Chapter Twenty Five: Truth
There is no truth without responsibility following in its wake.
-Kenneth L. Pike
xxXxx
Bearskin blinked in surprise. "Just where did you hear differently?" she asked in a low, careful tone while setting the bag aside.
"From a servant of Ukima. Which reminds me, we have a message from Machida for you, too," the fatter one said while casually scratching Baron's ears. "You know, your best friend?"
She gaped at him in shock. "What is the message?"
"He says he's still waiting for the letter. We talked to your keeper as well, but-"
The trapper stormed up and took a good fistful of the slimmer man's thick fur coat with her good hand. "How is he?" she all but demanded.
He looked uncomfortable. "He's better than a lot of people in the village," he replied evasively.
"You're hiding something," she growled.
The fatter one sighed. "An epidemic swept through the village before we got there. A lot of people died and, while your keeper didn't, he was still pretty weak when Machida let us see him."
"Let you? He doesn't know where we- my keeper, that is, lives," she hastily corrected herself.
"He does now. After your keeper got sick, Machida made him stay at his home with him. He takes care of your keeper like he would his own father," the slimmer man informed her as he gently tried prying her hand off him.
Bearskin couldn't stop a soft smile from crossing her lips as she released him. "Good old Machida," she sighed in her true voice.
"Thank heaven, you gave up the façade," the dark-haired one said gratefully before giving her a bow. "Allow me to make introductions; I'm Toto Biggens and this is Tsuki Muta."
"I'm still serious about looking at that arm," Muta told her, inching to the wound and trying to look through the sleeve. "I'm a pretty good doctor and I already know you're a girl."
"… I guess it's all right then," she sighed, though keeping an eye on the burlap bag. "But it will have to be quick. The dragon turned into the emperor's advisor after Baron and I killed him and he-"
"Meow!" Baron yelled indignantly from Toto's arms.
"He says you killed him," the dark man supplied.
"Only because Baron distracted him long enough to… wait a minute, you can understand him?" she asked in complete surprise.
Toto smiled and pulled out a strange looking talisman from the neck of his coat. "This allows me to understand cats like they speak human. Took me a few weeks to perfect it, though."
Bearskin tilted her head at him suspiciously. "In that case, have Baron tell you why he was being depressed while we were traveling through Ogalsh."
Toto gave Baron a look. "You were depressed?"
The tawny cat nodded while meowing.
"Oh. Well, considering how long you've been on the road, I'd be surprised if you didn't miss home."
"Home? But I thought he was a stray," she protested as Muta rolled a large boulder close and made her sit on it.
"Actually, that's not completely true." Toto scratched her cat's ears before holding him close again. "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out by now, but Baron isn't an ordinary cat. Come to think of it, how did she know your name?"
The tawny cat mewed at him a little, making the man laugh.
"Okay, this one's taking too long. Is there something about Baron I need to know about, Muta-san?" she asked while he carefully eased her over shirt off the one arm. She still had on two sleeveless shirts as well as her bandages, so she didn't mind having the men see this much skin.
"Sure. You know the Baron von Gikkingen that wrote you a letter and somehow managed to offend you enough to leave the manor within ten minutes?"
"It was seven minutes," she snarled, irked at the mere memory of the man. "The only reason it wasn't less was because he didn't meet me at the gate."
"That wasn't the Baron that wrote you the letter." Before feeling her arm with his bare fingers, he pointed at the cat. "This one is."
Her jaw fell open in complete shock. "… What?"
"The one that sent you the letter is the cat you took in," Toto repeated, still holding Baron tight. "Didn't it seem strange that the letter didn't match the man you met that day?"
Bearskin didn't answer. Not even having her broken arm prodded by Muta was enough to keep her from staring at her dear friend.
Baron looked straight back at her, his eyes sad but agreeing.
"Oy, Birdbrain? Her arm's shattered like a vase, would you mind?" Muta said after another minute of probing.
"Sure. This is just a healing spell, Bearskin. It'd still be best if you don't use it for about a day's worth, but it's better than an amputation, right?" he asked nervously.
She numbly nodded, still staring at Baron when Toto placed him on her lap and began touching her arm after pulling off his mittens.
