Hello all of you dedicated readers! It's ButterHunter here, back with yet another chapter in my story! When we last left off, Cameron had just gone to a city, (creatively named Blockington) and had met someone new by the name of Zach Gowen.
So enough intro, let's jump right back into the mix of things!
Chapter 23: Old Friendships Never Die (Part 2)
The room was literally spinning all over the place. I could barely stand upright. That name… that name is one of the many I hadn't heard of in a LONG time.
Zach Gowen…
'How… how is he alive?!' I asked myself, but coming up with nothing.
"HEY! I said, ANSWER ME!" the person in front of me shouted, looking ready to slap me. Suddenly, I snapped back to my senses.
"Y-y-you're…" I said, stuttering badly.
"I'm who?" the teen said angrily.
"Y-you're… Zach?" I said, half-hoping he would deny me. Instead, his eyes, once full of anger, became rather perplexed.
"How… how do you know my name?" he asked, the anger still present, but now in a more… questioning tone.
"You… you don't remember me?" I said, instantly realizing what a stupid question that was. Of course he wouldn't remember me. Not after all this time.
"Should I?" Zach asked, the anger completely gone by now.
"No… not after all that time… Zach Gowen." I said, still shaking a little. At my words, Zach instantly started to sweat.
"How do you know me?" he asked, a bit more worried now.
"I… I knew you the best. After all…" I said, trying to calm myself down. "You were my best friend."
"What are you talking abou-" Zach started, before something slammed into his head. "N-no… You can't be… Cameron?"
Despite the fact that I was still confused as all hell, the thought of my old best friend becoming a nervous wreck in front of me was rather amusing. "That's my name. Don't wear it out."
Now it was his turn to start shaking badly. He collapsed in his chair behind him, trying to process everything. I couldn't blame him, I was trying as well.
After maybe two minutes of trying to get our shit together, Zach told me to sit, he was being impolite.
I sat down, and for the first time actually looked around the room I was in. It seemed like a cross between an office and a blacksmith. In the corner we were in, the large desk, made of very fancy oak, took up quite a lot of space. Several tidy shelves with various nicknacks decorated the rest of the corner.
The blacksmith part of the room was huge. A giant furnace with lava was in the opposite corner from us. Crafting tables and anvils, all of which looked extremely well used, were scattered all over the place. Several tools and weapons were also stashed everywhere, from picks to swords, everything.
Anyway, it was Zach who spoke first. "I… I don't believe it… Cameron, how the hell did you survive?!"
"Dude… that's a very sensitive topic." I said, trying to convey with my voice that I didn't want to talk about that.
"Still… when I woke up, everything was destroyed! No one else made a sound! How did you live when everything else died?" he pressured on. He could be extremely hard-headed if he wanted to.
"I lived because I was in a bunker. How did you live?" I asked, trying to take attention away from me.
"Honestly… I'm not sure how. Part of a ceiling was on top of me… maybe that's how. Anyway, I'm surprised you made it. You were always… less physical than most." Zach said, the last bit with a lower tone.
"Yeah, well, six years in the wild with only swords and food to keep me going has a way on a person." I said, leaning back. This was madness… first my sister lives, and now my best friend? Insane.
"Well… I guess that living with some old family friends didn't work, huh?" he said. I remembered, his parents actually didn't live in my old town. They lived in a much bigger city, but they still wanted Zach to have a normal life and make friends his own age. So they sent him to live with some family friends of his parents.
That thought made me sad, and angry. "At least… you didn't lose someone important to you." I said, unable to hold it.
"What…" he started, but then the facts clicked. "No… your whole family?"
"No… somehow I learned my sister made it as well. She's actually living in this city." I said. For a brief moment, his face changed to one of hate, before returning to normal. "Still don't like her I see."
"I never knew she lived here. But… your parents?" he said, before seeing the look on my face. It said, quite plainly, "Stop while you're ahead. Now."
