Sometimes you can't help but be forced to be the host of some unpleasant guests. Never thought that it would happen in such an absurd and dreadful manner.
The Unwanted Visitor (FENNAH) [COMPLETE]
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1: The Unwanted Visitor
- Location
- Italia
A few warnings before starting this story:
-This was more of a test to see if I can work with this specific genre. Still, I will offer other chapters if people shows interest in this effort.
-Satellite City has some 'interesting' characters. Usually I put images to show said characters, but their designs can be shown in the forum as per the rules. Differently from the QQ/FFN versions, this one will have enough censorship to avoid showing anything overly gorey, or closely NSFW. I really don't crave the ban...
Setting: Satellite City (by Sam Fennah)
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
The air was tense… and my lungs were forcefully pressing inward as my breathing was limited by something unnatural.
Despite my uneasiness and limitation, my stare was fiercely locked onto the display of the TV. I wasn't paying attention to the program currently playing, yet I was unable to change the channel.
The living room was shrouded in darkness, and the only means of looking around the room was by the light projecting from the television. It was muted though, a sign to confirm that something in this room wasn't quite right.
Sitting by the couch was the prime culprit of this unusual circumstance. Part of me wished to lower my eyes onto the intruder, before the rational side of my brain reminded me that I risked a quick death if I wasn't careful around her.
I didn't need to look at the creature to remember her appearance.
One might confuse her for a plain white-furred cat or a small dog. Upon closer inspection however, the facade is cracked to reveal something far more sinister and malicious than initially expected. Her pristine white fur had some irregular red spots that could only make me think of fresh blood.
A long, slender tail waved lazily around. Perhaps the most innocents of bit in her overall body.
Standing mostly on her hinder legs while walking around, the creature had the most dreadful of smiles. Sharp teeth that created a murderous mirror.
A simple hat calmly sat on top of her head, doing little to hide the heterochromic eyes that she had.
Her left eye was a pure silver, with her pupil once more highlighting the unnaturalness of such a being. The right one was… something that reminded me of an injury.
I wasn't sure if the red sclera and the red eye was something the creature was born with. I never felt the 'importance' of inquiring about it considering how there were far more pressing issues about her mere presence.
Lying onto my chest with her full weight, the strange being that had been visiting my home for several afternoons now was lazily waiting for something. At least, that's what I could deduce from the lack of our usual interaction.
A giggle shattered the unpleasant silence I had tried to live by for the remainder of the visit.
My guest just wasn't in the mood of merely resting, it would seem from the way she really wanted to talk.
"Come now, darling. It's not like I'm actually trying to really kill you," The creature mentioned in fluent English. "I'm just passing by… waiting for things to settle back home."
Does she even have a proper home?
From the frequency she has set with her unwanted, irregular visits, I dare say that wherever she lived wasn't a place she like staying in for long.
This was just mere speculation, so I rather not inquire about her life any further.
And in the middle of that sea of uncertainty, I knew only two things about my visitors.
"I fail to see why I should trust you on that, Lucy."
Lucy Lacemaker. The name felt strangely human, but it would be incorrect to define this 'Kivouachian' as such. The creature already despised being in contact with more than a single human being at the time, and I really didn't need to irk her more than she would usually be.
I still had plenty of injuries by my hands to prove how dangerous the critter really was.
"But you don't need to trust me!" She pointed out with a wider smile. "You just need to listen and be a good host and pillow, little prey."
Ironic to think that I was 'little' in her eyes despite our noticeable size difference.
She rolled around, settling on her belly and putting me in a true moment of fear as I knew what she could do with her torso.
"Lucy. Why?"
The creature merely stared up at me, then lazily poked at my chin with her right paw.
"Oh that, I don't see the need to tell you, darling," She rebuked giddily. "In fact, the only thing I need you to be is a nice resting place. No need for chatting here."
Frowning at her response, I found myself rather annoyed at how strange this predicament was. Yet, there was little I could do to escape from this odd situation. One wrong move, and I would find my heart and lungs eaten in a single motion.
Lucy knew this all too well, as she happily tried finding a good spot to sleep.
…
"But then again," She muttered with a yawn. "I guess I can spare just a couple of words since you haven't called the police."
I hadn't, but not because of some attachment I had developed for the murderous critter. Lucy was a monster, one that should've been reported ages ago… but then I had two strong reasons to not take that risk.
The first issue was whether the police would believe the bizarre situation I had found myself in. They would probably doubt me, and then question me if I had consumed drugs or had a mental illness to explain why I had come up with such an outrageous tale.
As for the second reason, I had this primal notion that Lucy couldn't be captured by mere police. It had something to due with her being able to move very fast, and having the capacity to morph her body into the most gruesome of weapons. This lead me to conclude that she couldn't be killed by normal means.
And yet, I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I was still interested in asking a few more questions about her presence here.
"Why me?"
That was the first thing I could ask out without my mind finding any deadly outcomes out of it.
The Kivouachian hummed for a moment, pondering about the query.
"It's because… you were the first one that I visited," She answered bluntly. "Nothing special, just enjoying the fact you tend to become fairly amusing every time I come around for a visit."
The first three visits was me trying to fight her back, ending up only getting injured the more I tried. The rest could only be described as murderous hide 'n seek. She killed it as a seeker.
"Fair enough," I muttered back with a tired sigh.
I thought quietly about any other questions, but I was interrupted by her tapping at my chin again. Her paws were quite soft for those owned by a monstrous creature.
"Have ya been having trouble with sleep, darling?" She asked with some fascination. "I can tell from the bags you got under your eyes."
Blinking, I contemplated whether answering with a lie would actually spare not only my privacy, but my life as well. Sadly, I had found out during one her previous visits that she hated it when someone lied to her.
Thus I gave a nod and she giggled again.
"Have ya been having nightmares of me coming by for a nightly visit?" Lucy pressed on with utmost interest now. "Perhaps with me holding a knife that I can plunge in ya chest?"
I finally glanced down at her and I found myself staring at her face. Her binocular disorder was there to bring me even more nervousness while talking about this.
"Kind of," I admitted. "But… I also have other things to be afraid of."
Her smile faltered a little bit at the second part of the response.
"Oh? What is it about? Is someone trying to kill you already?" The Kivouachian inquired more. "Or maybe you're thinking about going out the 'easy way'-"
"No and no," I replied curtly. "I'm just having… trouble at work."
"Define trouble? Is the paperwork drowning you? Or maybe your boss is demanding and asking for your head?"
I kept quiet for sometime and… I blinked.
"Why do you want to know?"
She huffed. "You started talking about it, I was bored enough to actually pay attention to it."
I suppose that could be a good reasons considering who Lucy was as an individual. But-
"Weren't you planning to sleep or something?"
The critter tilted her head to the side at that. "It has to be something serious if ya are unwilling to tell about it."
Her paw grew a little bit sturdier and… something sharp poked more at my skin.
Claws, she has created red claws.
"There has been a massive let off for many clerks at the workplace in the last. I think this is just the beginning of a full collapse," I explained with a calm tone. "I don't have a backup if I end up fired because of it."
She nodded, lessening the pressure of her claws as she seemed to think about my words.
"That's sounds… like something dull," The Kivouachian judged placidly. "And boring. Really boring."
I would've groaned at that reaction. With the way she was demanding for more details, I had expected her to be thinking about something about it.
Something dreadful but… still something.
"Hmm," Lucy hummed again, this time standing up from her perch and stretching a little before staring down on me with a simple smile. "I guess that I should be going now. I guess things should have calmed down by now."
I frowned. "I thought that you said you needed a few hours-"
"Already pouting at my departure?" She interjected mirthfully. "No. You need some proper rest. How would I be able to 'play' with you if you're tired and unable to give me your best frightened expression? I don't want to waste more time finding a replacement right now."
She jumped off my chest and started to walk away through the hallway, towards the door and… then silence.
I sighed, feeling a literal burden having been moved away from myself.
"Crazy bitch-"
"I'm still here~!"
I tensed up and stared at the doorstep with a wide-eyed expression.
The sound of giggles would provide me with plenty of nightmares as I was finally allowed some rest for today. Surprisingly enough, I still managed to get some energy back from the slumber and…
Hopefully things weren't going to escalate further with my unwanted visitor.
-This was more of a test to see if I can work with this specific genre. Still, I will offer other chapters if people shows interest in this effort.
-Satellite City has some 'interesting' characters. Usually I put images to show said characters, but their designs can be shown in the forum as per the rules. Differently from the QQ/FFN versions, this one will have enough censorship to avoid showing anything overly gorey, or closely NSFW. I really don't crave the ban...
Setting: Satellite City (by Sam Fennah)
- The Unwanted Visitor -
(or 'Lucy needs a place away from the consequences of her behavior')
(or 'Lucy needs a place away from the consequences of her behavior')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
The air was tense… and my lungs were forcefully pressing inward as my breathing was limited by something unnatural.
Despite my uneasiness and limitation, my stare was fiercely locked onto the display of the TV. I wasn't paying attention to the program currently playing, yet I was unable to change the channel.
The living room was shrouded in darkness, and the only means of looking around the room was by the light projecting from the television. It was muted though, a sign to confirm that something in this room wasn't quite right.
Sitting by the couch was the prime culprit of this unusual circumstance. Part of me wished to lower my eyes onto the intruder, before the rational side of my brain reminded me that I risked a quick death if I wasn't careful around her.
I didn't need to look at the creature to remember her appearance.
One might confuse her for a plain white-furred cat or a small dog. Upon closer inspection however, the facade is cracked to reveal something far more sinister and malicious than initially expected. Her pristine white fur had some irregular red spots that could only make me think of fresh blood.
A long, slender tail waved lazily around. Perhaps the most innocents of bit in her overall body.
Standing mostly on her hinder legs while walking around, the creature had the most dreadful of smiles. Sharp teeth that created a murderous mirror.
A simple hat calmly sat on top of her head, doing little to hide the heterochromic eyes that she had.
Her left eye was a pure silver, with her pupil once more highlighting the unnaturalness of such a being. The right one was… something that reminded me of an injury.
I wasn't sure if the red sclera and the red eye was something the creature was born with. I never felt the 'importance' of inquiring about it considering how there were far more pressing issues about her mere presence.
Lying onto my chest with her full weight, the strange being that had been visiting my home for several afternoons now was lazily waiting for something. At least, that's what I could deduce from the lack of our usual interaction.
A giggle shattered the unpleasant silence I had tried to live by for the remainder of the visit.
My guest just wasn't in the mood of merely resting, it would seem from the way she really wanted to talk.
"Come now, darling. It's not like I'm actually trying to really kill you," The creature mentioned in fluent English. "I'm just passing by… waiting for things to settle back home."
Does she even have a proper home?
From the frequency she has set with her unwanted, irregular visits, I dare say that wherever she lived wasn't a place she like staying in for long.
This was just mere speculation, so I rather not inquire about her life any further.
And in the middle of that sea of uncertainty, I knew only two things about my visitors.
"I fail to see why I should trust you on that, Lucy."
Lucy Lacemaker. The name felt strangely human, but it would be incorrect to define this 'Kivouachian' as such. The creature already despised being in contact with more than a single human being at the time, and I really didn't need to irk her more than she would usually be.
I still had plenty of injuries by my hands to prove how dangerous the critter really was.
"But you don't need to trust me!" She pointed out with a wider smile. "You just need to listen and be a good host and pillow, little prey."
Ironic to think that I was 'little' in her eyes despite our noticeable size difference.
She rolled around, settling on her belly and putting me in a true moment of fear as I knew what she could do with her torso.
"Lucy. Why?"
The creature merely stared up at me, then lazily poked at my chin with her right paw.
"Oh that, I don't see the need to tell you, darling," She rebuked giddily. "In fact, the only thing I need you to be is a nice resting place. No need for chatting here."
Frowning at her response, I found myself rather annoyed at how strange this predicament was. Yet, there was little I could do to escape from this odd situation. One wrong move, and I would find my heart and lungs eaten in a single motion.
Lucy knew this all too well, as she happily tried finding a good spot to sleep.
…
"But then again," She muttered with a yawn. "I guess I can spare just a couple of words since you haven't called the police."
I hadn't, but not because of some attachment I had developed for the murderous critter. Lucy was a monster, one that should've been reported ages ago… but then I had two strong reasons to not take that risk.
The first issue was whether the police would believe the bizarre situation I had found myself in. They would probably doubt me, and then question me if I had consumed drugs or had a mental illness to explain why I had come up with such an outrageous tale.
