Pocket Dungeon, page 28
How had I not noticed those before?
“I like it here, Wes.” She said this like it was some sudden realization, and I fought the urge to laugh. I had thought it was pretty obvious she liked it here.
“I know,” I told her softly. “You’ve said that before.”
She shook her head, and there was a sudden seriousness about her expression that hadn’t been there before.
“No,” she said. “You do not understand. I like it here, Wes. I do not wish to leave. I would like to stay here with you, on Earth. For good. As your woman.”
Chapter 19
I stared at Yasha in surprise. I wasn’t sure what I had expected her to say, but it certainly wasn’t that.
“Wait, really?” I asked.
“Yes.” There was such seriousness in her eyes that it was hard to look away. It was like I could feel her emotions as she met my gaze. “I have been thinking about this for many hours since you brought me out of the dungeon. You have shown me more kindness here than anyone in Arcadio has ever done, and that is something I can never truly forget.”
“They should have been kinder to you,” I said, because it felt like the only thing I could even say at that moment.
What else was I supposed to say to this incredibly beautiful, badass woman who had suffered in a way she never should have in the first place?
“Thank you, Wes,” she said. Her voice was soft, like she wasn’t quite sure if she could believe me, and the sound practically ripped through my chest.
As pleased as I was with Yasha’s apparent decision, I didn’t want her just to say it to make me happy.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” I asked her. “You’d be leaving everything you’ve ever known behind. That’s a big thing to do.”
Yasha pursed her lips as if she was debating the merits of what I’d said. I didn’t want her to think I didn’t want her to stay on Earth, but I did want her to think through her decisions before she made such a huge choice.
“I spent my entire life training to go into the dungeons,” she said slowly, as if she was picking each and every word carefully. “I did not truly have a life aside from training. I was not close to my family, and I had no one to even call a friend. The only thing that mattered was the crystals and what we could earn from them. Here, I have seen that I can have a life with you.”
“I just don’t want you to rush into any sort of decision,” I said. “Not that I don’t want you to stay.”
“You are very noble, Wes, and intelligent. I trust what you say,” Yasha told me. “But this is not a decision I have rushed into unknowingly.”
“I believe you.” And the craziest part of all of this was the fact that I did believe her. There was a serious set to her jaw, and the look in her eye was almost a little scary with how sure it was.
I personally couldn’t ever imagine leaving everything I’d ever known behind, but then again, I’d never had a life where leaving everything behind was a better option. From the limited things Yasha had told me about Arcadio, she hadn’t been treated well, and it had been a life full of hardships.
“Thank you, Wes,” she said softly. “I know that it may seem… crazy, but here I have food, I have water. I have laughed more than I have ever laughed, smiled more than I have ever smiled. I have felt… pleasure and joy in your arms, and my heart beats strongly when I am with you. It is like I have been asleep my entire life, but I am awake now. There is more to life than the crystals, and I can see that now. But if I were to go back to Arcadio, I would lose all of these luxuries that I have been given here.”
“But… could you ever go back?” I asked her. “If you ever changed your mind, I mean? If there was some crazy emergency? You finished the dungeon in time when we first met, I know we made it out before the clock ran out. So shouldn’t you still have your crystal, and be able to use it if you wanted to go back?”
I felt like I was trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle where I had no idea what the intended image was. Dealing with the crystals and dungeons felt more and more like that the longer I engaged with them, actually. Despite that, it was still a puzzle I intended to solve, and Yasha’s situation was just one really weird corner section of it.
“It does not work like that,” she said with a shake of her head. “When you enter into a crystal, it vanishes, Wes. It does not reemerge on your person inside the dungeon.”
I supposed I had never noticed where the crystal went while I was in the dungeon, but now that she mentioned it, she was right. I had never actually had the stone on my person in the other dimension.
“I left the dungeon with you that day and entered your world,” she told me. “I did not return to the place I was when I entered that crystal to begin with.”
“So, because you didn’t return to the right spot, it’s what? Gone forever now?” I asked. “What about the people that, like… die inside their crystals? What happens to their crystal?”
Yasha seemed mildly uncomfortable with the slight turn in the conversation, but I felt like a dog with a bone. I couldn’t stop chewing on this topic. I needed answers, and my fox-woman companion was the only one there to provide them.
“As a little girl, I was taught that if you perish within a crystal, that crystal will reappear to the world after a time,” she explained. “This was something my people were very grateful for. Even if our warriors perished, the crystals weren’t lost forever. There is the same twenty-four hour period before the dungeon is accessible again. I do not know what became of my own crystal, but I assume it has now been passed on to one of my younger sisters.”
“Oh,” I said.
It was the only thing I could think to say. It painted an oddly grim picture, but then again, it was in line with everything else I had learned about the crystals and Yasha’s homeworld.
“So… there’s just no way you could go back to Arcadio, even if that was what you wanted?”
Yasha hesitated. There seemed to be something she wanted to say, but she closed her mouth for a moment before she opened it to speak again.
