The crowd went silent as the play continued, the silence further made Lawrence feel the distance between him and reality. Lawrence felt the glances of people in his direction. They were probably wondering why a girl was crying, but their attention was redirected back to the stage as the play continued.
Holo seemed to have calmed her emotions, and her crying had subsided. However, Lawrence was still in shock of what had just happened. This situation was totally unexpected, and he did not know what to do next. Holo pulled away from him, and stood with her face looking away from him. She wiped the last remaining tears on her face, and took a deep breath. She slowly turned her head to face Lawrence. Her expression showing signs of happiness, relief, sorrow, and nostalgia, which was best described as a very perplexed expression. Lawrence could hardly imagine the thoughts and emotions racing around Holo's head right now.
Are you okay now? Lawrence asked.
Holo replied with a nod. She didn't answer him back verbally was probably because she would burst into sobs again once she opened her mouth. In order to not attract any more attention from the nearby crowds, Lawrence gently grasped Holo's small hands, and led her to a more private area outside the theatre. Shoving through the crowd of people, and getting curious glances from nearby onlookers, Lawrence exited the theatre with Holo. Spotting a nearby plaza, they made their way there.
The plaza was usually filled with people, but at the moment it was not very lively. This was probably because everyone went to see the play in the theatre. It was a nice change of scenery from the cramped and uncomfortable space in the theatre. Lawrence called the storekeeper and ordered a couple of beers for him and Holo, hoping that it would lighten Holo's mood.
"Do you know that girl?" Lawrence asked.
Although Lawrence was positively sure that the girl was Holo's past companion, it was best to get confirmation from the only person who was absolutely sure. He asked that question using vague terms in order to hide the fact that he had been snooping around her past, and that he was just asking because of curiosity. Holo revealed a light smile, her eyes focusing on the empty spot on the table in front of her.
"You should already know the answer to the question you have just asked. I rather made a fool of myself in that theatre." Holo replied dejectedly.
The storekeeper came towards the table with the beers Lawrence had ordered. Holo took a quick sip of the alcohol, and explained.
"Her name was Myuri, she was part of my pack before I traveled south. We often made fun of each other in the past, and shared many things. You could say that I and her were close friends. It was quite breathtaking to finally reunite with her, and I am glad that she was also safe." Holo said happily with a smile.
Lawrence knew that Holo was constantly concerned for her former comrades' safety after knowing the Moon Hunting Bear had attacked her hometown of Yoitsu. Finally meeting someone she knew from the past, it must had been a great relief to her. It might also had given her more hope that her other comrades were also safe.
"I'm guessing you want to talk to Myuri?" Lawrence asked.
"Of course and thank you, Lawrence. I do not know if I would have gotten to this point without your help." Holo answered with an warm expression from her heart.
Lawrence returned with a smile, but deep inside, he was not absolutely happy that Holo met Myuri. This was because there was a chance that their journey would be over once Holo had talked to Myuri. They both might decide to return north together, which would end Lawrence's role to take Holo back north. He felt guilty for having such thoughts, and quickly tossed them to the back of his mind. Holo's needs came first in this situation.
"Then we'll need to wait till the play ends. The play will end when the flags above the theatre go down. This is because no one is allowed to meet any actors during a performance, regardless of situation." Lawrence explained.
Holo gave a nod of understanding. However, it would be difficult to talk to Myuri even when the play had ended because neither Lawrence nor Holo had any connection to the theatre. In addition, if Myuri was an existence like Holo, the chances were pretty high that the theatre also knew of Myuri's true existence. That would be more of a reason to protect her, and to prevent her from talking to any strangers that could be related to the church. Despite those problems, Lawrence was pretty sure he could manage somehow.
The two sat quietly, and drank their beers. Not a single word was said by either of them, as they both impatiently and nervously waited for the flags above the theatre to drop.
After a wait that felt like forever, the flags were finally lowered. The theatre doors opened widely, and hordes of people were walking out. Lawrence signaled Holo to follow him, and made their way through the crowd.
