You Owe Me Two

Chapter 12 - Paintings of Amazement

××Zypher××

Waking up multiple times during the night due to the strangers in the room caused me to feel very unrested when I finally woke up for the final time. The sunrise was just beginning to peek above the horizon.

I stood slowly from the bed, not wanting to wake Wild from her peaceful slumber. I winced with each creak of the mattress. Turning to look at her, I couldn't help but smile. As soon as I had stood, she had curled in on herself and now had hair all over her face. I allowed myself to brush away a few strands just so I could see her better. 

I forced myself away and into the bathroom, finally taking a good look at the flattering bedhead I was sporting. It didn't really matter if Wild saw it; she had seen it plenty of times now but the strangers didn't need to see me at any state but peak.

I quickly did my business and left the bathroom, not feeling entirely comfortable with leaving Wild and the other two in the room alone.

The two strangers were still sound asleep in their bed, huddled together and both turned towards the exit of the room.

I sat down at the end of our bed and pulled the curtain open a little farther so I could watch the sunrise as I waited. Wild deserved a little extra sleep after being kept up half of the night.

I waited about an hour before deciding to wake Wild up. I rounded the side of the bed and leaned down to gently shake her shoulder.

She grimaced and tried to push my hand away but finally, after failing multiple times, popped her eyes open.

"Good morning. It's time to get up," I said, sending her a playful smile, knowing full well she wasn't exactly a morning person.

"Good morning," she grumbled back. She threw the blankets off of herself in a huff and stomped into the bathroom. I chuckled and began loading our things back into my bag. It wasn't much considering I didn't trust the strangers not to snatch something during the night.

Wild came back out of the bathroom with her long hair tied up in a loose braid. She stopped when her eyes landed on the bed on the other side of the room.

She frowned at them before turning the frown to me. She outstretched her hand towards me and waited expectantly.

I stared back, very unhappy.

Neither of us backed down.

And after a full minute of silence, I caved and pulled our extra food supply from my bag. It wasn't much, just some dried meat and a few berries but Wild was adamant we leave it for them.

"I feel bad for them," She whispered as she quietly opened the door.

I nodded my head in understanding, despite not sharing the same sentiment for people I didn't know, and pushed her out the door when she tried to take one last look at them.
She waited for me to close the door, and just for her, I shut it quietly.

"Are you hungry?" I questioned as I held the door leading outside open. She slipped under my arm, nodding in the positive as she went.

"Good. So am I."

I took the lead once we got outside and led Wild through the streets until we reached a more familiar path.

"If my memory serves me right, there should be a diner around here with delicious rabbit meat," I said, taking a sharp turn to the left and pulling Wild  with me.

"What about their salads or fruit? I've had way too much meat lately," Wild groaned.

"I have no idea. I didn't know you didn't like meat that much," I said, reading the signs as we continued to walk.

"It's alright but I like to have a more balanced diet. The um, old man only fed me fruit so it was a big change when all we ate at the beginning was meat." I watched from the corner of my eyes as Wild anxiously wrung her hands together.

We hadn't talked about her being kidnapped before. She had never mentioned it. Not once.

I slowly brought my hand down to hers and grabbed them both to cease the worrying movement. She snapped her head up to look at me confused and I tried to give her a warm smile in return.

She slowly smiled back and intertwined our fingers together before we began walking again.

"We're here," I announced, dropping into a dead stop. Wild bumped into my side with a grunt before stumbling back. She looked straight up to read the dark blue sign hanging above the door.

"Mako's Diner? That sounds like a place for fish," Wild accused.

"Well it's not. C'mon," I gripped her hand tighter and tugged her inside. The door swung open and I immediately felt the effects of the cooling magic the owners had purchased since the last time I ate here. A nice drift of air swam around us; a very pleasant contrast to the heat outside.

Chatter filled my ears and eyes glanced over to see who walked in but my eyes were locked on Wild who was staring in amazement around her. The walls were painted different environments: deep green forests, dry deserts, the dark blue sea. In each picture, animals were hidden, just waiting to be found by the viewer.

My favorite painting was the ceiling though and I think Wild liked it too. Her eyes were glued on the pretty colors above her. It went from dark to light. Sunset to sunrise with all the colors you could imagine.

"This is amazing," Wild breathed, turning her amazed gaze to me. I was honored to view the sight.

"I'm glad you like it," I said. A woman walked up to us and led us to a small booth in the corner. Wild slid into the booth, ordered her drink, and then went back to examining the painted walls.

I'm glad I was able to make her happy. That was my goal now: her happiness.

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Basically there's like a wizard corporation that sells semi permanent cooling magic and like Ice Boxes to keep food cold

Also this chapter is mushy, Zypher is a simp