CHAPTER 56: CHOICES

"You’re really bad at finding others, Sister." Kiro mused as the pair of siblings finally walked out of the hut.

It’d been some time since Theo had taken the energy crystal and left andSerena believed it was enough time to head out. She was curious to see how things were going.

And Kiro was getting antsy with her fake "trying to find him" act. So much so, the cub was now starting to question her abilities to find others.

Guess I shouldn’t have delayed for so long. Serena mused to herself before she said, "I’m just a little rusty."

"Rusty? What’s that?" Kiro asked, turning to her curiously.

"Means I’m a little out of practice." Serena shrugged. "I haven’t played games in a long time."

Or ever for that matter. At least she never recalled any memory of playing games for fun. Between trying to survive in the slums and the military academy, there wasn’t much time for fun.

And by the time she had a lot more free time, she was too old for them. Thankfully though, the original owner had some memories of playing games and Serena used that knowledge to her advantage.

"Then we should play more games together!" Kiro declared. "We can invite others to play too. It’ll be so fun!"

Serena gazed down at her young brother as he excitedly mulled over what to play, not having the heart to tell him she was too old for games now. It was ironic honestly.

Here she was trying not to break Kiro’s heart when just some time ago, she was weighing in on the pros and cons of saving someone’s life. And only agreed to help because it would benefit her.

Hypocrisy at its finest.

One moment she was trying to act like some caring person and the next she was acting like what she truly was - a selfish monster who took what they wanted without consequence.

It was beyond her how she was still walking across both lines without losing her sanity, but she also doubted it would last much longer. She could feel herself getting soft and slowly losing control over everything buried within her.

Guess the nightmares were her sign as to just how close she was to letting everything spill. And the worst of it all hadn’t even shown its ugly head.

Serena ran a hand though her hair at the thought, mentally shaking the thoughts away. Better not to linger on dark times. It was only asking for unnecessary trouble.

The siblings were heading back to the village center, when they met up with Theo halfway. Kiro immediately ran over to Theo and asked, "Theo, do you like playing games?"

"Um... sure." Theo mused, not sure why the cub was asking him this.

"Then you have to play with us!" Kiro declared. "Sister is bad at games, so we have to play more."

Theo coughed, trying to hold back a laugh while Serena sighed and said, "Kiro, why don’t you run ahead and find your friends. We’ll talk about playing games some other time."

Kiro pouted, looking back and forth between the two before he ran off with a huff. Once he was out of earshot, but still within view, Serena turned her attention back to Theo.

"How’s the beastman?" Serena asked. "Think he will recover?"

"Too soon to say. Healer Kai kicked me out while he continued monitoring the beastman. Said he’d let me know if anything happens." Theo answered honestly. He then added, "Anyway, I’m going to let Rico know I’m heading to the forest. Want to make sure there’s no monsters lingering around."

Serena nodded her head in understanding. She wasn’t sure what the whole situation was, but having monsters nearby wasn’t a good idea. They could easily wreck havoc in the village.

They carry valuable crystals, but are a pain to kill. Serena mused to herself as the two parted ways. Walking to the village center, she wondered if she should try her luck.

***

Serena gazed at the thatch roof ceiling, a scowl on her face. Things were finally starting to settle and she just had to think about stupid things again. Now she couldn’t sleep.

Sighing, Serena sat up, giving up on even trying to sleep because it wasn’t going to happen. Kiro was a few inches away from her sleeping soundly curled up in his beast form.

Meanwhile, Theo was taking up the opposite side of the hut, also sleeping in his beast form. At least he was until he cracked an eye open and gazed at Serena.

"I’m going to get some air. Don’t bother following me." Serena stated in a low voice before the tiger beastman got up. He grunted in response, so Serena added, "You promised not to get involved in my affairs."

That was after all their agreement to co-living together. Neither one would ask questions of the other as long as they weren’t purposely putting the other in danger.

There were a few tiffs here and there, but most ended up in some kind of compromise.

"Fine." Theo finally muttered in beast tongue. "Enjoy your affairs. Just don’t stay up too late. Kiro might get worried if you’re gone too long."

He let out a yawn with those words and went back to sleep. Serena grumbled before heading out. It was a bit chilly outside with a cold wind drifting pass, but Serena didn’t bother going back inside to get something warm.

The coldness allowed her to forget for just a moment.

She wandered around the quiet village in no typical direction, careful not to make a sound or attract the attention of the night guards watching over the village. She definitely didn’t need them getting involved in her business.

Her eyes occasionally lingered on the forest beyond the village perimeters, but Serena knew better than to head out this late into the night. She doubted she was ready to face some of the predators that prowled the forest.

Especially alone. It was one bad injury waiting to happen and then she’d be screwed.

Eventually, her body couldn’t take the cold any longer and she headed back inside the hut. Her mind was still in overdrive, but soon enough her exhausted body won the battle and let her drift off to sleep.