"Meow"
The sound was soft, insistent, pressed against the edge of his awareness like a persistent drop of water.
"Meow."
Something warm and rough dragged across his cheek.
Kaelen's eyes opened.
A beast stood on his chest.
It was small, no larger than his forearm, with fur the color of charcoal and eyes that glowed like embers. Its tail curled and uncurled it looked at him with curiosity and…
He stared at it,It stared back.
Then it meowed again, louder this time, and batted at his nose with a paw that had claws still sheathed.
"…Where did you come from?"
The beast tilted its head, as if considering the question, then decided it was beneath its dignity to answer. It stepped off his chest, circled twice on the pillow beside his head, and curled into a ball.
[Dungeon find: Contracted Entity]
Oh this is the contracted entity.
It looked like a normal house hold cat, he stared at it for a while and decided that the famous cat distribution system he had prayed for finally caught up to him, he started smiling.
The beast as if sensing something opened it's and tried to jump back but was caught by Kaelen he scooped the thing up before it could bolt, his grin widening as it twisted in his grip all wiry muscle and too-quick jerks that felt nothing like a normal cat. He laughed, ducking as a clawed paw swiped past his nose.
"Feisty," he muttered, already smitten.
He dropped into a crouch and let it squirm free just to grab it again, spinning it gently by the middle. The beast let out a low, rattling hiss, more static than sound, but Kaelen only scratched behind what might've been an ear. It bit his thumb. Hard. He yelped, laughing harder, and shook his hand loose.
For a breathless minute, they wrestled across the floor: Kaelen on his knees, lunging and dodging as the creature darted between his hands like liquid shadow. He'd almost pin it, then it'd twist inside-out wrong, all angles and fur that seemed to drink the light. He didn't care. He was giggling like a kid.
Then the thing went limp for half a second, long enough for Kaelen to hesitate and exploded toward the bed. One blink, and it was gone, a faint scrabbling underneath.
Kaelen flopped onto his back, still grinning at the ceiling. His bitten thumb throbbed. His ribs ached from laughing. Somewhere beneath the mattress, something growled low and distinctly not feline.
The hum started clearly sensing danger.
He pressed a hand to his chest, breathless. "Just happy, don't worry." he said and the hum lessened.
The laughter faded into the quiet hum of the room. Kaelen lay there, staring at the water-stained ceiling, his breathing still uneven. Under the bed, the creature had stopped its scratching now just a low, steady thrum, like a motor threatening to start.
But his mind wasn't on the beast anymore.
When are you leaving?
The memory surfaced without warning, sharp as a claw. Lysander's voice, all honey and edges. They'd been standing in the hallway after they managed to lay all the people to sleep. Kaelen had been fumbling his dagger, pretending not to notice how Lysander leaned against the wall, watching.
You want me to leave, Lysander had continued, tilting his head. You clearly were sad when you found out I was not betrothed to you.
Kaelen winced, as if the words were happening now.
In the memory, he'd gone scarlet, a hot, betraying blush that started at his collar and climbed to his ears. He'd meant to laugh it off, casually. Instead, his foot had moved of its own accord, coming down hard on Lysander's instep.
Lysander had yelped, actually yelped, and hopped back, clutching his foot with exaggerated offense. Violent little thing, aren't you?
But Kaelen hadn't been listening. Because in that same instant, he'd frozen, realizing: his foot had found Lysander's without hesitation. They'd been standing close enough that a single step backward would have pressed Kaelen's spine to Lysander's chest. When had that happened?
He'd looked up, mortified, and found Lysander watching him with something like a smirk.
Now, on the floor of his room, Kaelen pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. The creature under the bed let out a questioning chirp. Clearly thinking he's gone mad.
"Shut up," Kaelen muttered, but he was smiling again half mortified, half warm.
He didn't move for a long time.
His hand moved to his chest. The bond was there steady, warm, stronger than it had been before. Probably because he had acknowledged it.
And with that acknowledgement came something else.
A hollow ache. A pull. A restlessness that made him want to leave his chambers and walk across the city to the black stone manor on the hill.
He had seen Lysander twice. Twice. And yet he could feel the duke's presence across the city, could tell when he was calm or agitated, focused or distracted.
He missed him.
The realization landed like a stone in still water. He missed someone he had barely spoken to. Missed the weight of his gaze, the sharpness of his smile, the way the bond pulsed warm when they stood close. Missed the sound of his voice, the brush of his fingers, the unspoken understanding that passed between them when no one else was watching.
It made no sense, It was irrational, It was the bond, not him. It had to be the bond.
But the ache remained.
Kaelen sat up. He pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, trying to push the feeling away. Embarrassement was gone and all was left was mortification.
Weak.
The word surfaced unbidden. He had fallen for an illusion. Had let a girl, a creature, weave a dream around him so seamless that he had nearly forgotten who he was. Had needed Lysander to break the spell, to snap him back to reality, he had been training physically and had forgotten mental training and almost got hurt.
In his old life, he had been the one who saw through illusions. The one who noticed the cracks in the façade, the flaws in the lie. Here, in this body, with this bond, he had become something softer. Something that could be fooled.
He hated it.
The beast meowed again, softer this time. He looked to the side and was eye to eye with it.
He was starting to get angry for no reason again. He sighed passing finger through his hair roughly. The last time Lysander had done something to calm him but this time…
"Want a hug?" he asked softly.
The beast blinked its ember eyes. Then it purred.
Kaelen sighed Abit sad then the beast moved slowly and rubbed it's head on his hand, soft, very soft.
He reached out, hesitantly, and touched its fur. It was soft, warm, vibrated with a purr that seemed to resonate in his chest alongside the bond.
"Ill call you sprite?"
The beast closed its eyes and purred louder.