The Lout's Pet Squirrel (og alcale)

Part 2

The faint scent of cinnamon tickled his nose.

It was a strange scent to wake up to. It wasn't unpleasant, it was just that he couldn't remember the last time he'd smelled it like this and it hit him with a strange nostalgia.

Of course cinnamon wasn't an uncommon spice, especially not with the wealth of the palace, but Alver thought that this was different. It wasn't the faint scent drifting from a pie across a royal feast and getting buried beneath the other scents, it was stronger than that.

It was like...

His mother waking him up in the early morning with hot cider. Her gentle fingers combing through his hair as he cooed for him to wake up. Back before he was good at waking up on his own and he didn't understand his situation as well as he did now.

She'd sit on the edge of his bed, holding a cup of hot cider, and coo gently to him to sweetly pull him away from the land of dreams.

Considering how early she had to wake him up in the morning it was an impressive kindness, she must have woken up quite a bit earlier to manage the time schedule properly.

His mother was an amazing woman in so many ways.

Alver couldn't help but smile at the memory and cuddle closer to the warm smell of cider.

Then all the reasons he shouldn't have woken up in such a pleasant way hit him all at once.

Alver stretched out his senses cautiously, attempting to understand the situation better before he alerted any potential enemies that he'd woken up.

A large hand, too large, scratched behind his ear and distracted him.

Alver's eyes shot open and he remembered too late that he was still a squirrel.

"You're feeling better, huh?" The voice was gentle and sweet. Unfamiliar but it still caused Alver to relax against the warmth once more.

He was a squirrel right now.

Not much was known about squirrel beast people but most people wouldn't assume a squirrel they found in the forest was actually a beast person. Squirrels were small and cute. It was unlikely that he would be in immediate danger.

Alver shifted in place and realized just why his cushion was so warm.

He was resting on a person's lap. Plush blankets beneath him and a stomach that he'd been cuddling against for more warmth. He peeked up at his savior and his blood ran cold.

Cale Henituse looked back down at him affectionately, putting down his book and scratching behind Alver's ear once more. "What's up, little guy?"

Of all people, how had Alver wound up in the hands of such a person?

Alver had never directly met with young master Cale, at least not to his recollection, but he made a point to keep tabs on any information regarding the noble youth of the kingdom. They would, after all, be those that he hoped to collaborate with once he took the throne.

Alver deflated at the memory.

That dream had died.

He would never... he failed... he...

"What's wrong?"

The same gentle hand caressed the fur down his spine and brought Alver back to the present and away from his despairing misery.

It struck him how strange this was.

Alver didn't need to keep track of nobility to know about Cale Henituse.

He was an infamous lout, violent and cruel. A drunkard and a lush. While Alver had never actually heard anything substantial about cruelty toward animals, it was certainly something that got brought up when rumors flew about the man.

And rumors always tended to fly. Especially after his trip to the capital a few months back. Alver hadn't met him back then but Cale managed to exacerbate all rumors about him to the point that even those who rarely were imprudent enough to comment on the succession of other families were practically pleading with the gods that the second son, Bassen, would become the heir.

Alver had thought it was interesting at the time because most of those people would have normally criticized even the idea of Bassen's right to inherit due to his lineage. His mother was nobility, albeit a fallen family, but there was no information on Bassen's father at all.

He didn't have a drop of Henituse blood inside of him and yet blood purists would prefer him to the 'rightful heir'.

It did quite a bit to establish just how truly menacing Cale's reputation was.

So how was it that the source of all these rancid rumors was petting him gently and cooing at him with worry?

Alver's nose twitched as he cocked his head curiously up at Cale.

Now that he was looking closer, there was something elegant about Cale's face. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but it was odd because he could distinctly recall hearing how one look at Cale's thuggish features was enough to tell you the scum that he was inside of his heart.

It wasn't that Alver believed such clearly exaggerated rumors, but Cale's reddish brown eyes were gentle and compassionate. He was smiling, just a tiny but elegant thing, that looked equal parts affectionate and graceful. The way that his crimson hair framed his face and the hints of pink on his cheeks.

He was a handsome person too.

"Got a good look in, little guy?" Cale asked and his low voice was smooth and pleasant on the ears. Alver looked away, feeling strangely embarrassed.

Cale was different from the rumors. At least, he wasn't cruel towards animals and that was certainly different. Alver couldn't speak for all the other things that he'd heard.

Still, when trying to connect the foul acts he'd heard about to the elegant kindness petting him gently, he couldn't quite find that it fit.

Alver had known plenty of people who were crueler than they looked so he knew that he shouldn't be fooled. He shouldn't let his guard down.

But he was still so tired and the scent of cinnamon was making him drowsy. Clearly, Cale didn't have any menace towards squirrels. That much was clear.

Cale poked his head and Alver chittered defensively.

"You look like you think too much." Cale chuckled and the sound rumbled through him. It was pleasant to listen to.

Who was it that said that Cale's laughter was like the cackle of a demon? If Alver still had the means to do so, he would have liked to tell them just how wrong they were.

"I'm glad you're feeling better. I was worried the potion wouldn't help."

That caused Alver to pause and he peeked back up at his unlikely savior.

Potions were valuable and expensive. Something that Alver learned through strife after his mothers passing. Of course, for the wealth of the Henituse family that was surely nothing but who would waste such a valuable item on a squirrel? Without even knowing if it would help?

Cale was strange. Perhaps he knew that Alver was a beast person?

Alver chittered curiously, just to test how Cale would respond.

The lout picked him up gently, smiling indulgently at the animal. "You're really docile for a wild animal." He kissed Alver on the nose and laughed again when Alver chittered like mad, circling around in Cale's palm in embarrassment. "Cute."

Alver, heart pounding in his chest and eyes blown wide as his first kiss was unexpectedly stolen, hugged his tail protectively in the palm of Cale's hand.

This was driving him nuts.