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“Where No Man Walks” by Signatelli (part 2 of 2)
Escritor Forest is the perfect place for a long trek to clear your head… as long as you ignore the stories of a strange beast inhabiting it.
Today’s story is the second and final part of “Where No Man Walks” by Signatelli, who wrote this story after being inspired by an enchanting birthday art commission from his dear friend, Writer_Apprentice.
Last time, our human Grayson met a strange creature in Escritor Forest, who he has nicknamed “Robin”. Though they are tasked with keeping the forest safe from human intruders, Robin seems to have taken a liking to Grayson. We join our pair as Robin continues to carry Grayson towards the edge of the forest, with both keen on learning more about the other’s odd life.
Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.
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Transcript
You're listening to the voice of dog.
Khaki QOD:I'm cocky, your faithful fireside companion, and today's story is the
Khaki QOD:second and final part of where no man walks by Cygnus heli who wrote
Khaki QOD:the story after being inspired by an enchanting birthday art commission
Khaki QOD:from his dear friend writer.
Khaki QOD:Last time, our human Greyson met a strange creature in escort or forest,
Khaki QOD:who he is nicknamed Robin, though.
Khaki QOD:They are tasked with keeping the forest safe from human intruders.
Khaki QOD:Robin seems to have taken a liking to Grayson.
Khaki QOD:We join our pear as Robin continues to carry grace and towards the
Khaki QOD:edge of the forest with both keen on learning more about the others
Khaki QOD:AUD life, please enjoy where no man walks by Cigna tally part two of two.
Khaki QOD:So what's life like in your regular home.
Khaki QOD:Robin asked the human.
Khaki QOD:You would say it's been stressful recently.
Khaki QOD:As your world, really as rushed as many humans.
Khaki QOD:Grayson side, leaning into Robin's chest.
Khaki QOD:As he continued to revel in the novel feeling of being carried like a baby
Khaki QOD:through the woods by a strange creature.
Khaki QOD:Oh, you have no idea.
Khaki QOD:I'm a full-time student done weekdays on Wednesdays and weekends.
Khaki QOD:I work part-time at a big corporation.
Khaki QOD:I manage the money for a big club in my college.
Khaki QOD:On top of all that, I'm stuck with the pain of looking for a
Khaki QOD:landlord to steal all of my money so I can have a roof over my head.
Khaki QOD:Every second I've spent down here has been one second.
Khaki QOD:I haven't made on progress toward being a real adult Grayson, leaned further
Khaki QOD:back against Robin's chest nestling himself within the leaves and bristles.
Khaki QOD:Honestly, I don't know if I'm up to it or even if I want to be up to it.
Khaki QOD:Sure.
Khaki QOD:If I can pull all of this off, I'll have a lot of money coming my way, but
Khaki QOD:along with money, I'll just have the opportunity to slave away more of my.
Khaki QOD:That's why I needed to come out here to clear my head of not only the
Khaki QOD:stress, but also the uncertainty.
Khaki QOD:Gosh, , Robin whispered in a consolatory voice . I've heard some humans talk about
Khaki QOD:their stressful lives before, but you have to be the busiest one I've ever met.
Khaki QOD:I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but it really don't seem like the tape
Khaki QOD:Grayson closed his eyes feeling Robin's chance to vibrate as they spoke to him.
Khaki QOD:I'm not really, this was something I kind of forced onto myself.
Khaki QOD:I guess it comes from a fear of failure, more than anything else.
Khaki QOD:Robin stroked Grayson's head with their fingertips.
Khaki QOD:Hate got the impression that you're quite out on yourself makes me upset
Khaki QOD:knowing that you're my favorite companion I've ever had out here.
Khaki QOD:Grayson couldn't help, but blush, maybe you need to find some more companions.
Khaki QOD:If I'm your favorite.
Khaki QOD:He joked there was an awkward silence after that.
Khaki QOD:Clearly the joke didn't land Grayson cleared his throat.
Khaki QOD:Sorry.
Khaki QOD:Um, do you get lonely out here?
Khaki QOD:I mean, sure you have all the animals to talk to, but has it been
Khaki QOD:a while since you've been able to walk and chat with someone like.
