(??? POV)
I watched the creature as it awakened, its eyes slowly opening and adjusting to the darkness around it. I was not expecting it to wake up so soon. From my observations, it seemed to keep a consistent sleep schedule. Awaken at six every morning, go to bed at eight every night.
"Perhaps I should have waited a little longer before getting a closer look. Oh well, not like it can see me."
While I could tell that the creature was fully awake, it didn't seem to be moving. At least yesterday morning it did something on that… device it carries around with it. Now though, it wasn't moving at all. I decided to look into its mind, to see if I could find anything to explain its odd behavior.
(Jacksons POV)
When I woke up, it was still dark outside. Either that, or I closed the curtains before falling asleep last night, and this castle had some really good blackout curtains. Since my alarm hasn't gone off yet, I assumed that it was the former, and tried to go back to sleep. I had agreed to take the first shift when patrolling the Empire's borders tomorrow, meaning that I was in for a long day of wandering around a frozen wasteland. I would need all the rest I could get.
I tried to adjust myself into a more comfortable position, only to find that I couldn't move. After a few attempts of trying to move anything, I stopped for a moment when a stray thought entered my mind.
"Sleep paralysis." I realized. I had dealt with sleep paralysis on and off for my entire life, so I recognized the signs. There's only one question in my mind, a question that was answered for me as I spotted the shape in the corner of the room.
"Ah, there's tonight's demon."
(??? POV)
"Ah, there's tonight's demon." The creature said in its own mind while looking directly at where I was sitting. I was shocked. I wasn’t supposed to be seen. Nothing was supposed to perceive me in this state. Yet here it was, seeing me clear as day and calling me a demon. What was the other term it used? 'Sleep paralysis'?
Yes, I think I've heard of that before. Some of my subjects would report that, some mornings, they would awaken, but be robbed of the ability to move their own bodies. Some even reported that they would be tormented by strange shadow creatures while they were in this state. They sit on their chests, or grab their necks and begin choking them, or even… other things that even I shall not repeat.
I always dismissed these reports as nothing more than rumors. As much as I wanted to look into them, I was always stuck dealing with one crisis or another. And then…
"And now this creature is calling me one. Most interesting. Perhaps there was some validity to those old rumors after all."
The creature spoke in its thoughts again. "Well, you gonna get this over with or what? I'm not a first timer, you know."
Now it was addressing me directly. While there was some fear in its voice, it sounded more mildly annoyed than anything else.
That's when the feeling came back. The feeling that I should know this creature. That we should've met long, long before this. But why was I getting this feeling? Yesterday was the first time I had seen anything like it. It may resemble a minotaur, but it clearly wasn't one. And yet, when I first laid my eyes on it...
(Jacksons POV)
"...Interesting. Most interesting." The demon finally said. I wasn't sure how to respond to that. Sure, I've had sleep paralysis demons speak to me before, but never in a language that I couldn’t understand. From the tone of voice and the fact it was keeping its distance, it didn't seem like it wanted to torment me. If anything, it seemed more like it was observing me.
"Perhaps it isn't a sleep paralysis demon? Or maybe it's biding its time?"
“Maybe I could question it? I mean, it's shown some interest in me. I could get some information out of it.”
Before I had the chance, however, sunlight began pouring into the window, and the maybe-not-demon chose that moment to flee into the shadows. After a few moments, I felt the paralysis lift itself from my form. I took a moment to check the time on my phone.
6:43 AM
"I guess now is as good a time as any to get up." With a yawn and a stretch, I was standing next to the bed and on my way to the bathroom, ready to get prepared for my long, cold day out.