Chapter 94 Good influence

Chapter 94 Good influence
~ Tyra ~

Waking up felt strangely more comfortable than it had when I fell asleep. The surface beneath my head was sturdy enough to support me properly, yet it was also warm and soft in a way that made my sleepy body instinctively snuggle closer instead of pulling away.

Partly conscious, with my mind still struggling to clear itself of the last traces of sleep, my hand decided to explore the surface I was lying on. I moved it slowly without really thinking about what I was touching, still trapped somewhere between sleep and full awareness as I tried to understand why everything felt so unusually comfortable.

At almost the same time as I started moving my hand, I heard some faint whispering nearby. The sound gradually pulled at my awareness until I was finally beginning to wake up properly, although my eyes were still closed and my mind remained foggy.

What truly cleared the remaining sleep from my head, however, was the moment a hand suddenly grabbed my exploring hand and stopped it from moving any farther. The unexpected contact startled me enough that my eyes snapped open immediately.

I stared ahead for a few seconds before finally realizing that the comfortable surface beneath my head was actually Zaran's arm. My little exploration, which had been abruptly interrupted by his hand, had also not been some innocent search of the strange surface beneath me. My fingers had been moving across his chest.

Without thinking, I sprang to my feet, my eyes widening as my heart began racing in a nervous flutter. Heat rushed into my face as the realization fully settled in, and for a moment, I didn't even know where to look.

"I... I'm so sorry..." I stuttered, immediately assuming I had crossed some kind of boundary and that he was offended by whatever my subconscious had decided to do while I was asleep.

"For what?" he asked, his face carrying such genuine confusion that I almost wondered if he had understood what I was apologizing for. "For waking up?"

"For um... I... I didn't know I had..."

"You slept, and you woke up," he cut me off before I could embarrass myself any further, pushing himself to his feet. "You should never be sorry for waking up, Tyra," he said matter of factly, his eyes remaining fixed on mine.

I became completely dumbfounded. I couldn't tell whether he was genuinely oblivious to what had been bothering me or whether he understood perfectly well and was simply trying to make me feel less embarrassed about it.

There was something about the calm way he handled the situation that made it even harder for me to figure him out. He didn't look angry or uncomfortable, and he didn't even seem interested in making the moment more awkward than it already was in my head.

"It's still quite early. I'll go gather some supplies for our journey today," his voice reached my ears, and before I could think of anything to say in response, he walked away from the shelter.

My eyes followed him as he disappeared from sight, and I remained staring in the direction he had gone for a while. My mind was still trying to make sense of what had just happened when another voice pulled me back to the present.

"Good morning, Tyra," Kosi greeted, forcing me to turn my attention back toward the inside of the shelter.

"Morning, Kosi," I responded, moving over to sit close to him.

I couldn't tell whether the small smile on his face was genuine or fake, and I wasn't sure I could trust my ability to read his expressions yet. Rather than dwell on it, I decided to engage him in a completely different conversation.

"What were you whispering to your master before I woke up?" I asked, knowing fully well that the whispering voice I had heard belonged to him.

The smile on his face disappeared almost immediately as he shook his head.

"Kosi no whisper anything bad."

"I know. I just want to know what exactly you two were discussing," I pressed, keeping my voice light so he wouldn't feel threatened or think he was in trouble.

"Kosi only ask master if master feel fine."

"Why? Did something happen to him again last night?" I asked, my brows drawing together with concern. "Did he heat the place up with magic?"

Another shake of his head was given to me, and this time I watched him carefully, trying to figure out whether he was withholding something.

"Master no use magic. Kosi just think master like Tyra a lot."

That caught me completely off guard because it was the last thing I expected to hear from him. My mouth parted slightly before I recovered enough to look at him properly, wondering where exactly that conclusion had come from.

"Why do you think so?" I asked, curiosity replacing my earlier concern. I was now genuinely interested in hearing his explanation, and I silently hoped Kosi wouldn't disappoint me by shaking his head and refusing to say anything else.

Thankfully, he didn't disappoint me.

"Master heart beat in strange way. Master behave strange too. Master sleep only half night. Master take care of Tyra. Master let Tyra scold him. Master not like that before. Kosi think Tyra good influence on master," Kosi spelled everything out, listing each point with the seriousness of someone presenting evidence in a case.

