After Lydis had arrived at the empty camp she saw that the few soldiers on watch happened to be switching so she easily slipped through the perimeter. Feeling sleepy she made her way to Valeri"s tent, not caring much about hiding when she entered the camp. Opening the flaps her makeshift bed still there. Eyelids heavy Lydis couldn"t fight off sleep any longer. Before she pa.s.sed out Lydis Pointed at Valfafer."When an old lady comes in don"t talk at all. Don"t speak… in general… and most importantly, don"t… wander around… camp…" Lydis was already sleeping now. Her eyelids closing.
Valfafer was excited. To think that the stupid human would let her guard down right now! He had waited until she was too tired to fight anymore before launching his sneak attack but, first he had to figure out how to get to her. Since she was on a crate almost four feet tall it would be impossible for an eight-inch dog to climb it. He looked around the room and saw a stool on wheels. It was still tall but much shorter than the crate. He pushed it over to Lydis and began looking for other things. A pile of discarded jackets, planks of wood, a small box full of gla.s.s figurines, anything that could be used as a step he pushed to make stairs.
Satisfied with his work Valfafer began his climb. It was easy at first but soon as the gap between each grew he had to extend more effort. Finally, he reached the top of the chair. He crouched his hind legs and like a spring, shot himself forwards and upwards. He landed on the edge of the crate, half of his body on while the rest dangled on the side. Sc.r.a.pping his feet Valfafer finally managed to push himself fully onto the crate. Mission success! He barked in self-satisfaction. Now, onto phase two.
Valfafer walked towards Lydis"s head. He waited until she turned on her side to reveal her neck before striking. His mouth open and teeth bared, it would be a swift kill, maybe. In that moment an invisible shield stopped him and shocked his muzzle. Yelping, Valfafer jolted away, rubbing his nose with his paw. His mind raced to find a solution. What was that?! Was she fake sleeping to lure me into revealing my true intentions?! Valfafer spun to face Lydis"s sleeping face. Nothing had changed on it. Still sound asleep and oblivious to him Valfafer silently howled in joy. Suddenly his ear became very itchy. Sitting down he began to scratch at his ear rapidly until he finally reached the right spot.
He got up and just as he was about to try more things on Lydis he noticed a strange pattern on his left front arm. It was black and easily visible against his light red fur. Upon closer inspection he realized that it looked like the one on Lydis"s left arm except his had a lock instead of a wolf head. He had become her contracted beast! Thanks to the Wolf Lord intelligence he easily understood what it was. By binding their Slyphir together a person and beast could form a pact or contract based on mutual consent. Emphasis on mutual. Valfafer tried hard to remember when he had agreed to a pact with Lydis and then the bet came to mind.
"F**k…" He hated his stupidity at that time! Valfafer shook his head angrily. After a few moments of doing nothing Valfafer felt sleepy. Climbing the crate had been a lot of work. Stacking the wood, pushing the chair with his head including various other objects and dragging the jackets. As well as the effort it took to actually climb it without falling. For now, he couldn"t do anything to Lydis so he might as well sleep too. After circling himself for a few moments Valfafer Curled up into a ball besides Lydis"s legs, sleep overtaking him too.
Lydis shot upwards, her feet knocking something warm off the crate.
"What?" She looked over the side and saw a half dazed red Pomeranian sprawled on the floor. It took a moment for it to realize that it fell.
"Hey, what"s the big idea knocking me off?" The red Pomeranian began to bark angrily accompanied by it"s voice. Then her memories of last night set in.
"So what? Who told you to sleep near my legs?" Valfafer was bouncing angrily. Not only was he mad about being knocked down in his sleep, now he had to climb his makeshift stairs again. Due to the barking a familiar face popped her head in.
"Lydis!" Valeri rushed towards Lydis with open arms.
"H-hey Piti." Lydis took the hug awkwardly. Valfafer had hidden himself under the jackets, his b.u.t.t and tail nub sticking out like a sore thumb. Finally noticing him on the floor Valeri bent down and picked up Valfafer.
"And who"s this little cutie?" She gushed and made duck faces at Valfafer, rubbing her face into his fur. Valfafer wanted to snap and bite Valeri but Lydis"s stern stare caused him to push his pride aside. Being humiliated like this was better than dead.