He instantly dropped the subject. At that moment, loud talking was heard from the shop area of the building. "What's going on out there…"
It was too faint to make out anything specific, but I'm pretty sure I hear Snowy's voice, arguing. "Oh no… my friend is getting antsy without me…"
"You brought a friend with you? Well why did you bring them with you? JERRY!" Zach said, shouting out the last bit. The sound of complaining died, and footsteps grew louder.
"Yes Boss?" the cashier from earlier said, sticking his head. For the briefest of seconds, he looked amazed at me, probably because I wasn't dead or something. Then he regained himself when Zach spoke.
"Bring this man's friend back here. Sounds like you two aren't getting along." Zach ordered. Jerry, I guess was his name, darted back, and ten seconds later, Snowy came bounding into the room.
"Ma- er, Cameron!" she said, hugging me tightly.
"Urk! Snowy… you're… squeezing… too… much…" I got out. Snowy realized how tightly she was holding me, and quickly loosed herself.
Zach looked a bit surprised. "You didn't say that you're friend was a girl." he said. Some part of my brain could almost detect a small amount of… was he impressed?
After a few more seconds, Snowy released me, and sat down in the other chair next to us. "So… my name is Snowy." she said, a bit awkwardly.
"Zach. Zach Gowen. CEO of Gowen Industries, richest teen in this city. I'm not bragging by the way." he introduced, sounding like he had already said this a million times over by now. "And now, I guess returning best friend to Cameron."
"You two are best friends?" Snowy asked, looking at me.
"Yeah. We grew up in the same town together. Before… you already know." I said. "Anyway… it's been way too long Gowen. I see you've done nice out here."
"No kidding. You wouldn't believe the market for weapons right now, especially new ideas for weapons." he said, leaning back.
"I noticed you're fancy set of hidden blades in the front. You set the bar rather steep on those, you know that?" I said.
"Oh right, those." Zach started. "Well… the reason those are so pricey is that… those are one of a kind. See, it took me well over two hundred tries to get those to work right. The amount of ore I spent on those… anyway, I could make more, but I need to get a return on my initial investment."
"Since when did you become the poster boy for business management?" I joked. He once said to me that he couldn't stand just sitting down in an office, writing paper after paper.
"Haha. Very funny." Zach said sarcastically. I realized just how easy it was to talk to him. It's almost like we never had been separated at all.
"But in all seriousness, Zach, we have to talk more. I need to catch up with you." I said. Zach didn't seem to share my enthusiasm
"I wish I could, but… I'm busy. And after work, I have to meet Bla-" he replied, before quickly shutting up. But he revealed too much.
"Bla? Who's Bla?" I said, trying to suppress a smile. Now Zach had to tell, because however much he could try to dig himself out of his grave, he knew I was still going to be just as persistent.
"I… I don't want to talk about that." he said, uncomfortable.
'Time to use the good old fashioned persuasion.' I thought to myself. I was surprised that Vivianna still hadn't spoken to me. Maybe she found this whole thing very interesting.
"Come on, you can't back out now. You've gone too far to back up now." I said, unable to resist the smile forming on my face.
"N-no… I…" he started, really looking embarrassed now.
"Hey, Snowy." I whispered. Zach was too distracted to notice. "You're good at persuasion. Get him to say who Bla is."
"On it." Snow said with a small smile. She looked at Zach, who was still thinking. "Ahem. Mister?"
"Huh?" Zach said, surprised that Snowy spoke to him. But that was his mistake.
In a flash, the "Puppy Dog Eyes" were directed right at him. Zach couldn't help but stare in a trance. "Misterrrr… can you plllleeeeaaassee tell us who Bla is?" she asked, sounding so damn cute.
"Aww…" Gowen let out, unable to resist. Now a small tear was forming in the corner of Snowy's eye. 'Got him.' was my only thought.
"I… al… alright! I'll tell!" he gave up. Snowy quickly called off the Puppy Eyes and turned, smiling happily at me. "Jeez… that's not very fair." Zach said.
