Dawn had started to spill across the sky by the time Valencia showed Timothy to their guest room. Miss Larue had hustled Meri off to bed already, and Kate had been content to rest in her seat at the table as everyone bustled off. Mat’d already worked a triple shift, so he staggered off to get tidied up downstairs with a somewhat slurred goodnight. Maisie surprised him by saying goodnight and then slobbling off to the actual bakery building.
Valencia, having already cleaned herself up, instead got charged with finding a towel and some spare clothes for the wolf. So the curious wolf found himself following the dragoness to her room.
“Alright, fair warning, the place’s kind of a mess.” She rubbed her arm. “I’m just gonna find you some of my old gear, it oughta be stuffed in the closet somewhere.”
“Thanks, Valencia.” The wolf wasn’t entirely certain about being alone with Valencia, if he was bein’ honest. She wasn’t gonna beat him up, obviously, after all the trouble she’d gone through to help him stay here, but… she had more muscle in one arm than he had in his whole body. It was a little intimidating, for multiple reasons.
She chuckled as she opened the door. “Only mama calls me that. You can just call me V, arright? Everyone does.”
V’s room was done up in purples and blacks, with posters hung on almost every inch of every wall. Pictures of other really buff men and women flexed at him from all sides. He thought they were characters from something, maybe, since many were in elaborate costumes and harnesses. He’d seen the radio downstairs, and the dragoness had a bigger one of her own, built boxy and with a sturdy handle on top. Her bed was tossed and rumpled, with a mix of long pillows and normal ones. Several big jars with names like “PROTE-MAX” and “ARM FUEL” were stacked atop each other in triangles along the walls, like they were a display. And there were tons of thin books all over, with extremely colorful covers featuring action of all kinds, from gunslinging horses to the same lioness from her shirt punching out some wizard lookin’ guy. V blushed as his eyes fell on a poster above her bed of a particularly handsome silver dragon posing across a durawn-drawn carriage. Timothy’s jaw went a little slack.
“I—“
“S-shut up.” V coughed into her fist. “He’s hot.”
“Y-yeah.” Timothy blushed a little, not quite wanting to look away from the immodestly dressed drake. Were— were guys like that just walking around in towns like this? Cuz if so, holy frass, there really were perks to living outside the woods. Not to mention the war party of attractive men and women that were plastered on every wall. Of course, the staring got a double take from V.
“Oh, you like guys?”
“I like both.” He managed to tear his gaze away, a little embarrassed to be so distracted. “You?”
“Just dudes. The, uh, badass chick pictures are more’ve a ‘goals’ thing, y’know?” She had a silly little smile on her face as they both examined the pinup. “Ricardo, man…”
“That’s his name?”
“Hell yeah. It sucks he lives in Sarro-dur.” She sighed. “Wish we had more sexy dragon guys around here. Or even regular ones.”
The wolf blushed. “Not a lot of’em?”
“Nah.” She said it wistfully and tore her eyes away from the poster like she was dropping a jewel off a deep cliff. “I ain’t ever met a dragon who wasn’t my blood. Sucks.” After a moment, the dragoness seemed to feel vulnerable, crossing her arms and blushing. “A-anyway, the clothes should be in here,” she gestured at a closet door with her hips. “You can sit on the bed, this might take a minute.”
Timothy carefully hopped up onto the bed. The dragoness planted her feet before hurling open the closet door. Not a moment later, an avalanche of more booklets, flat cases with bands on the fronts, a few battered chunks of chitin armor, and more rolled up posters smacked into the dragoness. It ended a few moments later with a stuffed animal bouncing down the top of the pile.
“Oh, my.” Timothy gaped.
“It’s cool, it’s cool.” Valencia grumbled. “My box of old clothes should be here somewhere…” The dragoness sighed and started sorting the books and bands into stacks. “Just sit tight.”
A minute passed…
“Hey, uh… thanks.” Valencia blurted out. She slowed down her sorting.
“Huh? What for?”
V grumbled and shook her head. “It was mutual, but you saved my life back there. An’ more important, you saved my sister. I won’t forget that.” Timothy shyly rubbed his neck. What could he even say? The dragoness stopped sorting. She didn’t turn around. Her shoulders fell, and she continued in a quiet voice. “Look… I’m sorry for kicking you right in the trauma back at the hospital.” She picked up the stuffed kitty who’d bounced down the pile. “I didn’t think anyone could do that to a kid.”
The wolf tried a smile. “It’s fine. It’s in the past.”
“Still. What those fuckin’ wastes of oxygen did to you wasn’t right. Honestly, when I think about it…” He could see her shaking. “I wanna fly over to Strenel and crack some heads together. To do that shit to a kid who can’t fight back… it’s beyond low.”
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“It’s the Vol way. Threats to the pack must be culled.” It was just how things were. He even understood, in a grim sort of way. “No one is worth protecting over the whole.” He paused. A thought that had been bothering him the whole time came to the fore, an’ he was too tired to fight it. “Seriously, why are you helping me? You’ve had tons of chances to get rid of me, and nobody would have complained.”
V looked offended, hurt… and a little awkward, like he’d struck a nerve. “Oh, come on, don’t you think you’re lookin’ a horse in the mouth? I owe ya, it’s the right thing to do, and you’re a halfie. Simple as that.”
“Valencia, I saw the way you looked at me back in the woods.” The shock, the disgust. “I don’t blame you, of course, but it does make me wonder why you didn’t let the mayor have me. Unless it was just because Meri and Mat were watching.” That made her flinch, and the hurt took over her expression. He should have shown some diplomacy, but he was still dangling on the end of his rope. “It just… it doesn’t make sense.” He drew himself together, holding the hospital robes close. “It doesn’t.”
