Pet Human

PART 8: Back with Bastion

I run so fast I almost stumble over the red velvet carpets covering the staircase.

And yes, standing in the hall, there he is, surrounded by two guards in armor.

I rush to him grabbing him in a hug.

"Bastion!"

The two guards get aggravated and draw their swords.

"Hey, back of from the count!"

Bastion halts them by holding his hand.

"Hush, guards! Let my pet get close to me..."

He returns the hug.

"Well, Micheal, my affairs took longer than expected, it seems you really missed me!"

I hug him tighter.

"Yes, I really missed you..."

I genuinely feel way safer near him.

Especially after the way the house staff handled me.

Bastion signals his guards to leave him alone, and they walk back outside.

"Alright, Micheal, time to get to serious business again. Let go please."

I release my hug.

Even when I have to let go, I still feel safe in his general presence.

"Alright, Bastion, can I... tell you something?"

"Not now, Micheal. We still have some things to do, first I will finally get you to meet Quesanta, then I will feed of you for the first time, then I have to go and see my kids, and then its already dinner... I want to listen to you, Micheal, really I do. But for today i'm far too busy, alright?"

Aw man! I wanted to tell him about how the house staff treated me!

But fine, Bastion is the only person I can rely on as of now, and if he needs time, he can have it.

"Alright, so, Quesanta, huh?"

"Indeed. Follow me."

Bastion leads me up the stairs before leading me through several hallways.

As Halsey has already guided me, it feels more familiar, I also think I know where we are going.

In the tour, Halsey also told me that one of the doors was to Quesanta's office, i'm sure Bastion is leading me there.

"Hey, where are we going? Where is Quesanta?"

Bastion stops and turns around.

"He is in his office right now. Quesanta has always been a very good friend to me, I did not let him stay with me for nothing! Most of the time he is there, handling most of our paperwork. I too sign some documents here and there, but the real bulk of the work is for him. Just... act respectful when we enter, alright? Quesanta deserves it."

He places his hands on my shoulders, making it clear that he is very serious.

"I understand, Bastion, I will behave."

"Good, now lets go!"

He leads me through the halls faster now, almost pulling me to where he wants me.

Its better than being with his house staff, really.

Walking through he halls at a bit of a rushed pace, Bastion eventually stops in front of a door.

"Here we are then, Micheal, now, remember, behave respectful."

I nod, and then Bastion swings open the door, and then walks in with his arms open in the air, like he is welcoming a good friend.

"Quesanta! Good buddy of me!"

A vampire that sits behind the desk in the room stands up and comes to Bastion.

"Bastion! What brings you here, pal?"

While they have their greeting, I take the opportunity to look around the room.

Its clearly a well spaced office, looks like Quesanta really wants a lot of space for work.

The walls, well, there are really no walls in sight, only bookcases, bookcases all containing stacks and stacks of papers.

Wow... Quesanta must work ridiculously hard if this is all the work he has done.

And then, in what timespan? How long did he take for all of this? A year? A month? 

Even his grand desk in the back of the room is littered with papers and various office supplies.

And next to that there is not exactly anything else in the room...  I mean, there is a table in the corner, but it really is very small and ads almost no detail whatsoever.

I look back at Bastion and Quesanta, who seemingly are done talking.

"Ah, and this, good friend, this is the new pet I purchased!"

Bastion presents me with pride.

Quesanta walks up to me and pets me.

"Aww... good pick, Bastion!"

"his name is Micheal. Say hello, Micheal!"

"Um... hi?"

Quesanta bursts out laughing.

"Haha, your very funny! Nice to meet you, Pet Mike!"

Mike? 

This guy is very interesting, giving me a nickname straight of the bat!

"Thanks, I, uh, have only lived here for about a day, so, hehe..."

"Totally understand, Pet Mike. Now, i'm afraid you won't be seeing me too often in your days here, as i'm mostly at work here or in places where you are not allowed to go, so, yeah, you get me!"

Ha, this is funny, not understandable and mysterious at the same time!

Quesanta seems to not really have his mind reading on me, I mean, from his personality at the moment I presume...

Maybe I can pry some answers out of him about this castle, and the places I am not allowed into for some reason.

"Haha, wait, other places? This office is not your temporary workspace?"

"I work places, alright? I work here, the basement, and even the kitchen at times!"

Bastion laughs and joins in on the speaking.

"He is not lying! He can make some killer blood sausage and when he does, the house staff get some well deserved time of!"

They both laugh, even I laugh along.

But in my mind, while they have their mind reading ability not focused, I start to think about what Quesanta said.

He works in the basement? Does... could he have something to do with the strange light on the picture of the house staff Halsey gave me?

I want to think more, but Bastion then speaks to me.

"Alright, Micheal. That is enough time spend here, its time for the main thing we had planned today."

Oh boy, wait, what was the main thing again? Wait, that's right! he is going to feed of me...

I decide to go along, after all, there is a first to everything.

Quesanta winks and waves me a goodbye.

"See you maybe another time, Pet Mike!"

I smile at him before also waving goodbye and leaving the room with Bastion.

Bastion walks me through several hallways, and stops in front of...

the red door from earlier...