"No turning back now Gowen. Tell us." I said. Zach sighed, and told us to wait there. He got up and went out a small side door at the other end of the room.
In five minutes, he came back, looking worried. "Now… Cameron, Snowy… this is my… friend… Blake."
In walked… a girl. A tall girl with black hair, and a black fighting outfit. On her head rested a small black bow. The only thing differently colored was her eyes, which were a rich gold color. A large sword was strapped to her back, and several other smaller knives and daggers adorned the belt around her waist. What caught my eye, even though I didn't stare, was her chest. DD, or maybe G. Hard to tell.
Anyway, Zach introduced us. "Blake, this is my old… err, this is my best friend, Cameron, and his friend Snowy. Cameron, Snowy, this is my… girlfriend, Blake.
Blake took one look at us. Then, she hissed. "Zach… what is HER kind doing here?!"
"Who? Snowy?" I asked, looking at Snowy. She looked confused, and the smallest bit angry.
"What do you mean?" Zach asked, also confused.
"You should know! What do you think that hood is for?!" Blake said, not very happy at all.
Now Snowy was looking more angry. "Grrr… I don't like this…"
I was getting really nervous now. I didn't want to spill the beans about Snowy. Not now. "I don't get it. She can't wear a hood because it's cold?" I said, trying to defuse the situation.
"Shut it, human!" Blake said, before realizing she made a mistake.
Human?
For the count of ten, no one spoke.
Then Snowy rose. "I… I don't like the way your talking to my friend, miss." she said, in her calm-but-ready-to-go-down-needed voice.
"Maybe you should step out of the room for now, Snowy…" Zach suggested, but Blake didn't share that idea.
"No. You're not leaving until you show yourself!" Blake called out, drawing a small dagger. "Whether or not you're alive when you do, that's up to you.
"Woah woah woah…" I said, rising angrily. "Now, I don't really like the sound of your voice. How about you calm down, and explain yourself first. Gowen. Control her."
"Shut UP, human!" Blake shouted again, gripping her dagger more tightly.
Again, no one made a sound again.
"Show yourself!" Blake shouted.
Then, Snowy did it. With an angry snarl, she threw the hood off herself, revealing her two wolf ears and tail. Thankfully, the windows were closed right now, so no one could see this.
"Snowy!" I said, surprised. But Snowy didn't care.
"Okay. I revealed myself. Now it's your turn." Snowy snarled back, her eyes getting more and more red by the second.
Gowen was getting worried, and confused. "Now, hold on everyone! Let's not get hasty and do something we might regret here…"
But now Blake reached up and grabbed the ribbon on her head. She pulled it off and…
Two small, black cat ears poked out of her hair. Then, she did something behind her back, and a long tail poked out, black as well.
(I know what you all are thinking, and yes, this character is basically Blake from the RWBY series. This is on Zach Gowen's, or butterman0522's request. He is my close friend, so I let him chose his girlfriend in my story. But this is not turning into a RWBY story, I swear. It's only because he asked me to include Blake.)
The two girls looked ready to start fighting. I quickly knew I had to be the voice of reason. "GIRLS! GIRLS!" I shouted, standing in between the two. "Both of you, calm down, NOW. I'm not going to stand for either of you to get hurt, so let's quiet down, and listen to each other for a minute."
"Listen to him!" Zach added, quickly standing next to me. "Let's not kill each other today! Just hear each other out!"
Slowly, very slowly, they listened. Both of them took a second to take some deep breaths, and then, they both nodded.
So, now a lot more calm, the two waited, but made sure to growl or hiss at each other once or twice before Zach could get more chairs from the back.
Soon, the four of us sat in a circle in the middle of the room, me and Snowy on one side, Zach and Blake on the other, obviously. Snowy and Blake were still shooting daggers at each other with their eyes.
"Okay… so." I tried to start, but I quickly realized that I had nothing. Thankfully, Zach took over for now.
"Snowy… you're a… wolf girl?" he asked.