As for the second reason, I had this primal notion that Lucy couldn't be captured by mere police. It had something to due with her being able to move very fast, and having the capacity to morph her body into the most gruesome of weapons. This lead me to conclude that she couldn't be killed by normal means.
And yet, I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I was still interested in asking a few more questions about her presence here.
"Why me?"
That was the first thing I could ask out without my mind finding any deadly outcomes out of it.
The Kivouachian hummed for a moment, pondering about the query.
"It's because… you were the first one that I visited," She answered bluntly. "Nothing special, just enjoying the fact you tend to become fairly amusing every time I come around for a visit."
The first three visits was me trying to fight her back, ending up only getting injured the more I tried. The rest could only be described as murderous hide 'n seek. She killed it as a seeker.
"Fair enough," I muttered back with a tired sigh.
I thought quietly about any other questions, but I was interrupted by her tapping at my chin again. Her paws were quite soft for those owned by a monstrous creature.
"Have ya been having trouble with sleep, darling?" She asked with some fascination. "I can tell from the bags you got under your eyes."
Blinking, I contemplated whether answering with a lie would actually spare not only my privacy, but my life as well. Sadly, I had found out during one her previous visits that she hated it when someone lied to her.
Thus I gave a nod and she giggled again.
"Have ya been having nightmares of me coming by for a nightly visit?" Lucy pressed on with utmost interest now. "Perhaps with me holding a knife that I can plunge in ya chest?"
I finally glanced down at her and I found myself staring at her face. Her binocular disorder was there to bring me even more nervousness while talking about this.
"Kind of," I admitted. "But… I also have other things to be afraid of."
Her smile faltered a little bit at the second part of the response.
"Oh? What is it about? Is someone trying to kill you already?" The Kivouachian inquired more. "Or maybe you're thinking about going out the 'easy way'-"
"No and no," I replied curtly. "I'm just having… trouble at work."
"Define trouble? Is the paperwork drowning you? Or maybe your boss is demanding and asking for your head?"
I kept quiet for sometime and… I blinked.
"Why do you want to know?"
She huffed. "You started talking about it, I was bored enough to actually pay attention to it."
I suppose that could be a good reasons considering who Lucy was as an individual. But-
"Weren't you planning to sleep or something?"
The critter tilted her head to the side at that. "It has to be something serious if ya are unwilling to tell about it."
Her paw grew a little bit sturdier and… something sharp poked more at my skin.
Claws, she has created red claws.
"There has been a massive let off for many clerks at the workplace in the last. I think this is just the beginning of a full collapse," I explained with a calm tone. "I don't have a backup if I end up fired because of it."
She nodded, lessening the pressure of her claws as she seemed to think about my words.
"That's sounds… like something dull," The Kivouachian judged placidly. "And boring. Really boring."
I would've groaned at that reaction. With the way she was demanding for more details, I had expected her to be thinking about something about it.
Something dreadful but… still something.
"Hmm," Lucy hummed again, this time standing up from her perch and stretching a little before staring down on me with a simple smile. "I guess that I should be going now. I guess things should have calmed down by now."
I frowned. "I thought that you said you needed a few hours-"
"Already pouting at my departure?" She interjected mirthfully. "No. You need some proper rest. How would I be able to 'play' with you if you're tired and unable to give me your best frightened expression? I don't want to waste more time finding a replacement right now."
She jumped off my chest and started to walk away through the hallway, towards the door and… then silence.
I sighed, feeling a literal burden having been moved away from myself.
"Crazy bitch-"
"I'm still here~!"
I tensed up and stared at the doorstep with a wide-eyed expression.
The sound of giggles would provide me with plenty of nightmares as I was finally allowed some rest for today. Surprisingly enough, I still managed to get some energy back from the slumber and…
Hopefully things weren't going to escalate further with my unwanted visitor.
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2: Spoiled Tea with Salt
- Location
- Italia
- Spoiled Tea with Salt -
(or 'How Lucy tried to get some tea and failed making conversation... again')
(or 'How Lucy tried to get some tea and failed making conversation... again')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
It was early in the morning when I found myself tapping at the keyboard of my computer.
Paperwork was growing more tedious than expected, and the noticeable growth of the usual workload had forced me to bring some of it here at home.
It wasn't a novelty, but it was definitively a surprise that I hadn't expected to be subjected to.
It has only been two days since I had that strange conversation with Lucy... and to my growing confusion and dread, it has been peaceful.
I was wary as I knew that the Kivouachian was not something that stopped out of compassion.
There was no compassion. There was no positive feeling that Lucy might be directing at me.
There was no compassion within her. I was certain that there were no positive feelings that Lucy could be directing at me.
She wanted me to fully be awake and have no hindrances caused by exhaustion.
II was the prey, and she was the playful predator trying to unravel all of the details that would lead to my highest form of fright. It was like I was the silly mouse, and she was a scientist without a humane moral compass… and I hated all of it.
I was glad for the peace, yet I despised the reasons for it.
So there I was, my full attention directed towards finishing up accounting, when I suddenly found my stopping at the sound of loud noises.
It was pure instinct, something I had learn to sharpen from the first day Lucy had made an uninvited visit.
The noises continued, but I soon realized that it wasn't coming from anywhere within the room. Easing up, I proceeded to save up my current work and turn off the device. I felt reasonably uneasy at the chances of my possible visitor wishing to dig into my documents.
I closed the door of the room behind me as I walked into the corridor outside, my sight directed at the path where the noises were coming from.
The kitchen. I felt my heart squeezing in dread at the very chance that the creature had found my cooking knives. It was no secret that she had a morbid fascination over the sharp cutlery, and I had tried my best to hide those away from her after each visits.
And every time, Lucy would easily find the knives and try to make me a pincushion.
I might not be a jock, but I considered myself nimble enough to swiftly dodge danger whenever it was thrown my way.
My stepping was cautious, as each step was filled with an unnerved tension, ready to bolt away from any threat at a moment's notice.
The quiet march to the kitchen was uneventful, but it left me in a state of pure nervousness as I walked inside the place.
The kitchen's main light was on, displaying the entirety of the room and… the damage left around by Lucy.
Numerous broken teacups and tiny plates, I could see some of the tea boxes I had stored away now clawed open, with some of the bags having been cut open and rendered useless.
Finally I turned at the strange smell of burning coming from the… stove!
Panicking at the sight of a fierce fire licking over the metal container set over the stove, I rushed to regulate the gas through the small knob assigned to this very task.
The flame lessened to a calmer and less dangerous presence, and I stared at it for a while before actually drawing a relieved sigh.
It was in this very moment that I noticed that inside the container were some bags of tea and water, prompting a confused frown at the strange development.
Lucy likes tea?
Now that was a surprise I wasn't sure how to digest properly. Thus, I merely turned around to find if the Kivouachian still lurked in the room.
I gave a thorough look behind me, trying to see if she was hiding by some cupboards, or maybe even behind the central table. Seeing no hint of her presence nearby, coupled with the lack of noises that could suggest it, I slowly returned to the stove and… her paws were on my cheeks.
"Good morning, little prey!"
"FUUUCK!"
I backed away instantly as I found myself staring at that crazy bitch. Giggles filled my ears as Lucy swiftly and gracefully landed near to the stove, staring at me with a giddy look as I stared at her with a scared/confused/angry glare.
"What the fuck!?"
"Sorry, darling, but I couldn't wasted the opportunity," The Kivouachian replied back mirthfully. "Plus, I'm not here to kill you. Yet."
...What?
"Then why are you here?" I inquired with an annoyed voice. I was still recovering from that jumpscare and that devious smile of hers just wasn't making it easy for me to calm down.
"Just a small issue at home. Another blackout," She explained curtly. "And I don't want to be the one to fix stuff again. Not since what happened last time."
I was curious about the 'last time', but I wasn't in a position to inquire more about it. Instead, I turned my attention at the mess by the floor.
"And you decided to turn my kitchen in a battleground… why?"
"I just want a cup of tea!"
"But why did you make this much of a mess!?" I retorted with a louder voice.
"Because things are difficult when you're my size and with these paws."
"Can't you just morph your body?" I asked with a suspicious tone, noticing her smile twitching mirthfully at that remembrance.
"Oh… Oops."
Shaking my head, I returned my attention on the tea. I guess I could get myself a cup too with how much she had prepped by the container.
There was a strange moment of silence that ensued from that conversation. The critter was staring intensely at the tea as it was slowly heating up in the container, and I took this opportunity to contemplate over the situation.
She wasn't trying to murder me right now and… that made the circumstance rather odd. Almost unnerving considering that my mind had long established that Lucy equaled to my possible doom.
But right now the scene was peaceful.
There was none of the previous tension seconds I had to endure while the creature happily tortured me with giddy threats and direct attempts to harm me.
Quite odd and relieving… but I still had some questions to demand from the pesky critter.
"Lucy, were you trying to burn the kitchen down?"
She tensed up a little bit, turning and offering me a brief confused look.
"What now?" She inquired with some interest.
"The stove was catching on fire when I entered the kitchen," I explained calmly. "The flame was too high and too intense."
"Oh, just speeding up the process."
…
"Lucy, you can't 'speed up the process' with tea," I reminded dryly. "You can burn the kitchen with that impatience. Or even cause some gas leak and explode the entire flat."
…
She shrugged. "Everything's fine."
...That's it?
Groaning and massaging my poor temples, I decided that sharing a tea with her wouldn't make the difference. There is nothing salvageable in that creature of pure chaos, and I was an idiot to hope that the 'hunting' would come to an end.
Once the tea was done, I lifted the contained by its handle through a mitt and brought it to the table.
I served the tea for a simple cup and sighed. "How much sugar?"
Jumping to the central table, Lucy hummed as she stared down at her cup. "Salt."
I didn't even wanted to ask about it, merely going to take the salt shaker and leaving it by the table.
Once I was sure that she was ready to have a nice drink, I turned and made my way towards the doorstep-
"Where do you think you're going?"
I stopped to glance back at the Kivouachian. Lucy looked slightly confused, her smile faltering a little and… I shrugged.
"I still have works to do. Can't bother for some tea." Especially when you are around.
She spared a slow blink before returning to her tea, starting to sip by the edge of the cup.
I was already gone back to my bedroom, my attention returning to my computer as I turned it on.
Expecting for Lucy to check on what I was doing, I kept a tense posture for the next couple of hours. It was unsettling how quiet things were now that I knew that Lucy was here, and I found my focus drifting away more than once at how smart it was to leave her alone by the kitchen.
She hadn't found the knives yet, and maybe my unwillingness to spend time around her beyond our usual 'plays' would've warranted some retaliation from her.
But nothing happened. I was left alone for the remainder of the morning, and I took a proper break only by lunchtime.
Hearing nothing worth of dread, I returned to the kitchen with less dread than the first time. I entered in there and… I stared at quite confusing.
The mess of broken cups and plates was no longer there in the floor for me to see. The pieces had been put in the trash together with the unusable tea bags.
The metal container used to prepare the tea and Lucy's cup were by the sink, both looking still in need to be cleaned.
But what truly took me by surprise was the lone cup of tea that was left on the table.
I glanced at it, noticing that it looked pretty normal at first sight. My nose picked nothing different from the usual delicious scent… but the cup was cold.
How long has this been in here?
My confusion was only skyrocketing as I took a seat by the table and lifted the cup closer to my face. I sipped at it, grimacing instantly as the tea was indeed cold. And the salt. Why anyone would want salt in a normal tea?
Did Lucy prepare this? Had she expected for me to return to check on her after I had left the kitchen?
I didn't have the means to know what truly happened, nor why would Lucy go as far as to make another cup of tea for me.
Did she expect to share some more words with me? Did she have other reasons to be avoiding her home right now?
I was unsure how to handle the situation, and I wasn't going to drink this spoiled cup of tea.
With that day passed spending most of my time on the paperwork, I didn't linger too much over this confusing circumstance.
I knew that Lucy was weird. And that her reasons were far from benevolent.
Maybe she had expected to spill the cup of tea on me. Maybe burn my hands with it.
The only thing that I knew for sure was… that I ruined Lucy's plans by being annoyed at her shenanigans. And I know that some retribution was going to happen because of it.
------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-
AN
There is a legitimate explanation as why an usually murderous and sadistic critter is actually trying to 'appear kind' before someone like the MC.
And yes, I've ultimately decided to continue this... but the chapter will be incredibly shorter than my other stories. I don't consider it a 'super-serious' project, and I find it a good way to experiment over the genre and see how I can work other stories like this one.
