Book 2: Chapter 22: Handling Breena and Exploratory Teaching

Book 2: Chapter 22: Handling Breena and Exploratory Teaching

"How has Kyuubi been?" Lone asked Breena to cure the growing silence between them as they ate dinner.

Carefully nibbling on her food, Breena answered, "Um, good? She's very soft... and, em, nice? She's a lot more docile than most pets."

'Good, good, she isn't stuttering anymore... Man, that's twice now that I've scared her needlessly. I need to apologise today. The longer I let the wound fester, the larger it'll get and the harder it'll be to mend.' He had learned that with his father.

The man wasn't always an abusive sack of shit. He was actually a decent person until his company started collapsing around him. Slowly, blow after blow had worn down his father's mind to the point of abusing his own son and later killing himself.

Of course, this was not apples to apples but Lone could still see the similarities between then and now.

Getting the guilt off his chest would help both him and Breena. He needed to move past this hesitation of his.

"Is she being easy to care for? Soph always loved how self-sufficient she was," Lone noted with a kind smile.

Breena nodded. "Mhm. She eats and drinks exactly when I put her food and water in her bowls. Um, I only do it at the times you specified. I, um, I don't know why she's still so round... It's a bit weird, though she's very cute and... like I said a moment ago, soft. She also uses the litterbox you gave me by herself with ease and suspiciously quietly. I thought a big fox like her would be a bit noisier."

'That's the most I've ever heard her speak. Period. What a killer opening conversation topic, huh? You're finally getting the hang of this social stuff, aren't ya, Lone?' he praised himself jokingly. "Yeah, it is strange. I can only assume it has something to do with her species... or maybe she's a magic fox."

He reached over and stroked Kyuubi's head as she slept atop the empty end of their table. "Well, are you a magic fox?"

"Kyuu..." she purred in her sleep.

"I, uh, don't think she'll answer you..." Breena said while a hint of a smile crept up on her face.

"Maybe she will one day. Who knows what magic foxes are capable of?" Lone asked cheerily.

A few minutes passed with the mood at the table now being much friendlier and warmer. Breena even opened up a little bit and spoke about her job and how she was enjoying it a lot more than she'd expected.

Soon though, Lone decided to address the elephant in the room. He needed to do so before he got lost in the fun and casual talks they were having. That was all too convenient of an excuse to fall upon as a way to avoid owning up to being a not so nice person to her of late.

"Breena," Lone said in a more sombre tone.

"Y-Yes?" caught off-guard a bit by his sudden seriousness, Breena fumbled.

Lone put down his fork and knife and stared right into her eyes. "I'm sorry. I lashed out at you in the Farwinds and scared you at the library. The library incident wasn't intentional but that doesn't excuse it. As for the Farwinds... I don't know how I could have ever acted like that to you. It was disgraceful of me and I can't apologise enough."

Breena started to panic a bit. "Uh, um, y-you d-don't need to say s-sorry at all! It w-wasn't your fault. And, I, um, I st-startled you in the l-library so it's okay..."

Lone shook his head. "No, it isn't."

He reached over the table and lightly grabbed Breena's hand. "I'm an adult and you're just a child. No adult should ever, and I mean ever, raise their voice at a child, whether justified or not."

"I, uh, em..." Breena didn't know what to say.

"It's okay, you don't need to say anything, just listen, okay?" Lone requested softly.

Breena lightly nodded her head.

"You were absolutely right when you told me it wasn't Four-twelve's fault and you were also right when you tried to convince me to stop... acting like a madman banging on doors in the middle of the night. You're far more mature than a girl your age should be," Lone chuckled faintly.

Lone smiled awkwardly. "It's very.. playful. And not in a good way. More in a 'fuck me this guy is annoying and quite possibly very dangerous' kind of way."

"I see... Well, that's all for now, Mister Immortus. Thank you for keeping me updated," Felix said as he reached over to shake Lone's hand.

"It was my pleasure, Mister Morstone," Lone replied.

When he had returned to the Rusty Sprocket, he sighed deeply upon entering his and Soph's room. "No Persuasion level up again and, if anything, he believes me even less than yesterday... That's hardly ideal..."

He sat down at the room's wooden and partially copper desk. He then reached into his Dimensional Storage and withdrew a large leather-bound tome. Opening it, he revealed it was empty. Next, he retrieved a quill and inkpot.

"I've never written a diary before, but now seems as good a time as any," he mumbled before he started writing.

A few hours passed and Lone had only just finished noting down his first few weeks on Altros in his new diary.

The plan was to detail everything he could remember as aptly as he able until he reached the present day where he could slowly note down what happened day-to-day.

It seemed like a wise idea in his mind since he was now in a world of magic and myths. Who knew when he might need to rely on his journal to verify his own memories?

Regardless, a knock at his door disturbed him.

"Come in," Lone answered. "The door's unlocked."

Only one person could be coming to his room so late. Matching his expectations, Lone saw Breena carefully enter the room as she closed the door behind her. She was trying her best to do both that and not drop the fluffball snoozing in her arms.

"What brings you here so late?" Lone asked in a friendly, almost fatherly, manner.

Breena slowly approached his and Soph's bed before placing Kyuubi on it. She then said, "Um, I thought it would be smart if I stayed in here tonight. I, uh... I was wondering if your body got taken too when you, y'know..."

Lone did nothing but praise her courage internally. 'She's got a strong fear of men and she clearly is very timid, so making a decision like that without being prompted... Her growth is astounding.'

"I'd love that. I was curious too if my body disappeared as well or not and I obviously had no real way to verify that. I'd be honoured if you'd stay here and watch over me," Lone said with a smile. "Will you be okay though, not sleeping?"

Breena nodded. "I've, em, done it before. Going days without sleeping. I can handle one or two days without it being to-too much of a problem."

Lone nodded then asked, "What do you want to do while you're in here? Play with Kyuubi?"

Breena looked unsure. "I, uh, don't mind doing nothing..."

Lone shook his head then summoned a chair next to him. He patted it then said, "Come. I'll teach you something interesting. It's a language not of this world, English. You're a clever girl and it'll be interesting to try teaching a subject so foreign to me; language."

A hint of cautious excitement entered Breena's eyes. "I've never heard of English before..."

"Well, like I said, it's not of this world. I hear it came from a hero, but no one's really sure," Lone lied.

It most certainly wasn't the right time to inform the girl of his and Soph's origins, double so considering her past experience with a hero.

Kyuubi slowly opened her eyes and glanced around. She got up, stretched like a cat and stared at Lone's back for a moment. Her gaze lingered on Breena's too for a moment before she seemed to sigh and then slump down again, returning to sleep.

She was, after all, a very busy fox.