Chapter Song:

Along With Them

 

Zeais couldn't help but speak through his teeth, "Nice to meet you, Anya." All that energy he felt moments ago, crashed down when his body begged for more rest. His body fell backward and he let out a pained sigh.

 

Anya rushed to the side of his bed, “Are you okay!?”

 

“No, not at all,” Zeais gave a quick chuckle, “but, I’ll live. I’m just a little sore.”

 

“Is that so, well, if you need anything to help you, I can ask my father.”

 

“Thank you, I’ll let you know if I need something.” Not that I want to. I just want to lay here and pass out.

 

"Rest easy then, I need to go help make more food." Anya smiled and turned away from him. She walked around the beds to maker her way to the door. She turned around before she reached the door and looked at Zeais, "Hey, do you want to walk around the Inn later?"

 

Zeais raised an eyebrow and gave a bumbling, “Uhh. S-Sure.” Why though…

 

“Great!” she exclaimed, “I’ll take both of you around after I’m done okay?”

 

Both of us?

 

Anya opened the door behind her and a hand grasped air as the knob had moved away from it.

 

Eris stood there with a surprised look as she stared at the two of them from the hallway. Her hand lifted up and turned into a wave like it was intended, her face was as stoic as always, “Hi.”

 

Hm, what the? Zeais inspected Eris from afar. “Did you have clothes hidden away or something?”

 

Eris shook her head, “Anya gave them to me.”

 

Zeais looked to Anya for confirmation.

 

"Yep!" Anya folded her arms triumphantly and gave a large smile. "They were left behind by guest long ago, but I think I did a good job. They look great on Eris!"

 

Eris looked down as she loosely held up her dress from the hems, “Really?”

 

"Yes! Very much yes!" Anya smiled even more when she took another look at her clothes. "I have to go though, I'll be back soon." She waved to Eris and walked by her, disappearing into the hallway.

 

Eris looked back at Anya one last time as she closed the door. Her body swayed as she walked to her bed limply fell into her sheets.

 

Zeais scratched his head, “You look tired.”

 

“I am.” She said into the sheets.

 

“I see you two have met before?”

 

Eris lifted her head from the sheets, “No, I went the bathroom and bumped into her. We talked for a really long time…”

 

“How long is long?”

 

Eris sighed into her sheets once more, “Before the sun came up…”

“…too long.”

 

“What did you two even talk about?”

 

Her head lifted up from her sheets once more, her poker face as prominent as ever, “Secret.”

 

“Secret? What kind of secret?”

 

She sat up and dragged her body to her pillow, her eyes closed as she spoke, “A secret one.”

 

“Aww come on, is girl talk that down low?”

 

She turned over on her side, facing away from Zeais, “A secret is a secret, you’ll see soon anyway.” Eris gave a quiet yawn, “I’m sleepy, don’t be too loud please.”

 

Zeais for some reason or another thought he could reach out and grab her from afar. "Hey ju-" The peaceful pose she had was as clear as broad daylight, deep hibernation.

 

 

Well fine then. I’ll have to entertain myself some other way.

 

The aroma from the food the Inn worker brought, made Zeais float from his bed.

 

Right, I almost forgot.

 

A smile crossed his face that he knew he couldn’t contain. His bare feet touched the floor as he threw the blankets off and sat up. The floor was cool to the touch and his body ached from the previous night, but his hunger made him press on.

 

Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.

 

A sigh came from Eris as he walked toward the table, “They have bath salts that are good for sore muscles, you should probably use it.”

 

Ah- was I speaking out loud? “Sorry… Thanks.”

 

A soft and tired mhmmslipped from her as she adjusted into an even more comfortable position.

 

Zeais continued to the table and loomed over his plate. There was an assortment of the usual vegetable and fruit, but the most appetizing part was, of course, sweet corn paste, my favorite.

 

There was also a small amount of meat placed on the side. Ehh, meat's good and all but, the good stuff's gotta be the veggies. What kind is it though? Fox? Boar? Moose? He sniffed the dish once more, letting the different spices and seasonings fill his mind with animalistic urges. The meat doesn't smell too bad though, in fact, that might be first.

 

Zeais was about to dive into his free breakfast until he remembered an important fact about himself.

 

I don’t think I can restrain myself here, I should move somewhere else.

 

Zeais grabbed the tray which was pretty large compared to his size, How did she even carry this!?

 

He turned around as carefully as he could to keep everything from spilling over or waking Eris any more. Each step was like a days wait time and his stomach groaned with anticipation.

 

Maybe that front lounge will be a good place.

 

When he reached the door, he took a peek at Eris to see if she was paying any attention to his awkwardness.

 

Her face was lax and her eyes were closed. The orange highlights in her hair fell over her face messily.

 

Nice, she's asleep. A smirk crossed his face as he smelled the fresh aroma from the tray, I need to move quickly so it doesn’t get cold.

 

Zeais twisted the doorknob as quietly as he could and slowly opened the door. To his surprise, the door made no sound just like the night before.

 

Either these doors are made from the night sky or there is a ton of oil on the hinge things.

 

Zeais slipped into the hallway carefully closing the door behind him. A slightly chilled gust brushed his skin and made the hairs on his arms stand up.

 

Whew, it’s cold out here. I hope it’s not like this out in the lounge.

 

The maple-colored walls and bright sunlight flew past Zeais’s vision as he speed-walked through the hall. Cautiously paying attention to the tray in front of him was of top priority. He made sure there were no sudden tilts or movements that would spell disaster for the sustenance before him.

 

The end of the hallway came to an end and the open lobby he saw before greeted him with a nice morning feel.

