passtime. And he made the most ridiculous faces. Like right now, he looked so comically terrifiied that Ivan couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
"Oh, so you think this is funny? You think it's funny that you almost killed me?" He growled, face going red in his embarassment and anger. The boy was just so expressive! He really was an open book. He wondered if the boy had ever gotten away with a lie in his life. Probably not.
"No, dorogoy." He said in a mocking tone, obviously patronizing the younger male. "What I find funny is the faces you make when I say that. You are quite bad at concealing your feelings. You should work on that." He said it as one would to a child who you didn't think quite got it. Alfred growled and lunged at him, trying to take a swing. Ivan merely side-stepped and watched with amusement as Alfred overshot his target without pulling back and sprawled to the ground.
"You are such an asshole, you know that? Have the four years in here robbed you of all knowledge of basic human interaction?" He growled, picking himself up off the ground and dusting himself off. This was the second time in less that 15 minutes that he'd found himself in the grass because of this man. If he didn't practically depend on him to survive, he'd kick his ass.
"Says the one who just took a swing at the man who saved his life, solnushka." He teased. He definitely wasn't going to make it easy for Alfred, that was for damned sure. Alfred merely glared at him and turned his back to the Russian. He reached up into the tree where he'd hung his bow and quiver the night before and slung them over his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He grumbled, looking put out. "Are we going to break camp or what?" Ivan nodded and took up his own weapons, scattering the ashes from the fire and generally trying to make it look less like they'd been here. He left the platform up in case any other trapped humans came across it and needed a reletively safe place to sleep. There was no truly safe place in the Dreamscape, he knew, but at least it would provide some small amount of cover.
"Now, you are going to test your skill with that bow. We are going hunting." He told the blonde, jerking his thumb over his shoulder and heading off. Alfred trailed behind him, wondering what he meant by that. He couldn't seriously expect him to be able to nail any animals when he could barely get an immobile tree. But he seemed serious, so Alfred decided to just go along with it.
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Alfred fired off another arrow, praying in his heart that it would actually hit it's target this time. They'd been hunting for hours and so far the only meat they'd caught was the rabbits that Ivan had set out traps for. He felt useless and stupid, firing arrow after arrow trying to hit something only to come up empty-handed every time. He was getting closer to being able to hit his mark, but not quite quick enough. And he was down to his last arrow. At this rate he'd never hit anything and the whole trip would be a bust except for those scrany rabbits that Alfred didn't feel right about eating in the first place.
He crept up silently on a deer, careful not to break any twigs underfoot and to make his steps silent and slow. He gt within shooting distance of the animal and raised his bow, notching an arrow and drawing the strong back slowly as he did so. He took aim at it, keeping both eyes open as he was instructed. His palms were sweating and his heart raced in his chest. This was it, if he couldn't get this deer it was all over. He exhaled a shaky breath and let loose the arrow.
It whizzed through the air, flying so fast Alfred almost couldn't track it's path. He watched with baited breath as it drew near to the young buck and flew true, striking it through the heart in a stroke of absolute luck. He cheered excitedly and rushed over to the dear, hauling it over his shoulder and jogging back to where Ivan had piled the rabbits and set the carcass down.
He looked around for Ivan, eager to show him the deer he'd caught. It wasn't very big, but it was definitely bigger than the rabbits. But before he could spot his companion, he heard an indistinct voice in the distance. He wasn't sure why, but it sounded so familiar. He turned toward the direction the noise was coming from and took a few steps, taking a few more when he heard the voice again. Soon he was walking through the woods towards the origin of the sound, whatever it was getting more and more distinct the closer he got.
"Alfred!" He voice suddenly called. Alfred's heart clenched as he recognized the voice. It was his mother's voice!" He gasped and took off, running through the woods at top speeds. His mother was here! And she was calling for him. Was she hurt? Did she know he was there or was she just lost and looking for him? Was she still the same or had she changed?