"I hope you had prepared yourself. I don't want you to suddenly cry again when we meet the theatre staff." Lawrence said jokingly to tease her.
Holo was following Lawrence, but with great difficulty. The huge of crowd of people exited the theatre like a huge wave, while he and Holo were going against that human wave. Naturally, with Holo's petite body, she was having trouble getting through the huge waves of people, and seemed to be trying her hardest not to get pushed back along with the crowd. Lawrence stretched his arms to grab Holo's hands, and pulled her to him. Getting separated from Holo in this situation would be very disastrous. Panting, Holo looked up and made eye contact with him.
"Hmph, as if a proud wolf would cry in front of people. But of course you are an exception to that rule." Holo smiled mischievously at Lawrence.
Lawrence could only reply with a grin, as he tugged Holo through the crowd of people. With much effort, they both finally arrived at the front stage. Looking around, Lawrence spotted a small staircase on the right edge of the stage platform, which seemed to lead to the top of the stage. Fortunately, the front area of the stage was cleared of people because most of them had already left the theatre. While climbing the short staircase to the top of the platform, there were no actors to be seen, which was weird.
Usually there would be some people cleaning up the theatre and setting up the stage for the next performance. On the far rear of the stage, there were red curtains that hanged from a wooden arc. Lawrence and Holo walked towards the red curtains and opened it to get in. To Lawrence's surprise, it was very dark inside, and the small rays of light coming through the curtains barely illuminated the dark room. Wooden crates were messily piled on the left side of room, and costumes were just as messily piled on the right side of the room. However, there were still no signs of anybody from the cast. Lawrence walked straight into the backstage to take a better examination of the area. But as soon as the red curtains closed, blocking the small rays of light that shone through, the room was completely dark.
"Can you see in this darkness?" Holo asked.
Lawrence looked behind him, and saw Holo's crimson eyes. Even though the room was pitch black, Lawrence could still see Holo's eyes that glowed in the darkness.
"If you cannot, then I shall guide the way then, since my eyes are used to dark places like these." Holo suggested.
Listening to Holo, Lawrence allowed Holo to lead him through the dark room. However, he still needed to be careful, so that he didn't trip over the props that were scattered throughout floor. As he was led through the dark room with no sense of idea or direction he was going, a memory flashed in his mind. When he was an apprentice, his master would often lock him up in dark room for several hours as punishment. Thinking about this, the darkness gave Lawrence a feeling of nervousness. Holo stopped tugging Lawrence and stood still.
"Strange… I hear voices in this direction, but a wall is blocking me." Holo said.
Lawrence used his hand to locate the wall in the darkness, and felt a smooth surface pressed against his hand. Judging by the texture of the surface, it seemed to be a wall made out of reinforced Oakwood.
"You hear voices through this wall?" Lawrence asked with hint of doubt.
"Yes, or do you not trust my ears?" Holo replied swiftly.
Lawrence gave no reply to Holo's rhetorical question, and scanned the walled using his hands. His first guess was that there should be a door somewhere on the wall. As he pressed his hand on the wall to examine it, the wall leaned back as he placed pressure on it. Using a stronger force, Lawrence slowly pushed the wall back, and revealed a hidden passage that led further into the theatre.
"Interesting. Why would a theatre need to build a secret passage like this? Lawrence and Holo both wondered.
Lawrence and Holo went through the hidden door. The passageway was dimly lit with touches placed on the side. It was bright enough for Lawrence to see the path; unlike the dark room he had just been in.
"Probably to keep out uninvited guests from getting into the center of theatre." Holo offered an explanation for the hidden corridor, and hinted Lawrence for his opinion.
Holo made her way down the passageway with a fast pace and signaled Lawrence to hurry.
"Uninvited guests like us? Well it sure didn't work." Lawrence said in a humorous tone.
The passageway made a turn to the right, and a wooden door could be seen at the end of the hallway.
"That is because nothing can stop a wise wolf like me." Lawrence laughed at Holo's prideful statement.
"If that is the case, then I bet you would have made me find some way to bash that wall down."
Holo turned and smile jokingly to Lawrence.
