You know how I said 2500 words on that chapter would be the longest one, yeah well, I lied. This is the longest one.
I think I got a little carried away but honestly, I love Junky and I love giving my own experiences into this story. My patrons seems to like these chapters too.
Thank you to my patrons, (I love yall.) OdeToAKite, Danielle Warvel, Michael, JewBot9000, Jonathan Newman, Kolonji Francois, Samuel Ochoa, taw and Nasior for always being patient and supporting in what I do.
---------------------------------------------
'Twas the dawn of a new day, and the sight of Aric fighting with Lira was a spectacle no matter which side you rooted for. Aric was using every means possible to fight her, while Lira was simply fighting him with one hand behind her back.
Every magic and sword he used was all deflected with just her hand.
Aric was on his knees with his sword as support. If…she was in the fight…she would've taken down that demon lady with just a spell, I bet.
Ivy was in her slutty cheerleading outfit and shook her poms at him,
[While that is a good point, you also must realise she's in her prime now or…her 4th century prime. But my point is, she has all the knowledge, refinement and swordsmanship that you simply don't have. I wager you'd win hand-to-hand, but that's assuming she doesn't just start adapting to you.]
While still on the ground, he noticed from the corner of his eye a black shepherd. He dismissed it,
My mind must be playing tricks on me.
He continued his training until it was lunch. His swordsmanship was getting better under her, but Aric couldn't tell the difference, as he would lose almost instantly to her. Aric walked into the dining hall to see Seraphina waiting at her seat with two plates of steaks.
"Are you tired?" She said with a cheeky smile.
Aric waved his hand to dismiss, "I don't know how you survived training under her. Matter of fact, I don't know how any student survived under her."
She gestured towards his seat and Aric sat down beside her. She began cutting into her steak and dipping it into the pomegranate sauce, while Aric topped his with a new green sauce.
Seraphina's nose caught a soothing aroma while she stared at him, as she had never gotten to try this new sauce. Her mouth was salivating.
Seraphina pointing the fork at him, "That's not fair."
"What's not fair?"
"Care to explain what that green sauce is?"
"Oh, this? This is chimichurri."
Her eyes squinted, "Chimi, what now?"
"Chimichurri. Here, try some."
Now's my chance. Seraphina said to herself.
"I'm not sure if it suits my taste buds. Why don't you try feeding me a bit of your meat with that sauce?"
HUH? WHAT? Feeding her? When's the last time I fed anyone? Must have been ages.
"So are you going to feed me or not?" Seraphina pouted.
I can't deny her now, especially after what happened. Plus, I'm on trial here!
He looked at her face. Ugh, look at the face she's making. She's way too cute!
He took a deep breath. Feeding can't be that hard. Last time I fed the kids so I'm sure it's the same.
"Su-Suree….." Here goes nothing.
Sera adjusts her hair and moves her head towards Aric's fork.
"Here comes the airplane."
Silence.
"PFFFTTTT HAHAHA, What was that?? What was that face you just made?? I've never seen you make this face. What's this airplane? Is this how you fed people on Earth?"
He looked away in embarrassment, "Okay, I'm sorry, the last person I fed was my kid."
She chuckled, Aww, he's ashamed. How cute.
"Oh, alright then, this time feed me like an adult, please."
Aric looked back at her and raised his fork and slowly placed it near Seraphina's mouth. She took a bite and her taste buds were cheering,
MMMMM, THIS IS SO GOOOD!
"How is it?"
She looked at him with a smile and realised just how close they are again,
"Very… 'exquisite' to say the least."
SNAP.
Ivy stared at the camera, [Look at you two acting cute.]
Aric was too shy to respond to Ivy. They both sat back in their seats with red cheeks,
"Ehemm… so, back to Lira's training?"
"Y…yes, right." She cut a piece of a steak.
She dipped it in the chimichurri, "If I were to be honest, surviving her training is almost a given as she would fight you at your best without hurting you. She knows someone's limit and plays around with it. For me, that would be destroying fields just for her to be satisfied. If I couldn't at least get a scratch on her, she would keep the training going."
Aric took a bite of his steak, too. "And I'm assuming the princess has taught many nobles. Who else has she taught?"
"The better question would be, who has she not taught? Anyone with magic in the school would almost certainly be taught by her. Staying with her until graduation is a different story, however."
"Enough about that. How is that…car? Car right? Is the 'car' project coming along?"
Aric scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and chewed on it,
"It's going great, but I need to figure out some blueprints in my head. There are chips and such in my head that I would need to think of a way to reproduce that in this world. I mean, I can do it, but it's not sustainable. I would need to think of a way to fuel the car."
Seraphina cut another piece to eat. As she was about to eat, her eye caught a silhouette of a dog, which made her freeze mid-action.
"Sera? Sera?" He waved his hand at her, "Are you okay?"
Sera shook her head aggressively, "Y-yes. I'm okay…"
"You don't seem like it. Are you sick?"
