I slide to the dry deck and lean against the side with my eyes closed. The only sound outside is the rain, then the clicking of Kaida’s paws on the deck. I smile as she approaches. Her nose touches mine, and I reach up to brush my fingers through the damp fur on her muzzle. “You needed some peace too, huh?”
She snorts and sits beside me. Together, we stare into the rain. This house is surrounded by trees. I can’t see through them from right here. Maybe if the sky wasn’t so gray.
“Think there’s a library close?” I ask her.
Kaida bows her head.
“Yeah? How far? Five minutes?” Her eyes meet mine. “Ten minutes?” This time, she inclines her head.
Ten minutes walking in the rain. I glance at the house where I know there are three monsters still fucking bickering inside. The library offers a shower, food, clean clothes, and entertainment.
“Show me the way,” I tell her and get to my feet.
I don’t bother to tell them I’m leaving. I have a feeling that it would turn into a group trip, and I need a damn break.
Kaida leads me through the trees where the rain isn’t coming down as strong as when I’m in the open. We’re able to travel within the trees for a solid few minutes before Kaida veers out of the tree line.
We’re in a small town. The library is a single-story building that looks incredibly old. I push the door open, and a wall of warmth hits me, making me shiver.
“Shower first,” I tell Kaida. “I need to warm up.”
She shakes, making me throw my hands out as if that’s going to stop the spray of water she sends all over me. “Jerk,” I say, laughing.
There are showers in the back. If what they told me was true, I have to wonder how monsters managed construction and plumbing and shit in these places since the bathroom expansions had to have happened after the human race was practically destroyed.
Is it all just monster magic? Witch magic? What about fae magic?
I flick the light on in the bathroom and note that the answer might be a combination. The libraries always have power—some more than others—the bathrooms themselves always have power. They always have hot water. There’s always food in the kitchens that may or may not have originally existed.
It’s a library, though. I can’t imagine they were built with kitchens, but what do I know? It’s not like I was alive a hundred years ago. Maybe libraries had a need for kitchens that I just don’t understand.
I always try to be considerate when it comes to using the showers. You never know when there’s someone else waiting to use it.
I find some warm clothes and head back into the main section of the library. Kaida is waiting there, somehow dry now. She has a ball in her jaw, her tail wagging.
I grin, holding my hand out to her. She drops the ball in my hand then crouches her front end down and watches me expectantly.
“Feeling feisty, huh?”
She pounces back and forth, waiting. Her muzzle is open, tongue lolling out as she pants excitedly. I can just barely make out the shapes of her wings pressed into the sides of her body. Why did I never notice them before? I’m sure they were always there because they’re familiar, but I never saw them for what they were.
Overhead, the storm rages, the heavy raindrops pounding on the roof like a symphony. It’s so loud at times that I can’t hear Kaida’s paws on the floor as she runs around.
I toss the ball down an aisle and watch her sprint after it. She bounds, jumping like she’s moving over tall grass. Her body hovers in the air for a split-second too long before her feet hit the ground. The ball bounces off the wall at the end and comes back. She spins mid air and catches it in her jaws while her body contorts in a twist.
Kaida returns the ball to my hand, and we continue this way until she decides she wants me to chase her to get the ball, which I do. We run around the open space of the library. It feels good to laugh, and her clicking purr makes me think she’s laughing too.
She turns suddenly and crashes directly into my chest. I land on my back with an “oof” and sprawl across the floor. Kaida lies on top of me, her tail wagging, as she looks down at me with her ball in her mouth.
“You cheat,” I accuse.
She rests her head on my face, making me laugh. I wrap my arms around her, gently scratching her neck through her feathers.
The door opens. When she doesn’t move, I know that she knows who’s here. This is probably why she stopped me from running around. We have company.
“There you are,” Keary says, and I can feel his shadow over me. I can’t see him because of Kaida’s head covering my face, so I raise a hand in answer. “Why did you leave without telling me?”
“I needed a break from your constant fighting,” I mumble through neck fur. “You’re giving me a headache.”
