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“Holy shit, where did you find that!?”
“Awe!!! It’s so cute.!!!”
“Shut up you both are scaring it!”
“But how did it get here?! You aren’t answering my question!”
“I don’t need to! Now, shut up!”
I’m coming back from a successful trial when I hear the commotion in the château. Now, I’m used to my comrades being rowdy but from what it sounded like, they were being loud for a reason. By the sound of it they had, or more accurately, Joey has found something of interest. I finish cleaning my blade as I enter through one of the side doors of the building. There in the middle of the common room is my three stooges huddled together.
“Hey, Joe, what’ ya find?” I ask as Joey turns to me, a bundle of… something in his arms.
“Julie! Thank the Entity you’re back, I don’t trust these two with little Bruce,” he quickly hurries towards me, “The Entity is summoning me, please take care of him. Thanks Jules, you’re a lifesaver! Bye!” he gently dumps the bundle of blankets on me before hurrying into the fog.
“Awww, no fair!! Why do you get to take care of him!?” Susie whines, before crowding me to take another peek at the bundle in my arms.
“Susie, I don’t even know what this thing is,” I shrug my shoulders and tilt my head towards it in emphasis, “ so if either of you mind telling me, that’d be great.”
“It’s a bat,” Frank deadpans.
“A really, really cute baby one! Julie, you have to see him he’s just the sweetest little thing!!” the girl squeals, holding the fabric up so I can see the black, wide-eyed creature inside.
And to be completely honest, he was very cute. I’ve never been a huge fan of animals in general, way too much work, but that never stopped me from thinking they’re cute. What sat before me was a small, puppy-eyed, winged creature of darkness, and I loved it. I also knew someone else who’d love him too, actually, a few someones.
“Hey, I have an idea,” they direct their attention towards me, “why don’t you two go get Yui, Feng, and Quentin? I’m sure they’ll love this little guy too, and by the time you guys get back, Joey should be finishing up his trial as well.”
“Yeessss!! Frank let’s gooooo!! We need to get them, pleaseeee!!” The pink-haired girl begins tugging on the edgelord’s arms, urging them to go invite their partners to share in their discovery.
“All right, all right!! I’m coming!” but before he leaves he turns back towards me, “What if one of them is in trial?”
“Then tell one of the others to send them up here when they get back,” I roll my eyes, “come on Frank use your brain, I know you don’t like doing it but for the sake of your dignity, please try.”
Susie giggles behind him as he angrily turns and storms out of the château.
“Bye Julie!! See you soon!!” Susie waves before hurrying after the disgruntled Legion leader.
Oh Yui was going to absolutely love him. She loves Halloween and anything else even remotely related to the holiday. A bat was like one of the first animals associated with Halloween, or, at least I think. Plus this one was especially cute. My girlfriend and I had similar interests, likes, dislikes, hobbies, well except for the whole murder thing anyway. I always loved machinery, especially cars and trucks. Sure, Yui is more of a bike type but they all have engines, so we were able to bond over that. It’s not like owning anything other than a truck in Ormond was a good idea anyway.
Dang, I really miss my truck… But there’s nothing I can do about it now. So, instead I focus on my current long love interest.
I go to sit down on the old sofa whilst beginning to ponder why I was so obsessed with the blond biker. I had never thought my dreams of dating an Asian girl would ever come true. Living in a small town that no one knows about thousands of miles away from the country of my dreams was hard growing up. To make up for it. I took Japanese and learned as much about the culture as I could. Both the men and women there just seemed so appealing, they were polite, clean, and very hard working. So when I met Yui, this realm became so much more appealing. She was quick-witted, strong-willed, and dangerously beautiful.
I am drawn away from the thoughts as the tiny creature in my grasp lets out a sound akin to a squeak and a chirp. I mentally fawn at the small creature rubbing at its tiny belly with my pinky finger. It seems to like it as it lets out a series of little chirps. I don’t quite realize how long I’ve been sitting there until Joey re-emerges from the mist, fresh from trial.
“Jules? Where are the other two? Didn’t think they’d leave you alone,” he sits down beside me and starts petting the tiny head of the bat.
“I sent them to go get our significant others, thought they’d like to see him too,” I smile, “speaking of, did you see any of them in trial? I sent them out right after you left, thought they’d be back by now.”
“Yeah that’s probably why, Feng was in my trial,” he rubs at the back of his neck sighing, “just give it a minute.”
We sit in silence, well, except for the small chirping sounds coming from little Bruce and the fire barrel in the center of the room. Joey waiting for Frank and Quentin to come join us, and I waiting for my biker babe. Of course Susie would insist staying until Feng came back, if it was Quentin, Frank probably would stay too, heck if it were I waiting for Yui I don’t think I could leave without her either. It’s kinda stupid how soft I’ve become since meeting her, maybe because I finally broke ties with Frank and we were both able to move on to more… stable relationships.
I look up when I hear excited voices in the distance. Joey notices this, smiles, and gets up from the couch just as the others enter the room. Susie is chatting excitedly with Feng making overly expressive hand-gestures in the process, Quentin is partially leaning on Frank as if he just woke up, and Yui… Oh Yui. She followed behind the group with a small smile on her face as she watched the others interact. The moment she made eye contact with me, however, her smile widened and she hurriedly scuffled through the small crowd towards me.
I tilt my head up as she leans down for a quick kiss, “So, what’s this ‘something’ everyone keeps talking about?” She asked in a hushed tone.
I tilt my arms so that the entrance of the little blanket cave is facing her so she can see little Bruce tucked away inside. Her eyes go wide as a hand comes up to cover her mouth.
“Oh my gosh, where did you find him?!” Her other hand comes down to the blanket bundle but quickly retracts, “Can I? May I? Please?”
“Oh, yeah go ahead! He’s very soft,” her eyes light up as she gently rubs at the side of his head. He lets out a little chirp and she gasps as I smile in pure delight at her fascination.
“Joey found him and named him Bruce, like Bruce Wayne I’m guessing,” if I knew Joey I wouldn’t put it past him to call a bat Bruce after Batman.
The others begin shuffling over and I quickly become overwhelmed with the commotion, deciding to hand the object of obsession over to the original owner. Joey happily takes the bundle and begins showing the newcomers his “baby”. Quentin seems dejected at the bat's new title and begins leaning more heavily upon Frank. Susie and Feng begin fawning over the tiny creature as Joey quickly tries redeeming himself to Quen. As I continue to watch the commotion, I feel a head gently lay upon my shoulder. I look down to see chocolate orbs staring up at me.
“Hey,” she whispers.
“Hi beautiful,” I smile back down at her.
We continue to sit, a comfortable silence hanging between us as the commotion begins slowly dying down. It’s not often we are able to enjoy each others’ company for so long, so I was going to make the most of it. But Yui seems to have other plans, I realize as she slides gently off the couch beaconing me to follow. As I stand, I quickly realize what she is hinting at as she slowly makes her way to the staircase.
‘Well technically this is still enjoying each others’ company,’ I think as we quietly slip away, unnoticed by the others, to discover our own treasures.