Chapter 23
778 Words
23
Just when I thought Var wasn’t home, the door rattled and with shrieking hinges, it swung open to reveal the man himself. Dark circles cupped his surprised eyes as he stared at me.
“Y-Ylva?”
“That’s my name,” I replied, sounding braver than I felt.
“Is that really you?” He stumbled out of his hut, a ripe smell introducing him.
I wasn’t the only one that needed a shower.
He grabbed me by the shoulders, staring so closely at my face it felt like he could count my pores.
A low rumble emitted from Hyde’s chest, a warning to let go off me, but Var didn’t seem to understand.
“What are you doing here?”
“I need your help.”
“Hah!” He shoved me backwards and slunk back into his hut. “Don’t taunt me.”
“Taunt you?” Carefully, I followed him into his home. I didn’t want to intrude, but he just left the door open so…
The man kicked one of his boots across the room and fell down in his rocking chair. He took a long swig from a bottle and smacked it down. “Ghosts should stay ghosts.”
What was he talking about? Was he drunk?
“Var…” While his behaviour was confusing and slightly scary, this was not the confrontation I expected. “Are you okay?”
“What’s the point.”
“Of…?”
“Life.” He put the bottle back up to his mouth and glugged the amber alcohol down like it was water. “Valhalla, Valhalla… You’re a cruel mistress.”
“You’re not acting like you,” I said, sitting down across of him. The fire was gently crackling away in the hearth, adding both tension and comfort to the wooden hut. “But then… I don’t think I know you at all.”
“Oh, Una, why did you leave me?” Var clutched his chest, his words slurred.
“Una? No, I’m Ylva,” I corrected. He was definitely drunk which wasn’t conducive to a good conversation. What I had to ask was not meant for inebriated ears.
“Var?”
“Hmfprapul.” With a nonsense rumble, the man’s eyes fell shut.
“Maybe not then…” What now? I came here to talk to him, but he was too intoxicated to function. Did I just wait until he slept it off?
This was anticlimactic.
I placed Pickles down on the couch next to me and gave her a little scratch between her ears. “I guess we wait?”
“Hff.” She nodded and shook her spikes, not distressed or bothered in the slightest.
It had to be nice to be a bunny.
“You sleep.” With a nervous smile, I patted her head and looked at Var. “Well, I guess, you both sleep.”
Hyde curled around my ankles as I settled in on the couch. It seemed weird to make myself comfortable in Var’s hut after everything he put me through, but what else could I do? I needed him, and from what he said, he needed me.
Maybe we could help each other.
Just as I was letting go of some of the tension, paws clicked on the wooden floor and from behind the rocking chair, a big head appeared. Var’s dusk wolf.
I tensed up at the sight of his dark eyes and threatening stance. Was he going to attack me?
With a guttural growl, Hyde positioned himself between me and the other wolf. Compared to Lick, my familiar was small and young. He didn’t even have wings yet, but that didn’t stop him from baring his teeth at the strange wolf.
“Hyde. Heel.”
I appreciated Hyde’s protective side, but I didn’t want to start a fight. Not when Var wasn’t in control of himself or his wolf. That would quickly escalate the situation and ruin my chances of getting him to help me.
I held up my hands, bearing my palms towards Lick. “I’m not here to harm you or your master.”
The wolf growled lowly, his ears flattened against his head.
“I’m here to help Var. I have an offer for him.”
“Grrrr…”
“I want to help him leave the Forest of Illusions.”
Lick’s stance immediately changed. “Awrro?”
So that was the right thing to say then. Good. Hopefully, that meant Lick would tolerate my presence until Var was conscious again and we could strike a new bargain.
The big dusk wolf glared at me before nodding and lying down on his master’s feet.
Oof…
“Hyde, down,” I instructed. This was only a fragile peace and I wouldn’t let him ruin it.
For now, it looked like Lick was going to tolerate my presence. That was all I needed from him, a temporary truce.
Still… I pulled Pickles a little closer to me, just to make sure she was safe. If anything happened to her, I didn’t know how I would explain that to Ryoko. My chances with her would be completely ruined if I let something happen to her dust bunny.
With one arm curled protectively around Pickles and the other playing with Hyde’s fur, I waited for the unknown.
- Writer
