The Beast and His Tamer

Chapter 10: Termites

Well, this wasn't how he figured the day would go. If he was being honest, he truly thought that he was going to show him something. Sebastian would call himself silly for thinking such a thing after going through that argument with the man, but they both looked so serious; so official. Both Noah and Rhett played it off as something that was really important for him to know about that werebear that he had yet to find.

So, nay, Sebastian wouldn't beat himself up for that.

He had plenty of other things on that list, though.

"I suppose I won't be winning this race, brother," Sebastian pulled out a small stone from his bag. "I wish you better luck than me at the moment."

He hadn't heard word from his brother since the beginning of their journey into the forest. Well, Sebastian was the one who went into the forest. His brother had just gone down the coastline in search for the grumpy sea monster. Poor guy probably just needed a spa day. Many of them had irritated skin and that's why they acted up. Anyone would be upset when they were trying to find a cure for their itchiness and people kept bugging them, after all.

He was probably doing fine, though. Sebastian wasn't worried about him. He was a great musician, and could calm even the angriest of sea beasts.

Speaking of grumpy, though, Sebastian wondered exactly where he went wrong with this beast. Of course, he had tried his best to calm him, and it had worked both times that he had used his musical remedies on him, but it wasn't a permanent fix like all the other times. He had traveled all throughout Canada, helping all the werebears that were under the Berserk Ailment. The country was infested with them, unfortunately. He was so happy to give them all a better life, but now he was wondering if his music still had the strength that it used to. Was he getting weaker now that he was twenty?

Maybe it was time to retire early. He hated the thought of it. As much as his pride wanted to say that it wasn't due to his song and dance, it bugged him that this poor werewolf was still undergoing this sickness. Sebastian had wanted to retire some place and settle down with a bunch of the Dubois children to teach his skills to, but he didn't want it to be due to getting weaker. His family would never respect him if they found out.

But that song! It had to be a powerful one. For Sebastian had never heard it before coming to this forest, let alone played it. He still remembered the first time those notes came to him. They were difficult at first when he was playing them on his clarinet, but on the violin, they played so beautifully. And the clarinet was the instrument that Sebastian was the best at.

Even if he tried using the clarinet, it wouldn't work as well. There was just something about it that the violin gave resonance to. It rang through the big oak trees, bringing joy to the ones that needed it the most. He could feel the joy of the song. He knew that it was powerful.

So, what was going on then? Sebastian swore he was going to wind up laying on that bed, staring at the ceiling all day thinking about this. Some thoughts made him sit up, but he laid right back down as he started thinking again. He wasn't even in between the sheets, although he had taken off his shoes. Being here for three days already had given Sebastian time to actually wash his feet so they didn't smell. That along with the right herbs in his boots and he never had to deal with fungus or the like.

It was difficult staying clean when you were traveling all the time. It didn't exactly help with his insecurities, but he was lucky that he never had much time to entertain those thoughts. He just hoped that they would go away with age.

He didn't know how much time had passed until he heard the squeaking of the door open. He was too busy thinking about what had gone wrong. This was the first beast that he had failed, and he didn't like that thought at all. But the sound made him sit up, curious about who he would see. He was glad he did when a small ball of joy ran up to him.