"Of course, you said would do anything for me to make me happy right?"
Holo's smile turned into a big grin. Not knowing whether Holo was joking or not, he was certainly glad that he had discovered the hidden door before Holo made him do something drastic.
They made their way through the dimly lighted path, and arrived at the wooden door. Lawrence slowly pushed the door open, and was surprised that it wasn't locked. As the door opened, Lawrence's eyes who was accustomed to the dark, was blinded by the bright light coming from the room on the other side of the door. When his eyes finally readjusted to the light, and looked inside the room, the room was filled with tables, chairs and boxes, like a small bar. However, the thing that caught Lawrence's attention immediately was that everyone in the room was looking at him with an awkward and suspicious expression, which made Lawrence slightly nervous.
"Hello everyone, nice to meet you all." Lawrence greeted the people in the room with a friendly tone and his usual business smile.
A man sitting at the left table near the front of room got up and confronted Lawrence and Holo. He was wearing a tattered shirt with dirt smudge all over it. His muscular build gave him the appearance of an ox. Lawrence assumed that he must be part of the storage team for lifting heavy crates and objects to and back from the stage. Lawrence figured that he needed to watch his speech very carefully because the man could easily throw him across the room. Considering the current situation, it was very likely to happen if he didn't play his cards right.
"Who the hell are you two and how did you get in here?" His voice was loud and intimidating.
His breath was heavy with the scent of alcohol, indicating that he must be drinking before he and Holo interrupted. To be honest, Lawrence thought that the only reason he had not been thrown out of the room yet was because Holo was by his side, making them seemed less suspicious and threatening.
"I'm Kraft Lawrence, and this is Holo, my traveling companion. We stumbled into this room while looking for an actress named Myuri. Can we have a word with her?"
Lawrence made himself sound humble to lessen his suspicion. But looking around the room, everyone was still, and their eyes were fixated on him and Holo. It was a quite a nerve-breaking silence, similar to the experience when he participated in negotiations for his first major business deal.
"There is no actress here by that name, get out immediately!" The man exclaimed.
The man's husky and deep voice made the reply sound more like a threat. Although a part of Lawrence wanted to leave, a part of him doesn't because of Holo.
"That can't be true. We just saw her in today's performance, the girl who was signing." Lawrence re-assertively responded to the man's threatening statement.
The man looked even more aggravated. He took a step towards Lawrence, lifting his arms, and clenching his fist, implying that he intended to make Lawrence get out by force if he did not do it himself. Lawrence did not take a step back; he could not show any signs of fear or weakness in a critical moment like this.
"Get out now!" The man repeated.
The situation was getting out of control. It seemed violence was inevitable.
"That is enough" A soft voice spoke behind Lawrence.
Lawrence saw the man's expression turned from anger to total awe, as if seeing a ghost. Everyone in the room was also in a state of shock, and where frantically whispering to each other. The man took a step back, and his fighting spirit seemed to have died down. Turning around, he saw that Holo had taken her hood off and revealed her wolf's ears. To Lawrence, it wasn't a big surprised since he had seen Holo's ears daily, but for on looking spectators, it must be quite a surprise. However, they weren't too shocked, and their reactions had been very mild compared to other people. This was probably because they were familiar with existences like Holo. The man just stared at them, and Lawrence noticed that his lips moved, and seemed to mouth the words "another one?" The tension had evaporated, and the situation was now under control.
"Stand down Ivan." A female voice spoke from across the room.
Taking a glance, it was the female actress they were looking for, Myuri. The man turned his entire body as if a dog, answering his master.
" Meliane, do you know these people?"
The actress was dressed in a white dress weaved with fine silk. A crystal flower was pinned at the left side of her chest. She was also wearing a white beret that covers her head. To describe her as a goddess wouldn't be far off. In a way, her physique was very similar to Holo's.
"Living under a fake identity, Myuri? How it brings great shame to me to see that my pack members had fallen into living under a lie." Holo half-mockingly and half-jokingly said.
