Erica

As night truly began to fall, Pete offered me a room in the old house. One which I politely declined. I hadn’t set foot within its walls in years, and I wasn’t about to change that now, even if my mother was no longer here. My memories of that place were far from fond.

Instead, I opted to hike the relatively short distance to the river and camp out there. Lilly came with me, being much too large to fit in the house. I appreciated that, for more reasons than one. I’d missed her, of course, she was one of very few parts of the household I still held fondly in my heart, and it’d be wonderful to cuddle up to her thick fur as I passed out for the night. Beyond that, the protection of a wolf that could do what she did would go a long way to deterring any wandering threats that might otherwise target a sleeping minotaur.

I wondered idly over what had done my parents in, but I hadn’t dared to ask. As much as I loathed my mother, she still raised me, and it was hard to move past that. I felt almost like I owed her my forgiveness, and hearing about her (probably violent) death wouldn’t be helpful for moving past that, not to mention that whatever happened to her probably also happened to my dad. I hadn’t fully internalized that he was gone, and hearing all the details would probably just upset me at this point. I needed some time to process things and work my feelings out. Thankfully, it was getting late, and sleep would provide a great opportunity to start doing just that.

Probably.

…

…

…

It didn’t.

The night passed before I knew it, and I wasn’t any closer to working through the complicated mess of feelings that had started bubbling up within me. Lilly had made for a great pillow though, and I was feeling rested and ready to start heading home.

The walk back to the house was quiet and calm. The morning sun sent golden beams through the dense leaves above, and gentle birdsong left the woods feeling vibrant and alive. It was strange now, in the light of day, to see the forest I’d known so well before changed so thoroughly, but oddly enough, nothing about that felt wrong. There was none of the uncanny familiarity, just a calming sense of home. Even though the trees towered taller than they ever had, even though their trunks had swelled beyond belief, I still recognized them. At their core, they were still the same plants they’d always been.

Pete was already outside by the time I arrived, checking his rifle as he lounged in a rocking chair. He looked up at our approach, a smile lighting up his face as he saw me. I figured with just Lilly and him, things would get awfully lonely. To find another person to talk to, and then to find out that person was someone already familiar must’ve been incredibly exciting for him. He was always pretty talkative, after all.

He stood, slinging his gun over his shoulder

“So Erica, you ready to get moving?”

He said that, but I was more worried about him. He had only his rifle, a small pack of bare essentials, and the clothes on his back.

“Are you sure you have everything you need?”

“This ain’t my house, Erica. I’d feel wrong taking anything I don’t need. I have all my stuff, and that’s good enough.” He reached up to clap me on the shoulder. “If you’re sure there’s nothing in there that you want, then I’m ready to get going.”

Originally, I hadn’t thought there’d be anything in there worth keeping. It’d just remind me of my mom, after all, and the less I thought about her, the better.  Over the course of the night though, I’d made a decision. There was in fact one singular thing in that house that would be absolutely irreplaceable. I just hoped it survived ok.

Without another word, I clopped up onto the patio and squeezed in the front door. Houses in general were a bit uncomfortable for me now, and this was no exception. Hunched over in a low crouch, I made my way to the living room, where I extracted a photo album from a drawer in the coffee table. It was ok then.

I flipped through the pages one by one, and each time I found a photo of my dad and I, I ripped it out, folded it as neatly as I could, and stuck it in my pocket. My life from before was gone, and most parts of it I didn’t particularly miss, but I wouldn’t let myself forget it. I wouldn’t forget my dad’s face or the pain of his absence. Even if things got better, even if they didn’t hurt so bad anymore, I’d never forget.

Pockets now bulging with at least two dozen pictures, I squeezed my way back out of the house and smiled wide at Pete.

“I’m ready. Let’s go home.”

Cass

Well I certainly made a mess of things, didn’t I? I hadn’t meant to push so hard. I hadn’t meant to corner them like that, but they just kept flip-flopping and self deprecating and it just hadn’t sat right with me. It was so painfully obvious what they wanted, what would’ve made them more comfortable, and I just wanted them to realize it too. I’d only intended to talk about things a bit more, to try and get it into their head that this wasn’t such a bad thing, but when the centaurs showed up I made a foolish and impulsive decision that backed them into a corner.

I really messed up.

The centaurs, at least, had stayed. Some of them were a little put off by our argument, but it was far from enough to change their minds. The centaurs, their human companions, and I had camped for the night, and we were now traipsing through the woods making steady progress towards home. I was worried about E, I didn’t like the idea of them wandering the woods alone, but the speed at which they’d moved allowed me to set most of my fear aside. If there was anything that could keep up with them, after all, there was very little I could do to protect them.

At our current pace, we were set to arrive shortly after noon, and I was hoping I’d be able to speak to E then. I wanted to apologize. I wanted to apologize and beg them for forgiveness, and if they refused to give it, I would understand, fully and completely. As I continued to idly worry over the wellbeing of my wayward vampire, the lead centaur, I’d since learned his name was Anthony, trotted up alongside me.

“I’m sure she’s fine, Cass.”

“What?” His voice pierced the fog in my mind, and I looked up into his eyes.

“You’re worried about Evelyn, it’s obvious, but I’m sure she can take care of herself. Let’s just get you back home safe, and then you can talk to her about… whatever that was.”

He smiled warmly at me, reaffirming what I’d already told myself. E was fine. They’d be ok without me. I should just focus on getting home.

“Thanks.” I said, trying to smile back. “We’ve been staying in the same house together for the last few weeks. I guess sometimes you think you know your roommate better than you actually do…” I let out a deep breath. “And then you screw things up.”

We walked together in silence for a while after that, just enjoying each other’s peaceful company. The novelty of a humongous horse man walking by my side helped steer my thoughts away from darker things. As we broke for lunch, however, conversation sparked once more.

“That’s a fancy sword you got there.”

“Thanks.”

“Where’d you get it?”

“You’re not gonna believe me.” I gave the centaur a challenging look.

“Try me.” He met my gaze unflinching.

“It belonged to an angel I killed while protecting a dragon.”

Judging by the big man’s laugh, he didn’t believe me at all. That was fine by me though, it just meant more of a chance for Aoife to make an entrance later.

ashlynflagg

Hey everyone. It's been a bit since I've talked to y'all, but I've got some life stuff going on right now. Very soon, and very suddenly, I'm going to be losing my house, so for the first time since I started writing this, I'm taking next week off. I have a place to stay, but it's all a bit much right now, and I need to take some time to take care of myself. That being said, this Series has been a joy to write, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Thank you all for reading!