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3: A Walk in the Park
- Location
- Italia
- A Walk in the Park -
(or 'How I tried and failed miserably to avoid Lucy Lacemaker')
(or 'How I tried and failed miserably to avoid Lucy Lacemaker')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
While I hadn't received any visits from Lucy since last time, I found myself planning out how to avoid being at home during the afternoon.
This change in behavior was defined by the fact that Lucy never visited before lunch.
While I wasn't sure if this was due to some other business keeping her occupied and away from me, I was still quick to pick up this valuable piece of information to help in this very situation.
While Wigan wasn't as big as any of the major English cities, it is still counted as quite large considering its location. With being located a little bit south of Lancashire and west of Manchester, the town was quite homely and furnished with plenty of parks and shops.
I wasn't picky with the possible places to live in, especially when I had decided to settle there on my own when I was picked for my current job. While accounting could be quite annoying to go through with how cramped the office was, the wages were decent enough to let me live a comfortable life.
Yawning a little, I leant even more onto the bench while staring at the cloudy sky.
It's been three days now since I've gone through the hassle of staying outdoors after work. My current goal was to get Lucy bored of my lack of presence.
Normally , the 'make Lucy bored of me' would've been quickly labeled as a quick way to become an ex-person. If I made a sole mistake in either trying to become 'uninteresting' or even piss her off more by trying to stand my own ground against her, death would be the only natural outcome to expect.
Which is why, despite the inherent risks in this plan, I decided the best course of action would be to add a second element.
I needed to not only become 'boring', but 'unattainable' as well.
Since Lucy had selected me out of a random cast of people living by themselves, I felt confident that she had nothing to keep track of me when I wasn't at the flat.
Thus, by staying away from that very place, she wouldn't be able to do anything about my little trickery.
Some would call it a coward's solution. And I wouldn't disagree about that.
But considering the circumstances and the utter terror that the crazy entity would leave in me every time she decided to visit, I think I will happily accept the title of coward over getting hunted down by the Kivouachian.
And the beautiful thing about this? It was working. This simple, stupid plan actually helped me avoid encountering Lucy in my own home.
I had expected a visit a little earlier or even after dinner, but the smiling fiend seemingly decided against going through that kind of trouble.
Once more, I was happily reminded that I was more of a 'safe house's owner' that she would need to stay out of the problems she would cause at her own home.
I wasn't sure of how many Kivouachians existed and how many lived together with Lucy, but I had a small theory about Lucy having made plenty of enemies with her unusual attitude.
Maybe her kind wasn't as terrible as she had described it to be.
Creatures born in brutality and raised by the supremacy of the strongest. I wasn't sure about the details, but the way she would get 'poetic' over these 'good old times' was enough to leave me in a state of general unease when thinking about others of her ilk.
Did they share similar appearances with this devious creature? Or maybe, there were different 'sub-species' within their people?
Ignoring this little digression over what I wasn't going to be facing anytime soon, or ever again as far as I was concerned, I nonetheless prepared for what was going to be a quiet but pleasant victory.
Because, while this might sound like a temporary answer to a deadly problem, I knew that Lucy would eventually get tired and lose focus on me. It would surely leave her irritated, but she wouldn't do as far as take revenge on this case.
Maybe she would perform one final prank before leaving me be for the rest of my mortal life, but nothing more.
The only issue with my plan was that I had to skip numerous breaks at work and give plenty of sleep hours to my workload to avoid getting in trouble with my boss. I had only managed to get just four hours of rest each day and… it was all worth it.
With me being at peace and away from facing the murderous creature, I could take some naps to drain the stress these kinds of situations created.
This park was pretty large compared to the rest, and the presence of a proper bench that didn't look ready to collapse under its weight meant that I could find some actual rest during these trying times.
A suave gust of wind kept me slightly awake and wary of what was happening around me. Leaves fleetingly danced over the bench as the wind took them away from my lazy sight, renewing the natural peace that I was finding here and now.
I sighed calmly, enjoying as much as I could that loud silence and…
…
I found myself blinking as I noticed a strange noise approaching. It started intensifying the more I listened to it, prompting my stare to move and try to see where it was coming from.
Blinking again, I stopped looking around as I finally found the origin of this sound.
It was wing flapping and… the creature I was giving the most shocked expression I could muster at was a bloody dragon!
...Or I think it was one at first glance. The logical side of my brain quickly corrected my early thought by saying that it was a Wyvern.
Slightly smaller than a mythological dragon, its wings were attached to his frontal limbs rather than sprouting from its back. Its entire body was azure, with a couple of scales being lighter or darker shades of blue.
Its serpentine head sported three pairs of dark blue eyes, all six of those aiming right at where I was sitting by.
Or so I thought until it started to speak.
"Ludwig has been trying to find you for an hour now," He said with a slightly tense and annoyed tone. "Why are you close to this human?"
I froze up a little bit as I recognized that he wasn't speaking at me. But at someone right beside me.
So I slowly turned to check on his target, bracing myself from a certain fright and-
"Hello~!"
"GAAAH!!"
The closeup wide grin that Lucy had been having near to my face for God knows how long widened even more as I suddenly dived away from the sudden jumpscare. I fell off the bench and right onto the ground.
Her laugh, surprisingly a mix of melodious, malicious and creepy, tore through the uneasy groans that followed this discovery and my reaction.
"You- when -HOW!?"
My brain had short-circuited because of the fright, but the small Kivouachian seemed to calm down her laugh enough to offer an explanation.
"It was when you decided to go with this little route, darling," Lucy explained giddily. "When I noticed you were gone, I decided to see what you were trying to do. If this was a planned 'outdoor trip' or you trying to be a cheeky little toy."
I blinked. "I will not apologize."
"Oh, but that would make for a good way to start to ask for forgiveness for trying to be a little, insignificant piece of-"
"Lucy, that's enough!" The wyvern finally interjected, staring sternly at the smaller critter. "Ludwig has requested your presence for an important meeting. And you know that he's not someone to leave waiting."
She huffed, giving a single dismissing wave of paw. "It will be fine if I lose a minute or two to chat with my little toy-"
"It was urgent," The larger being interrupted again.
Ultimately, Lucy sighed in defeat. "Fine… but that doesn't mean that I won't be visiting tonight, little prey," The Kivouachian promised as she turned her gaze at me. "And I hope you're not going to disappear this time."
I couldn't reply to this, merely staring in visible surprise as the cat-like creature created feathered wings on her arms. The lift off was a tad bit awkward, but soon, the crazy critter soared away from our sights.
…
Glancing to the wyvern, my stare matched with the curious look coming from the strange creature.
"I suppose from what Lucy said that you two know each other," He muttered with a hint of interest. "Am I correct?"
"It's more of her... intruding my flat, either to hunt me or nap."
He nodded. "That sounds… like her. But can I ask why you haven't 'reacted' to it?"
…
"What?"
"Usually humans would call the police to deal with these situations," He pointed out and my eyes widened in realization at what he was suggesting.
"Oh- Oh no, I'm aware that would be futile," I quickly answered. "Learned that when trying to fight back during the first few visits. And from what I know, there are more of… you."
"She told you about… us?"
I nodded, causing the wyvern to sigh.
"One moment. We ignore the fact she wandered out of the Estate for a single peaceful moment, and she ends up causing this problem," He ranted alone, taking a longer sigh once he was done. "I suppose you haven't told anyone about this."
I offered another nod, and he seemed relieved at that.
"At least I don't have a reason to kill you," He muttered blankly, drawing somewhat of a chill down my spine. "I don't know if Ludwig will be of the same mind, but I don't see a reason to remove you… right now."
"I'm more of a victim than else," I replied quietly. "I mean, I didn't warrant any of that."
"And I believe you," The creature admitted politely. "I know Lucy myself, and I'm well aware of her personality and… casual selection of targets."
"Sounds like you've seen much worse than I've lived in the last few weeks," I commented with a hint of nervousness, still unsure about what to make of this strangely 'pleasant' conversation.
This is another Kivouachian and… it didn't seem ready to gut me the moment I was distracted from him.
"You can say I've my own stories about her and-" He paused, taking a moment to hum thoughtfully about the situation. "May I ask what is your name?"
I frowned at the sudden question… but I decided to answer out of politeness.
"Mason."
He nodded. "Fleischer."
Quite the bizarre name, but one that I was quite sure able to say without tripping with my tongue.
"Mason, can I ask you a simple question? I understand if you're still… shaken by what just happened, but I believe this is just as important as what you just went through."
I frowned at that and… nodded back at him.
"Good… what do you think of Chess?"
At first I was confused about the completely unrelated question, feeling unsure about what made it correlated to what had just happened.
But then, an hour later, I found myself sighing tiredly while conceding my fourth defeat to the happy-looking wyvern, as he had brought to the field a chessboard and the pieces to play.
Surely he looks elated to outmatch me in a game that I hardly knew the rules of…
4: Roughhousing for Kivouachians
- Location
- Italia
- Roughhousing for Kivouachians -
(or 'How I actually managed to beat Lucy, yet still lose. Goddammit.')
(or 'How I actually managed to beat Lucy, yet still lose. Goddammit.')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
It took me a moment to realize that I wasn't in my bed anymore.
Another moment was spent realizing that the strange liquid pouring off by my side wasn't normal water that had been spilled.
My sight was a little… fuzzy at first. I could see multiple particles in front of me, a mix of red and white staying fixed and motionless right before my stare.
Seconds of utter silence and pain passed before my sight regained more clarity over this predicament and… I stared in pure shock at the true scene I was part of.
I was in the main corridor of the flat. Lying by the cold wooden floor, I had my right hand firmly pressed onto my side. Right where the large bleeding gash was.
My skin had become a bit pale from the sudden blood loss, but I was still holding myself well considering how long I had been unconscious for. Flinching as I tried to better adjust my posture, I blinked at the absurd disposition I had left my usual aggressor in.
Before today, Lucy had never tried her hand in a closer approach. Knives were littering the entire corridor, all stained by blood from the plenty of cuts located all over my arms and legs.
Nothing too deadly… at least not like the one the crazy critter had left me on my thigh.
Speaking of the Kivouachian, I was still unable to look away from what was in front of me.
Kneeling down and leaning her chest back, Lucy looked to be… disoriented. Her arms wrapped behind her upper back, and her surprisingly long tongue was exposed over the entire length of her torso. Her unruly white hair was exposed as well, as her hat fell unceremoniously on the floor a while ago.
It was a strange posture to have adopted, one that seemed more like… an admission. Of defeat.
My confusion intensified at this, but before I had the chance to think more about the matter, I turned my attention to something I was holding in my left hand.
My hold was tight, as if my life had depended on the tool and… I could see why at first glance.
A wrench. It was stained in blood, and I was sure it wasn't mine.
Looking back at Lucy's unconscious state, I couldn't help but realize the many numerous tiny bruises covering her mostly pristine fur. A noticeably large one was present on her left cheek, dignifying how I had indeed spared nothing of her with the sturdy tool.
Blinking again, I started to remember what happened… last night.
It was right as I returned back home from that lovely chess game with Fleischer, ready to be subjected to the usual annoyance that was Lucy. With her antics, her murderous style and…
Yeah, that didn't go as I had expected.
I was left alone up until dinner. Spared from facing any violence up until I was done eating the small sandwich I had prepared with what I had in my fridge.
To be fair, Lucy had been punctual with her promise as she swiftly rushed to attack.
Not much time was spent talking this time around, and I found myself panicking even more when I noticed that her aim in throwing knives had tremendously improved compared to her previous attempts.
Lucy was angry.
The hissing as I dodged some of her projectiles was too loud of a hint to ignore. But I was unsure whether I was the main cause of this frustration, or or it had to do with this 'Ludwig', and the fact that he had demanded to speak with her.
I remember tripping while running in the main hallway, trying to get to a spot where I could hole myself in and wait until the bitch had calmed down.
Shivering at the unplanned fall, I tried scampering away quickly as I hit the ground, but I found her weight slamming onto my back and pushing me down. I yelled as she snarled and took a bite at my shoulder.
The sudden bout of pain was enough to increase my adrenaline and urge me to shove the dangerous fiend away from me. I pushed my back onto the nearby wall, squishing the critter against it long enough to force her to drop the biting and the hold over my back.
Reaching for her distracted form, I took hold of her right arm and yanked her off of me. She yelped, but I was quick enough with my counter to avoid any further repercussions.
She rolled for a couple of seconds before stabilizing herself. Her grin was the widest I have ever seen, and her teeth were dripping with my own blood.
"Can you get any scarier than this?" I blurted out like a moron, and I realized how stupid I was when I saw numerous knives rushing towards me.