Khaki QOD:I can't remember the last time this has happened.
Khaki QOD:Robin replied you're a special case in a lot of ways, they continue to stroke.
Khaki QOD:Grayson's hair though.
Khaki QOD:Maybe your rights.
Khaki QOD:. I should look for some more everlasting companionship.
Khaki QOD:This is the most fun I've had in a long time.
Khaki QOD:And so the two continued onward bantering about their two worlds.
Khaki QOD:The pair had an insatiable curiosity about one another, or perhaps they both
Khaki QOD:just wanted to keep the other one talking Robin spoke highly of all the special
Khaki QOD:groves where they knew particularly delicate flowers could grow most.
Khaki QOD:They spoke of the families.
Khaki QOD:They had seen the animals, rays and how impressed they were when tiny, helpless
Khaki QOD:pups go into cunning, adult foxes.
Khaki QOD:They joked about all the times they had to scare brave hunters out of their
Khaki QOD:territory and how they were pretty sure on one occasion, a hunter wet himself
Khaki QOD:when he saw them Greyson laughed at that.
Khaki QOD:Whenever it was Grayson's turn, he talked up a storm about the good and
Khaki QOD:bad parts of living a civilized life.
Khaki QOD:He greatly enjoyed human food, but disliked a lot of his species,
Khaki QOD:more competitive tendencies.
Khaki QOD:Occasionally he would slip in a more casual and everyday story.
Khaki QOD:Like when he had talked about the annoying cottage core girl from high school, who
Khaki QOD:always insisted that creatures like Robin were real All the while the two quipped
Khaki QOD:laughed and occasionally blushed as Robin marched onwards and Grayson continued.
Khaki QOD:Neither of them were paying that much attention to the
Khaki QOD:gorgeous scenery around them.
Khaki QOD:Both human and spirit found themselves completely enthralled
Khaki QOD:by each other, focusing intently on each comment, big or small.
Khaki QOD:The other one made . It was a unique experience for both of them, because
Khaki QOD:in spite of the wildly different lives, they land they both very clearly
Khaki QOD:felt an unspoken mutual connection.
Khaki QOD:This of course made it all the more saddening as Robin realized they were
Khaki QOD:nearing the edge of their territory and they would have to say goodbye to.
Khaki QOD:Very soon, the thought of fit made Robin feels strangely
Khaki QOD:vulnerable now, not vulnerable.
Khaki QOD:That was part of it, but maybe they thought back to Grayson's question
Khaki QOD:that had secretly been plaguing them.
Khaki QOD:Since the moment he's asked it, do you get lonely out here?
Khaki QOD:As I looked down at Grayson and gently stroked his soft hair for the millionth
Khaki QOD:time, it finally dawned on them.
Khaki QOD:They do get lonely.
Khaki QOD:They had never thought of it as the right word to describe what they felt,
Khaki QOD:but that was because they never realized until now what they were feeling.
Khaki QOD:They were feeling an emptiness, a yearning, a desire for somebody who
Khaki QOD:would listen deeply and intently when they spoke somebody kind and
Khaki QOD:trustworthy on whom they could depend for companionship And not have to
Khaki QOD:feel so empty fending for themselves.
Khaki QOD:This was the first time Robin could remember feeling so complete.
Khaki QOD:And now, so soon after reaching that epiphany, they would have to say
Khaki QOD:goodbye to the human who completed them.
Khaki QOD:They worried not only for themselves, but also for Grayson.
Khaki QOD:Would he survive out?
Khaki QOD:They weren't able to follow Grayson outside of the deepest part of the forest
Khaki QOD:and Grayson would still have to walk a long way before reaching his home.
Khaki QOD:In fact, did Robin even want Grayson to reach his home with a
Khaki QOD:way Grayson made it sound all the competition's stress and dishonesty.
Khaki QOD:It didn't seem at all like a place worth returning to
Khaki QOD:would Grayson really be happy.
Khaki QOD:Going back there.
Khaki QOD:They looked down and broke the tender silence that have
Khaki QOD:fallen over the two of them.
Khaki QOD:Can I ask you something?