Strange words came out of the brunette's mouth as he gently brushed his fingers across her pale skin. Even stranger static seemed to follow his touch until the shattered bones were charged with the energy.
Despite her experience with pain, even she let out a shriek of agony as the bone shards sharply reconnected and arranged themselves into the proper order.
"Sorry!" Toto apologized immediately as Muta eased her arm back into the sleeve. "I didn't think to have any numbing medicine, I should have asked if you had some-"
"It's fine!" she gasped while holding Baron tight with her good arm, though careful not to crush him. "I've had worse, I'll survive!"
He breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still studying Baron as Muta made a quick sling for her arm. The cat seemed determined to keep her mind off the pain, steadying himself against her good shoulder to lick her face worriedly.
'Baron being a human would make sense. He's not scared of me, he likes poetry, and he knew his way around the Lutian palace. That letter did sound a lot like what Baron would say if given the chance, and…' "… Did he like making tea?" she asked slowly.
Muta began laughing his head off as he finished the final knot. "Don't tell me you found a way to make it when you're like that!" he guffawed at her cat.
Baron answered with only a smug purr.
"Okay, let me get this straight," Toto said slowly, giving her a suspicious look. "You're the most respected hunter in the world, and you didn't think that it was weird that your cat can make tea?"
"He's the first cat I've ever gotten close to!" Bearskin defended herself hotly. "I thought they were popular pets because of how smart they are."
"But still, making tea?"
"Will you drop it, already? It's not like he made tea when we met!"
"I'm kind of surprised you didn't," Muta confided in a fake whisper, making Baron growl in aggravation, throwing a look at Toto.
"All right, we'll stop teasing her," the slimmer man sighed. But he still tilted his head with a smirk as he studied the trapper. "Not to be rude, but knowing that you're a girl… I can't really see how you've fooled anyone."
She glared at him while rubbing her bound arm. "There's quite a number of people that would say otherwise."
"Like Princess Blanche?"
The trapper flinched. "Yes, like Blanche. But enough about me, why is it you two know so much? How on earth did you figure out that my Baron is the real one? Who's the imposter, and has he been caught yet?"
"Hold on, let us start from the beginning," Muta interjected, rolling out two mats for them to sit on. "You see, when stories about you reached Lycea, Baron here couldn't get enough of them. He even had a huge map with little marks where you had definitely helped someone."
She cocked an eyebrow at her cat, who was choosing instead to stare at a random tree some distance away.
Toto took over the story. "When you started getting closer, Baron came up with a huge plan to place a letter in every trading post for miles around, hoping that you'd find one of them and drop by. But when you kept visiting other kingdoms, he got desperate enough to ask Lard Ball-"
"Hey!"
"-and I to go up north and try to find some answers."
"Why you two specifically?" she interrupted, rubbing Baron's back with her good hand.
"My parents were from up there and I remembered enough of their stories to be useful in survival and gaining information about you. Chicken Legs here," he growled at Toto, "is a skilled magician. For ordinary people, a trip like that would take months, but since he changes into a crow and can change me into a cat for a certain amount of time, it only took a few weeks."
Bearskin looked up sharply. "Wait, was that you?" she asked suspiciously.
Baron meowed his confusion asToto tilted his head at her.
"Was what me? This is the first time we've seen you."
'I guess that was a silly question. That crow's been following me for longer than that anyway.' "Never mind, please continue."
Toto gave her another confused look, but shook it off. "After we figured out which village knew you, we had a nice long chat with Machida and tried to do the same with your keeper, but he was still too sick to say much. Muta gave him some medicine while I infiltrated Ukima's place for more information." He shook his head in amazement. "Was Machida really so clueless? It was obvious that no one else really paid attention to you, but couldn't he tell you were a girl? Or was he just a really good actor?"
"He means well," she replied defensively, still rubbing Baron's fur. "But no, he never caught on. How was he?"
"He's the mayor now, since his father was one of the plague's first victims. His wife was pregnant with their third child when we left. But back to the point, we came home with the information, but…"
"Baron wasn't Baron anymore," Muta finished with a growl. "He tried to brush it off as amnesia after an accident, but we could immediately tell that he wasn't the same man that we knew and loved. He even burned the map of your exploits and forbade anyone to speak of you in the manor again. We tried to get Louise to see that he wasn't the same man, but she claimed that we were just being harsh on him."
