Lament of the Slave

Chapter 67: Master

"The night still long, cub," Esu grumbled at me, and like me, he looked at the two moons. "Rest, collect your thoughts. When ready, train more."

His words may have sounded in my head like I had a choice, but the meaning behind them was different. I was supposed to regain strength and my wits to be able to continue my training. My torment wasn't over yet, just as I feared.

But to be honest, all the concerns I had so far, training included, seemed a little less important at the moment compared to what I had just gone through.

"The mothers and I need to discuss," stated the King of the Woods, startling me with his words that made me wonder why the bloody hell did he even tell me that? "Many things have happened. Many will, cub."

After these words, Esu turned to the mothers and stopped paying attention to little me as the grumbling of their discussions echoed through the clearing. A clear signal it was none of my business. Yet, I couldn't shake the bad feeling I had. Did they talk about me? For all my curiosity, I didn't dare listen in.

In the end, I chose not to burden my mind with what was beyond my control anyway and focused back on the night sky, envying the stars their carefree nature. All they had to do was shine.

Not long after that, my view of them and the two glowing moons that seemed to be a fitting symbol for what I had become, or rather what I was, got blocked when Deckard stepped in front of me. The urge to growl at him, to tell him to get out of the way, quickly vanished when I saw his look.

He knelt in front of me, masterfully avoiding the vomit, put his hand on my shoulder, and looked me in the eyes.

"What happened, girl? Talk to me." He said out loud without using the connection, his gruff voice sounding both serious and worried. For a second, I even considered whether he had [Calming Touch] skills as Marcus. He reminded me a lot of him at that moment as Marcus also put his hand on my shoulder when using the skill. No such thing happened, yet it was oddly comforting to know he was here.

It was obvious where his concerns came from. If he hadn't noticed Esu's aura, it must have seemed out of nowhere my beastification reverted. Then I asked him if he perceived me as a beast. I started shaking shortly after that and eventually fell to my knees. Not to mention, I dumped the contents of my stomach on the forest floor in front of me.

"I'm fine," I said quickly to ease his concerns, partly out of fear that he might do something unnecessary. I doubted he would attack Esu because of me, although it would be interesting to see.

"Are you sure you're okay? You're still shaking," he pointed out.

I nodded, aware that even though the dizziness and jarring ringing of the system's notifications was gone, I couldn't stop trembling.

"I'll be fine. I just need time."

"Okay...was that the big guy?" Deckard asked a little more seriously, almost as if he was assessing the threat. "What did he do to you?"

I was a little taken back by his behavior. "No, it wasn't Esu...well, not really. He made me change back to this, but that's all."

"Go on," he urged me. His unusually serious tone really threw me off. Where did his carefree demeanor go? Where were his sarcastic remarks? That's what I needed right now, not this stern man. However as I thought about how to explain what had happened to me, I realized he was probably just as thrown off by what had happened as I was and simply needed information to assess the danger. I assumed the Deckard I was seeing just now must have been the one who was conquering the labyrinth solo. Even he couldn't afford to be laid back all the time.

So I took a deep breath and told him about everything that went down.

Oddly enough, he listened without interrupting me, nodding occasionally. When I finished, I was worried about his reaction to my new self. After all, I was still having trouble taking it all in. I was even prepared to be seen with disgust.