336 Upgrading

"Why would they want to stay here?" Boss commented in disbelief.

He might be a child but he knew clear and well that the Jungle was no place to live permanently. Something about it never sat right with him. Surely the world can't just be like this. And their memories of the time before they ended up in the Jungle. 

"Stubborn, that's why," Vy replied as she shook her head. 

"Vyrena!" Maribelle called out to her as she came up to meet her. 

She was carrying a long black box in her hands as she came up to meet Vyrena. Maribelle handed the box to her and explained that it was from El and Fendrif.

"They wanted you to have this," Maribelle explained.

Vy wondered what was in it so she quickly opened it up. The long reinforced box was padded on the inside. There was not just one weapon. There were two.

Vy picked up the first one. Her current sword was thinner and heavier. It now had many dents and was no longer as sharp as it was when she first received it from El. The new one was lighter, larger and sharper.

Yet, she was still able to wield it with ease with one hand. The other was a slightly shorter blade. It was a reinforced dagger with a longer reach. Vy took the dagger out and held each weapon in each hand. She felt the weight of the weapons and wielded them with ease. 

Since she has the new ones, she handed her current ones to Boss.

"It's good to have these on hand anyway, in case you need to fight at close range. Although, let's hope it does not come to that," she commented. 

Vy could see that Boss was distracted. His eyes were always drifting into the distance. He was looking at a specific direction, at a specific tent.

"Are you worried about Tizzie?" She asked out of concern.

Boss tried to hide his face from her, but he nodded, agreeing with her concern. 

"She's still not awake yet," he sighed

Vy patted him on the shoulder, "She'll be alright. Her safety would be our priority. She will be the first if not one of the first to get through the wall to the other side."

Boss felt more confident and assured after listening to Vy. Whatever happened tomorrow could go down badly for all they knew. But he had high hopes. 

"Count me curious but I have to ask. Why does Tizzie call you Bean?" Vy asked.

She could not help herself. That question has been on her mind ever since she came to know of it. She previously did not get the chance to ask them about it and now was a better time than any other. Boss was clearly reluctant to explain at first. But eventually, he let his guard down with Vyrena and opened up. 

"Maybe you both knew one another. That's why you were placed in here together," Vy theorized.

"Maybe," Boss echoed her words.

"I wish I knew what life was like before the Jungle. It might help explain the occasional nightmares," Vy lamented as she laid down on the ground. 

"Nightmares?"

Vy nodded.

"Maybe they are a mixture of memories that has been lost." 

"Maybe."

Later that night, Vyrena made her way towards where El and the other humans were camped. She wanted to know if Sorren had come along with them. Her appearance gave El and Fendrif, who were guarding their campsite, a shock.

"I could have stabbed you, Vyrena!" El exclaimed as she gently nudged Vy on the arm.

"I ain't like those kids you've got with you, Vyrena. My heart can't take that much," Fendrif joked.

"Sorry sorry," she quickly apologized with a smile, "Just wanted to see how you all were doing and if Sorren was with you."

"That loner? Of course he is! He was, if not, the easiest person to convince," El laughed.

She turned over to see Sorren walking up to them, "Ah there he is, the man of the hour. Vyrena came looking for you!"

Sorren looked a lot better from the last time Vy had seen him. Though he was still covered in bandages, he could at least walk on his own. Vy was happy to see that he was alright.

"You're looking for me?" Sorren asked Vy.

She nodded, "Was wondering if you would come."

"Of Course I would. I don't wanna stay here any longer than needed," he replied with a smile.

That was the first time she has seen the man smile. The fact that he was more talkative than before was also a welcome and positive change. Compared to the first time they met, the difference was almost night and day.

"Vyrena, since you're here and you can understand him. Would you mind telling us what happened? How did he end up with all those injuries?" El asked.

Vyrena has almost forgotten that she was the only one who could understand him. Although, at that moment, she wondered if Sorren might be able to understand the spider beasts just like her.

Turning her attention back to El's question, Vy explained how she had found him being interrogated by the leader of the other survivor group. 

"Which reminds me, thank you for sending Sorren after me. Sorry for making you worry," Vy apologized.

"Oh that's alright. To be honest, it should be I who apologise to Sorren," El said as she turned to Sorren.

"I'm sorry for asking that favour of you. Especially the fact that you got so badly injured because of it. I'm sorry!" El exclaimed with remorse.

Sorren was taken aback by El's apology. After all, going out to find Vyrena was sometimes his own accord. Despite the fact it was El who requested it, the decision was still his own. Him getting hurt could only be blamed on his bad luck.

"Please tell her that she is not to blame. No apologies needed," Sorren told Vyrena to inform El.

El eyes were watering, "Oh why are you so nice about it! Thank you for being so understanding!" 

El gave Sorren a hug, shocking him and Vyrena. Not knowing what to do, Sorren simply remained as still as possible while Vyrena and Fendrif watched on, chuckling. 

\u003cSpecial Holiday Bonus Part 3\u003e

As she walked alongside the street market stalls, she scouted out different options of things she could get for him. Vy came upon a shop that sold ornaments made out of glass and special gemstones. They had already set up their fir tree in the living room, decorated with string lights that glowed. It lit up the tree beautifully. 

They also had a snowflake-shaped crystal tree topper perched at the tip of the tree. Each time Vy looked at the tree, she felt as if something was missing. Now she knew what it was missing. The tree needed some ornaments. 

The stall sold many different types of ornaments, Vy had a hard time picking one for Lycster. But eventually, she found the perfect one. As she got the shopkeeper to wrap it up for her, she noticed that the stall also sold snowglobes. 

She was mesmerised by the tiny landscapes depicted in the snowglobes. 

"These are all hand-sculpted, painted and made!" the storekeeper cheerfully explained, seeing that Vy had taken an interest in them. 

One of them in particular caught her attention. Vy picked up the snowglobe that had a small log cabin in it. The cabin was surrounded by a forest of fir trees. As she shook the globe, snow began to fall within it. 

A memory flashed past in her mind. 

She could feel the warmth of the fireplace in the memory. She was with someone, a man who felt familiar to her. They were both cuddled on a comfy sofa. Vy had a wrapped box in front of her. 

"Open it," the man said to her. 

She unwrapped the gift box and picked up a snowglobe. Though there were differences, the scene within the snowglobe was still similar. 

"Do you like it?" he asked with a smile upon his face. 

"I love it," she replied with glee. 

Vy leaned over and gave the man a kiss on his cheek.

"It should be ready by next winter," he continued as Vy shook the snowglobe, causing the snow within it to fall. 

"Ready by next winter?" she asked out of curiosity. Looking at the snowglobe she held in her hands, she knew why he had bought it for her. 

They had been talking about owning a holiday home for the longest time. In particular, a cosy cabin where they could spend the winter. Careful as to not break the snowglobe, she placed it back in its box and put it to the side. 

Vy turned to face the man, with the widest smile on her face. She cupped his face in her hands as she asked, "You got us a cabin?"

He nodded with a smile. 

"Oh my goodness! For real?" she asked again in disbelief. 

"For real," he replied with a grin. 

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed with glee before kissing him on the lips. 

"Merry Christmas, my love,"

Returning back to the present, the smile remained on Vy's face. Although she did not know who the man was, the feeling in her heart was more than enough to tell her that it was someone special. She placed her free hand over the dragon pendant that hung on around her neck. 

\u003cTo Be Continued\u003e