Felinis: I once again use fanfic to hide from responsibilities as I cry myself to sleep
Hanna sat at the bench watching Lowell play with the local children. The man was such a natural with kids. Like he was born to be a father. Hanna's dear friend Casey looked at her anxiously.
"When are you going to tell him?" She asked.
Hanna waved at Lowell when he glanced back her way with that silly grin. She loved him. She really did. But, everyone in the world looked and saw a relationship that was doomed for tragedy. Hanna just saw happiness. "When I'm really sure. Besides, it's only a day late."
Casey huffed and crossed her arms. "Then what? You can't expect him to take care of you."
Hanna furrowed her brow. "Lowell is a good and responsible man! Even if it was an accident he'll take responsibility."
Casey knew her and knew there was no changing her mind. "Just be careful. I worry about you." Casey looked at the man pretending to be a big scary monster for the small children and a smile tugged her lips. "At least, he'll be a wonderful dad."
Waking up in a back alley was sadly nothing new. Repede yelled at Yuri to get up. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. He remembered something about a well and this asshole trying to pick on some girl in a bar. He knew he got into a fight and his nose hurt like hell.
Yuri slowly sat up. "You're a mess." Repede complained.
"Yeah, I know." He huffed and walked down to get an idea of where he was. He was in a small town not too far from Zaphias. Yuri had come looking for information on his parents. The last two years were spent following broken leads and trying to find information. The most he knew was almost twenty-one years ago, a Krytian man named Lowell made some sort of huge crime against the empire. Lowell had a hostage with him a female knight that he'd allegedly raped. He was on the run a year before he was caught and killed. Yuri knew there had to be more to it.
He kept digging and digging. Yuri needed the truth on the man named Lowell. So, he was traveling around where he could and asking questions. He was following frayed leads and learning mostly nothing. It sucked. He took in a breath and walked back to the inn he was staying at. If he could find a Krytian who knew his father Yuri could finally figure something out. But, Krytians had virtually vanished in the last twenty years. The empire treated them as criminals associated with the enemy in the Great War. A lot of hate crimes happened and it took another government statement to keep people from killing a Krytian on the streets. The group wasn't native to Ilyccia all the same so Yuri would have to cross the continent.
Yuri cleaned up and sighed at his reflection. His ears started to turn into a point about half-a-year ago. It was subtle, but he could see it. He clenched his hand and cringed. This trip had been another false lead. He was going to return to his room in Zaphias. He hadn't had any solid leads in weeks so heading back would be best. He brushed his hair out and kept looking at the mirror.
Repede yawned from the floor as nosed his way through a book. When Yuri first took off the dog had been fascinated by reading and wanted Yuri to teach him. This made Repede certifiably the world's first literate dog. "Vanity is often considered a sin."
"I'm not vain. I just like making sure that I look nice before I go out." Yuri brushed through a rough tangle.
The dog snorted. "It's funny. That woman last night tried to court you."
Yuri thought it over. Right, that girl had. "I wish there was a way I could just tell everyone I have no interest." Flirting got old very fast when there was no interest in it.
Repede stood up and walked to the sink. "You could pretend to be mated."
"That's another hassle entirely." Yuri gathered his things and got ready to leave town. Once back it be nice to see everyone. He planned to see what he could do for the folks back home while he gathered some more intel. Repede handed over the history text he'd been reading. Yuri had been looking up on ancient Geraios civilization and mythology. He was hoping maybe there was a clue in that information, but he hadn't seen it yet.
They were well out of town now and Yuri looked at some monsters flying in the air. "You read anything good?"
Repede shook his head. "No. Most of it was the same. Nothing we don't already know."
"Hopefully, Flynn will have something." Flynn had helped him pick up on the occasional lead. He'd overhear things and casually snoop around. Never enough to get in trouble, but enough. He'd get the occasional letters from the twins asking how he was. By some miracle, they were keeping Yuri's secret without fail.
Yuri managed to catch a caravan heading to Zaphias willing to give him a ride for a small fee. The rest of the day was spent talking with the people about life. Something was familiar about the man in front of him. The features he knew, but the tone… The poor guy was just sad. "Hey, did you pick up two kids up about ten years back?"
The man looked up at him with droopy eyes. "Oh, yes. I did once."
"I knew it! You were the driver." Yuri smiled.
The man smiled. "Yes, you and your little friend seemed like a miracle. Not every day good things like that happen. In fact, Cristiana-" The man stopped and sorrow returned to his face.
"Cristiana? Was she the Krytian woman with you?" The first and only Krytian woman he'd met.
He nodded. "She was caught up in the controversy. They cut off her antennae and she wasn't the same. Stopped moving. Stopped talking. Stopped eating. One day she just looked at me and decided to stop breathing."
Yuri swallowed. "I'm sorry to hear that."
The man waved it off. "Don't be. It's not your fault people like that exist." He chuckled. "She really wanted you to come with us. Said, that she wanted to take you to Myorzo."
His eyes widened intently. "Myorzo? Isn't that the holy land of the Krytia."
The man nodded. "Yep. Cristiana was from there, but I'm not sure where it is."
