Battle Of The Valkyrie

Chapter 3

3

The dormitories remained unmonitored, luckily enough. I was all too happy to break free from our marching formation and just hurry through the halls, to my room in the hope to catch Ryoko.

A little breathless, I pushed into our room, peeking around the corner. “Hello!”

The figure on the floor looked up and a smile appeared on Ryoko’s face. “Ylva! Welcome home.”

“I’m back.” I kicked my shoes off and made sure to lock the door. I didn’t want anyone interrupting, not in times like these. The Midnight Ravens were a group of mixed races, but that didn’t mean anything. We still needed to be careful about our relationship.

I ignored Pickles for just a moment to kiss Ryoko, relishing in the familiar scent that always surrounded her. Everything in the Academy had changed, but she’d stayed the same. This thing between us was just like it had always been. Warm, exciting, and comforting.

“Hello,” I whispered, lingering in the hope for more affection.

“Hi,” she breathed back as she leant in for that extra kiss. Her hand found my cheek and tingles and sparks birthed from the touch of her lips.

I smiled against her lips, wishing everything could just be like this. What a wonderful life it would be…

“Why are you smiling?” Ryoko inquired.

“I’m just amused. Things used to be so complicated between us and now it’s just…” I stared into her eyes, tempted to count all the twinkles hidden in the dark. It would take forever, but that was the best part.

Ryoko raised an eyebrow. “Just?”

“Simple,” I explained.

A smile tugged on her lips. “It is.”

My heart was pounding just from being so close to her, a feat I’d never experienced until I met her. I didn’t want to break away, but she looked like she was in the middle of homework and I didn’t want to impose on her time.

I sat down on her bed and waved my fingers at the resident dust bunny. “Here, Pickles, Pickles.”

The fluffy creature glared at me with vacant eyes, shook her spikes, and hopped away instead of coming for a cuddle.

“Hey, what’s that about?”

My girlfriend shrugged. “No idea. She’s been in a weird mood all day.”

“Is she okay?” I asked, watching the dust bunny hop around the room, sniffing everything. I’d never seen her this interested in anything that wasn’t food.

My gut clenched tight. I’d told Ryoko everything that happened while I was trying to save her, except the part where I lost Pickles. She’d been running around in the snowy mountains for a whole night and now she was acting weird.

Was she sick? Did something happen to her?

Fuck… Should I just tell Ryoko?

I know how much she loved Pickles. Would she hate me for taking such bad care of her dust bunny?

“I think so.”

Worried, I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “Are you sure she’s okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sure she’s fine.”

“You don’t think she’s sick or something?”

“No, she looks healthy.” Ryoko leaned back against my legs, the weight comforting. “How was your day?”

I swallowed the stress away. “Not bad. We had our evaluation today.”

“Oh.” She looked back at me, her muscled shoulders moving against my knees. “How did you do?”

“B rank.”

“Aww, that’s good.”

I pulled a face. “I don’t like not being the best.”

“I’m pretty sure the ranks are just arbitrary.”

“What did you get?”

“A,” she replied guiltily. She reached up to pat my thigh. “You’ll get there, I believe in you. Have you been able to see Hyde yet?”

“No, all the dusk animals are still locked up with those weird anti-summon chains. It’s a good thing Pickles is unregistered. If only she could carry a message through the Veil.”

Ryoko chuckled awkwardly. “Yes, that would be good. Unfortunately, dust bunnies aren’t exactly… obedient.”

“You don’t say,” I joked. I threaded my fingers through her hair, playing with her ponytail. “How are you?”

Her smile faded away and she sighed. “I’m alright.”

“So still worried about your family then,” I replied.

Ryoko pulled a face. “Am I that transparent?”

“No, I’m just getting really good at reading you,” I teased.

A shallow smile tugged on her lips, briefly lifting the bags under her eyes. “Imagine that. Ylva Helgudóttir getting a hint.”

I softly tugged on her ponytail, not hard enough to hurt her. “Hey!”

“I’m kidding. But yes, I’m worried. I wish the Midnight Ravens would let us go home. Or at least allow correspondence.”

“I know.” I kissed her forehead, hoping to reassure her. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

“I hope so… I can’t believe we’re all kept hostage though.”

