I was never the type of person who tries to keep themselves clean 24/7, and I have a couple of times expressed my unobservant nature in my new life. Yet, I am very disappointed in myself that I didn't notice the spots of dirt on my body, which leads into this predicament I am in right now.
Besley entered his bathroom and turned on some water while grabbing a scrub and lowered me to the tub. It was-
AYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA THAT IS FREEZING WHAT THE HELL
... yeah, so I frantically tried to scramble out of the water yet I'm not getting any grip and only managed to splash water all around the place, ruining Besley's clothes along with it. That is until I realize I'm not just a cat and got enough sense back to actually use my wings to escape the tub.
GIRMOLD I'M BLAMING THIS ON YOU FOR NOT TELLING ME ANYTHING ABOUT DIRT ON ME
Nevertheless, I'm back in the tub again, but this time the maids added some hot water onto the already-filled tub and actually made it enjoyable.
Besley was a bit mad that I splashed water all over him but had enough goodwill to see, or probably feel, that the water is cold and asked one of the staff to get some hot water like he does every day.
The scrub he used was one of those metal sponge thingies you use when you wash dishes. It's not painful, but it is very rough and ticklish and very uncomfortable at times. It did its job though. I decided to entertain him for a bit for his efforts, even though it's not much compared to what most pets need, so I swam around the tub, the water tipping side to side while some water started splashing. He was giggling the whole time.
When he was finished, he drained the water by opening the drain you normally get from bathtubs. I wonder how rare is running water. I see people on the streets gathering water from a small canal built for the public, and seeing as the water runs to a tap in here and how this world is mostly medieval, I do wonder how rare running water is.
Besley then dried me up with a small towel, but instead of leaving me alone again, he slowly picked me up and laid down on his bed. What-
"It's been a while since I had you in my hands like this, hasn't it?" He then cuddled me even tighter. "You're very cute and cuddly, you know."
I would've blushed if I could. On second thought, I think I did. Uhhh... If you could let me go now? I have a feeling that I wouldn't go out of this without magic, and that is never gonna be a choice for now.
I looked up, only to see that his eyes were already closed. Damn, how do people fall asleep so fast?
Eventually, after some hesitation and reluctance, I decided to sleep too.
***************************
I woke up feeling extremely comfortable. It's like one of those days where you wake up but try to sleep again not because of tiredness, but because the bed is so comfy and the blanket feels like it's protecting you. It's been so long since I've felt like this. I wonder why. Normally I have the feeling every day, but-
Wait...
I shifted, and it felt like A normal bed. A bit big, but normal. That's when I realize the abnormal thing about the situation is that-
I'm on a bed???
I jolted up, a bit confused. I was in Besley's room. I don't know how. Normally the staff wouldn't allow that under the order of Lord Gracius. That's when all the memories from last night came back to me.
Oh, that's what happened. I wondered why the staff didn't try to look for me or kick me out though. And where's Besley?
I thought predators like me are easily disturbed from their sleep. Do I really sleep that deep that Besley can wake up without waking me up?
Anyway, I started wiggling around the bed, revelling in what a bed feels like again.
Ahhhhh, I missed you so much, beds.
Suddenly, Besley's mother appeared beyond the open door. She frowned, "Besley! Your dragon is messing up your mattress!"
Wait, no- That's not-
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
I jumped off the bed and ran out, wanting to hunt some food. Or maybe gather some berries instead. I'm craving sweets.
Lady Anna giggled, "Looks like someone knows when they're in trouble."
Ma'am, stop assuming shit and just close that mouth of yours. I'm going to get some berries for myself.
That's when my stomach started grumbling. And I need them quick.
I flew all the way to the front door, which was devoid of any obstacles that might ruin my perfect gliding streak, and flew up and over the forest.
All this greenery, it's so beautiful. There's a reason why my favourite colour is green. It's just that nature is so- what was that?
Something ruined my train of thought as I saw something moving fast in the trees behind me. It's starting to catch up to me.
That's when I realize that it's a person... wearing clothes...
Of course they're wearing clothes! Why is my last brain cell malfunctioning?!
I took a lower altitude to see who it is. Besley???
I landed myself on the ground close to him as he stopped. He started panting when he stopped. I gave him a glare.