“…I got a real good look at ya back when Mat had you on the operating table, you know. Carried you there myself. And you know what stuck in my gut?” Her body tensed. “You weigh almost nothing. You know that? I know a skinny hummingbird girl, and you weigh less than she does. And you looked beat to shit, but more than that… the way your skin looks, you’ve been beat to shit more than you’ve ever been healthy. And it’s probably all because of that brand, and… that ain’t fair. Even if you don’t blame me, I’m sorry I looked at you like that.
And brand or not, if a guy so badly off could give up so much to help my kid sister… Look, I don’t know what I’da done if I’d lost Meri today. She could have died out there, alone in the woods, and I’d never have even found her. But you stepped up, put your own ass on the line for a girl you didn’t know.” And the dragoness turned to face him, eyes blazing with inner fire. “She told me what happened when that monster showed up. You had to know what you were risking by sending her off to escape. You as good as gave your life for her. For us.” Her hands fell on his shoulders with a grip that felt like sun-warmed steel. “Whatever else you are, man, you deserve better. I owe you. And if someone, anyone tries to hassle you about that doodle on your forehead, I’ll kick their ass myself. You got that?”
She was so close he could feel the heat of her breath. He was lost in her fire, like he was going to burn away from just being next to her. His heart was pounding, with terror and excitement in equal measure. All he could manage was “Y-yes’m.” You deserve better. He’d never expected to hear that outside his own head. And she said it so sincerely. She was so sure… His eyes were wide and locked with hers. Wow. Valencia broke the tension with a small, almost bashful grin, stepping back. “S-so don’t ask dumb questions like that.” His face felt hot, and he suddenly really wanted to fan himself. Holy frass. “I think I’ve almost got it, so lemme just… there!”
Sure enough, under one last patch of books was a box of old clothes, with a staff sticking out the back. Timothy was still reeling from the force of her… her, but he noticed the weapon. “Is that a staff?”
“Huh, let’s see…” V picked up the box effortlessly, and dropped it near the bed. She plopped down next to him, and Timothy gasped as her weight slid him to her side. Woah, she was warm… Oblivious, the dragoness kicked open the box. “We got some clothes from before the growth spurt. Jeans, old T-shirts— you’re lucky I’ve never been super femmy— and yeah, that’s my staff from before the growth spurt.” She lightly kicked it up into her hand. “Er, well, what’s left of it.” She passed it to Timothy. Sure enough, the haft had been splintered from some sharp impact, lookin’ like it’d been smashed over something a bit too hard. It was beautiful, though, even under a layer of dust, made from dark, shadowmarch wood. Its finish was still smooth and lovely after years of waiting in the closet. Even ending in a jagged bloom of splinters, it was still beautiful. V noticed the way he was looking at it. “You like?”
“It’s a lovely weapon. A little whittling could smooth its second head back to perfection.” He felt Mandible hum faintly in its sheathe. The meal must have started to wake it. “I love a good staff.”
V smiled at him. “Why don’t you keep it, then? It’s way too small for me anymore, especially with a good chunk of it gone.”
Timothy stared. “Really?”
“Yeah, man! It served me pretty good, so I’m sure it’ll serve you just fine. Let you replace that cane with some real ordinance!” She cheerily clapped him on the back. “Let’s get you into the shower, while I blast the dust off these.
“What’s a shower?”
“Oh, shorty.”
———
Showers, it turned out, were amazing and beat the hell out of bathing in the river. He washed and washed until the soot and mud and blood stopped making the water run all ruddy, enjoying the feeling of using soft-scented shampoo bars rather than his rendered fat soap back home. The towel V’d tossed him was big and fluffy enough that he could probably wear it as a cloak.
V kindly left him a shirt and pants, which he slipped into. They were still a bit loose on him, but the soft pants at least could be tightened. And these are her clothes from when she was normal-sized? Sheesh! He returned to V’s room not long after, following the sound of wind blasts. He left the hospital robe in a hamper, carrying only his knife and strap. By now, the sun was starting to rise, dying the sky with purple and red as the stars faded.
“I’m back, V.” Timothy slipped into the room. A small, standing twister of dust spun slowly in a corner as V magically blasted the clothes one by one. She stopped and tossed the last one in a somewhat neat heap as she turned. “Showers are the best.”
“Heh, yeah. Your timing’s good, I’m just about done with this.” She looked him over. “It’s a little baggy on ya, huh? Take a look.” She pointed to a mirror near the closet. Timothy stepped into view, and yeah… the shirt had a loose, baggy fit, almost like a loose half-robe, and it settled around his hips. It was a nice shade of purple, though, and it hid his tail stump. The grey pants were loose around his spindly legs, but they wouldn’t fall, at least. He made a mental note to pin up the ankles, though.
“Thank you again for your kindness.” He smiled politely. “They’re very comfortable.”
“Hey, it’s no big deal. Tomorrow we can dig up some of Mat’s stuff too, so you can dress a bit more…uh…” she winced. “Manly-like?”
“I don’t mind. I mean, I’ve worn my gran’s witch dress for years now.” He smiled at her. Despite everything, he was pretty proud it’d survived this long. It took a wildfire to destroy it, long after it was held together by a quilt of patches. “These are lovely. Thank you again, Val—V.”
Valencia smiled and nodded, before a massive yawn overtook her. “Don’t mention it. Let’s get y’to the guest room so we can be done with this day, yeah?”
“Yeah!”