A
LEAD CROWN CONTRIBUTION

    
Walking through the streets of
Vallara again had a strange ethereal feeling to it, like it was all a
dream or it was one of those enchanted town told
in stories. It had been
about a year or two since I had come here, and though many things had
changed in Newport during that small amount or time, believe it or
not, Vallara seemed to be the same one I left. It was kind of
unnerving actually, though I couldn't pinpoint exactly what made me
feel that way, maybe the mostly friendly faces of the people around
here, or the calm atmosphere that hung around the place, or maybe it
was the long forgotten and ignored sense of belonging that this
little town gave me. Funny, how I never realized how close this place
was to my heart until I was gone for so long.

   
Unfortunately, I couldn't spend too
much time discerning my feelings about my hometown, not could I show
Shew all the amazing things that could be found only here, even if
they were only a few, right now we had to focus on our current task,
after all back at the tavern
we had agreed
to restock our already
dwindling supplies, as the last run-ins with the OoB(Order of Blades)
and Shew's recent
experiment had left us with
barely enough to make at most 4 concoctions I could think of, though
they were not that helpful either.

     I
let out an exasperated sigh, remembering
that particular experiment back at the hotel made
my hackles rise, what was that imprudent charming human thinking? Had
he no sense of self preservation? Well, I can't really be
so hard on him when I do the
same most of the time. But when I heard that explosion I had been so
worried, expecting to find the known explosion expert blown through
the wall, or worse. I should have scolded him, told him how dangerous
that was, how he was not an apprentice anymore to do so reckless
things, maybe hit him once or twice in the head to drive the point
home, yet when I saw he was safe, the first thing that crossed my
mind was to have him in my arms, to hold him and protect him.
Afterward
I was
too... entertained to be mad at him.

     
¨-lly----ro – you----rt----ro-¨
said a voice, or at least I think it was a voice, unless I'm already
losing my mind, like that guy Alarice hired, now that is a rare sight
to be seen, a human that seems to be both more crazy and
mysterious than our little group put
together, a feat I considered impossible until recently, maybe th-

     
Suddenly, I was brought back to
reality when something
yanked back
the neck of my shirt, with
enough strength behind the
pull to make me stumble, and
almost, lose my footing, almost.
I quickly regained my bearings, looking around to find the culprit,
only to find it was the human I was thinking about just a few seconds
about, no, not Henry,
it was a clearly annoyed scholar if
the vein popping in his head and the way he held his cane could be
trusted, sometimes it was hard to read Shew, especially
when he was mad.

     
¨You didn't have to pull me so hard, you know?¨I told him while
I tried to soothe the pain in my arm, he hadn't held back even a bit.

     
¨Just be glad I didn't
¨accidentally¨pull your tail¨ I mentally cringed at that, my tail
quickly hiding from sight immediately, and I silently thanked the
Spirits for their graces, having your tail yanked hurts way worse
than getting pierce by a sword, I can attest to that. ¨Besides,
you deserved that, you've
been ignoring me for the past ten minutes¨

      ¨You
must have been imagining things¨ I replied offhandedly
¨How could I ignore you?¨

     
¨Very well, then tell me why have we been going around in
circles for the past ten minutes?¨

    
¨It's just your imagination
Shew, the streets around in Vallara are slightly
different from the ones at Newport, I assure you we're right on
track¨

   
¨So you want me to believe it's
just a coincidence we happened to pass the same group of elderly
ladies near those
asphyxiating
flowers twice? Or that the same shopkeeper has been trying to get you
attention since we got here? Though what I find most vexing is-¨

     
¨Okay, okay, I MIGHT have been
out of it for a bit.¨ I admitted, no sense in fighting a losing
battle, especially against
Shew, ¨Just,
I'm sorry Shew, OK? There's
been a lot on my head lately¨

     
I anxiously
waited to hear his answer, expecting some sort of angry remark or
even worse, being ignored for the rest of the day, somehow
I feared the last one even more, after all it hasn't been long since
we're back at speaking terms, and I would hate to lose that even if
just for a day.

