Unending Options [MCD x Reader] !Book 2!

Entry No. 22

I could tell that Aph's past and the killing of the Demon Warlock were eating at her. She didn't know what was going on, and yet, it was consuming her. Luckily, Aaron broke us out of the mini-realm. I could feel magicks lurking on him I hadn't felt before. I checked on the kids as they spoke. I snuck a peak at Aaron, since his face was now on full display... Aaron... I had seen him as an equal, he seemingly knew similar things I did and his mystique hid it well... But as I looked at his eyes, all I saw was... Shad. I remembered the day at the beach... His face on full display. I gulped before taking the kids back to Travis's. I felt uneasy... As I walked, I got quick flashes of memories with Shad. Moments of us sparring, laughing around a dinner table, but also yelling... I held myself together until we got home, but part of me knew that as soon as I let go of my full consciousness, I'd have a memory take over me once again. I tried soothing the children as they slept even though I could hear Travis and Asmund yelling downstairs. It made him uncomfortable to be here... I could hear a slam of a door and I rushed downstairs and out the door to find him. I searched all over. It was more likely he was wandering the forest than if he had gone back home. If he was flustered, he wouldn't want to be sitting in it. I made my way outside of town and found him lurking near the waters. 

"That old man has no idea how powerful the Demon Warlock really is..." he muttered under his breath.

"Travis?" I called.

He turned around to me and I hugged onto his side as we looked back out at the ocean. 

"The village needs to protect itself now..." he thought aloud. 

"It does, and now, it'll be easy for them to learn how," I said. "So.. If you're ready, I think it's time.."

"Perhaps I could become a guard of the Pheonix Alliance," he said.

"If you want to continue to protect, then of course. I'm sure Aphmau will allow it," I nodded, even if it stung. 

We walked back home, and I stayed by his side. He was going through a lot right now, he was truly saying goodbye to the only place he'd ever known. Laurance barged his way inside in the morning as I prepared some breakfast.

"Lady Y/n! I am here to save you!" Laurance said.

"Well, what's going on here?" Travis asked.

"I'm getting my woman back!" Lauranceresponded.

"Until I see a ring on her finger, I am doing as I please. Last I checked, there's no ring, so she is not 'your woman'." Travis said as he sipped on some tea. 

I sighed, "Can we just eat some breakfast and let me be?" 

They both pouted and ate. Travis then soon prepared his boat and we all boarded. I found Katelyn staring off... Something was off.

"Katelyn, everything alright?" I asked.

"No..." she said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked further.

"They showed me Jeffory," she said.

"The imps?" I pondered.

"Yes. He must have been here.. But I haven't. How did they know to show me him!? I froze when I saw him... I couldn't handle it," she explained.

I sat beside her and let her cry it out. Katelyn was a powerful woman. She was strong, physically and mentally, but we all had our moments and our weak points... And right now, she needed to process. I had her get out of the cabin quarters and back to the fresh salty air. She needed to think and have time to process. As we sailed, I thought as well. How was I going to get Garroth out of there? If I could get in touch with the witch... Hyria.. She would know. I found an upset Dmitri down in the storage area with Aaron.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't want to go home," he said. "I want to travel with you all and go on adventures. I want to be able to fight like my mom."

"We're here!" Travis shouted.

"It's okay Dmitri, you just have to wait a little longer to grow up and train some more before you can travel like we do," I explained.

We made our way back to Pheonix Drop. Dante immediately scolded the two children. Aphmau and Dante left for his house with his kids. 

"Well then, mind giving me the grand tour?" Travis asked.

I looked back at Katelyn. 

"Laurance!" I called.

He immediately made his way to me.

"Yes?" he responded.

"Can you make sure Katelyn gets some rest and eats something? She's going through a lot. I don't recommend asking questions, I'll be by to check on her later so if she needs anything just come and find me for her, will you?" I asked.

Laurance nodded. I took a deep breath and sighed before pointing my attention back at Travis.

"Grand tour?" I asked.

Travis simply nodded. I took him around town, introducing him to the few people that weren't gone.

"Where is everyone anyways Donna?" I asked.

"Well, Nicole and Kawaii Chan left for Scaleswind to look for the kids, and Levin and Malachi are off at Brightport to get some supplies," Donna explained.

"Alright then, thank you. Have a good day with your wolfpack. I'll try to stop by later to help out with the little ones," I said.

She nodded, continuing to swing in her rocking chair. We left off to the next stop on our journey, my house.

"So, Malachi..? I remember the name," Travis noted.

"My son," I explained. 

"Right! The one who you saved from an abandoned mansion when he was a ghost, right?" he asked.

"You remembered," I noted with a smile.

"Of course, I remembered.  A beautiful woman finds you and tells her about things that are important to her, you remember them if you ever want to have a chance with her," he joked.

I laughed as we made our way to the door, "Well then, welcome to my house."

I opened the door. It felt like so long since I'd been inside. Immediately, Eri jumped up into my arms. She purred at my touch. I had left Eri here with Malachi on my past few trips, too scared of losing her or her getting hurt. She was still the same young feline that popped out of the amulet the day we were reunited. 

"And who's this cutie?" he asked.

"Eri," I said, petting her gently.

"You mean Eri, Eri?" Travis asked.

I nodded, confused as to what he meant.

"I can't believe it really is true. In one of the books back on the island that I had, it explained a rumor of a cat that Ereni often had with her. I didn't think she was real, much less that she was an immortal cat," he explained as he held out his hand for Eri to sniff.

She quickly sniffed before brushing her head up against his hand. She liked him. To be fair though, Eri had liked other people she had met before. It was still sweet to see Travis so cheery to see Eri. I showed Travis around my home to find him most mesmerized by my books. I had brought a decent amount over from my realm and there were books I had found across my journies.

"Is all of this part of your research?" Travis asked.

"Yeah. But most of it wasn't very helpful or contained the same rumors another book had," I explained. 

"Still, this is a lot," he said, opening up a few.

"I guess so," I said, taking in the fact that it really was.

After Travis was done gawking we left Eri and headed outside of town. I felt bad I had to constantly leave her now, but what first started as a way to protect her, changed when Aphmau got back. She had to solve some of the mystery before I could have Eri out around her again. I could just see the fight it would've caused if I hadn't hidden Eri. However, with Vylad back, there was a chance that Eri could go out on adventures with me once again.