She coughed aloud, "No, no. I am just fine. Let's cont–"
There was something fluffy touching her leg. She started to panic internally,
IT CAN'T BE RIGHT!? NO. I BANNED DOGS FROM COMING IN HERE. THE GUARD WOULD SHOO THEM AWAY EXCEPT IF IT'S RAINING OR IF THEY'RE HURT!
IT MUST BE A CAT. YES. A CAT.
She scooted the chair back with a stiff expression and looked down. Her face turned white, and she flipped the entire table,
"EEEK! A DOG!"
She immediately went up to a cabinet and hugged the wall with her back. Aric was barely able to catch it from hitting him. It was heavy and Aric's forearms were being tested,
"Ughhh…THORIN! DARIUS! ALDEN! SOMEONE HELP ME!"
Alden came running in first with a mouth full of bread, "What's happening!? Are we under attack!?"
"YES!" Seraphina shrieked, finger pointing towards the dog, "It's right there!"
Darius followed with a ladle as a weapon, "What in the heavens is—oh."
Darius lowered his ladle as he stared in confusion, "...Is that a dog?"
Aric grunted from beneath the weight of the table.
"Little help HERE! Before my ribs fuse with the dining furniture—!"
"Oh god! Sorry, Lord Aric!" Alden grabbed one end, Darius the other, and they lifted it enough for the table to be put back in place. The steaks and potatoes were all over the floor.
He brushed dust off his coat. "Thanks, lads. I thought I was about to become a pancake."
Junky smelled the steak and went to Seraphina's. He started to eat it in front of her,
"D-don't move!" she warned, "It can smell fear!"
Aric chuckled. It was obvious he was humoured by this. "Then maybe stop screaming like it owes you money."
"I am not scared! I am simply respecting the creature's boundaries!"
Aric grabbed the other steak and offered it to the dog. "Seraphina, it's not a demon. It's literally wagging its tail as he's eating. He's quite happy with the food."
"That's what they want you to think! Next thing you know, after they're done, they will start chasing you!"
Evelyn entered the hall with an ice sword,
"My lady! I heard shouting. Is something wro—oh."
Her eyes looked at Junky and looked back at a shaking Seraphina.
Seraphina pointed dramatically at it as Junky ate from Aric's hands,
"Evelyn! Explain this! Why is this beast in my home!? Did the guards not see it!?"
Evelyn put a hand over her mouth, pretending to gasp. "Oh my… he's adorable."
"ADORABLE!?" Seraphina looked ready to faint.
"They all do, my lady." Evelyn said sweetly.
Aric patted its head and was surprised by how tame he is. This must've been someone's pet. It's very trained for a wild dog.
Ivy was taking pictures non-stop of the dog, [AND HE IS SO HANDSOME TOO. AHHH!]
Hmmm, if I were to deduce it based on how clean and fed this dog is, I must say it must've come from someone who loves dogs. But who could that be?
Evelyn and Sera never talked about animals they like besides horses. And I'm just starting to learn that she's afraid of dogs.
Hmm.
He raised an eyebrow as he thought of something amusing.
"Hey, buddy. Would you like to stay here? You look a little lost, but you're very cute."
Seraphina shuddered. "IT IS NOT STAYING! GET IT OUT!"
"Sera, relax. Can all of you leave the dining room, please? I can handle it from here."
Evelyn and the rest quickly left, and while Seraphina pleaded for them to stay, they decided for the first time to ignore her request.
Aric ran his hand down its fur; the dog's tail thumped against the marble floor.
"He's calm. Well-trained. He also looked like he was taken proper care of and never neglected. Why not keep him?"
Seraphina was still clinging to the cabinet. "Because! I don't like dogs!"
"Hmmmm." Aric pondered as he offered a hand to the dog, and it immediately put its paws there.
"He's smart too. Did something happen for you to be scared of dogs? Did it bite you before? Did it chase you as a kid? Talk to me here. I wanna know your fears like I said I would."
Seraphina took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and sat down on the cabinet,
"It… happened when I was a child."
"Go on."
"I used to love animals. I still do, but I used to keep them as pets," she said.
"Especially cats. I had three. They'd always follow me to the garden, sleep beside my books, curl up when I practiced magic. And then one day, a stray dog came through the estate's back gate."
Her eyes looked glassy. "It was rabid. Maybe it was hungry. It killed one of my cats before anyone could stop it. I was too weak to stop it."
Aric's expression softened as she went on.
"I ran after it to get revenge. It's dumb, I know, and it chased me because of it. It had wild eyes and its teeth were so sharp…It chased me all the way past the stables, down the dirt road, into the forest. I remember tripping over my dress, rolling down a slope. I had so many rashes, and it kept barking and growling at me, and I thought…"
She swallowed, "I thought that was it."
"But fate decided it wasn't my time yet. My mother found me first. I remember her sword glowing, the smell of burned leaves, and then… nothing. Just her holding me and saying it was gone. I didn't even see the dog anymore, but I could no longer hear any barks."
