BXBX NOVEL Chapter 341 - On Their Tail
~~~(Time: 5:51 PM)~~~
We\'ve arrived at where our children have been staying for a while. At least that\'s what the magical device is saying. They\'ve already left town and are following the border. "Honey, I know that you want to keep going, but Marcus and I are both tired. There are some pretty good inns around here." Chris and Marcus are ready to rest for the night.
My mind is tired and in need of a break too, and it\'ll be nice to sleep in a bed after getting here. "Fine, let\'s get a place, and we\'ll head out again following the trail first thing tomorrow morning. They\'re going to keep moving, and we\'ll continue to lose ground if we stay here too long." My drive to find my other two children is turning into madness.
Chris doesn\'t think I can see my obsession, but I know what I\'m doing and how I\'m acting. "I\'m glad that you\'ve decided to slow down for the night. I was afraid I\'d have to drag you to a place to rest." My glare shows I\'m not amused. "I saw a pretty nice place that isn\'t too expensive. They even have a restaurant across the street." His voice is careful, selecting every word with precision.
We walk to the inn, and Marcus is already asleep in Chris\'s arms. Seeing them like that makes me smile. While we\'re not a complete family yet, we\'re getting closer. The inn is warm, and there are some players here and there. I walk up to the counter and pay the overcharged price, which marks another chunk of our remaining funds gone.
The bedroom is cozy and neatly decorated. Chris places Marcus on one of the beds, and he sits down on the other. He motions for me to come and join him. Wasting no time, I sit in his lap as he wraps his arms around me. "Don\'t worry, sweetie... We\'ll catch up eventually..." I know that... It doesn\'t make it any easier.
They\'re my babies, and I miss them... I want to see them... "Chris, do you think they\'re as worried about us as we are them?" I can\'t help wondering if they\'ve even thought about us. They\'re adults now and are quite powerful on their own. "It makes my insides churn, thinking that they may not even want to see us..." It\'s been a long time since we saw them.
The day they left the ruined LA on the player continent was the worst day of my life. Both my oldest children left the nest, literally. Cera sprouted wings and flew away with Hailey on his back. "Of course, they\'re thinking about us, and I know they\'re worried. Not nearly as much as you, though." His tone has a joking and humorous edge to it.
~~~(POV: Christian Adamo)~~~
~~~(Location: Rented Inn room, Border City)~~~
~~~(Time: 6:32 PM)~~~
Violets already asleep in my arms, she\'s willing to work herself to exhaustion to find our other two kids. My effort to gently lay her down on the bed works, and she\'s sleeping heavily. My next objective is to use the bathroom, and once inside, I look at the mirror. It\'s been so long since I\'ve had a haircut or a shave. Starting to look hobo-ish.
My temptation to cut off all my hair and do it old school is high. Looking like I\'m in my early to mid-20s again means I can probably pull off the bald look. My Inventory opens, and I pull out a dagger, I run some water on it from the sink, and I start chopping hair off. It does feel good with every bit of hair that\'s coming off.
I spent around 40 minutes, but now I\'ve got a buzzcut look, and my facial hair is gone. I look down at the floor and sink, and it\'s a mess. Not like I\'m going to clean it up either. I\'ll leave it for the owners. Overcharging us deserves some retribution. As I exit the bathroom, I notice that Violet is awake and is looking at me. She sees my new look, and her eyes bulge out of her head.
She bolts out of bed and stomps over to me, making sure to convey how mad she is. "I can\'t believe you went and butchered your hair without even talking to me about it!" She lets out an angry whisper, waking up Marcus like this doesn\'t end well. She smacks my shoulder a few times and scowls. I don\'t care right now. I needed all that hair off my head and face.
She calms down and sighs. She stands on her tippy toes and runs her hands along my buzzcut. It\'s an unfamiliar sensation, but it does feel good. "Well... You don\'t look bad... You\'re lucky this time. Most don\'t survive such a brazen move with their wife." It\'s an established fact that when you\'re in a relationship, your hair isn\'t yours anymore.
Your partner doesn\'t want you making decisions about your hair without their input, and this mostly affirms to women and their men\'s hair. If given a choice, we\'d all have the same generic haircut. Simple and easy, but when you\'re with a girl. It\'s what she wants for your hair. "My brazen move, huh... I\'m thinking about keeping it like this." She smacks my shoulder again.
~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~
~~~(Location: Carriage, heading towards Helda\'s Destination)~~~
~~~(Time: 10:17 PM)~~~
Sally is struggling to stay awake. Her head is leaning on my shoulder, and her eyes are fluttering open and closed. It\'s like when a kid is trying to stay up late with their parents. My eyes leave her, and I look towards Helda and Melimora. This time, it\'s Helda that\'s asleep. Melimora stares into my eyes, and I can tell she\'s a little more emotional than Helda.
My attention is taken away as I feel another head fall on my free shoulder, this time, it\'s Hailey. Jasmine is laying her head in Hailey\'s lap. Already sleep. Hailey\'s eyes are closed, and I bet she\'s already asleep herself. I wouldn\'t mind some sleep, but I\'m not that tired mentally yet. "They trust you." Melimora surprises me. She\'s a conversation starter.
Her words flatter me, and it does make me feel good that the people I\'m traveling with do trust me. It means that I\'m doing something right as a teammate and a friend. "We\'ve been traveling together for a while now, and Hailey\'s my sister. I\'d hope they\'d trust me by now." I\'m not a noble and righteous man, but I do know how to love and take care of the people I care about.
Melimora doesn\'t react to my words, and she remains stoic. "Why do you let Helda determine everything? She even provides your opinions for you. I\'m not trying to create a wedge between you two, just saying what I\'ve observed." She doesn\'t respond, but I can tell by the clenching of her teeth and the flex of her temple that she\'s bothered by my words.
~~~(POV: Melimora)~~~
~~~(Location: Carriage, heading towards Helda\'s Destination)~~~
~~~(Time: 10:24 PM)~~~
Cera has a natural inclination to see what people are feeling and thinking based on their body and facial expressions. He doesn\'t expect a response from me. He\'s provoking the thought of my partnership with Helda. He knows full well that I\'m planning something. He doesn\'t completely know what I\'m planning, but he sees a weakness in Helda and me.
I can\'t be mad at him. It\'s not like he\'s a terrible man. If he were, he wouldn\'t have such good friends that trust him enough to protect them while they sleep. I can only guess what they\'re planning once they get into the Elven Kingdoms\' lands. Spending lots of time on the inside of the border isn\'t what Helda and I do cause it\'s dangerous for us.
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A/N: Below this line, I\'ll be keeping Cera\'s player information. That way, I won\'t have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.
[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.193]
[Exp: 3/100%]
[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]
[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]
[Mana aura control: 6/100%]
[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]
[Stat Points: 30] [Armor rating: 500]
[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir\'s Whistle (Divine)] [Sally\'s Dresses 5x] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 4x] [Dried meat 4x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x]
[Passive Perks]
[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]
[Active Skills]
[Heavens light Lvl.59 325/5900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.59 225/5900] [Slash Lvl..77 4600/130000] [Parry Lvl.53 80/5300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controled Fun]