Chapter 106: Reunion

Alex Sandclaw’s POV (continued):

Walking through the village after being gone for so long was strange. I still knew the streets like the back of my hand—I recognized the specific rock formation the butcher's shop was built against, and the way the general store’s right wall had a large crack in it. I could even tell the crack had grown a little since I’d left.

But at the same time, everything seemed so foreign. The village felt so deserted, and after everything that had happened, it just didn’t feel like home anymore. The campus, and more specifically, the room Felix and I shared, was home now. I had too many bad memories in this place for me to ever feel like it was home again.

As we walked through the streets, we did eventually come across a few people talking, and they were all talking about the global System message from earlier, the Title system, and what it all meant. I really wanted to know, too. I knew there was a new field in my status sheet now—the System occasionally nudged me to look at it—but I hadn’t really had the time to do so yet. Felix and I would have to talk about it when we left and were alone again.

We reached the house faster than I expected. But then I remembered that the last time I made this small trek, I hadn’t unlocked my System yet. Now, my physical Attribute sped things along greatly. Even a slow, relaxed walking pace now was the same as jogging had been back then.

The house was pretty much exactly like I remembered it. Maybe five meters wide and eight meters long, with only one floor. Like most buildings here, it was made entirely of sandstone and similar materials. The windows were covered with a thin layer of white cloth, mostly meant to keep the sand out—as much as you could keep it out, anyway. I remembered me and my little brother breaking it one time while we played with a ball.

I wondered how he was doing now.

In front of the house, in an area shaded by a tarp, my mother sat in her rocking chair. That made sense. It was rather late in the day already. She’d be done with work by now. Like usual, she was knitting something. She must have just started this project, since I had no idea what she was making. A new bag, maybe? Or a sling for a water pouch?

As we approached, she looked up, only to flinch back at the sight of Felix. I was starting to get really tired of people being scared of him. I could feel him sighing silently every time it happened. It wasn’t fair. Felix wasn’t scary. He was one of the most gentle people I’d met. He didn’t deserve to be treated like this. If it hadn’t been for my mother, and especially my brother, we would’ve left already. I hoped Felix would understand.

After spotting Felix, mom spotted dad, and then finally me. She shot up out of her chair, her mouth working soundlessly just like dad’s had. She made a move like she wanted to rush over, but thought better of it as she glanced at Felix again.

I climbed off Felix and waved at her. “Hi, mom,” I said.

“Alex? But… How… Why…” she stammered. Tears were starting to flow down past her snout.

She really looked like she wanted to rush over and hug me, but I was standing closely next to Felix, so she didn’t dare. I was glad for that, though, since that had been the intent. I wasn’t interested in another tearful hug to be ruined by her remembering why I’d left, just like had happened with dad.

My brother, however, had no such reservations about Felix. He poked his head out from inside and noticed me. A few seconds later he was in my arms, hugging me tightly. “I really, really missed you,” he said through the tears. “Why did you leave?”

I hugged him back, letting him cry into my tattered clothes. “I missed you, too, Yizo. And I didn’t have a choice. I’m sorry.”

Yizo just hugged me tighter, and for the first time since I left, I regretted leaving. I hated to admit it, but Yizo had escaped my thoughts most of the time. It was hard to think of home without conjuring up thoughts of mom and dad, and I hadn’t wanted to think about them, and Yizo had gotten caught in the crossfire.

I looked up at my parents, and I saw dad scowling at the two of us. But mom was running over to us. She must have realized it was safe. A moment later, the hug turned into a group hug. “I’m so sorry you had to leave,” she said.

We stood there, hugging and crying for a good minute. I didn’t even realize I’d been crying too until we separated. Mom stepped a small distance away, giving me some space, but my twelve-year-old brother stayed close.

Mom wiped away her tears. “Do… do you want to come in? Dinner will be ready soon.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but hesitated. Did I want to come in? As much as I just wanted to eat dinner with them like nothing was wrong, like I’d never come out to them and like I’d never left, that wasn’t possible. Because I had left.