"Hold on, mom! I'm coming!" He shouted as he raced through the under brush. He would finally see his mom after 3 long years! "I'm coming!"
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Ivan came back from checking the traps once more to find Alfred gone and a deer carcass laying near the rabbits. Not half bad for a beginner, really. It was a very young buck, but it was meat and would feed them for at least a few days. They could even have a nice stew out of it. He sat down and got to work skinning the animals they'd caught that day, humming to himself and wondering where Alfred had gotten off to.
He had jut finished slicing the meat into chunks to dry out later when he heard Alfred shout. He cursed under his breath and swept the meat into his pack, taking off into the woods after him. Wherever Alfred was, he sounded like he was calling out for someone. Had he gone looking for him? Or was he caught by some creature and begging for Ivan to come save him?
He raced through the woods, looking around franctically for his young companion. As he drew closer to the boy he could hear another voice, a woman's that was answering his calls. Drawing even closer, he could make out that Alfred was calling for his mother. But Ivan knew that whatever Alfred was heading towards was not his mother. There were things in this forest who's only joy was to trick travellers to their deaths by imitating the people they loved.
He thanked god silently that he was swifter than Alfred, for he overtook him just as they neared the edge of a cliff, Alfred's mother's voice coming from the bottom of the deep ravine. Alfred, blinded by his desire to see his mother again, couldn't see it, but Ivan could. He charged towards the teen, hoping to stop him before he fell in.
Alfred was grinning madly now, racing over the rocks towards his mother. He could barely see the path in front of him and there was a ringing in his ears drowning out everything but the sound of his mother's voice. It was the only thing in his mind, like an obsession. He laughed loudly as he went over the edge, ready to embrace his mother. But he snapped out of the trance as his feet left the ground and he began to fall. His first reaction was heartbreak. He had been so sure it was his mom. But he was alone again in this wretched place with no way out. His second reaction was to scream bloody murder as he realized he was about to die.
He covered his face, bracing for impact with the jagged rocks below only to find himself dangling by the back of his pants. He looked up with wide eyes to see Ivan leaning over the edge of the cliff with a hand fisted in the hem of his pants. He let out a whoosh of breath and grinned shakily up at him.
"Guess I owe you twice, now." He joked, voice coming out as a terrified squeak whole octaves higher than he meant it to. Ivan merely grunted and hauled him up, slinging him over his shoulder and walking off without a word to him. He would leave the Leshi for another day or another adventurer, but Alfred had to be dealth with now. This was twice that he would have died without Ivan, did the boy have no common sense!?
"Yo, Ivan? You can put me down now." Alfred huffed, getting a little fidgety. It was kinda hot that the guy could just throw him around like a sack of potatoes, but that didn't mean that he wanted him to. "I'm not going to go jump off the cliff, man. I don't even hear my mom's voice anymore!" he protested.
"No. You are not going to be put down until I am sure you will not get your stupid ass killed!" Ivan growled, stomping through the forest, eyes blazing with anger. How could the boy have been so stupid!? He could have gotten himself killed! He would have if Ivan wasn't there!
"Come on, man! That's not fair! It was that monster's fault, not mine!" He protested, trying to wriggle free. But Ivan's grip was like steel and he couldn't break it. He huffed and fell limp, hoping that Ivan would let him go soon. Otherwise he would tire himself out trying to get free. His prayers were answered when Ivan threw him rather harshly to the ground, glaring down at him.
"If you had even one ounce of common sense you would not have followed that voice. This forest is tricky, Alfred. Everything about it is designed to disorient you and trick your senses. Creatures who change their appearance to trick you, witches that cast spells that change everything you see and hear, the forest itself changes. You can trust nothing you see, hear, smell, taste, or touch here. In a world of dreams, nothing is as it seems." He shouted at him, hoping to drill it into his thick skull. "And you! You just waltz in here, not using one single brain cell in that pretty empty head of yours, and think you can attach yourself to me? Why should I let you stay when all you cause is trouble. You will kill us both within the week!"
