Deranged Writer's Afterword

It seems that I\'m not alone in this prison cell.

" Uh---hello ?", I say smiling, hiding my surprise.

-Step-

The sound of slow and steady footsteps echo throughout the cell as the other inmate walked out of the shadows revealing herself.

Unlike the others of her kind, black fur covered her body from top to bottom.

This wasn\'t her only peculiarity, below her right eye.....a mark of a blue cross could be seen, a birthmark to be more precise. All of these qualities together with her gentle blue eyes gave her an ethereal feel.

It felt as if I was standing next to some kind of deity.

" Who the fuck are you ?", the peculiar wolf spoke bringing me back to my senses.

" O-oh right, I\'m Adam."

" What are you doing here ?", the wolfwoman asked, her eyes narrowed.

" Well, it\'s all a big misunderstanding--"

" Stop...I\'m no longer interested."

...

After proclaiming her disinterest in me, she once again moved to the opposite end of the prison cell.

I settle down in a corner with Rhys on my lap, I was still a little confused with our \'conversation\' just now. As for who exactly the mysterious inmate is.....I might have an idea.

" So, what\'s your name ?", I ask her, trying to start a conversation to pass time.

.....

All I got in response was dead silence.

~~~~

Time moves very slowly when you\'re bored.

I for one am just a minute away from shooting myself in the head, I\'m sooooooo bored.

Little blue eyes over there hasn\'t spoken a word, but I could feel her eyes on me.

To somehow pass time in this dreary little prison, I had begun playing with Rhys.

I puppeteered him like a master puppeteer, I held onto his little paws and made him dance on the slippery floor. Rhys growled out annoyed, yet he didn\'t try to run away. I let go of his hands quickly resulting in him falling with a \'thud\'.

\'Grrrr\'

Rhys growled bumping his head against mine in a fit of rage.

" Hehehe."

A chuckle rang across the room as \'blue eyes\' laughed out at the scene before her.

" What\'s his name ?", she asked, a smile still ever-present.

" What\'s yours ?"

I watch as the smile on her face faded, only to be replaced by a frown.

I ignore her and continue to play with Rhys.

\'Sigh\'

" Fine....I\'ll let you have the privilege of knowing my identity-"

She got up and stepped much closer to me before proclaiming,

"- My name is Lydia Caerus, I\'m the daughter of the honorable chief of this village !"

" Oh....you mean Augustus ?"

Hearing me, another huge frown spreads over Lydia\'s face,

" That man is just a proxy....he\'s just a stupid fake....", a look of defeat overcomes her face as she makes herself comfortable beside me and Rhys.

" Where\'s the real chief then ?", I ask leaning on the moldy wall of the cell.

" I...she....urgh forget all that....why does this one smell human ?", Lydia says dodging my question, she made Rhys sit on her lap and gently patted him, he didn\'t seem to mind all that much.

Very well...if she\'s not ready to tell me, there\'s no need to force the truth out of her since I already know.

I once again narrate the story of how Rhys and I met and by the end, Lydia had a similar reaction as the other two.

"Humans are disgusting !", Lydia proclaimed loudly.

" Well...not all humans are that ba-"

" I know, not all humans are bad and not all wolfs are good, we\'re all.....flawed I guess ?"

I nod my head, agreeing with her sentiment.

" What did you do to end up here ?", I asked, curious.

Hearing my question, Lydia slightly winced and says,

" I tried....to destroy the Spear of Infinity."

" Oof...why\'d you try to destroy it ?"

The Spear of Infinity was something that was passed down from generations, a generational weapon that was always used by the chief of the Lupus village, In the eyes of the villagers, that spear was akin to a god, and trying to destroy that very spear required guts.

" I don\'t know.....I wasn\'t thinking straight because I was drunk..."

" The people must resent you now...", I say closing my eyes.

" Well...that\'s not new, they\'ve always hated me. I\'m a daily reminder that their leader abandoned them."

....

The both of us don\'t notice time passing by us as we were immersed in our conversation, it might be because the both of us were in a somewhat similar position or it could be something else entirely but the both of us felt a sense of camaraderie with each other.

Lydia was interested in the world outside of Leora and I tried my best to paint a vivid picture in her mind.

I was interested in Lupus village and she told me all about it, the places that I had to visit as well as avoid.

\'Clang\'

" Looks like the two of you are enjoying yourselves...."

I look up to find the door to the prison cell opened and outside waiting for us was Nephyr.

Upon seeing Nephyr, Lydia looked extremely nervous.

" Your fate has been decided.", Nephyr says addressing the both of us with a cold smile playing around her lips.

~~~~

" So...we\'re free ?", I ask once again to be completely sure.

" Well, essentially yes...but you\'ll have to stay with us a little while more until we can be completely sure that you\'re trustworthy....is that fine with you ?"

I nod my head and Nephyr immediately shifted her gaze towards Lydia.

" Lydia...I\'m disappointed in you, you\'ll be the one keeping an eye on him and I\'m warning you now....this is your last chance."

Lydia\'s gaze was fixed on the floor, seeing the glum expression on her face I nudge Nephyr on the shoulder and say,

" Hey, c\'mon give her a break..."

Lydia seemed shocked seeing me defend her, Nephyr smiled apologetically and says,

" Right.....well I\'ll leave you two alone."

Nephyr left soon after and I was back outside along with Lydia and Rhys.

" I can\'t believe that you just did that..."

" Did what ?", I asked, confused as to why Lydia looked so dazed.

" Y-you don\'t know ?..... Nephyr is the most feared person here other than the chief..."

" Why ?", I ask quietly.

" She\'s our executioner."

~~~~

Lydia and I walked along the busy streets of Lupus village, for a village...it was quite big.

Lydia was now leading us to a hot spring that was supposed to have \'medicinal effects\', it was the perfect place to visit after being stuck in a stinky cell.

On our way there, a lot of people stared and pointed their fingers at...Lydia and some cast curious glances on me as well. Lydia seemed to be used to their gazes...which looked a little hateful in my opinion.

" We\'re here ", Lydia exclaimed excitedly.

I gaze at the entrance to the hot spring, there were two signs kept on the front probably showing which direction the men and women had to go...I couldn\'t read their language so this was all guessing on my part.

I wait for Lydia to guide me but instead, she drags me with her inside.

Don\'t the women and men use separate springs or something.....is it different for wolfpeople?

" You\'re going to love this place !", Lydia says as we entered the changing room, which was empty.

Lydia and I split up to change into our towels, I felt strangely nervous.....

After securely storing my clothes in a box, I take a towel and cover my lower body.

Well...I suppose I should just head in now.

~~~~

Adam got into the hot spring, as soon as he got in he felt his muscles relaxing.

" Ah...this is it.", he said out loud to no one in particular.

\' What\'s taking her so long ?\', he thought not aware that Lydia was approaching him from behind.

Adam wasn\'t sure about the wolfpeople\'s customs and traditions so it was only reasonable for him to assume that this was normal but the truth was far different.

\'Oh...I forgot to take the soap.\', Adam thought getting up.

\'Flip\'

At the same time, Lydia who was approaching Adam lost her soap to the ground, it had slipped away from her hand. Lydia bend down to pick up her soap bar, she was mere centimeters away from Adam....it was at this moment that Adam had gotten up.

Turning around, Adam saw a very \'exposed\' Lydia.

"Oh.", was all he managed to utter out as his wet towel fell revealing his precious jewels.

Lydia stared at the view before her in a daze until-

" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !"

- she screamed, her face flushed from embarrassment

~~~~~[?]