"Yes… I'm half wolf. That a problem?" she asked, still miffed.
"No… just… I'm surprised that you wanted to come to a human city, even if you hid the ears and tail." Zach said.
"Anyway!" I said, trying to tell Gowen with my eyes, 'Dude, she's already angry. Don't piss her off more.'
"Now then…" I said, once everyone took another deep breath. "Blake… you're half ocelot, yes?"
"Yes…" Blake said, not looking happy that I was speaking to her. But I didn't care.
"Alright, how did you two meet each other, then?" I said.
Mostly Zach took over for here. Apparently, while he was out in a jungle not too far from here, he took a small break from practicing his sword play to have a fish snack. He took some fresh fish he caught from a nearby lake and started to cook. And that's when Blake showed up. At first, he didn't notice, but soon he felt like someone was watching him. He looked up and for just a second, he saw a flash of black. After he went back to cooking, he was about to take a bite when he saw the black color again, but he didn't look up.
Slowly, Blake drew closer and closer, until she tapped his shoulder gently. He looked over to see her pleading if she could have some fish. Some cooked fish later, and Blake started to think Zach was nice. So, with a few precautions to make sure her animal parts wouldn't be found, she moved to the city and had been living there with Zach for almost two years now. And those two… well, their relationship grew and grew with time.
"Huh… quite the history you two have." I said. Even Snowy had ditched her angry mood and looked at the two with a new kind of respect.
"What about you two?" Blake asked, still not totally over her anger. But now Snowy didn't care.
Me and Snowy launched into the story of how we met each other. But we did leave out some things, like Susie of course. We also left out… that night. We both promised to not talk about that with anyone but ourselves.
When we finished, Zach looked a bit shocked at us. Blake still looked a bit upset, but her expression had softened considerably. That was a good start.
"Wow… we both have some weird stories, eh?" Zach said.
"I guess so. Now, please, let's not try to kill each other, okay girls?" I asked, looking at the two. For a moment, they didn't say anything.
Then Snowy stuck her hand out. "Let's… start over." she said.
Blake didn't move for the count of five, before she gave up, sighed, and stuck out her hand. The two had a quick handshake. "By no means does this mean we are buddy buddy." Blake warned.
"Of course. It'll take much longer to get to that." Snowy said. This actually got a small smile from Blake.
I sighed deeply in relief. "Good. Thank Notch…"
"What'd we do to deserve these two, eh buddy?" Zach said.
"No fucking clue." I said.
Another few minutes of catching up later…
I glanced at my watch at a some point.
5:25 pm
"Oh shit… we gotta get moving." I said. Snowy looked at my watch, and realized my sense of urgency.
"Sorry we can't stay longer." I said, grabbing my bag, Snowy grabbing her hood.
"Wait!" Zach called out, before running to the front. A few seconds later, and he came back with the two beautiful hidden blades from before. "Here. A parting gift. I'm not leaving my best friend with nothing."
I was surprised as he handed me the weapons. "Are you sure Gowen? I mean… these cost a lot…"
"Take them. I can make more now. I've nailed down how to make them, so all I need to do is get enough ore." he said, making it clear he would not take no for answer.
I slipped the blades on my arms, and tested them. A satisfying sound of metal on metal rang out as the blades quickly exposed themselves, looking sharpened to a very fine point. "Thank you." I said, grateful.
"Don't mention it. See you some other time, bro." he said, and we quickly pounded fists. Our old way of saying 'see you later'.
I turned to the door, but found that Blake was standing in front of me. With a… neutral expression.
"I don't know all that much about you…" she started, hands on her hips.
"Yes?" I responded.
"But… I guess you are okay. For a human." she said, a small bit of superiority still in her voice. "And you…" she said, turning to Snowy. "Well… you're… okay, I suppose."
"Same here." Snowy said, her voice sounding cheerful, but there was a slight undertone to it, like if Blake pushed Snowy the wrong way…
"Heh. See you both later." Blake said, shaking our hands, a small smile on her face. She turned and walked away.
