21 Move

"Sa... rah?" Neel called her name and made her sleepy dead eyes lit up. She looked at him and she couldn't help to contain her tear. He heard her sobbing. "Why are you crying?" He asked hoarsely. Brak! Sarah fell down on the ground.

"Sarah?" Neel called her and she could only shiver on the ground. Her lips cracked and white, her face turned pale and cold. Neel trying to get up and he shook his head to wake up from his daydreaming state.

Feeling the air, he realized the blizzard was still continuing from the day he passed out. How long did this happen?

He went to her side and sniffed her body scent. "What happened to you? Stop crying, explain to me."

"I'm... I'm not crying." She quickly wrapped herself and tried to stop her tear, she explained her situation, "Hik! You've been sleeping for three days and the weather is still the same. I want to find food, but I couldn't go out."

He heard her voice as he noticed her weak body. Frowning, his tone changed to serious. "You've been staying here without going outside? That's why you are like this? You didn't eat anything until now? Or did you eat anything weird again?"

She nodded and grunted as she said, "Yeah, kind of. I was trying to go outside, but our location was too far from the forest even the ground. We're in the highest mountain for freaking sake. Hahh... I couldn't do anything, besides filling my stomach with water from inside the cave. I don't know if it's safe, but I don't have any choice, do I? I need to be hydrate... and I wasn't sure because of that or not, but I suddenly have this red rash on my body!!"

'Hydrate?' Neel was questioning her random weird word inwardly, this wasn't the first time she acted like this. He ignored that and continue hearing Sarah sobbed pitifully. Her body turned horrible, she noticed from yesterday, her body slowly showing red rashes.

Lifting his brows, he sighed slightly, he stated, "That's why you're crying?" Sarah snorted sadly while feeling helpless.

Neel touched her cheeks with his nose and gave her slight blue energy power. Her red rashes slowly vanished, but there were some left on her skin. He told her, "I'm not good with other physical healing except myself, so, those rashes will go in a few days later, bear with it. Then, Is that all?"

Dumbfounded, Sarah lips trembling and she wailed even harder. Tying to sound strong, she muttered, "O-Of course not! It's because of you too! I was trying to wake up you up! I want to follow our promises and I don't want to break it. So, I've been patiently waiting this few days for you!" In truth, her heart became relieved when these rashes on her body disappear slowly. She remembered this wolf had this healing power. One time he used it when he saved her in the river, and the second time was when he saved her from that centipede demon. By touching it? Was this how he heal her?

She suddenly recalled clearly the first night when the wolf healed her just like this. With his power, he touched her cheeks or face once before. The same experience she had today. She thought it was a cat at that time because she was half conscious after almost drowning in the river, then there was something different the second time he saved her. What was it again? Why did she feel she missed something important?

Anyhow, Neel healed her again today. While she was in deep thought again, she forgot to say thank you to him. But, thank goodness that Neel didn't care about as simple as 'thank you' word.

Neel noticed her explanation was sincere with a little bit of confusion. Was she suffering this past few days without him? He turned his head to the entrance cave and snorted. 'If there's no blizzard, she probably trying to run away from me.' He thought. Neel didn't have the best condition today, so he couldn't yell at her for being stupid again.

Not a few days ago, she said she didn't want to eat food from stranger due to her traumatic events, she consciously became more cautious for it, yet now, she did it again.

This time was a drink. Neel noted about human behavior who liked to go extreme way if they were facing hunger and thirsty situation. This should be in his reminder to watch Sarah's meal all the time.

He responded to her complaint and shattered her thinking. He said, "First, thanks for waiting for me, I guess? Second, there's a correction, actually, yes it's because you need to pay back me. But, it happened it happens, aren't you the one who suggested and agreed to become my sidekick? If you are a slave as before, I may have considered to release you. But now, you are my sidekick. Aren't you a little dumb? Why I should let you go?"

"Eh? When did I even agree? And bur-"

"Burden. I know what're you trying to say and actually, yes, you have already become my burden. But, this is something I must bear with it..." He scrunched his brows and it made Sarah's confused. He sighed and trying to make her recall something, "When was it you say? It was the time you deliberately come with me on the journey. Remember, I let you ride on my back by yourself? It was the proof you've already became an official sidekick, in our clan, that action is like a family tradition when both side reach consensus." He lied about the tradition. "I may look like forcing you, but you were indeed choosing the option by yourself. Anyway, it's an OBLIGATION. I have been kind enough to change your status to this so-called 'sidekick'. It's already fair enough."

'In what way?!' She shouted inwardly. She held her head, curling herself again while feeling stress. Was her decision wrong? Or did she just get trick without her knowing it? She thought it was the latter. Hah! Damn it!

