SWOOSH
It's been a couple of hours since Lily and I left the capital city. If I were alone, I would have already arrived at Gannet, but that's no longer my reality. Since I didn't want to spend three days traveling to Gannet's border, I paid for the highly expensive dragon motorbike service. This kid is really slowing me down, but I suppose it's a reasonable price to pay in order to save time in the long run. Doesn't mean I can't complain about it though.
I should just give my mind a rest and enjoy the breeze. I close my eyes and try to empty my thoughts…
"Hey Vex, are we almost there yet? Lily wants to get off this bike…"
Sigh, there goes that plan. I open my eyes, glancing at the demi-human girl in the seat beside me. Her face looks groggy as she rubs her stomach. Lily is probably not used to traveling at such a high speed, but if she would have listened to me, then she wouldn't have this issue. Ergo, that's not my problem.
"How would I know? Ask the driver."
Lily disappointedly turns her attention away from me and to the driver up front. Does she expect me to know the answer to every question?
"Mr. Driver, are we almost there?"
"Don't worry little miss, this baby will get us to Gannet in no time! Just bear with me for a few more minutes, we are over halfway there."
After not hearing the answer she wanted, Lily returns her attention to me.
"Vex, Lily can't make it much longer. My stomach…"
Lily rubs her belly, her face looking nauseous.
"You better not puke. I told you we were going to Gannet with no breaks, but you wanted to pig out before leaving. Be a big girl and face the consequences of your actions."
Lily's ears droop down as she faces downward.
"Okay, Lily will…try…"
"Here's a free tip: close your eyes and let your body rest. You won't feel any better by worrying about when we will arrive."
"..."
Lily takes a deep breath and finally closes her eyes. Of course, I offered genuine advice that should help her feel better, but that's just a bonus effect. Finally, now I can relax my mind.
Let's try this again.
I close my eyes and listen to the voice of the wind speak to me.
SWISH
Her breath is calming to my soul…as if we're familiar.
___________________________________________________________________________
"Rise and shine, we've arrived at Gannet's border gate!"
"...?"
Upon hearing the driver's voice, I opened my eyes to take in the scenery. To be honest, I would not have minded if the trip took just a few extra minutes. That may be the best rest that I will get for a long while.
Anyway, all I see is a glass bridge that leads to a border wall. The wall has a gate opening that is guarded by two security guards in orange uniforms. Below the glass bridge lies a pit of quicksand. I presume that it was placed there purposely by Gannet's government in order to encourage foreigners to use their bridge that they worked hard to build. None of this pertains to what I paid to see.
"Border gate? I thought you would take us into Gannet, not just its border."
"Ah, my apologies if I didn't clarify. I'm only licensed to transport travelers within Avarice. There are transporters who are licensed to cross the border, but as you'd expect, they are more costly. I think I hooked you up with a fair deal, all things considered. Wouldn't you say?"
I wouldn't consider 35 gold coins a bad deal per se, but a "fair deal"? Nope, not at all. Especially considering the fact that he didn't commute us directly into the country.
"I should have confirmed instead of assuming, so no need for you to apologize. Regardless, thanks for your services."
I look over at Lily's seat next to me. She looks to be half-awake; her eyes are only halfway open.
"Come on Lily, it's time to get moving. We're here."
Lily rubs her eyes and sluggishly arises from the motorbike. It takes a minute, but once she finally arrives beside me on the bridge, the driver revs up his bike, facing towards Avarice's boundaries.
"Good luck on your journey! I'm sure you two will enjoy Gannet."
By wishing me good luck, you might as well curse me out. In fact, I'd much prefer that; directness is better than being given false hope. Nevertheless, I nod to acknowledge the driver as he drives away, waving us goodbye.
Now to the matter at hand.
"Come on Vex, let's go let's go! Lily's stomach feels better now; it only hurts a little bit. But I may have to use the bathroom soon…"
Ah, looks like Lily is recharged and energetic again. As long as it's just enough to travel to our destination and nothing more, it should be fine.
"Hold it and be on your best behavior. We have to check-in with the border guards first, and I don't want to give them any reason to suspect us."
Lily puffs up her cheeks.
"Mm-hmm."
"By the way, you still have that crystal, right?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Lily…you can use your words, you know."
Lily exhales excess air from her mouth, releasing her build-up pressure. She reaches into her dress, then opens her hand.
"Yes, the crystal is right here. Lily's keeping it safe in this pocket."
