The Unwanted Wendigo [ManxMan]

Twenty-two: Welcome to the Family

~Chapter Twenty-two: Welcome to the Family~

Following Felix's drunken confession, I see neither hide nor tail of the Mer king. It is not that he disappears from the kingdom, as I still hear rumors concerning him and some of the recent things he has done as king, but I have not actually seen him.

Not that I am looking, though.

I would like to be able to say that I am a nice enough being to care enough to keep an eye out for someone who I witnessed breaking down, but I am also the being that left him in the middle of the night once I was sure he was not going to wake up from nightmares. Sure, I was not happy to leave him like that, but...but we are not friends. Just because he is half-heartedly courting me for some complex reason I cannot say I fully understand, that does not mean I have the right to check up on him, nor has he earned the right for me to care.

But maybe I care a little anyway.

However, there is a time and a place for worrying - in bed at night when there is no one else around - and in the middle of a training gym with fifteen other people is not it. Of course, it is not like I am actually one of the ones training, as I would never be that dull, but I am supposed to be spotting Atasah on his weight-things, and though he could probably bench press a couple of people without having his heart rate spike, I am pretty sure seven hundred pounds is a bit much.

Then again, I've heard of some humans going higher than that...well, presumed humans.

Still, Atasah does seem to be struggling a little, so I should probably not space out too much in case he actually needs help. However, watching him lift and lower the same weights over and over gets boring really fast, and my gaze eventually travels downwards to his armpits and sides, which are completely unprotected while he is busy lifting weights. I wonder what would happen if I started tickling him.

Since something tells me that would be bad for Atasah's health, I refrain from testing it out, but I do grin down at the distracted demon to let him know that I was thinking about doing it. It takes him a moment to notice, as he is very focused on the weight-thing, but the moment he does, he kicks his struggling into overdrive to put the weight back on the stand. And since it only takes him a few more seconds, I suppose he felt sufficiently motivated.

"What are you thinking about?" He demands suspiciously, somewhat out of breath as he grabs a towel and wipes the sweat from his forehead without taking his eyes off me.

Is he really expecting a straight answer?

My grin grows. "What makes you think I was thinking anything?"

"You..." he starts accusingly, and then he seems to think better of it, as he shakes his head. "You know what, I don't think I want to know."

My grin slips into a smirk. "Fair."

The demon rolls his eyes before sitting up and tossing the towel to the side. He then walks over to a rack of dull training swords on the wall while I trail curiously behind him. The moment he picks up one of the swords to inspect it, I note the way a few of those currently working out immediately cringe and look away. It takes a moment for me to realize why, but then I catch sight of one off-duty guard trying to hide behind some training equipment when Atasah momentarily strikes a fighting position - a wide foot stance with one hand holding the sword in front while one arm is up, as if holding a phantom sword - and start chuckling, which garners a concerned look from Atasah.

Leaning closer to him, I stage whisper, "You the type to be a sadistic drill sergeant on your off days?

Atasah looks away from me to glance at the other occupants of the room. The Mer all try to look innocent of their earlier reaction, but since they refuse to look at him, and a few of them have moved to the opposite side of the room, they are not doing a very good job of it. "I just appreciate hard work," my demon says, but there is a mischievous glint in his eye that I do not normally get the chance to see, and I can definitely say that I enjoy seeing it now.