“Get along with her.” (M)
Leion bit his lip.
Wasn’t that order a little too much?
Sitting in the lap of his “Master”, Leion shuddered at the mere thought of the last couple of days. The endless pestering brought on by the guest was too tiresome, more so than even the daily chores. She was an overly enthusiastic, outgoing person, which, while not inherently wrong, meant that sitting around doing nothing was a massive no. The word sleep didn’t exist in her vocabulary.
Every day after Leion was done with his lessons, she would insist that they go outside and play. Ball Brawl—Snowball fights—was her favourite game, and that resulted in him eating snowballs to the face before bedtime. He couldn’t even touch her, so whatever little revenge he could gain remained forever unrealised. The sole solace he had afterwards was his “Master’s” comforting hugs. She had been treating him noticeably nicer the last couple of days. Letting him sleep a little longer than normal.
The perks of a cute kid.
Unfortunately, as great as those perks were, they didn’t stop the terror that was the guest. In fact, they may have encouraged her behaviour. Since there was only one bed in the cabin, Leion had been forced to sleep next to a stranger he literally met the other day. Comments on how cute he was were muttered in his ear as he drifted to sleep.
The guest was a sleep talker.
And a loud one at that.
The list of all the terrible things the guest had done didn’t stop there. From randomly touching his—now learnt—sensitive ears to poking fun at him and relaxing when he was doing chores, Leion was quick to realise one thing….
‘She really is asking for too much!’
He couldn’t just get along with her, but alas, a direct order from his “Master” was hard to defy.
In the end, Leion decided to hold her hand as they left to showcase them “getting along.”.
“Miss Aurelia, do you know where we are going?” (L)
Like usual, Leion was kept in the dark. His “Master” had avoided his questions again, but luck was on his side this time, thankfully. The walking chatterbox by his side would spill the beans soon enough.
“Your mom didn’t tell you?” (A)
The desire to correct the guest’s misunderstanding of his relationship with his “Master” quickly rose but fell just as sharply. The reason was simple. Why waste words on someone he was unlikely to meet often? The guest was bound to leave sooner or later. Similar to the kids at the village, saying anymore would be a waste.
“No, did she tell you?” (L)
Ha, Leion wouldn’t put it past his “Master” to also ignore her supposed friend.
She completely lived in her own world.
“Lei-Lei… Did you enjoy playing with me?” (A)
‘Oh, great….’
Leion was tempted to sigh. Of all the bad habits she decided to pick from his “Master”, not answering questions directly asked was probably the worst. Why couldn’t she learn to keep silent and leave people be?
Still, Leion decided to bite; he wasn’t going to get any information out of her like this.
“It was a little fun, I guess?” (L)
Pleasing people who held influence over your superiors was not a new tactic. In order to advance in life, it doesn’t hurt to bow your head every once in a while.
“Hehehe, is that so?” (A)
The guest flashed Leion a smile.
It oddly felt sad.
‘Argh…’
Leion decided to collapse in the snow.
Cryptic things like that were so annoying.
‘God, I hate nuns…’
Tightly wrapped in the embrace of his “Master”, Leion struggled to fall asleep. Any time he came close, the memory of what just transpired would haunt him awake. How could he be so freaking stupid to fall for such a taunt? How much idiocy was required of him to say those words?!
Nobody had forced him to!!
Cold swept in as Leion felt the cloak being pulled back.
It looked like they had finally arrived.
At least he had something else to focus on now….
Set down by his master, he quickly took in his surroundings. It looked like they hadn’t gone too far this time. They were still at the peak of the mountain, though an ominous fog wall blocked the way down. Heavy, thick, and grey, the fog held an aura of something alive.
It didn’t feel quite right.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“W-Where are we?” (L)
“The home of the fairies.” (M)
“Fairies?” (L)
Leion couldn’t help but repeat her words in a low tone. Nothing good came from interacting with fantastical creatures. With his past experiences with the Giant, his “Master” and the bear from the village, he couldn’t help but feel tense.
Hopefully, they were the good sort of fairies. The ones who gave out gifts of great fortune and led strangers.
‘But, I guess that might be too much…’
He hadn’t even seen what these “fairies” looked like.
For all he knows, they could not be the same fairies he was imagining.
“Ah!? What was that?” (L)
A tiny light flashed past.
He took a step back.
“She’s here!”
“It’s true!!”
“Another one!”
Childish voices full of excitement called out as dozens of lights suddenly appeared from the fog. The gathered lights danced around them, each carrying a faint smell Leion recognised. They smelt like his “Master”. They smelt like winter.
“Now, now, settle down, everyone. Is that any way to greet your sister after such a long time?”
A vaguely sounding male voice spoke with gentle authority from the fog.
“Booo her!”
“Yea! Boooo!”
“She never comes to visit anyway!”
The lights gathered around his “Master” briefly before falling back into their dance.
‘Sister, huh?’
Leion stared up at his “Master” whose gaze was firmly fixed on the fog.
Her fists were clenched.
“Ahem! I did not expect you to come so soon, my precious snowflake?”
Ignoring the building tension, a light that shone slightly brighter than the rest appeared from the fog. Its pale blue form hovered before them. Somehow, Leion could tell its entire focus was on his “Master”.
“I need to leave now.” (M)
Were they supposed to be going somewhere new?
‘Ugh, what are we even doing here?’
Frankly, Leion didn’t really know what was ever going on, and it wasn’t his fault. He was just never in the loop, never told of what they were doing ever. He was constantly playing the worst game of catch-up. And, while it wasn’t the worst thing in the world considering he didn’t care much, it did often leave him confused about what was going on.
One day meeting crazy bears, another meeting crazy fairies.
