Page 33 of Hollow

“Other cryptids?” Dimitri asked as casually as he could muster.

Jack shook his head, gesturing for a moment as he chewed.

“Most monsters don’t hang around long,” Jack said, scooping up another massive bite. “My mother’s magic appealed to a lot of supernaturally inclined folks, but not so much me.”

With that, Jack lifted his mask just enough to stuff his mouth with food.

“Hmmm, so most of your company has come from humans?”

There was a long silence between them. Jack seemingly swallowed the entire bite from before with no chewing.

“Humans are hard to be with,” Jack said. “They’re usually impressed in the beginning, but some stuff will always scare them no matter what they say.”

Jack’s shadowy expression on his pumpkin turned somber, and Dimitri suspected a few of his previous partners might have preferred the Horseless Headsman keep the headgear on at all times.

“Then there’s the real challenge,” Jack continued. “Not every monster is immortal, but me… I’m forever. Well, at least until Astaroth destroys the entire world, but I’m not holding my breath.”

“Immortality can be isolating.” Dimitri studied Jack’s sad eyes.

“Everyone just grows older. They change, they die, the world keeps moving. But me… I just stay like this forever.” Jack stared at his hands, and Dimitri wondered what he saw, what he thought.

“And I stay like this.” Dimitri reached out a single hand, using his black claws to gently graze the lines of Jack’s palm.

“Do Leshy not age?” Jack asked. “How does that even work?”

“We do, and we don’t.” Dimitri continued tracing his nails over Jack’s left hand. “As a youth, I aged pretty normally. At least, according to my mother. My father says my aging was much slower, given my human genetics.”

Jack seemed to listen intently, even if his gaze remained locked on Dimitri’s gentle touch.

“Leshy are eternal but not,” Dimitri explained, poorly perhaps when he noticed Jack’s expression scrunch. “Once I reached maturity, I stopped growing. So long as I remain in the forest, connected to nature, I will maintain my vitality.”

Dimitri hesitated for a moment, contemplating his next words. Part of him wanted to remain silent, to quell the pain of his own past, but another part of him wanted to connect with Jack. Still, a small piece of him worried he’d make this about his own struggles, ignoring Jack’s pain.

“I used to hate my immortality, believing it would lead to eternal servitude to monstrous humans.” Dimitri paused for a long time, allowing Jack’s eyes to meet him. “I would even reject the Hearst’s demands to restore myself when their hunters would drag me into the woods.”

Not just any woods, but the bland, dead forest on the Hearst property. All the money in the world and their many acres of nature seemed desiccated most days. Dimitri hated the sad trees and the unnatural soil and the broken wildlife.

“What made you restore your vitality?”

“Pain, mostly.” Dimitri’s hand retreated on instinct, but Jack reached out and grabbed hold of him, steadying Dimitri. “I learned to be obedient in order to survive, even if most days I did not want to live.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I am not,” Dimitri continued. “I hated my life for many years. I saw immortality as nothing but an eternal prison serving monsters more wicked than any others I helped track down.”

Dimitri paused, taking in every part of Jack, and releasing that sorrow that haunted him most days.

“Now, I can see immortality as a gift. I can spend my days, my time, with the goofiest, most ridiculous, most absolutely silly monster in the world.”

“Those are some real choice adjectives there, buddy.” Jack chuckled. “You couldn’t have gone with clever, suave, or charming?”

“How about adorable? Beautiful?” Dimitri asked, adding a bit of a growl into his voice. “Sexy?”

Jack slapped his hands over his pumpkin head, almost trying to cover his flustered expression.

“You are perfect to look at, with or without the pumpkin.” Dimitri smiled.

Jack lifted his pumpkin off his head, revealing his face for a second time. Not since they kissed had he been so bold. Without saying it, Dimitri noticed how nervous Jack was. It wasn’t just his body language, but also the way his eyes flitted to meet Dimitri’s before looking away. He seemed to expect Dimitri to react with disgust, fear, or hate. But Dimitri couldn’t feel any of those things when in Jack’s presence.