Khaki QOD:Grayson's eyes shot open.
Khaki QOD:He'd almost dozed off from the gentle rocking of being carried by Robin.
Khaki QOD:I'm sure what's the point of it.
Khaki QOD:All your soul is so gentle.
Khaki QOD:Why do you, whether it by studying to be a worker and offering your servitude
Khaki QOD:to a machine in order to bring riches to other people who won't share it with
Khaki QOD:you, hi, do you spend so much time in doors raking in what little riches do
Khaki QOD:reach you, instead of say enjoying more nature walks, you need money to retire.
Khaki QOD:Grayson replied matter of faculty.
Khaki QOD:That's what everyone works for.
Khaki QOD:I'll take a cut of each paycheck.
Khaki QOD:I get, I've put it in a retirement fund that will last me when
Khaki QOD:I'm old and can't work anymore.
Khaki QOD:Hopefully by then, my knees will still be strong enough to
Khaki QOD:carry me on more nature walks.
Khaki QOD:If not, well, I'll just relax in a little cabin out in the woods somewhere.
Khaki QOD:What's stopping you from doing that now while you're still young now.
Khaki QOD:Grayson paused for a long time, staring off into the distance without
Khaki QOD:looking at anything in particular, he pondered the notion intensely as if
Khaki QOD:he had never once considered the idea.
Khaki QOD:Finally, after what felt like hours, he seemed to settle on an answer.
Khaki QOD:I don't have enough money now to last me for the rest of my life.
Khaki QOD:And in order to get that, I have to prove my.
Khaki QOD:Grayson craned his neck to look into Robin's eyes.
Khaki QOD:I know how ironic it is to be saying this, but I probably never leave here
Khaki QOD:if I didn't have work to get back to the sound of that made Robin's heart flutter.
Khaki QOD:I, I was hoping, you'd say that.
Khaki QOD:As they spoke, they reached into the satchel at their waist and
Khaki QOD:dug around until they found a scroll buried far at the bottom.
Khaki QOD:Grayson caught a glimpse of it for a split second as Robin lifted it
Khaki QOD:up, but it seemed to be written in a script long, lost the time.
Khaki QOD:I forgot to ask what was in that bag.
Khaki QOD:Greyston commented.
Khaki QOD:What does that say?
Khaki QOD:If you don't mind me?
Khaki QOD:Now seeing a human should concern themselves with Robyn dismissed.
Khaki QOD:W what's your favorite color?
Khaki QOD:Huh?
Khaki QOD:It's yellow, but where'd that come from Grayson asked confused.
Khaki QOD:I've learned, you can tell quite a lot about a person based on something as
Khaki QOD:simple as that Robin replied and then.
Khaki QOD:I'm deeply interested in learning as much as I can about you.
Khaki QOD:Ah, Grayson blushed once again.
Khaki QOD:Well, I'm just as fascinated by you and the life you live out
Khaki QOD:here, especially with how slow and tranquil everything is in this place.
Khaki QOD:I bet you probably don't even need to pay attention to what day of the week it is.
Khaki QOD:I wish I Grayson continued to chat.
Khaki QOD:Unaware that for the first time, since they started walking, Robin
Khaki QOD:wasn't really paying attention.
Khaki QOD:They were too busy reading from the scroll.
Khaki QOD:It was a particular Chapman's written in language only they could speak.
Khaki QOD:And in Chadman that until now, they never believed they would ever find a use for.
Khaki QOD:Just quietly enough so that Grayson wouldn't hear them over his own voice,
Khaki QOD:but despite how softly they read it, it didn't take long before they could observe
Khaki QOD:the spell taking effect for Grayson.
Khaki QOD:At first it felt like nothing more than a strange itch on his chest.
Khaki QOD:He scratched under his shirt appearing to not notice the
Khaki QOD:long yellow hairs sprouting.
Khaki QOD:We get to you chatting away with Robin.
Khaki QOD:As the yellow hair continued to grow out, pushing against a shirt before
Khaki QOD:climbing further up his neck, eventually reaching his short brown hair and
Khaki QOD:causing it to grow much longer and shift to the same color and texture
Khaki QOD:as the rest of the yellow fare.