Snickering from her whimpering, he continued, "Ah, yeah, about that requests about to let you go. When I think about it again, I'm sorry to say but, no. It's rejected. You're still going to travel with me whether I finish or not with my matter. You're going to be with me as long as I like. Because you're my sidekick." Plus my wife who soon I will be breaking off later.

She quickly opened her eyes after hearing his stabbing words and yelled with her last strength, "No! But-But!"

Intercepted her, he quickly uttered, "Unless you can prove yourself to be my worthy sidekick. I'll make an exception by giving you a little freedom. You have some business to take care of in the city we're heading, so I will give you time to do whatever you want to do and I'm not going to interrupt you. But, after you finish with your business, you need to come back to me. What do you think? But, if you're not coming back, I'll be searching for you. It's easy for me because your scent is quite unique from everyone else. That's why you can't escape from me, Sarah."

Slightly light came inside her eyes, but the next second when she heard his warning she felt shivered run down chill. Bitting her crack lips, she let down her head as she contempt for a while what should she do? She lifted her head and tiredly asked, "If I said 'yes' for 'real' this time. Are you really, really, REALLY, not going to do anything to me? And keep your words a 'real' promise?"

"I can't promise you." As he shook his head.

"Eh?"

He elaborated with a calm yet stern voice, "Because we don't know what's going to happen in the future hold on. A promise is like human personality. One time they are nice to you today, but the next day they can become a backstabber and hypocrite to you, and it is even worse than killing people. So, I may promise to you today, but I may have broken it off tomorrow. That's why I don't like promises. Because it's utter bullsh*t. That's why I can't promise you anything. But, I'll try my best to remember. When I forget, that's your role to come in to remind me. Don't worry, because I always keep my promises."

Except for a certain promise like her going to be by his side forever. That would never be going to happen in his life. Ever! Again!

A flash memory suddenly invaded his mind. It was an image a family and short hair girl. He lifted his head and spacing out a moment. Trying his best to erase it, but it couldn't.

Meanwhile, she didn't respond to him for half minutes burying in her own mind again. Her face looked helpless and red from sobbing. She messed her hair up like a birdcage and grunted annoyingly. Neel just sitting calmly, watching her body scent moved weirdly. She kept mumbling yet in quiet tone, "It's the same thing you stupid dog! Your answer wasn't satisfying! Now, should I say yes or no? Yes or no? Yes or no?...." Her condition was unstable because she didn't eat for a few days already as her stomach rumbling in every one minute, her mind wasn't working very well, and her temper was worsening day by day.

After spacing out, Neel saw and noticed that Sarah had reached her sanity. She needed something nutrition to fill in her stomach fast, if not she would be broken mentally, he thought like that. Standing up again, he needed to help her soon. Although he could heal her, it didn't mean her hunger problem was his business too. It was two different things.

He stopped her blabber and advised her, "I know you are still hard to trust someone right now, and I even a demon. No wonder you always ask continuously as if you are afraid to make the wrong decision. Alright, I get it, but just take it your time to get to know me. Now, get up and get ready, because in a few hours we will be going outside."

Snapped from her thought, she overheard him and asked worryingly, "Eh? Where to? It's terrible wheater outside. I'll be dead cold immediately if we go on a journey like this!"

"Who said we're going outside?"

"You mean?" Sarah turned her head around to the dark deep cave. She actually noticed that this cave had a deeper path from a few days ago, but she didn't know why she always had this bad feeling. In short, she was quite scared and chose to stay with Neel where she felt kind of safe. After what happened to her, she realized the most frightening happened in this world wasn't a ghost, but various kind of demon and crazy people.

She even once to tried to go in, but she could hear weird sounds which scared her and made her back down not even going to try. Eventually, she could go as far to a small stream to drink the water in front of the dark area.

Indeed what Sarah guessed was correct. In truth, Neel noticed another way inside this cave, yet he didn't choose it at first because there was another demon besides him deep inside. That demon was in slumber and much stronger than him. So, Neel was planning not to disturb the other demon when he wasn't in his full power. He hoped they wouldn't encounter that other demon. "I sense a way out from there."

Gulping hard, the darkness she saw was much scarier rather than she was in the forest. Maybe because there wasn't any light in her hands or even her surround except for the light from outside the cave when it was morning, it made this view even more frightening. At night when she was alone, she quickly distracted herself to sleep early in the wolf's soft fur. Trembling, she weakly asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, and maybe, there is a surprise for you, I hope you don't make any noises."

"H-Huh?"

Squinted his eyes, he urged Sarah, "Let's move." He pulled Sarah's coat and threw her on his back. In a few seconds, they entered the dark cave. Just when they enter the place, two light red eyes watching them from afar.