“Well, okay. ’Ding!’” said Mike, trying to get into the spirit of things.
“I’m not saying ‘Ding,’” Mandy said, “But I just leveled too. Thank you for sharing the quest, James.” Like a lot of dominant women, Mandy came across a little prickly at first, but she really seemed to be trying. Even if she wouldn’t say ‘Ding.’
“Congratulations, then,” I said. I wanted her to know that I appreciated her effort. This got me a genuine smile.
Samantha had not dinged. It turned out she shared her experience with Kaa, even quest experience. On the plus side, that meant he was almost certain to start leveling up with her.
“It may slow you down,” I said, “but on the other hand, a leveled-up giant snake sounds… well, terrifying. Terrifying on our side though.”
“I’m still getting used to the idea. But I swear, I can almost feel what that snake is thinking. Animals are a lot smarter than most people believe, but still, he’s way more intelligent than I would have ever expected. And after the fight? He was affectionate. Or more like he wanted affection. The shock of being shot scared him and I had to calm him down while Mike looked after Joe.” She laughed. “Vets get good at calming down animals. Never soothed a snake before, though.”
“Maybe you’ll be able to set its Attributes when it levels,” said Anthony. “If you can increase its Intelligence, who knows what it’ll be able to do?”
“Maybe you can teach it the song,” I said.
“What song?” said Danielle, confused.
On cue, Anthony and I burst into the world’s worst duet.
Trust in me…
Just in me…
Shut your eyes…
Trust in me…
Samantha started laughing uncontrollably. I couldn’t remember the whole thing, so I sort of wound down, but Anthony went through to the end, and by the time he stopped everyone else was laughing too.
“If he can do that thing with the eyes…” Samantha managed to say, gasping.
Danielle had laughed once she realized that we were singing Kaa’s song from The Jungle Book, but this made her stop. Her expression was faintly horrified.
“Cats don’t like snakes, Samantha,” I said, wiping my eyes. “Don’t freak out Danielle.”
This got me a punch on the arm from the Shadow Dancer.
“I’m not scared of a stupid snake,” she… hissed. Then she realized what she’d said and turned to Samantha, her face nearly as red as her hair.
“Sorry! Sorry! He’s a good snake! I was just mad at James!” She punched me again for emphasis. I winced. Those points in Strength were beginning to show.
“It’s okay,” said Samantha, who was still catching her breath. “I know what you meant. It’s James’ fault. Punch him again for me.”
I tried to duck this time but against her Dexterity it was completely futile. Another punch landed exactly where the first two had.
“Ow! I give, I give,” I said. That was really starting to smart. “You’re a brave kitty and Kaa is a good snake.”
Danielle looked like she was considering punching me again, possibly for calling her a ‘brave kitty,’ but instead she gave me a squeeze. “Good boy,” she… well, she purred. “That’s much better.”
“It’s a smart man who knows when he’s beaten,” said Mandy, eyes bright with amusement. “Keep him in line, Danielle. He needs it.”
“That’s a good idea,” responded the redhead with interest. “I…”
Before Danielle could say anything more, I reached up and started scratching her head. Her face went slack for a second and she started to melt into me. Then she sputtered and tried to sit up again.
“No fair!” she said. “That’s cheating.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m being good,” I said innocently, and scratched harder. She made a noise of protest, but her heart wasn’t in it.
Everyone grinned at the adorable sight of Danielle struggling against the evil power of head-scritches, but I stopped after a minute.
“Okay, seriously. Anybody hungry? We should probably find some real food and then get some rest. If we get up early, making town in one more day should be doable,” I said.
Between the snacks, including some surprisingly good summer sausage, and what we had, we made a meal. The sleeping logistics were tricky, as the cabin only had two beds and nobody wanted to sleep where the hunters had slept. Eventually we just stripped off the sheets and slept on bare mattresses. Mike and Samantha took the smaller bedroom. Mandy, Joe and Anthony took the bigger one, and nobody asked questions. Danielle and I volunteered to use the couch, which was a fold-a-bed.
“What about guards? A watch, I mean,” said Joe. “Should we do guard shifts?”
“That’s not a bad idea,” said Mike. “I’ll load up one of the shotguns. It may not do much to System animals, but it’ll make a lot of noise and scare them, if it comes to that.” He got one and gave us a very brief intro on how to hold it safely and how to shoot it.
“It takes time to learn to hit targets,” he said, “but if you’re just going to shoot it at something in the doorway, just point it and pull the trigger. You’ll probably hit it.”
We arranged for three-hour waking shifts, with a pair of people on duty sitting in chairs in the living room. Danielle and I were both sound sleepers, so it was okay if they talked quietly to stay awake. With the System clock, it was a breeze to know when your shift was up.
Of course, that meant no fooling around for us in the living room, but full Stamina or not, we both were ready for some sleep. I barely remembered hitting the pillow.
Chapter 11
Bumps In the Night
“Wake up, James,” a soft voice called. Someone was nudging my shoulder. I flailed weakly at them.
“It’s your turn to stand watch,” said Samantha, her voice low but insistent.
“All right, all right,” I muttered. “I’m getting up.” As I woke, I remembered that we’d drawn the last shift. So we were really getting up for the day. “‘System, time.’”
SYSTEM MESSAGE: Local Time is 4:04 AM Eastern Standard Time, Sunday, April 9, 2017.
Once Samantha was sure I was awake she told me that while they’d heard some noises outside, nothing had sounded too close to the cabin. Then she and Mike went back to their bedroom.
I in turn roused Danielle, who stretched adorably. Catgirl might not be her Class, but it seemed to be affecting her in lots of little ways.
“I’m up, I’m up,” she said. I gave her a kiss and she smiled and hugged me. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, lazy kitty,” I said in a teasing voice. She blushed.
“I’m not,” she said earnestly. “I’m awake now. But I have to p…” She stopped herself and I could almost feel her blushing. “I need the bathroom.”
“Go ahead,” I said. “I’ll go after you. One flush to save water, okay?”
She made a face, but nodded. Once we had both made the trip, I put some more wood on the fire, which had almost gone out. We folded up the couch as quietly as possible and sat next to each other, watching the flames.