Am I Imagining things? I thought to myself, unable to forget the strange look he gave me when he said he was going to stay with that Maybelle girl.
What the hell even was that? I thought he'd be easy to control.
I'd always thought that there was somethin' strange about that guy since my first encounter with him.
'How was he able to dodge my attacks? Why does it seem like he's holding back?'
During our fight, I justified these thoughts by convincing myself that he was some kind of experienced Collector, who perhaps shared the same goals as me, but then he pulled out that card.
I'd never been so shocked in my life... so lucky.
I had to take a moment to process it all:
'Ganes Gouldsworth, the "Lord of the Cards"... He's really dead, isn't he?'
The man that I spent so long searching for had already left this world.
Just like that...?That was way too easy.
Wolf... he's all I need... he's the key: the true 'Herald of Balance'.'
But he claims to be a slave?
What kind of slave has reflexes that allow him to dodge attacks from someone like me, an experienced Voltaire?
There's something strange going on, and I know it has something to do with the rumor I heard all those years ago.
But it couldn't possibly be true, could it…?
"I've never seen you make that face before. Don't tell me you're actually thinking right now?" That was Amber with her annoying teasing.
"You know I've even killed women before, right?"
"Tuh, is that supposed to scare me?"
"No… but this might." At that moment I threw a large stink beetle I found on the street in Amber's direction before it latched itself onto her hair.
"AHHHHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL, SNAPPER!? GET THIS THING OFF ME!" Her screaming could probably be heard all the way in the Tamnus region.
I couldn't help but laugh at her as she frantically moved her head around to shake the bug out of her bright ginger hair.
"Hey, I got an idea. Why not try and shoot it with one of your flame finger thingys?" I jokingly suggested.
"Oh, right, good idea—WAIT, THAT'LL BURN MY HAIR OFF YOU FRICKIN' BASTARD!!!" She raged at me with her fist raised but then suddenly paused, instead pinching her nose with her fingers.
"Ew, what's that smell? Is that the bug?!" Just then, the pungent smell–emanating from the stink beetle–stained the fresh air.
"C'mon, Amber, you know better than to blame a poor little bug for your funky smell."
She flicked me off in exasperation.
"I swear, if you don't get this disgusting thing off me, I will set this finger on fire and point it up your ass!"
I didn't really like the thought of that.
"Alright, alright… come here little guy." I fought against the tenacious grip the beetle had on Amber's hair before it finally loosened, allowing me to gently retrieve it.
It remained stationary within my palm, which was covered by my fingerless gloves.
"Finally," Amber said with relief, while fixing up her hair. "Where the hell did you even find that thing?"
"I saw it just crawling by on the pavement and picked it up a few blocks away."
"You picked up a stinky beetle just so you could throw it in my hair!?"
"Actually, I picked this thing up because it's rare." I began to point at it while it was still in my hand. "You see these yellow dots, they're typically supposed to be black on the surface of yellow skin, but this one's inverted. These are rare to find, especially in this region."
"So, what? Are you gonna sell it?"
"Nah, I'm gonna keep him."
"You're out of your damn mind if you think I'm staying anywhere near you while you've got that stinky thing around!"
"They only stink if you frighten 'em. You gotta treat them with care and nurture them, then they'll feel safe around you no matter what, and you'll be stink free."
"Yeah, I'm not buyin' it. Just look how bloated that thing is," she said, observing it closely. "I know it's ready to fart up a storm."
The beetle then turned its head around so that its rear end was pointing toward Amber's face.
"EEEK!!!" She instantly backed away. "Did you see that!? It was getting ready to let it rip right in my face!
"Hey, leave Lucky alone, wouldya?"
"Lucky? You named that thing??" Her expression was of such pure disgust that I didn't know whether it was directed at me or Lucky.
"Yeah, he's like a little good luck charm, so I'd like for you to stop using such obnoxious language around him."
"The only things obnoxious around here are the gas fumes that come outta that thing," she muttered.
Time soon passed, and we were nearing the Steel Grove Armory, which was situated somewhere within the city center.
I kept Lucky in my coat pocket in order to keep him safe for the rest of the journey, which I also thought Amber would've been grateful for.
"Hey, Amber, I need to ask you something."
"What?" she said with an angry tone, perhaps still mad about the harmless prank I pulled on her earlier.
"Did you notice anything off about how Wolf was acting in the station earlier?"
"Mmm… Not really, why?" She raised an eyebrow at me.
"He had this weird look in his eyes when he told us to go on ahead, like he discovered this new determination to do something."
"What are you even saying? He probably just wants to make his own decisions for once, and I don't blame him. You've been bossing us all around since we met you."
"Yeah, but should a slave be able to think like that?"
"What are you talking about?" Her expression seemed slightly curious but also skeptical.
I made sure to explain myself logically. Too much emotion would be quite detrimental here.
"He claims to be a 'runaway' slave, but how did he even run away? Slave owners don't just give their slaves the option to escape–that's not how it works."
"I don't know," Amber shrugged.
"Maybe he had help, or maybe he just got lucky?"
"Okay, let's assume that either one of those options is the case. Why isn't he able to remember how he got to that village then?"
She began to sigh. "Look, how the hell am I supposed to know? I'm just as clueless as you are."
"I'm just tryna keep an open mind here. There are things that just don't seem to add up–things he's probably keeping from us."
It was very hypocritical for me to say this, but I needed Amber to see things from this perspective.
"Well, I'm sorry I can't be suspicious of every single person in the world like you are. As far as I know, Wolf is a good guy who came back and risked his life to save me at the inn… even after I sent him away. So you can go ahead and shove your stupid frickin' conspiracies up your ass."
Well, that completely backfired…
I realized that I probably shouldn't have pulled that prank on her earlier as it only seemed to worsen her mood.
That certainly didn't do me any favors. Perhaps I need to start treating her better from now on.
I reached such a conclusion as we finally arrived at the Steel Grove Armory.