“If I were to… get another crystal, there is a chance. I am unsure of if it would work, but I might be able to leave through the crystal into my own world again,” Yasha said slowly.
I wasn’t sure if she spoke so carefully because she was having a difficult time with the translation, or if there was something she didn’t want to tell me about going back to Arcadio, but I didn’t push the topic.
After all, her answer wasn’t a definite yes, but it wasn’t a definite no, either.
Shit, maybe she was only saying she wanted to stay because she thought she was truly trapped here forever.
My heart ached at the thought of Yasha feeling trapped. She deserved the world, mine or otherwise.
“You could always use mine,” I said suddenly. “If you needed to go back, I mean. You could try and use my crystal? I’m not really sure how all of this would work, but… I’d be willing to let you try if you wanted to go home. I’d take you myself. You shouldn’t have to completely cast your world off, Yasha. It’s… I dunno, it’s your home.”
Yasha looked at me like she had never been met with such kindness, and the worst part was, I didn’t even think I was showing her any particular kindness. In my mind, this was just how people treated one another, especially people they cared about. And I cared about Yasha. Why wouldn’t I try to help her with whatever she needed?
“Thank you, Wes,” she said again as her golden eyes glistened in the Walmart lights. I thought I saw another glimpse of hesitation there, like she was once again unsure of what to say, but then she continued. “I have considered this at great length. No matter… what options we might find, I do not wish to return to Arcadio. I mean to say that I would like to stay here with you. I would really like to stay, Wes. Even if I had my crystal, I would give it to you now.”
I was once again floored by the bravery of the woman in front of me. It might have seemed like a big decision just at first glance, but the more I thought about it, the larger the decision grew. She was choosing a new, strange life instead of one of hardship, even though she had no real way of knowing the outcome or if she would ever go back.
That was bravery in my eyes.
“If that’s what you want, you should have it,” I finally said.
Yasha seemed to be blinking back tears. “You are an incredible man. I hope you know that.”
“Eh, I’m alright,” I chuckled and shrugged, and the fox-girl giggled in response. Then I slid my arm around her waist. “Come on, let’s get these groceries paid for, and then we can get back to my place. We can pick out some clothes and stuff tomorrow after I get off of work.”
Yasha smiled brightly at me. “That sounds very nice, Wes. Then we can watch more of the Star Wars?”
I grinned. “Yes. We can try all of this food, and we can watch more of the Star Wars.”
I kept one arm around her tiny waist as I guided her out of the aisleway, and I used my other hand to steer the cart. We managed to make it out of the remainder of the store and up to the checkout without getting distracted along the way.
If the cashier thought our strange assortment of food was anything to balk at, she didn’t say anything. Then again, most people who had to work in retail probably didn’t give a shit about what people bought. As someone who worked in retail, that was certainly my viewpoint on the whole thing.
Yasha was fascinated by the conveyor belt at the register, though, which I was surprised I hadn’t expected. She watched with rapt focus as each of the items I placed on the belt quickly moved toward the bored-looking cashier.
I couldn’t help but grin at the level of attention she was giving each new item before it moved down the line. There was something so unbelievably endearing about the way Yasha acted, sometimes it was easy to forget that when her foot was healed, she was probably entirely capable of beating the shit out of me.
After we had managed to load our strange assortment of groceries onto the belt, I made my way down to the end of the checkout counter with Yasha in tow. The fox-woman stuck close to me as we watched the cashier ring up each of our groceries together, and she seemed intrigued by the various piercings in the cashier’s face.
I was just grateful she didn’t say anything that could offend the poor underpaid worker.
When the cashier told me my total, I tried not to balk at the number. I knew I had a pretty decent amount of money in my savings at the moment, but it was still a really hard habit to break.
I tried not to wince as I slipped the chipped end of my debit card into the reader. I logically knew I would be fine, but I was still entirely prepared for the machine to reject my card and tell me it was declined.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen. The cashier passed me my receipt without batting an eye, and I moved to the very end of the lane to start moving my bags over into the cart.
Despite the clear disdain she had for the job, the cashier had managed to get everything packed away into minimal bags. That was good, it meant it would be a hell of a lot easier to actually get back to my apartment.
Yasha seemed enraptured by all of the people in the store as I loaded up our groceries. I couldn’t help but smile at the awed look on her face as she took in all of the families with their own carts full of groceries, of the people from all different sorts of walks of life in various different outfits.
“Ready to go?” I asked her as soon as I had finished loading the groceries up. I held out my hand for her to take.
She flashed me a sharp-toothed grin and slipped her hand into my palm without any delay.
“Yes,” she said. “Let us go.”
I matched her smile with one of my own and kept the fox-woman close to my side as I navigated the cart out of the busy store and back into the parking lot.
I felt a small bit of concern as we neared my motorcycle and was once again forced to consider how the hell we were going to get all of these groceries home, but I knew we would manage it somehow.
“I think you’re probably going to have to hold most of the bags,” I told Yasha. “Is that okay?”
