The Lout's Pet Squirrel (og alcale)

Part 3

Alver had yet to really calm down. But after a few hours in the care of Cale Henituse, he was at least feeling rejuvenated. He had the strength to run away if he needed to and he had to admit, the potion must have been high quality to give him so much energy.

Most of his time had been spent chittering in Cale's lap while he gave up on maintaining his composure and instead allowed his tiny body to express all of the chaos inside of his heart.

It was cathartic. Whenever it got too upsetting, Cale would soothe him with gentle scratches or sweet pets and despite his wounded pride and the indignity of it all, Alver was able to take it a lot easier knowing that he was just a wild animal to Cale.

No one was actually witnessing him throwing a tantrum and therefore, he was free to express himself openly.

It was a strange experience.

Even when the complicated feelings of grief hit him over losing his father, it wasn't as terrible as he would have suspected. Cale had sensed his distress and swaddled him up in a blanket before hugging him gently.

Alver pressed himself against Cale's warmth and closed his eyes.

He felt strangely like crying. It was a feeling that he couldn't understand. His father had been a stranger. And not even a kind stranger. Apathetic and cruel toward Alver's needs and neglecting him from the moment his mother passed away.

Zedd Crossman made it clear as anything that he never held any love for his son and only a faint infatuation with his late concubine.

Alver knew this.

But the feeling still clutched at his heart. Clawed at his thoughts.

What if there was more that he didn't know about his father?

What if there was a chance, however slim, that his father would have recognized his efforts one day? Declared him the rightful heir not just because Alver had earned it but out of a sense of familial love and acknowledgment?

What if things could have been different?

Alver never learned what was truly inside of his fathers heart. He could only ever make assumptions.

And those assumptions tore him up inside.

Cale held him close wordlessly, his warm hands seeping into the cold that overtook Alver's heart.

It was strange. Cale was a complete stranger and yet, his comfort saved Alver. Just a bit. Perhaps it was because Cale was a stranger. A person with no expectations of him and a person that Alver had no expectations from.

An entity he had no need for pretense in front of.

There was a polite knock at the door, drawing Alver away from his upsetting ruminations and back into the present. He looked up toward Cale's face curiously and was surprised by what he saw there.

In a flicker, Cale had concealed the emotion and he looked back down to Alver gently. He scratched behind his ear again as he stood up, placing Alver delicately onto a cushion that had surely been prepared for the squirrel.

What a weird person. One would normally think to prepare a cage instead.

"I'm going to dinner." Cale said by way of explanation, kneeling down beside the couch so he was high level with the squirrel. He poked Alver in the tummy, causing the prince to chitter indignantly. "Are you going to be okay?"

What a silly thing to ask a squirrel.

It offered Alver a good opportunity though. He could escape the Henituse estate while Cale ate his dinner. It had been a good rest and provided him with the rest he needed to heal. The only logical next step was to leave.