Myorzo? Yuri leaned back. Guess, that was his new lead, but first, he had to find it. None of the books ever talked about where Myorzo was. It was a mystery and then there was the problem of what all legends entailed. Myorzo could only be accessed by Krytians who had visited before. No exceptions. Yuri probably didn't fall into that category and those who didn't apparently were destroyed on entry by the gate. He'd thought briefly of it before, but the idea of hunting it down had seemed outlandish even for him.
The Bodhi blastia on his wrist hummed softly in his ears. It was being loud today. Yuri tuned it out and focused on the city.
A few days turned into a few weeks and a few weeks into a few months. Yuri had nothing and he was once more bored as he read a holy scripture in hopes of answers. There had to be answers somewhere. He ground and tossed the book aside and laid on the bed. He blinked a bit and realized how dark it was. The sky was already black. Yuri felt his eyes narrow and his blood thrum. One of those nights.
He sat up and tapped his foot. He hadn't had a flare a little over four months. He'd been managing to keep himself together. Even if that last time he'd wandered off in the night and had to be dragged home by Repede. He breathed shallowly. He wasn't sure why he'd been out running around that night. They were out in the woods so they were camping so nobody saw. Yuri had gotten far before he was forced back and not without a lot of effort on Repede's part. It wasn't likely to happen agai…
Flynn opened the door to his room and scrunched his face. The window was open. He shut the door and went to look. He could have sworn he closed- A large weight jumped on his back and Flynn was thrown off balance. He threw off the figure and reached for his sword worried it might be an assassin, but stopped when he heard that familiar rumble.
"Yuri?" Those silver eyes stared at him cautiously and then relaxed. Yuri padded his way over to him gracefully before rubbing up against him happily. One day, Flynn might figure out why Yuri did this. Flynn placed a gentle hand on his head. "What are you doing here?" Yuri leaned into the hand before growing bored and lying on the bed with his muddy boots. Flynn would like to say he was happy to see Yuri, but he was worried now about why Yuri was here.
No horns yet. Good, that meant nobody saw anything weird. Or at least weirder than someone climbing into his window. He'd seen Yuri a few times since he came back to Zaphias and nothing had seemed off. Flynn cringed as the shoes rubbed more into his sheets. He pulled them off quickly and Yuri was looking at him annoyed. Yuri bit his hand as a warning to stop, but Flynn continued. This wasn't the first or the last time Yuri would bite him. That's nineteen. Flynn wasn't sure why he started counting, but he used it as a way to scold Yuri mostly now.
Yuri tilted his head and sniffed the air. Flynn tried to think what it was that Yuri was focused on, but he couldn't grasp what. He growled and a knock came at the door. Shit. Flynn made a quick makeshift muzzle and wrapped it around Yuri's mouth despite the halfer's protests. "Flynn?" a soft voice came from the other end.
He scrambled and cracked the door open kicking Yuri back. "Lady Estellise." He kicked Yuri again. "What brings you to my door tonight?"
She blinked and seemed confused. "Well, you said that you were interested in coming with me to read in the library after work." Yeah, he had, but now that was completely out of the question. He glanced at Yuri whose eyes glared venomously and the person beyond the door.
"Sorry. I forgot I have something else to deal with tonight." Flynn laughed awkwardly. "Perhaps another night."
Estellise stared at him suspiciously. "Alright. Then, I bid you goodnight Flynn."
"Yes, goodnight!" He exclaimed as Yuri clawed at his leg. Flynn slammed the door shut and glared at Yuri who was still furiously. "What's wrong with you? Ugh, if Lady Estellise saw you then you could be in a lot of trouble." Yuri looked at him curiously. And then glared back at door snarling through the fabric wrapped in his mouth. Flynn rubbed his temples and groaned. How was he supposed to deal with this? "Of all people, it had to be you." Flynn felt Yuri's stubs and narrowed his brows. That's weird.
They're not growing. Even if it was a case where the growth was slow he'd normally at least feel blood or the tips peeking out. He took out the fabric and cringed.
Blood. Yuri's mouth lolled open and nine molars fell out. That should not be happening. Flynn gathered the teeth and set them aside. He kept Yuri's mouth open looked for any sign of what was happening. Yuri cringed and started to give softly yelps of pain. This time though his friend didn't have the option of biting something. Flynn watched in horror as all of Yuri's teeth dripped one by one to the floor. Flynn clenched his gut and the revulsion continued as he attempted to find a way to keep him silent.
Flynn kept his lips on Yuri's and tried to swallow the sounds as he moved him to bed. He pulled away and pressed Yuri's face into the pillow and hoped it was enough. Flynn was lucky that nobody came. Yuri eventually stopped squirming in pain and he sat. His pillow was stained red from where Yuri had vainly tried to clench his jaw down. Flynn did his best to be comforting as he examined Yuri's mouth.
There they were. A brand-new set of teeth just waiting to be used. These were thicker and sharper than the last set. Flynn grimaced. Why had Yuri needed a new one in the first place? He sighed. Dawn was in three hours and he needed some semblance of sleep.
Felinis: I feel I've been a downer in these notes. I'm gonna aim to make them happier. Everyone reading today gets a cookie