Chapter 86: Lexa's Proposal
"Little An, what's wrong!" Alexander cried out in alarm, kneeling down to her side immediately and inspecting her.
"Its all Andria's fault!! T-they were... They were after ME!... It hurts so much Daddy!!" She cried, her little head whipping back and forth as her body shook with her boiling emotions. "Mummy won't love Andria no more, Mummy loved Andria's hair and now its ruined. Daddy's hurt because of Andria too! It hurts, it hurts!"
Lexa just stood there in shock for several seconds, not having expected such an explosion of emotions. Yeah, she had been crying and frantic when they were waiting for Alexander, but it was nowhere near the level she was displaying before her now. It would seem she had been to hasty... No, she had been too ignorant.
"Little An, don't say such sad words. Mummy and Daddy's could and would never fall out of love with you. You're in our hearts always, right next to your brother's and sister's!" Alexander responded quickly, both his hands coming up to cup her tear-stained face and turning her eyes up so she could look directly into his eyes so that she could see the determination and truthfulness of his words. "And whose hurt, I'm as fit as a fiddle, see, see!"
Alexander waved one of his hands around in an exaggerated fashion as he sported a bright and comforting smile.
"But Lexa also got hurt because of me!" Andria refuted immediately, pointing to the little kitten who could still be seen with several cuts and bruises, though mostly healed.
"They're marks of pride." Lexa quipped before jumping with sleek movement, landing impossibly softly on Andria's little shoulder and curling her neck and body to face into Andria's quivering violet eyes as she spoke further. "Andria, didn't you want to be a powerful Magician? Well, then that will mean the two of us will experience several more events just like this in the future where our very lives are on the line. And not just us, our family and friends too. As cruel as this may sound, crying and grieving about every grievance will lead you nowhere..."
Andria's neck retreated like a turtle as an upset but thoughtful look took over her as she took in her newly acquired partner's words, which while blunt, were heartfelt and surprisingly comforting. As if looking for extra reassurance, she then turned her eyes to Alexander who gave her a sweet smile and a conforming nod.
"Your partner is right, honey... What you need to do now, is store away this experience for the future and not to dwell on the unchangeable. And don't you worry about your hair, it can always grow back. Plus, you look great, long hair or short hair!" Alexander ruffled her hair and gave her a confident smile before turning towards his men to issue out orders. "Men, clean up the bodies and investigate the area. Five of you will join me back to the camp. We better get back before our men and the people from Hawk Academy grow restless."
"Yes, sir!" The Wilderwolf Soldier's responded promptly and quickly got to work on their assigned mission's.
"Great?..." Andria whispered beneath her breath, only to be heard by herself as her chaotic thoughts suddenly calmed. Only Lexa on her shoulders noticed her emotions seemingly calming from her previously frantic state, causing a pleased gleam to shine in her eyes. This was a good first step.
★★★
When their party returned tot the camp, morning was already in full swing and the relieved sigh of several people rang out in relief from the people who had been left behind as they saw that everyone had returned with no fatalities. Some of the students were especially worked up through the last night; as one could expect when they had been in danger of attack two times in such a short time frame. Thankfully, the teachers job was made easier by the presence of Sandra, Seph and Jared, who calmly reassured the other students the whole time. These three students were look up at by all of these students, and seeing them in such a calm state of mind really helped to placate their growing worries. And finally, with everyone having returned without casualty and the news that the enemy had been defeated, things finally calmed to a normal level in the camp.
The only anomaly, was that the usually cheerful and quirky Andria was being eerily silent, her gaze looking distant and unfocused, only her hands moving as she slowly petted Lexa in her hands.
"Oh, the cat grew." Jared tilted his head inquisitively.
"That's what you notice?!" Sandra gave Jared a credulous look.
Seph also shook his head helplessly. "She's only four years old, its a wonder she isn't a crying mess right now... That's gotta count for something."
"I don't know. Her current state might be worse..." Sandra sighed sadly. It was truly a difficult situation.
Clenching her fists, Sandra puffed up her cheeks and let out a preparatory breath before walking over to Andria's side. Lexa's head in Andria's hands lifted and looked at her as she walked over.
"Andria, are you okay?" Sandra asked, mentally slapping herself afterwards. Of course she's not okay! 'Ah, I've never been good at this sort of stuff!'
Andria gave her a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, creating an awkward atmosphere as she answered. "Yeah, Andria's fine..."
"..." Sandra wanted to speak but couldn't find the right words.
"Liar." A chilly voice landed like a thud, seconds later revealed to belong to Seph, who had also walked over by their side with Jared at his side.
"Hey, that's too blunt Seph!" Jared reprimanded.
"Jared's right, apologise." Sandra wasn't impressed either. How could he say that to a four year old.
"..." Seph was silent as he gaze into Andria's turbid eyes, her violet pupils looking a colder shade than its usually bright and captivating self.
Surprisingly it was the cat in Andria's hand that spoke up next, her words surprising everyone. "He doesn't need to apologise, he's right."
Along with her words, Lexa stood up from her lying position and leapt over to Seph, landing softly on his shoulders, where she rested her front paws on the boys head. Seph seemed rather unresponsive to the awkward pose, leaving her be.
"Andria, holding everything in is going to lead you nowhere..." Lexa spoke in a harsh tone. Only to find that her words seemed to have little effect to the girl opposite herself, who simply pursed her lips and stared silently at her. Finally, an idea popped into Lexa's mind and a second later, she straightened up her posture as she spoke seriously and loftily. "If your just going to mope all day... Then maybe I should just be Seph's Tamed Beast instead! An Early Stage Foundation Rank Magician at the young age of 8! He'd be the perfect companion!"