     ¨You're unbelievable Rolly,¨ he said, angrily? No, his
voice was soft and calm, no sign of anger nor annoyance there
anymore, he even gave a different feeling that before ¨ who was the
one telling me how I should share my worries with him?¨

     
I didn't know what to do now, I had never expected
something like this, I mean, Shew is not always the angry scholar
everyone knows and loves, he's a normal person, barring the physical
differences of course, but he never showed that side of him in
public, let alone in the middle of the street.

      
¨I clearly remember it
was you who told me I should rely on you more not so long ago.¨

      
¨Uh?....I'm, Sorry?¨ I told him, trying to keep his temper
under control, though I had no idea of what was going on right now,
this facet of Joshew was new to me.

     
¨Rolly, you're not the only one worried here¨ He stated
calmly while he changed the hand holding his cane and inconspicuously
grabbed my hand and started walking down the street, so that anyone
who passed us would be none the wiser ¨I have been thinking a lot
about it too, all the problems we have gotten ourselves into, they're
not like the ones back at the UPU, so it's normal to be worried¨

       
¨I
know, it's just....¨

      
¨You didn't want to worry me, right? ¨ He said with
some glee, stealing the exact words I meant to say, his lips curling
into a mischievous smile ¨You really are a fool, wasting your time
in such needless efforts. I will always worry about you Rolly, no
matter what, besides, who would I throw things at if you died¨

     
Hearing those words I couldn't contain the heartfelt
smile that made its way into my face, it make me happy to know he
liked me so much, even if it was hidden by his usual sarcasm, it's
the thought that counts right?

     
After that we just kept walking
for a few minutes in comfortable silence, just enjoying the comfort
of each other presence, and not really paying attention to where we
were going. During
those blissful minutes we shared I felt some of my worries dissipate,
becoming just background noise in my head as all my senses were
trained on the present, committing to memory every second I could
spend with Shew.

_________________++++++++++++++______________************____________***********

     
¨Remind me why did
I agree to do this again?¨ I groaned as we neared our destination, a
little familiar house down the road, it still exuded that air of
tranquility and happiness like when I lived there, any other time I
would have been giddy with excitement to go in there, but right now,
with everything that's been going on, I can't help feeling that it
would be dangerous to go in there, especially for the person
inside.¨Shew, I'll do
anything for you but this, so how about we leave before my mom can
see us?¨

     
¨Roland,
we've already talked about this, she's your mother, you should visit
her when you can,¨ Shew practically growled, I still wondered how he
could do that ¨ besides when was the last time you visited her? 3
months ago?¨

     
¨I don't know, maybe a year?¨ I tentatively said, no
use in lying to him, he could pick out my lies way too fast for them
to work.

     
¨Ah, just a y-A YEAR? Roland how-¨

     
¨Maybe two, I don't know, I've been very busy at the
UPU since Professor Milasky asked me to help him with his project ¨

     
¨But she's your mother! Argh, Roland, how could you do
such a thing to your mother!¨ Shew chastised me with a vengeance, he
was really touchy on the parents area, not that I could blame him ¨
That's even more reason for you to visit her¨

     
¨But what about the, you know, Them, wouldn't they
target her if I visited her now? Maybe it's best I come back later¨
At that moment Shew stopped and grabbed my arm harder, exuding an
aura that left no room for protests, yeah, I had pissed him off
again. Without saying another word, he started to walk again, pulling
me closer to the house with surprising accuracy.

     
Soon we were only a couple of steps from the house, the
familiar cottage casting a small shadow over us, that made my
apprehension grow by the second. The slightly darkened windows
welcoming anyone into its small living room. There even was the same
scent that I remembered, a careful combination of lavender and
cinnamon, my mom's carefully prepared flavor. It was almost to much,
and if not by Shew zealous grip on my arm, I would have ran away a
long time ago.

