75 Find Haven

Valfafer managed to exit the building without dropping Lydis. The people who saw him wanted to scream but a heavy suppressive force caused them to faint when Valfafer passed by. Normal citizens without any slyphir training would get pressured to the point of fainting just from Valfafer passing by. It could be said that Valfafer's current size was a bit larger than needed to break out of the room but he wouldn't tell Lydis that.

Lydis opened her eyes slightly, feeling the wind blowing past her face, she heard the sharp clicks of Valfafer's large claws against the paved road.

"…Valfafer…"

"Yes master!"

Lydis felt a bit disgruntled by his happiness but she didn't tell him where to go yet. Before she could pass out again, she needed to tell him a destination or else he would run around the city all day, alerting everyone to how unusual and suspicious she was.

"Find Haven and drop me off nearby. Leave the city until you regain your small size again."

"Yes master." The happiness had lessened but Valfafer still followed Lydis's command. If he didn't, there would be a painful reminder from the contract tattoo on his leg.

In the past when Lydis was still learning to release the restraints, it was the first time she'd done it. Valfafer thought that he'd been freed so he ran the moment Lydis collapsed but, unfortunately for him, Lydis had called out a command before she passed out. 'Sit'. In the next moment, Valfafer's butt plastered itself on the ground while his legs were still in the motion of running. He'd managed to reach the edge of the clearing they were in before suffering that humiliation.

In a burst of anger, Valfafer raised his butt to run again but the tattoo began to constrict his foreleg, causing him to fall muzzle first into the ground. Still resisting, Valfafer tried to move but then the tattoo had begun to burn like acid.

Painful, oh it was so painful! Yet his master didn't even know or cared about it since she's passed out. Valfafer shook his head to stop himself from remembering. Even now, the thought makes his foreleg itch.

Valfafer lifted his head to get a better grasp of Haven's scent. The many smells he'd smelt in his smaller form couldn't compare to what he could smell then. Everything from the dirty sock blocks away to the small beasts in the forest surrounding the city. For a moment, the smells overpowered him until he caught the familiar scent of Haven.

Dashing to her, Valfafer still didn't care who saw him nor which path he took. Sometimes the main road, sometimes the side alleys, whichever way was fastest he took.

Nearing the prison of the city, Valfafer dropped Lydis on the roof a building a block away from Haven's cell.

Looking satisfied, Valfafer grinned. Now that his delivery was done, he could go play! Er, hide, until the slyphir in him dispersed naturally.

"Bye master! When the slyphir is gone I'll come back! And I'll bring some good food!"

Although Lydis was asleep and probably couldn't hear him, Valfafer felt that he had to openly voice what he was going to do. If his master could hear him then she'd know that even when they parted, he was still thinking of her!

Just as he was about to run off a cold wind somehow tickled his skin under his luscious fur. Seeing that the wind had gotten to him, Valfafer found some rags and clothes hanging on nearby alleys and piled them on Lydis. Now when she woke up, his master would praise him for thinking of her!

Dashing off quickly, Valfafer used the rooftops to make his way towards the city walls.

Almost two hours had passed when Lydis woke up. The sun had begun to set, dying the sky in vibrant red hues mixed with purple and pink. Having found herself on a rooftop, Lydis was a bit disoriented when she saw the rooftops of buildings and not the walls. Fearing that Valfafer had left her on top of a tall building, Lydis rushed to the side, falling over due to the massive stack of cloths piled on her.

"What?" Lydis crawled out of the pile and fought the tangled mess of clothes and rags.

When she reached the edge Lydis sighed in relief. The building only looked to be one story tall and was surrounded by many buildings just as tall, giving her the illusion that she was on a higher building.

"Although I told Valfafer to leave me near Haven, I don't see her."

From her pocket, Ui beeped.

"Master Lydis, in this situation, I might be of use."

Lydis reached into her pocket and gently held Ui in front of her. The gash on it's side looked slightly better but Ui would still need her help repairing itself.

"How so Ui?"

"When Master Nova sent Ui along with Master Lydis, he made sure to upload a brief map of Caratas city in case you got lost. It would seem that his prediction did come true."

Lydis wanted to correct Ui that she wasn't lost but instead held herself back. Her little robot had already done so much , it wouldn't be fair to reprimand Ui.

"Show me the map."

"Yes Master Lydis."

Ui shifted in Lydis's hands, revealing the same holographic screen as before. Ui displayed a 3D map of Caratas. Lydis zoomed in on the dot representing herself and looked at the buildings around the one she was on.

They were mainly residential homes until almost a block away, the city had placed a prison. In Caratas there were a total of three prisons scattered in various areas of Caratas. Since the boarders had a higher rate of crime and convicts moving through, having only one prison wasn't enough to hold all of them.

"Thank you Ui."

"Glad to be of assistance Master Lydis."

"You may rest now."

"Affirmed."

Ui shut off the map and retracted it's remaining three legs, forming a circular shape, the gash distorting the process. One leg wasn't able to fully close and hung slightly ajar.

Lydis clenched her mouth closed tightly, her lips forming a thin line. Whoever had harmed Ui would surely pay but for now, Haven was her priority.