Valeri was so immersed in fluffing Valfafer"s fur that she forgot Lydis was there.
*ahem* "So, what happened to you last night Lydis?" Valeri set Valfafer on the crate and he dashed towards Lydis, sitting next to her leg.
"Uh, when I woke up no one was there so I decided to come to your tent."
"Then what about this dog?"
"Ah, he uh… I found him! Last night on my way to your tent I found him whining by the tent. He looked hungry so I took him in?"
"Why does that sound like a question?"
"Can I keep him?" Valeri suppressed the urge to squeeze Lydis in a tight hug. So precious! Valeri reached for Valfafer but he hid behind Lydis.
"Sure. You can keep him but, it"s a lot of responsibility to take care of a pet. Does he have a name?" Lydis was relieved. Initially she had thought that Valeri would be more wary against him but her worries were wasted.
"His name…" Lydis looked over at Valfafer. "… is Valfafer." She reached over to scratch his ears. Valfafer inched away but soon found the scratching very likeable. He slumped his head on Lydis"s leg, his tongue hanging out.
"Oh, that"s a unique name." Valeri reached over to pet Valfafer too but he rolled away. Feeling a bit hurt and embarra.s.sed Valeri cleared her throat again. *ahem* "I guess it"s time to start training again. Get dressed and follow me to the training grounds."
"Yes ma"am." Lydis saluted at Valeri, in turn, she tipped her cap at Lydis and left the tent.
"Hey, was that the old lady you were talking about? Hey~ master~!" Valfafer was bouncing around as his tail began to wag. Lydis sat up and jumped down from the crate, finding a pair of clothes on the middle table. She quickly undressed and redressed into the warmer shirt and pants. Valfafer laid down on the fluffy blanket. He rolled around on the top and began writhing on the blanket, an unreachable itch forming on his back. He continued to squirm until he noticed Lydis"s mocking gaze.
"Uh…" Valfafer rolled onto his legs and turned around, too embarra.s.sed to face Lydis.
"Oho, look who"s getting pretty comfortable being a lowly dog now?" Lydis leaned closer towards Valfafer, her hand reaching for his paw. With a flick of her wrist she pulled his front paw towards her and began squishing the bean pads under his foot. Valfafer trembled with uneasiness. He didn"t want Lydis to touch his paws but as he was now there wasn"t much he could do.
Seeing Valfafer give up Lydis smirked a bit.
"You know, when I went after you last might I was planning on eating you…" Valfafer flinched and instantly froze in place. "When we first met, you smelled so delicious, and then after whatever happened to you to make you evolve, you just smelled so irresistible!" Valfafer was trembling now, sweat building up on his paw pads and nose.
"D-d-d-do you s-still plan on eating me?" Lydis looked at Valfafer for a long time, her stare penetrating into his very being and soul. He felt that she knew about his attempt to kill her earlier which made him sweat more.
"No, for now at least." Hearing this Valfafer flopped onto his side. He was sure Lydis was going to eat him since he was so small right now. His paw still in Lydis"s hand. "What are you doing now dog? Playing dead?" Lydis dropped his paw and began rubbing his belly, his silky fur sliding between her fingers easily. Valfafer couldn"t stop his tail nub from wagging.
"I give up! Being dead would be better than this embarra.s.sment!" Lydis stopped rubbing.
"Really? Then, shall I eat you now?" Valfafer recoiled a bit. Pulling his head closer to his body.
"N-no way! I was just joking! A joke, it was a joke." Valfafer rubbed his head against Lydis"s leg.
"Right master?" He looked up at her with his best puppy eye look. Ears bent downwards and eyes wide, Valfafer did look pitiful.
*sigh* "Taking care of a pet is hard work…" She continued to rub his head, her fingers scratching behind his ears.
"Master!" Out of a moment of joy, Valfafer jumped onto Lydis and licked her face. Both of them froze shortly after. Lydis with her hand on her sticky cheek and Valfafer in shock in her lap. Silence pa.s.sed between them. Slowly, they came back to life. Valfafer moved out of Lydis"s lap in rigid movements and Lydis wiping her cheek with her sleeve like a robot.
"Don"t, do that, again."
"Y-yes master…" The room filled with an awkward silence. Valfafer cursing internally at his foolishness and at possibly increasing the chances that his master would eat him.