Chapter 18 A Sense of Belonging

Chapter 18 A Sense of Belonging
Izzy gobbled up three plates of rice and a plate of soup, her hunger raging like a wildfire, and Dixon simply kept serving her.

Now, as she dug into her fourth plate, her movements had slowed, her body beginning to protest the sheer volume of food, but Dixon continued to serve her.

“Want more soup?” He asked, and she shook her head.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted with the pungent scent of frankincense and myrrh, and Dixon's head turned, his eyes narrowing as he growled, “Show yourself, Zephryine.”

Zephyrine seeped into view like a wisp of smoke, perching delicately on Izzy’s forehead. Its appearance caused Izzy to let out a shriek as she recoiled, her meal tumbling from her hands. “Oh!”

Dixon sprang to his feet, his eyes flashing with concern as he strode to her side, his voice soothing, “Izzy, it’s okay, I'm here,” he said, his hands on her shoulder. He shifted his gaze to Zephryine, his eyeballs turning outrageously red, and his voice rose in anger. “What are you doing!”

“I'm sorry, Dixon,” Zephyrine said, its voice tinged with guilt, hovering in the air at the other side of the table. “I didn't know she'd be freaked out…”

She turned in Zephyrine’s direction and slightly curtsied, apologising, “I'm sorry, my lady.”

Izzy beamed. “It's fine…” she said, her smile slowly getting brighter. She furrowed her face, adding, “I've never seen a talking bug. You seem like an interesting creature. I like you already.”

Zephyrine was excited that Izzy was friendly. “Thanks, my Lady. I'm—” it wanted to introduce itself, but Dixon cut him off.

Dixon’s eyes narrowed. "You'll get tired of it soon. A talking bug's cute at first, but it'll get old fast." He turned to Zephyrine. "What do you want? Why are you still here?"

“Because I want to meet your mate,” Zephyrine responded. “I want to meet the lucky lady, a whole noble creature like you risked your life for.”

“Risked his life?” Izzy uttered, her voice rose with surprise. She looked at Dixon's face, whose eyes were widened in shock, and sensing he wouldn't say the truth, she faced Zephyrine, interrogating, “what are you talking about?”

“He—” Zephyrine was ready to reveal everything, but Dixon stopped him again.

“It's nothing…” Dixon lied. “It's just blabbing. You know mistakes happen when someone talks too much. It doesn't know what it's saying.”

“But—” Izzy doubted, her face furrowed, confused. She believed Dixon was hiding something, but he gave her no space to ask.

“Since you're here to meet my mate, let's do that so you can leave,” he said. He pointed at Zephyrine, introducing, “meet Zephyrine, he's a mysterious creature, whom I happened to meet by mistake…”

“By mistake?” Zephyrine uttered. He chuckled, ready to protest. “How could you say you met me by mistake. Didn't we—”

“Zephyrine, meet my mate,” Dixon interrupted Zephyrine again. He faced Zephyrine, ordering, “leave now. The introduction is done and over.”

“But—” Zephyrine wanted to argue, though it had no excuse against it, but Izzy came to its rescue.

“I'll take Zephyrine as my visitor,” she said. “Let him stay and have lunch. He can leave after eating…”

Without waiting for Dixon's opinion, Izzy picked up a plate and served a small portion of rice in it. She added a soup and mixed them before pushing them to one side, closer to her. “Here, Zephyrine. Enjoy your meal.”

“Thanks, my lady.” Zephyrine said. It glanced at Dixon's face for a moment, mocking him before flying to Izzy's side. It landed on the rice and started eating. 

“This tastes so delicious!” It shouted, mocking and aiming to annoy Dixon more, since it knew he wouldn't do anything out of respect for Izzy. “I think I'll need more.”

Izzy nodded, beaming. “Sure. You'll have as much as you want.”



Izzy’s fingers relaxed, releasing the spoon, which clattered onto the table beside the empty bowl, the metal still warm from her grasp. While Zephyrine sprawled on his back, legs splayed out like a tiny, defeated warrior, his abdomen a swollen dome, rising and falling with his contented sighs, heavy with the weight of its gluttony.

“Now that you’re done eating, will you leave?” Dixon said, directing his question to Zephryine. He didn’t want Zephryine to stay longer, afraid it might spill than necessary, and since he didn’t want Izzy to know about everything that happened while she was asleep, the best was to keep it far away from Izzy.

Zephryine’s tiny legs kicked feebly as it struggled to flip over, its bloated body anchoring it to the table. It unfurled its wings, but they only fluttered weakly, unable to lift its gorged form. 

It shot Izzy a sidelong glance, expecting rescue, but got none. “Lay off! I overdid it. I'm weak, need time to bounce back...I fly, not walk," it said. It looked at Izzy, throwing a question. “Isn’t that it, my lady?”

Izzy nodded. “Yeah, let it be,” she said to Dixon, her voice firm. He looked like he wanted to argue, but she shut him down. “I’ve been lonely for too long. I need someone around. You’re not exactly the chatty type, so Zephyrine will fill that gap.”

Dixon’s lips tightened. Izzy had the final say, and since that was what she wanted, no argument. “Okay,” he agreed. “It should stay, but just for a while. Once we leave this forest, he’s not going with us. Is that good?”

Izzy looked at Zephryine, wrinkling to ask if the condition was fine with her, and Zephryine nodded in agreement. She returned her gaze to Dixon. ”Accepted,” she said, beaming, “thanks.”

Zephryine sighed softly, getting Izzy’s attention back to himself. It moved forward, staring downward.. “In my whole life of existence,” it started, his voice low and pity-seeking. “I’ve only had either a master or father. No mother…”

It lifted his head, looking at Izzy in the eyes. “Please, my Lady, during the time we’ll spend together, can you let me call you mother. Please.” It requested, his gaze intensifying into hers, who was looking at it, confused about what response to give.

“Why–” Dixon wanted to decline Izzy's behaviour, but Izzy cut him off.

“Fine,” Izzy said, and Dixon and Zephryine glared at her, their eyes widened in disbelief. She tinted her lips with a welcoming smile, adding, “you can call me mother.”

Zephyrine quickly flew up, landing on her chest to hug her in its way. “Thank you, my lady,” it said. It shook his head, instantly rephrasing his statement. “Thank you, Mother.”

Izzy beamed, shaking her head as if that was nothing. “It was nothing, Zephryine,” she said. Suddenly, she lifted her gaze and looked Dixon in the eyes. “Dixon’s my mate. If you refer to me as mother, then you should call him father.”

“Uhn!” 

The shocked tone fled Dixon’s lips. Before he could object, Zephyrine flew to him, landing on his shoulder. “Father,” it said, still determined to annoy him. “Thank you for finding my mother for me. Thanks.”

Dixon seethed. He hated Zephryine’s presence on his shoulder, but he forced a sour smile, glancing at Izzy—he wouldn't cross her, not over this.