     
Shew paid me no mind, and I could swear he was murmuring
something, but I couldn't make out the words well with the blood
pumping so hard in my ears. By the time we were in front of the door
I had already run out of excuses to go away, as they were slowly
replaced by an imperative need to see my mom again, to see if she was
okay, to be in her arms. Holding that thought in the front of my mind
I knocked on the door, a loud reverberating sound echoing after I hit
it a bit too hard

     
We waited a few seconds, no sound came from the house, and
I tried again, maybe she hadn't heard, a couple of minutes passed
like this and there was no answer, a strange sense of relief coursed
through me, but was quickly replaced by anxiety. I tried to convince
myself that she must be working, it would not be so rare, mom loved
her work and her clients liked her a lot, so she tended to be busy,
yeah that should be it, or maybe not, she could be somewhere far away
being tortured, or she could be-

     
¨Excuse me, do you mind telling me who are you looking
for?¨ Said a kind cheerful voice from behind us.

     
I stayed rooted in place as my mind processed the sound:
tone, pitch, stress, accent, even the form; it all fit, there was no
doubt about it, I could never forget that voice as long as I lived,
it was mom's. I didn't dare to move as I hear Shew answer her in a
practiced polite tone, her answer lost to me as I tried to think what
I should say, what should I do, I'm not good at this kind of things,
and I would surely get an earful if I tried to downplay it, though I
doubted my acting skills would work right now.

     
In the end I just decided to do the only thing my mind
had come up to, slowly turning around to meet her eyes, the lovely
husky hadn't changed much since the last time I saw her, give or take
a few of gray streaks around her fur, but she was still her, her
youthful aura still present.

     
¨Hi, mom....I'm back¨I barely managed to utter before I
was pulled into a loving hug, my arms holding mom closer to me, I had
really missed this feeling, this warm and firm hold, even the
growing wetness in my right shoulder, which covered my mother's face,
but I didn't have to look to know what was happening, her quiet sobs
gave her away.

___________*********************************************_____________*******_______

     
It had been a relatively calm day, especially considering
the incident near the City Hall, it was a blessing things had not
escalated out of control, and rumors were that the Prince had a paw
in that, Spirits give him wisdom, the wolf's actions had avoided any
unnecessary bloodshed and had been hard at work to bring a peaceful
resolution to the whole affair. Sadly, or maybe luckily I had been
busy at the shop when that happened, so I had to rely on Mariam's
account to be true.

     
After that, there was an underlying tension around
Vallara, and most of the sensitive furs were on edge, especially
those who believed the far fetched tales of strife and chaos at
Newport that some merchants brought, it was unnerving to think that
such things would happen there, for it was one of the wealthiest
cities in Leshunia, it could afford to have strong security measures.
So the very thought of it scared me, with my little Roland over there
I couldn't help but pray to the Spirits to watch over him, and of
course worry about him a lot, especially since I hadn't received any
letter from him and Lucian's always avoid such subjects, his huge
pride made him think he had to keep me safe, I swear he never learns.

     
It was late morning when I was returning home after
running a few errands here and there, mostly to keep my stash of
herbs well equipped in case things took a turn for worse in the
future, you could never be too careful about this kind of things. I
was only a couple of minutes walk from my sanctuary when I found a
rare sight, a tall wolf bickering with a shorter but lively human,
they were both carrying an assortment of bags with the wolf carrying
the most, and the human had a most interesting stick and what looked
like glasses, though this were all black instead of the transparent
crystal I had seen.

     
It was quite the strange sight, so I watched them
carefully as they continued walking, with all these strangers going
through Vallara nowadays, it was hard to tell who had good
intentions, so it was better to be cautious, especially when
approaching strangers. As the pair continued walking, their path
became clear, nearing the place I called home, which made me even
more wary of them, as most of the people I knew would tell me before
coming home, and Roland usually sends a warning letter before he
comes home.

