Chapter 24 (1/2)

Tafel’s face paled and she crouched while hugging her stomach. Vur was standing in front of a behemoth bear corpse with his hands dripping blood. Vur turned and looked at Tafel with a smile on his face.

“Are you okay?” he asked while reaching towards her.

Tafel fell over and scrambled backwards, dragging her clothes against the grass. She stared at Vur with wide eyes and her body trembled.

Vur stepped forward.

“D-don’t touch me!” Tafel yelled as tears sprang to her eyes. She curled up into a ball and clutched her shoulders.

Vur lowered his hand and tilted his head. He looked at his hands and remembered being scolded by Lindyss for spreading blood everywhere. His eyes glowed and a stream of water materialized in front of him. He rinsed the blood off and crouched next to Tafel.

“The blood’s gone now,” Vur said while raising his hands, “see?”

Tafel raised her head and looked at Vur with wide eyes. She didn’t say anything.

“What’s wrong?” Vur asked.

Tafel’s lips trembled. “Y-you’re scary,” she whispered and lowered her eyes.

Vur’s eyebrows knit together. He sat down next to her, leaving more space than usual. “I don’t understand,” he said as he looked at her.

Tafel shook her head and closed her eyes. The two sat unmoving. A rabbit hopped out of a bush and scampered past the bear corpse.

“Do you ever get scared?” Tafel asked with her eyes still closed.

“Sometimes,” Vur said, “auntie’s very scary if you wake her up.”

A moment of silence passed. Tafel raised her head and looked at Vur. “Is that it?” she asked.

Vur nodded. “Why are you scared of me?” he asked.

“When your eyes glowed and you killed the bear and smiled… You didn’t seem like a person anymore,” Tafel said, “it felt like you were going to eat me next when you looked at me.” Tafel shivered and clutched her sleeves while looking down.

She heard Vur stand up and felt his hand on her head.

“I would never hurt you,” Vur said.

Tafel looked up and stared him in the eyes.

“Promise?”

Vur nodded. “Promise.”

###################################################################

Zollstock groaned and opened his eyes. Grey stalactites hung tens of meters above him. A breeze rolled over him and he shivered. He looked at his body and saw his discarded clothes hanging from nearby stalagmites. It wasn’t a dream? he thought. He stood up and saw Lindyss sitting on a chair in a corner knitting a sweater.

“You should put some clothes on before the children get back,” she said without looking up. She was wearing a purple robe and her light brown hair was tied in a bun behind her head. Zollstock stared for a second before nodding. He stumbled as he got dressed.

“That was amazing,” he said. Lindyss smiled, but didn’t say anything.

“Was that a one-time thing or…?” Zollstock said and his voice trailed off.

Lindyss laughed. “You want to do it again already?” Lindyss asked with a smile as her eyes twinkled, “the children will be back with food soon you know?”