I backed away as quickly as I could, trying to stand up in the process… only to be forced back onto the floor as one of the knives plunged onto my shin. Gritting my teeth in pain, I continued backing away until I stopped at the very object that caused me to trip in the first place.
A tool box. I had left it by the bathroom because I needed it to repair some tubes that cracked up a while ago, but… why was it here?
Lucy chuckled, and I groaned at the chances of her having left this convenient obstacle on the onset of me bolting away from the living room.
"End of the line, darling~."
And I couldn't accept this. I wasn't going to die here because of some murderous bitch!
So I fished inside the box and pulled out the heaviest and sturdiest wrench I could find.
"Oh, are you going to make a last stand? Is the little prey trying to appear strong?"
"Come hither, you bitch."
The rebuke was met with a swift knife driving into my side, creating a large gash as it grazed my thigh painfully .
I only blinked once, but she was already rushing at me. The knife had been a distraction, one that was working too well.
Red claws were on her right paw, sharp things that could easily shred me up. But my longer arm favored me as I whipped the wrench at her head before she had a chance of hitting me.
There was a loud crack made as the critter slammed onto the wall, recoiling from the mighty attack. She was recovering fast and… I kind of let my pain and irritation at the situation finally take over my actions.
Surprise was the only emotion that I could see on her face as I started to brutally beat the ever-living out of her.
It was long, it was gruesome, but, most of all, it was stress-relieving.
I felt as if a large burden was being released the more hits that connected with her body and then… I stopped.
I lost consciousness because of the wounds I had obtained, my attention faltering as I finally offered a pause at the butchered Kivouachian.
But now that I was awake? I could see that none of my beating genuinely had no effect on Lucy. Her body was mostly intact despite my best efforts to damage it.
Weeks of stress wasted in that pointless act. I almost feel silly at having hoped to make a difference with that retaliation.
And now, as I lingered on the cold floor, even though Lucy seemed to be surrendering to me, I couldn't help but sneer at the sight.
I had failed. And that hurt more than any of the injuries I had on my body.
I don't know what Lucy expected for me to do at that point, but I stood up and walked away from that sorry scene.
I heard her twitch, but keeping quiet as I made my way to the bathroom. I needed to get the first aid out as quickly as I could, or else it was going to be troublesome to get every wound patched up.
"God, there is also the blood on the floor..." I muttered with annoyance before I started applying alcohol over the injuries. Cleaning up was a must, especially with how long I had been unconscious after that brawl.
I was completely mesmerized by the important deed of fixing myself that I failed to notice Lucy standing now by the doorstep, leaning her head inside as she looked at me as I went through that process.
It was a blank expression, one that lacked malicious intent. Gone was the usual grin as her lips twitched in a moment of annoyance and disappointment.
She didn't stay any longer and once I was done with fixing my injuries, I found out that she had actually disappeared from the flat.
It wasn't much, nor it satisfied me as a victory, but I was at least left alone to deal with the mess made from the wake of that brutal fight.
And while I had originally thought that I was going to have a few hours of rest after that maddening brawl, my hopes plummeted and then exploded in a glorious fashion when I realized that there was something more than just blood on the wood.
Lucy had forgotten her hat.
…
Fuck.
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5: A Friendship born from Fear
- Location
- Italia
- A Friendship born from Fear -
(or 'How I ended up befriending a fellow target of Lucy Lacemaker.')
(or 'How I ended up befriending a fellow target of Lucy Lacemaker.')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
I only managed to get about two hours of rest.
Sleeping by the cold floor hardly counted as sleeping on the soft mattress of my bed. My entire body was in pain at first as the medications applied to my wounds rekindled the sense of pain and suffering gained from that brawl.
Lucy hadn't returned after lunchtime, and I took the opportunity to skip work by citing an 'unexpected fall down a flight of stairs' to avoid getting on my boss' nerves.
My position at the workplace was safe for now with how well I dealt with the usual workload, but I was wary of getting involved in too many accidents like this one because of Lucy.
All that was needed was a mistake, and I would see my current job ruined after years wasted in trying to earn it.
My clothes managed to hide the injury I had on my leg, my thigh and my arms well enough, but it did little to cover the brief moments of flinching. People were bustling in the streets as I tried making my way to the park, and none seemed to mind personal space by the way they all clashed against one other.
I wasn't spared by the little flipper and my walk across the town proved to be quite the unnerving experience.
Right as I was out of that hellish occurrence, I noticed that I was trembling because of the soft burning coming from the 'poked' wounds. Gritting my teeth at the unpleasant sensation, I took a brief moment to take one of the painkillers I had decided to bring up with me.
It was the first time I really used this kind of medicine, having taken the first pill before going to sleep to try and get some peaceful rest out of it.
I knew that this stuff could get bad if I didn't keep a serious look over the frequency, but I was conscious enough to not get too risky in dulling the pain. It was manageable, but the annoyance was enough to bring up unpleasant thoughts from time to time.
Blinking, I spotted Fleischer already set by the usual spot. The wyvern looked at ease, glancing around before noticing me from afar.
He looked perfectly fine at first as I started to approach him, but then his posture tensed up and his glance showed surprise and… concern?
Could Kivouachians actually feel that? Or was I just imagining things up due to my current state of mind?
By the time I was close enough and beyond the little wall created by the bushes separating the small forest from the main trails that he finally spoke up.
"Why are you bleeding?"
Shock filled my eyes at the sudden question, and it took me a couple of quiet seconds to recover from that unpleasant beginning.
"Yes- how did you-"
"I can smell the blood on you. I can tell some of it is yours and-"
He stopped, his eyes widening a little bit, and I found myself sighing as I knew that I should've showered a little better before leaving the flat.
Of course Lucy's own blood was still on me. And Fleischer could sense it.
I took out the murderous critter's hat before the wyvern had a chance to question more about the matter and I tended it to him.
"Return it to her. I don't want it at home."
His six eyes widened even more at once at that affirmation, and I saw something sitting beside him now looking up at the object.
At first glance, I would've confused the creature for a simple squirrel, but then I noticed the diluted white marks on its fur and its right eye. It was different from the other one, which resembled a human eye, as this one had a black sclera and a red pupil with the standard Kivouachian style.
"Is- Is that Ms. Lacemaker-"
"And that's why she was without a hat when I saw her a while ago," The bigger Kivouachian pondered loudly. "She looked quite annoyed- I assume that you stole it from her somehow."
My face briefly displayed an uneasy look, denying the matter. "She forgot it at the flat after our usual fight."
"You are way more damaged than last time. And something tells me that it's not because you allowed her to hurt you."
I nodded, appreciating the deduction as I really wasn't in the mood for any lengthy explanations.
"What happened, Mason?" Fleischer asked with some insistence.
Sighing, I carefully settled by the grass. "I think she was angry. Not at me, of that I'm sure of."
"She had quite the heated conversation with Ludwig. From what I could hear, he was questioning her about her recent leaves."
Oh, their supposed leader was starting to take notice that I existed?
"Should I be worried that-"
"Not yet," The wyvern interjected curtly. "Ludwig might be strict over approaching humans, but he has already allowed exceptions to this rule due to circumstances. And I think you would be ignored if he knew about the matter that led you in this situation."
…
"Are you planning to tell him?"
"It would be the most responsible thing to do at this point," He remarked. "He would get furious if he learned about this being kept a secret, but I think Lucy will be punished for going this far and..."
…
"You still don't want that?"
He looked surprised at my visible reluctance, but I could tell that he had some hints of why I didn't want this to happen.
"If Lucy gets punished, who can assure me that she wouldn't just bide her time through the event and then hunt me down with twice the fury she had yesterday?"
At this Fleischer looked uncertain and rather unhappy. I could see that it was something he too had thought about, but I was surprised when the smaller Kivouachian decided to intervene on his stead.
"B-But it would still be the right thing to do," She blurted nervously, and I stopped to glance down at her. She sported a nervous look, but she didn't budge from her counter. "Ms. Lacemaker shouldn't be allowed to be left unpunished for- for hurting you! It shouldn't be fine!"
I blinked in surprise at that little outburst. I stared some more at the curious individual and then… I decided to inquire.
"Who are you?"
My tone was quiet, mostly because I was still processing what I had just heard.
The squirrel-like creature blinked at the query, but she seemed to have recovered from her early nervousness. Enough to offer a clear answer.
"I'm… I'm Hyzenthlay."
I nodded. "I'm Mason. Nice to meet you, Hyzenthlay."
The small Kivouachian looked surprised at the reply, and so offered a distracted nod at it while she contemplated it .
"I decided to bring Hyzenthlay for today's session as I wanted to ask a small favor from you, Mason," Fleischer finally returned in the conversation, having recovered from dealing with his self-disappointment. "Hyzenthlay is important to us. Her well being is one of our main priorities and… I wanted to ask you a favor."
Narrowing my eyes at that last bit, I sighed and nodded. "What is it, Fleischer?"
He sighed. "Lucy is known to target her around the house, and I wanted to know if you would be up to keep Hyzenthlay at your flat for a couple of hours per week."
…
"You know that Lucy does visit my home a lot, right?"
"A-And wouldn't that be like we're imposing him this?" Hyzenthlay inquired tensely. "I don't want to do any of that if-"
"I wouldn't mind keeping you around. I suppose you aren't anywhere as murderous as Lucy is."
She shook her head almost immediately at that.
"Then I don't see why I shouldn't keep you around," I said back with a small smile, but then my happy look vanished at the next comment, now directed at Fleischer. "Still, why do you think this is a smart idea if Lucy does visit rather frequently?"
"You can defend Hyzenthlay from Lucy."
I blinked at that, frowning as I carefully digested this reasoning.
"What?"
"I'm the only one around that tries to keep Lucy from going too far with her but… I'm not always around and Lucy knows that," The wyvern continued with a tired sigh. "Which is why I know you would keep a close watch over Hyzenthlay while she is at your flat. You don't strike me as someone impassive to people getting hurt."
Gritting my teeth at that correct assessment, I still couldn't help but feel annoyed at this development.
The squirrel-like Kivouachian looked quite uneasy at the way this was turning into but… then I realized that she had less means to defend herself from Lucy.
I had my size, the inherent strength, and a mind that has long adopted actions to lessen up Lucy's impact during her visits.
Thus I sighed and glanced at Fleischer with a tired look. "I will do it on a proper schedule. I have a workplace to be at during most of the week days."
"Reasonable," The Wyvern agreed quickly. "But you need to keep her around wherever you are in your house."
I nodded with a sigh. "If I lose sight of her, Lucy would've a field day. I can see that happening..."
Turning to glance at Hyzenthlay, I gave her a curious look. "Still, I want to know if you're going to be fine with this disposition."
She blinked. "W-What?"
"It's a decision that you should think about. Especially since you're the one that's involved in most of it," I pointed out blankly. "I know this is tough since it means trusting a stranger more or less but… I can guarantee that I don't have any reasons to harm you."
Offering a slow nod, the small Kivouachian took her time to think about it in the utmost silence.
I could see her sight darting around from time to time but… then she replied with a solid nod.
"I-I think- no, I agree to this."
A calm smile appeared on my face. "I'm glad to hear that and… Isn't Hyzenthlay the name of one of the characters in Watership Down?"
Her eyes lit up at that question, and from that point I learned that the squirrel-like creature had an obsession over literature. I was happy to learn about that so I knew how to keep her entertained while she was around the flat.
I had an absurd amount of old books brought out from my old house into the flat. Most of those I barely glanced at, but now I knew who could give those some attention while I was busy with work.
At least Hyzenthlay wasn't going to get bored by staying away from harm's way.
And hopefully- no, actually I wasn't planning to jinx things up. Again.
"She tends to call me… little dove, or things like that," Hyzenthlay added nervously. "And she usually throws me around the house."
"She likes to call me 'little prey', and I guess it's because Lucy loves to hunt me down around the flat," I rebuked with a small comforting smile. "I guess we truly have a 'Lucy' problem in our hands."
Fleischer snorted, keeping his presence in those interactions minimal as he enjoyed the little shots thrown at the murderous Kivouachian.
This conversation continued even as we started to play chess, with Fleischer enjoying brutally defeating me through the game.
It wasn't an absolute winning streak like last time. Hyzenthlay was more than happy to offer help with a couple of moves when I wasn't sure of which to take.
He still gloated through this, but it wasn't as bad as last time. It was a good day for sure.
One devoid of worries or danger Lucy would bring with her mere presence.
Lucy didn't visit that evening, sparing me from dealing with her troublesome presence.
All in all, it was truly a nice day to be alive.