Seraphina rubbed her arm. "After that, I couldn't stand being near dogs. Even the sound of them barking makes my chest tighten and my heart pump. My people still feed the strays every day since I can't watch them suffer, but… I just can't be near them anymore. I don't want a cat anymore after what happened, I'm afraid of what could happen…"
Aric rubbed Junky's head, "That's fair. You're not heartless for that. You cared then, and you still care now."
"Most people who get hurt like that either turn cold or cruel. Most of them would hate dogs and would never even think of feeding them, let alone strays. But you? You still make sure the strays get food and shelter when it rains."
Aric smiled faintly at her, "You don't hate dogs. You just hate the memory attached to them."
Junky went closer to Seraphina, which made her stiff. Aric reached out to the dog calmly and told him to sit.
"If you truly hated them, you would've used your powers to kill him right now. But you don't. You don't hate them. You just have a perfectly valid fear."
"You know, while we're at it, let me tell you about a dog I used to have. During the war, I had a black shepherd just like this dog here named Kaiser. He was my buddy in the military and we trained them to smell explosives, live and dead bodies. Kaiser saved my life more times than I can count, and he saved so many other lives too."
"He would find them under the rubble, where they were being held hostage. He was a true dog."
Seraphina's eyes widened slightly as she was impressed by the achievements of this dog,
"He'd also sleep near my tent. Always stayed awake until I fell asleep. He would always warn me about something moving or save me from people. He was a good dog until the very end."
Aric paused and Seraphina could tell he was sad despite his smile,
"How…how did Kaiser die? If you're…okay with me asking."
"Some…monster saw him and sniped him from afar. That monster knew about my dog and did that to anger me. I…felt empty the entire time as I tracked him down and killed every single fucking person there."
"30 men could not stop me from getting my revenge. Kaiser was worth more than that…"
[Calm down, soldier. Don't let it take you there again.]
"Anyways, you get the point. I got my revenge, and only then, I broke down. I cried for an entire day. He was the bestest boy and they took him away just because."
She stayed quiet for a long time. Junky sat down between them, tail tapping lightly against the floor as if he was listening and understanding the story.
Aric eventually shook his head and looked at her, "You know, if Kaiser saw you right now, he'd probably nudge your hand until you petted him."
Seraphina made a face. "Then he'd be disappointed. I'd faint before that happened."
But she sighed as if it was heavy, "I'm sorry you lost him like that. He seems like a good dog. Maybe if he didn't get shot, he would've grown old with you."
"Maybe. Anyway, I have thought about it. Why not keep him?"
Seraphina frowned, "What! No! I can't…live with him here."
Aric offered his hand, "Back from where I'm from, there is this thing called exposure therapy. It basically makes you confront what you fear the most and slowly learn to accept the thing you fear."
"Some people learn how not to be afraid of bugs or cats. I had to learn how not to be scared of a gun. If you were to touch this boy right now, I guarantee you he will like your touch."
Seraphina took his hand but didn't go down, "But…I am afraid."
Aric caressed her fingers, "The first step of confronting fear is to look it in the eyes and face it. This boy won't do anything to you. I promise you."
Seraphina went down and immediately went behind Aric. He could tell her fingers were shivering,
"Boy. Come here, boy."
Junky went near him, and Aric showed his finger,
"Listen, boy, you are going to be touched by her. Don't make her scared. Allow her to pet you."
The dog barked at him as if understanding him. Seraphina jumped at the bark.
"Sera. Give me your hands. I'll help you touch him."
Her hands shook as she held them out. "M-maybe another—"
He smiled. "It's okay. I'm right here."
Seraphina's hand hovered uncertainly in the air before slowly lowering toward Junky's head.
Her breath hitched as her fingers brushed against warm fur. The dog tilted its head, letting her touch it.
Seraphina let out a quiet gasp. "He's… warm."
Aric chuckled softly. "Of course he is. Did you know some animals can tell you're a good person just by your intentions? Of course not always, but he seems pretty smart, so I reckon he likes you."
"He… likes me?" she whispered.
"Yep."
Evelyn, Alden, Darius, Claire, and everyone were all spying through the window. Evelyn's grin stretched ear to ear.
"Would you look at that?"
Lira folded her arms, "Told you. Only Aric could do that. I couldn't even get her near one."
Alden and Claire looked impressed.
"Maybe master Aric really is something." Claire murmured.
"Mhmm." Alden said while biting into his bread.
Seraphina couldn't believe she was really petting this dog's head. She could feel the fur. It wasn't rough, but it wasn't smooth either. The dog's tail wagged a lot and barked at her as if telling her that he liked her.
She pulled her hand back in fear and Aric chuckled.
"I guess that's enough. We can keep this dog, right?"
She looked down at her hand. "We… can keep him. But he…stays outside. I'm not ready for him in the house yet. Plus...maybe its real owner will come soon, who knows."
Aric rubbed the dog's cheek. "You hear that, buddy? You've got yourself a home!"
"WOOF! WOOF!" Junky barked in reply.