Alfred blinked up at him, looking truly horrified. Was he really that bad? He knew that he wasn't always the brightest crayon in the box, but he didn't thin it had really been that bad. "I...I'm sorry!" He cried, begging Ivan with his eyes to forgive him.
"Sorry does not cut it, Alfred. Stay here in the bushed while I deal with that damned creature. And remember, keep sight of the cliffs or they will move and we will be seperated." He told him, turning his back on the teen without another word and making his way back to the cliff. He looked around, trying to spot where the thing was hiding.
He saw a flash of tail disappear behind some boulders and smirked, giving chase. He jumped from ledge to ledge like a mountain goat, used to the rough terrain that the Dreamscape usually threw at travellers. There were some truly terrifying places here, so a few rocks and a high ledge wasn't going to scare him any. He lept once more and ducked behind the rocks.
There he found a little man with mean little beady eyes trying to find a way out of the dead end he'd trapped himself into. From the waist up he was a man, but from the waist down he was a goat with shaggy brown fur and long goat ears sprouting from his head. He turned swiftly back towards Ivan and hissed, backing up to the stone wall that was trapping him. It was a Leshi, a Russian demon who imitated voices to lure travellers off the sides of cliffs and ditches. They were one of the monsters in the Dreamscape that Ivan had known of before entering.
Ivan advanced on the creature, driving it further into the corner so it couldn't escape. It tried to imitate the voices of people he had known in his life before, but Ivan knew it was nothing more than a trick. It tried his motehr first, begging him to have a heart and let it live. His sister Natalya, berating him for wasting his time on such a creature. Finally, as he brought down his sword on the creature's head, it screamed out in the voice of his Elder sister Katyusha. A shiver went down his spine as he basically heard his sister's dying cries, but he knew that it was the right thing.
He sheathed his sword and made his way back to the bushes where he'd left Alfred, slinging the squirming teenager over his shoulder once more and setting off into the woods. He informed Alfred that he would not let him down until they broke camp for the Afternoom and carried on as the boy resigned himself to being carried and went still. He shuddered once more as the ravine melted out of sight, glad to leave the echoes of Yekaterina's voice far behind him.
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On a related note, I have all the monsters I need. Thank you for all your lovely suggestions!
Anyway, enjoy!
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Ivan woke up groggy and disoriented, not something he was used to. Usually he slept with one eye open and one hand on his knife, poised to attack at the slightest provocation. It didn't pay to sleep too deeply in the Dreamscape. That was one of the easiest ways to los your life. Another thing he wasn't accustomed to was waking up with his arms wrapped around something warm. Something warm and breathing.
He was awake in a flash, wondering if something had snuck onto his platform in the middle of the night. It couldn't be too harmful if it had stayed there without killing him already. Most creatures would have sucked the life out of him or devoured his flesh and a succubus would have already been gone by the time he woke up. But this was still here and hadn't seemed to even put a scratch on him.
He looked down to see a tuft of blonde hair brushing against the tip of his nose. Oh, so it was only the brat. He could deal with that, it just required a bit more tact and stealth than killing some hapless creature that had snuck up on him in the night. Though he wasn't sure if waking up cuddled with a creature was more or less awkward than waking up cuddled with Alfred. At least he could stab the creature.
He started to disentangle himself with Alfred, working slowly and carefully to wiggle out of the deathgrip the boy had him in. It was like a vice! The boy must be much stronger than he thought, perhaps he had some potential. But that would all have to be dealt with after he extracted himself. He sighed and gingerly picked up Alfred's arm to move it, frowning when the blonde whined and cuddled closer like he was trying to take away a teddy bear. The thought of himself as some giant teddy bear didn't quite sit well with Ivan, who growled quietly and tried once more to break the grip without waking the teen up.
