Caught by a Hunter

Chapter 11

Alderoth opened the small gate which let out a familiar little creak and he looked around. Nothing had changed and thinking about it almost made him laugh. Why would anything have changed in such a short time? Of course there was always danger that chapaas might've raided his home while he was gone but lucky for him, nothing like that had happened.

He looked at his mailbox that was stuffed full and he huffed, taking all the mail. It was all mostly just pamphlets for Zeki's store, again. That grimalkin really did not give up easily, he was almost impressed.

"You're going to lose a fortune just because of these papers..." Alderoth muttered as he went through his mail while going inside.

There weren't really any letters, only one from Elouisa where she told she had found some interesting old tale about a mysterious animal that used to – probably – live during the time humans still existed. She wanted to talk about it with him.

He chuckled and put away the papers. He wondered what that animal could possibly be and why Elouisa sounded so excited to talk with him about it. He let down his messy hair, running his fingers through the blue and orange locks and trying to comb away a few knots while he was looking for his brush.

After finding it he was so glad he could finally get his hair untangled and he used the ribbon, tying it back up again. Now it was starting to feel like everything was back to normal. Or as normal as things could be.

Alderoth went through some of his things and tried to decide what he should take with him. He wouldn't be staying with Hassian and Sifuu for more than a day or maybe two so he didn't really need much.

If he was honest, the idea of leaving Sifuu's house made him feel slightly sad. It did feel ridiculous, he had been there only for a short time but still... He enjoyed being there. It was a lot different than staying here in his tiny cottage, far away from others. He knew he had to leave, he couldn't just stay if there was no need for it. He was a grown man, he had to take care of himself without constantly relying on someone else.

Alderoth did not hurry while walking towards the town, partly because his body was still aching a bit but also because there really wasn't any hurry anywhere. He wasn't trying to find something to do or find someone, he was just enjoying this relaxing moment and looking around.

If he was honest he had noticed it too how short tempered he had been earlier, Hassian pointing that out didn't come as a shock to him. But maybe - at least partly - the reason for it was the fact that he simply had tried too hard to fit in and do whatever he could and when he couldn't see any clear results, he just got stressed, frustrated and anxious.

He knew he had to learn to be more patient. It was not one of his strongest traits for sure, but he had to try. He had to remind himself that eventually he too would become part of this community. He might not really need constant company of others, but he too did want to feel like he belonged here.

When he got in town the first thing he did was to return the book he borrowed from the library a few days earlier. He thanked Caleri for entrusting this book to him even though she had had doubts if he would take good care of it. Thankfully the librarian seemed pleased with the condition of the book and Alderoth smiled a bit when she said that maybe she might even be willing to lend him more books in the future.

It was a win, right? Small one, but still a win.

From there Alderoth continued his walk and stopped when he got to the familiar looking store. He had not visited Tish's store even once yet during his whole time in Kilima and now he felt a bit embarrassed because of it. He knew Tish because she was Reth's sister and he had met her every now and then, but he had not actually visited her store even once.