Blood War

Chapter 3

"Maulo!?"

Bags slung to the side and hair in a braid, Maulo stood waiting at the entrance of the alley.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. The Early Bird is at least a half-hour away and we had never actually told her where we lived, only that we lived in Cardboard Town.

"Marshmallow!" Rogue grinned. Surprisingly he actually remembered her name. Well, not exactly, but it was close enough.

"Hey friendos!" Smiled Maulo. "I heard you guys were going on an adventure." She adjusted the fancy woven bag on her shoulder. "So we decided to come along!"

My brow furrowed as I echoed, "We?"

As if it appeared out of thin air, a little creature—which resembled a mix between a ferret and an otter—poofed onto the top of Maulo's head. The being floated down to curl around her shoulders then it sat there, staring at us with un-existing eyes.

I'd seen her little cloud pets helping around the tavern before but those were all wispy, drifting in and out of sight, while this one seemed to have a more solid form. Its color was a slightly darker shade of gray too.

"This is Sprite! Isn't he so cute?" Maulo snuggled into the creature, rubbing noses with it.

"OH MY GOSH!" Rogue did something like a bunny hop as he bounded over. "He's so tiny! Can I have him? What does he feel like? What does he taste like? CAN I EAT HIM?"

Maulo backed away and put a protecting hand on the ferret's head. "No, you silly goose! He's my friend, not food."

Rogue stopped mid-step and pouted. "I wanted to know what clouds tasted like."

I rubbed the back of my neck, slightly embarrassed at his outburst. "Hold on, how did you know that we were leaving?"

Now it was Maulo's turn to look uncomfortable. "I kindof, sortof, maybe, followed you back here..." sheepishly putting her hands in front of her in an awkward forgiveness stance. At the raise of my eyebrow, she quickly added, "But you guys did leave your coin sack at the tavern, so I was only trying to give it back to you!"

I reached over and took the leather bag before Rogue could grab it. There wasn't much in it, only a few bronze coins, but I still appreciated that Maulo took the time to bring it to us.

"Oh. Thanks. But..." I trailed off, taking in the view of her packed bags. "Why exactly are you here with all of that?"

"I already told you silly!" Maulo giggled sweetly, her purple eyes glinting in the dim alley lighting. "Me and Sprite want to come on your adventure!"

"MARSHMALLOW'S COMING WITH US?!" Rogue shouted. He was too excited.

Fighting the urge to slap him in the back of the neck, I turned my attention back to Maulo. I put my hands on my hips, trying to look intimidating, though I knew I didn't. "Maulo, I'm sorry but you can't come."

Her bright smile faded to a frown, and I almost broke my facade. "What?! Whyyy?" Maulo's eyes sparkled like a puppy begging for food, and from her shoulder Sprite mimicked her. "It looks so fun!"

I upheld my stern expression. "It's going to be dangerous. The government's involved, which means it's going to be scary and they're all going to be very mean to us."

Maulo's very being seemed to break. "What? Why would they be mean to us? We're so nice!"

I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Maulo. It doesn't matter if we're nice."

She pouted her bottom lip, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes it does. Mimi says if you ever want someone to do something for you, all you have to do is be nice."