"Couldn't resist the cat girl, eh?" I teased Zach. Before he could even respond, I ran out the door, Snowy in tow.
About ten minutes later…
Finally, we reached my sister's apartment. Snowy and I both decided to stay the night, because it was already getting dark quick. I knocked on the door, wondering if she was inside.
The door opened, and my sister peeked out. She looked relieved when she saw us, and opened the door all the way so we could get inside.
"Finally… I was thinking you two got lost." Paige said.
"Well, we did a little. This city is huge after all." I said, sitting down on the couch again. "Hey, I got chicken!"
And that's what we had for dinner. Thankfully, Paige also got one as well, so there was plenty to go around. Snowy herself almost ate a whole chicken herself, while me and my sister finished off the other.
Soon, the three of us were back in the living room, relaxing. Until Paige asked, "Hey Cameron, what are those things on your arms?"
"These?" I asked, showing her the gauntlets. "Just some fancy pieces of metal… until you flick your wrist."
I flicked my wrists, and out popped the blades. My sister stared in surprise at the complex machine. "Woah… those must have cost a fortune."
"Nope. Got em for free." I said, relaxing my wrist.
"You got those for free? How?" my sister asked. I would have said from my friend, but then again, I really didn't want to have yet another explaining moment today. I was tired.
So I fibbed a little. "Oh, some store was throwing them out, so I grabbed a nice pair and shined them up a little. A local blacksmith helped with that."
"Lucky… you get fancy weapons, and all I get is a chicken." Paige pouted.
"Haha." I said.
"Anyway, Snowy? Are you burning up? Don't you want to take off the hood?" my sister asked.
Snowy, who normally would have tried to object with that, instead turned to me. She gave me a look that asked quite plainly, 'Should I?'
After a few seconds of thinking about it, I gave her a look that said, 'You're call.'
Snowy sighed, and then undid the hood. But she didn't pull it off all the way. She knew better. Instead, she simply raised the hood up just enough to let Paige see the two wolf ears.
Paige's eyes went wide. "W-w-what?! H-hold on!" she stuttered out, running over and closing the blinds to the window. Seeing that it was safe now, Snowy fully pulled the hood off.
"Well Paige?" Snowy said, looking expectantly.
"W-what?" my sister got out.
"Is it wrong that a half wolf snuck into a city?" Snowy asked.
"I-I-I mean… y-you haven't been caught yet… a-and… half wolf… that's new…" my sister said, her voice getting progressively weaker.
"I think she didn't think that a monster girl could sneak around the city." I said to myself.
After calming down my sister, the three of us again relaxed in the living room. Now my sister was asking all kinds of questions to Snowy, who was more than happy to answer them. I didn't take part in their conversation, mostly because I was tired.
Finally, 8:30 rolled around, and I started looking to get into bed. "Hey Paige… *yawn*... where's the guest bedroom you mentioned…"
"Down the hallway, second door on the right…" my sister said, looking very tired as well.
Snowy and I said goodnight to her, and then we adjourned to the guest bedroom. It had a good size bed, possibly queen size. Me and Snowy would be perfectly comfortable.
We changed into the sleep clothes we packed, and got under the covers. Snowy gently got closer to me. "Mm…."
"What?" I asked quietly.
"You… you almost never have slept next to me… but it feels so normal…" Snowy told me, her eyes open.
"Because we are comfortable with each other. Is that so wrong?" I said, gently taking one of her hands and holding to my chest.
"No… I guess not. I… I love you… Master." she said, gently wrapping her arms around me and giving me a kiss. For several minutes, we simply kissed, until we needed to breathe.
"I love you too Snowy. Goodnight." I said, my eyelids getting heavy…
Slowly, the two of us passed out in each other's arms…
Later that night…
Once again, I returned to Vivianna in my dreams.
"You seem like you had fun." Vivianna commented, a smile on her face.
"Of course I did. I'm just surprised that you didn't talk much." I said.
