V2Ch149 New Helper

Embar's voice was thankfully muted. I made my way west. Oofo should take another two days or so if I don't stop.

The time I spent walking was also a time I spent worrying about what to tell Babur. Should I tell her? If I tell her, how will she react? These thoughts drove me crazy. On the second day, I passed through a small village. I asked the first person I came across about Oofo Village.

He told me,

"It's at least another half days walk to the west. The only village in that direction from here."

I tipped him a silver for the info and continued west. Some kids followed me through the village trying to get me to play. If I hadn't just killed so many people on accident, I might have been swayed. They ended up disappointed as they stopped at the village border while I left them behind.

Near the end of the day, I was nearing the top of a decent hill. At the top, I could see the edge of the village. I saw Babur, just sitting there, waiting patiently. I swallowed hard before I could take another step.

Halfway between the hill and the village, Babur saw me. She sprinted at me on all fours. She lunged at me and tackled me so hard that we must have flown back a dozen feet or so.

"LAKE! I've missed nya."

She snuggled my cheeks with her own.

"I almost thought nya wouldn't show up."

"I... uh..."

"Come on! Let's go summon the elder!"

She was so excited until I didn't follow.

"What's wrong?"

"Can we just stay here for the night? I'm... exhausted."

"Nya exhausted? From what? Walking?"

"I... My head just doesn't feel like it's screwed on tight right now."

Her inquisitive nature settled into a reciprocating mellow sadness.

"I don't understand."

I looked up at the darkening sky.

"Can we just get camp set up? I'll tell you then?"

"Okay..."

It wasn't long before the tent was set up and a fire was warming some food.

I stared into the cooking pot as I told Babur what happened in Wart Forest. She didn't once interrupt me or gasp in horror or whatever else I expected her to do. She just listened. When I was done, I was grateful for her. But then, I was also terrified of her response.

She stood up from her spot opposite me and sat down next to me. She leaned into me.

"I'm sorry, Lake. Once again, nya have to deal with so much pain on a scale I can't even comprehend."

She let loose some tears while hugging me. She is crying for me. I'll be damned if this isn't the best-case scenario I could have asked for with her. Is this what Sophie and Riksa would have done if I had managed to make it back to them after my incident in the Fae Lands? I could only hope.

After a quiet dinner, I was able to sleep peacefully that night next to Babur. Right now, I can't imagine a world without her.

When the morning came and I was all packed up, we went to the border of Oofo village. I started to go in but Babur wouldn't step past the border.

It was my turn to ask.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

She looked down and away from me.

"Do nya remember that story I told nya about the exile from my village?"

I let out a sigh. I had a feeling it was her.

"So it was you. I kinda knew already when you told me."

She stuck her tongue out and smiled a little.

"So nya figured it out early on, eh? Guess I'm bad at keeping secrets. Nya?"

"So, what do we do now? If you are exiled, why are we here?"

"I want to take a trial that could get me back into the village. It's one that I need help with, so... I was hoping..."

"Sure. I'll help you with whatever you need."

She didn't hesitate to use her supreme beast strength to pull me in and kiss me. I pulled away and wrapped my arms around her while snuggling around her neck.

"So, do we just wait for someone to come by? Am I allowed to go in and ask for someone to come here?"

"The elder should come by soon. He knyows I'm here already."

"Okay."

We just held each other in the moment. A few residents passed by and uttered comments that were rude. I tried to say something to the first one but, Babur stopped me.

"It's okay. This is how an exile is treated."

"Maybe it's okay for them to treat an exile that way. I don't want them treating my g... friend that way."

I almost said, girlfriend. I don't know how she would feel about that. She seemed to have an almost sad look in her eyes for a moment before someone interrupted us.

"Ahem."

"Elder! This is Lake. He will be my partner in the trial."

She turned back to me.

"Lake, this is elder Nimer. He is my... well, he is the head village elder."

I held out a hand. He either refused or didn't know what a handshake was.

"The trial will be held this afternoon. I shall return to have it set up as I command. Please wait here for your escort. It may be a few hours."

Elder Nimer disappeared behind a close building. He moved slowly but with purpose. The two seemed to be closer than just elder and villager but, I couldn't quite put a hand on it.

Babur set up a stupid game to play with rocks. It was somewhat like checkers. If you king a rock, you replace it with a bigger one and it eats any little ones that it comes into contact with even if they are not on the spot it lands on. It took me a while to get some of the rules but her laughter was contagious. I kept playing just to hear the sound of her laughter.