"Louise?" Bearskin asked in surprise. "Who the heck is Louise?"
"Baron's wife. If anyone could tell something was off, it would have been her, but she insisted everything was fine."
Baron interjected with several angry meows.
"She knew, didn't she?" the trapper realized. "She betrayed him."
"… You called it, Bearskin. According to Baron, Louise was planning this betrayal with the imposter since before they met. We suspected as much." Toto shook his head angrily. "Even Lune could tell that the one pretending to be Baron wasn't him. But without proof, we couldn't do a thing. We have no idea who the doppelganger is, but we were certain that whoever it was had killed the real Baron. We looked everywhere for a sign of a struggle or a body, but found nothing. So when we started hearing rumors that you had adopted a tabby by the name of Baron while visiting the area at about the right time… well, it was the best lead we could find."
She stared at him in complete amazement. "You've been chasing me across two continents on the off chance that my Baron is your Baron?"
"Hey, you've gotten to know him!" Muta defended while pointing at the tawny feline. "Would you do anything less?"
She looked down at him, unable to keep a true smile from crossing her lips. "He knows I wouldn't."
Baron nodded with warm affection in his eyes and reached up enough to lick her chin.
"We almost caught up with you in Lutia, but then you ran away from the fisherman when you finally got back from sending Medusa to the Mist Territory," Muta continued with distaste. "At least, we think that was what you were doing."
She looked at him sharply. "That was you two? Sorry about that, I was certain you were more bounty hunters."
"The King of Thegui was in power by then," Toto reminded her.
"But I didn't know that until later. So… you want to take Baron back to Lycea?" she asked sadly. "You know how to break his curse?"
"No, but he does. What do we need to do?" Toto asked the cat directly.
Baron meowed at him in a dead serious tone, making the man nod once. "I thought as much."
"Well? What is it?" Muta prodded crossly. "What needs to happen?"
"The imposter took some of Baron's blood and soaked a gem with it. He only looks like Baron while wearing the gem."
"Where?" Bearskin pressed, making her cat meow again.
"Baron says that he placed it around his neck, a bit like the stone around his own neck. If we destroy it, he'll return to his true form."
"Great," she replied, unsteadily rising to her feet as Baron rearranged himself around her neck as usual. "So after I drop off the advisor's head to the Wilan emperor, we go to Lycea and take care of the imposter?"
"Sounds like a good plan. You really want to help?" Muta nearly begged.
She gave him a real grin and scratched a certain cat's chin. "You said it yourself. Baron's worth it."
She earned another lick on the cheek for that comment.
ooOoo
"I'll get the firewood."
"Here, let me make dinner."
"I'll set up camp."
"Shouldn't you be resting?"
Bearskin closed her eyes and silently counted to ten. "Toto, Muta," she said through tightly gritted teeth. "My arm's been healed for a week now. I'm getting wood."
"No need to, I'll-" Toto tried to say, but the trapper was done letting them wait on her 'due to her injuries'.
"Help Muta, because I've got the wood," she informed him in a voice of iron, marching out of the chosen camping site before either of them could stop her.
But it wasn't enough to keep Baron from joining her, still wrapped in one of her scarves for warmth.
"Do me a favor and say that they aren't always like this," she begged while fetching an axe from her satchel. "When they aren't fighting each other with silly insults, they're coming up with excuses on why I should let them do everything!" She began taking out her frustration on a fallen log for firewood.
Her cat mewed soothingly, even as he began dragging fallen branches into a pile.
"I mean, when we stop by a town soon, they'll need to stop treating me like a girl, or my cover will be blown for sure. Can't you talk some sense into Toto, at least?"
He gave a shrug after depositing a larger branch into the pile. "Meow Meow."
She looked at him after slipping her axe into her satchel and knelt down to his level. "Baron? Did I ever say how sorry I am?"
His jaw dropped in shock, making her scratch the back of her neck from guilt.
