This Is Part 21 Of The "What If Yuu Didn't Want To Go Back?" Series!

This is part 21 of the "What if Yuu didn't want to go back?" Series!

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

"Goodnight, Yuu," whispers Grim.

"Goodnight, Grim," I whisper back. Korrak and Mandible are already asleep, and we dare not wake them.

A moment passes. "Grim, do you want to try and find another big stick tomorrow?"

"Hehe. Yes."

And then our eyes close.

It only feels like a moment later that we're up and walking again, back in the Backstage Room for our usual morning routine. The walk there is muscle memory at this point, so we arrive a minute earlier than Epel. Interestingly, Korrak isn't there, even though he and Mandible were out of bed when Grim and I woke.

Meh. I'm too tired to think about that and add it to my mental list of clues in the quest to unravel the mystery that is our human roommate and his 'possum familiar.

More people file in as I brush Grim's fur to the smooth and silky shine that is expected and achieved daily by every furry familiar in Pomefiore. I'm still half-alseep when I squeeze a dash of kitty toothpaste onto Grim's kitty toothbrush, but that doesn't last.

With my own hair brushed and Epel on my left, I think it's going to be a normal day. Still, something feels off. Very off. I'm unsettled, and I don't know why.

Then it hits me. Slowly, like something oozing onto my head, it hits me. If Korrak has pilot parents, then why did he do so well against Floyd?

This is going to keep eating at me until I solve it. Sigh. And I have classes today.

" 'Ats th'matter, Yuu? Yer lookin' pretty worn-out, an' th' day ain't even really started."

"Myeeh. Classes."

Epel looks at us, confused- before laughing. "We ain't got no class t'day, 's a weekend!"

Grim and I both thank whatever forces gave us a day off. Epel, Grim and I hurry through our routine and go to breakfast- eggs on toast.

I still haven't seen Korrak or Mandible today.

Before I can properly register it- or wake up- Grim and I are adventuring through the woods outside our dorm, continuing our quest for a stick.

We carefully dig through the leaves before I step anywhere, exercising all the caution we feel we'll need to ensure the perfect stick does not escape our notice nor break before we may properly obtain it.

The woods are peaceful. Grim has dismounted from my shoulder in favor of trotting along the forest floor, through the yellow-brown that carpets the grass and tree roots.

His ears perk up. He looks suspiciously at nothing, head turned, and then calms, ears lowering. Still, he's clearly on edge.

I've got a feeling about this. It's a little dread, settling in my stomach like tar, but there's also some determination, sitting atop the dread like snow.

The question about Korrak is still eating at me. It's harder to ignore now that the sleep has left my eyes and mind, but I'm setting it aside nonetheless to search for the stick. Still: why would he lie? Did he even? Maybe it's just redacted information he's not comfortable sharing, as opposed to an outright lie. Maybe his parents taught him self-defense.

But... that didn't look like professional self-defense. It looked like something learned on the streets- but how would I know? I'm new to this world, maybe that's just what their jujustu looks like.

What's that? It sounds like... chittering. I look at Grim. He's facing roughly north, at the source, ears pointed forward. He makes eye contact with me. The message is clear: I'm not just dreaming. There's something- or someone- out there.

Hold on. More chittering? It sounds... different, somehow. A different voice? Wait. That sounds a lot like Mandible. And the other voice is talking now, could that be...Korrak?

What language could that be? Not French, that's for sure... maybe something else?

Wait. I've heard people talking about an "Animal Linguistics" class. If animals have their own language... and Mandible is an opossum...

Grim and I make eye contact again. He's connected the dots, too. Another question: why is Korrak speaking opossum? I've heard other people talking to their familiars during meals and in the Backstage Room, but they don't speak the animal language- they speak their human language, and the familiar chirps, barks, chitters, or otherwise make animal sounds back. I often can't understand either side; a lot of Pomefiore people speak Dutch or Spanish or something.

This mystery just keeps expanding. My mental pinboard has even more yarn on it now, and no extra answers.

The chittering has stopped. Maybe that wasn't Mandible and Korrak? Meh. We have a stick to find!

The woods are pretty and peaceful. Leaves crunch underfoot and underpaw, respectively, and rocks must be carefully avoided- lest I fall over. Grim is a quadruped, so he doesn't have that risk.

Ow! Tree roots. I also have to watch out for tree roots. Wish I remembered that before I fell flat on my face, but it's a little late for that.