Myuri smiled as if she was expecting this kind of response from Holo and walked towards them and greeted Lawrence with a smile that could make any man blushed. Holo noticed this, and elbowed Lawrence on the left side of his stomach.
"I see you have not changed at all after all these years."
Myuri playfully pinched Holo's ears, and smiled deeply at Holo. Holo brushed aside Myuri's hand, and turned her face away to avoid eye contact with Myuri. Seeing this, Lawrence could not help but to show a smile on his face. Holo perceived his smile, and gave another hit to his left side.
"Ah, cute as always. I am sure you have lots of things to ask me, and I also have lots of things to tell you. But let us go to a more private space to discuss these matters."
Myuri walked towards the door located on the left side of room, and signaled Lawrence and Holo to follow her. Lawrence went into the room with Myuri, leaving the motionless and confused spectators in the previous room behind.
They entered a room with a square table with chairs surrounding it. A window was placed on the rear wall, indicating that the room was a room somewhere near the edge of the theatre. Myuri motioned with her hand for Lawrence and Holo to sit down. The three took a seat, and the room was in silence, except for the sound of Holo's restless tail. She was looking at Myuri as if she wanted to say something, but had not yet been able to grasp the words. Lawrence also wanted to ask a lot of things, but decided to keep quiet as well, since he didn't want to rudely barge in on their reunion. A meeting between two godly existences was no place for a man such as himself. However, since he was invited by Myuri, he was probably wanted, and leaving would be rude to the host.
"So you were gone after all these years, why did you suddenly decide to come back?" Myuri broke the silence with her question. Her glaze fixated on Holo, as if she was watching the slightest changes of expression on her face.
"What do you mean my reason for returning? Is it not normal for one to return home after a journey?" Holo responded in a sharp tone, and wondered why Myuri asked that question.
Myuri maintained a carefree smile at Holo. From Lawrence's perspective, the two deities seemed to be trying to stare each other down. It interested Lawrence. It was like one of the theatrical plays he always saw, but a real life version of it.
"No need to be so tense. It was meant to caring question to be honest." Myuri said in a playful tone, while Holo responded with an irritated look.
"You see, you were gone for so long on your journey to the south, I was just curious about your journey." A prideful expression surfaced on her face. "However, I'm more interested on your companion here. He is human, am I correct? How peculiar for you to partner up with a mortal." She turned towards Lawrence and a warm smile, which caused him blush a bit, but quickly hid it, and smiled back. If only Holo acted as cute like Myuri, it would make his days more enjoyable."
"Can you stop playing around!" Holo shouted with anger and fury, and slammed her hands on the table. She stood up with her fangs glaring at Myuri.
"What happened to the rest of the pack, and where are they? Why are you treating this like nothing have nothing to our friends?" Her crimson red eyes looked as if they could burn whatever they set their focus on. Lawrence was taken by surprise by Holo's sudden outburst, and looked at Holo in bewilderment. Myuri also seemed to have the same reaction as Lawrence, and met Holo's ferocious glare.
"The rest of the pack, you asked? Are you sure you want to know? To be honest, I wanted our first conversation when we finally had reunited to be a happy one, but I may have erred in avoiding an important topic. In any case, a person must always prepare themselves to accept the truth before they hear it. So I ask you, are you prepared to hear the truth?" Myuri smile disappeared into a stern expression, illustrating what she is about to expose was serious and important on a grand scale.
Holo was unshaken by her question, and gave Myuri the signal to continue.
"I assume you heard about Yoitsu and the Moon-hunting bear?"
Holo gave a nod.
"That makes things simpler. When the Moon-Hunting Bear attacked Yoitsu, we fled from our homeland and escaped into the forest. Some of the members wanted to go back and defend Yoitsu, but you probably guessed the outcome of that foolish venture. There was also some that wanted to go make a new home, and some that stood on neither side. This obviously led to some internal disputes, and the pack was separated and scattered. Even I had heard nothing from them ever since. Most of the pack members were scattered across the northern lands, living with the humans. However, the most tragic thing was you, Holo."