"I mean, if I had just asked a few more questions, I could have taken care of the imposter and your undeserving wife when we met. You could have been spared the past two years-"
"Meow!" he yelled indignantly, hopping onto her legs in order to place one paw on each side of her face. A long series of growls, mews, and purrs issued from his throat, scolding her for such an apology.
The trapper stared at him, realizing that it wasn't enough anymore. She didn't want to admit it to anyone, least of all her dear friend, but she was jealous of Toto. She had learned to guess what Baron was trying to tell her, yet, she longed to understand him as the magician could.
"…We'd best hurry," she cut Baron off, since he hadn't stopped scolding her. She kissed him on the head as usual and wrapped his body around her neck before gathering up the wood into a tied-up bundle. "It's a cold night and we'll need our strength for tomorrow."
He gave her a greatly irritated growl, but still licked her cheek as they made their way back to camp. Also to what was becoming a very familiar sight.
"What are you talking about; you're the one she's angry with!" Toto yelled as he managed to get in a lucky punch.
"You're the one that didn't want her getting firewood!" Muta snapped back, tackling the magician to the ground for a painful wrestling match.
"Oh, like you wanted to let her, Lard Ball?"
"Take that back, you featherweight!"
Baron meowed tiredly in her ear as she walked around the two and started a fire in the pit Muta had made.
She thought about setting up the tents as long as she was at it, but with how wildly the two were rolling on the ground, the poles might get damaged. "Muta! If you don't stop me, I'll make dinner!"
He immediately stood up and marched over. "Oh no you don't, little lady. Step away from the cauldron and no one gets hurt."
"Says the one who was losing the match," Toto wheezed as he managed to sit up with a pained expression.
"Don't answer that," Bearskin told the cook firmly. "Focus on dinner or I will."
"Meanie," he pouted while sifting through one of his packs.
It wasn't that he didn't like her cooking. It was that he enjoyed preparing meals just as much as he enjoyed being a doctor.
"I'm mean because I want to eat before midnight? Hardly," she retorted while helping the magician onto a nearby log. "Toto, what would it take for you to help me understand cat?"
"Time, mostly," he grunted with a pained expression before making her sit on the log next to him. "Finding the right spell took almost a year, but the really hard part was attaching it to a stone, since anything softer would cause the spell to fade over time. Like I told Muta when he asked for an amulet; it would be a lot of trouble to make another one, plus we need to focus on returning to Lycea. Hey, you make shoes, don't you?" he asked shrewdly.
Bearskin felt a cold chill down her spine. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You can drop the act. Everyone knows you like to make midnight visits to the poorest peasants you can find."
That made her gape in horror. "E-Everyone? Baron, is he serious?"
Baron nodded with a purr, licking her cheek again.
She groaned and slammed a hand against her forehead. "The whole point was not to let that become part of my reputation!"
"It's a little late for that. You've been caught too many times by people that didn't want you scared off. It's another reason why everyone respects you, but back to the question; you make shoes for the unfortunate?"
"Moccasins," she corrected in a miserable tone. "I line them with fur when the weather turns cold."
"Well, you won't need to this time."
The trapper looked at the magician with confusion.
"If you make Baron a pair of shoes that he can wear as a cat, I can cast a spell on them so that he can speak human while wearing them. Maybe even be able to walk on his hind legs."
The tawny looked up hopefully. "Meow?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure I can," Toto promised with a grin.
"Couldn't you do that to the stone he wears?" Bearskin couldn't help but wonder.
"Oh no, my magic can't touch unicorn magic. Besides, if you make something specifically for Baron, it will speed up the spell I'll need to cast. I'd do it myself, but my talents are in magic and annoying Muta."
"Not necessarily in that order," the cook growled, making the trapper giggle helplessly.
"Fine. If all it takes is a pair of shoes, I'll do it. Sit on my lap, you."
Baron immediately hopped onto the offered place, circling three times before nestling with a content purr.
"Her lap's that comfortable?" Toto asked, making the trapper freeze in taking a length of leather out of her satchel.
Baron froze as well, but gave a low growl to Toto.
"Well, how was I to know you didn't want her to know that?" he quickly defended, but the feline lord was still growling at him.
"… Didn't you say you'd take care of the tents?" Bearskin asked tightly, making the magician jump up and run to the tightly bound packs.