“It is surreal,” I agreed, staring down at my girlfriend. It pained me seeing her so worried, but there was nothing I could do to help. The school borders were closed and post privileges were suspended.

Not capable of erasing her concerns, I decided it would be better to take her mind off them. I gestured to the sheets on the floor. What are you working on?”

“An old paper. Raven Karasu is making us read lots of them. It’s actually quite fascinating.”

“Good.” I massaged her scalp, earning a soft hum.

“That feels nice.” She leaned into me, her homework and troubles forgotten for a moment. “Mmm… Keep doing that.”

That was an easy request to comply with. There was something intimate with playing with her hair and she seemed to enjoy it.

With closed eyes, Ryoko relaxed into my touch. Her lips were tugged up in one of her satisfied smiles as she allowed me to play with her hair and braid it down.

“You’re beautiful,” I remarked, staring down at her face.

“Thank you,” she blushed. She looked up at me, her dark eyes shimmering. “So are you.”

I never thought of myself particularly pretty, but from the way she looked at me, I knew she meant it. Maybe I wasn’t beautiful to everyone, but I was to her. That was all that mattered.

“Mmmm…” She closed her eyes again before jolting up. “Eek. What time is it?”

“I don’t know.” I tilted my wrist up to check my watch. “A quarter to.”

“Oh, I have to go! I’m going to be late for my class.” She threw her books shut and shoved them in her bag. The dust bunny hissed from the other side of the room as Ryoko crawled across the room to grab her jacket. “Sorry, Pickles.”

“Here,” I said, handing her her tie.

“Thanks.”

With a quick kiss, Ryoko hurried through the room. “Oh, I just remembered. Flavia wants to see you. She left a note, it’s on your desk.”

“Oh?” I joined her at the door to see her off. “What’s it about?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hmmm. Alright then. I’ll go up to see her.” Before Ryoko could dart off, I grabbed her hand and pulled her back into me. “Have fun in class.”

She wrapped her arms around me and deepened the kiss. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Yes, you will. Unless you’re moving out.”

“You’re so silly.” Her eyes twinkled. “Well, I’m off!”

“Bye!”

We broke apart before she pulled the door open, just in case.

“Bye, Pickles!” Ryoko shouted before she disappeared into the hall, hurrying to get to her class on time.

“Ahh, there she goes,” I said, half to myself, half to the dust bunny. I pressed the door shut and stared at the fuzzy ball nibbling on the leg of my chair. “What are you doing, Pickles?”

The dust bunny ignored me, which was rather unlike her. She always loved my attention, but she’d been acting weird all week.

I grabbed the note from Flavia from my desk.

“Meet me ASAP,” I read. “Huh. Sounds urgent.”

“Hfff!” The bunny tweaked her ears and hopped in an insistent circle.

“Pickles?”

“Hff.” She flashed her spikes and wobbled her nose the way only bunnies could.

“What’s up with you?” I crouched down to check if she was okay, but someone knocked on the door. Did Ryoko forget her keys?

I glared at the dust bunny and wagged my finger. “Saved by the bell, but we’re not done here.”

I crossed the room, trying to push past my worries about the dust bunny. I didn’t know much about them, so maybe this was normal. At least, I hoped so.

“Back so soon?” I teased, while pulling the door open. “Oh, Aellyn.”

The pink-haired Wood Elf waved at me. “Hey!”

“Hi. What’s up?”

“Do you want to do homework together?” she asked, bouncy as always.

“Ummm…” I stared at the note in my hand. Flavia wouldn’t have sent it if it wasn’t urgent. I’d better go see what was up, even if that meant blowing off Aellyn again. I pulled an apologetic face. “I was actually on my way to meet someone.”

Disappointment flickered through her eyes. “Oh. Okay.”

“Maybe another time?”

“Yeah, sure. See you in class then.” She gave me a little wave and hanging shoulders, she returned to her own room.

Guilt swirled through me, but I didn’t want to keep Flavia waiting. Maybe she’d finally figured out what the Midnight Ravens really wanted. Or she solved Oda’s murder. Or… Was there anything else we were trying to figure out?