 

It looks a lot better when there’s light.

 

As he peered around at what details he could see, he saw there was no table where the seating area was.

 

I could have sworn there was a table... Maybe it was something else. Zeais sighed. Where else can I-

 

A sign on the corner of the wall from where he came captured his attention. A few steps brought him close enough to read.

 

"Restroom, laundry, r-recre-ation room, dining room. I don't really want to eat with other people though. Whatever doesn't hurt to see if it's empty."

 

Zeais followed the instructions of the sign and walked to another corridor that was beyond the lounge.

 

The hallway that should have lead to the dining room was a lot shorter than the one his room resided in. Maple wood was still prominent and there were even a few rooms he saw as he walked by.

 

Shortly after, two large doors came into view for him, with bright rays of light bursting from the entrance. Two signs flanked the doors with the words ‘Dining Room’

 

This is it.

 

His head poked his head inside and he was presented with the sight of a wonderfully large gray table, at least from his perspective. The room was not entirely large but it was enough to fit the table, plenty of chairs and various other dining ware on shelves. All of the cases that held ware were behind glass panes and had the doors that looked like they required keys.

 

If this isn’t a dining room, I don’t know what is. There doesn’t seem to be anybody here either.

 

Zeais looked around and double checked that he was in the clear.

 

Nice! Maybe it’s just early in the morning and no one is awake?

 

He shrugged his shoulder to his thought and placed the tray on the table by the closest chair.

 

The chair made a rough screech as he pulled it back and sat down. His hands caressed the base of the chair, right below the upholstery that comforted his bottom.

 

This is pretty nice wood. I wonder if all this wood is from a place far away…

 

Before he could let his thoughts run wild, food came first. The scent that emanated from the tray was less potent and reminded him that he only had so much time.

 

Time to start before this gets cold.

 

No time was wasted for Zeais to pick up the spoon and shovel sweet corn paste into his mouth. Zeais knew he made lots of noise when eating but he could never hold down his ‘mmm’s’ and ‘aaahs’ after each bite.

 

He could restrain himself to some degree, his plan was always the same when eating. First some of the best, then the rest, dry part second to last followed by a wash down with the best part. This is how his meals always panned out, even now. The sweet corn paste had to wait until he finished up the veggies and the slice of meat. Scarfing, scooping, slurping, he gave no regards to what he did to his plate or the sounds he made when alone.

 

After a couple minutes, he came back around to the last remaining bits of sweet corn. As he dropped the spoon on the plate, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

 

This. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Anya said she helped make this? I can’t believe it. The real mastermind has to be the chef.

 

A yawn escaped his mouth and his arms fell down to swing freely from the table. The soreness in his body was still there, but he could care less given how peaceful his meal was.

 

I’m getting tired.

 

He shoved the tray up the table and rested his head down in its place.

 

I can’t fall asleep here. That would be rude.

 

His eyes slowly closed.

 

No, my will is weak. I’m sure it’ll be fine for just a second.

 

After a few seconds of resting his head, there was no returning.

 

"Hey," A deep voice suddenly said from behind him. Zeais couldn't help but shoot his eyes open in surprise. "If you need to rest head back to your room. The recreation room is also a good place."

 

The pulses of his heart were so quick and heavy that he almost didn’t hear what the voice said.

 

Jeez, he almost gave me a heart attack. Who is this?

 

Zeais lifted his head and turned around in the chair to see the tall Inn Keeper Yale, standing in the frame of the door.

 

Zeais hoped down from the chair as quick as he could and stood up tall.

 

“I’m sorry!”

 

“Calm down, I’m not mad,” Yale walked up to him and looked down and the table then to him.

 

Well, you sure do look mad.

 

“Did you enjoy the food?”

 

“Uhh, yes. It was very good. Actually, it was very very good!”

 

“Good, Thank you. I’m sure Anya will be happy to hear that too.” Yale grabbed the tray off the table, “Go on now, I’ll clean this up.”

 

Zeais followed his instruction and walked away after giving him a silent nod.

 

Wait a minute. Zeais looked back at Yale with what he had said on his mind. That bear made that?! I can’t believe it. There’s no way... I should ask him for lessons...

 

 

Zeais continued to leave as the giant of a man Yale, cleaned up after him. As he exited the double doors a deep rough cough came from inside the dining room. He didn’t want to stick around any longer than he needed to.The cough sounded like the type someone would point out and ask if they were okay, but it was none of his business. Getting away from the room was enough to hide the embarrassment of having someone clean up after him.

 

Sounds rough though... He stood blankly in the hallway for a few seconds, now what?

 

An image popped into his head, it was the guide sign he saw earlier.

 

The recreation room! That sounds interesting, I guess I can go there then. I’m full, awake and have nothing better to do. The visit with the Chief isn’t until later in the day too.

 

The arrow pointing in the direction of his destination was fresh in his mind. He began to leave the dining room front and walked further down the hallway where there was another corridor that connected to it. Another sign was posted up on the edge of the wall that had room numbers, restroom locations and again, the recreation room.

 

After a few dozen seconds the same type of dining doors as the living room had appeared. The doors were wide open and a display of couches and tables littered the room. Just like the dining room, it was not large, but there was plenty of room for what it needed to do. Shelves inside the room held all sorts of cards, dice, and other hand games that could be played in groups.

 

None of the items interested him. What he really sought was the comfort of what lay before him, does that couch have, fur?

 

Patches of brown furs littered the otherwise black covered couch. The cushions were made of the same material and proudly claimed their health as they shined from the few light rays in the room.

 

I think this trip is definitely worth it now.