"Are you okay?" I know that voice. That's Mandible.

"I'm fine," I start, lifting myself from the leafy forest floor. But, before I ask about what was overheard, I catch myself. They probably wouldn't react well if I asked.

Wait... this is a new area of the forest. I'm standing on the edge of a clearing, set in an indent in the ground, like a reverse hill. The inside of the bowl-like shape is all leaves, with some decent-sized boulders around the edges. One, two... Thirteen boulders, arranged in a circle. Some have sharp edges, others appear entirely smooth. All are grey, but various shades- some are far darker than others. A few even look to have stripes, like the igneous rock I learned about in middle school science class. It's very pretty.

There's an indent in the leaves- a path where someone walked. This must be where Korrak was earlier.

"What are you two doing out in the woods?"

Before I can respond to Mandible's question, Grim jumps in for me. "We're gonna get a big stick to make into a toy!

"Oh, that sounds fun! I think I saw one over here!" Mandible hops down from Korrak's shoulder and trots down the steep slope, into the clearing. I follow, take one step down, trip again, and fall- a hand wraps around my right wrist, and I realize I'm pulling Korrak down with me. He's strong, but gravity and momentum are stronger.

I hit the ground first. My arm breaks my falk for most of my body, but my hips don't get that, and throb with dull pain. I don't feel blood. Then, Korrak hits the leaf litter- and exclaims something when he does. It's not English, but the chittering we heard before. He sounds indistinguishable from an actual opossum.

Oops. I'm staring. And he's noticed, too. Time to try and pass it off as an "I was worried" thing.

"Myeeh! Are you two okay? Yuu? Yuu!"

Well, Grim's beat me to it. And, oddly enough, Mandible is chittering at Korrak. I think he's asking if we're alright.

I stand, stretch, and offer Korrak my hand. He takes it, and I lift him. "You good?"

"S-sure am. Thanks." He pauses. "Are you?"

I nod. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Yuu! Do you need ice?! I can summon some!"

"Don't, Grim."

Korrak is looking at me now. "You're pretty fluent in Cat."

I look at him, right into his smokey grey eyes. "What?"

"You're p-pretty fluent in Cat. I'm impressed."

"What do you mean by that? How can I be fluent in a species?" Only after the words leave my mouth do I remember Animal Linguistics is a class.

Korrak bursts out laughing. "Animals have languages. You seem p-pretty fluent in Cat, especially considering it's not y-your native language. That's what you and Grim are speaking. What's h-h-he saying, anyway?"

"He's asking if I need ice and offering to summon some."

Korrak laughs. "G-good ol' Grim."

"By the way, what did you mean by 'not my native language'?"

He pauses, nervous. "W-well, I'm assuming your native language isn't Cat. You seem f-fluent in it, th-though."

"I'm assuming the chittering is you and Mandible speaking Opossum, then."

Korrak nods. "Y-yeah. It's my, um.. Nevermind."

He whispers the last part, just a faint draft of breath, but my ears catch it anyway. Grim's do, too. This time, I take notice of how his words sound- he's speaking Cat.

"Your what?"

"Your what?" I echo his words, in English this time.

"N-nothing." That's a sound he doesn't usually stutter. He's nervous.

I give him a look. He doesn't cave, not yet.

"Found it!"

"Myeeh, that's too thin... maybe. Hey, Yuu, over here!"

I walk over to Grim and Mandible to look at the stick. It's wildly thin, and is shaped like a paperclip someone tried and failed to straighten out. It's not going to work.

"Yeah, too thin. Thanks for trying, Mandible." I spare a glance at Korrak. He's still standing there, nervous. I'm a little scared to leave him alone. Not completely alone, obviously- he'll still have his familiar- but an opossum can only do so much, and... sigh.

"Come on, hench-human. I wanna see Sam's. I heard there's a tuna discount!"

Of course, he's thinking of tuna. His favorite food. He's never told me, but, in the other world, my Grim loved tuna beyond any other food. He loves it here, too.

Maybe we'll run into Rook there; we can ask him for help if we do. Hey, that's right- Rook is probably here somewhere, supervising. Korrak will be okay.

I laugh. "Alright, Grim, let's go and look."

Taking one last glance at the nervous, purple-haired boy and the furry marsupial, we leave the little bowl clearing behind us, questions put aside in our heads.

This Is Part 21 Of The "What If Yuu Didn't Want To Go Back?" Series!

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