     
I kept a watchful eye on them, fearing the worst
from these strangers, and the more I saw them a strange sense of
nostalgia started to envelop me as I took a better look at the wolf
man. He held himself in a way that reminded me of Lucian, but his fur
didn't match him nor any of his friends, and he had a stout aura
around him that didn't match my pup. But as I inched closer to them,
the feeling in my heart only grew stronger, until my curiosity was
starting to drive me crazy with a need to know.

     
So I quickly gathered my courage with a deep breath and
got closer to them, as I did so it became obvious I knew this person,
but I just couldn't remember who he was, maybe a client, or one of
their off-springs. Only after I saw his face did I manage to connect
the dots, it was my pup, my little Roland, but he was different,
bulkier and with that strange aura I had only felt from a few
seasoned hunters before, it was strange seeing the way he carried
himself now, it wasn't nothing like the carefree pup I had left at
Newport almost 2 years ago.

     
When he shyly greeted me any doubt in my heart
disappeared, I could see my child in that face and body, and before he
had a chance to do anything I gave him a ¨welcome back¨ hug, the
height difference only allowing me to reach up to his shoulders,
which quickly became wet from the sudden located rain that happened
to fall there and that didn't stop until I let go of my baby.

     
This was one of the best surprises I had gotten this
years, so without wasting another minute I pushed both of them inside
the house, ignoring the embarrassed protests from my Roland, who was
looking apologetically at his strange friend, though the latter just
had a mischievous grin on his face. I quickly maneuvered towards the
small living room, forcing both of them to sit on the trusty sofa,
while I tried to fix the mess I had left in the room.

     
Soon I had both of them settled in, and I got to
work, putting some water to boil, taking out the things I would need
to make a refreshing tea, sharing a small talk with the clearly
overjoyed human while I kept Roland away from my domain, the Kitchen.
It felt wonderful to be able to dot on him like this again, even if
it would be only for a short time, I would make the best of every
waking second I could have.

     
The tea was ready in what seemed to be record
time, I needed no more signal than that to start my ritual 100
questions check of my pup, much to his chagrin, I needed to make
sure he was doing alright in that big city, and I knew both him and
his dad well enough, their Big Wolf Complex would made them
downplay everything, I swear the both of them would probably have
caught enough diseases to make the sturdiest healer pale if I didn't
take care of them so much, children had more common sense than them
sometimes.

     
Roland's pitiful protests didn't relent my
worry until I was absolutely sure he was alright, or as sure as I
could be without stripping him naked, something I couldn't do with
his friend here. I doubted my pup would forgive me if I did or that
the poor human could stand such an act, let alone in front of what he
probably considered as a refined lady. So I would have to leave that
for another time, hopefully I would have enough opportunities to do
it.

     
Satisfied with my work, I settled down to talk
with Roland's friends, Joshew, who was on the receiving end of a
myriad of worried glances from my pup, though I don't know why, it's
not like I would try to eat him, maybe pressure him a bit to know if
he was a bad influence, but definitely nothing to worry about so
much, my little Roland was clearly overreacting. As it turns out,
Joshew turned out to be quite the gentleman, politely answering my
inquiries about life back at Newport without the needless filter my
stubborn boys put on it, even if there were some shocking facts, it
felt nice to know what they went through.

     
After that, I spent the better part of two
hours exchanging stories with them, Roland finally calming down as I
stopped my investigation for the time being, preferring to enjoy the
time I had with my boy. During the whole time my keen motherly eyes
picked out some ¨interesting¨ facts, like how Roland always kept a
watchful eye over the young human, like he felt a need to protect
him, how they were synchronized to each other movements, how Shew
always kept contact with Roland, even if he did it discretely and how
my pup seemed to be worried whenever I shot them a questioning
glance, though Shew mostly ignored them. My mind started to wonder,
could it be just a close friendships with strange circumstances, or
could it be one of THOSE relationships my mother told me of, those
rare cases that happened in some tribes, and how they were received
differently by the Church, though I doubted it would be something
like that, it must just be my mind working overtime.