Only, he misjudged how much force he'd put into the shove and Alfred woke up, poking his head up and looking around like he didn't know where he was. He probably didn't, the poor thing. He remembered the first few nights he'd spent in the Dreamscape. He'd always expected just to wake back up and everything would be okay and he would be back in Chicago; Katyusha shaking him, trying to wake him up for a 10 am class. Natalia would be cooking blini and the smell alone would be enough to get him up out of bed.
His train of thought was broken as their eyes met and held there. Alfred looked like a deer caught in the headlights as he froze, staring up at Ivan like he thought the larger man was going to eat him. Ivan winced and tried to untangle himself faster, but the American beat him to it. He completely freaked out, shouting incoherant obsceneties as he scrambled away. He tripped over himself, hit his head on the trunk of the tree with a dull thud, and fell the 5 feet to the ground to land on his ass.
Ivan was tempted to laugh, but the situation was awkward enough as it is without adding the boy's anger at being made fun of to the list of woes. The teen had a touchy temper, as he'd learned yesterday while trying to ignore him until he went away. Or perhaps he was just an attention seeker who didn't appreciate being ignored. If he was a betting man he'd bank on the latter.
He swung down out of the tree and extended a hand to help the teen, who was glaring up at him like this was all his fault, up off of the ground where he had fallen. Alfred took the hand and hauled himself up, rubbing his sore bottom and wincing. "Not the greatest way to wake up, I'll admit." He joked wryly, giving a grimace that Ivan was sure was supposed to be a smile.
"I agree, you are lucky that I did not kill you. When I woke up I thought you were some forest creature that had crawled onto the platform." He remarked casually, smirking inwardly as the boy paled. He was quite easy to rile up. He may have just found himself a new passtime. And he made the most ridiculous faces. Like right now, he looked so comically terrifiied that Ivan couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
"Oh, so you think this is funny? You think it's funny that you almost killed me?" He growled, face going red in his embarassment and anger. The boy was just so expressive! He really was an open book. He wondered if the boy had ever gotten away with a lie in his life. Probably not.
"No, dorogoy." He said in a mocking tone, obviously patronizing the younger male. "What I find funny is the faces you make when I say that. You are quite bad at concealing your feelings. You should work on that." He said it as one would to a child who you didn't think quite got it. Alfred growled and lunged at him, trying to take a swing. Ivan merely side-stepped and watched with amusement as Alfred overshot his target without pulling back and sprawled to the ground.
"You are such an asshole, you know that? Have the four years in here robbed you of all knowledge of basic human interaction?" He growled, picking himself up off the ground and dusting himself off. This was the second time in less that 15 minutes that he'd found himself in the grass because of this man. If he didn't practically depend on him to survive, he'd kick his ass.
"Says the one who just took a swing at the man who saved his life, solnushka." He teased. He definitely wasn't going to make it easy for Alfred, that was for damned sure. Alfred merely glared at him and turned his back to the Russian. He reached up into the tree where he'd hung his bow and quiver the night before and slung them over his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He grumbled, looking put out. "Are we going to break camp or what?" Ivan nodded and took up his own weapons, scattering the ashes from the fire and generally trying to make it look less like they'd been here. He left the platform up in case any other trapped humans came across it and needed a reletively safe place to sleep. There was no truly safe place in the Dreamscape, he knew, but at least it would provide some small amount of cover.
"Now, you are going to test your skill with that bow. We are going hunting." He told the blonde, jerking his thumb over his shoulder and heading off. Alfred trailed behind him, wondering what he meant by that. He couldn't seriously expect him to be able to nail any animals when he could barely get an immobile tree. But he seemed serious, so Alfred decided to just go along with it.
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Alfred fired off another arrow, praying in his heart that it would actually hit it's target this time. They'd been hunting for hours and so far the only meat they'd caught was the rabbits that Ivan had set out traps for. He felt useless and stupid, firing arrow after arrow trying to hit something only to come up empty-handed every time. He was getting closer to being able to hit his mark, but not quite quick enough. And he was down to his last arrow. At this rate he'd never hit anything and the whole trip would be a bust except for those scrany rabbits that Alfred didn't feel right about eating in the first place.
