Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 108 – Close, Yet So Far

‘Kierra?’ Ovia asked, ‘What’s wrong?’

‘It just… I feel like something is following us,’ I replied after a moment of thought.

It was that same kind of feeling I had been feeling over and over again, and I hated it. Ever since we left Casgolau, I have always seemed to have this sinking feeling in my stomach that I was being watched. That would have been bad enough by itself, but by far the worst part of it was that each time it happened, I could point to exactly where it had come from, whether that was Cattleya or Elenia… which meant that my unease wasn’t necessarily unfounded… if anything it suggested that there really was something there.

It was only made worse when neither Ava nor Cattleya reacted to it at all; in fact, they seemed to be getting along better than ever as we slowly made our way through the forest. As we walked, Cattleya would point out if she saw something that was on Elenia’s list before diving into an explanation of what exactly we were looking for in each plant.

…

I could understand Ava not reacting, as she had never done so before, but with the way Cattleya seemed to be so sensitive to things like this. These things I didn’t even understand, like the mana deficit she mentioned following me before. It just didn’t make sense that I was the only one who was feeling uneasy.

‘But I thought you found out who was watching you?’ Ovia said, pulling me back out of my thoughts, ‘W-wasn’t it the vampire you’re with at the moment?’

‘No… Yes?’ It took a moment for me to figure out how to answer, ‘It was Cattleya watching before, but this… it feels different… almost like whatever I noticed at the top of the lighthouse yesterday, but not quite the same?’

‘Y-you noticed something at the top of the lighthouse too?…’

After that, Ovia didn’t respond for a while, leaving me just to continue following Cattleya and Ava as they seemingly went off on their own little adventure, hardly even noticing me looking around the place in a futile effort to see whatever was getting on my nerves.

At least, I hoped it was only one thing that was hiding… It may have just been my imagination, but as we went deeper into the forest, the sensation would sometimes shift, feeling like an entirely different presence, yet there was never more than one at a time. This constant changing and shifting only served to confuse me more, forcing me to constantly be aware of whatever it was, as the moment my mind was finally able to push the sensation down, something would change, forcing me to stay alert.

It was this incessant gnawing in the back of my mind at all times… yet no one else even noticed. It was just me.

‘I tried looking around you a little bit, but there is nothing else there,’ Ovia eventually spoke up again, ‘There are hardly any animals either, so I don’t know what you might be reacting to…’

‘…’

‘…’

‘But you said that before when Cattleya was watching me.’ As I said the words in my head, I immediately regretted it.

I knew Ovia was just trying to help me however she could, but with how on edge I was, it was difficult to hold all my concerns in.

‘T-That was because I didn’t think she’d be watching you without having to look at you…’ She admitted, ‘B-but this time I made sure to check!’

‘…’

I just continued to walk, not sure of what to say after that. I wanted to say thank you to her after she put in that extra effort… but I felt it could only come off as disingenuous.

Why are you acting like this?

Nothing is happening.

It’s…

It’s all just in your head.

As Ava and Cattleya knelt down in front of another herb they noticed, I took the opportunity to sit down and cool off.  Just to let whatever was going through my mind run its course… if that was even possible.

…

‘I-I…’ Ovia stuttered, ‘If I think about it, there are some things I might have missed…’

‘…’ I didn’t respond.

‘It’s possible that someone is watching you, like your vampire friend did… just from a lot further away, so it’s hard to notice,’ She theorised, ‘B-but I don’t think there’s anyone like that who would be looking for you…’

‘… I hope so.’

I really hope so…

‘It could also be a natural phenomenon! Maybe there’s just a lot of a certain kind of mana in the area and it’s confusing your senses… even if I haven’t noticed anything like that myself… But I could ask Ellaria, she’s better at this kind of thing.’

A natural phenomenon? What kind of natural phenomenon would make just me feel like I was being followed, that just didn’t make any sense to me? The situation with the ships could maybe have been some kind of natural phenomenon… even if highly unlikely at this point… but this was something very different.

…

‘Or is it?’

It was true that the last time we were at the top of the lighthouse, I felt something similar just before I started seeing things… but that couldn’t be a natural phenomenon. It just… It felt too… alive.

