Displaced

Chapter 52

"Here you go, Mister Salvide," Sofie said, handing the parchment to her boss as he finished packing the last of his family's possessions. "The completed inventory you asked for. I hope it helps you when you get... wherever you end up."

"Thank you, child, you've been a treasure," the old tailor replied with a smile. "You know, there's one last empty seat, should you want it..."

"That's very kind of you, sir, but here is where I need to be right now. This is where I'm needed."

"I knew you would say something like that. Truly a shame."

"Thanks for not giving me a hard time about it. I get enough of that at home."

"We have to leave a few things behind. They are yours if you want them."

She gave the old man a hug. "Good luck! Stay safe, now."

"That's what I should be saying, not you."

Sofie waved enthusiastically at the retreating wagon as it made its way down the street and towards the closest gate. With her boss and his family fleeing from the upcoming battle, it looked like she was unemployed once more. Not that she blamed them for hightailing it out of there; anybody with the means to get away would have to be insane to stay with an army bearing down on the city.

The thought made her sigh. She couldn't deny that what she was doing was objectively absurd, but she'd made a promise to stick by Arlette and support her no matter what, and she intended to keep that promise, even if nobody, not even Arlette, thought she was making the right choice. She just wished that her decision didn't mean putting Pari in harm's way as well. The adorable child would never agree to separating. She seemed to fear being alone more than any actual physical danger. In fact, Pari seemed strangely fearless about most anything that might kill her. Bounty hunters? Nothing to be afraid of. A conquering army poised to slaughter all resistance? No big deal. A giant toad monster that spit acid strong enough to eat through nearly anything? Yawn! She'd been so unafraid of that ronutepo that she'd even crawled into the dead beast's maw and, after covering herself in the creature's disgustingly viscous mucus, harvested its acid sac for future candle experiments. Then, covered from head to toe in the toad beast's vile secretions and giggling like she hadn't just been toying with deadly corrosive substances, she'd chased Sofie through the tunnels, threatening to wipe the horrid snot dripping from her hands and arms all over Sofie's delightfully un-snotted body like the evil little demon that she was. Robotic vacuum cleaners, on the other hand, were a terrifying menace that needed to be eradicated posthaste.

Speaking of Pari, it was time to go round the little beastgirl up. When Arlette was on duty and Sofie had to work, she took Pari along with her, letting her go out and amuse herself in the neighborhood around the shop. It helped give the girl some stimulation and let her expand her horizons a bit and hopefully even make some friends with the other children in the area. Perhaps more importantly, it also meant that Sofie and Arlette didn't have to worry about coming back to find their home burnt to the ground.

"Pari!" Sofie called as she stood outside the shop. "Pari, it's time to go!"

Nothing. Strange, normally she'd come shooting out from some alley or something within a few seconds.

"Pari?! Pari, come out!"

Still nothing. Sofie felt a pang of worry shoot through her. She gave it another minute, but still the child did not materialize.

Now somewhat trepidatious, Sofie made her way into the nearby alleyways. Several tense minutes later, to her relief, she found the beastgirl sitting against a wall, hugging her legs to her chest. The girl seemed lost in thought.