A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 52: Parting and Portals

Many days later, I wake up. The sun's streaming through the windows in the early evening, only me in the office as I stretch on my chair like a cat.

My feet, bare, swung down. I scooted forward on the chair and hopped off, a bit dizzy, but doing alright.

The floor is cold, but it doesn't perturb me. It feels quite nice, actually. Reminds me I'm awake.

Seeing my mana counter full and a few points over, I decide that today is the day I-no, we-leave.

Thinking that, I slip on the mana clothes I conjured and walked out the door.

It felt a little surreal to be paying my dues at a time like this, since for the last month or so this place had been my home. The wooden walls, smell of disinfectant from my influence and old blood from the storm, cluttered office...

Thankful people, colorful homes, welcoming atmosphere, the feeling that I wanted to achieve in my last life was finally happening...

Time to leave it all behind.

Home was good, sure, but there I had to fake it a lot. My mana couldn't be shown off, I couldn't pull some things there and get away with it as I did with Adoray, I had to be careful about a lot of the things I said...

I trail off in my sentences too much.

But, now that I think about it, this is not my place. Adoray was probably sick of me, the people I had taken care of were only really grateful, the homes were colorful but they were not mine.

It was time to leave.

Thinking that, I strolled down the street and headed on over to the other part of town where Marinette's inn was.

It was bustling at this time of day because it was also an adventurer's hangout, so when I trotted in like a quiet child it was eerie to the people inside.

The people were all much taller than me, buffer, scarier, and everything. It was like one of those rough and tumble bars that no newbie adventurer dares to approach, beer mugs all around and lots of lethal, big, highly sharp weapons.

I wasn't scared off by any of that as I walked straight in, heading for the kitchen where I knew Marinette would be at this time of day. The men all just watched as the door swung shut, my little bare feet making the floor boards creak.

Those eyes, all of them, look at me, emotionless. I ignore them all.

My feet reach the area where all of the steam and clattering of pans goes on, and then I see people. There are about seven of them, three being cooks and the other four as waitresses taking the orders out to the people.

I spot Marinette instantly, doing some weird thing that involves seasoning with herbs I'd never seen before.

"Hello," I call out, peeking behind a wooden cabinet.

Marinette frowns and stops what she's doing, then sees half my face as I try to not intrude in the hot and steaming work space.

"Firea!" She smiles and tells the man next to her to take over. "What're you doing here?" Marinette wipes her hands and comes over to me.

"I came to say goodbye," I backed out of the kitchen, into the noisy bar again. I was so short that I wasn't seen behind the counter where there were tons of alcohol bottles and beer kegs.

"Goodbye? You're leaving?" Marinette talks down to me. "Where?"

The people, all they saw was Marinette talking to the floor.