"Well, I was busy looking around. After all, I've only lived in that one lake in the middle of the forest… for as long as I can remember." Vivianna replied, sounding the tiniest bit sad.
"Well… now you can see the world while helping me." I said, wrapping an arm around her. She looked at my smiling face, and she couldn't help but crack a smile too.
"Hm hm… that's true, isn't it." she said, not asking it like a question. We both already knew the answer.
"So… what do you want to do? I mean… we've talked a lot about ourselves…" I asked her. Vivianna looked thoughtful, before looking around at the blackness around us.
"Hmmm… this place is rather dull…" she said. Suddenly, I remembered something.
"Hold on… close your eyes." I said. Vivianna looked a little surprised, but she did as I asked. I closed my eyes as well, and thought of…
When I opened my eyes, suddenly, we were at the lake, the one close to the house. "Open your eyes. Is this better?" I told Vivianna.
When she opened her eyes, she looked a little surprised to see the new scenery around us. "Wha… how did you…"
"Hey, you said it yourself." I said, snapping my fingers. Suddenly, a pair of shades were over my eyes. "This is a dream. And anything can happen in dreams."
A wide smile appeared on Vivianna's face. "You do realize I have control over your dreams as well." she said, snapping her fingers. Now we were sitting down on two chairs, right at the water's edge. "After all, I'm in your head."
A small laugh escaped me, and then I simply relaxed in the chair I was in. "Well… I could get used to this." I said.
"As well as I." Vivianna said, leaning back as well. For a few minutes, we simply leaned back and let the sun shine down on us...
"Mmm… there's so much we can try in the dream world…" I said, sitting back up again.
"What would you have in mind?" Vivianna asked, still leaned back.
"I don't know. Whatever we want." I said, standing. My mind cast around different ideas. Nothing really seemed to click.
Then, a question for Vivianna rose in my mind. "What was it like? You know, to live in the lake." I asked.
Vivianna sat up. "Hmm… how about I show you?"
"Sure. We have all night." I said. A second later, I blinked…
And I was at the bottom of her old lake. But… I couldn't see myself. I knew I was right there, and could feel my arms and such, but… I was invisible.
"This is what it was like." Vivianna said, sounding close by. I couldn't see her at first, but then the water bubbled, and she appeared before me, hair floating aimlessly about in the water. "Simply practicing my craft, staying hidden from the naked eye. I only showed myself if I wanted to."
Her form turned invisible again, but all of the sudden, she was right next to me. I knew because her hand grabbed mine. "And… it was okay for a long time. But…"
"Let me guess." I said softly. I was a bit surprised that my voice sounded the same, but then I remembered the whole dream thing. "You got lonely. Not many people came around to your spring."
"No… lots of people did come… in fact, at least once a week someone, human or beast, asking for my help. But… they never really cared about me. Most never even thanked me, even if I saved them from near-death. After a while… I became angry… thinking that I wouldn't help anyone else anymore… if no one thanked me for my help, why should I give it to them…"
"And then… you came along. You and your friends… they convinced me to heal you. And… you were thankful. You… you cared. That's… that's why I wanted to come with you. Because… I wanted to help people who care… not the ones who only want to get better just so they can keep going." Vivianna said, becoming visible again.
Her face… she looked so sad. Tears looked like they were forming in the corners of her eyes. How could anyone have been like that to this nice girl? Monster or human… that's just not right.
Since I could see her now, I gently wrapped my arms around her. "Well… I learned a long time ago that if a person isn't thankful for what they have, or what they get, then… they'll never be happy. Those people were wrong to not have thanked you. You're… you're a good person Vivianna. Of course I would thank you." I said, willing myself to become visible again.
For a second, she just looked into my eyes. Then, a sad smile forms on her face. "Thank you… Cameron… for being there… for me…" she got out, before tightly hugging me, softly sobbing behind me.
"Shhh… it's okay…" I said, rubbing her back. In response, she simply squeezes me tighter. But I didn't mind. If she wanted to simply hug me and cry all night… then I'd be fine with it. Because she needed it.
