Chapter 321 (1/2)

The grim faced riders provided Randidly with a very basic map, which would enable him to leave their location and find the Refuge. They seemed profoundly displeased when he thanked them, and said he would need to delay his actual departure by a few days though. When asked why, Randidly gestured towards Neveah, who was trying to touch her nose to her tail, forming a perfect circle.

“Hmph,” A black haired man snorted. “Well, don’t blame us when we move on, and you become monster feed.”

“Don’t worry about that. Your name is really Ghosthound though, wow, that’s such a fun name!” The Wild Rider chattered, sounding extremely strange in the weird echo that came from her Regalia.

Randidly shook his head. You are the first person to ever say that…

For his part, the rider’s face twisted, but he couldn’t say anything to directly contradict the Wild Rider. Strangely, Randidly felt some sympathy for the man. It must not be easy, acting as a glorified babysitter to this young girl, without even knowing it…

“Body fun.” Neveah said, rolling over towards the talking people eager to be a part of the strange interaction, now that she had a body. Randidly smiled, but the surrounding people scuttled back, annoyed at her antics. At least the riders.

The mounts seemed profoundly skittish around her, and for good reason. Not only was she double as big as most of them, she probably weighed about 5 times as much as the heaviest of them. She was just in another class of beast. She was, or used to be, a Raid Boss.

After some more stares, and the riders pleading with the Wild Rider to take care of some other things, the group wandered off, leaving Randidly alone with Neveah. Feeling relieved, he walked over to her and patted her bone exoskeleton awkwardly. Could she even feel this…?

Whether or not she could actually feel it with any sort of fineness didn’t really matter to a creature who had not had a body before an hour ago, so it was enough that she rolled around, brushing up against him and causing him to stagger slightly. After chuckling, Randidly hopped on top of her body and began to walk along it.

When she spoke next, it was through their connection. Confusing.

“What’s confusing?” Randidly asked, walking along her spine, trying to balance as she began to roll onto her side, to peer up at what he was doing.

You. Name. They wrong. But you make so.

“...It’s… called lying.” Randidly said, wondering really how developed the intelligence of Neveah was. It was something worth investigating. Especially because they would be bound from now on, working together as a team. Even now, it made him slightly uncomfortable, but that was the way it was.

So even though he didn’t like it, Randidly continued speaking. “I told them my name was David… to avoid a monster who was seeking me…”

But as he trailed off, Randidly felt something strange through their bond. A displeasure. Neveah sensed through their connection that this wasn’t the whole truth. Randidly laughed out loud, feeling strangely relieved, and also strangely insulted.

He was never very good at communicating, and the people around him knew it. So when he was awkward and slow to say something, they just assumed it was because it was difficult for him to speak. Which was part of the truth, but it wasn’t all of it. Which Neveah could sense, and her… perhaps naive nose pressed deeper, intent on finding the whole truth.

Randidly was forced now, by this bone wurm, to reveal that whole truth, the bit that he always kept back. And strangely… he didn’t mind it.

“I… also didn’t use my name because…” Randidly hesitated for a second before continuing. “Because my name means something here, in this area. I have a reputation…. And it’s so weird. People look at me for guidance. They rely on me to protect them. Both of which are fine, I can handle it but… they don’t understand me. So they push and push…”

After trailing off for a second, Randidly found his voice again, hopping down off of Neveah, and turning to her. “It’s the same with the Wild Rider. Did you see the way they treated her? Did you understand what was going on…? Well it might be hard, but the people around her think they know what is best for her, and want to control her. Or protect her, whatever it is that they tell themselves. I don’t want that. I don’t want…”

Want me?

The question was surprisingly frank, and Randidly started. He looked at her with sad eyes, a small smile on his face. Sad because she had to ask, but smiling because the question was surprisingly easy.