The trapper looked at her mortified cat, smiling slightly as she scratched his ears. "If it helps, I already knew you liked my lap," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear.
He managed a nervous smile and stood tall enough to lick her cheek again.
She nuzzled his fur with her face and gently took one of his back legs in her hands to study it. 'His paws are so tiny. Normal shoes for him shouldn't take more than three nights, at the rate we're traveling. Wait… normal moccasins would just slip off.' "Baron? How do you feel about boots the same as your leg markings? We might have to tie them to stay on, but if I do it right, no one will be able to notice at a glance, so we don't have to keep taking them on and off."
Baron curled up a bit more to study his back legs, but nodded his agreement before pulling her sleeve back with his teeth.
She giggled and finished the job herself. "I know. Tan doesn't suit your coloring at all."
"Now, don't bother with anything fancy," Muta grunted as he shook herbs into his cooking pot. "Shoes are shoes, after all."
"But the more effort I put into them, the easier it will be for Toto, right?" she replied, wrapping the leather around her bare arm to let her curse bleach the color out.
"That's right," the magician called out as he made the tent poles assemble themselves into the proper shapes. "It's the heart poured into an item that makes it susceptible to magic. Positive emotions are the best for it, since holding onto anger long enough to attach it to an item isn't very healthy."
"I never thought of it that way. What does unicorn magic do again?" she asked curiously. "I've never noticed anything with the stones."
Toto walked forward to tap the stone at her throat, concentrating hard as he did the same to Baron's. "These protect the owners from poisons and drugs."
She couldn't fight back the giggle. 'So I didn't have to worry about Rosalie, after all.' "Drat. It would have been nice if it kept me from getting seasick instead."
Baron gave an agreeing meow.
"It was that bad?" Toto asked, making Baron give an agonized mew.
"Whatever it is he's saying, he's understating it," Bearskin affirmed while freeing her arm from the bleached leather.
Toto blanched while looking at Muta. "I don't think there's a way to Lycea from here without a boat."
"I think there is if we go north enough. Too bad it would take too long," the cook answered while giving a sympathetic smile to the trapper, who looked less than excited by the news.
But she gave a shrug and took out a piece of charcoal to draw the boot pattern into the leather. "Baron's worth it."
ooOoo
The following days developed into a slightly urgent routine. Get up early, race with Toto as a crow while carrying a feline Muta as she carried Baron, stop for the night, and begin it all again the following day. Toto and Muta still insisted on doing all the chores, but now that she had the boots to work on, she didn't mind so much.
"Aren't you done with those yet?" Muta griped as he washed that night's dishes.
Well, most of the time she didn't mind. "I've already told you; between speed and quality, I choose quality," Bearskin informed the cook as her needle reflected the light of the campfire.
Toto snuck a look over her shoulder. "Don't bother with ties. I can take care of that with the spell."
"Oh good," she sighed thankfully. "That means these could be done by tomorrow night."
Baron purred happily from his usual place on her lap.
"That's great! I can almost hear him now; could someone get me a cup of tea?" Muta attempted to mimic through a chuckle.
Toto scoffed at the cook. "That's not what he sounds like! It's closer to 'would you two mind taking this outside? I can't hear myself think!'"
Muta stood to his full height with a familiar gleam in his eye. "We are outside!" he yelled just before pouncing on the magician.
Bearskin merely leaned down to avoid his bulk and sighed tiredly as the two began yet another wrestling match. "They have always been like this, haven't they?"
Baron meowed tiredly as he nodded.
She gave him a hug before continuing her work. "No wonder you preferred them doing this outside."
"Me-ow."
ooOoo
Toto blew yet another dust onto the newly finished boots, forever whispering words as smoke from the latest campfire circled both the magician and footwear.
Muta was scowling as he waited outside the circle with Bearskin, but she could tell that he was only miffed that Toto had skipped the nightly fight in order to create the spell. Baron was on her shoulders, eyes glued to the scene in front of him. The trapper could feel a low rumble develop in his throat, but knew that he was keeping it in to avoid distracting the magician.
After three hours of steady casting, the smoke seeped into the tiny boots, finalizing the spell.
"Done!" Toto gasped, collapsing to his knees. "Quick, slip Baron into the boots!"