It was a good long while before Vivianna stopped crying. "*sniff* S-sorry… heh… here I am, a powerful water spirit, and I'm crying my eyes out…"
"That fine." I said. "Everyone needs to cry at some point. Even Notch himself probably cried at something. But… if you ever need to let that out again…"
I squeezed her a little, a smile on my face. "I'll be right there. For you."
Vivianna, whose face had been streaked with a few tears, cast me a gentle smile, before pulling me close. A second later, and the two of us kiss softly, gently holding each other in a warm embrace.
After two minutes, we pulled away, even though I wanted to continue a little more. She was a really good kisser. "Thank you Cameron… you truly are a kind human." she told me.
I didn't say anything. I simply stared into her swirling blue eyes. It almost made me a bit dizzy to look into them. She stared back at me.
Another few seconds pass, and our lips meet again. And again. And again. The whole night I think was spent with just us, human and water spirit, kissing each other in the swirling water around us. Eventually, we started making out, moaning into each other's mouths. Again, she was a REALLY good kisser.
"Cam… I lov… you…" she tried to say, through our tight lip lock. I was pulling her closer and closer…
Until I realized she couldn't get any closer. And that I somehow ended up on my back, with her still exploring inside my mouth. 'Damn… we're really going at it, aren't we?' I thought to myself. Vivianna must have heard my thoughts, because for the first time in… I don't even know how long, she pulled away from me.
"Is… is that wrong?" she asked, looking down at my face.
"Of course not. We have all night. Just… when did I get here?" I told her. She looked around, and saw what I was talking about.
"Hm hm hm…" she laughed to herself. "Sorry. Got a little carried away…"
She pulls me back into a sitting position, and starts the kissing again… until she pulls me suddenly, causing me to now be on top of her.
'You're turn.' she spoke in my mind, not wanting to break apart from me. After a second, I quickly got right back into the kiss…
I'm not exactly sure how long we stayed there. Honestly, it felt like a whole day had passed, with just us two together. But Vivianna told me that it was only two thirty in the morning once we finally stopped making out.
"Seriously? It's only been that long?" I asked her.
"Yep… time flows very differently here. You should know that very well." she told me. Bad thoughts started creeping into my mind… and no, not the dirty kind! The old me kind… the nightmares…
"Cameron?" Vivianna called out to me. I realized I closed my eyes, and was starting to shake in fear. I opened them to see her really close to me, with… a very worried expression.
"I-I'm fine… just… things came to mind, that's all." I said, my voice shaking slightly. Vivianna noticed my tone, and thankfully did not choose to go further. She already knew.
"I see…" she said, now hugging me softly. "Don't worry… I'm here. If you need to cry on my shoulder for once… I'm here for you."
"You stole what I said." I said, a smile playing on my face.
"Still… I mean it. I've… I've delved into those memories… the things there… you really have suffered quite a lot. And… now it's my turn to make sure you feel better." she told me, squeezing my hand.
For a good while, I didn't say anything. I let her words sink into me.
Then…
"Thank you… Vivianna… thank you…" was all I said.
The words caused her to hold me tighter, closer to her. To her warmth. To her comfort.
I…
I never wanted to let go.
Time skip to 9:30 am…
A huge yawn escaped me as I woke from my deep and peaceful sleep. The sun shone brightly through the window, right onto Snowy's sleepy face. She was still holding onto my arm…
The second I tried to move it out of her grasp, she slide closer to me, tightening her grip on my arm. 'Ugh… Snowy… not when I'm hungry.' I thought, my stomach lightly growling at me.
"Stuck again, eh?" Vivianna spoke to me. "Maybe try to wake her up."
'I would, buuut…' I thought, looking back at Snowy's sleep form. The look on her face… I didn't want to force her to get up. I'd rather let her get up as she pleases. And if that means I have to wait a few more minutes, then so be it.
