Expectations When Expecting

Chapter 18

The three teens and the cat monster raced out of the abandoned dwarfs' mine, clutching the magestone they had recovered. They rushed into the silent woods, only to realize that the giant, inky monster had managed to follow them. The monster howled and gurgled on its own ink as it approached them.

Ace looked back, incredulous and nervous at the sight of such a disgusting monster stomping toward them.

"Are you kiddin' me?!" He cried in exasperation. "It's still coming! It pushed off all that weight!"

Yuu felt her heart drop at the knowledge.

"Giiive it baaaaack...!" The giant roared, launching a tree at the group, Yuu barely managing to dodge it.

"It's too fast!" Deuce gasped, exhausted. "It's about to catch us!" He stated nervously as he began to fall behind.

"You know what? Fuck it! Then it's kill or be killed!" She cried, glaring at the monster, shaking as she guarded her abdomen. Ace seemed to notice her fear, but followed along, a crazed smirk painted on his face.

"Aw, yeah! Let's just smash the thing. Try not to wet yourself, Deucey!"

"Same to you, Ace!" Deuce smirked back, clutching his magic pen.

Yuu watched as Grim placed himself in front of her. "I'm gonna show ya why they call me Grim the Great!" She watched Grim inhale, puffing out his chest. It was a clear indication of the monster's signature attack of blue flames. She gave Grim a grateful smile as she picked up a stone.

Yuu pulled her arm back, eyes locking onto the monster giant, glass head with only one conclusion in mind. Break the head and it will die.

When Grim released his flurry of flames, she threw the rock as hard as she could, hearing the satisfying cracking sound, and she picked up a second stone she watched, weaving between the trees, similarly to the way she would when playing hunters with her friends as a child. She pulled back her arm again when the monster was distracted. She took a breath as she aimed, her eyes fixated on the cracked part of the monster.

And as she released the stone, there was one final CLANG that echoed in the woods. Yuu felt herself be pulled away, a white light seemingly keeping her from being crushed or drowned by the monster. She shut her eyes in fear and surprise of the light that blinded her bracing herself.

She froze when she felt the cool, ghostly brush of a hand against her face. Tentatively, the young woman opened her eyes for long enough to catch a glimpse of who had touched her, only to see the familiar form of her deceased lover leading a small man away. She saw the smaller figure pause, turning toward her before nodding what appeared to be his gratitude. She nodded back, watching the two figures retreat before she realized that she had not been breathing.

Yuu took a gasp of air, registering the sounds of triumph of the boys, Grim happily prancing around her. He stopped in front of her, sharp teeth flashing a happy smile at her, and he held up one paw.

"C'mon! Gimme a victory high-five!"

Yuu felt a relieved smile form on her lips as she bent down, giving a high five to the cat. She looked to Ace and Deuce, whose celebrations were ongoing. She stood up Grim scampering onto her shoulders.

"Shared adversity sure brings people together, huh?" She gave a smirk as she noticed the boys scramble backward.

"Uh... I don't think that had anything to do with it." Deuce muttered, rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt to soothe his embarrassment.

"Yeah! Spare us the clichés, bro." Ace chimed, face slightly red.

"There's no "together" here! We won 'cause of me!" Grim bragged, nose held high. "This is all from me bein' a magical genius!"

"Hush you." She half-scolded before noticing Ace's expression toward her.

"Y'know... I hate to admit it, but... We mostly won because of your plan."

"Yeah... if you hadn't managed to keep your cool and tell us all what to do, we never would have got this magestone." Deuce agreed, noticing the sudden sheepish appearance of Yuu. He said something else that Yuu couldn't quite remember, apparently a thanks for preventing the expulsion.

"Aww, c'mon guys. It wasn't really much... I'm just glad no one got hurt." She muttered shyly.

"Yeah, yeah, lessons were learned, et cetera. Can we just go home already? I'm wiped." Ace remarked.

"I think that may be the most logical thing you've said since I met you." She teased.

"Shut up!"

"UGH, Usin' all that magic made me hungry!" Grim whined, annoyed before he paused. Yuu stopped, noting the strange-looking stone on the ground.

"Huh? What's this?" Grim made his way to the mysterious object, picking it up in his paws and bringing the stone up to his nose curiously.

"Is that a part of the monster we just beat?" Deuce questioned. "It looks like... a magestone? But it's black as coal! I've never seen one like that before."

Yuu watched, her eyes narrow, watching Grim as he sniffed the stone, his eyes widening. "Woah! What IS this? It smells amazing!" He took a deep sniff of the stone once more, eyes wide with excitement.

Yuu recognied the look in Grim's eyes as the same one her dog had when she'd accidentally dropped a $100 bill. She tensed, completely prepared to scramble to wrestle it out of Grim jaws. Maybe he won't try to eat it? Hopefully?

"What are you, Insane?" Ace exclaimed.

"Must be some kinda fancy monster candy that it was hidin' from us! If this tastes half as good as it smells..."

It all happened much quicker than she'd expected. Grim opened his maw, tossing the entire stone in before the sound of crunching was heard.

"Grim, you trash panda!" Yuu screeched. "Spit it out! Out! Bad cat!"

She rushed to open is jaws when she heard the heavy swallow. A very loud meow echoed in the woods, startling the group.

"Are you okay?!" Deuce squawked in surprise.

"That's what you get for eating trash!" Ace stated, eyes trained on the monster.

"Oooooogh... Urrrgggh... That..." Grim groaned out. " ...was AMAZING!" The group stared, bewildered at the cat's pleased smile.

"Rich in flavor and full-bodied... Like sweet, fragrant flowers burstin' into bloom on my tongue. A whole field of 'em! Right in my mouth!" He sang, praising the flavor of a random stone. Yuu's shock quickly melted as she slightly knocked the cat on the head.

"Darn it Grim! I thought you were going to die!"

"Gross. Monsters must have real weird tastes." Ace stated, earning himself agreements from both of the other humans.

"And... you're sure you're okay?" Yuu asked, examining her cat.

Grim belted out a cocky laugh. "Don't worry about me. I don't got a weak stomach like you humans do."

Ace snorted, looking at Grim. "Hmph. We'll see if you're so smug when you're sick later tonight."

"Okay, let's pull ourselves together. We need to get this magestone to the headmage!"