Truth limped to the bed. He was in a cheap inn while Tiger and Gale Storm-Seeker went to find work. They were able to pay rent for five nights and still have some money to spare for food. But they needed money fast.

Truth felt strange now that he had his claw, his far-left claw. It felt familiar like it had happened in some other world. This thought scared him. He really wanted to be his own person. He was coaxed by his friends to shoplift. He felt bad about it at the time, but…

“Everything feels wrong…” Truth said to himself. “I feel that I was supposed to be somewhere else and I am not. I feel there should be an old crone nearby and there isn’t. Well, at least to my knowledge.”

He lay down in his bed—cot more of— and tried to fall asleep. He did feel a little sleepy. His eyelids were heavy and his limbs sour. But his mind was buzzing with many thoughts.

The disembodiment of my claw was supposed to already have happened…

Though tired, Truth walked out to the dank lobby in the dank inn and into the dank game room. There was a green and brown griffin there playing solitaire on a table. Truth, seeing it was dark, used some of his fire to light a lantern.

“Thank you,” said the griffin.

“You’re welcome,” replied Truth. “Would you mind playing billiards?”

The griffin thought, scratching her temple. “Sure. I need socializing.”

“Thanks,” said Truth.

Truth felt this griffin here made the atmosphere of the room calm. It was nice playing billiards with her, albeit hard with a bandaged talon. He lost several times. But she never gloated or rubbed her victory in his face.

“Hey. What happened to your talon?” the griffin asked.

“I would rather not talk about it.”

“I understand,” she said. “It was nice playing billiards with you. I must go now. I have a dinner date.”

***

A few moments after entering his rented room, Tiger and Gale showed up with a small bag of coins.

“How much?” asked Truth.

“Only two bluescales. Enough for another three nights here,” Gale responded.

Truth was troubled by this. But what weighed more heavily on his heart was the deja-vu. He felt that the escape had happened before and he had only repeated the past in a different manner.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Did you find any work?” Truth asked.

“Yes. But it is lower paying. It pays about seven bluescales a day. We earned these three by begging,” said Tiger.

“He means we pickpocketed and distracted others to get all this money,” Gale said. “We start tomorrow for the jobs.”

Truth sighed. This was going to be a hard time. He had lost a claw, and they were practically broke. This would not do. But he needed to fix it.

They gathered on the floor and ate some scraps from a nearby restaurant. They didn’t want them and sold them at a heavily discounted price.

Staying in silence, each was lost in their own train of thought. Truth specifically was still pondering all that had happened. He felt… trapped by fate. He knew that he would lose his claw sooner or later… He wished there was something he could do to stop it.

He excused himself and grabbed a sheet of paper and dipped his right index claw in ink, as there were no other utensils for writing.

I wish that there would be a place for us to stay free of charge.

I wish we were with the Matriarch.

How I know of her?

A friend of a friend or another of that ilk

There is no use crying over the past

For the past will forever last

Truth didn’t plan for this to become a poem, but it had in some way, shape, or form. It held a fraction of his desires, wants, and thoughts.

Truth wanted to run away from all this craziness. He wanted to be alone and safe in another place. He wanted to be away from all of this intrigue. But he doubted he could do that.

A tear rolled down his cheek.

“You ok?” asked Tiger.

Truth just ignored him and buried his head in the pillows.

“I think he needs some time alone,” he heard Gale say to Tiger. “Let him be.”

Truth cried himself to sleep. He had been so distressed. His parents were dead, he was incarcerated on wrong charges, (although he did commit crimes, just not the ones he was accused of), the claw, and this hopeless situation he was in.

This was only the start of much tragedy and joy. The tragedy would bring joy, just as the shouts of happiness follow a victory. But it seemed the joy was far away as well was victory.

Truth’s sleep was sound. No dreams came to disturb him nor was he awoken for a long time. He had seemed to have blocked out all of the intrusive thoughts of the world and how unjust it seemed to be.

But deep down, Truth felt that everything would be put right eventually. It might be a day or a decade. It would come.

A Note from Dlaerious

I sure hope that justice will come to put the world right once again. Perhaps the god of this realm will help and steer fate so that it can happen. But when wee look at Truth there, sleeping, It dawns upon us that whatever fells your joy and destroys it will do so again. But the next time it happens, it will be for the good.

There will be a betrayal like there was before. And there will be hope when all is lost. Perhaps Maple and Tiger will get enough money, in both timelines. And my wife will once again speak to Tiger. Be wary, but don’t let wariness destroy happiness.