The Unwanted Wendigo [ManxMan]

Chapter Forty-five: The Monster - Part Two

~Chapter Forty-five: The Monster~

After dragging me a few feet further from where Alice lies, Jackson stares down at me for another few minutes while Alice slowly but surely burns to a permanent death - that fire had to have been magical; even wendigo bodies do not burn that quickly from such a small flame - before sighing and crouching next to me. "I imagine you must be a bit worried about the backlash of fighting and contributing to the kill of another of our kind," my adopted sire comments, accurately guessing that I am concerned, but incorrectly guessing what about, "but you needn't worry. We have been questioning the safety of leaving her alive for some time, and the fact that she would make deals with gods on behalf of our kind without consulting us, along with her underhanded attempts to steal a nestling...well, she dug her own grave."

The smell of burnt hair and flesh makes the air stiflingly rank. When all I do is wrinkle my nose at how much it makes me want to gag - people don't taste better cooked, and they sure as shooting don't smell better, either - instead of responding, Jackson sighs again. "You need to know that I am also not angry about your disappearance. I am certainly a bit cross with you, but it is not your fault you were taken from us this time. That fault lies on the god who stole you. So, when we return, your punishment will be a very light one."

So, he does know it was a god.

"But first, we will need to wait for Triton to return from conquering the castle," Jackson muses, continuing. "Soon, though, we'll be safely back home, where we can resume your, hmm, lessons."

I eye him. He was going to say conditioning, wasn't he.

The very thought of returning to Ahanu's house in the middle of a lake, far from Fel-no, following Felix's fall from power at the hands of a god since that is the only reason the god would return to us, makes me growl. "I'm not leaving," I inform Jackson, and though it might be a stupid thing to warn him of my impending resistance, I am not going to just nod my head and play nice.

If Triton left to conquer the castle, then Felix could be dead or dying right now, and I wouldn't even know it.

Jackson stiffens before leaning over me with a cool look on his face. "Really?" He questions, though it sounds rhetorical. "And how, exactly, are you going to manage that?"

"I'll fight you if I have to," I reply solemnly, though I remain on the floor. It might not be the most advantageous position, but if I stand up, I open myself up to a lot more. All it would take is for him to hit me hard enough over the head or perform some sort of a fancy choke hold to put me down for the count. On the floor, though, I have at least some wiggle room and the ability to see an attack coming without struggling to keep my one good eye on him at all times.

Jackson's eyes narrow slightly. "And why, exactly, do you want to stay so badly, Lancelot?"

For a moment, I consider not responding at all and just goading him into fighting me already, but...with all he has preached about our bond making us family, and his seemingly genuine care for me, I have to wonder if he might be capable of listening. He's not as bad as Henry, after all.

"I have people I like here."

The unimpressed look I receive immediately starts to make me doubt my odds of convincing him. "You can find people you like elsewhere, Lancelot. Likeable creatures aren't exclusive to a kingdom under the sea," he counters, and okay, maybe I downplayed it a little too much because it is not like he is wrong; he's just not right. "You can easily replace them once we relocate to somewhere...better suited for our kind."

"Not these people," I disagree immediately, struggling to think of how to explain why. Because, I mean, he seems interested, if maybe in a dry way, but it is enough for me to at least try. After all, I really do not think I would be able to take him in a fight after the hits I took from Alice, especially since I never could before while healthy. It was already a bit of a miracle that I sort of defeated Alice; I doubt I will be getting a second favor from the universe any time soon. "They're special."