Chapter 50
[Rex POV]
My hope for the night was to learn something further from Lil’ Rex, but all he could communicate was that the Stag Lord was asleep and would tell me when I was needed.
With nothing else to do, I focused on extending the range that Lil’ Rex and I could be apart. It was significantly easier than expected, but I imagined it would get exponentially more complicated the more of them I made.
We even tried hunting a little, though not to much success. Lil’ Rex would act as a distraction, but he was too slow to outrun most enemies. And I had greatly underestimated the feedback of pain that I felt whenever he got injured.
Unlike regular combat, where I could see the attack coming and mentally prepare for the resulting pain, this could come on without warning. On the plus side, fighting with our shared senses was easy for me, thanks to it being effectively the same as sharing my eyesight with Tiara.
Anyway, we lost every fight, but the experience improved my ability to keep Lil' Rex materialised even under pressure. I'm not sure yet how this was all going to benefit me, but I trusted the process.
I awoke in a warm bed. This was deeply troubling, considering I had fallen asleep hidden in the sports field.
The room was different from usual; it was one I did not recognise. Some investigation was required, it seemed.
From a glance, I determined his room belonged to a male, so at least I wasn’t likely to be branded a pervert.
Shirts, shorts, workout equipment, and a timetable where every elective was related to physical activity. A lack of framed pictures or decorations left the room bland unless one counted all the dirty clothes strewn about.
If this were a boy's room, I could just walk out, right? Nobody would question a friend dropping into their mate's place.
And so I casually opened the door.
And immediately slammed it shut again.
Girls. A whole bunch of them were loitering outside their rooms, chatting in their pyjamas.
I was foolish. I should have gone through the underwear drawer and confirmed the gender of this room's owner before coming to rash conclusions.
No need to do that now, though. The truth was already revealed.
I could still walk out without a care. It wouldn't really do much to harm my reputation.
But the same couldn’t be said for the poor girl whose bed I had awoken in. Who knows how she would be treated if a strange man came out of her room so early in the morning?
I wasn't heartless. I could at least avoid troubling others when possible.
The window? No… it looked like we were two floors up, and without any assistance from Tiara, I had no way of making a jump like that.
As I stood at the window, I saw the villains behind this with my own two eyes.
Lily, Ada, and Rose. An unholy trinity had formed in the name of screwing with me.
Lily and Ada would have both known I wouldn't awaken if they transported me roughly, and Rose had just been thrown to the wolves by me hours prior. They had means and motive both, and now waited like vultures to feast on my scraps once the hyenas caught me.
But I would not give them the satisfaction. I waved at them calmly, even flashing a smile to cause their own to falter in disbelief.
I opened the window and made a kissing sound. It was the way I called my most reliable companion.
My hopes were shattered, however, as Ada revealed that my ally had been captured and was helpless to respond.
Tiara was in her arms, a satchel of what I assumed to be catnip dangling above her, keeping her distracted and unaware of my predicament.
I gave them the appropriate hand gesture to convey my thoughts and reassessed the situation.
Surely, they wouldn't have put me in this situation, knowing it would also harm the girl who owned this room? Well, Rose wouldn't. I think.
So then, maybe the idea was just to watch me squirm, knowing there would be no real public consequences?
Looking around again, I found one painted portrait of a therian man and a young girl, whom I assumed to be his daughter. She was much younger in this picture, but it was undoubtedly Felicia Pancia.
Did they hope to see her attack me? Surely she wasn't the type to be bothered by gossip, so being caught here would likely only hurt me.
How devious of them. But they had another thing coming if they thought they could outplay me.
Contrary to their expectations, I began cleaning the room calmly and methodically.
Yes, with unmatched stoicism and the unshaken will of a man who refused to be caught in a ridiculous rom-com set-up like this, I made myself comfortably at home.
And as I sat at her desk and smugly grinned at the three annoyed onlookers, the door opened.
“Rex? When did you get back? And why are you in my room?”
I remained calmly seated. Stuttering and flailing about like a socially malfunctioning fish was the move of a total amateur.
“Some things came up and I had to lie low. I hope you don’t mind, but you're the one I trust the most on campus.”
My excuse was smooth, the authenticity reinforced by my total nonchalance.
“Yeah, it's cool… wait, were you in my bed?”
She was covered in sweat and carrying a bag of bricks on her back, which she unceremoniously dumped on the ground as she sniffed the bed.
“No. I just made it for you. The place was a mess.”
Another smooth lie easily believed by the pristine state of the bedsheets. Of course my smell was on it, I had to touch it to clean it, right?
“Oh, sweet. Thanks, I guess. Are you done hiding or whatever?”