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6: An Understanding within Misunderstandings
- Location
- Italia
- An Understanding within Misunderstandings -
(or 'How I got to know Ludwig and I learned something frustrating')
(or 'How I got to know Ludwig and I learned something frustrating')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
I could already tell from the ominous sight created by the seemingly abandoned Estate in front of me that today was going to be a troublesome one.
The previous day had been particularly chilly. Hyzenthlay proved to be someone manageable and quite easy to satisfy by offering her a large amount of literature to read during her visit.
While some conversations had occured between the few pauses I would take from handling the computer, there wasn't much that I ended up learning from said interactions.
I already knew that Lucy was a psychopath, and the little squirrel-like Kivouachian was also aware of the murderous bitch's chest-mouth.
There wasn't much said about the other Kivouachians, with the large majority of the topics lingering more on the books that the little critter was enjoying quite happily.
She skipped the Harry Potter books, mentioning that she had already read those, but I was surprised when she giddily tackled the Kafka collection I had bought during my period in High School.
Something about those tomes must have caught her attention, but I couldn't exactly tell at first glance what it was. She was happy, and she was particularly quiet during the entire visit.
And I really didn't have a good reason to interrogate her about the genres she liked.
With the first visit going down with little issue, I eventually had to take her back to the park during the late evening.
Fleischer had been waiting there for a while now, and he was glad when we arrived 'punctually'.
I didn't know that we had an established hour, but I was glad to now have an understanding of the timing in which I had to present to.
Part of me hoped for the encounter to go smoothly and without having to deal with new issues but…
"I spoke with Ludwig about… you," The wyvern commented with a hint of nervousness, drawing a groan out of me while I allowed Hyzenthlay off from my shoulder.
"And?"
He sighed, his six eyes offering a sympathetic but also not glance. "And he wishes to see you. Tomorrow."
I grimaced at this, having planned to waste the last day before going back to work, away from any dangerous situations.
Now these plans had been burned out in a glorious inferno… but I wouldn't blame the messenger for bringing up the news.
"I guess I will have to be… there," I muttered with uncertainty. "And the place is?"
"Croft Estate."
Oh for fuck's sake-
"I thought the place was abandoned. Kind of a haunted attraction too."
"Which is why it makes for a good location that can safely host us," Fleischer added with a quick nod. "I would suggest you arrive there early in the morning. Just so that I can be there to escort you inside."
I offered an uneasy nod, already feeling that things weren't going to be as easy as the Kivouachian was making these sound like.
Fast-forward to the next day, I was already wandering out on the country road that led a little bit outside of the town and right where the Croft Estate was.
The large patch of land that had been owned by the Croft Family had once hosted numerous farms that had favored the growth of the settlements around.
It was a shining beacon of productivity, but one that ended up faltering in the last two centuries when the Industrial Revolution forced many peasants into joining the first factories.
I could remember hearing some rumors that the place was supposedly owned by nobody, with the last members of the Croft Family having either left the country altogether or perished by old age.
But now that I stood by the gates with a perplexed look, I could tell that the main building was well-maintained.
I could see just a handful of cobwebs by some of the upper floors' windows. The rest of the place looked properly looked after.
Sighing, I glanced around as I waited for Fleischer. With the wyvern still there, I thought that I had ended up arriving there way too early.
I was quiet, but then I noticed the first of many issues appear beyond the closed gates.
"Hello, darling~."
Gritting my teeth at the unpleasant welcoming party, I glanced at Lucy as she giddily waved at me.
"Why are you here?"
She tilted her head to the side. "I live here, you silly prey."
"You mistook my words. Why are you here by the gates and not Fleischer?"
She shrugged. "Maybe he's busy being a fucking moron with someone else. Or maybe he's trying to win chess with Shuck."
The grinning Kivouachian jumped at the lock keeping the place closed, playing around it before actually pushing it open. I merely blinked as this happened, and I felt her weight onto my shoulder.
"But don't worry, I will give you a tour of the place," She 'offered' before giving a giggle or two at the development.
"Why?"
"I'm feeling merciful."
"Why?"
She huffed. "You brought my hat back. I kind of thought you would've thrown it away."
"I was tempted to do it. It reeks of blood and-"
"Flesh," Lucy interjected mirthfully. "I decided to take a souvenir while Jack the Ripper was around."
That would explain many things. I was glad that I had given it back then if I wasn't going to face it any longer.
Well, not until I was free from Lucy's presence.
"So you're doing it out of a favor?"
"More like a little kindness that favors me," The murderous thing corrected. "You're going to talk with Ludwig."
…
"And?"
"And you will see. It's going to be so fun~"
Gulping nervously at her demented tone only prompted another giggle out of the Kivouachian.
Entering inside the outdoor garden that connected the entrance to the building, I made sure to keep up a decent pace. From the very moment I stepped inside, I realized that I was being watched… by the woods nearby.
I didn't spare any look, nor stop as I continued towards the front door. Lucy was now sitting by my shoulder, humming mirthfully as we approached the only entrance visible in my current position.
The door was already open, further increasing my inner worry that I was entering a nest of madness. I stepped inside, expecting to face other Kivouachians already but… nothing.
There was an awful amount of quiet inside, and my steps grew more unnerved the more I delved deeper in this silent lair.
"Ludwig's office should be… there," Lucy exclaimed while aiming her claw at one of the closed doors.
"I really hope so," I muttered quietly, ignoring the brief annoyed look coming from the small critter.
I reached for the handle, carefully pushing it open as I peeked inside what looked to be a particularly dark room. There was just a yellow light coming from the deepest bit of the place and… there was a particularly tall being waiting inside and a strange dark-furred creature inside.
The latter Kivouachian looked like a demonic animal with its pale curved horns and red eyes.
"Hello~!" Lucy greeted eagerly. "I see that you are busy."
"Lucy," The tall being muttered dryly, his tone showing imposition and dominance. "I thought I had already said I wasn't in the mood for any interruptions."
He glanced to the side and then to my face. "And I suppose you're the human Fleischer had mentioned."
I gave a quick nod, making him sigh as he thought about it… leaving the other occupant of the room to speak.
"Wait, you're the guy that got stuck facing Lucy in the last few weeks?" The shorter Kivouachian inquired about. "I thought you would've been… deader."
For some reason, I couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "I'm a few stabs away from that. I guess I was a little bit too nimble for Lucy."
She groaned, looking away for a moment. "I was just distracted. You got just lucky."
"Kind of? But I think luck is still a determining factor in a battle."
The dark-furred Kivouachian snorted. "He's got you there, Lucy."
"Oh, shut up."
"I think that's enough. From both of you," The taller being finally said with a stern tone. "Shuck, we will continue this conversation later. Please, bring Lucy with you-"
"I will stay," The grinning fiend affirmed calmly. "I really want to see how things unfold from this point onward."
"Lucy-"
"It's not like you're planning to tell him anything I already don't know."
There was silence for a couple of seconds, then the fellow Kivouachian sighed.
"I will not ask again, Lacemaker-"
"Fine!" Lucy muttered with some anger. She hopped off from me and onto Shuck, the guy looking fairly chill at the sudden development as he led her away from the room.
The door closed behind me, prompting me to take a seat by the chair available in there.
It was quiet at first, with the only Kivouachian in the room taking a moment to study my appearance. I did the same, remaining fairly fascinated by the way this species just had so many different creatures with almost no correlation to each other.
Then… he spoke.
"Do you know who I am?"
I blinked, leaning my back on the chair. "You're… Ludwig."
"I'm the Grand Voice of the Kivouachian," He said with a calm tone. "And my job is to guide and protect what is left of Kivouack."
I gave him a slow nod, sponging up the new information I was getting out of this.
"Fleischer mentioned that you just have some understanding of what a Kivouachian is," Ludwig continued patiently. "And that Lucy was the first contact you had with us."
"Yes."
My throat felt slightly dry. Why do I feel like a wrong answer could get me slaughtered?
There was something about this 'Grand Voice' that just left me squirming over his stare. Something primal, my instincts reacting against a threat greater than the one Lucy represented.
"You've been wounded. Multiple times," He commented with a hint of interest. "And yet you allow her close to you."
"Not by choice," I rebuked with a sigh. "I can't exactly stop her from being like that."
"Have you asked her?"
I frowned at that stupid question. "I have. Plenty of times, I would like to mention."
"And she still keeps pestering you despite your insistence," He remarked, nodding as he stared elsewhere. "That's Lucy Lacemaker."
I agreed to his words with a nod. "She's just… overbearing sometimes," I admitted. "But, there are a handful of times where she actually seemed unwilling to cross some lines."
"That's either her playful side keeping her from ending you… or maybe she respects you."
What?
Ludwig noticed my confused look, and he continued. "Lucy is someone driven by basic instincts. She doesn't see friends and enemies the same way a normal kivouachian or even a human would."
"But I'm sure I've done nothing to warrant her respect," I pointed out. "In fact, I think I did more to warrant her scorn on me."
There was silence once again. I stared around the room as the tall being looked distracted by his own contemplation.
This place is… incredibly dusty. There was a large mirror on the other side, near to where Ludwig was sitting by.
"Fleischer and Hyzenthlay have praised you in the way you interact with them. That you're someone worth of trust," The Kivouachian resumed with a sigh. "But trust isn't something that Lucy is known to handle properly. Which is why I feel more interested with the way she manages respect."
I kept quiet as I had a slight suspicion that there was something I was actually missing about the recent actions.
"You two have fought."
I nodded at him, and he continued.
"And… do you know what is a 'Capitulation' for a Kivouachian?"
…
"A Capitulation? Like a surrender?"
"It's one of the behaviors Kivouachian adopt when they feel that they've been defeated in a fight," Ludwig explained with some fascination. "There are three forms of Capitulation, but the one that Lucy possibly was subjected to was… the extreme one."
"I don't want to sound disrespectful, but I'm failing to understand what-"
I froze, my brain burning as I remembered finally what the Grand Voice was alluding to.
It was right as I woke up, when Lucy was still unconscious and… kneeling in that strange position. I was confused at this connection as I knew that this wasn't something that just made sense.
She surrendered… but I have done no serious damage on her.
"You still seem unsure about this. And yet the fact that she wanted to be in there should tell much about it."
"I'm quite sure that she just wanted to see me hurt. She has a thing for my groaning and pained form."
He actually snorted at my last bit of sarcasm. "She would've been pressing a little more if that was the case. No… she isn't completely taken by her bloodlust. There are moments and instances where she could actually be dishonest with what she thinks of other individuals."
…
"She isn't going easier on me, isn't she?"
A small smile appeared on his face.
"No."
Goddammit.
-----------d-d-d-d-----------
AN
This is part 1 to the visit at the Croft Estate. Next time I can tell that the cast is expanding a little more.
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7: The Grey, the Dark, and the Mad
- Location
- Italia
- The Grey, The Dark, and The Mad -
(or 'How I learned about more Kivouachians and their crazy host')
(or 'How I learned about more Kivouachians and their crazy host')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
Until now, I had expected to be subjected to insanity by the entire cast of Kivouachians that had decided to live within the Croft Estate.
This was a prediction I made from the various interactions with the Kivouachians (between getting hunted or being subjected to confusing monologues), thus I wasn't too surprised when I noticed that not everyone in that place was a bloodthirsty bastard.
I knew that there would've been a few redeeming characters, just like Fleischer and Hyzenthlay, but then realized that compared to Lucy, not everyone had that kind of morality.
Shuck was the closest one to actually match with the smiling fiend's humor, but then again his approach was more logical. And he didn't outright threaten me with his jokes.
The place was fairly massive, enough to house an entire host of people. And I was pretty certain that in a specific part in the past it had been the case.
Especially with Ludwig alluding to a second group coming from the United States that was supposed to reach England quite soon. He didn't specify why this was happening, but I could only suspect it was something serious from the way he quickly changed topics before he could hint at the reasons.
Speaking of the Grand Voice, I couldn't help but feel rather unwilling to consider that early conversation as something of a friendly approach from his part. Ludwig wasn't suggesting anything malicious coming my way, but there was a degree of reluctance in keeping up the discussion, and the fact that I was relatively distressed by the circumstances rendered the conversation particularly short.
I just knew that the tall Kivouachian was withholding something about the situation with Lucy. I could tell that his thoughts had long advanced over the simplistic notion that his former close friend had somehow gained some unique interest in me.
Something about the matter just put him in a state of general annoyance and irritation, and I wasn't in the mood of getting my butt mauled out of simple curiosity.
And soon I got my 'guard' back on my shoulder much to my immediate chagrin.
