~ Chromatober 2024 ~

Day 4: Soft/Letter

Ok, so on occasion I spin a wheel to determine what AU to write for an- WE SHALL SEE WHAT I MAKE OF THIS- Gosh, Lady Xara help me. XD

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Series: Rainbow Quest

AU: Villainous

Characters: Elemental, Leif!

Angst level: Fluff! ... Or is it? :)

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"Who's a good boy??" A happy bark answers me as I ruffle Leif's fur. He pants happily at the pets, making a goofy face at me. His fur was silky soft against my hands as I just pet Leif, then pick him up and cuddle him.

The doggy smell of his fur fills my nose as I breath in, then sigh. Leif wiggles a bit, trying to lick my face. I laugh at his attempts, my voice echoing off of the walls. "Yes you are! You're the good boy!"

My furry friend barks again and finally manages to lick my face, leaving his slobber over my face. "Ack! Leif! Haha- Stop that!" My voice echoes back to me from the room and halls and I look around. Leif licks my face again, drawing me back to him and making me laugh. "Ay, no more kisses!" With a smile, I set my fluffy friend down, giving him another pet, his soft fur under my fingers.

He tries to hop up again, wanting me to carry him, but I shake my head with a smile. "Nope! No more carry cuddles for now buddy!" He whines a bit, but I just chuckle, then make my way into the kitchen. My footsteps echo on the hard floor with the tick-tack of Leif's claws as he walks beside me. I beeline over to the fridge to open it, but sigh at the nearly empty interior. "Ok... Let's see," I mumble to myself before reaching in for a covered plate. I lift the towel off of it to see a half-eatten meal of greens and chicken. With a sigh, I take the plate then set it on the counter and close the fridge. I take the towel off of the plate and set it off to the side before I take the plate, then rest my hand under the plate, letting the heat from my body intensify enough to heat up the food. Once I see some steam rising off of the food, I let my hand cool, then open the counter drawer to grab out a fork.

Leif follows at my side as I make my way from the kitchen and into the living room to sit down on the couch. I flop down on it, sighing, as Leif hops up beside me. I don't spare a moment to grab the chicken off of my plate and tear off some pieces to hand to Leif. He eagerly snaps up each piece, wagging his tail happily. A small smile crosses my face, watching him eat. Once I finish giving him all of my chicken, I wipe my hands on my clothes before I turn to grab my fork and dig into the greens.

The sound of my fork scraping against the plate fills the room as Leif settles his head on my lap, curling up beside me with a small huff. "Me too, buddy. Me too," I mumble, feeling just- tired. Once all of the food was off of the plate, I set the fork on the plate then set the plate down on the coffee table in front of me. My eyes trail to the black envelope laying in the middle of the table, the pale paper that had been inside it laying upside down to the side of it.

A sick feeling settles in my stomach just looking at it, but I push it down. That letter... Was going to have an answer soon.

With a sigh, I rest my hand on Leif's neck and rub it. He looks up at me as I pet him, a bit of a sad look in his eyes. Somewhere, Time read that wolves are able to sense the emotions of their companions. So... I guess that Leif knew I was upset. To which- I was.

I should... stop waiting. I needed to leave Leif with somebody in case I-

I'm sure he'd be fine.

"Well... ready to go, bud," I ask my four-legged friend who sits up, my hand still on his neck. Just giving him a solemn smile, I stand up from the couch. Leif hops off, his tail wagging slowly. I give one last glance to the blank envelope, letter, and plate, before sighing and clicking my tongue. "Come on, Leif. Let's go."

As I walk away, I could only envision the singular paragraph on that letter. The few sentences that made my stomach churn.

"Elemental Steve,

I hope this letter reached you very quickly. I assure you I sent this out as soon as he came! Your brother paid me a visit. I hope you don't mind that he's staying here for a bit. Then again... You should probably come and make my acquaintance as well. I can't say Time Steve will be in the best condition when you arrive.

-S."