***[Back To Citra POV]***
I’d heard the soft chi of her phone receiving my ssage - and imagined her looking at the photo I’d just taken. Flirted with her because she was looking at that way and I was curious what she would do.
And took pity on her when she did nothing. I could have just walked away without saying anything, but I told her goodnight first... again.
Because I wanted to be the one to end the mont or because I wanted to see if she’d say anything more? In my mindscape, Vrika whined softly - already missing her presence.
> We’re better off on our own... <
But the wolf and I both knew I was deceiving myself. The period of lightness and safety next to her truly was a very precious respite after being hunted.
Whether I could have handled it without her or not doesn’t change anything. I still would have been shaken and wanted comfort, no matter what I’d been forced to do.
She provided that and I found it as pleasant as I did tense - and that leaves with mixed feelings. Annoying, how easily conversation flowed between us once I stopped actively trying to be almost hostile.
More vexing was how much I’d enjoyed seeing her montarily flustered by getting her photo taken. Once I was certain Kyrie wasn’t following , I shifted the bags from being in both hands to just one.
I pulled out the hunter’s phone, telling myself it was only to check the list of accommodations she had sent - that I couldn’t help noticing the photo I’d just taken displayed on the screen in the ’ssenger’ window.
> It was just a photo. Stop making it into sothing it’s not. <
My wolf practically danced with joy as I stared at the Alpha, so I had to make it clear. The woman on the screen looked almost... normal in it... or at least a far cry from the person who had lifted a man against a wall just an hour or so earlier.
> Maybe I should add this to her contact information. <
Before I could talk myself out of it, I tapped through the nus and set the image of her startled face as her contact photo. Purely for practicality... to more easily identify her ssages.
"Once I start ssaging other people."
I tapped the link she sent for and scrolled through the list of places. There were over a dozen options, each with a brief description, address, and nightly rate - or monthly for the few apartnts.
> Yeah... no. <
I imdiately discarded those and the others closest to the downtown area. The last thing I needed was to stay anywhere near Lunarizon Tower or within easy reach of Kyrie’s influence... because I’d grow dependent on it.
My eyes landed on one near the middle of the list that seed the most attractive:
[Oak Knot Inn - Budget-friendly extended stay motel, clean rooms with kitchenette. Northeastern district, quiet area. Weekly rates available.]
Pulling up the system map, I see the northeastern district it references was about as far from the city center as I could get while still being in Vossden - and not the ’suburbs’ out past that way.
Far enough away to make it clear I wasn’t seeking Kyrie’s protection, but still within reach of the services I needed. It was also at least thirty blocks from my current position, making it another hour of travel today at my brisk walking speed.
"The distance will give ti to clear my head. And remove the fuzzy feelings from... nowhere."
⧖ ☾ ❄ ☽ ⧖
By the ti I reached the motel, my shoulders were screaming from the strain of carrying everything. What had seed like reasonable purchases throughout the day had collectively beco a physical burden I couldn’t ignore, even with werewolf constitution.
The motel itself was fairly unremarkable - a two-story, L-shaped building with exterior corridors and parking spaces in front of each room. The sign, however, had a giant symbol that gave pause.
> I’m not sure what they call that here, but it looks quite similar to sothing from my world. A symtrical symbol of folded lines with no real beginning or end. <
Traditionally, the snake shifters were said to have developed it - and it began with an image of one impossibly long snake looping over itself and biting its own tail... to represent the andering nature of life.
But it lost the head and tail aspect eventually in their icons and now looks like this series of overlapping, knotted lines in a sort of circle. In either case, it represented the overall cyclical nature and... endlessness of life and death.
"Do I really want to stay here? There isn’t a priest inside going to ask philosophical questions I’m not prepared to answer in this world’s terms... right?"
Eventually I shrug off the uneasy feeling, and find the lobby to be small but unexpectedly tidy compared to the last place I stayed. With a few plastic slling plants and a bulletin board covered with local flyers.
Behind the counter, a middle-aged woman with reading glasses perched on her nose looked up from her novel. Marking the place in her book with a card before closing it, dropping the eyewear from her face while letting a silver chain catch its fall... she greeted .
"Evening. Looking for a room?"
"Yes. Do you have any available?"
"Just yourself?"
I nodded and she leaned up to glance at my nurous bags as I set them down. My hands feel a little cramped from gripping them this whole ti.
"We’ve got a few singles open. How long will you be staying?"
The question gave pause. Until now, I’d been taking each day as it ca, never knowing I’d be staying more than a night in one place when I woke the next morning... even if I did stay at the other place twice.
> It’s not a commitnt problem, shut up. <
But right now? The thought of packing everything up and finding sowhere new tomorrow made my shoulders and hands ache in protest. Even though I knew I’d be fine within the hour and after a good night’s rest.
"What are your weekly rates?"
The woman smiled, clearly pleased by the prospect of a longer booking custor. I suppose you would be, when it is this late and you have open rooms...
"Twenty percent less per day than the nightly rate, all said. Includes a basic cleaning service midweek."
I did a quick ntal calculation when she tapped on the listed prices. The result made wince, but paying all at once now is really no different than if I continue to do this every day... and I’ve already determined I’m too spoiled to camp.
> Otherwise I would have just bought so camping gear and went back to live in the forest. <
Surprisingly, Vrika didn’t seem to want- right, of course it doesn’t want to go either. The Alpha is in the city! My wolf’s reasons are so impure.
A week would give ti to sort through my possessions and really consider what I need. Plan my trip to the hunter’s cabin... and perhaps even find so paid work nearby so I don’t feel that stab of ever accumulating unpayable debt.
The next dical appointnt at the clinic wasn’t even for another three weeks, so I had ti. To take care of other aspects of living here.
"I’ll take it. For a week."
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