Lucy didn't look interested by what happened inside the meeting, but soon started to quickly pester me with questions from the topics entertained inside that room.
Not even a stern demand from Ludwig to not pressure me to talk proved to be enough to stop her curiosity, and I decided to offer only little tidbits. Only offering curt summaries of the various topics discussed, I restrained myself from offering anything too 'important' to reveal to the impatient critter.
She was disappointed by the lack of a full revelation, but wasn't pissed enough to either hiss or attack me for that reason.
The little tour around the house first took us to a small hallway currently occupied by a familiar wyvern and… something incredibly confusing.
Kneeling down but still almost equally matching Fleischer's height, the white-furred creature with dark hair descending from the top of its hair all back its serpentine body seemed rather unwilling to listen to the fellow Kivouachian's words as they both stared through the large window door in front of them.
Fleischer paused for a moment, growing tense momentarily before turning to greet us with a surprised look.
"Mason a-and Lucy- I forgot about-"
"She hasn't killed me yet," I waved my hands in an appeasing manner, ignoring the grin widening beside me. "And I've already talked with Ludwig."
That seemed to calm him a little bit. He still looked uneasy over having missed the simple job of keeping by the gates and actually being my official chaperone instead of spending time with...
I blinked, noticing that the creature was now staring up at me. Surprise swelled within my chest as I realized that its eyes were different from the classic Kivouachian. There was no pupil, only pure whiteness.
Could it actually see me? Or maybe it was glancing at me by following my voice.
"Still, I should've been there to help you with this and..." He turned to the 'blind' being. "I got distracted in a discussion."
"Yeah, a discussion with yourself," Lucy commented mirthfully. "I can tell how bored she is from over here, silly chair."
Silly chair? And she?
I guess the unknown Kivouachian did have some feminine features that were there on her face… but I thought that the slender nature of her upper body was mostly a sign of her 'serpentine nature'. While she did have fur and no scales, there was something 'draconic' within her general appearance.
Fleischer didn't seem willing to rebuke, with his stare quickly diverted away from the gloating expression now settled by Lucy's face.
I wonder why Lucy was this much of a pest with so many people at once. Was there even someone spared by that onslaught of insults?
"Who are you?" I inquired with an interested voice, staring at the unknown Kivouachian with a curious glance.
There was silence, but the Wyvern quickly turned and sighed. "She doesn't speak. Her name is Winifred and she is-"
"Pathetic!" Lucy interjected giddily. "A silly pathetic play toy that never ends to amuse me-"
"Lucy, that's enough," Fleischer furiously interrupted. "Please leave. I'm sorry, Mason."
Blinking in surprise at the outburst, I nodded at the quick apology before starting to walk around the two Kivouachians to resume my tour.
Before I had the chance to continue, my sight was caught by something odd about the antlers atop Winifred's head.
It was white and loose. A piece of bandage?
I blinked, stopping for a moment and instinctively reaching for it. Lucy tensed up a little bit, but she looked particularly amused as I took hold of the white cloth and softly pulled it away from the antler.
Winifred tensed up, her head almost snapping at me in a furious manner, but stopped as Lucy started to giggle.
"Silly toy, you had a loose bandage on your head," The murderous critter pointed out. "Can't you be any clumsier than that?"
I blinked at the sharp remark, but my attention was stolen by the sudden lack of anger from the blind Kivouachian.
It was a confusing scene and, despite me trying to find any clues of what just happened from the silent Fleischer, I was left clueless about it.
Then I realized that a strange scratching noise was coming from… her arms. Her claws were digged into her wrists, drawing blood out of there and-
It was instinctive. I've already seen people back during my school years trying something like this and… I just reached out with my hands to grasp tightly at her right arm.
A yelp, then a muffled growl. I didn't move, as I could recognize the sudden escalation roused quite the tension out of the circumstance.
…
She had stopped, her eyes 'staring' right at my hand, as if patiently waiting for me to let her go and… I did.
I frowned unhappily at the blood-stained bandages around her wrists, revealing that this wasn't the first time Winifred did something like this.
Ludwig never mentioned this as a custom from the Kivouack, nor Lucy seemed indifferent to it enough to make it a normal habit.
I glanced at the wyvern. "You should get her to clean her bandages. While I understand that she can regenerate her wounds, she still will get an infection if the wasted blood isn't cleansed."
In the end, I decided not to invest too much of myself into it. A gut feeling told me that this predicament was bigger than what I was looking at. This mere scene looked more like the tip of a massive iceberg, and I really wasn't planning to do a therapist session during this visit.
I had my own sanity to take care about first, if I manage to survive the tour.
Fleischer merely nodded, and I finally walked away into what looked to be the kitchen.
The place was huge compared to what I have back in the flat, with an ampler size to fit more pieces of furniture and other bigger kitchen appliances.
Shuck was the only one there, glancing to the side as we entered the place.
"I suppose you're done with Ludwig," The dark-furred Kivouachian guessed. "I don't see any visible damage."
"They only talked," Lucy replied with a groan. "The most boring thing one could try to get out of that interaction."
"A pity," Shuck added with an amused sigh. "But still, you're truly an interesting fellow. I hope you know that."
"I think you're mistaking that word with lucky."
"Luck hardly fits with how Lucy wishes to play with her victims," He shot back. "Which is why I'm correct in saying you have something worth enough to keep you around."
"I'm a worker for an accounting company, I only have a particularly modest flat, and I don't condone any of the violence Lucy perpetrates while I'm around," I started to list out. "I'm not that interesting."
"Yet you're still alive," Shuck pressed on rightfully. "And what is wrong with not being boring to Lucy?"
I sighed. "I might not know Lucy well enough beyond our standard interactions, but I'm pretty sure that if I piqued her interest-"
"I might want something out of you," The smiling fiend concluded for me. "Yep, you would be correct with that account. I wonder if you will understand 'what'."
"Either you want me to become your personal knife training target, or you just want to abuse all limits a guest should have."
"How comfy is your couch?" Shuck inquired with some amusement. "I might come and check out the layout of the place myself."
"If you don't hunt me during these occasions, then you can even take my bed," I replied mirthfully, making him snort.
"I think that's a little bit forward. I don't swing that way."
I shook my head. "Me neither, I wasn't about that, but to leave you the bed as an offering."
"I think you wouldn't want to do offers with 'Satan'."
I frowned. "You are-"
"Some morons spotted me around in the States and thought to make a religion out of it," The dark-furred Kivouachian confessed. "Kind of embarrassing since I'm not really into eating meat."
That was actually a surprise. He did seem the kind of beast that would-
"Can you two just stop already?" Lucy intervened, her face showing some irritation. "Or how about you pick a room for yourselves instead of being this annoying?"
"That sounds fantastic, but then I think someone would feel excluded if we left already."
Lucy growled back at Shuck's smug look, but before she had the chance of properly rebuking, someone else approached by the doorstep.
I turned to see a… man. He had shoulder-length dark hair, he was wearing a full black ensemble with a quarter length black jacket, dark trousers and shirt. He was also donning a top hat… with some blood staining it.
"And here I am!" The man stated theatrically and I frowned.
"You're… Mr. Croft?"
He tensed up at my question, before swiftly recovering and offering a bow.
"Sullivan. Mr. Croft was that crazy fool that was my father," The guy replied. "And you're our newest guest… Mason."
I offered a slow nod. "Yeah… Nice hat."
"Oh, thank you," He quickly returned with a small smile. "I stole this earlier this morning."
Shuck groaned. "Did you kill another child?"
Wait, what?
"Of course not," Sullivan responded with an offended voice. "I picked it from the dying old man passing around."
"Have you started picking on the elderly as well now?" Lucy mirthfully inquired, the human merely shrugging in response.
This is indeed a strange normal for sure. On a different note, I might end up having a new visitor very soon.
8: Friendly, but Deadly
- Location
- Italia
- Friendly, but Deadly -
(or 'How I realized that Lucy has a strange understanding of kissing')
(or 'How I realized that Lucy has a strange understanding of kissing')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
"-So when I entered the bathroom and saw Ludwig testing out some monologue, I learned that he can be quite touchy when people see him acting with a mirror."
As I nodded at Sullivan, the man told story after story about his daily life in his own home. It was quite odd to see how a human being was actually capable of holding his own with more than a single Kivouachian, but then again the specimen in question was far from normal.
Sullivan was… crazy. Insane would be a touch too far considering how he had yet to contemplate my demise out loud, and also hadn't taken offense with the fact that while I was listening to him I tried keeping an eye out for what Lucy was trying to do.
Sure, the murderous critter had kept a particularly 'well-behaved' attitude up until now. But while I was happy with the lack of deadly situations, Lucy was bored about it.
And boredom was something Lucy hated with a passion. So much that her stare didn't take too long to finally dart to where the kitchen's knives were located.
Starting a hunting session around the Croft Estate surely seemed like a brilliant plan in her mind. Something that would not only entertain her, but also enlighten me to the fact that she could easily stalk another target in the form of Hyzenthlay.
I had yet to see the squirrel-like Kivouachian around, but Sullivan had mentioned that she had started spending some time by the nearby forest. I wasn't sure why but-
The only issue that Lucy's simple plan had was the fact that she needed something I was currently depriving her from.
My uttermost distraction and surprise over her silly antics.
With her eyes crossing as she stared back at me with an unhappy look, I could tell that I was really ruining her funk by being 'uptight' about it. Because yes, she thought I was being a party-pooper by only holding her off from trying to maim me.
The gall from the short prick!
But while I was being successful on that front, another problem soon arose in the form of Shuck's own teasing over the matter.
The dark-furred Kivouachian didn't have a reason to take a side, especially when playing the third party allowed him to make the best roasts against either me or Lucy.
And it was seriously grating on our nerves the more comments we received from the smug jerk.
"Do you think they will kiss anytime now?" Shuck asked mirthfully to Sullivan, giving him a curious look. "I mean, they've been staring at each other for some time now."
The man merely shrugged, muttering something about 'tea time', but my attention was still on Lucy as her smile started widening as something devious unleashed from within her mind.
"Maybe, just maybe I will try it myself."
The comment got a frown out of me, then dread as I felt her long tail carefully curling over my shoulder and then wrapping around my neck. She approached slowly, alluding to bad intentions and I reacted accordingly.
Just as the murderous bitch opened her chest to reveal the deadly set of teeth that had longed to get a bite out of my face, I rushed my hands at her side to stop her from chomping at my head.
"Ahahaha, should've expected that from you, Lucy," Shuck commented eagerly, now interested to see how things would turn now. "But maybe you shouldn't… kill him."
"The choice is up to him," The shorter Kivouachian pointed out. "Either he survives this or he doesn't."
From the neutral humming coming from Sullivan, it was clear that nobody in that room really wanted to help me out of that unpleasant development.
Despite her tiny size, Lucy was still strong enough to get a little closer to my panicking expression and her chest-teeth were gnawing in preparation for a delightful blood feast.
I didn't have the means to push her back, nor did I have any tools that I could've used to distract her with pain. I was stuck in quite the pickle and… then I remembered one thing that Ludwig had mentioned during our conversation.
It sounded quite random at first, but it was correlated to him explaining the differences between humans and Kivouachians.
Humans can't manipulate their bodies to the same degree Kivouachians were known for. The former natives of the Kivouack are vastly superior to us 'simians', but they still have some correlation with us.
And one of the elements that we shared was… tickling.
With my palms taking the burden of keeping Lucy at bay, I had my fingers start to flicker around her fur and skin. At first the murderous bitch tensed up, surprise building up in her stare as she slowly came to realize what I was trying to do.
Then she twisted and flailed around to try and escape my hold. What once had been my last ditch effort to keep her away was now the worst trap possible she could've fallen into.
Her devious cackling soon became a lighter and clearer set of giggles, my eyes widening at the unexpected difference about the two distinct cases for her to sound so entertained.
It took her a little while to finally regain bearing over her own thoughts, but the reaction was swift and rather unforgiving.
Both her hind paws slammed up to my chin, disrupting my concentration and allowing the Kivouachian to escape my clutches.
Jumping off my shoulder, she rushed for the floor and from there, took a moment to normalize her breathing.
A scowl now settled on her face, she offered me the most vicious of glares as I regarded her with a victorious, and thus, smug smile.
SIlence ensued, with Shuck looking noticeably close to falling back in his own laughter as the sight I had offered was quite unexpected but nonetheless amusing for him to look at.
Our standoff lasted a little less than a full minute and… she snorted, shaking her head as her smile returned.
"I should've expected for you to be a prick."
"Maybe I'm learning the tricks from a certain master prick," I rebuked, getting a sigh out of her.
