1 Cylus 723
Afternoon
Continued from here.
A morning soak in the Imperial Baths turned into a most unexpected reunion. No sooner had she been vacating the location did the familiar sound of heavy, clawed feet and humorous panting command her attention. When she felt the creature's touch and his signature baying of one single word, his namesake, did Maxine turn with wide eyes and a fallen expression.
"Good...?" Her words were hardly more than a whisper of disbelief.
The loyal Barghest, tongue lolling and head tilting, stared intently at her with his small, cheery eyes. Her soft brown eyes roved his robust figure. The animal was worse for wear since she saw him last. His scales were covered in imperfections from his plights in her absence, and most of his damage she surmised was from the disaster at Faldrass. Arcs ago, when she saw him last, Maxine was sure he had perished with the village even despite her final order to him to find a friendly face.
She dropped down to her knees and wrapped her arms around the stupid animal.
"Goooooood!" He snuffled his joy, panting accelerating with his excitement for winning her affection.
"Yes," Max laughed at his speech-like vocalization. She gave him a squeeze. "Good..."
After a short, quiet moment she released her hold on the animal she'd been so reluctant to receive so long ago. Good sat back on his large haunches, tongue lolling some more. He lifted his reptilian foot and began to scratch at the side of his head. She smirked at the dumb sight of him and his mannerisms.
"Where did you come from? Where have you been?!"
"Good?"
"Probably better behaved then me where you were, right?"
"Good!"
"I thought so. You're a very good boy." The perpetually pleasant animal seemed to smile broadly at that. She reached down to scratch at his scales, feeling the scars and tarnishes to his natural armor. "I'm very fucking sorry..." His small, joyful stare was fixed on her. She felt a familiar, annoying moisture in her eyes.
"Dammit," Max kept petting him with one hand but swiftly wiped her eyes with the other. "Look what you did..." She found the spot on his head that he liked and his foot started to thump on the floor. "...But that's okay."
He leaned in her scratches and it was only then that she saw the stares. Max raised a brow and stopped petting the creature. Barghests were no oddity in this city. She didn't understand the attention, let alone the grimaces of disgust, until she heard the sound of Good lifting a leg and pissing on the floor. The Rusalka looked down in time to watch the stream flow into the bath water.
Shit.
"Well?!" Max threw up her hands at the displeased onlookers. She gestured to his battered form and donned an expression of indignation on her pet's behalf. "Look at him! He's a service animal. Mind your fuckin' business." The short burst of deceitful shame seemed to work. People muttered and turned away. Good grinned up at her. "You look the part anyways. A cycle with me is about the same as a deployment...clearly."
Max gave a little whistle and Good fell in step like no time had passed. They exited the baths before Angus could get word of the pet's accident in his place of management. Into the Cylus dark they traveled, Rusalka and Barghest, meandering until Maxine found a little park for them to steal away into. Good wasted no time snuffling about the snow. He pushed it with his snout, pawed at it with his claws to expose whatever laid beneath. The Rusalka smiled despite herself while she watched him.
"I guess I should start calling you by your real name, huh?" Max thought aloud.
"Gooooood!"
"No, well, yes," Max corrected herself. "Good, but in Atvian. That's what your name tag used to say I was told. Maith."
"Good?"
"Yeah. You, Maith."
The Barghest lumbered back over to her where she sat on a snowy bench. He plopped down on her foot just as he had when they first met, oblivious and curiously glancing around as though he were looking for someone while Max groaned beneath his weight. She fidgeted until her foot was freed. Then she went back to scratching his head.
"You've been a good friend, Maith, and I'm glad you're back. I thought you were lost to me. Your being back does make me wonder though..." She lifted her hand so that her Barghest pet could sneeze and shake his head. "Are you just a gift? Or are you Karem's little spy like Kura seemed to wonder. Is that what you're doing? Are you here to test me for an Immortal?"
Maith nuzzled her thigh like the dumb, lovable companion that he was. It didn't answer her question and she wasn't going to press him further. It wasn't like he was going to answer her. After a little while of enjoying his company without the intrusion of the busier parts of the city, Max reluctantly stood up. Good stood too, tilting his head in wonder at what their next move would be. It was obvious he intended to follow wherever she went, and so much lighter did she feel now that he was back, she hadn't the heart to think to stop him.
"You ain't no damned dog but you're mine. Come on, boy."
Good snuffled and bounded at her heels again. Max pulled a flask from her pocket, opened it, and threw some rum back into her thirsty palate. Good's head snapped up as he sniffed out the drink. Max caught his beady eyes staring at the flask and she rolled hers. She swallowed her rum and lowered the flask, tipping it toward his eager mouth. Good wasted no time transitioning from sniffing to suckling on the mouth of the container to reap the liquid within.
"Hey!" Max tugged the flask back and slapped the cap back on. "Greedy little bastard! Nuh-uh! You're not gonna finish this off on me this time." She ignored his vocalizations of protest as they continued on.
Before long they reached a butcher's stall. Good, being a not-so-good boy already had his teeth around the hindquarter of a skinned deer. The butcher growled but he quickly was sated with a few coins as compensation. It wasn't much she had but she happily spent it on her hard-to-kill friend. Good bayed and practically danced in step beside her, the deer leg in his mouth like a proud participation trophy he didn't do anything to earn for himself. She gave him a couple pats and looked down at him. The Barghest craned his head to look at her, too, scaly tail wagging.
"What now, dummy?"