Bearskin nodded, gently easing the cat off her shoulders while stepping into the previously forbidden circle. As careful as she could, she set him down in a way that his back legs eased into the boots.
They immediately clung to him, making the cat stumble as the trapper released him.
"Meh… meeh…" he tried to say, steadying himself on his friend's knee as he rose to his hind legs again. "Meeh… tell me someone other than Toto can understand me."
"We heard that!" Muta cheered, rushing forward to sweep the cat into a hug. "It's so good to hear you talk again!"
"It's good to be understood again." He snuck a glance at the trapper and smiled warmly. "Hello, my lady."
She immediately felt her cheeks turn warm. "Baron!" she laughed to cover up the unseen blush. "You might want to stick to calling me Bearskin."
"I don't see the reason why. I haven't been able to call you Bearskin since the day we met. It truly doesn't suit you."
She fought back a nervous giggle. "You've been calling me that for the past two years?"
"With occasional variants of 'you crazy woman', 'you silly girl' and such like that. I'd greatly prefer to use your name, but that isn't precisely an option at this point in time."
"Unfortunately," she sighed while easing him out of Muta's arms for a hug of her own. "So, anything we need to know about, concerning the imposter?"
Baron looked down, his expression turning melancholy. "Only that I was a fool."
"Hey, none of that," Toto scolded as he struggled to stand. "Everyone saw your courtship, no one suspected Louise was only acting."
"It doesn't change the fact that I should have asked more questions before proposing," he answered sadly.
"You know, it's possible that the imposter gave her some magic to help induce belief," Bearskin offered while scratching his ears. "Was there an item she never took off?"
"Her necklace," Toto said in a heartbeat. "She claimed that it was her mother's, but who knows if it was or not?"
"So that makes two pieces of jewelry we need to take an axe to," Muta concluded with a wicked smirk. "I can't wait until Lune gets wind of this! He'll have them for breakfast!"
"Who's Lune again?" she asked Baron.
"The prince regent of Lycea and my childhood friend. I think you're going to like him."
She blinked in surprise. "Wait, hold on; I thought we were going to your baronetcy."
"Not at first, I'm afraid. I can only regain my true form in the presence of royal blood."
She gave him a smile and a hug. "If Lune's a friend of yours, I'll like him. Does he fight like these two?" She gestured with her head at Toto and Muta.
"Most certainly not, but try not to play chess against him. He trounces me on a regular basis."
ooOoo
The night before they were to set sail to Lycea, Bearskin couldn't sleep. She had every reason to; she, Toto, and Muta had been running themselves ragged across three kingdoms back to Lutia, since that would provide the shortest distance by sea. The trapper was bone-tired… but could barely close her eyes.
Baron stirred slightly in her arms and opened one green eye to look at her. "You know, my friend, this isn't exactly healthy. We still have some distance to cover."
She held him just a shade closer and scratched his ear. "I know."
"Perhaps if you were to try the bed, you would be able to rest?" he offered, since Toto and Muta had insisted that they take rooms in an inn before embarking on a small ship the two had bought.
"You know full well I can't sleep on beds. Besides, wouldn't that be a bit naughty?" she couldn't help from teasing. "You're a married man, after all."
He flinched. "Annulled, as far as I'm concerned. Besides, it's not like I'm in my normal form."
"If you were, we wouldn't be here," the pale woman agreed, gently nudging one of his shoulders in a teasing manner. But then she sighed. "Baron? Would you think I'm selfish if I said I'm not looking forward to Lycea?"
The tawny feline sharply sat up. "What? Why not?"
She bit her lip shamefully. "Because I don't want to say goodbye."
"I don't want to, either," he answered in a heartbeat, his eyes turning melancholy. "But… who knows what that thing has been doing in my stead? I have a feeling that my people are suffering and I can't just stay silent anymore. You understand, don't you?" he begged.
"Duty," she stated miserably.
"Indeed. You know, I used to be quite jealous of you," he confided while curling up in her arms again. "Free as a bird, accepting only the duties that you wanted to, and getting to see the world at your own pace."
Bearskin nuzzled his soft fur with one cheek. "I'm jealous of people like you. You had a home, friends, family; the chance to be what you are and not have to worry if someone catches you off-guard."