"You're truly a terrible, terrible twat."
"Have you looked at yourself in a mirror recently?"
She chuckled. "Nah. I'm not Ludwig."
Shuck wheezed, while I could tell from the way Sullivan wasn't turning away from the situation that he too was enjoying the banter.
I allowed a quick chuckle, but after that I felt the need to keep my eyes on her. She was now a step closer to reach the knives after all.
But while I was worrying about a hunting session to start abruptly through that chaotic escalation, I started to realize that it was getting close to lunch's time. Humming, I turned to Sullivan.
"I think I'll take my leave now. I've yet to prepare stuff at home, plus Lunch is quite around the corner."
He gave a nod. "If you want, you can stay for lunch or-"
"It's a good offer," I pointed out. "But I really have things to finish up at home. Especially now that I've a week-long break from work."
The fellow human shrugged. "If you feel the need to stay, you can. It's not like I have problems with that. Do you want me to lead you to the exit?"
"I think I will take the burden," Lucy interjected giddily. "I was the one to take him inside, I should also be the one to kick him out."
"I don't know if I should glare at you or feel touched by your 'homely' words, Lucy."
"Why not both?" She suggested before giggling again.
The Kivouachian was once again on my shoulder, but before I went through the doorstep, I stopped to glance at Shuck.
"By the way, you lost the bed privilege after that taunt."
He gave a fake offended look. "But why? I was just being genuinely interested over the long stares you two were sharing."
"I think the offer is now off the table."
"As if that will stop me from actually taking your bed," Shuck rebuked with a challenging tone.
And after that, I bid a quick farewell to Sullivan and started making my way towards the entrance.
Fleischer and Winifred had left their previous spot, and considering how big the place was, I wasn't sure where they had gone to. I also didn't care too much, considering that I was leaving and thus continued heading toward the door that led outside.
As I turned the handle and walked out, Lucy started to hum in a softer manner than usual.
"You should be careful with electronic devices," She pointed out calmly. "Consider this the only warning I can give you, but there's a fun group trying to stir trouble and… they can track us through phones, TVs, and computers."
I blinked. "Why do I need to be concerned?"
"We have visited you from time to time," The Kivouachian reminded me. "And that's enough to paint a big fucking target on your back. And they aren't as 'friendly' as we can be."
I nodded at that, thinking about it as I paused to glance around.
"Lucy, I know this sounds like a big question but..." I glanced at her. "Why did you go soft on me today?"
She blinked. "Soft? Did I hit your head hard enough to make you forget the little 'fun' we had?"
"I meant about how things had been before that," I corrected with a sigh. "You had plenty of chances to screw with me today, but you decided against it."
"Who knows, maybe Ludwig told me to not 'be too much of a fucking hassle'?"
"That would never stop you," I rebuked with a small smile. "You might follow some serious orders, but you're the kind of individual that just ignores most simple directives in the pursuit of your own amusement."
"Fair, I admit that I do give that impression," She agreed happily. "But the motivation is… actually simple."
I frowned. "And that is?"
"I just noticed that… you're not as much of a little prey as I thought you to be," Lucy finally answered. "There's as much of a funny prey as there is a funny predator in you. And that… makes for an interesting individual to know."
I could actually get behind this thought-process. I might have proven her slightly wrong by retaliating with the vicious assault she tried using against me but… I could tell there was something else that she was hiding from me.
And so I asked. "Do you… think of me more than just an acquaintance?"
Carefully-muttered, I knew that mentioning friendship with Lucy just sounded wrong on so many levels.
But she smiled instead of groaning at my words.
"Who knows, maybe I'll kill you in your sleep tonight."
I sighed. "Then I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for you assassinating me before going to sleep."
We bid each other a final farewell, with the Kivouachian walking back inside while I left through the main gates of the Estate.
I didn't look behind, my thoughts shifting right at the fact that not only did I have to pay attention at any sudden visits from the Kivouachian in there, but to also be wary of some monster being able to track people down through electronic stuff.
…
I guess I'll spend my days before going back to work reading books…
9: Unceremonious Escalation
- Location
- Italia
- Unceremonious Escalation -
(or 'How I briefly ended up meeting a troubling posse, and made a new friend shortly after the deadly encounter')
(or 'How I briefly ended up meeting a troubling posse, and made a new friend shortly after the deadly encounter')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius (Happy Birthday!)
I yawned as I continued staring dully at the cards held in my hand.
"Do you have a four?" I asked my only opponent, with the short squirrel-like Kivouachian struggling with keeping her two cards up and away from my sight.
"N-No."
I hummed, giving a silent nod as I was entertained at how well Hyzenthlay was holding her own in her first poker game. Maybe it correlated to the fact that we were using homemade cookies as chips, especially with the tiny critter finding them delicious after she gave one a bite.
The idea of trying out the card game was born from Ludwig's mentions of a Kivouachian responsible for building up Las Vegas. It was interesting how certain big elements in history, both ancient and 'recent' were one way or another influenced by what survived from the destruction of the Kivouack.
Today was sure going to be a slow day considering how little development there has been since my visit at the Croft Estate, with most of the details I knew about coming from Fleischer's own comments earlier this morning.
One of the 'rogue' Kivouachians that were against Ludwig's leadership had been captured, with Lucy eagerly taking on the assignment of interrogating, and surely torturing, their newest captive.
I was neutral at the news, but I was mostly unnerved by the fact that I was once more reminded that electronic devices couldn't be used since those could be exploited to track down Kivouachians.
With Hyzenthlay and Lucy both visiting more frequently nowadays, it was just smart thinking to keep all devices off when they were around. Better safe than sorry, and I thought that this would be more than enough to avoid any kind of terrible encounters with this rebellious group.
Sadly, I soon discovered that things were far more complicated than how both Lucy and Fleischer had painted the situation to be.
I was about to make a small bet with some of my cookies, but I was interrupted when the familiar sound of the doorbell ringing brought me out of the game session.
Blinking, I spared a couple of silent moments looking right at where the entrance door of the flat was.
"Were you… waiting for someone?" Hyzenthaly asked with a cautious tone and I offered a quick shake of head as I stood up, slowly making my way towards the door.
Could it be Lucy deciding to pay a visit? Maybe it was Shuck?
I wasn't outright convinced they really had to ring the doorbell to let themselves in. Especially Lucy.
I couldn't imagine her taking her time to alert us of her presence. It wasn't her style.
So I was careful about this unexpected situation, hoping that this wasn't actually anything troublesome.
There was not much of a noise from the other side, or at least that was until I got closer.
A muffled chuckle reaching my ears got me frowning as I made the last few steps to reach the single barrier between me and the unknown individuals waiting out of my home.
I took a single instant to glance through the peephole and I was surprised to see two unknown Kivouachians standing rather close to the door. One had an open quarter-length jacket and a hat with a couple of poker cards on its upper side. I was confused by the fact that this individual was also keeping on his back what looked to be an old camera.
The other kivouachian was… simpler in its appearance. With smooth pink skin interrupted by the thick layer of fur by its leg, the creature gave the impression of a scaleless reptile. A large mostly-blue mohawk that reached up from its tailbone up to the top of its head. It was missing one of its arms.
I blinked just once at the curious posse, suddenly noticing a third figure standing right between the two Kivouachian.
She had a humanoid frame made by flawless porcelain-like skin, with noticeable cracks all over her body. Red hair flowed from the top of her head, accompanied by two horns, one longer than the other.
Her malicious golden-colored eyes was… staring at the peephole- no, she was staring through it.
I tensed up as her smile accentuated and I bolted rapidly towards the living room.
Hyzenthlay jumped at my sudden return, but her questions were muffled as I scooped her off the table and then rushed toward the window. I was slightly glad that the landlord had decided to have an emergency staircase built right by the backdoor of the building.
This side of town had experienced plenty of fire-related accidents that had then led to some unpleasant conflagrations in the last few years, thus the need to have something to help any of the people living in there was a must.
I almost tripped over the window as I heard a loud crash coming from the front door, my growing panic forcing me to take up a quicker pace as to vault over the small opening and close it behind me.
Bolting downstairs, I put the confused Hyzenthlay into my jacket's pocket, the space more than enough to house her for a couple of tense seconds.
I remembered how Ludwig mentioned that no Kivouachian desired to be spotted out in the open by humans, no matter their allegiances, and so I took for the crowded streets as the safest bet for our survival.
It would be a lie to say that I have spent most of my entire life running, but I can easily say that I was utterly terrified and adrenaline-boosted from that dreadful scene. Never been a big fan of jumpscares, especially when made by unknown doll-like monsters trying to get inside my flat.
My throat felt tight and knotted at the experience, but I managed to catch a breath once I arrived at one of the tiny parks near to the building.
I sat down by one of the benches and carefully allowed Hyzenthlay out of my pocket as I noticed that there was no one around to see her. She was shivering, the first thing she did was actually slapping at my hand.
"W-What was that?!"
She glanced up, expecting me to be calm about it… but I wasn't. In fact, she gawked for a moment at how pale my face was and how prominent fright was on my features. I noticed a couple of heads turning at my worried look back when I was rushing around, but none actually tried to catch up with me much to my relief.
It would've been hard to explain that three pseudo-eldritch creatures were giving me chase.
"I-I think the flat is- is no longer safe," I pointed out between my breaths. "That was- a fucking scare for sure."
"A-Are you-"
"Alright?" I guessed quickly. "Nope. Nopety, nope nope!"
I allowed a long sigh before standing up from the bench. "And right now it would be best we get you back to the Croft Estate."
"B-But-"
"Three Kivouachians are currently hunting us down," I interjected again, unwilling to spare any concern over that reluctance. "We're not risking it, Hyzenthlay."
She bowed her head, an embarrassed look on her face. "S-Sorry. You- you're right."
Maybe I looked quite insane at that moment, but I'm still digesting the terrifying encounter we just avoided with my swift escape.
I wandered aimlessly for sometime, unsure if we were still followed or not. Then I took the reasonable choice of making my way in that 'safe space' by taking the longest route available from where we were.
With my body keeping tense and wary of any sudden noises around me, I had to force myself into actually walking instead of running left and right.
If Ludwig's comments about 'simians looking identical to one another' was shared with the rest of the Kivouachians, then I had some advantage if I didn't make anything too sudden or suspicious as I reached the closest exit to town.
The silent road devoid of civilization that was there just once I stepped out from the city allowed me to catch up some relief at the lack of pressure. I took times to look around and see if I was somehow still being followed but… I could see nothing or hear anything that could suggest that I was being tailed by the bizarre trio.
"Will you… return home later today?" Hyzenthlay inquired from the pocket.
I blinked, having yet to think about it. I gave a calm shrug.
"I can't say for sure. I will see if Ludwig informs me whether that is feasible or not."
She nodded, enjoying the soft gust of wind that reached her exposed head. I continued to look around, still giving some glances behind me as I continued through that familiar path.
After half an hour spent walking silently through the countryside, we finally arrived at our destination.
The place looked as abandoned as before, and so I didn't waste much time walking beyond the gates and towards the front door.
There was no one around, and Lucy had yet to make an appearance as I made the steps needed to reach the door handle… but then-
THUD.
"GAH- What the-!!"
I noticed the shadow a little too late, but I was quick to stop a pair of arms from reaching for my neck. The Kivouachian was strong, but surprisingly enough less than Lucy despite the size difference.
Growling, the feminine frame of my aggressor continued to press through my resilient defense, hoping to overwhelm me now that I was in pain from that aerial attack. Instead, the pain was pushing me to put everything I had left on pushing her back.
"S-Stop it!" Hyzenthlay rushed out of the pocket, trying to take a swing with her tiny claws at the unfamiliar face of the attacker.
She had some pristine white fur, with some markings on her face that connected eyes to lips. Blue eyes flashed surprised, and her ruffled blue-and-white hair shuffled for a moment as she dodged the counterattack. She was wearing a cropped black jacket and some black shorts, and from my limited perspective I could also see that her feet ended in… hooves?
Surprise replaced frustration as the aggressor backed away just in time to avoid the unexpected swipe, but then her entire strength faltered at the sight.
"Y-You are- Hyzenthlay?"
The squirrel Kivouachian kept a guarded stance while she tensely glared at the shocked stranger. It was kind of silly how tiny my protector was, but then again I knew that size didn't make much of a difference for any Kivouachian.
"Who are you?!" The tiny critter demanded fiercely, showing quite the unexpected bravado in that moment.
"I-I-"
"Luna dear," A grandfatherly voice came from the entrance door. "What are you doing with- Oh?"
