Bison Steak

Rune threw her arms around me even tighter but didn't say a word. Although, she was shaking… 

"Ha… You know, honestly, I think just being around you is making the curse lift even faster."

"Then… You shouldn't let go… So you get better faster…"

'Was she lonely… Or, no she must have been worried about me… If everyone told her I was cursed…' I slowly put a hand on her head and held her close. 'With how attached she is I feel kind of guilty using her like an emotional support dog… Although, she is adorable and fluffy… And like the most precious thing ever.' I picked her up again and fell back on the bed rubbing my face against her fur. "You are just the cutest, do you know that? I bet no one ever tells you that do they."

"Stop it." She giggled pushing my head away but grabbing onto my shirt to make sure I never got too far from her. "Of course no one does, everyone else thinks that about you."

I couldn't even say anything back, suddenly feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. 'This child is now mine…' I sighed, my attention slowly drifting back to my aching body. "This bed isn't nearly as soft as mine is it…" I pouted.

"No…"

I let out a long groan. "I wanna go back and sleep…"

"Then why don't you?"

"Well… It's kind of like… The curse on me is almost broken, but in order to finish breaking it I have to do something that I really don't want to… Like how you hated it when Bear had to help you use the bathroom… It's that kind of feeling… Probably."

She let out a small groan. "And you don't want to do that…"

"Exactly. See I knew you'd understand."

A slight high-pitched growl escaped her mouth as she tucked her chin. "Well… I mean… The thing is… Having him help me… Was still less embarrassing than wetting the bed and having him clean it… So… It wasn't the worst thing…"

I sighed. "Right… So if I don't just suck it up and deal with it, something even worse will happen later… Yeah… That's probably true…"

"I-I didn't mean that. I'm sure everything will be fine..."

'This kid…' I sighed again, standing up. "What do you say, should we head back to my room? While I was gone I had a tailor make us a bunch of fuzzy blankets from dire wolf fur and–" 'Wait…' I paused, staring at her wolf ears and slowly glancing down to her tail, suddenly feeling VERY uncomfortable.

"P-please don't stare at me like that…"

I quickly turned away "Sorry about that. I was just thinking… You kind of resemble a wolf right?"

Her ears started twitching as she raised her hands together in front of her chest. "I-I would make a horrible blanket. I don't even have that much fur!"

Rolling my eyes I rubbed a hand through her hair. "That is NOT what I was getting at." I let go again heading for the door. "I was just thinking. Is it not weird for you? I mean like eating wolf meat and stuff?"

She suddenly frowned. "I'm not an animal… I'm a person… And I taste like a human, not like a wolf… Besides, Beast kind is closer to dragons than animals… At least that's what everyone says…"

'That's… A lot to unpack… Come to think of it, I hardly know anything about her either.' "How do you know what you taste like?"

She straightened out like a pencil before turning slightly red and looking to the side. "Oh uh, well… When I was younger my teeth would get really achy if I wasn't chewing on something… And so I chewed on things… Including my own arm at one point… But that doesn't mean I'm a dog! J-just because…"

As her voice faded out I chuckled, rubbing her head again. "Dogs don't chew on themselves when they teeth. Although dragons might…" 'wait… Is that what was happening? But she said when she was younger, and I'm way older than she is…'

She smiled widely, one hand on her hip and the other arbitrarily pointing at nothing. "See, I told you."

"I was just checking." I smiled back, opening the door and leading the way, locking it behind us. 'If the dragon is teething that might make sense, essentially it reincarnated into my body, but its presence is too weak to take over, although it's growing stronger with time as it literally matures… But since it's just a sliver of soul, it's maturing faster than normal… Or maybe it's maturing faster because of my recovery magic… Eh… I guess the reason doesn't matter so much… The point is that one of us is going to win.'

"Ahhh…"

I looked down at Rune, holding her hand as we walked together. She was drooling, staring at a food stand several blocks away.

"Are you hungry?"

She wiped her mouth. "Sorry. I'm weak against bison meat… It just smells so good… And I can see all the fat on those steaks… They make my tummy ache until I eat something. Oh, but I should be fine in a few minutes after we pass them."

'she can smell it from here? He hasn't even cooked any yet, so it's not like the scent is that strong. Though that's to be expected but… She said she could SEE them?' "Don't worry about it. That demon that cursed me, I got a whole bunch of money for killing it. So for helping me break the curse, I'll buy you some bison meat."

Her tail suddenly shot straight up as she started to drool again. "Oh no… You don't have to do that…" She said sloppily, intently staring at it as some drool leaked down one side of her chin.

'I honestly feel like I do though…' I chuckled, walking up to the stand and buying her as much as she wanted, getting some for myself too, finally getting my appetite back. Then we continued on our way.

Even after she finished it was like she was in a daze. She couldn't wipe the smile from her face as she constantly rubbed her belly leaning against my arm as she held my hand. "So yummy…" She muttered, not even keeping her eyes closed as if still savoring it.

'It was actually really tough… Which normally I would hate, but it felt really good on my teeth, the flavor wasn't bad either.'

"Ah!" Her grip suddenly tightened as she tripped, pulling her entire body up and wrapping around me, making me pause.

"Uh… You should probably watch your step… I could carry you too I guess but…"

She pulled her neck back and tilted her head as if waiting for me to finish.

"Just maybe not quite like this?"

She quickly let go, stiffening up and becoming embarrassed again, hugging my arm and turning away. "I-I can walk… I know how to do that at least, promise…"

"Alright… But if you do trip again don't feel bad for leaning on me…"