I shook my head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I said and mom’s face fell. When I began feeling guilty for making mom sad, I purposefully remembered how she had backed dad up that evening before I left and the guilt faded.

“Please, Alex,” Yizo said. “I… I don’t want you to leave again.”

I glanced at him. My brother was the only one who had done nothing wrong. He had been sent away before my father began insulting me. And I really had missed him.

Felix nudged me with his snout, and I looked at him. He nudged me again, pointing his snout at my family.

“Alright,” I said, sighing. “But only one time.”

Yizo’s face brightened, solidifying my choice. I could withstand one evening with dad for him.

Mom smiled too, and motioned us inside. Dad went first, his tail lashing behind him. I didn’t need to ask to know he was unhappy with this choice. But despite his flaws, I knew he still loved mom and would do almost anything for her. It wasn’t something I had understood before, and something I still didn’t quite understand, but I had an inkling now since I’d met Felix.

I followed them inside, gesturing for Felix to come too. I reluctantly walked through the door, the smell of food immediately apparent. Whatever mom was cooking, it smelled rich and fatty. It was probably some kind of meat stew. The house was just as I remembered, though I noticed none of the items I’d left behind were still here. There was a new painting on the wall without me on it, my drawings that had hung on the wall were gone, and there wasn’t a trace of my old plushies. They hadn’t even given them to Yizo.

Stolen story; please report.

Searching for a distraction, I glanced behind me to see how Felix was doing. The house was a little on the small side for him. He should be able to squeeze inside, though, even if it was tight. I hoped he didn’t mind, or if he did, I’d find a way to make it up to him later. But I needed his support right now. I wasn’t sure I could withstand an evening with my parents without Felix there with me, even if he didn’t talk.

Felix himself was getting inside pretty well, though I could see from his face he rather wouldn’t. He noticed me looking and sent me a reassuring smile. I mouthed the words ‘thank you’ back at him.

I turned back to my family. Yizo was looking at Felix with awe, as if he’d only just noticed him. Mom was just curious, but dad looked like he was absolutely seething.

He pointed at Felix. “Your mount stays outside. The rules haven’t changed since you left. I don’t want any animals in the house. You couldn’t have a pet then, and you certainly can’t bring one inside now.”

I frowned, doing my best not to punch my father. I took a deep breath. “Felix stays, or I leave.”

Dad’s scowl deepened, and he was about to say something when mom interrupted him. “Honey, please shut your mouth before you make things worse,” she said, surprising both me and dad a great deal. We both stared at her slack-jawed. She continued. “We have the room, so what does it matter?”

“Sask, we don’t even know if it's housetrained!” dad protested.

“Well, how do we know you are housetrained?” Felix asked. I twirled around to look at him and he had a frustrated and angry expression on his snout. It seemed he’d had enough of staying silent. “I mean, you’ve been spouting shit at my friend all afternoon! If there’s anyone who needs to be housetrained, it’s you.”

Everyone except Yizo took a step back and dad’s angry scowl turned into a confused frown. “It… it talks?” he asked

“No, but he does,” I said, then turned to my boyfriend. “Felix, this is my family. Mom, dad, this is Felix.”

Felix frowned at them, his voice low with barely concealed anger. “Normally I’d say it was a pleasure to meet you, but I don’t like lying,” he said before glancing at Yizo. ”Well, your brother seems nice, at least.”

Mom and dad stood speechless, but Yizo bounded over and immediately started asking questions. “Can you fly, or are those wings just for show? Why can you talk? Can all monsters talk? How did you meet—”

I placed a hand on his shoulder and kneeled down beside him. “Calm down, you can ask your questions later. And Felix is not a monster, so please don’t call him that, alright?”

While Felix hadn’t said anything, I could tell it still bothered him.

Yizo blinked. “Oh, sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Felix said. “I know I kind of look like one, so I get why you would think that. And to answer your first question, yes, I can fly. It’s how Alex and I got here.”

I smiled at the two, even though I didn’t like Felix talking himself down like that. We’d have to talk about that later. I then turned back to my parents. Dad looked furious and mom stared worriedly at him, just like someone might stare at a bomb about to explode and praying it doesn’t.

