It was around noon by the time we stopped to take a short break. I laid down on the grass, savoring the shade of the tree we were sitting under.
I got out a bag from my hood and took out a cookie. Yes, I did pack properly before leaving, what am I, ignorant?
I turned to Nathan, who was just sitting beside me and staring at the air. "Yo, Nathan, want some?" I waved the cookie at his face.
"No." But that grumble from his stomach proved him wrong. I sighed, sitting up and shoving the cookie into his mouth.
"Msffhfh-?!!"
"Aren't you tired of being apeshit?" I asked semi-seriously. He grumbled, starting to chew on the cookie.
"Sometimes not acting like a total jackass could help. I know I severely stung you with your pride issues but I am genuinely sorry about that now. Meaning I am sorry for taking away your freedom against your will."
Nathan just raised an eyebrow at me. "You're not being serious."
"I am."
"You're not."
I put my hands up in the air. "I am! What do I even have to do to make you forgive me?" Then an idea came upon me.
"If I can make you my servant... Can't I also set you free, too?"
He blinked, and looked down on the grass. "There... there is a way."
"What is it? Tell me." I grabbed another cookie and started chomping on it.
"Hold up. I'm not even sure if you're actually serious about this whole thing." Nathan squinted his eyes at me.
"I'm serious. Just look into my eyes."
"Your eyes look hideous."
"Rude. Just tell me already."
He shook his head, stealing the cookie from my hands and eating it. "I don't trust you with that information. Not now, not ever."
I pouted at him. "Such a jerk... Alright, fine. But sooner or later I'll find out eventually."
Not long before I even said anything I heard Nathan yell out to me, and I got pulled alongside him behind a large bush near the tree. He pinned me underneath his body and it honestly hurt a lot.
"Now what are you doing-"
"Shh! Be quiet!" He hissed at me, covering my mouth. Rude much?
I deadpanned, reaching out to the bush with my hands and parted away some leaves just a little.
And I was pretty sure I jinxed myself earlier, because right there, were three witches.
In the flesh, too.
They looked like what a stereotypical witch would look like to a lot of people. Black dresses and black pointy hats, ugly old faces. They had the classic flying broomsticks in their hands.
They seemed to be talking to one another, and I felt Nathan tense up a little. (not, not like, that kind of tense. get your mind out of the gutter)
"I could have sworn I saw a white Wolf lurking around here..." One of the witches said.
"Well maybe your eyesight's getting bleak! I don't see any Wolf at all!" The second one screeched. Their voices were all annoying me.
"We'll come back here later. Right now we have something to attend!" The third one said and they all hopped onto their broomsticks, and flew off into the sky.
I noticed Nathan was still on top of me so I "accidentally" bumped my head on his chin, which he rolled over on the ground with pain. "Ah-the hell, midget?!"
"You wouldn't get off me." I bluntly said. "So, those were witches, huh?"
"Yeah. But that ain't even the gist of them." He sat up from the dirt, dusting himself up. "Those were just lower ranking witches."
"Witches have ranks?"
"Of course they do. You've been living under a rock, or something?"
Excuse me, I was just recently reincarnated into this world, of course I don't know!
"Are they the same witches, that, you know." I tried to gesture what I was talking about and he just slapped me on the head.
"I know that, midget. But I don't understand why they're suddenly popping up from out of nowhere at a time like this." He began to look serious.
Oh no... Please, god no...
"We are not going on some dumb quest just to save the day! Honestly, I think that's a very overused trope." I shook my head violently. "To be honest, I only agreed to go because of Granny. I just want this to be a peaceful, relaxing journey."
"Have you forgotten that rat we just killed? It's one of those witches' abilities in order to start trouble. And if we don't stop them, your idea of peace won't ever exist."
Well. He's got a point there.
But I wasn't about to give in just yet. "This is stupid. Everything about this world is stupid. Why are you so inclined about becoming a hero all of a sudden?"
To my surprise he didn't answer, but just stared at me with the most... agonizing look ever. He looked like he was thinking of a proper response, and it wasn't easy.
"That's... something to be discussed another time." He just stood up from the ground and pulled me by the arm to make me stand up as well.
"Oi, why are you being so edgy right now? Nathan, don't just ignore me!"
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I spent the remainder of the day trying to annoy the hell out of Nathan so he could talk to me. By the time I got tired from that it had already been nighttime, and luckily we found a village close by. The lady we met there was a kind one and let us stay with her for the night.
"Nathan, carry me to my bed." I held out my arms at him.
"No."
"I'm too lazy to walk. Carry me, fool."
"I don't care."
Full of sass now, are we... I stomped towards him and poked at him on the chest. "You gotta do as I say here. I have your freedom on the line."
"What, you expect me to actually pledge eternal fidelity to you? No thanks." Nathan shrugged.
"Now aren't you two a lovely couple?" The lady who took us in passed by us, smiling.
I remained pokerfaced while Nathan just burst into red. "W-we're not a—"
"Why thank you. My darling here is just being grumpy right now cuz he wants to cuddle, right?" I joked, and I wanted to laugh at how much he was blushing right now.
"Well you two should sleep now, alright? You need a lot of rest for your travels tomorrow."
I nodded and as the lady left, I tugged on Nathan's necktie and brought him close to my face.
"Another score for me."
Fortunately the room had two beds, and I immediately dived into the first one I saw. Nathan just walked in right after me and smacked me on the head, again.
"Don't ever do that again."
"Jeez, can't even take a joke." I stared up at the ceiling, trying to count the number of lines I could make out while thinking about something.
Nathan looked upset when I confronted him about the witches. I know it must be from how those ugly mugs wiped out almost his entire kind, but I thought he didn't care enough to even get revenge?
And I didn't want to get involved. Seriously. There were better people suited for this kind of thing other than me. I'm not the chosen one; I'm just some rando who happened to be reincarnated into this world.
But... Seeing that distraught look on his face for the first time... Seeing his one moment of weakness slip through...
It made me feel even more guilty than I had before.
I sighed defeatedly. Well, can't hurt to try, right? Besides, it kinda felt nice when the people praised me back when we killed that rat monster.
I turned my head at Nathan, who was sitting on his bed with arms crossed. "Hey."
"What do you want this time?"
"Tomorrow."
"What?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
"We go hunt down those witches tomorrow, if it makes you feel better." I turned to my side, not looking at him anymore.
"We can try... to be heroes, just this once."
And I didn't even bother to listen to him talk anymore, as I had now succumbed to sleep.
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Nathan's POV (wow, finally)
Midget fell asleep without her blanket on... I blinked when I heard her snore loudly. She forgot to pull her blanket over herself, and was prone to catching a cold from the, well, cold.
Since when did I even care so much?
I'm a cold hearted killer. I had taken so many lives, crushed so many dreams. It was in my nature as a Wolf, and I wasn't against that.
But ever since she came, my perceptions began to change.
She's not even doing any significant progress, but she still manages to charm people in more weird ways than one.
Why do I want to be the hero in this story, anyway?
I stood up from my bed, walking over to the midget and picking up her blanket. I spread it over her body and she just mumbled some weird language and resumed her sleep.
I'll just never be able to understand you, Red.
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hello I am sleep deprived and also thank you for reading! cheers :D