Chapter 38 Messenger
thirty-eight
Messenger
*GWENDOLYN*
Felix and I spend the evening cleaning up our place and doing some cooking. Having so many pets means it’s particularly important to keep everything tidy. Fortunately, Felix is on the same page as I am, and it seems he hates when there is too much mess.
And he knows how to use a broom and do the dishes.
Seriously, Elden and Flora really raised them right.
Now I am getting us something to drink while he is entertaining Tiger and our still nameless Pallas’s cat.
“We really need a name for him,” Felix calls towards the kitchen.
“Just stick with something we can remember.”
“How about Grumpy?” he offers.
I peek through the door, grinning at him. “And you had the audacity to call me out for my bad names.”
“You said easy to remember,” he points out.
“Whatever,” I chuckle. “We can call him Grumpy. He certainly looks the part.”
“But he is so cute.” Felix coos at him, patting his head. The cat has his signature grumpy expression, but still lets Felix pet him. Yeah, maybe the name isn’t too bad.
Meanwhile, Tiger is ‘throning‘ on her own little indoor tree, which Flora gifted us for her. She instantly loved it and is now sitting on its branches, overseeing the whole first floor. She usually keeps more to herself and is mostly focused on me than on the other animals, but it’s still obvious that the other animals respect her.
Weird, considering she is just a small bird.
Some scratching sounds against the window of the kitchen distract me from my thoughts. Against the darkness of the night, I can’t tell for sure, but it looks like the silhouette of a cat. A new pet seeking me out?
When I open the window, I am greeted by Titan’s majestic frame. “Titan,” I mutter. “Are you visiting us?”
I open the window completely to let him through, but he just halts at the windowsill, sitting down, while casting a glance at the packhouse. “I know your heart belongs to Aurelia,” I say. “Don’t worry, I understand.”
He meows and turns his head to look at me, his eyes so full of life that they just draw me in. “I wish I could understand what you are saying.”
Again, he looks at me, his eyes boring into mine.
What is he trying to tell me? I know he is a demon, so I assume his conscience is different to the animals of our realm.
Titan jumps off the windowsill, disappearing into the darkness of the night, only to jump up onto the windowsill again.
Once more, he stares at me before turning his head back to the packhouse.
Then he looks at me again.
“You want me to follow you?”
He meows again before jumping down into the night once more.
“Eh. Felix, babe,” I peek into the living room. “I… I think your sister’s demon pet is trying to show me something.”
Felix looks up, surprised. “Titan?”
“Yes, I think he was trying to tell me something, but I am not so sure what. I just know there is something he wants to show me. Pretty silly, huh?”
“Not at all.” Felix picks up Grumpy and kisses his head.
Man, I need to take a picture next time.
The combination of Felix’s sunny expression when smooching the cat and the grumpy one of doom on the cat’s face is hilarious.
“I am coming, too.” He looks at Tiger. “Tiger, my girl, watch out for everyone.”
Tiger flaps with her wings.
When we close the entrance door behind us, I am still trying to understand what just happened.
I thought Felix would laugh at my suggestion to follow Titan; I thought he might even try to talk me out of it.
I know he is not the type to mock someone, but I didn’t think he would accept it that readily.
My heart takes such a big jump of joy that I feel like I could fly away. “So, where is he?” Felix muses.
“There.” I point at Titan’s silhouette, as he is sitting a couple of steps ahead of us.
Now he gets up, trotting towards the packhouse. Felix and I readily follow him, but to my surprise, he doesn’t stop at the packhouse, but walks past it.
“Where are you leading us, Titan?” I mutter when he makes a turn and leads us behind the houses on a small trail. Funnily, it doesn’t lead us into the forest; it just seems to be an alternative way to the main road.
Titan casts me another gaze, meows and then keeps walking ahead.
“Gwen.” Felix’s grip on my hand gets a little stronger.
“Is something wrong?”
“No.” Felix looks at me with the same kind gaze as always, but his tone is slightly off. “Not… really.”
“But?”
“It could be a coincidence, but this“-he points ahead of us-“is an alternative path to the infirmary.”
His words make me halt. The infirmary? Titan stops and sits down, turning his head to look at me.
“Marina!” I cry, letting go of Felix’s hand to run in the direction Felix pointed at.
Felix chases after me. “I will link Dad!” he calls out towards me.
“And your mom,” I call back. “In case Faye is with Marina!”
Years of using the bike are paying off, because my stamina is strong enough to help me reach the infirmary within minutes. One of the nurses calls out to me.
“Just run ahead!” Felix yells. “I will explain everything.”
With that, I run up the stairs to the third floor, where Marina is staying. My heart sinks the moment I get there. Nurses are running around, clearly panicked, and I can hear a child crying.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
“Faye!” I catch up with one of the nurses, breathless, while trying to will down my panic. “What happened?”
