V2Ch105 New Discussions

Another few weeks of walking brought us to Heiarch. It was a city that surrounded a large castle. Most of the populace was made up of griffons.

One particular sector in the northern city is called the free zone. It was where the non-griffon races were ushered to when they entered Heiarch. You needed special permission to wander anywhere else in the city. To wander would be a loose term. You have an escort with you whenever you leave the free zone. If you don't get to your destination and back, the guards get annoyed and return you to the free zone by force. The griffons are not very trusting of strangers.

And honestly, I didn't blame them. I am a potential danger to them all.

While it was interesting to see what sights I could, I had no interest in staying longer than needed. Babur wanted to stay a little longer, but I convinced her to leave with me on the following morning. If that dwarf assassin actually has a shop here, we may be under surveillance already.

I stayed up all night. I had no interest in being caught off guard in the middle of the city. There was too much death last time.

Morning came and nothing seemed afoot. Though, I didn't feel as if I could relax until we've left the city. We packed up and made our way to the border of the free zone.

"Lake..."

"Ya?"

"Can we get something decent to eat?"

"Decent?"

"Oh! No, I didn't mean to..."

"I see how it is. My cooking isn't so good anymore? Woe weighs on me to hear such a betrayal from a person so dear!"

She looked down at her feet.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be mean... I..."

I could hear that she was upset now. I guess she didn't pick up on my sarcastic teasing.

I hugged her tight.

"Babur, I was just teasing. I'm sorry if I upset you. I know you didn't mean it. Let's find the best-looking place in town to enjoy breakfast."

She nodded her head against my chest and hugged me back.

I let Babur pick out the place. Of course, she decided on a fish restaurant. Most of the selection was from local lakes. My guess is that there is no reliable method of transporting fish from the sea this far inland while keeping them fresh.

"What can I get for the lady, this morning?"

A waiter had begun taking our orders.

"Can ny have this? And this? Oh! That! Definitely that! I'd like a side of these. Two of those! ... Uh, What's this?"

"Catfish."

Babur wagged her tail indecisively for a moment.

"Nyah, I think that's it for me."

I was going to ask if they had some kind of egg breakfast. I thought better of myself when the griffon waiter's large bird eyes were staring at me, waiting for a response.

"I'll just get the grilled roarfish, please."

"Very well."

Babur's food selection at restaurants has never been cheap. That's part of the reason I tend to avoid them with her. But, she hardly asks for much and I felt bad for upsetting her. Hopefully, this helps make up for it.

After we got the food she did seem quite happy as she sampled half a dozen different dishes. When her belly was full, she leaned back in her chair, looking quite content.

"Urrp..."

She gave me a surprised look.

"You did it. Why are you looking at me?"

I asked. She just showed me a smile. I flicked a fishbone at her. I managed to smack her right on the forehead. In her surprise, she lost her balance and started to fall backward in her chair. I managed to catch the corner of the chair with the toe of my shoe.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you not to lean back in your chair?"

She pulled herself to a more stable position and scratched the back of her head.

"Nyope. My sister hogged all the attention so I was kinda the forgotten child."

"You have a sister? Is she as cute as you?"

"Maybe. But, she is taken. It's been a long time since I've seen her. She may be working on her fifth kid by nyow."

"Ah. Older? Younger?"

"She's younger. Since she was born, she always seemed like the perfect child. I was a nyuisance in comparison. They dotted on her every chance they got while I got yelled at every time I did something. Before I met Leo, I was a bit of a klutz. I was always bumping into things, falling, knocking things over. I feel like my parents resented me."

"So, Leo helped you?"

"Yeah. He did. He showed me how to be in control of my emotions. When I tried to help, I was so eager that I lost control and my movements were all over the place. Leo taught me how to keep calm and not to help to get rewarded. I wanted my parent's attention so badly that I wanted them to notice me. That's when I messed up the most. I was seeking a reward from them. Their praise. They spent so much time with my sister that I felt lonely. This was all when I was a child. Before I left the village, I think my father noticed that I was doing better. He never said anything though."

"It can be though with siblings. I'm an older... was an older brother. If he is still alive, he would probably be in his 80's by now. I don't know if he is even alive."

"Nya don't want to search for him? Like Sophie?"

"I can't. My family is... in a different place. There isn't a way back to them. Even so, maybe he and a few cousins are still alive but, I don't know any family younger than that. I don't expect the rest of my family to still be alive after almost 60 years have passed. I wouldn't know anyone back there anymore."

"Kinda like..."

She mumbled something I couldn't hear.

"What was your brother like? Did nya two get along?"

"We got along fine in the early years. I guess I became a mean older brother for a while. After we got into our twenties, I kinda realized that it wasn't worth being mean. I mellowed out and we played..."

I was about to say video games but, I didn't feel like explaining about Earth and electricity in the middle of this city.

"We talked a bit more. It was never overly friendly like some siblings but, we weren't total strangers."

"A bit different from my sister and I. When I left, she had nyothing to say to me. I think she hated me for causing our parents so much trouble. I don't hate her. I was jealous of her."

It got quiet. She had a solemn look. I wanted to break the tension but, I had no idea what to say.

"I feel like nya are holding back on telling me something about your past... Like nya are avoiding something."

I gave her a sly smile.

"That makes two of us."

Her face showed me that I was right.

"I knyow. I'll tell nya when the time is right. I just can't right nyow."

"I understand. It's the same for me. When the time is right, I won't hold anything back from you anymore."

She held out a hand and outstretched her pinky.

"Promise?"

I locked my pinky with hers.

"I promise."

We shook.

"Ya'know, this is a custom where I come from. The pinky promise. Where did you learn about it?"

"I heard that it was from a lost civilization. A trader came on a ship and made a promise with a chief near the coast of the Beast Lands. Its popularity spread among that village and then among the others. I heard that this traveler came only a few years before I was born. He went to other villages, too. I can't remember the traveler's name."

"Riksa?"

"THAT'S IT! ... How did you know his name?"

"Her name."

I corrected her.

"She was a dear friend of mine and Sophie's."