The humanoid Kivouachian and I turned to stare at the newest entry and… I frowned at the curious element standing there.
Wearing an ochre-colored trench coat with three sharp frills sprouting from the top collar, he was also donning a matching hat with a tiny chamomile on the side and a lopsided brim that covered his eyes well enough.
I could only see his smile from my unfortunate predicament.
"Oh, but hello there, young man," The slender Kivouachian greeted politely. "I suppose you're Mason. Ludwig spoke about you."
Did he? I guess it was kind of a safety measure if things went odd… like now.
"He- He's-"
"He's a good chap," The older creature interjected. "And maybe you should get off of him, Luna."
Luna tensed up, standing up quickly and… actually leaning to offer some help.
I blinked, staring at her hand for a moment before ultimately accepting it.
"I'm sorry."
"It's… fine," I replied with a nod. "I guess you didn't know about it."
Luna merely nodded, her stare lowering back to Hyzenthlay as the squirrel continued glaring at her. It was strange that the little Kivouachian was still furious about this… but I guess she was nerve-wracked enough to not accept any diplomatic stance.
"By the way, is there a reason you're here now, young man?" The older being inquired. "Ludwig mentioned that you weren't coming here today."
That reminded me that I wasn't here just out of courtesy. "Actually… I need to speak with Ludwig. It's… about that rogue group of-"
"Inside please," The lanky creature interrupted. "Lest some unwanted listener get gist of this."
Weren't we away from any dangers? I thought that the Estate was pretty much a stronghold with so many Kivouachians living here.
Still, I nodded and wandered inside, followed by a curious-looking Luna as she continued glancing at me.
Quite the curious way to start a somewhat stable friendship with someone, isn't it?
----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d---------
AN
Yes, today's the birthday of my Beta-Reader, Ant0nius. He has been helping me with 'The Golden Month', 'Learning:Affection', 'The Unwanted Visitor', and sometimes with a few chapters from 'The Reluctant Hero' and other stories of mine!
P.S. I like Luna's drawn version to the digital one. BTW, the art is from her creator, HalieDoobles.
10: Dine 'n Befriend 'n Hate
- Location
- Italia
- Dine 'n Befriend 'n Hate -
(or 'How I ended up meeting more Kivs and got stuck with a fellow troublemaker as my bodyguard ')
(or 'How I ended up meeting more Kivs and got stuck with a fellow troublemaker as my bodyguard ')
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
The large dining room currently housing most of the occupants of the Croft Estate had long been enveloped with the sound of silence. Fleischer had decided to take Winifred and Hyzenthlay with him out to the garden, saying just that he didn't want to be 'troubled' by these affairs.
Fontaine, the lanky being that had introduced himself and Luna to me, was currently standing beside Ludwig as the tall fellow stared over the grand gathering. By his other side, another tall being.
Humanoid, her frame followed Ludwig's tall and slim form. Her skin was a dark shade of gray, and it was shown extensively because of how revealing her black leather coat was. Numerous horns protruded from her head, most of those curving upward, but some by the back of her head turned down.
Sullivan was happily waiting by the doorstep as he envisioned the entire scene about to 'fucking descend in madness quite soon'.
His estimations weren't baseless, as Lucy was now happily perched on my shoulder, things were certainly going to escalate into the purest form of crazy.
But for now, with that mere greetings and queries over my 'unplanned' visit, I was offered the gift of mercy of peace from her part. Odd, but I guess that Ludwig gave her a stern talk about the instance, about not behaving 'too much like herself' before their 'guests'.
"Luna, I don't recall asking Yeshua to bring you here too. I specifically asked for Titania and Mystique," Ludwig started, his attention narrowing upon the awkward-looking Kivouachian. "Can you please elaborate what drove you to abandon your post, one that was guaranteed by Fontaine as solid, and leave Vegas to a secondary subordinate?"
…
"Luna-"
"I-I'm sorry, but I had to be here to-"
"Ludwig, I understand this might sound more of a flimsy defense than else, but I can assure you Luna decided to tag along out of worry that Locket was in the route of being more troublesome than last time," A blue-skinned Kivouachian interjected the Grand Voice and the fellow female.
Her hair looked like seaweed. She was wearing a moss green suit that was fitted for her four arms and that seemed best suited to swim rather than conventional walking. Her big blue eyes regarding Ludwig as she spoke.
"Or maybe out of spite towards me," Another one, this being looking more like a bipedal… fox with nine tails? I was slightly surprised when I first saw this Kivouachian, but then I was provided quite the gruesome commentary from Lucy.
Yeshua was… a hitman.
A murderer that Ludwig would send around to track down and 'erase' any Kivs that dared to not only question his rule but also put the rest of the Kivouack in jeopardy with their reckless actions.
Bodies were disposed of from public sight by setting those on fire once the rogues' regeneration factors were paralyzed.
"Spite? I don't recall you and Luna ever being on bad terms, Yeshua," Fontaine pointed out with a hint of curiosity. "What did you do to her?"
"Me?" The professional killer shot back with a snort. "Maybe we should ask her what she did to herself instead of playing the blame game. I just told her a few serious words, some of which ended up cutting deeper than I initially intended."
Luna finally tensed up, a flash of anger displayed on her expression before she regained control of her face.
"I hardly think words would make Luna act so brazenly and illogically," Ludwig pointed out sternly. "And I suppose the reason why you both are unwilling to provide the truth is correlated to something I shouldn't be knowing right now."
"It's complicated."
"Then explain to me in a simple manner, Luna," The Grand Voice pressed on with some insistence. "I'm not here to waste time with your own reluctance. I want to know what Yeshua said to get you so frustrated at him."
Surprisingly enough, Yeshua looked slightly nervous at this development.
I was curious, but not suicidal enough to be the one to press for an answer as I let the 'natural course of things' unravel before my eyes.
It worked well with Sullivan for years now, the man had mentioned this during his lengthy tales of dead, pumpkin stealin' and carvin', and murdering.
I guess it has some effectiveness worth exploring from my part considering how it worked well for the fellow human and owner of this estate.
But then I felt a paw press at my cheek, prompting me to look at Lucy.
"So, how did you end up messing things so badly?" The critter asked mirthfully. "Surely you have to know how your house got found by our little problem."
I frowned. "That's not… entirely true."
"But please, I know that you have spent a little while thinking about it."
"I did but… I really don't know how it happened," I rebuked with a sigh. "I didn't have any device active while Hyzenthlay was around. I did bake some cookies, but you told me that the devices had to be for communication for Locket to use to track people."
"And that is a correct statement, yes," The amphibian Kivouachian rebuked, breaking the private conversation into a broader group of listeners.
I blinked, glancing around as I sagged the more I realized how much attention we had on ourselves.
"Yet your house was attacked while Hyzenthlay was there," Ludwig reminded grimly. "Lucy is correct in bringing up this much attention to this notion. Could you have forgotten about a phone or a television?"
"I unplugged everything of that kind. I'm quite certain of it," I confirmed with a firm tone.
"And how did you leave your flat? I'm quite sure there's just a single door-"
"And plenty of windows that lead to the emergency staircase on the side," I interrupted Lucy, getting the Kivouachian surprised at that sudden interjection. "It's something barely noticeable from the inside of the flat, and I learned about it when the landlord mentioned it when I first visited the building."
"I thought it was rare for landlords to actually give a fuck in cities," Shuck brought up with some interest.
"I think his hand was forced when a couple of fires kept breaking in the area," I commented with a nod, agreeing to the point raised. "And I think the administration placed some cameras around the stree-"
My eyes widened, my lips shutting close at that remembrance. That was actually something I had completely forgotten about.
"Fuck."
"One of the cameras was aimed at your home," Lucy mirthfully commented. "I thought it was odd for cameras to be there in the area but… now that makes sense!"
"Still, I couldn't have exactly remembered to destroy public property when I was told to not keep any active devices while anyone was visiting," I pointed out, only to be met with mild annoyance from Ludwig.
"But you could've said something about it."
One of the unknown Kivouachians snorted. She was sitting in one of the available chairs, but she looked fairly irked by the fact that her size was well beyond what the chair could accommodate in a comfortable manner. Her skin was a notable pink, with a few details, from her nails, to the lipstick and hair, that were a painful cyan.
"Do you really expect a simian to be capable of remembering more than emotions? I thought you were smarter than this, Ludwig."
...And I would dare to say that her appearance matched well with her bitchy personality.
The Grand Voice spared a silent glance at the 'creature', but soon he was back giving me some genuine attention.
"You should've paid attention to these details. Do you know how much you risked with that stunt?"
"A lot," I replied quickly and dryly. "I got terrified just from looking at this Locket and… not gonna lie, I really would like to not think much about it right now."
…
"Shuck will check on the flat and see the full extent of their 'visit'," The leader of the Kivouack stated calmly, his tone devoid of any positive and negative emotions. "You will stay the night, but once the first hours of tomorrow's morning come I want you out."
I nodded, panicking a little at the thought that I was going to spend the night at the Croft Estate.
With so many murderous creatures. And Lucy.
FUCK!
"I guess I will have the privilege to check if the bed survived," Shuck replied giddily, drawing the attention from the Kivouachian sitting beside him.
"The… bed?"
Her body was similar to a big dog, with the only exceptions being the hair reaching down her back, the lone wing reaching for her right side, and her missing upper right limb. Curious red eyes trailed up to me and I sighed.
"It's a joke between him and I. Nothing serious."
"But it's so stupid that it stuck around," Lucy commented with a sigh. "Just like you."
The fellow female Kivouachian glared daggers at the smirking murderous critter and I frowned at this sudden aggressive attitude from Lucy.
She could get angry at people… but it was logical. She had a reason to be pissed at them most of the time. But in this case, there seemed to be no particular reason to fuel her irritation over the unnamed being.
"That's enough, Lucy," Shuck surprisingly snapped, his red eyes narrowing on the smaller Kiv. "I thought you would've at least adopted a less annoying approach around Felicity after-"
"It's alright," Felicity replied calmly, a hint of her own irritation flaring at the development. "I knew she was too immature about it."
"Or far too mature. It's a matter of perspectives and truth, after all!"
…
"Why are you miffed by her?" I calmly inquired, drawing Lucy's attention on me. She looked surprised, and I guess my intervention wasn't expected by her.
"I'm not. She's boring and dull."
I hummed. "Then you would've just ignored her instead of making a scene-"
I felt her claws coming fairly close to my neck and I stopped.
"Do you wish to finish that sentence?" She asked back with an interested tone.
…
"Prick," I muttered calmly, getting her surprise to rise well beyond what it previously was.
…
"Skrr-hehehehehehe!"
I blinked as her claw retreated, her right paw reaching her lips to muffle the outright laughter coming after my smug retort.
She didn't care for the fact that everyone was staring at her reaction, either shocked, amused, or outright disgusted.
I cracked a smile, shaking my head at how I'd finally started to actually understand Lucy's attitude in determined bits.
I had long abandoned the thought that she could've been understood through the common human mindset, but I was actually glad to find sense in that unending wave of madness.
Oddly enough, I wasn't… completely terrified by it. Sure, I was morbidly mesmerized by it, but well aware to keep away from reaching for her true self.
Because her prime instincts hanged closely to it, and my sense of self-preservation was strong enough to prevent me from getting dangerously close to it.
"After this curious predicament," Fontaine interjected calmly. "I wish to make a suggestion about Luna's punishment."
The comment drew a tense posture from the aforementioned Kivouachian.
"And that is, Fontaine?" Ludwig inquired curtly and tiredly. "We still have a lot to talk about, so let's just work this out quickly and properly."
The lanky creature nodded. "Well, considering there are two troublemakers in the form of Luna and Mason, I think we can make a unique punishment to solve their mistakes."
I frowned as my name was brought up. What was Fontaine trying to do here?
"Luna was an admirable warrior in the Yolsh. She would do well in regaining a role closer to that old post by being set as the guard to her fellow troublemaker."
"W-What?"
"And Mason would have someone to keep track of him wherever he goes," Ludwig added thoughtfully, ignoring that my jaws were dropping low at that.
"Do I get a say in-"
"No," The Grand Voice dryly interrupted. "And you should leave now. Your presence is becoming… too disruptive. Bring Lucy with you."
Sighing, I ignored the giggles coming from the critter still latching onto my shoulder.
I stood out of my chair, walking right up to Sullivan as the fellow human nodded.
"So, I have to ask… how good are you with gardening?" Somewhere, for some reason, Xander is sweating profusely.
Frowning at the sudden query, I merely followed Sullivan away from the dining room, blissfully unaware for the time being that Luna had decided to tag along.
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