[Kyrit]

(Pet form is a stand-in)

He barely made it to the bed before falling forward and just collapsing on it. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but man did it beat being chained and shoved in to someone’s closet. There had been so much to process and so little time. There wasn’t anyone to unload his thoughts on either. Well, technically there was. From what Friend had gathered, Armory didn’t necessarily really sleep, so honestly he could go out there and talk to him.

[Kyrit]

Yavis probably wasn’t asleep either, he was willing to bet. She seemed to have wanted to have some time to herself though, and honestly he more just wanted something to talk at rather than to. It typically just helped him get his thoughts together and put any of his problems behind him, like his rambling to the tiger the night before. No sense in worrying other people over things he’d be over the night day.

[Kyrit]

If nothing else, it had been nice to be able to sit down and talk with Nemissa. He hadn’t learned much more about her than he’d already known, but small steps were made. In a way though, she really did remind him of Wonder. Not that either of them were actually anything alike.

[Kyrit]

Comparatively, Wonder had definitely had the much easier life. Both parents raised her, both parents were still in her life. Meanwhile they’d all learned that the only parental figure Nemissa had had was a priest. Perhaps the reason Nemissa reminded Friend so much of his own sister though was how frail they both felt. Wonder had always been so dainty, something he’d wanted to hold and protect any time he was nearby. Something he couldn’t imagine living out in the wilds, despite having offered to take her with him had she wanted.

[Kyrit]

Nemissa’s fragility was different though. He’d seen her hold her own in a fight, seen her manage to stand after falling into a pitfall trap. Yet still he would gladly step in front of her if anyone dared to call such a fragile child a devil. But that wasn’t his place. She had Yavis for such, whom was much better at protecting the girl with her sharp tongue. At the very least though, he’d do his best to make sure she never got hurt as badly as she had back in that haunted house.

[Kyrit]

As his thoughts swirled, the Tabaxi’s face rubbed up against the pillow, his left arm hanging idly over the edge of the bed. Yavis… She was certainly a tough one. Seeing her change so suddenly as her body fell. That one definitely wasn’t something he had been expecting. But…. Vadra could do something similar, so ultimately he understood. Taking on another shape for the sake of making life easier. It was just a shame that she felt like she had to become someone else to be accepted. She looked strange, he wouldn’t lie about that if asked. But every single human they’d met in Barovia had considered him strange as well. Same for many humans outside of Barovia. Strange was not bad though.

[Kyrit]

Perhaps she needed the carving he’d intended to make for Ireena even more, though from the sounds of it that probably wouldn’t have done much good. Years and years of self loathing weren’t nearly as easy to bring someone out of as someone that was only beginning to slip. Still, he’d love to help her understand one day that maybe the world wasn’t as cruel as she thought.

[Kyrit]

There were plenty of bad people in the world and plenty of bad things happened. Plenty of bad things had happened to them even just since arriving in Barovia. But the world was full of such wonder and so many great things too. And if they were able to remove Strahd from the picture, maybe Barovia could be a happier place too. A place where Arabell could grow up without fear of being kidnapped and almost sacrificed for the sake of her heritage, a place where the Barovian priest could have his son saved from a vampiric fate, and a place where Ireena didn’t have to fear becoming someone she wasn’t.

[Kyrit]

But first…. Before Strahd other steps had to be taken. They’d met plenty of people in Krezk that had treated them well, despite being so different. But all those people weren’t just suffering because of Strahd. He didn’t like the plan Yavis had, but he did at the very least agree that the baron needed to be removed from power.

[Kyrit]

Rolling over onto his side, Friend drew his hand over his shoulder and neck, rubbing the now closed wounds received from the vampire earlier that day. If he hadn’t made so many mistakes earlier that day…. He would have been willing to make a stand against Izek. He wasn’t sure if even at top strength if he’d be able to beat him, but he certainly knew that as weakened as he had been he wouldn’t have been able to do a whole lot. Fighting would have put his new companions at risk, which he didn’t want. Soon though… they’d go back. Maybe his own idea wasn’t the best either, but either way they had to do something.

[Kyrit]

The sooner the better, but they had to make sure to plan it out better this time. He couldn’t risk putting the girls at danger like they had at the coffin maker’s. Armory could probably handle himself pretty well even without equipment, but he was terrified about taking Nemissa and Yavis in to a fight without having any of their gear on them.

[Kyrit]

For now though, that could all wait. More importantly they all needed to get some good rest. It’d been some time since they’d been able to just sit back and relax, so maybe in the end this would be good for them all. A few days to relax and then they would be back in top form and be able to help everyone that was helping them out. In the meantime, maybe he could go out and do some hunting and they could have a nice non-wolf meal for once.

[Kyrit]

This thought brought a small smile to his lips as Friend curled his legs up toward the rest of his body, dragging the pillow along with his head as he tucked himself in to a loose ball of sorts. It would certainly be harder to hunt down a nice meal for them all without his gear, but he’d be able to sleep happily planning out how to bring them the best meal he could.

The sun would rise and tomorrow would be a better day, even if the clouds did their best to shade it.