The Roar of the Night

26

That night, after everything that had happened, I was preparing to go up to the attic. At the end of the day, it was always my refuge, my place to rest and share with Ojitos. But before I got there, I heard the sound of the door opening. Lucy had arrived. He stopped at the table and his eyes lit up when he saw the dinner he had prepared: soup, chicken, salad, mashed potatoes, and his favorite juice. The smile on his face made me feel something warm inside.

"Enjoy it, my little one," I whispered, as I walked away so as not to be seen. Then, with my own plate of food, I went up to the attic.

When I arrived, Little Eyes, who was already waiting with his tail moving non-stop, ran towards me. "Did you see that thing on television, little one?" I said while petting him. I still couldn't believe that a reporter had come to my defense, confronting that idiot who only wanted to defame me. "Maybe I should ignore people like him," I thought out loud, "not all humans will be like that, but it's nice that there are people who see me as a hero."

While Little-Eyes played around me, Venom and I started talking. I put on the Venom mask so he could taste the food I had prepared. When he took it away so I could eat too, we took advantage of the moment to continue talking.

"Rex, have you ever thought about reproduction?" Venom asked suddenly, making him raise an eyebrow. "Do you have any children?" I responded, with genuine curiosity.

"Not like humans do," Venom explained. "We symbionts reproduce asexually. We simply divide. It's something that happens in rare circumstances, and usually doesn't happen when we're with a host. Sometimes we don't even notice it."

"Does that mean you could have a child without realizing it?"

"It's possible, but... it's strange. Without a compatible host, a symbiote couldn't survive. That's why we need to fuse to exist. And that fusion has to be perfect, otherwise the host could die."

The conversation became deeper. Little Eyes was playing between us, and suddenly Venom asked a question that I wasn't expecting.

"Rex, if I had a son... would you like Little Eyes to be his guest?"

"No!" I responded almost immediately. "Ojitos is an innocent puppy. "He deserves to have a full life, to be happy without that kind of burden."

Venom seemed to understand, and I felt his tone soften. "You're right. He is a dog that deserves to be happy."

"If I had to choose someone to save the world with me, it would be Alex," I admitted, as I lay back in my sleeping bag. "Though I wouldn't want him to be my host if he couldn't handle symbiosis."

Venom nodded, then asked me, "How do you know if someone is a match?"

"You don't know," I replied. "That is only revealed when fusing."

Little eyes, as if understanding the depth of the conversation, licked my fingers, and Venom smiled inside my head. "But you're right, Little Eyes has the right to be a happy dog."

Finally, I lay down on the sleeping bag, next to Little Eyes, while Venom also relaxed. We huddled together, and little by little, the tiredness of the day enveloped us.

That night, we slept together, with Little Eyes settling in close to me, and a warm thought in my mind: I will do everything I can to protect this world, just as Alex, Little Eyes, and all those I've saved deserve.