Khaki QOD:It was at this point that Grayson still firmly fixated on the conversation.
Khaki QOD:Finally showed some signs of recognition of what was happening to him.
Khaki QOD:He couldn't explain it.
Khaki QOD:But he was suddenly feeling very hot at first.
Khaki QOD:He tried to ignore it, but before long it was almost suffocating.
Khaki QOD:Eventually he caved and took off his shirt, revealing what was
Khaki QOD:causing the feeling of hotness.
Khaki QOD:The fur hadn't just spread up his head.
Khaki QOD:It had spread further down his torso's.
Khaki QOD:No, it wasn't nearly as long and plush as the giant coat of fur hanging off
Khaki QOD:of his neck and flowing down his chest.
Khaki QOD:There was another healthy layer of shorter fare that had by now
Khaki QOD:reached all the way to his waist.
Khaki QOD:His front side was a tan-ish yellow that matched his more vivid yellow fluke.
Khaki QOD:While the rest of his torso had shifted into a dark brown that
Khaki QOD:matched the Oak trees surrounding him.
Khaki QOD:. Bye now, there was no way Grayson could notice what was happening to him yet.
Khaki QOD:Despite that Grayson still seemed blissfully unaware of the fact
Khaki QOD:that he was growing for a rollover.
Khaki QOD:He was completely enthralled with listening to Robin speak.
Khaki QOD:They spoke of the different types of trees that dotted the path, or maybe they spoke
Khaki QOD:of the different species of squirrels that like to hide acorns in those trees.
Khaki QOD:Grayson was having a hard time pinpointing exactly what Robin was saying.
Khaki QOD:He just had a goofy smile plastered on his face.
Khaki QOD:As he sat back and continued listening to Robbins, mesmerizing Lee, softer voice,
Khaki QOD:the brown fur didn't stop at his store.
Khaki QOD:It's spread down both of his arms.
Khaki QOD:And like before Grayson felt nothing more than an uncomfortable itching
Khaki QOD:and tugging sensation as the hair grew in and his nails shifted to
Khaki QOD:become yellow and much sharper.
Khaki QOD:It didn't even feel any pain as his skin seemed to extend itself
Khaki QOD:between his arms and torso with some new pseudo appendages growing and
Khaki QOD:lengthening from his hand to accompany.
Khaki QOD:Before long Grayson had a complete pair of large, yet functioning bat wings with
Khaki QOD:a skin being the same pale yellow as.
Khaki QOD:It's tailbone also extended uncomfortably as a little nub appeared on his behind,
Khaki QOD:and then the brown from marched onward down Grayson's legs, racist feet went
Khaki QOD:through a strange shift of their own as his nails lengthened into sharp claws
Khaki QOD:and the bones restructured to become more digital grade while still allowing
Khaki QOD:a good amount of movement in the toes.
Khaki QOD:They were now perfectly suited to live a double life.
Khaki QOD:They not only allowed for comfortable walking, but also tethering
Khaki QOD:with the claws to allow him to hang upside down from things.
Khaki QOD:All of these changes would have taken place under the cover of Grayson's
Khaki QOD:shoes, socks, and pants, but Grayson had long since abandoned those
Khaki QOD:somewhere on the path, along with this.
Khaki QOD:Robin took note of where he dropped them.
Khaki QOD:So it could pick them up later Grayson couldn't explain why
Khaki QOD:he felt the need to do that.
Khaki QOD:In fact, he was barely capable of explaining anything at this point, what
Khaki QOD:was originally a conversation between him and Robin had now become a game of
Khaki QOD:Robin continually talking to keep his hazy mind occupied his mental state at
Khaki QOD:this point could only be described as a balloon ride as if his own mind was
Khaki QOD:being blown through the wind direction.
Khaki QOD:Able to go only where the wind pushed it.
Khaki QOD:Robin's voice was the only tether he had to reality giving
Khaki QOD:his brain something to follow.
Khaki QOD:So he didn't become completely lost in his own subconscious.
Khaki QOD:The most, he felt was a bit more discomfort and itchiness on his face
Khaki QOD:as the last of the changes took place.