"Good, put it back and make sure it stays there. We can't afford to lose it."
I'd strongly prefer that I hold the crystals rather than a 7-year-old girl, but she will not budge no matter what. Pressing her about that is counterproductive, so I will just check-in periodically to ensure that she is keeping the crystals secured.
"Lily will protect it with her life. If some meanie tries to steal it, Lily will destroy them!"
"That's…the spirit. Let's go ahead now."
Hearing such violent sentiments coming from a young girl who is capable of transforming into a deadly beast is shuddering to say the least. If that transformation of hers triggers at some point on our travels…I may have to do whatever it takes to not receive another prison sentence. I'll save that thought for now, lest I jinx myself.
"Hold it sir, is this demi-human child accompanying you?"
"Yes, the kid is with me. We are coming from Avarice and seek to advance to Gannet's capital."
"Please show your insignia."
I reach into my pocket and hand over my insignia to the guard. I genuinely forgot where I put this, but Lily managed to find it in my laundry room beneath the washer of all places. I must have forgotten to take it out of my pocket one day while washing my clothes. Anyway, I had to make sure not to leave without it for this very reason.
The guard places my insignia inside of a device on his wrist, as if it were a disk. A hologram displaying my profile and other personal details projected from the device. This system of identification is surprisingly genius. It holds just the right amount of information about a person without being too intrusive, and the information within it can only be accessed by special devices that the general public don't have access to…legally. I may or may not have helped a past client obtain one.
"Everything looks good, sir. However, we must charge an entrance fee of 4 gold coins for you, and 3 coins for the child–7 gold coins in total."
Of course, there's always a fee of sorts. Apparently, some countries have an even higher fee, while a couple have no charge at all. Only time will tell…
I take the requested 7 coins out of my satchel and pay the fee.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Please follow the path, as well as the signs so that you can arrive at the capital. As long as you stick to the main path through the forest, you will arrive at your desired destination. We advise you to rest at the settlement town along the way, since the capital is about 4 hours from here."
A 4-hour journey? That's probably a low estimate too. It's already evening, so it's best to travel to the settlement and call it a day.
"Okay then, I will keep that in mind."
"On behalf of Lord Gornon, we welcome you to Gannet!"
___________________________________________________________________________
"Vex?"
"What, Lily?"
"I was wondering, what is your favorite food?"
"Hmm, I'm fine with a lot of foods, but I tend to favor foods that are spicy and savory."
"Really? That sounds yummy! Lily likes to eat meat and sweets."
"Well, I can definitely tell that. Why are you asking now?"
"Lily wants to learn more about Vex. We can become close friends!"
"And?"
"...I'm really hungry and I want to eat…"
"The post sign that we just passed said that the next town is another 8 kilometers away, so we have about 2 more hours of walking. You will have to endure until then."
"Ehh?! Two more hours?!"
"That's nothing. As an adventurer, you must get used to long periods of travel without food, shelter, or anything. Nothing's guaranteed, so you have to prepare well for your journey beforehand or try to use the resources you may encounter along the way."
"Wow, being an adventurer is tough. How did you become so good at it?"
"I wouldn't say that I'm an expert or anything, but it comes with experience. Trust me, you will have no choice but to adapt, so don't worry about it."
"Oh, okay. Lily will try!"
Grumble
"You should tell that to your stomach."
We continue along the path, listening to the white noise from nature. As we walked, I noticed a few fellow travelers; somewhere walking far ahead, some zipped by in vehicles, and there was even a guy who ran faster than the wind, on his hands. A curse like that wouldn't be so bad right about now.
"Vex?"
Wow, I was so lost in thought for a moment that Lily's voice startled me for a split second. She has been uncharacteristically quiet for a while, so there must be a reason.
"Yes, Lily? What is it now?"
"Where is your favorite place to relieve yourself after drinking a lot?"
Inside my bedroom, but I doubt she's talking about that kind of drinking.
"I prefer the–hold on. Lily, do you need to pee?"
"Lily's sorry! I've tried my best to hold it, but my bladder won't listen to me anymore!"
"You can't be serious…"
We need to make steady progress towards the capital. Today, we need to reach our checkpoint at the upcoming settlement so that we can stay on track for tomorrow's travels. We don't have time for getting sidetracked but…
I take a look at the sky. I can see more and more stars as the sun sets compared to the time we started walking. Before long, there will be no daylight, making traveling more inconvenient.