“That is more than okay, Wes,” she assured me.
“Good.” I grinned. “I would hate to have to leave any of this food behind.”
Yasha’s golden eyes widened at the mention of potentially having to leave any of our food behind, like it was the worst thing she had ever heard, and I tried not to laugh at the look on her face.
“I’m just kidding,” I assured her in a placating tone. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving any of this behind.”
She let out a visible sigh of relief and nodded her head. “Good. I am very much excited to try all of it, I would hate to not be able to do so.”
“And I would hate to disappoint you,” I assured her. “Now, come on.”
Yasha held her arms out as I passed her all five of the bags we’d collected from the store. After a bit of finagling and rearranging, she managed to get them slung over her arms in a way that would still allow her to sit on the bike with me.
I really needed to bring my magical rucksack with me next time.
“Stay here,” I said. “I’ll be right back. I have to go put the cart up.”
Yasha nodded, as if I had given her some sort of serious order. I could feel her eyes on me the entire time as I jogged over to the overflowing cart corral and pushed my newly emptied cart into the line. I also grabbed a nearby cart that wasn’t quite in the corral and pushed it into place as well.
It was one of my pet peeves when people didn’t put their carts back. According to my mother, that sort of thing was a litmus test for whether or not someone was a good person, and I had taken it to heart from a young age.
I jogged the few feet back to where Yasha was waiting for me next to my bike. She cocked her head to the side and glanced around the parking lot as if she was trying to put something together in her mind.
“What?” I asked. “What are you thinking about?”
It was a little strange to me that this woman I hadn’t even known all that long at all was already becoming so familiar to me that I could tell she had something on her mind from a slight change in her facial features.
Life was strange.
“Why did you put the cart back over there?” she asked. “There are plenty of carts all around here. Is that not where they go?”
She used her head to gesture around the parking lot to where, sure enough, people hadn’t actually put their carts back up where they were supposed to go.
I let out a cross between a laugh and a sigh. “People are supposed to put them back. It makes things a lot easier on the people who work at the store when people do that, but sometimes people just… don’t.”
Yasha’s pretty face creased in a frown, and she looked around the parking lot as if she had a new understanding of what she was seeing.
“Should we put them back, then?” she asked.
I was taken momentarily aback by how genuine her question was, and I fought the urge to grin again. This woman was something spectacular.
“I think we should probably get home before the ice cream melts,” I said. “But next time we come to the store, if you want to put the carts back, we definitely can.”
“Good.” She seemed pleased with this answer. “It is the right thing to do.”
I grinned, and because I couldn’t help it, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers in a soft kiss.
Yasha made a soft sighing sound against my lips that made heat curl in the pit of my stomach. I had never met a woman who could be so sexy, scary, and sweet at the same time. Apparently, I had a super specific type that I had just been previously unaware of.
“Come on,” I said as I reached down to grab her helmet. “Let’s get this on you, and then we can get home.”
“But what about the Millennium Falcon?” Yasha pouted anxiously. “We were promised it.”
It took me a moment to realize what the hell she was talking about, but then I remembered that Maybe-Dale was currently watching over the collector’s item Yasha had absolutely fallen in love with.
“We’ll pick up your Millennium Falcon on the way home,” I promised her. “It’s not out of our way.”
Yasha gave a determined nod and bent her head forward so I could slip the helmet onto her head for her. I fastened the strap under her chin before I put on my own helmet and mounted the bike.
It was a few seconds before I heard the sound of plastic bags crinkling as Yasha mounted the bike behind me. She took a second to rearrange the bags in her arms before she grabbed hold of my waist.
I could feel the cold press of one of the pints of ice cream against the small of my back through my leather jacket, but it wasn’t exactly a long ride until we were back at my apartment. I could manage until then.
I waited until Yasha was clearly settled on the bike behind me before I maneuvered the kickstand up with my boot. I pulled out of the Walmart parking lot and navigated my way back onto the street.
Taking a side quest to see Maybe-Dale’s sour expression almost put a damper on my mood, but he’d done as promised and kept the Kenner set safe behind the counter for us. So I gave him a swift nod, tucked it into my jacket, zipped it safely into place, and then whistled my way back out the door to my foxy lover.
The ride back to my apartment was nice after that. I wasn’t sure if it was just the elation I felt from Yasha’s confession that she wanted to stay here with me for good, or if it was the combined joy from that and the rest of the great day I’d been having, but I was feeling good.
I couldn’t really remember the last time that I had felt so… happy. It was strange to think about how drastically my life had changed thanks to some random crystal I’d found because my sister had dragged me into a shop one day. But it had certainly changed for the better after that.
I let my thoughts wander to all of the good things that had come from the crystal as I made the rest of the ride back to my apartment. Every time I had to pull my bike to a stop, I gave a cursory glance around in each direction just to make sure I didn’t recognize any of the vehicles I had seen following me before, but each time, I wasn’t met with anything familiar.