The pale blue light suddenly turned its attention on Leion.
That… that thing couldn’t read minds, right?
“Very well.”
The pale blue light hovered at Leion’s level.
“So, who might you be, young one?”
“Lei-Lei.” (M)
The pale blue light changed its gaze and then held eye contact with his “Master” for a few moments before switching focus back.
“Well, Lei-Lei. You can call me Candle.” (C)
The pale light paused and seemed to ponder.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ll be looking forward to the future.” (C)
‘Isn’t that a little too businesslike?’
It was slightly off-putting for a mystical race to be behaving like that, but nevertheless, Leion returned the greeting.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Candle.” (L)
“Mr? Huh?” (C)
The pale light hovered away with a light chuckle.
“I know someone who could learn from your politeness, hehe…” (C)
Leion watched the little light hover away until a voice called for him.
“Lei-Lei.” (M)
He turned automatically and walked closer to his “Master”.
She lowered herself as he approached. Like usual, his “Master” stretched out her hands and began grooming him. Soft, tender strokes besieged his form as she set about on her work. Leion’s cloak, hat, and hair were all set in place as she studied his body. Her movements were slow, slower than normal, but Leion didn’t complain.
It was nice to have someone fawn over him, no?
“I am leaving.” (M)
‘Huh?’
The grooming gradually came to a halt.
“You will stay here until I come back.” (M)
Leion blinked.
“Lei-Lei is staying here!!”
“A new sister!?”
“Hooray!!”
The yelling of the fairies sounded awfully faint.
“I will be back soon. Take care.” (M)
A gentle warmth lingered on his forehead as his “Master” pulled away.
She stood, faced away from Leion, and walked in the direction of the guest who now stood several paces away while waving slowly to Leion.
“Don’t worry, Lei-Lei. It’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah!”
“We’re going to have fun!!”
“Lots and lots of fun!!”
Leion stared at her retreating figure.
What was that?
Was she really going to leave him here?
‘Well, whatever…’
He quickly got over it. Leion didn’t mind being alone. In truth, he greatly enjoyed the act. With his “Master” out of the way, he no longer had to continue doing his studying or chores. Sure, there was that small caveat of him having to live with literal strangers, but that was a small price for freedom. As long as he had free meals and a nice place to sleep, he would be okay. No, in fact, he would be better than okay; he would be great! He didn’t need some flaky, no-good—
Tap-tap
Tap-tap-tap
Tap-tap-tap-tap
“W-Where are you going?” (L)
The sound of hurried steps accompanied by heavy breathing rang out as Leion reached his “Master” and hugged her legs.
There was no way she was really leaving him, right?
What kind of nonsense is that?
Wasn’t she the one that forced him to live with her? She was the one that imposed this relationship.
How could she just leave?!
She wasn’t leaving him!!
“Lei-Lei, go back… now.” (M)
“I…I’ll do double, no, triple! The work without complaining!!” (L)
Wasn’t she the guidance the Giant spoke of?
She shouldn’t be allowed to do this!
“Lei-Lei.... I won’t repeat myself again. Go back now.” (M)
The icy words crashed down on Leion.
His whole body froze, but he still didn’t let go.
“No, no, no, nooo!! D-Don’t leave me here!” (L)
‘Damn it! This isn’t fair! Why!? Why every single time?!’
Weren’t they close enough?
Why was she abandoning him like everyone else?!
In his defiance, Leion watched as his Master calmly turned and met his eyes. A shiver instantly travelled up his spine. She was going to put him to sleep. He didn’t know how he knew, but he was certain about it. She was going to leave him here.
“Baihu, let her come with us.” (A)
A soft voice suddenly chimed in from beside them, breaking his Master’s concentration.
“No, it’s far too dangerous.” (M)
Leion felt his body flinch.
The response was harsh.
“She doesn’t have to go all the way.” (A)
The two friends shared a glance.
“She will slow us down.” (M)
“That’s okay.” (A)
A small smile was given.
“Alright.” (M)
Leion felt the gaze of his Master focus back on him.
He dropped his hands.
“We’ll leave tomorrow.” (M)
With those words, she departed in the direction they came from.
Her footsteps unheard.
“Lei-Lei… I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to make her….” (A)
Trapped in a hug, Leion couldn’t help but berate himself.
It was one thing to be physically a child, but to behave like one to such an extent felt… well, it just felt wrong.
“I’m okay, Miss Aurelia! I promise!” (L)
“Really?! Are you sure!? Have you stopped crying now!?” (A)
“Yes!” (L)
“Lei-Lei, don’t worry! Will give her good talking too!!”
“She won’t get away with this!!”
“Yea! Nobody makes our Lei-Lei cry and gets away with it!”
Leion felt his body cringe.
Since when did he become their anything?
Pushing Aurelia slightly off him, he was finally free from her hug.
She wasn’t such a bad person after all.
“Let’s head back, okay?” (L)
“Sure! Whatever you say!” (A)
“Are you leaving?”
“You want to back?”
“She’ll make you sad!”
Honestly, Leion didn’t want to. He had been too presumptuous and caused such unnecessary trouble. It's funny really; he made fun of the tiger woman for being socially inept when he was no better.
Clenching his fists, Leion made a vow to himself just like he had done it before. He only needed to do the bare minimum to survive and meet his sweet, magical dreams—his paradise. Everything else was secondary.
He was better at surviving off in the wild. After securing a meal, the only thing that would be left to do is sleep. It couldn’t be that hard, really.
“Goodbye, Lei-Lei.” (C)
“Goodbye, Mr Candle.” (L)
Ah, yes.
The moment he found the perfect opportunity….
He would ditch those two.