November really hated the sun it seemed. Not a trace of yellow in the clouds amid the endless swarm of dark greys and whites. It was like the sky just got told that its favorite show had been canceled and has lost all purpose for existence. That’s how bleak it looked.

Someone better not tell it Santa isn’t real either. I don’t need the sky to start crying tsunamis on me. Rain was the last thing I needed right then.

Even the flower garden itself, with all its flair and flourish, was not spared from the melancholic air. Colors no longer bloomed, reds, yellows, and blues, so dull and washed-out. Not a trace of the wind to give them motion with the breeze.

It was all so… drab.

Am I in a noir film? Certainly feels like it. Only thing missing now was the gloomy narration. Wait, I already did, didn’t I? Oh boy…

Okay! Look! I don’t care. You think I care? I don’t. I don’t care how glaring the signs were, I was not going to take this as a precursor for things to come, I refuse.

Mark my words, this thirty-minutes-to-an-hour shopping session shall not be hampered by any more doom and gloom, and if I see one more thing that makes me feel the slightest bit of the big S.A.D, I am going to -

“Master… perhaps postponing this trip for now... would be the wisest decision...”

Cry.

I turned to face the front entrance, where a patch of white and a glow of green poked out from a slightly opened doorway.

“What, why?” I said, smiling an unconcerned smile. “Got some coupons here telling me that using them now would be the wisest.”

Ash’s eyes shifted upwards then back down to me. “Damp air. It’s almost certain to start pouring at any moment.”

I scoffed, and chuckled. I schuffled. “Pfft, It’s not gonna rain.”

Lighting flashed from behind.

“It’s not going to rain soon.”

Thunder boomed louder than a shotgun.

“It’s not going to rain… soonest.”

Happy thoughts, come on, sky, happy thoughts! Don’t start tearing up, please!

I kept that unconcerned smile on my face. Probably was a mistake. No mirrors, but I was sure I had a grimace, which did not help my case at all.

We haven’t even made it past the front door yet damn it.

“Umbrella!” I piped up, perhaps a bit more enthusiastically than I would have liked. “Get the one underneath the stairs. Problem solved. Yeah?”

That solved that, and luckily Ash was in agreement. Saw her face skirt away from the doorway and not a moment later, there sounded her rummaging about in the cupboard under the stairs.

The next I saw of her was with the front door swung to its fullest, a folded umbrella clutched tightly in her arms and with clothing that was… that was… what the hell…

That jacket with strands coming loose with many black blotches of singed fabric. I knew. Those jeans, ruined and sliced to tatters. I remembered. The first clothes I’ve ever given her… clothes that she took with her into the Matriarch's domain. Sad to say, they did not come out of the incident unscathed.

“You still have that?”

“Yes…” Ash said, knowing immediately what ‘that’ referred to. “I have, um… deemed them still fit for use…”

Fit for use, indeed. I do not recall ever teaching her how to use those dastard strings and needles, yet somehow… most of the damage was restored to a semi-pristine state. The places that were patched up showed signs of a beginner’s work. Which means...

“You, uh… you patched it up yourself?” I asked.

“Indeed, I did,” Ash nodded, her gaze elsewhere. “Mistress Ria had taught me to sew in her spare time.”

I drew my head back. “Mistress Ria?”

Another nod. “She prefers I address her as such.”

Of course she does.

“Okay… but…” Up and down my eyes went gazing at her figure. “You sure you don’t want to wear anything else?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

She shook her head, looked at me, and softly muttered. “I like this one.”

That was all she said and that was all I needed to understand. I nodded and started our adventure with a step forward.

“Let’s go then.”

I found that walking was actually a rather underappreciated source of transportation. Sure, it wasn’t as fast as others. Sure, it wasn’t as efficient than most. Still it offers you something that the rest would rarely allow.

Time.

And just what does time give me? Well, it was a great way to gauge Ash’s way of thinking. Haven’t even left the front porch yet, and already, in little time, she was speaking again.

“Master... if you insist that these provisions are of utmost significance, then I would not mind tending to the matter myself.”

I do that, then what’s the point of this side-quest? Can’t tell whether that offer was raised because the sight of me just unnerves her, or if she was just being her kind benevolent self again.

