V2Ch157 Newfound Eyes

Before we got back to the village, I handed Babur most of the fruit and got the rest out on my own. I put my hood back on and took half the fruit. We made it back a few hours before dark. Some of the villagers cheered while others just seemed to mind their own business.

Only one elder was still in his seat, waiting for us. Nimer got up to receive us. Upon presenting the fruit, a villager came from the sidelines with a basket for us to place it in.

"The trial has been completed. Babur, your time as an exile from Oofo village has come to an end. You may now freely walk amongst your kin once more. Be kind to your village and your village will be kind to you."

Nimer gave Babur a congratulatory nod. She turned and faced what little left there was of a crowd. She jumped and cheered for joy.

"Come on, Lake. I want you to meet my family."

Babur was so hyper that she left without me. Before I could try to follow, Nimer propped his cane on my shoulder.

"You knyow, technically, you did complete the trial, too. If you wish, I can have you entered in our village records as a member of this village. Though you are obviously an adult, we can only recognize you as a child in the village for the next eight years. If you are still around by then, you can take the second trial to become a full-fledged member of the village."

I thought about it for a sec. It didn't seem like there would be anything wrong with saying yes.

"Sure."

Nimer called over an aide I hadn't seen before.

"Nyow, what is your full name?"

"Lake Andrus."

The aide scribbled down some symbols in Eysian. Normally I would be able to recognize the writing but, across my journeys, I learned that some places wrote names differently. These symbols were foreign to me.

"Lake Andrus? An unusual name. I will remember it."

Nimer waved away the aide. He began to whisper once the aide was far enough away.

"You are a powerful individual. You kept your courage in the face of odds that would overwhelm most. I thank you, from the bottom of my heart for saving my granddaughter from a life of exile, and worse."

He nodded in approval of his own words and left. I started down the steps. I looked to the right and then to the left. I didn't see Babur, but I did remember my stuff was still in the changing hut that was to the left. As I wandered toward the hut, I started to dread a potential reality that thoughts had brought to light. I began to wonder if my backpack had been ransacked.

I entered the hut expecting to find my stuff all over the floor. To my surprise, I found offerings of food around my backpack, which was still in the exact spot I had left it.

"Good people."

I thought out loud. I munched on a few morsels as I changed out of my tattered remains and put on fresh clean replacement clothes. I left the empty dishes in the hut along with my old clothes. The moment I exited the hut with my backpack on my shoulder, a hand grabbed me by the wrist and began tugging hard.

"Where were nya? I was talking to myself almost the entire way to my parent's house before I realized nya weren't there."

"Sorry. Nimer wanted to add me as a village member. Er... child, I guess."

"Really? That's great! I love it!"

It didn't take long to reach her parent's house, but she talked so much about them that it felt like an hour had gone by. She was so excited. I was happy that she gets to return home. And see her family... and friends...

The thought was an almost sobering one for me. I really am happy for her. But, it made me think about my family. I don't believe that I will ever see them again. Especially if the time between the two dimensions passes at the same speed.

I was tugged hard enough to pull me out of my mini-slump. I got pulled through the front door of a dwelling.

"MOM! DAD! I'M BACK!"

A short old beast woman popped her head out from around the corner. She had curled horns like a goat.

"Who on Eyse are you? Bleh."

It took all of my control not to laugh at that weird-ass bleat at the end of her question.

"Um... I'm Babur..."

"Oh! Bleh. Next door, kitten. Our houses look alike. Bleh."

Babur had to push me through the door as I held back tears and laughter. We got outside and I caught my breath.

"What the hell was that?"

I asked, pointing back at the house we just came from.

"That's my neighbor, Miss Bleatly."

"Is that..."

I wasn't able to finish my question before she dragged me to the next house. Once again, the door opened and a beast couple was holding each other on a type of couch. They looked worried at first but as soon as they realized who was next to me, they both jumped up and hugged her without remorse.

"BABUR!"

"Oh! Babur!"

They seemed to have missed her dearly. She just looks so happy, too. A hand was placed on my shoulder and someone pushed past me. Judging from the pattern, it was Babur's sister.

"You're the guy that controls the shadows, right?"

A male voice came from behind. A grey feline beast-man motioned for me to follow.

"Let's let them do their thing."

I did feel out of place once more. I guess nothing bad could come from hanging outside for a minute. I followed. He stopped at the edge of the house property. We could still hear the constant talking, laughing and crying from the reunion inside.

"So, I hear she is a Supreme Beast. That true?"

"Yeah."

"Psh. Of course. I got stuck with the useless sister. If she were a Supreme Beast, things would be different for us."

While his words carried spite on their own, the inflection in his voice made me wonder if he really meant what he said.

"I guess that makes you the guy who married Babur's sister."

"Yeah."

We both clammed up for a moment.

"Is she..."

He started again.

"Is she worth being around? Stories circulated around the village. She was said to be a bit of an airhead clutz before she was exiled. That true?"

"Dunno what difference that makes. But, yeah. She is worth being around. At least for me. What about you? Do you regret marrying her sister? You make it sound like you aren't fond of her."

"Regret? I don't know. Maybe I do. She is very materialistic. Sometimes I feel like I cant provide everything she wants. It's hard. Lately, she threatens to leave me every other month. In the beginning, we couldn't be separated. It seemed like she swapped masks the day after we got married. She went from my forever lover into a dictator that wants things more than she wants me."

"Maybe, you should try to remind her of what the two of you once were. Not through words."

"If only it were that easy."

He leaned back on a decorative rock that was nearly his height.

The front door opened. Babur's sister came out.

"Jethrop?"

She was headed our way. Jethrope turned the corner to reveal himself.

"There you are were abo... AHH!"

She tripped. It looked like some kind of act of fate. Jethrope sped forward and caught her. He gently lifted her up. They locked eyes and the palm of his right hand stayed in the palm of her left for a moment. This wasn't the look of a dead marriage. They still had some feelings, deep down.

She backed away.

"Thanks. Um, the other guy, Lake? They want us all inside. We are about to have dinner."

The couple went in first. I met Babur at the door.

"I saw what nya did. Sneaky sneaky."

So what if I tripped her with a shadow...