He crept up silently on a deer, careful not to break any twigs underfoot and to make his steps silent and slow. He gt within shooting distance of the animal and raised his bow, notching an arrow and drawing the strong back slowly as he did so. He took aim at it, keeping both eyes open as he was instructed. His palms were sweating and his heart raced in his chest. This was it, if he couldn't get this deer it was all over. He exhaled a shaky breath and let loose the arrow.
It whizzed through the air, flying so fast Alfred almost couldn't track it's path. He watched with baited breath as it drew near to the young buck and flew true, striking it through the heart in a stroke of absolute luck. He cheered excitedly and rushed over to the dear, hauling it over his shoulder and jogging back to where Ivan had piled the rabbits and set the carcass down.
He looked around for Ivan, eager to show him the deer he'd caught. It wasn't very big, but it was definitely bigger than the rabbits. But before he could spot his companion, he heard an indistinct voice in the distance. He wasn't sure why, but it sounded so familiar. He turned toward the direction the noise was coming from and took a few steps, taking a few more when he heard the voice again. Soon he was walking through the woods towards the origin of the sound, whatever it was getting more and more distinct the closer he got.
"Alfred!" He voice suddenly called. Alfred's heart clenched as he recognized the voice. It was his mother's voice!" He gasped and took off, running through the woods at top speeds. His mother was here! And she was calling for him. Was she hurt? Did she know he was there or was she just lost and looking for him? Was she still the same or had she changed?
"Hold on, mom! I'm coming!" He shouted as he raced through the under brush. He would finally see his mom after 3 long years! "I'm coming!"
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Ivan came back from checking the traps once more to find Alfred gone and a deer carcass laying near the rabbits. Not half bad for a beginner, really. It was a very young buck, but it was meat and would feed them for at least a few days. They could even have a nice stew out of it. He sat down and got to work skinning the animals they'd caught that day, humming to himself and wondering where Alfred had gotten off to.
He had jut finished slicing the meat into chunks to dry out later when he heard Alfred shout. He cursed under his breath and swept the meat into his pack, taking off into the woods after him. Wherever Alfred was, he sounded like he was calling out for someone. Had he gone looking for him? Or was he caught by some creature and begging for Ivan to come save him?
He raced through the woods, looking around franctically for his young companion. As he drew closer to the boy he could hear another voice, a woman's that was answering his calls. Drawing even closer, he could make out that Alfred was calling for his mother. But Ivan knew that whatever Alfred was heading towards was not his mother. There were things in this forest who's only joy was to trick travellers to their deaths by imitating the people they loved.
He thanked god silently that he was swifter than Alfred, for he overtook him just as they neared the edge of a cliff, Alfred's mother's voice coming from the bottom of the deep ravine. Alfred, blinded by his desire to see his mother again, couldn't see it, but Ivan could. He charged towards the teen, hoping to stop him before he fell in.
Alfred was grinning madly now, racing over the rocks towards his mother. He could barely see the path in front of him and there was a ringing in his ears drowning out everything but the sound of his mother's voice. It was the only thing in his mind, like an obsession. He laughed loudly as he went over the edge, ready to embrace his mother. But he snapped out of the trance as his feet left the ground and he began to fall. His first reaction was heartbreak. He had been so sure it was his mom. But he was alone again in this wretched place with no way out. His second reaction was to scream bloody murder as he realized he was about to die.
He covered his face, bracing for impact with the jagged rocks below only to find himself dangling by the back of his pants. He looked up with wide eyes to see Ivan leaning over the edge of the cliff with a hand fisted in the hem of his pants. He let out a whoosh of breath and grinned shakily up at him.
