Static Reflections: Book 1 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 31 - Tyler and Boris: Familiar But Far Away

Chapter 31 - Tyler and Boris: "Familiar But Far Away"

Tyler and Boris devoured their warm home-cooked meals greedily, guzzling the orange juice down and not even speaking to each other as they ate. The German shepherd thought it was delicious and he felt like he hadn't had anything quite like it. His grandfather never cooked and restaurants didn't make food like this. Another luxury within luxury.

Boris set his glass down and wiped his mouth with his red pajama sleeve. "I wonder what kind of insane thing Leah will come up with."

The canine shrugged. "Not sure. I don't even know what witches can do."

"Remember how I told you about Nick?" Boris questioned, tapping his cup.

"Yeah . . . ?"

"Well, Leah showed me using some kind of witch mirror box. That's how I knew because I was honestly concerned about him, too."

Tyler blinked. "Really?"

"Yes. He was—is—my friend." Boris scooted his chair back and stood up. "Alright, I'm going to the ballroom."

"Why?" Tyler looked up.

"There's something I've been waiting to do there," the otter told him. "Want to come?"

"Well . . . I don't have anything better to do, so I guess." Tyler grumbled.

=^.^=

Entering the grand expanse of space that was the ballroom, Tyler noticed that two chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the room and that there were wooden shelves that held countless records. Across almost the entire floor was a large red rug (maybe the biggest Tyler had ever seen) with intricate designs lining the entire perimeter. There were a few chairs spread about the edge of the room and a record player sat waiting next to one. On the other side of that was a light brown wooden piano that the Downing's caretakers took good care of. There were a few windows with dark purple curtains along the walls.

"This is where the parties are usually held," Boris began. "I'm thankful they usually kept them in one room . . ."

"Never asked, but why do you hate parties anyway?"

The otter shrugged. "All of those animals, all of the noise, animals bumping into you, the lack of a social battery, an overwhelming feeling of anxiousness."

"But people are just having a good time," said Tyler. "It's like being at the rave."

Boris groaned. "That was torture, Tyler. I was focused on the mission, sure, but I didn't want to be there! I just wanted to get it over with and leave."

"And come back here?" Tyler blinked.

"No . . . I honestly don't know why we're back here or what happened. That's never happened before."

The German shepherd made a mental note in his mind to mention this to Leah. "Shit, dude . . . I dunno. At least we'll have shelter for the next few days or however long it takes."

"Yes . . . I agree. We're lucky we can find solace here," Boris nodded. "Speaking of . . ." He looked toward the piano and walked over, sitting down on the bench with its soft black surface. Slowly opening the cover obscuring the precious ivory keys, Boris smiled at the sight of the familiar instrument before him. He could see his own ghost hands fingering notes rapidly. The otter pressed a C key down, enjoying the ting that came after that.

Tyler waltzed up behind him. "You gonna play something?"

Boris's eyes were still scanning the instrument as if he were looking at someone he hadn't seen in a long while. He ran his fingers over the excellent surface of the keys and nodded. "I think so. I think it would be good for me."