V2Ch163 New Command

I woke up to slobber all over my cheek. The K-9 beast-girl had rotated in the middle of the night and rested her face on top of mine. I think some got into my mouth. I wasn't bothered by it. I just wiped off whatever was there.

I started to move in so that I could nuzzle her neck. My memories of this behavior with Babur suddenly gave me a shock of pain in my heart.

This person isn't Babur. I hardly know her. I don't even know her name. It's not like we had sex. But, I was about to do something that I considered almost intimate. How does she feel about her situation? Does she think she HAS to be here? That she HAS to follow me? If that's how she feels, then I should send her back home. I don't need someone following me that, frankly, has better places to be.

I got out of the sleeping bag as carefully as I could. I started packing up everything that I didn't need for breakfast and rekindled the dead fire. The area was still surrounded by snow but it had stopped falling overnight.

I found the girl's clothes. They were nearly frozen solid. She didn't even wring them out very well. I took the opportunity to warm them up over the fire before I started breakfast. When the clothes were toasty and warm with minimal dampness, I folded them up and placed them next to the sleeping bag.

I started cooking up some eggs that I had my shadows find and retrieve. I don't know if it was the smell or if she naturally woke up, but I heard her yawn and shift in the sleeping bag.

"Where did you go?"

"I have food out here. Might want to get dressed. It's still cold out."

"Oh... About that, my clothes are... Wait. They're so warm."

She found them. Her voice didn't leave the tent for a few minutes. I used that time to finish making breakfast. Eggs with some veggies, fruit and spices.

I went back into the tent. She was sitting up, her lower half still hidden by the sleeping bag and she was holding her clothes against her chest.

"Might want to put those on before they cool down."

I sat next to her. She just looked at me.

"I don't deserve all this kindness."

"Deserve it or not, you got it. Put them on so you can eat."

I motioned at the plate that was resting on my leg while eating from the one in my hand. She slowly put her clothes down and started to line up her shirt. I looked away as she did so. I heard more shuffling. I only looked back at her once the weight of the plate on my leg had been lifted.

She took small bites of the food. Her face didn't turn sour so I guess my food wasn't that bad. I finished my food quickly and started packing more things. I set up a log in front of the fire for her to sit on while I finished putting away the sleeping bag and the tent. When it was all done, I sat down and waited for her to finish her last bites.

"It's so good. I still don't know why you are being so nice. You should be ordering me around like a slave or beating me to a pulp for what I did."

"That's just not the type of person I am. If I was in my normal state of mind, none of you would have laid a hand on me. I might have left one of you with a broken arm or something. At the same time, I wouldn't have been there when the Nightmare showed up. I would have either been past the border already or... well, not here."

She handed me her empty plate. I cleaned it off and packed it along with the silverware.

"If I think about it, the fact that you stopped me from continuing on my path that day was the reason that you and the other two are still alive. Maybe even the reason the entire village is still alive. So, don't let it get to your head but, you technically saved the village by picking on me. An odd set of circumstances but, that's how it is sometimes."

"I never would have thought about it that way."

"I like to think in "what-ifs." Most would probably say it's pointless to do so because past what-ifs never happened, what's the point? Or, the future isn't here yet, stop worrying about what-ifs in the future. I don't see them as something to worry about. I see it as a puzzle. A what-if is a puzzle piece. If it doesn't fit the future, then toss it. If it does fit, why not prepare? In the past, a what-if can reveal truths like the one just now."

She held her hands close to the fire.

"I guess, I'm gonna head out, now. If you want to stay by the fire, don't forget to put it out when you are done. Otherwise, I can do that now if..."

"I'll go with you. I told you I wanted to make it up to you. I can only do that if I go with you. I promise I'll find a way."

"Don't you have a family? Can't you go back to them? Won't they get worried about you?"

She could tell I was basically trying to get rid of her.

"I do have a family. I don't know if they would really miss me or not..."

"So go back to them. Be good to them and give them a reason to miss you when you aren't around."

She continued to look at the fire. She looked like she wanted to say something a few times but failed to come up with words.

"It's not that I don't want company. I'd be all for it. The thing is, I don't think you are thinking this through. I'm technically a very dangerous person to be around. I'm looking for my wife. I have made some dangerous enemies that could target you if you traveled with me. It's really just all for the best if you just go home."

"But, I still haven't done anything for you. I want to do something..."

"Then tell me your name. I will take it with me wherever I go. It can keep me company."

She looked up in surprise.

"Ah... I never told you my name..."

"Mine is Lake."

"Vintine."

"Vintine? That sounds nice."

A random thought entered my head. What if the people don't believe that the Nightmare is dead? Will they live in constant fear from now on?

"Hey. I'm gonna give you something."

I dug in my backpack.

"What?"

"One sec... Here."

I pulled out one of the Nightmare's eyes.

"Take this. It's proof that your people don't have to fear the Nightmare anymore. I'm sure it will help a lot of people rest easy from now on."

I reached over and placed it into her outstretched hand.

"What should I do with it?"

"I don't know. Give it to your village elder? Show it off in all the local villages? Keep it and hide it? Sell it? Whatever you choose to do, it's yours."

I stood up and she imitated my action.

"I still want to go with you."

I decided to play my card.

"But, you said you would do anything I say, right?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Then go home. Find a decent group of friends. Take care of your family and find yourself someone to love. Make a family of your own. That's what I want you to do. That is my final command to you."