Holo sat back down. Her ears pointed at Myuri's direction, making sure that she heard every word of Myuri's story. Lawrence got the feeling that he should not be hearing this, since this was about Holo's personal matters. But since he was here, and Holo apparently had not expressed anything that signaled him to leave, he wouldn't mind listening in.
"What do you mean by that?" Holo questioned Myuri; one could tell by her voice that anxiety was building within Holo's mind.
"How should I put this?" Myuri pondered and scratched her head, and turned her face towards the window to avoid eye contact with Holo. "To put it simply, the pack basically abandoned you."
Holo's eyes went wide, not believing in what she had just heard.
"What?" she exclaimed.
"Well, since you were gone for so long, everyone had forgotten about you. No one in the pack mentioned anything about notifying you about the events that had just occurred. Even though I raised the point about finding you, they did not show much enthusiasm towards it, and quickly tossed the point aside. Only I decided to look for you. However, the southern regions were so large, it would be impossible to find you by just blindly searching everywhere. There is also the chance that you went back north, while I was searching for you, only to find out that Yoitsu was destroyed and our pack was nowhere to be found. That is why I stayed in Revattle, since it is the doorway to the north. Most people will arrive in this town to travel north, which is also the route most likely you will take when returning. Sorry, for the terrible news, I was trying to liven up the atmosphere before I finally told you."
Holo had a blank stare on her face. She looked down on her knees, lost in her thoughts, as if trapped in a waking nightmare. Her hands were trembling. Holo hated and feared being alone, and after realizing that her pack had abandoned her, it must had been a huge mental blow on her. It wouldn't be surprise if Holo had a panic attack right now and then. However, she calmed down, and gave a dry laugh.
"I always guess that this would happen. It is okay really; I will be okay." Holo stuttered her sentence. Because her head was facing down, Lawrence could not see her face. But he probably guessed that Holo was on the verge of crying. The words she spoke seemed to be directed towards herself than to the other people in room. Reassuring herself, so that she wouldn't go insane. Lawrence felt extremely sorrowful for Holo, and could not help but pity her.
"Holo..." Lawrence said in a soft and quiet voice.
"I am fine! I am perfectly fine! I will not shed tears for those who had forsaken me." Despite trying to act tough, Holo sounded like a whimpering dog, who was on the verge of collapse.
"I want to be alone for awhile." Holo requested.
Myuri looked at Holo with a cheerless expression, and looked at Lawrence. She silently got out of her chair, and exited the room. Lawrence did the same, and left Holo alone with her thoughts. She probably didn't want anyone to see her in that state.
Lawrence wondered what would happen now. Going to Yoitsu was the main reason for their journey, and now it appeared there was no point anymore. Or rather, he should he be asking what would happen between him and Holo? The contract he held to take Holo back to her homeland had become null and void now, which meant that Holo didn't need to travel with him anymore. The thought of losing Holo made him feel more restless. He stared out to the window, contemplating the things that had just happened, and got lost in his thoughts. He heard the door open behind him, and immediately turned his back and saw a female figure with a pair of wolf ears and tail.
"Holo!" he shouted.
However, after taking a closer look, it wasn't Holo, but Myuri. She took off her white beret, and exposed her wolf ears. Her tail swayed slowly back and forth, like a pendulum.
"Sorry, I am not her, but I wanted to talk to you." She entered the room solemnly, and sat facing Lawrence. Her ears and tail made her human appearance almost identical to Holo, which should be natural since they were the same species. But talking to another wolf deity besides Holo, made Lawrence felt uncomfortable. Besides that, he had not been able to grasp Myuri's personality yet. Talking to a person was like a battle. If you wanted to win in a conversation, you need to be able to understand your opponent. This was one of the many things he had learned throughout his travels with Holo.
"First of all, I would like to apologize to you for having to participate in such an unfortunate predicament; I must have placed you in a hard position." Myuri humbly apologized to Lawrence, while looking over her shoulder at the door that led to the room Holo was in.
