I waved at the friendly mothman who ran the store and set about finding ingredients for a decent meal. Now that the fire in my throat had eased, I could focus more on my stomach. Fiella’s stash of pastries had been a minor relief, but the tarts only took the edge off my hunger–they hadn’t come close to satisfying it.
“Hey there! I wasn’t expecting to get any customers today, how in the realms did you make it here?” the mothman asked in a chipper voice.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures, or so they say,” I responded with a forced smile. It wasn’t the mothman’s fault that this morning was so strange. We wereallhaving a rough morning. “I just dragged myself through the snow. You flew here, I assume?”
“Yes.” He shivered. “And I almost froze my wings off in the process. But duty calls.” He waved his hand at the grocery shop.
“Well, I’m certainly grateful you did. Thanks man.”
He simply nodded in response.
It was nice to be around other folk again without the urge to rip out any throats. I hardly even noticed his pulse fluttering under his thin skin.
I meandered through the aisles, pleasantly surprised by the variety in the stock. This store hadeverything. The inventory catered to a wide range of folk–I could see items for humans, for elves, for orcs, for sprites. They even sold bottled animal blood for vampires.
Thanks to Fiella, I wasn’t very thirsty. I smiled wryly to myself. The thought made my body warm. Last night almost felt like a dream, I was so hazy with thirst. Some of the details were crystal clear, though. Like her sweet smell of warmth and berries, and the taste of her on my tongue.
Like the way I tossed her across the room like a sack of flour and pinned her down with my body.
I would have to apologize for that later, I had probably scared her. Hells, I had certainly scared myself. I had never lost control like that, at least not since I was a little.
I could havekilledher.
I tucked my grocery haul close to my chest, braced myself to return to the frigid cold, and headed toward my cottage on the edge of town.
This was going to be a slow, cold walk.
When I finally made it to my destination, scraped my door open, and clambered inside, I was shocked to see a neatly folded piece of parchment sitting on my entryway table.
Ignoring the landslide of snow that would certainly cause a giant mess inside, I dropped my groceries onto the counter, snatched the letter, and began reading.
My friend Two,
You missed me, didn’t you? I can’t say I blame you. I would miss me too.
Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you, I’ve just been busy and forgetful. I’m sorry.
If it helps, you haven’t been far from my mind. I wonder about you often.
Anyways, I hope you have been staying happy and busy, and that you’ve been drinking as much of that disgusting golden ale as your heart desires.
Still here,
One
Whoever this person was, they made me smile harder than I had in a long time.
I grabbed my parchment, sat down, and started writing, the corners of my mouth lifted the entire time.
CHAPTER 26
Fiella
After Redd had fled the shop this morning, I’d penned my letter to my mysterious penpal and dropped it in the mailbox closest to my shop. The thing had been so piled with snow that I had to grab one of my stone bowls to scoop it free, but it was worth it.
My penpal brought some hope and much-needed happiness to my life, and I wouldn’t let a little snow deprive me of that.
Kizzi, still working on clearing paths to the rest of the businesses in the area, looked at me like I was ridiculous, but surprisingly, she said nothing about my bizarre actions. I was sure I would be hearing about this later.