I stared at him, completely caught between amusement and disbelief. Apparently, while I had been busy trying to understand Zaran, his little ghoul had already been paying attention to things neither of us seemed ready to acknowledge.

“You think so?” I asked, and he gave a firm nod, his face still twisted with concern.

I decided not to bother him with any more questions as I thought about everything he had just said. A small smile appeared on my lips before I quickly killed it, reminding myself that Zaran was probably only acting differently because he felt guilty about what had happened to me and the situation we were both in.

However, a part of me still felt genuinely happy that Kosi considered me a good influence on his master. I didn't know exactly why his words affected me that much, but I didn't try to fight the feeling either.

Moments later, Zaran returned with the supplies he had gone to gather, but the first thing that caught my attention wasn't the food in his hands. It was the single pink and yellow flower stem tucked behind his ear, which he seemed completely unaware of at that moment.

“So I couldn't get much, but I got these. Don't know what they are, but they're sweet and safe to eat,” he reported seriously as he held up the fruits he had just brought with him.

I only gave the fruits a brief glance before my attention returned to the flower. Then my eyes moved from the flower to his face, and I found myself staring at him without saying anything.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked, frowning slightly at my silence and obvious examination of him.

“Is that for me?” The question fell out before I could stop it.

“You can't eat all of them. Well, literally you can, but it might cause you stomach upset.”

“Not the fruits,” I laughed, unable to hold it in any longer. The seriousness on his face was funny as hell. “The flower in your hair.”

His expression instantly changed as realization seemed to hit him.

“Makes you look pretty, though. I wouldn't mind if it isn't mine,” I teased, enjoying the subtle look of bashfulness that crossed his face.

“I didn't know there was anything like that in my hair,” he said, sounding genuinely surprised.

He went ahead and pulled the flower out from where it was tucked without even searching for it, as if he already knew exactly where it was.

“Of course, you didn't. It probably got stuck there while you were picking up the fruits.” I teased him again, and he shot me a glare that only made me laugh harder. “Can I have it then? It's a beautiful flower.”

He handed it over without hesitation. “You can have it. It will suit you more than me. We need to get going. There's a stream a few hours from here. We'll get better food there.”

I smiled as I put the flower in my hair. The simple gesture felt strangely meaningful, especially after everything Kosi had told me earlier. Maybe the little ghoul hadn't been kidding about the things he had noticed between us after all.

Turning to look at Kosi, I could still see the concerned look on his face as he regarded his master.

“You haven't told me anything about yourself,” I said minutes after we hit the road, breaking the silence that had settled between us.

“There's nothing to tell,” Zaran deadpanned.

“Of course there's something. I know your name and Kosi's name, and I know you're a witch. What else is there to you?” I pressed, looking at him with curiosity.

“Nothing else.”

I let out a sigh. Having already noticed how much he disliked talking about himself, I decided to take a different approach.

“Are you from Oriental Island? Where is your house located? Do you work? Do you have siblings?”

“I have no siblings, and I do a few menial jobs. Yes, I'm from Oriental Island, and I live in the south.”

“The south?” My eyes widened in surprise. “South avenue you mean?”

“Yeah.”

“How are you able to afford living in that part of town? I heard the South is reserved for the extremely wealthy. Oh, wait...” I paused as the obvious explanation came to mind. “Your parents must be rich then.”

“I have no parents either.”

My steps faltered for a while, and I looked at him in surprise. I hadn't expected that answer at all. For a moment, I didn't know what to say because my previous question suddenly felt insensitive.

“Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't know.”

“It's fine.” He turned his head sideways and flashed me a small smile, making it clear that he wasn't offended by the question. “Also, there are some parts of the South average people can afford. It isn't reserved only for the rich.”

I nodded, swallowing the rest of my questions. There were still so many things I wanted to know about him, especially after learning that he had no parents or siblings, but I decided not to push any further. A short moment of silence descended between us as we continued along the road, each of us seemingly lost in our own thoughts.

Then his voice sliced through the silence again.

“Your turn. Tell me everything about you.”