"Guess I owe you twice, now." He joked, voice coming out as a terrified squeak whole octaves higher than he meant it to. Ivan merely grunted and hauled him up, slinging him over his shoulder and walking off without a word to him. He would leave the Leshi for another day or another adventurer, but Alfred had to be dealth with now. This was twice that he would have died without Ivan, did the boy have no common sense!?
"Yo, Ivan? You can put me down now." Alfred huffed, getting a little fidgety. It was kinda hot that the guy could just throw him around like a sack of potatoes, but that didn't mean that he wanted him to. "I'm not going to go jump off the cliff, man. I don't even hear my mom's voice anymore!" he protested.
"No. You are not going to be put down until I am sure you will not get your stupid ass killed!" Ivan growled, stomping through the forest, eyes blazing with anger. How could the boy have been so stupid!? He could have gotten himself killed! He would have if Ivan wasn't there!
"Come on, man! That's not fair! It was that monster's fault, not mine!" He protested, trying to wriggle free. But Ivan's grip was like steel and he couldn't break it. He huffed and fell limp, hoping that Ivan would let him go soon. Otherwise he would tire himself out trying to get free. His prayers were answered when Ivan threw him rather harshly to the ground, glaring down at him.
"If you had even one ounce of common sense you would not have followed that voice. This forest is tricky, Alfred. Everything about it is designed to disorient you and trick your senses. Creatures who change their appearance to trick you, witches that cast spells that change everything you see and hear, the forest itself changes. You can trust nothing you see, hear, smell, taste, or touch here. In a world of dreams, nothing is as it seems." He shouted at him, hoping to drill it into his thick skull. "And you! You just waltz in here, not using one single brain cell in that pretty empty head of yours, and think you can attach yourself to me? Why should I let you stay when all you cause is trouble. You will kill us both within the week!"
Alfred blinked up at him, looking truly horrified. Was he really that bad? He knew that he wasn't always the brightest crayon in the box, but he didn't thin it had really been that bad. "I...I'm sorry!" He cried, begging Ivan with his eyes to forgive him.
"Sorry does not cut it, Alfred. Stay here in the bushed while I deal with that damned creature. And remember, keep sight of the cliffs or they will move and we will be seperated." He told him, turning his back on the teen without another word and making his way back to the cliff. He looked around, trying to spot where the thing was hiding.
He saw a flash of tail disappear behind some boulders and smirked, giving chase. He jumped from ledge to ledge like a mountain goat, used to the rough terrain that the Dreamscape usually threw at travellers. There were some truly terrifying places here, so a few rocks and a high ledge wasn't going to scare him any. He lept once more and ducked behind the rocks.
There he found a little man with mean little beady eyes trying to find a way out of the dead end he'd trapped himself into. From the waist up he was a man, but from the waist down he was a goat with shaggy brown fur and long goat ears sprouting from his head. He turned swiftly back towards Ivan and hissed, backing up to the stone wall that was trapping him. It was a Leshi, a Russian demon who imitated voices to lure travellers off the sides of cliffs and ditches. They were one of the monsters in the Dreamscape that Ivan had known of before entering.
Ivan advanced on the creature, driving it further into the corner so it couldn't escape. It tried to imitate the voices of people he had known in his life before, but Ivan knew it was nothing more than a trick. It tried his motehr first, begging him to have a heart and let it live. His sister Natalya, berating him for wasting his time on such a creature. Finally, as he brought down his sword on the creature's head, it screamed out in the voice of his Elder sister Katyusha. A shiver went down his spine as he basically heard his sister's dying cries, but he knew that it was the right thing.
He sheathed his sword and made his way back to the bushes where he'd left Alfred, slinging the squirming teenager over his shoulder once more and setting off into the woods. He informed Alfred that he would not let him down until they broke camp for the Afternoom and carried on as the boy resigned himself to being carried and went still. He shuddered once more as the ravine melted out of sight, glad to leave the echoes of Yekaterina's voice far behind him.
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On a related note, I have all the monsters I need. Thank you for all your lovely suggestions!