"Not entirely. I am a politician, after all."
She giggled at that one. "But you're the kind all politicians should be. If they were, about two-thirds of the problems I've helped with over the past five years wouldn't have needed me. Are you blushing?"
Baron was keeping his gaze on the other side of the room, looking very embarrassed. "A little," he admitted before licking her chin. "But we really should stop talking. It is going to be a long week still, plus I think Toto intends to sail around Thegui completely."
Haru groaned in anticipation, yet set her head on the hood again. "But it's more fun to talk to you now that you're wearing the boots."
He grinned at her and nuzzled her cheek. "I concur. Oh, and one more thing?"
"Yes?"
"The only complaint I've ever had to say about you was the fact that you couldn't understand what I tell you. I 'put up with you' because I enjoy being with you and I especially enjoy when you let go of your façade." He gave her another warm smile. "I greatly look forward to the day when you drop the act for good, and I don't regret the past two years in the least."
She gave him a melting smile and kissed his forehead. "Me neither."
ooOoo
Bearskin threw up for the first time that day, just as the small ship sailed out of sight of the harbor.
"Easy there," Baron soothed, rubbing one of her arms. "You're going to be fine, just like before."
"A little too much like before," she moaned, her head and arms hanging off the side of the ship.
Toto whistled from his place near the sails. "Wow, you weren't kidding, Baron. We've barely been out for a few hours and she's already sick as a dog."
"I wouldn't exaggerate over her pain."
"There's not much room for- blech!" Another load of vomit gushed out before she could say anything else. "Ech- exaggeration."
"Ugh, this is not going to be a pleasant journey if she's going to be doing that the whole way there," Muta retched from the helm.
Baron gave him a glare. "Perhaps if you have a medicine to combat her symptoms, this would be more pleasant for everyone."
"Nah, nothing that would help her. What about you, Bird Brain?"
"None that I can think of, but I might be able to make something in about a day or so."
Bearskin groaned just before another load of vomit burst out of her. "I should be able to hold out until- ech!"
Baron kept rubbing her arm, doing his best to distract her from her sickness. But then his ears twitched with shock. "Or maybe you don't need to."
The trapper looked at him in half-dead confusion, but he was already hopping down from his place next to her and running toward the magician on his back legs. Toto picked him up without a fuss, but seemed surprised when Baron crawled onto one of his shoulders in order to whisper into one ear.
"… That would work, wouldn't it?" Toto exclaimed happily, giving his dear friend a hug.
"What would work?" she asked shakily.
"If you have no objections, Bearskin, I can set up a sleeping spell on one of the beds down below. That way you can catch some shut-eye for the rest of the voyage instead of being sick the whole time."
"I have no objections to that," she replied thankfully using a bit of her water to wash the rancid taste out of her mouth.
"It shouldn't take more than a few minutes," Toto assured her, going below to one of the two small rooms.
Not that they were worthy of being called rooms. They were barely bigger than cupboards, with just enough room for a tiny bed.
"If it doesn't work, I'll hit Toto for you," Muta informed, making the girl giggle in a weak manner.
"You know full well I can hit people myself."
"Yes, but hitting Toto's my job. I don't want to be replaced."
She laughed weakly, but turned back over the side to throw up again. "Is… it that important?"
"Completely! We've been going at it ever since he became a teenager and the only reason it didn't start sooner is because I don't hit children."
A smile worked free of her control. "Softie."
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"It's all ready for you, Bearskin," Toto announced as he came back up with Baron in tow.
"Thank you," she sighed, rinsing out her mouth one more time before weakly making her way towards the small set of stairs. The waves were making her so unsteady, that she had to keep balance with the side of the ship.
"Here," Toto offered, putting down Baron so he could sweep her into his arms and march down the stairs himself.
"Put me down! I don't like being carried!" she said in a panic, but was a bit too weak to resist him.
"I don't want you throwing up between point A and B," Toto explained, already nudging one door open enough to set her on the bed. "Just relax and let the spell help you."
"But I don't like… sleeping on… beds," she sighed as her head fell against the simple pillow.
By the time Toto closed the door with a smile, she was out cold.