Soul Guardian - Chapter 52: Exit, Pursued by Hellcats

Six and Titan had gotten in the routine of taking a walk around the park each day. Their adventures could last the whole day, depending on the weather.

Usually they talked as they walked. Titan was good for bouncing ideas off of. He wasn’t much of a reader. But he knew things.

The hellhound liked to sneak into museums and take the audio tours. Anyone who noticed the large dog walking through the galleries usually mistook him for an exhibit. (Hellhound With A Walkman, – 1995 Titan)

There was a feeling in the air of changing seasons. Fall was coming soon, or perhaps it had already arrived. The air was colder and their daily walks were getting cut short by rainstorms. Summer was ending.

Something had been on Six’s mind for a while now. She didn’t want to ask the question because she was afraid of the answer. But it gnawed away at her. Finally the question burst out as they were sheltering from an unexpected downpour. “When do you think they are going to leave?”

The hellhound considered this. It wasn’t his place to make promises or speak for anyone else. But he had been keeping his ears open. He weighed the pros and cons. Eventually he decided to err on the side of kindness.

“FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, BAEL HAS TAKEN AN EXTENDED LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM HELL. HE INTENDS TO STAY. BUT YOU DIDN’T HEAR IT FROM ME.” Titan watched the rain pour down. It didn’t show any signs of stopping. “DON’T WORRY SO MUCH. BAEL LOVES YOU LIKE HIS OWN.”

“That’s nice to hear. And I certainly didn’t hear it from you.” Six couldn’t believe it. Bael was staying. He was actually staying. She considered this new situation for a moment.

“YOU DON’T SEEM PLEASED” Titan said. “IF YOU ARE, YOUR FACE DID NOT GET THE MESSAGE.”

“This is my thinking face. But yeah, it doesn’t always show what I’m feeling inside.” Six looked at her companion. “Does that mean you are staying too?”

“I SAID I WOULD. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. HELL DOES NOT OWN ME.” He thumped his tail on the ground a few times in frustration. “I HAVE DUTIES THERE, YES. BUT I AM MY OWN DOG. BESIDES, IT’S NOT LIKE THEY PAY ME.”

“What would you do if you didn’t work for hell?” Six asked. She tried to imagine Titan as a seeing eye dog or herding sheep. Somehow it didn’t fit.

“THAT IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION.” Titan continued to watch the rain. “WHAT IF I DON’T WANT A JOB? WHAT IF I MERELY WISH TO EXIST? WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO HAVE MY WORTH JUDGED BY MY UTILITY TO OTHERS?”

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“Well… I suppose that would be fine.” Six scratched behind his ears. “You’re a good dog, Titan.”

“YES. I KNOW. BUT THANK YOU FOR NOTICING.” He wagged his tail as the downpour suddenly ended. “WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT. THE RAIN SEEMS TO HAVE STOPPED. WE SHOULD GET HOME.”

“Agreed.” Six reached into her pocket and pulled out a tennis ball. “But first, FETCH!”

***

The two returned to the home covered in mud. Arson gave them a look of disgust from her spot in the garage. She ran inside and returned with a beat up gray towel. “Don’t go tracking that stuff through the house.”

Titan strongly considered shaking himself dry and flinging mud all over the orange hellcat. But she had brought him a towel. He decided to be nice, for now.

Six wiped herself off and removed the worst of the mud from her faithful companion. Steam cascaded from Titan as his internal furnace came up to temp. He took a deep breath and exhaled a steady stream of hot hair at Six. She giggled as it washed over her.

A few minutes later they were both dry and mostly mud free. Arson flickered her tail. “That was disgusting.”

Titan blew a wave of hot air at her. The marmalade hellcat made a face. “Ugh, dog breath. Just what I look for in a hairdryer.”

***

Granny braced against the cold weather with a thick housecoat and even thicker socks. He considered firing up the wood stove to break the chill. His usual fuel of choice was abundant. But it didn’t feel right to keep burning books.

He called his firewood supplier. “Hey Mac. It’s Granny. Can you deliver a few cords of oak to the shop?” They haggled a bit over price. Wood wasn’t cheap, and Granny was. But Mac got the upper hand when he promised to deliver the wood within the hour.

An ever troublesome copy of White Fang gnawed at the legs of Granny’s chair. He looked down at the dog-eared book with annoyance. “You’re lucky I’m a softie. You know that, right?”

The book stopped gnawing and looked up at him. It seemed to be waiting for something. Granny took a bookmark off the counter and dangled it in front of White Fang.

They played tug of war while Granny waited for the firewood to arrive. It wasn’t a half bad way to waste an afternoon.

***

Maharet watched the meeting between Ganon and his daughter going on in their living room. She sipped her glass of water and smiled. It was nice to have the mystery of Cherry’s origins laid to rest. And just in time, too.

Bael came over to join her on the sidelines. “Well that’s two problems, no… three. That’s three problems figured out. We still have to get Six acclimated to her new school and plan the wedding. But we have plenty of time for that.”

“Maybe not.” Maharet said, taking another sip from her glass of water.

“What do you mean?” Bael asked, as he reached into his fanny pack for a snack. When the bag appeared in Bael’s closet one day he hadn’t questioned it. Maharet hated the thing. But it was incredibly useful for hauling Bael’s daily necessities. (Snacks, snacks, and more snacks.)

Maharet leaned in close and whispered the good news in his ear. Bael’s eyes went wide. He hugged his wife and kissed her. They wouldn’t tell anyone until they knew for sure. But Bael couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot.

Cherry and Ganon didn’t seem to notice. They were too caught up in the moment. Bael reached down and took Maharet’s hand. He gave it a squeeze. She squeezed back.

A few seconds later there was a brief commotion as Titan chased Arson through the living room. Six rolled her eyes and followed behind. “I don’t think they’re actually trying to kill each other.” She said, “But better safe than sorry.”

A minute later Titan ran back the other way pursued by three hellcats.