I looked out the window again.
Wait…
Where did Lily go?
Why were the other two grinning so viciously?
I've missed something crucial, but what?
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A bead of sweat began to form on the back of my neck. I had to get ahead of them.
“What’s going on out there?”
Felicia heard the impending doom long before I did, and she went out to investigate herself. In the meantime, I saw Lily rejoining the others, waving at me with glee. She had done something.
“Hide!”
Felicia suddenly came back, her eyes wide with fear.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s Klaus. One of the girls overheard a student telling him a boy had snuck in to one of our rooms.”
“Just tell him you invited me to hang out, that’s not against the rules.”
“I can’t! There’s no time to explain, you have to hide or he’s going to make both our lives hell!”
Felicia frantically spun on the spot, looking for somewhere to put me. I knew she wasn’t thinking straight when she threw a sheet over my head and tried squeezing me into her cupboard. Not even a child could fit in there with all the miscellaneous items left lying around. Did this girl ever tidy up?
“Gah! Stop, stop, stop! You’re crushing my head.”
I pushed my way out and threw the sheet to the floor. This was not how I dealt with situations like these.
“Just sit and stay calm. I’ll think of something.”
She did as I said, going quiet but remaining visibly distressed as she sat on the bed clutching at the sheets so hard her knuckles turned white.
Seriously, was this really such a big deal? To be honest, I didn’t even care if I got busted and yelled at, or judged by the student body as some kind of pervert. The only reason to avoid all that was staring eagerly at me from outside. I didn’t need to win, I just wanted to lose.
I had to analyse my situation carefully, yet act with haste.
Hiding inside the room was a fool’s errand, it was too small and too disordered. I could hang from the window, but Klaus’ keen sense would certainly catch my scent, and even if it were just my fingers visible from inside the room, he would see them.
Jumping and breaking my ankles would just entertain the trio of troublemakers in a different way, not an option.
Talking my way out was, apparently, not an option either, even if I didn’t know why.
My eyes settled on the last remaining option—my dear, sweet Tiara.
I mentally measured the distance between us and compared it to the distance Lil Rex and I had previously achieved without losing connection.
She was within range.
My grin countered the girls below, and I gave it a shot.
Physical contact was only necessary to fuse because that was how our souls were able to touch directly. But what if I could physically remain distant, but still connect the souls?
An invisible, intangible strand of my very essence stretched out from my chest and shot forth, stopping a hair’s breadth from Tiara’s nose. She was still playing with the catnip, but she noticed the familiar presence and reached out with her paw.
The door burst open, causing Felicia to jump and stutter like a child caught raiding the pantry at 4 am.
“Where is he?”
Klaus growled as his eyes scanned the room.
“I smell that boy’s scent. I know he’s here.”
He stepped in, opening the wardrobe first. He saw nothing.
“Stand.”
He commanded, and Felicia obeyed, stepping aside as he pulled the sheets up and upturned the mattress. He saw nothing.
He moved to the window, and he paused…
“Whose cat is this?”
“
He eyed the oddly coloured red tabby cat. He began to sniff it. The scent was similar, yet different to the boy he was searching for.
“
The cat’s meows were deep and monotone. Not cute at all.
Klaus had no avenues left to explore. There was no denying that the only person in the room was Felicia herself. But he owed it to his old friend to look out for his daughter and protect her from the poison known as teenage boys.
“Where is he, Felicia?”
“Wh-wh-who may you, er, might you mean, s-sir?”
“The druid boy. I know he returned yesterday. Are you going to deny his scent is all over this place?”
“Er… no. That is… uh, he just helped me clean up. That’s all.”
Her eyes were darting all over the place as she tried to think of a good excuse. Luckily, even if she was a terrible liar, Klaus had nothing on her to make stick.
“Hmph. Keep your nose clean or you’ll never make it to gold.”
With those words, Klaus shot the motionless cat one last quizzical look before exiting the room.
I waited for the sound of his footsteps to fade away, my newly heightened senses helping to ensure that the coast was clear.
“Rex!”
Felicia suddenly ran up and picked me up from the windowsill. My new furry form was light as a feather.
“We need to hide out somewhere, he’ll be monitoring us both for the whole break!”
“M-mee-yow…”
To think such a ridiculous situation prompted such a breakthrough in my soul sculpting…
***
Felicia carried me outside, and we joined up with Ada, Rose, and Lily. Their expressions were priceless as they saw me hop down and transform back into my usual state.
“Tch.”
“Tsk.”
“Bleh.”
The three of them had similar reactions upon seeing my flawless escape from their trap.
“Who are these people?”
Felicia asked as she joined my side.