Finally, Andria's silence and frozen expression changed as a shocked look overtook her, her eyes widening and her little mouth dropping.
Despite her extremely hurt reaction, Lexa felt internally happy. She'd finally reached through to her...
Chapter 87: Andria's Laugh
Sandra, Jared and even Seph were surprised by the sudden turn of events and they looked on with tense nerves, wondering what this cat was thinking.
"No!!" Andria puffed up her cheeks and resolutely shook her head as she instantly disagreed. "Lexa is Andria's partner!"
"Well Lexa doesn't want to be partners with a whiny little girl!" Lexa spat back, an excited gleam shining secretly in her eyes. 'Its working, she's finally breaking out of her shell!'
"..." Andria sniffed as she held back her incoming tears before her voice belted out with a powerful conviction as she rubbed her eyes clean of any tears. "Andria will be better, Andria will cry no more!"
Lexa looked into those violet eyes as they bore into her own with such a powerful conviction only a fool could doubt them and finally her tough act faltered as a soft laugh resounded.
"That's the Andria I know!" Lexa chirped cheerily.
"Eh?" Andria muttered as a deep look of confusion overtook her before warping into one of realisation, one had to say it was cute how each of her emotions were shown clearly as they changed on her chubby cheeks. "You tricked me!"
"Yeah, and it worked a charm!" Lexa was practically smirking as she responded un-apologetically. "So, you feel like moping now?"
"Humph" Andria let out a huff as she fell to the floor and sat down with her palms holding her up behind her. "Ah, I don't care anymore. I just want to sleep now."
This caused all of them to laugh, with even Seph letting out a genuine smile. Andria couldn't help herself and began laughing as well.
Lexa couldn't explain how releiving it was to hear Andria laughing once more and she felt that the long night had finally come to an end.
"Come on, I'm sure we've got plenty of time to get some sleep." Lexa leapt from Seph's shoulder and Andria gladly caught her.
"Wow, you really have grown. You're like an adult cat now!" Andria exclaimed after catching the cat which was now much heavier in her hands.
Saying their farewells to Sandra, Jared and Seph, Andria and Lexa headed to their tent to get some much needed rest.
Despite the light of dawn rising in the horizon, Andria and Lexa both found sleep quickly and the only sound sound that could be heard in the tent was the subtle sound of soft breathing.
★★★
"So she's went to sleep... Good, that's good." Alexander smiled softly. He was currently in his tent which was rather big, allowing for several people to be in it without feeling cramped and allowing for most men to be able to stand upright. Across from him was the Spirit Rank Wilderwolf soldier, who had just updated Alexander on Andria, including the "quarrel" between Andria and Lexa and Andria's improved state of mind. "looks like I wasn't wrong to allow that cat to be my girl's partner."
With a relieved smile on his face, Alexander dismisses the man across from him, making it so only he was left in the tent. Immediately, his head rolls back on his chair and his entire body loosens as he pinches the bridge of his nose, a pained look scrunching up his face and his breathing becomes noticeably rougher.
'That damn poison is still in effect!...' Alexander complains internally, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. If it were not for the sake of keeping appearances for his men and his daughter, he would have passed out long ago and it only now that he can finally relax. The hand clutching the bridge of his nose loosens and falls to his side and his eyes close softly as sleep overtakes him...
★★★
Nothing was found after a whole days investigation and upon waking up, Alexander called off the search and told everyone to rest another night before they head off for Falcon City proper. This was to allow himself and his daughter some more rest.
Finally, the next morning, preparation to head off began. Tents were being stored away in Magic Pockets and a good communal breakfast was being ate in haste. If they wanted to reach Falcon City before sundown, they would have to rush somewhat. Another reason for the haste was the fear of another attack. The sooner everyone was back in the confines of the capital city, the sooner everyone would finally feel a modicum of safety.
"Aaah!" Lexa let out an un-brazened yawn as she squeezed through the drapes of her tent and felt contented when a soft breeze fluffed her silver fur. Her wounds would still take a little time to heal, but her exhaustion had mostly evaporated and her heightened emotions had finally calmed to normalcy. Things were made even better when Andria came rushing out behind her, a healthy colour to her cheeks.
"I told you to wait!" Andria huffed, scrambling after she almost tripped in her rush.
"There's no waiting for food!" Lexa declared, a loud grumble of her stomach sounded just at that moment, as if backing her up. "I haven't in a whole day!"
With that, Lexa rushed off towards the smell of food and Andria followed foot, grumbling behind her. "Leave some for Andria!"
Around them, those that overheard their conversation let small smiles light up their face as some let out breaths of relief. They couldn't help but praise this young master of theirs, she was truly tough for a young 4 year old.
"Good morning Daddy!" Andria greeted with a eccentric wave as she and Lexa stumbled into a congregation of people eating in front of a large fire where food was being cooked on skewers. Alexander was there, a skewer in hand and his cheeks inflated with food. Andria couldn't help but tease her father at the comical sight. "Hehe, apparently it isn't only Lexa who was starving!"
"Breakfast is the most important meal after all." Alexander gulped down his food and smiled at his daughter. Despite the teasing smile on her face, Alexander couldn't feel any happier. Because his daughter was finally smiling again.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
End of Book 3!
Book 4 will have a little bit of time jumping and shouldn't be that long :D
I know my release rates for the last month or two have been terrible, and I can't promise that it will improve, but just know that I'm still working on this series. My main problem the last month was that I was really struggling with writing these emotional scenes and still I'm not really happy with it, but oh well. Things should be happier from now on and hopefully more easier for me to write. Fingers crossed!
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