Lily's pacing has come to a halt. She looks like she's trying to walk with her legs closed, but that's not helping either one of us. Unfortunately, it'll take years of training before her body can handle this kind of travel without these hindrances. For now, resting for a brief moment would be a net positive. Otherwise, I'd have a bigger mess on my hands…
Since this pathway runs through a forest, there should be plenty of spots for one to relieve herself. A dirty pond surrounded by trees would not be far from ideal since that is the closest to a natural toilet one could find in nature. There's only a bunch of trees, grass, and bushes, so we will have to make due with those.
"Lily, look over there. You see that ticket of berry bushes?"
I point ahead of us, to the left of the path. Lily takes a second to track where my finger was pointing, but she eventually noticed. She nods her head rapidly.
"Unn, unn!"
"Do your business there. Try not to make a mess on yourself since you will be stuck in those clothes until we can wash them in town."
"Unn!"
Lily dives into the bushes headfirst the moment I finish my sentence. I'd rather not waste time listening to the sound of trickling piss, so I'll look around for something useful.
Just a little bit north of the bush thicket, there's an open-air space that looks great for camping. This forest as a whole isn't very dense at all, which makes traveling off the path not so burdensome to an extent. Perhaps we can briefly recharge here so that we can make it to town before nightfall. Man, it would be nice if one of the crystals were out here, but life will never be that convenient…
"SQUAA! SQUAA!"
"Eeeek!"
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Lily runs out of the bushes in utter panic. Behind her, a couple of yellow-polka dotted red birds the size of her head chase her. I'm no expert on wildlife, but I assume that those birds aren't too happy with Lily.
"Vex! Vex! Please help me!"
Once Lily spots me, she runs towards my direction, bringing those birds along with her.
"What happened? What did you do?"
"Nothing! I just peed in those bushes!"
"Did you pee on something?"
"Lily doesn't remember. I wasn't paying attention…"
"Well, it looks like you peed on those birds' nests or something in your carelessness."
"Really? Lily didn't mean to do that! What should we do now? The birds are trying to peck me again!"
"There's nothing for me to do; those birds are angry at you, not me. You have to deal with them yourself."
"But Vex–?!"
SWOOP!
One of the birds took a skydive towards Lily's head. Just before she could get hit, I shoved her with just enough force to move her out the way, but not make her tumble.
"Stay alert–you are under attack. That was a freebie from me, but I am only watching from now on. Think on your feet, the other bird has its sights on you."
"Okay, Lily will–!"
SWOOP!
Despite not fully recovering from the previous attack, Lily narrowly avoids the second bird by ducking. Lily then starts running again, both birds swarming above her. They continue to skydive in hopes of drilling her skull but fail to land their target.
I don't feel bad for sitting on the sidelines. After all, she has shown that she is capable of greater feats, so a couple of wild birds should be nothing to her. I am no longer babysitting her for someone else; she is my party member, so I expect her to pull her weight and be capable of defending herself.
SWOOP!
SWISH!
"Eeep!"
Lily continues to run in circles, but the birds are relentless. It's been at least three minutes of this repeating cycle, creating a stalemate of sorts. At this rate, it'll be dark before we get out of this forest. Fine, I'll intervene just a little bit…
"Hey Lily, are you just gonna play a game of dodging all day, or will you actually attack back?"
"But these birds have an unfair advantage. Lily can't fly!"
"Those birds have an 'unfair advantage'? Did you forget that you are half cat?! You have advantages that birds do not have; use them and make those birds fear you. Remember what you did against the parasite."
"..."
Lily takes a moment to ponder about my advice, briefly closing her eyes. I have faith that she can devise a strategy based on her experience and what I just told her. Come on Lily, demonstrate what you're capable of!
Lily takes a deep breath and opens her eyes. One of the birds tries to take advantage of her low guard and dive-in at high speed. It looks like the bird won't miss its target this time, but right before it could crash into Lily's face–
SWOOP! "SQUAAA!"
THUD
SNIKT
"SQUAAAK?!"
SWISH
Lily once again avoided the bird's attack, but this time, she counterattacked by slicing the bird before it could recover from the recoil. She did it, the bird is finally dead!
"SQUAA! SQUAA!"
The other bird, witnessing its partner's death, decides to retreat.
"You can't escape Lily!"
Lily latches onto a nearby tree, then pounces onto the bird. As she travels through the air, she opens her mouth, baring her fangs.