“Marina collapsed,” she hurriedly explains. “We‘ve already informed the doctor. He will be here in a minute.”
“No,” I mutter. It can’t be true! Not that fast. Only today, I visited her with Felix to make sure she had some peaceful dreams.
But it is true.
Once I reach her room, I can see the nurses buzzing around, and Faye…
Faye is standing right next to Marina. She isn’t crying or screaming anymore; instead, has her eyes wide open, like she is frozen in fear.
She must know something bad is happening, even if she might not understand it fully.
I knew it when Dad passed. An instinct I had, probably enhanced by my shifter side.
“Baby,” I whisper, hurrying towards her and pulling her into my arms. I try to carry her outside, but she is firmly rooted to her place, struggling against me, until I give up and just hug her.
Soon, more voices fill the room. The doctor arrives and immediately goes to check on Marina. All the while, I hold Faye against my chest, not wanting her to see anything.
“Luna,” one of the nurses calls out.
Flora’s presence fills the room as only a luna’s presence can.
It’s instantly grounding and calming. She puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes it gently before joining the doctor at Marina’s side.
Outside, I hear more voices. Elden and Aurelia are here, and there are two more voices I can’t quite tell apart. Suddenly, I can feel and smell Felix.
He kneels down next to Faye and me, pulling both of us into his arms.
Logically, I know that Marina has left me long ago, that her soul had left her. I knew the moment I saw her at the pack borders, but I wasn’t able to accept the truth. I thought as long as she was breathing and walking, maybe, just maybe, I could save her.
I ignored this dooming feeling all the way through our stay in that small, coastal town until we arrived here, and Marina’s health deteriorated more and more.
Felix’s words come to my mind again, about how maybe the tiny part of her that was still with us tried to hold out until she knew Faye was safe.
A shiver goes through Faye’s body, reminding me that she is still in the room, and despite being unable to see anything, she certainly feels the distress and the horror. “Faye, sweety, how about we go outside? It’s crowded here.”
Faye stiffens again.
What are we going to do? Felix asks. She can’t stay here. I am fully with the others when they say she needs to have a chance to spend the last days with her mom and to say goodbye properly. But I am sure that this is doing more harm than good.
I know. But I am scared she will have a full-blown breakdown if I carry her outside.
“Maybe Mom can help,” Felix mutters.
My gaze wanders to Flora, and my heart clenches when I see how she is holding Marina’s hand. The nurses have stopped moving, while the doctor is muttering something to them.
“Maybe I can help instead?”
My eyes snap up to see Marius. He must be one of the other voices I heard outside, but couldn’t match to a person. Seems he was still around due to his meeting with Elden and Aurelia.
When I nod, Marius kneels down next to us, gently stroking Faye’s head. “Hey, little butterfly,” he coos, then gently pries her arms off me, taking her hand into his. “You want to see your mommy, don’t you? But it’s scary, huh?”
She nods.
“Then, how about I go with you to see your mom. Let her hear your goodbye.”
My mouth drops open when Faye just nods. “Yes,” she mutters.
How the fuck did he just do that? I know Marius’ gift, so I also know he didn’t use anything to lure Faye away. He just openly told her she can say goodbye to her mom. It strikes me suddenly that he is treating her like a person, he is talking to her as an adult, and letting her make the decision.
Picking Faye up, he walks over to Marina’s bed. She looks peaceful now, almost like she is asleep. Faye sucks on her thumb while Marius rocks her gently. He kneels down again, letting Faye reach out her hand and touch Marina’s face. “Goodbye, Mommie.”
I had been holding it together pretty well. It helped that I went through so much shit in my life that barely anything can catch me off-guard, but Faye’s silently whispered words suddenly make tears shoot into my eyes. Felix takes my hand and helps me up.
“Look who is here,” Marius says, turning over to have Faye look at the door.
Celine is standing there, not doing or saying anything, simply watching.
Initially, Faye looks surprised, then she reaches out her arms for Celine to take her into her arms. With that, they manage to get her to leave the room.
“Celine just arrived to pick me up,” Marius says to me before he leaves the room as well. “We will take her to the packhouse and have her eat something and play a while with her.”
“Thank you so much, Marius. Just really… thank you, thank you!”
Marius smiles at me. “Don’t mention it.”
Once he has left, I finally walk towards Marina.
Flora makes room for me, putting an arm around my shoulder while I sit on the edge of Marina’s bed.
I am not sure if she can hear me, but in case she can, I want her to know.
“I swear, I’ll bring justice for you,” I whisper while taking her hand.
“And I will make sure Faye is taken care of, that she will be happy. It’s okay, I have it covered.
Thank you for being my friend, Marina. You were the best. I will never forget you.
” I pause, swallowing thickly. “You can rest now.”