“My foster mother, my sister, and other.”
I introduced them by their appropriate titles. Lily’s protest was cut down before it could begin as Rose spoke up.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Pancia. I have always been an admirer of your family’s exploits, especially your mother. She’s something of a role model for me.”
“Uh, cool…”
Felicia awkwardly shook the hand offered to her. Rose’s smile was impeccable, but I saw the trembling hand as she hid it behind her back. Felicia’s grip strength was not to be underestimated.
“I knew you and my brother had fought in the entrance exam, but I wasn’t aware you had become friends. Say, wouldn’t it be wonderful if she joined us on our trip, brother?”
“Trip? What are you talking about?”
I asked, unaware of whatever new plan was formulating in her head.
“Why, to visit our parents back home, of course. You promised me, ?”
Ada now looked at me with feigned horror. I knew exactly what kind of nonsense that would lead to, so I took a page from Rose’s book and cut her down before she could begin.
“Yes, I did promise. What do you think, Felicia? It would keep us away from campus for a wh—”
“Yep! Let’s go. Now.”
Rose and I looked at each other, mildly surprised at Felicia’s eagerness. But seeing as Rose, for whatever reason, wanted to bring her along anyway, neither of us questioned her.
“Well… we need to hire a carriage, some guards for the road, and sort out travelling supplies first. It could take a day or two.”
Rose began calculating everything in her head.
“I could get you sorted at no cost. Say the word and I’ll have you on your way within the hour.”
Ada stepped up and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m surprised you’re not tagging along.”
“Yeah, well, I have work to do. Say hi to mummy for me.”
Rose scowled at her, but kept her mouth shut. I imagine she was just happy to hear that Ada would not be imposing on her home life.
“Count me out, too. Rex already ruined my fun for one day. I don’t need to witness some mushy touchy-feely reunion to make my holiday even worse.”
Lily sighed and wasted no time leaving the group, the weight of defeat bearing down on he sunken shoulders.
“Yeah, set it up, let’s go. Hurry, please.”
Felicia was agitated, continuously looking over her shoulder as she pleaded with Ada.
“Haha, you’re a cute one, aren’t you? Don’t fret any further, I’ll handle everything. And take your time, Rex. I’ll arrange for an extended leave for the three of you, so there’s no need to rush to get back.”
That was good. It would take seven days just to get to Redwater. Assuming we only spend one day there, we would still be missing eight days of school. I wanted to suggest just cutting through the Verdant Divide instead, but I wasn’t sure my sister had the stamina to make that any easier. If it were just Felicia, we would have no issues.
If only I had access to better mounts than regular horses… Just one would be enough.
“...Hold off on that, Ada.”
A thought occurred to me. A way to train my shapeshifting and cut the travel time down significantly...
***
“This feels weird, bro…”
“We can trade positions. That looks fun to me.”
Felicia ran alongside Rose on her mount as they darted through the forest. There were no roads to follow; those had been left far behind them not long after they crossed the treeline. But lucky for them, this mount knew the layout of the forest well.
This was a form I rarely had reason to assume. It was a fusion, just like normal. I just prioritised shaping the body for speed and flexibility over anything else. I used Tiara as usual, since Soot was currently serving as our pack animal.
The result was a large black panther with red markings, because red goes faster. Rose rode on my back, clutching tightly onto a thick tuft of red fur that ran along my spine.
She tried her best not to voice any discomfort, but the lack of a saddle and the uneven terrain couldn’t have been pleasant for her. Felicia, even on just her two feet, was able to keep up with me and showed no signs of fatigue, no matter how far we went.
Should I introduce them to my Blood Thunderer friends? Nah, I wouldn’t want to leave them if I did that. I already felt a sense of trepidation for the coming reunion, it wouldn’t be smart to let myself be swayed any further.
Now that I had this time to think, how was I supposed to act when we got there?
I predicted tears, hugs, shock, maybe even anger. Could I bring myself to call them ‘mum and dad’? I could do it with Ada only because we both knew we were being sarcastic. But for Maria and Roland, they would be seeing their lost son after seven years.
How would I react in their shoes? How would I react if my son showed up out of the blue today, but refused to call me father?
…
Even if I don’t think of them as such, I can at least put on a different kind of mask for their benefit.
We made it to Redwater in just two days, our speed and navigation both flawless. And a familiar house entered our view, standing just as it did in my memory. The fireplace was lit, evidenced by the smoke gently rising from the chimney.
“How you feeling, bro? Ready for a family reunion?”
She hopped down, and I reverted to normal, cradling Tiara in my arms.
“Not at all… Let’s go.”
Rose took me by the arm, and the three of us approached the front door.