"NYAAA!"
"SQUAA?!"
CHOMP
Lily falls to the ground on all fours, carrying the now dead birds–one in her hand and the other one in her fangs. I walk towards her, slowly clapping my hands.
"Well well, you finally dealt with those annoying birds, huh. Feels good, doesn't it?"
"Bleh!"
Lily clears her mouth by spitting out the bird. She managed to spit up some feathers on my cloak in the process, but I'll overlook that for now.
"Yeah, Lily does feel much better. I want to do that more and more!"
"Don't worry, you will get plenty of those opportunities. Though don't expect all of them to be as easy or 'fun' as puny birds."
GRUMBLE
"Lily feels good, but my stomach is really hungry now…"
"Aren't you listening? Your stomach is telling you that you have already solved that problem."
"Hmm?"
_________________________________________________________________________
Munch
Munch
Smack
"Mmm, this is so good! The meat is a little too spicy, but Lily doesn't mind. Come on Vex, try some!"
"No thanks. I prefer my meat to be at least medium-rare."
"Oh I know, maybe you can cook the second bird with fire."
"I would, but I don't have access to fire-making equipment, or a curse that grants me fire power…"
Wait, this is the perfect opportunity to test my curse.
"Lily, when I say, 'A fire will appear here.', I want you to contradict my statement. Got it?"
"Hmm…okay."
"Good. And make sure that your mouth isn't full!"
"Gulp."
"Ahem, here goes. A fire will appear here."
"No way, that's impossible!"
"..."
Nothing happened.
Even though she contradicted my assertion, nothing misfortunate happened. Normally, a fire would appear, or I would somehow be able to create one, but seemingly there was no effect this time. Perhaps the listener must truly believe that what I assert won't happen and that if it were to happen, it would be a misfortune to them. Obviously, Lily wants me to successfully make a fire, and there's no way to get her to contradict that within her heart…
"Did Lily make a mistake?"
"No, I was just testing the limits of my curse. The plan to create a fire failed, but my test was successful. You played your role well, so no need to worry about it."
I'll just eat something in town. Besides, I'm not that hungry anyway.
"Yay! Lily's done very well today, right?"
"Sure, you weren't half bad…?!"
Out of nowhere, Lily pounces on my chest, looking up at me with endearing eyes. Is she begging for something…like a head pat?
"Lily, what did I tell you about this kind of close physical contact?"
"Sorry, Lily forgot! Lily became so excited and wanted more praise…"
I "gently" create a bit of distance between us.
"You surely are a cat alright. How about you try to use more of your natural cat instincts to your advantage instead? Sigh, just finish your food so we can go."
"Okay…"
Lily walks back to the spot across from me, where she originally was. I didn't mean to damper her mood, but I am not sure if she knows that. She may be thinking that she's at fault somehow…I should try to lighten the mood somehow, even if it's just a little bit.
I take a deep breath.
"Say, how is the goddess doing? What's she like?"
Lily's drooped ears slowly rise up, her tail starts moving gently.
"The goddess lady looked like Lily for some reason, but she was very kind. She told Lily how to become stronger…it made me feel hopeful."
"Ah, she told you about summoning her with the crystals, right?"
"Right. But she hasn't talked to me in a while. I hope to hear her voice again…"
"Me too, kid. I'm sure that she'll talk to you again. When she does, please let me know."
"Okay, Lily will."
"Alright, I'm depending on you Lily. I trust that you won't let us down."
"Of course!"
Lily's eyes light up again.
"All right, break time is over. It's time for us to–"
"Yawn. Lily's…sleepy…"
"No Lily, you can't sleep right now! We have to go…"
"Just a few...minutes…"
Lily's eyes fall shut as she proceeds to lie her head on the tree behind her.
"...and she's gone."
I waited for a few minutes to see if she'd wake up from her powernap, but she only fell into a deeper sleep. Only one thing I can do…
I walk over to Lily, picking her up using the princess carry style. In a way, it's sort of nostalgic. So far, some things have remained the same, and some things have changed.
"Well, at least you are still lightweight. Carrying you for two hours is gonna get to me though. Oh well, such is my life…"
The sunlight is gradually fading, but as long as I keep a steady pace…
Vex returns to the roadway that leads to the capital city. Walking at a steady, but brisk pace, he carries Lily in tow. Due to Vex's focus on the road ahead, he fails to notice the sleeping girl in his arms, wearing a warm smile.