Something Extra - Hungry Heart - Ch. 30 (Patreon)

Chapter One  / Chapter Two  / Chapter Three  / Chapter Four  / Chapter Five  / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight / Chapter Nine / Chapter Ten  / Chapter Eleven / Chapter Twelve / Chapter Thirteen / Chapter Fourteen / Chapter Fifteen / Chapter Sixteen / Chapter Seventeen / Chapter Eighteen / Chapter Nineteen / Chapter Twenty / Chapter Twenty-One / Chapter Twenty-Two / Chapter Twenty-Three / Chapter Twenty-Four / Chapter Twenty-Five / Chapter Twenty-Six / Chapter Twenty-Seven / Chapter Twenty-Eight / Chapter Twenty-Nine 

Chapter Thirty – Someone Like You

The people of Shroudharbor were out on the shore, and it appeared as if every soul in the city was assembled there. Duril let out a small sigh of relief as he noticed the many boats gathered in the harbor. Sailors were pouring out of them and hurrying into their loved ones’ arms.

“Do you think she spared all the lives lost at sea during the storm?” Toru asked from his right.

He leaned into the tigershifter’s embrace. Ever since they had set foot down on the deck of Margrave’s ship, Toru hadn’t let go of him. The same went for Varg who was holding him from the left. His large arm went around the back of Toru’s neck, and Duril was amused by the small huffs of annoyance coming off from him each time Varg teased him and squeezed his nape or tickled his ear.

“I believed she did,” Duril confirmed. “She wasn’t evil.”

“But she did bad things.”

“Yes,” he admitted quietly. “She did bad things.”

A larger body slammed playfully against them from behind, and Duril tilted his head back only for his eyes to meet Claw’s large grin. “How’s the crew? All in one piece?”

“Who are you?” Toru asked. “You’re so big.”

“I’m Claw,” the giant replied. “Didn’t your friends already tell you about me?”

“We didn’t have the chance,” Duril replied.

Claw laughed good-naturedly. “I guess we’ve all been a little busy. Your story about the girl turned sea-demon has already went round and round the ship about three times. I bet you won’t recognize much of it when you hear it from the last sailor on whose ears it fell.”

“No,” Toru said stubbornly. “We will tell the people in the city the truth about it. No tales, no stories. It is what they should know.”

“Very well, tiger. You were quite brave there, fighting that shroud.”

Duril could see Claw’s eyes lighting up with good humor, and wondered if Toru would appreciate being teased just like Varg was.

“I didn’t do much there.”

“You did,” Claw said. “You two got your fight, while me and puppy here, had our own to deal with.”

“Puppy?” Toru asked.

Oh, boy, Duril thought, here we go. Toru couldn’t keep himself from reaching for that low-hanging fruit.

Varg growled. “This flea bag thinks he’s clever.”

Toru turned his head, watching Varg and Claw, and then broke into laughter. “He’s bigger than you!” He pointed at Varg and laughed harder. “Finally, someone’s bigger than you!”

“Do you want me to munch your ears?” Varg warned.

“Do you think you can reach me?”

Duril was surprised to see Toru diving away from him only to climb on Claw’s back and perch on his shoulders. The bearshifter didn’t seem at all bothered by being climbed as if he were a tree. Even more, he helped Toru keep steady by grabbing his legs. From that height, Toru began making faces at Varg.

“Kitty,” Varg growled.

“Munch your own ears!” Toru shouted happily. “This is how I want to go through the city!”

“Toru,” Duril chided him affectionately, “you didn’t even ask Claw if he agrees to such a thing. And we have the difficult task of letting the people of Shroudharbor know of how the wealth of this place came to be. I’m not sure we will be celebrated.”

“We must be,” Toru said with confidence. “Because of us, their people out to sea came back alive, didn’t they?”

“That’s true,” Duril admitted. “But now, don’t be a bother and get down from there.”

“It’s no bother,” Claw replied. “Do you want a tour of the ship at least, Toru?”

“Sure I do,” the tigershifter replied. “Let’s go!”

Duril laughed as he watched Claw walk down the deck with Toru on his shoulders. “They get along so well, and they barely met,” he said.

“Indeed.” Varg seemed rather stiff as he said that.

Duril touched his shoulder gently. “You know Toru is mad about you. He just shows it in his own way.”

The wolfshifter gave him a lopsided grin. “I know. What happened there, with you and Toru and that little girl, that is something that all the people in Shroudharbor need to know about. And you should be the one to tell it.”

“I should? Why not Toru? Or you? You’re good at talking to people,” Duril pointed out.

