The Unwanted Wendigo [ManxMan]

Chapter Twenty-one: Couch Confessions

~Chapter Twenty-one: Couch Confessions~

Though Cyra and I talked for at least a few hours on Tuesday while I kept her out of her room, it still ended with me dropping her back off into the one place she should probably not be spending too much time alone right now. It was not really that I wanted to leave her, but talking about Henry - even if I did not actually tell her most of the story or how it ended - always frustrates me, and I did not want to accidentally take it out on her. However, since our talk a few days ago, I have not heard from her, nor have I seen her, despite the fact that I have been basically haunting the halls in wait.

At this rate, I'll probably be turned into some legend about a ghost that lives in the palace.

Giselle and Valentin are not exactly happy that I have been haunting the castle by myself, and they had a few words to say to me about how inappropriate it is for me to even be spending time in the same building as the Mer courting me - especially a building under Fish Man's direct control - but it is not like they have time to follow my aimless walking of the palace corridors, and they are also not my jailors. At most, they could probably request that the guards keep me from entering the palace alone, but they know well enough by now that when I visit the castle, it is not Fish Man that I am looking to visit, so denying me access would hardly be fair.

After all, more often than not, when Cyra is not available, I just find Atasah. Unfortunately, though, because Atasah has been so busy with his newer duties as the Captain-something trainee, we have not had much time to talk, but he still inquires about my health and hunger at least once a day, so I can hardly say that he has forgotten me in the chaos. And when we are not talking, he still lets me dog his steps like a persistent shadow, even if he pretends I do not exist when he is actually doing something important. Sometimes, I also sneak up on him and give him a good scare to keep him on his toes, since the demon should know better than to let his guard down when I am bored.

If anyone's been forgotten, it's actually probably Fish Man.

Despite his recent coronation, the king has largely been left out of the gossip loops. Instead, most of what I overhear from people - servants, guards, random Mer when swimming to the palace, my hosts - is centered around the attack. The story had been released to the public almost immediately after Nero, his team, and I left the city, but despite having since been assured that the creature responsible is dead, I have yet to hear anyone actually say they feel safe. Logically, they all seem to know that, even if the creature were still alive, the magical barrier in the dome that protects from malicious or aggressive beings would stop that thing, too, but they are afraid to leave the dome now, and that is slowly hurting the city, as fewer people are venturing out to gather things like food or materials for their craft.

However, handling the underlying fear and unease is not my job, even if I have been letting Atasah know about any particularly concerning rumors that I happen to overhear. After all, it is one thing to hear people admit they are jumping at anytime they see shadows outside the dome, but it is another thing entirely to hear a person contemplating leaving the city to live with the humans where it could, theoretically, be safer, even though it actually is not. From what I have learned during my time here, Mer need to swim pretty frequently to avoid drying out their skin, and living on land would raise the risk of exposure to the humans.

I'm all for a little chaos, but I don't think the humans're ready for that kind of reveal just yet.

Still, despite the occasional whispered word to Atasah, I generally stay out of it, which is why I eventually end up in a random palace library again while my demon handles a meeting concerning the levels of fear in the city. Maybe if it actually sounded interested, I would have joined in on it, as I was invited, but the second Atasah mentioned that there would be talk of a budget, I ditched him and found my way here. I probably could have gone to find Cyra, but it is pretty late in the evening, so it is not like she will likely still be awake or, at least, accepting company.