“I’m home.” I said as I put down the Amazon boxes that had been left downstairs.

Technically I didn’t really need to say anything, as my fidgeting with the key had likely alerted even my adjacent neighbours that I was returning home. The lock mechanism seemed to be older than the building, and I was starting to consider replacing it.

“Cain- Thebes!” I called out.

There hadn’t been anyone in the entryway or kitchen to greet me, so I assume he was sleeping. But when I checked his bedroom and didn’t find him there, the realisation that he very could have run away hit me.

I checked the windows in both the bedrooms and the kitchen. They had old locking mechanisms and didn’t look like they’d been opened and then closed from the outside. The bathroom window was cracked open, as usual, but it gave onto that weird dead-space between my building and the neighbouring one, and the undisturbed layer of dust on the other side of it told me that it hadn’t been used either. The idea that Cain transformed into one of his flying forms briefly crossed my mind, but if I remembered correctly those included a griffon and an eagle, neither of which would have fit through that window in the first place.

“Are you playing hide and seek?” I called out again.

There was no answer this time either.

I considered my options. I could either go look for him everywhere in the apartment, or I could make myself some lunch and wait for him to get bored and come out.

The latter was the more appealing option since it would kill two birds with one stone; appease my hunger (I had saved the pastry Etienne gave me for Cain), and save time in case the kid had managed to find some creative way to run away.

“I am going to make lunch, join me when you’re done hiding.” I called out once again before heading to the kitchen.

It wasn’t long before the little redhead joined me. He took a seat at the dining table without a word, and stared at me, expectantly.

“Those boxes are your clothes, try them on, and I can exchange anything that doesn’t fit. And help yourself with that cookie.” I said, turning my back to him to hide an amused smile.

“I’ll go try these on.” He answered, before running off with the packages.

He came back a few minutes later, wearing a red shirt with a tiger printed on the front, and knee-long green shorts. He also wore sandals that we’d picked together yesterday, based on the principle that they were easy to adjust, and that we could buy proper shoes in-person at a store later on.

“It’s nice.” I said.

“Clearly your face says otherwise.” Cain responded with a grumpy tone, as he took his usual seat.

“Well, it’s colourful.” I shrugged.

Yesterday I did check what he’d picked, but I didn’t think he’d be matching clothes like that. But if he liked it, and we weren’t going anywhere important, I didn’t really care.

I put a sandwich plate before him, before taking a seat myself.

“It’s the same colour as my hair, I like it.” He spoke. His tone wasn’t as annoyed or disdainful as usual, and I could almost qualify it as sweet. But the expression on his face directly contradicted that. “What is this?” He asked as he picked up the sandwich.

“Food.” I replied, covering my full mouth with a hand. “Bread, ham, cheese and butter. Is there anything you can’t eat in there?”

He looked at the piece of bread as if it was covered with swamp goo and dead frogs instead of ham and cheese.

“Fine, I’ll make you something else.” I said with slight annoyance. “What do you like to eat?”

I hadn’t expected him to be a picky eater, well, not to the level of not eating the most basic of sandwiches at least, but I guess it was a small price to pay. I pulled his plate towards me, not wanting to waste food, as I waited for an answer.

He looked at me with an undecipherable expression before saying:

“I don’t know.”

“Well, what do you usually eat, other than soup?”

“Stuff?” He didn’t seem sure.

“Can you describe what it looks like?” I asked, thinking that maybe he didn’t know the name of certain dishes.

“White, orange or green, and somewhere in between soup and bread. It has the consistency of a very tick sponge. That one I like. And I can eat the little white grains, but I don’t like the orange stuff they get covered in.”

I rubbed my forehead, trying to think of what that first thing could be.

“When you say white grains, do you mean this?” I went up to grab a pack of rice to show it to him.

When I returned, his sandwich was gone.

“I’m not going to steal food from you.” I said, deadpan.

He looked at me with a guilty expression.

I sigh and put the rice down. I knew this was the moment where I was supposed to have some sort of important conversation with him, but I honestly had no idea how to go about it.

“It’s in my best interest that you stay in good health, which is why I’m trying to find out things you’d eat. Alright?”

“I couldn’t be sure.” Cain replied with a shrug.

I opened my mouth to say something about that but shook my head as I realised I had nothing to say.

“Right, well, this is rice. Does it look somewhat similar to what you’ve eaten before?” I asked.

He nodded.

The next ten minutes or so were spent figuring out that the ‘White, orange or green’ stuff that he liked was in fact mashed potatoes with different added vegetables. Once that matter had been settled, Cain asked:

“So, when exactly will I be starting my duties? If there’s a specific situation you have in mind, I will need information beforehand.”

“Where did you even learn to talk like that?” I asked, unable to hold back my surprise, presented in the form of sarcasm.

“I keep telling you, I am not stupid.” He responded with a scuff.

“And I keep telling you that I don’t think of you as I such.” I shook my head. “But sometimes you talk like an emo teenager, and other times like a full-blown adult.”

“What, am I using words that are too long for your vacuous brain to comprehend?” He asked with a smirk.

That little brat knew exactly what he was doing. So, I raised my hands in the air, giving up. He didn’t talk like that in the book as far as I remembered, but perhaps I just remembered it wrong, as Alan also talked differently when I met him in person.

“There are a lot of people out today. Since it’s a weekend, and the weather is nice, they all go out to stroll around town. Plus, Paris, the city where we are now, is very busy. I’m not sure seeing this big of a crowd right now is the best thing for you.” I explained.

Truth be told, I vaguely remembered that in the original novel Cain shied away from crowds. A good chunk of the story took place in large cities, and he would only appear in an indoor setting or when the streets were empty. But perhaps that could have been a choice on the author’s part, to not have him present when he wasn’t directly needed.

“What makes you think it will be bad for me?” He asked.

His tone suggested that his actual question was more along the lines of ‘why are you making decisions for me in my stead’.

“It can be overwhelming to deal with this many people at once. Even if you don’t talk to them, or don’t interact with them in any way, constantly having someone in your space, or hearing their conversations can get overwhelming.”

“I assure you I can handle stress just fine.” He replied.

He seemed adamant, and I wasn’t going to insist. But just in case, I decided to plan our first walk route around an area that he’d find familiar. If I remembered correctly, his family came from a naturalistic community which lived within a Wild Land.

“Would you like to visit a Wild Land?” I asked, just a tad reluctantly.

Even with Cain there, I was still afraid of visiting those zones, even the ones that had long since been cleared of monsters. Random respawns still occurred at least once a month within Greater Paris, and the attack at my coffee shop was just further proof that safety was just illusory in this city.

But, when I saw the sparkles in Cain’s eyes, I couldn’t help but put all my worries aside.