Perhaps it was a strange mixture of both. But either way…

“Sorry, Ash. But you’re stuck with me for the moment. Rather not have an assortment of cat food again like last time. I’m buying, you’re helping. Besides, coupons. Do you know what coupons are?”

I gave a brief glance behind me, finding Ash with a puzzled frown on her face.

“Was it… I believe it allows for the upheaval of the existing chain of command. Thus, granting you ownership of both the store and its supplies. Yes?”

Holy hell, if that’s how coupons work… it’s no wonder stores don’t give them out as much as they did before. Probably got tired of having to relinquish ownership each time.

“No, Ash… I think… yeah, I think that’s a coup d’etat.”

“Oh.”

Oh indeed.

“I’m guessing coupons and coup d’etat were on the same page in the dictionary?” I asked.

“I… I believe so.”

I chuckled and turned to the front again. Good talk. I liked that kind of talk. We needed more of those. And to that end, I had a plan.

Five minutes into the journey and we were out on the sidewalk, striding faster as the clouds got darker. Ash was keeping her distance, however with a solid five feet gap of empty space between us.

Main objective here was to shorten that gap and I know just the thing.

“Master?” I hear Ash call out from behind. “Forgive me, but, would a taxi not be preferable in this case?”

“Why, you wanna ride one again?”

“Wha - No, no, no! Don’t misunderstand me. It was merely a suggestion. I would never… to ask of you for such… after everything… I - “

“I’m kidding, Ash.”

“Ah…” was her response, leveling back to a state of calm. “I - I see. You… you merely jest. Ahem, yes - well… I knew that.”

Sure you did.

“We could take a taxi, we could,” I said, feeling the muscles in my lips curving upwards. “Or we could stay here and wait for something else.”

I stopped walking, and Ash followed suit. With a full-on smile now, I pointed to the object that sat rusting away by the sidelines.

“Know what this is?” I asked.

Ash drifted a bemused gaze over to where I was pointing, cautiously inching closer to my side for a better view. It didn’t help though, she still looked just as lost as she was prior to coming over.

“It’s… it’s a bench?” She tilted her head. “Metal bench, equipped with a cylindrical roof serving as shelter from rainfall?”

“Know what a bus is?”

“Bus?”

“I’ll take that as no,” Forward I went, taking a seat on the cold hard surface. “Have a seat. You’re gonna like this one.”

With a strange blend of confusion and curiosity, Ash waltz on over and took a place at the other end of the bench.

Still, there was the gap. Damn…

“Are we... waiting on something?” Ash asked.

There was a rumble that echoed in the distance, a rumble that kept on creeping closer.

“Not for long,” I said, nudging my chin to the direction of the approaching noise.

The big metal box with wheels finally made its grand appearance, roaring away towards our position. As expected, the sight and sound of it had Ash immediately rocketing upwards.

I thought right. A love for cars would mean even greater love for buses and it definitely showed. Don’t know what she had against garbage trucks, though...

Still, wish I could describe in great detail exactly how in awe Ash was at the moment. How the bus screeching to a halt in front us captivated her sight like nothing ever did before. I could start with her lips perhaps, how it opened wide and never closed shut, maybe even how she seemingly forgot how to breathe in the heat of the moment.

So many words to describe, but nothing I’d say would do it any justice. I wouldn’t be able to... seeing her so reinvigorated, so full of wonder once again… I’d fail before I even began.

But if I could summarize her joy in a few words, there was always the staple feature you look out for.

For the first time in a long time, her pointed ears twitched energetically, and her eyes glimmered bright.

For once, I felt that feeling again. Back before everything, back when it was just the two of us. The feeling that everything was a-okay.

A squeaky hinge swung the door of the bus open, and seeing as Ash was frozen in astonishment, I decided to take the initiative and take the first step into the bus.

“Coming in?” I asked, unable to suppress the goofy grin on my face.

Then that’s when I saw it, impelled to the surface by ecstasy and wonder, a small smile on her face reciprocating the one on my own.

“Yes…” She said breathlessly. “Definitely.”

I stretched a hand out and she, to my delight, took it without hesitation.

Gap closed.

As the bus rumbled off towards the direction of the city, I couldn’t help but share in her happiness.

How could I not be happy? This was a promising start.

For once, I thought, everything was definitely going to be alright.