"It's no big problem; she is going to find out sooner or later. It would have been a problem if we got to Yoitsu, just to find out that no one was there. Now that would be really troublesome, wouldn't it?" Lawrence gave a dry laugh, and looked down at his hands that were placed on his knee.
"I guess you two had just recently met, am I right?" Myuri inquired at Lawrence.
"Yes, we just met last fall, during the harvests." Lawrence answered.
"Ah, I thought as much, so I guess you are just a normal human being after all. But I am amazed that she would be traveling with a human, and that you seemed to get along quite well." Myuri smiled at Lawrence, but her comment seemed to imply something, which Lawrence was not sure of.
"Say, do you know the reason why your companion traveled south to the first place?" Myuri was always bearing a smile, which hid her facial expressions. It made it difficult to detect Myuri's thoughts and purpose for this conversation.
"No, not really, but I had been curious about it." Lawrence answered carefully, not knowing why she was willing to expose the reason for Holo's travels to the south.
"I would love to tell you, but it seems like your companion would not be happy with me doing so." Myuri looked to the left of Lawrence, which Lawrence turned his head to look as well.
Lawrence saw that Holo was standing behind him, and was apparently giving Myuri a hostile look that Lawrence thought Holo was going to pounce on Myuri. Though seeing a battle between two wolf deities somewhat interested Lawrence, he thought it was best not to let them fight with him being so close.
"Do not hate the messenger." Myuri smiled Holo, which was receiving Holo's wrathful expression.
Holo took a step forward, and looked even more annoyed. "No, it is not that. You knew that I would come by letting me clearly hear your conversation between you and this fool." Holo revealed her fangs. Lawrence thought Myuri was one of Holo's friends in the past, but they acted more like enemies in reality.
Myuri stood up and walked to Holo. With a sweet innocent smile that resembled a child, she answered.
"I have no idea what you mean."
Holo's angry expression dissipated into an indifferent look. Holo pulled Myuri in for a tight embrace. Myuri was taken off guard by Holo's sudden action.
"Ah?"
"Thank you Myuri, for telling me this. I thought I would have never been able to see you again. Thank you for waiting for me after all this time. I really appreciate it."
Holo said as she tightened her arms around Myuri. After calming down and collecting her thoughts, she must have also known that Myuri was also waiting for her a long time in this city, just to pass this information to her. She was the only one who still cared about her from her former pack mates. She was a true friend.
After hearing Holo saying this, Myuri returned the embrace with tears dampening her eyes.
"It no problem, this is what friends are for. Welcome back, Holo. Myuri replied, and Holo gave a nod.
"I'm back."
It was a sweet scene Lawrence thought to himself. This was what reunions should be like.
"You have gotten wittier over the years, but your sense in setting the mood is just as bad as when I have left." Holo jokingly said after releasing Myuri from her embrace.
"300 years is quite a long time for someone to develop their wits." Myuri laughed.
"To be honest, I thought you would be more upset." Myuri continued.
Holo looked at the floor.
"It is true that I am quite sad about the news, but I should not be weeping for events that occurred far in the past. There is a time to be sad, and a time to truly think about what is important in the current moment." Holo replied while taking a glance at Lawrence.
"I see. Since you have arrived, let us have supper together. The food here is quite nice, and the alcohol is the finest in the city. And we can talk more about other things, like your travels." Myuri pointed to the direction of the dining room.
The theatre was a place for plays, but it seemed that it also housed the actors as well, which was uncommon. Lawrence thought.
"I think I would rather have a lie down…" Holo's reply to the invitation was interrupted by Myuri.
"Excellent, let us go then!" Myuri quickly grasped Holo's hand and hastily dragged Holo to the dinner room against her will.
"Hey! Wait! Stop dragging me you fool! Let me go!" Holo's yells of resistances grows fainter as she was dragged further into the corridors leading to the dinner room. Lawrence placed his palm on his forehead and smiled, amused by what he had just witnessed. He was happy as if the heavy atmosphere and the tragic revelation earlier this afternoon never happened at all. Bearing a smile on his face, he firmly walked towards the dining room, following the sounds of laughter and cries from Holo and Myuri.