Khaki QOD:The brown first spread across his face, stretching his nose
Khaki QOD:and mouth into a small muscle.
Khaki QOD:As the nose shifted into a yellow colored fleshy triangle fitting for bath
Khaki QOD:like him, the further grew in around his eyes forms two yellow circles,
Khaki QOD:almost like eye shadow, and his eyes shifted to a dark red color, which at
Khaki QOD:the expense of making him look slightly demonic, enabled much better nightmare.
Khaki QOD:Finally his ears, which had long since shifted to the top of his head, grew out
Khaki QOD:tremendously stretching until they were almost as tall as the rest of his head.
Khaki QOD:The inside of his ears were yellow.
Khaki QOD:Once again, while they're brown for clashed, with a sea of messy yellow
Khaki QOD:fluff that surrounded them on all sides, Grayson now had much more control over
Khaki QOD:the muscle movements of his ears and he directed them to focus on Robin's voice.
Khaki QOD:So naturally that he didn't even think about.
Khaki QOD:Grayson they'll still anthropomorphic was now completely unrecognizable as
Khaki QOD:his old self in his place was a brown and yellow bat who still sat days
Khaki QOD:listening to the voice of the spirit, carrying him in their wooden arms.
Khaki QOD:He stayed leaning back against the mess of leaves, enveloping
Khaki QOD:Robin's chest as his legs dangled off the side of Robin's Palm lay.
Khaki QOD:Grayson stared at his legs, the strange brown furry appendages with their
Khaki QOD:long yellow claws swinging back and forth as they were rocked by Robbins
Khaki QOD:movement, something was wrong here.
Khaki QOD:Grayson couldn't focus on what exactly it was, but wait, in an instant, Grayson
Khaki QOD:snapped out of the strange trance.
Khaki QOD:He was in his ears.
Khaki QOD:Perked up his eyes widened his first stood on end.
Khaki QOD:He finally realized he didn't know how it had gone on so long without him noticing.
Khaki QOD:But at last he understood what was wrong.
Khaki QOD:Why was he sitting when the hanging was much more comfortable?
Khaki QOD:He cleared his throat and looked up at Robin.
Khaki QOD:Hey, would you mind?
Khaki QOD:He started, . Robin was relieved to hear that despite Grayson's changed
Khaki QOD:body, his voice still remained the same.
Khaki QOD:They had taken great lengths in reading the spell out properly to make sure
Khaki QOD:they changed only what was necessary.
Khaki QOD:Everything about Grayson was perfect just as he was the only thing he
Khaki QOD:needed was an excuse to not go back to his stressful life and excuse
Khaki QOD:that Robin was more than willing to.
Khaki QOD:Of course, there was a big part of Robyn that felt immoral doing this.
Khaki QOD:It felt like meddling and fate and nature far more than what they
Khaki QOD:normally permitted themselves to do.
Khaki QOD:But Robin rationalize it all by remembering what caused them to go
Khaki QOD:through with this in the first place.
Khaki QOD:Grayson wouldn't have been happy going back to his old life.
Khaki QOD:Even Grayson himself knew that deep in his heart and it showed through
Khaki QOD:the reluctance he'd had in his.
Khaki QOD:Grayson would be much happier.
Khaki QOD:Staying here with Robin.
Khaki QOD:They both would be much happier this way and they both knew it without a word.
Khaki QOD:Robin answered Grayson's query by stretching their arm out horizontally
Khaki QOD:as if it were a tree branch during the transition Grayson seamlessly hooked his
Khaki QOD:feet onto the arm, pivoted upside down and wrapped himself up in his wings.
Khaki QOD:Like a yellow cookie.
Khaki QOD:The movement was so seamless and natural that it looked as though Grayson had
Khaki QOD:been doing it his whole life in his mind.
Khaki QOD:He probably believed that he really had been waste and realized it was
Khaki QOD:a good thing that he shifted to the much cozier hanging position when he
Khaki QOD:did up ahead, he could see that Robin was finally reaching their desks.