‘The only other thing it might be…’ She paused for an uncomfortable amount of time, as if having to come to terms with what she was about to say, ‘A d-dragon- No. It can’t be that. Definitely not that.’

‘A dragon?’ I asked almost immediately, the word pricking at my ears.

‘It can’t be a d-dragon,’ She quickly said, ‘T-They might be able to hide their presence from me if they’re proficient with illusion magic, but that’s all. If a d-d-… If they decided to nest somewhere, it wouldn’t go unnoticed. They seem to change the land around them simply by being in the area… A-at least that’s what E-Ellaria has told me…’

What? Something like that exists in the mortal realm?

…

‘F-forget I said anything. That isn’t what’s happening. It can’t be.’

…

Is Ovia… scared?

It was just such a strange reaction, seemingly just from saying the word, that I couldn’t help but take note. She was so adamant about it not being the case after she brought it up herself… Was there something I was missing?

What is she not telling me?

…

Why is she not telling me?

Those questions quickly took over my thoughts. On one hand, they were helping me to ignore that uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, but on the other, it was just giving me something else to worry about in its place. And for whatever reason, at least to me in that moment, that kind of lingering doubt was much worse than whatever unease I was feeling before.

“Kierra?!” Ava suddenly called out, “Don’t fall too far behind, we’ve still got more to look for.”

…

“Okay,” I said quietly as I stood back up, dusting off the back of my cloak.

Why can’t you just be like those two?

They aren’t worrying about any of this.

…

They…

…

As I caught up to them, all I could see were their backs lined up next to each other, the two of them matching each other’s stride… probably without even meaning to. Then, a few steps back, there was me, sometimes having to break into a light jog just to keep up.

…

What happened?

I felt okay when I woke up.

…

‘Kierra!’ Ovia shouted through the pendant.

She was so loud that I stopped walking for just a moment as my ears fruitlessly searched around for where the sound could have come from, as if it wasn’t just in my head.

‘You don’t need to get so… so worked up about this!’ She said, ‘If something really bad was going to happen, I would do everything possible to help.’

It’s not because of-

…

‘… Okay…’ I replied, not wanting to correct her misunderstanding and embarrass her, ‘And… thank you.’

It was only a small thing, but it did help cheer me up a little. Ovia always seemed to have the kind of effect though. Even if she didn’t know exactly what I was thinking of, she’d always be there to at least try and say something, and it almost always did something to help me.

In fact, looking back on everything, it was almost funny how scared I was of her when we first met. The person whom I thought I saw glaring down at me from that throne was nothing more than my imagination. I hadn’t seen even a hint of that person since she grabbed onto me that day.

…

We aren’t even able to see each other when we-… when I want. Even if we can talk from anywhere in the world, there is always just something missing.

…

I pulled out the pendant from under my cloak to see how dark the gem had gotten… which unfortunately wasn’t very much. But it was at least on its way.

‘How long do we have until we can meet again?’ I asked while still looking at my necklace.

‘Ah, um, I know it’s less than two weeks now! So only a few days!’

‘Mm.’

‘I’ve already put together a number of outfits for you to try on too! And I can’t wait to see what you have prepared for me!’

Was this Ovia’s way of trying to calm me down? Maybe it was… or maybe it was just her being herself, nothing more.

‘I can’t wait either,’ I said, my eyes instinctively drawn back up to the backs of the two people in front of me.

As soon as I did, however, Ava turned back to face me, and a giant smile spread across her face.

“Come on now!” She called out as she slowed her pace, “This job was for all three of us, not just me and Cattleya.”

“Alright!” I called back as I jogged up to them.

“We’ll just keep at this for an hour or so more, okay? We won’t be able to find everything on the list today, but that’s fine. Apparently, a good few of the plants only grow right on the coast, so we’ll head down there tomorrow instead… Well, as long as the weather is good.”

Cattleya tried to speak up, “Who said I was coming tomo-”

“Come on now, do you really think I’d believe that now?” Ava interrupted.

“… I… will join you again…” Cattleya relented immediately.

It was a small exchange, but it did make me giggle a little… even if most of what was on my mind hadn’t really been resolved in any meaningful way.

…

‘You know?… Ovia…’ I honestly don’t know what came over me in that moment, but I just had to say something, to get it off my chest, ‘Sometimes I really wish you were down here beside me.’