“Whether it speaks or not doesn’t make a difference!” dad said. “You cannot bring that thing into the house!”

I sighed. “I’ll say this one last time. You either accept him—and apologize for calling a pet and everything else you said—or I’ll leave.”

That seemed to be the entirely wrong thing to say as dad’s expression turned from furious to outraged. I hadn’t even known he could get this angry.

“I am your father, and you will listen to me!” he shouted. “You will send your pet away and then we’re going to help fix you—”

Dad was interrupted by Felix’s low growl. It even surprised me. I turned around to stare at him. Just like with dad, I hadn’t seen him this angry before. Lightning accumulated around his maw and his claws dug into the floor. He seemed entirely unaware he was even doing it. And there was an angry snarl on his snout that reminded me of a snarling wolf.

I stepped over and placed my hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright Felix, I’m okay,” I said, and the lightning dissipated, though the snarl remained. I glanced back at dad. “Coming here was a mistake. It’s clear that I’m not welcome here. I’ll be leaving now.”

I gave Felix’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He calmed down a little and took a deep breath before backing out of the house. I followed him and closed the door behind me. Behind me, I could hear mom arguing with dad and shouting at him. We walked a small bit away from the house, creating some much needed distance.

Once we were out of earshot, Felix stopped and sat down, pulling me into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Alex. No one’s parents should be this awful.”

I leaned into the hug, feeling some tears flow down my snout. “I don’t know what I expected, honestly. I knew deep down they wouldn’t accept me, but I’d still hoped, you know?” I said. “I hadn’t expected dad to be so outright hostile. We got along pretty well before we left and now he looks at me like I’m some misbehaving toddler. I feel so stupid for expecting things to… just work out.”

Felix ran a talon over my head, rubbing it gently. “You only did what any child would do, Alex. Don’t blame yourself for wanting your parents to love you for who you are and don’t be angry at yourself because your parents are shitty people.”

I sniffled. “I guess,” I said, not entirely sure whether to believe him. Maybe if this had been the first time, I would have. But this was the second time they were this awful to me. Surely I should’ve known better by now. Right?

At least it had been nice seeing Yizo again. It really sucked that I wouldn’t be able to see him without also seeing mom and dad. Maybe in a few years, when he was a little older, I could come see him without my parents around. I shook my head, getting rid of the ideas. I’d think about them later, when I was feeling better. For now, I just wanted to focus on Felix and his warm presence. He’d been an anchor through-out this all. Without him there to fall back on, I’m not sure I could’ve stood up to dad. I could handle dad being angry at me, but I couldn’t accept him being angry at Felix—for using him as a tool to assert his authority over me.

I wiped away my tears and took a small step back. “Thank you, by the way, for being there for me. I couldn’t have done this without you,” I told him. “And I’m really sorry for what dad and Yizo said to you. You aren’t a monster.”

Felix pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Thank you. I’m not angry at your brother, though. I didn’t like it, but I can’t blame him. He’s young and doesn’t know any better, and I do look a bit like a monster as much as I hate it.”

I shook my head vigorously. “You don’t look like a monster to me, Felix. No, to me you just look handsome,” I said, running my hand over his neck.

He chuckled. “That’s adorable, Alex. And again, thank you. I just wish there was something more I could’ve done to help you.”

I shook my head. “You were there for me when I needed you, that’s more than enough.”

We sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's presence, before Felix spoke up again. “So, what do you want to do now? It’s a bit late to keep going, and we’re both tired. Is there a spot nearby we can rest at?”

I thought about it for a moment, then sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s too late to continue traveling now. And we can probably just sleep near the oasis. It’s not like anyone can stop us, anyway. The highest leveled person here is dad, and I’m pretty sure I have almost double his attributes. And with my shoulder fixed up, he isn’t an issue anymore. We’ll need to get food first, though. Are you up for a small hunting trip before we sleep?”

He nodded. “Sounds good. I could use something to eat for sure. What kind of monsters roam the—”

He was interrupted by a thud, a yelp, followed by a cry of, “Alex, wait!”