"Uhhh... hey... boy. Do you... uhh... mind me going... with you this time?"
Yes, yes I do mind. I internally replied to him. But since there is no way for me to communicate with him without exposing anything, Fine! You could pick berries with me!
I flew back up, although at a slower speed and a lower altitude again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not gonna lie, being with some company out here is nicer than being alone.
Here I am, complaining about loneliness. I used to ask for all my time alone, doing something like this. Now I sound like a hypocrite.
Normally, I pick the berries from the bush I found first before eating them, but this time, I just munch it off the bush as picking it would look too civilized for Besley.
Although, we got into a bit of a feud before.
****************************
I found the bush I normally eat berries from, and Besley stopped right next to me as I landed. I started approaching the bush when Besley started getting worried.
"Troy, what are you doing?"
I looked back for two seconds before reaching the bush and biting a berry off. That's when Besley totally lost it.
He gasped and shouted, "TROY!!! THAT'S POISONOUS! STOP!" He then ran right next to me again and tried to open my maw and brush out the food. He was successful.
YOU STOP! I'VE BEEN EATING THESE FOR DAYS!
"Daddy said that these bushes will make you blow up to become a ball in seconds!" He frantically explained.
Yeah... no. Your father is talking crap.
I quickly snatched another berry behind me and flew up so that Besley can't do what he did before. He looked at me in horror as I chewed and swallowed a berry, and swooped down for another.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Dramatic much...
And then he stopped while closing his eyes as I waited for him to open them back up to see that I'm alright. Half a minute passed, and Besley opened his eyes and was surprised that I was still in the air, perfectly fine.
A minute passed, and I swooped down to snatch another. He flinched and wanted to reach out to catch me, but hesitated.
Two minutes passed. "Huh," Besley bluntly said as he studied the berry further.
****************************
Eventually, he then started eating it too. And he was pleasantly surprised by the sweet taste which was just perfect, I was surprised too the first time.
Suddenly, I heard a familiar growl behind us. I looked back to see the creature I expected. It was a zombie-like deer with gray skin that had no fur and the eyesockets only having white dots. It was a creature I met a week ago when it tried to attack me as I was eating from the same bush it normally eats from. Although a swift fight with an earth shard cutting a piece of its right antler put it in its place. Although it nearly hit me with some kind of dark orb it shot.
I suspect it has some kind of intelligence because ever since then, it never dared to attack me again and we have a mutual mental agreement that it eats on one side of the bush which has more berries while I get the opposite side. Why did I give it the bigger side? Because... I don't know... It's 5 times bigger than me?
I was confused about why it was growling. We're on my side. Is it because Besley is here? Is it because he's human?
I looked back only to see that Besley somehow went to its side of the bush without me noticing. Well, shit.
Then I also noticed that he's still eating, unaware that something wants to harm him. I quickly rushed to his side and nipped his hand before doing my own growl, which sounded like a small dog growling, in the direction of the deer.
"What's wrong, boy?!" He looked at where I'm looking and went pale. "T-th-that's a death deer..."
A what deer?!
It came out of the shadows and growled louder, showing shard teeth that a herbivore shouldn't have.
"Run," He whispered before sprinting in a random direction. I followed quickly while sneakily using wind magic to boost me and I was above him almost immediately. The quick crunching of leaves and a very unnerving horn-like noise tells me that the death deer is following us. I looked and saw that it was following Besley specifically.
Well, that's a lot of crap.
This chase went for a minute before I conjured an earth shield when Besley wasn't looking, making the deer stop.
He was still running for half a minute, which I kept following him, until he looked up and back seeing I'm still with him and there is no one chasing us anymore.
I landed on his lap when he plopped down and started to breathe rapidly. "That... Was... AWESOME."
Now, I didn't sign up to take care of this crazy child. Although I do believe that it would be quite an exhilarating experience. That last sentence had words that are really out of my league.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How long can this kid run for???
Really though. For the way home, I had to lead him as we we're quite far from town. AND HE RAN AGAIN. Idk what the hell he's on but it's stronger than steroids alright.
That wind magic of his also must be doing him good. We must be going at 50 kilometres per hour or something.
I escorted him home first. And then I went to my meeting spot with Girmold to get my next mission. I hope I'm not late.