Chapter 7

Gorou felt exhausted, but most importantly, he was hungry like he had never been before. He had been walking in the forest for hours, trying to clear his mind. It was working, for what it was worth - not being in the barracks, not seeing the people from his dream, but instead being distracted by the occasional ferret or bird making noises in a bush... he felt safe for the first time in a very long while.

He sat down at the root of a big tree and opened his backpack to see what food he had brought with himself. He started munching on whatever he could find, and it calmed him down even further. He realized that these past few nights had really taken a toll on him, and his eyelids drooped. He was too tired to think about the possibility of seeing another nightmare, and before he realized, he had drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, he was still in this forest, continuing his trip. He didn't see anyone else, but the forest was noisy - he couldn't tell what made the noise exactly, but he knew he wasn't alone. He picked up his pace, hoping to reach a strategic point from where he could gather more information about what or who else was there with him. But the more he hurried, the louder the sounds around him became. No matter which way he turned, he couldn't break away from whatever was around him. Panicked, he started to run, his breathing getting heavier and ragged.

His foot was caught in a larger root and he fell with a big thud, the leaves crunching under him. His skin was scraped and it hurt. He felt dirt and twigs entangled in his fur. The beings around him started to close in on him - he couldn't tell who or what they were, as shadows, they loomed around him. He knew he was in danger.

"No, don't come near! Leave me alone!" He yelled to no avail. He tried to scramble to his feet but he felt weak and powerless. "It's happening again...! I can't take it!" Gorou shut his eyes closed and screamed from the bottom of his lungs. A piercing, powerful scream, desperate to reach anyone who would help him.

"Gorou! Gorou, wake up!" The pointy-eared general's eyes shot open once again, and he recognized the Traveller, hovering over him, trying to shake him awake.

"T-Traveller! What..." Gorou looked around frantically, still scared of the shadows, but here, everything was peaceful and normal. He felt his heartbeat gradually slowing down as he caught his breath.

"I... I was..." Gorou realized he had fallen asleep, but the Traveller being here didn't make sense. "What are you doing here? Why are you here?"

Paimon took the opportunity to answer. "Oh, you know how it is with us! Another commission in this eerie forest, I told Traveller we should have picked another one, but I guess we were lucky to run into you here! You seemed to have an awful nightmare, did you see the same thing as last time? Are you okay, do you need some water?"

Gorou shook his head, relishing the sense of relief that washed over him. "Thanks, I'm fine... I think... it was a very scary dream, again... actually Sangonomiya-sama told me to take a few days off because of how bad it has gotten. That's why I came to this forest, to find some peace, but maybe it's just making it worse..." Gorou hung his head in desperation and he felt Paimon's tiny hands patting his shoulder.

"Aww, I'm sure it will get better! Right, Traveller?"

Traveller stayed silent and sat down next to Gorou. He didn't say anything, but his eyes searched Gorou's. Gorou looked at him and he felt tears welling up, though he didn't understand why.

"Paimon, could you please grab some berries from the bush we passed a few minutes ago?"

"Huh? But isn't-..."

"It's very important, I think it will help Gorou. Please?"

"Uughh, fine, but only because we're such great friends! You owe me!" Paimon said as she floated away from them.

Gorou's head cocked to the side with curiosity. "Can those berries really help me?"

Traveller chuckled gently. "Sorry, no, that was a lie I told Paimon to leave us alone for a bit. I'm positive she's not gonna find it easily anyways, so we have a few minutes to ourselves... do you wanna tell me what's going on?"

Gorou let out an amused scoff - of course, that's a much more sensible explanation. He knew that if there's one person who can help him, it's Traveller, so he mustered all his courage.

"I keep dreaming that my soldiers betray me. I...I have a hard time admitting it to myself, but I can't help but notice how much stronger they are than me. And they sometimes use that to play pranks or jokes on me, and I think, recently, I've started to not see them as pranks or jokes anymore. I'm genuinely worried that one time they will take it too far, and it'll be too late to stop them. I know they are good men, and on the battlefield, I would trust them with more than my life, but when it comes to having fun, I'm not sure I'm able to protect my boundaries."

Traveller nodded knowingly. "Do you recall a specific time when you felt like this?"

Gorou didn't say anything, but the images immediately came up in his mind, clearer than day. It felt so silly to admit it.

"Umm... you know how I'm... kind of different, from the rest of the soldiers?"

"You mean your uniform?"

"... Uh, no, I mean... my tail... and my ears... I just feel like, they don't really understand how sensitive they are. Or... maybe they do, and they just... don't care..."

Traveller stole a glance at them, deciding not to chime in with "I want to pet them too". Not the time, or place.

"But what can I do? I can't tell them not to do it - to them, it's a sign of our bond, a symbol of our trust and friendship that I let them do it."

Traveller looked into the distance, collecting his thoughts.

"I know they are important to you. But... you have to look out for yourself, too. And if you don't like it when they do it, then it's not really a sign of friendship, is it? A friendship should be about the both of you, it should never exist at the cost of your own boundaries. But you yourself said the words - they are good people. If someone told them to stop, and made them realize just how important it is, they would surely listen."

Gorou hugged his tail sadly. What Traveller was saying was right, but he wasn't sure if he was up to the task. It was such a big leap, and it could make or break his entire future. Was it really worth it to give it up, over some boundaries?

"Uuugghhhhhh! I'm beat!" Paimon unexpectedly floated in unenergetically, carrying a few berries. "These better be some magic berries!" She gave Gorou a sympathetic look. "I really do hope they'll help!"

"Paimon, these berries need to be made into a tea in our Serenitea Pot. We're going to have Gorou over for tonight."

"Huh?!" Gorou yelped in shock. "N-no way, I don't want to impose on you guys! You've already done so much for me! I could never..."

Traveller gave Gorou a knowing look. "Are you sure you want to miss out on these magic berries?"

Gorou hesitated for a few seconds before giving in with a sigh. "O-okay, then thank you for having me..." he said sheepishly, with a smile. He couldn't help feeling concerned about experiencing another nightmare while in Traveller's home, but more than anything, he was overwhelmed with hope and gratitude.