'I'll just wait. I don't want to see the look on her face if I force her out of her dreams.' I told Vivianna.
"You're call Cameron. I'm not the one who gets to tell you what you do." Vivianna told me.
Thankfully, Snowy stirred gently from her sleep five minutes after I started waiting. She must have been sleeping funny, because a part of her hair was sticking up when she slowly sat up and stretched.
"Morning Snowy…" I said quietly. Snowy looked over at me, and smiled gently. She gently pulled me into a quick kiss, as her way of saying 'good morning' to me.
"I love seeing your face first thing in the morning… Master." she said, waiting for praise.
"I love seeing yours too. Now come on. We have to get some breakfast, and then it's back home we go." I said, gently pulling out of her grip. She nodded, getting dressed as well.
When we walked out of the bedroom, gentle breathing could be heard from the door directly across the hall. Peeking in, my sister was in her large bed, her face peaceful.
"Should we wake her, or…?" Snowy asked me.
"Let's let her sleep. She seemed very tired after getting home yesterday. Interrupting her sleep would not do her any good at all." I said, tiptoeing away from the door. Snowy followed, making sure her hood was on.
After writing her a note, saying that we were going to make a few more stops around, and then we would be leaving at noon, we walked out the apartment, and down to the cobblestone street.
After stopping at a different restaurant, this one thankfully nicer to travelers, we walked about the street, looking for anything last minute to buy. I still had twenty five coins in my pocket, and I hadn't even bought a present for Susie back home.
"Hmm… what would she like…" I said, passing by lots of shops. Clothes? No… Books? Nah, I already had quite a lot…
"Maybe that one?" Snowy asked, pointing at a shop close to the main gates. It was a rather small shop, with "Potions, Medicine, and other Goods" on a small hand made sign on the door.
We entered, and inside… a mess of multicolored potions and medicines adorned the walls and counters. Healing, weakness, water breathing… all kinds of potions, both good and bad, were everywhere.
Suddenly, I knew exactly what to get Susie.
Time skip to noon…
Finally, noon rolled around. Snowy and I headed to the main gates, and were pleasantly surprised when we saw Paige close by. "Hey." she said as we got closer.
"Got my note, did you?" I asked her.
"Yeah. Sorry, when I work, I get tired easily. So that means I sleep in a lot of days. Ah well, at least I get to see you guys on the way out." my sister replied. "Did you get all the stuff you bought yesterday?"
"Yep. And I got something else as a little gift for Susie." I said. "I'm not gonna say anything yet, but I think she'll like it."
"For your sake, I hope you're right." my sister told me, also adding that she was gonna see me to the door.
After talking with the guards, they let the three of us exit, and then we stood a bit further away from the wall.
"Well… thank you for visiting." Paige said, a little awkwardly.
"No trouble. We'll be sure to come back some other time." I said, holding my hand out.
"I'll miss you two." she said, taking my hand and shaking it.
"I'll miss you, miss Paige." Snowy said, hugging Paige. She was surprised at Snowy's actions, but soon returned the gesture.
Soon, me and Snowy were at the top of the hill again. We glanced back once, and saw my sister, waving at us. We waved back, and soon we walked into the forest.
Third person POV…
Cameron and Snowy started the long walk back home, happy that the trip was a success.
But what they didn't see, was the figure hiding behind the tree, only a few feet off. "Hmm… where are they going…"
The figure followed after them, but slowly, silently.
In its wake was purple dust, floating in the air.
Well then, that is a very long chapter! You guys like the new length? If you want, I can start making chapters about as long as this. But if you all still want only the 5000 word chapters, let me know.
Anyway guys, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! Don't worry, the Neptunia story's next chapter will be out by Friday, if not tomorrow. I just felt like I should get a new chapter out for you guys.
As always, if you guys want to play Minecraft with me, be sure to PM me with your ingame username, what server and when. And if you still wish to join my survival server, PM me asking me if you can join it. Still spots are open on that. Until next time, my dedicated readers, stay awesome.
