#Cheruu#

“…Alright.”
I tried to sound like I was TRYING to be nicer, I really was, but even the adequately drawn map couldn’t keep my spirits up.
Mear looked to me nervously before walking off into the direction he was originally going to. I watched his back, wondering why he would have gone out of his way to help me out like that. I couldn’t help but let a small smile etch my face--He’s a good kid.
Keeping my eyes on the map, I continued to cart my way around. I was hoping to at least find a kitchen or some kind of place to eat…
My head snapped up.
Why am I so stupid? I woke up OUTSIDE--There are TREES out there, ding dong. I sighed in exasperation. There was good out there all along.
Using my map in new-found determination, I quickly found a way out of the mansion and back onto the grounds.
Now, I knew that the dream was real, but I wasn’t about to search out Chii for myself--I’d avoid him as much as possible if I could. I didn’t want to explain to him anything at the moment.
“CHEEEERRRUUU???”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Who the-- “Is that YOU?!” the voice called.
I looked to my right, just inside of the forest I was heading into and saw a familiar face coming from them, BB squeaking excitedly at the new-comers.
“Gale?” I asked nervously. “…Ivax?”
“Yeah!” He walked up without hesitation, which made me even more nervous--I wasn’t very used to people like this except for Chii and Scotty back on the island… Friendly and trusting. “Ivax heard BB in the forest, so I thought I’d catch up.”
Ivax said something about Gale and the conversation he and his… I guess master-figure had about the dream. Gale frowned as BB squeaked out a laugh and clapped her leaves together. I shook my head, exasperated.
“Did you see any of the others we saw in the dream?” He asked, trying very hard to ignore Ivax’s chattering. “I just woke up in the forest!”
“So did I,” I said. “But when I got to the mansion, they had all come out of their rooms, so I guess only the people who had rooms in the mansion got to wake up there.”
“So you think it was real?”
“Yeah… Kind of wish I didn’t, though.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean.”
We stood in silence for a moment before I said, “You want to go back, don’t you?”
He looked up, a sheepish grin on his face. He scratched the back of his head and replayed, “Well… Yeah. Me and Ivax didn’t travel all this way for nothing, we’ve been looking for this place and I’d like to ask the leader to let us stay…” He looked at my expression and dropped his hand and smile. “Don’t you?”
I refused to look him in the eyes. “That was the original plan… But now…”
“Chii… Right?”
I glanced up. “He was never supposed to be here. I came to this place for one reason and that was to get away from him.” Gah!… Why was it so hard to talk about it? Sure I’d left… But I had good reason for it.
He was quiet, studying the way I said it. No doubt if he believed the dream he remembered Chii’s angry words to me as he tried to destroy me.
But, even as my mind wheeled with all the reasons why Gale would just reject me, he instead smiled again and patted my back. “Come on! You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to--But it’s better than staying in the forest without a place to live!”
I was stunned. Had he really just forgiven me for something he knew little about? Heat rushed to my cheeks in embarrassed gratitude as I pulled out the map.
Together we walked back to the mansion, I hoped I wouldn’t run into Chii. But more so, I hoped I could find the leader fast enough to get a room and hide away inside of it.

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Continue?

Featured in this passage are: Mear, Cheruu, Gale (and the two’s respective-attached-companions :3)

-#Cheruu#