Khaki QOD:Uh, river, which was surprisingly wide for her Creek, as Robin had described it,
Khaki QOD:though, maybe Robin was just comparing the Creek size to the size of their own body.
Khaki QOD:He knew how much they prefer to stay big with their head and the tree canopy as
Khaki QOD:Grayson and Robin approached the gently rushing river, both silently appreciated
Khaki QOD:the site of the rising moon, which was reflected cleanly in the pristine water.
Khaki QOD:The side of it made Grayson remember exactly how long their Walker.
Khaki QOD:When they'd first started the journey, the sun was still up.
Khaki QOD:They sure had come a long way.
Khaki QOD:All four, four Grayson chuckled.
Khaki QOD:Hey Robin, I don't want to spoil the moment, but um,
Khaki QOD:why did we come here again?
Khaki QOD:Uh, I think I forgot Robin laughed heartily in return.
Khaki QOD:You forgot.
Khaki QOD:That's very unlike you Grayson.
Khaki QOD:You.
Khaki QOD:We were just coming here so you could get a drink.
Khaki QOD:Remember?
Khaki QOD:Oh yeah.
Khaki QOD:Grayson remarked.
Khaki QOD:Calmly.
Khaki QOD:Of course they came for a drink.
Khaki QOD:How on earth did he manage to forget how parched he was?
Khaki QOD:He must have been too busy talking the day away with ramen, as he
Khaki QOD:always liked to do now, he felt like he was paying the price for it.
Khaki QOD:His throat was unbearably dry from all that.
Khaki QOD:Robin held their arm out above the river.
Khaki QOD:Just high enough that Grayson could close his eyes, submerge it, head in the
Khaki QOD:water and drink to his heart's content.
Khaki QOD:It might've looked awkward to anybody, not well versed in the art
Khaki QOD:of drinking while hanging upside down.
Khaki QOD:But for a bat like Grayson, it was simply the most comfortable way of doing
Khaki QOD:things from the moment he was born.
Khaki QOD:He was always happiest upside down, especially with Robin support.
Khaki QOD:Robin lifted Grayson back up into the air once he was sure he'd had his fill
Khaki QOD:here a real thirsty boy, aren't you?
Khaki QOD:They equipped.
Khaki QOD:They didn't get to make banter like that very often.
Khaki QOD:So they save at the moment.
Khaki QOD:Sorry to cut you off so soon.
Khaki QOD:But the blue Jay just told me I have some human garbage
Khaki QOD:to pick up back at the trail.
Khaki QOD:We came from
Khaki QOD:grayson side, clearly as upset as Robin was about their home being defiled,
Khaki QOD:another granola bar wrapper or something he asked by now, he was all too used to
Khaki QOD:the occasional annoying hunter or hiker who wandered through escrow door forest.
Khaki QOD:He hated them almost as much as Robin did.
Khaki QOD:Nope.
Khaki QOD:It's actually Robin laughed once again, as they spoke a third set of human clothes.
Khaki QOD:Shirts pants, shoes, even a backpack, the whole wardrobe, just on the
Khaki QOD:ground in the middle of nowhere, clothing, grace and replied curiously.
Khaki QOD:He paused that word.
Khaki QOD:Clothing almost seemed to hang in the air in front.
Khaki QOD:For a moment.
Khaki QOD:There was something familiar about Robin had described.
Khaki QOD:There was something recognizable, something recent that nagged
Khaki QOD:him at the back of his mind.
Khaki QOD:But just for a moment, that bit of music was quickly forgotten.
Khaki QOD:As Robin gently swung him around pivoting back on the path that came
Khaki QOD:from as the pair began, their retreats back to the deep forest, they had
Khaki QOD:always called home . Grayson muttered, only one thing under his breath.
Khaki QOD:I'll never understand humans.
Khaki QOD:This was the second and final part of where no
Khaki QOD:edit, edit.
Khaki QOD:This was the second and final part of where no man walks by Cigna
Khaki QOD:tally red for you by cocky you're faithful, five side companion.
Khaki QOD:You can find more stories on the web@thevoice.dog or find the show
Khaki QOD:wherever you get your podcasts.
Khaki QOD:Thank you for listening to the voice of dog.