Varg shrugged. “You’re our scribe. And I know you’d be abler than me to deliver the truth without chastising these people for turning a blind eye for centuries. I know I can’t. I feel like part of the responsibility falls on their shoulders, too. Who doesn’t care about burying their dead and celebrating their lives as they were?”

Varg’s hurt was real, and Duril knew about its roots and what it meant.

“Then I should, indeed, deliver the true story of this place, as they should know it.”

***

“What did you say about the people not wanting to celebrate us?” Toru smugly pointed at the crowd on the shore.

He enjoyed the attention, but only because he was with his friends. Otherwise, he would have preferred to go settle down with a tankard of ale and a big juicy steak. Or hunk of pork shoulder swimming in juices. While he hadn’t asked for such a grand quest, he was happy he was on it together with Duril and Varg. He was intrigued by the bearshifter, but anyone who was bigger than Varg and could tease him without fear of consequences was all right in his book. Not that he didn’t like Varg or anything; he liked him a lot, but he just thought he could tame a tiger, and that was something he needed to learn that he couldn’t do.

They didn’t have more time to talk as they descended from the boats on the shore and the people rushed toward them to greet them and touch them. Everywhere he looked, he saw happy faces, but a few in tears, as well. They had reasons to celebrate indeed, but once Duril told them Narissa’s story, they would have a reason to feel guilt, too.

Even so, Toru thought, could they be blamed? Narissa had told them about the evil that had spoken to her and dragged her to that underwater lair in the abyss. That thing tempted people, and while they were weak and responsible for their own actions, what had to be defeated once and for good lay somewhere else.

As soon as he set foot on the shore, some of the first people that rushed to him were Naella and her family. Moony wrapped his tiny arms around his neck and held tightly until his mother gently talked him into letting go.

“I was wrong about you.” Naella’s husband shook his hand vigorously. “From our boats, we saw your fight with that sea demon.”

“She wasn’t a demon,” Toru said bluntly. “She was a little girl, and you people killed her father.”

The man winced under his accusation and his eyes grew wide with confusion. Duril touched his elbow gently. “Toru, these people need to learn the truth, but we must tell it so that they can understand it.”

“The city square is being prepared, as we speak,” Naella informed them while bouncing Moony in her arms. “Wise wizard, I hope you’ll tell us the true story that needs to reach our ears. Come, husband, we must let other people greet our heroes, too.”

“Are you mad at me?” Toru turned toward Duril. “I just wanted them to know what they did.”

“That was their predecessors, and they were ignorant of the true evil working its dark magic here until only hours ago,” Duril reminded him. “But no, I’m not mad at you. I’m proud of you.”

Duril’s arm around his was warm and assuring. “Then I’m proud of myself, too,” Toru decided. “And of you and Varg. And Claw.”

The bearshifter was right behind them. “I’m only glad to be out of that labyrinth,” he said with a jolly laugh. “All this sea adventure only made me hungry and thirsty.”

“There will be plenty of food and wine,” Naella assured them. “We will spare nothing.”

Toru rubbed his belly. Yeah, Claw was a man to his liking, hungry just like him.

***

Margrave was pushing his hat up from his forehead with little huffs as he hurried alongside Varg. After all that fighting at sea, the pirate captain seemed to have finally reached the bottom of that barrel of endurance he had manifested throughout their adventure, despite his large girth.

“Is everything all right, captain?” Varg offered courteously, but bit on his lips to keep from laughing. He had an inkling what could be bothering the captain.

“This bloody weather. I don’t mind when the sun is up and the wind is in our sails, but now, landlubber, I wish nothing more but for a drop of liquid.”

“Saltwater?” Varg asked and laughed.

“I was thinking more along the lines of ale and rum, but it’s true that I feel like a fish out of the water.”

“It must have been hard for you in the belly of the house of merchants, then,” Varg said.

“You can bet your furry hide, master wolf,” Margrave said. “Say, do you remember how that pencil like man dragged his master out of sight?”

Varg nodded. They were surrounded by people celebrating their arrival, as they walked toward the city square where they were, most probably, expected to offer a speech. In the ruckus around them, they had to yell the words, but they understood each other just fine.

He remembered that part quite well, and he had to admit that he wasn’t in the least at ease for not knowing where Blayves and his loyal servant must have headed after running away from Toru’s wrath. It was easy to dismiss everything as being nothing to worry about, but Varg hadn’t gone through so much in his life without realizing that evil was always lurking in the shadows unless you cut it from its roots.

“What do you think happened to them?” Margrave asked.

Varg tilted his head and contemplated the azure expanse above for a few moments. “I think they’re not dead yet.”

“That’s what I fear, too,” Margrave replied with a thoughtful nod, while hurrying on his short legs to keep up with the others. “But I think that by now, they must be in hiding.”

“Their power here is gone,” Varg said. “Yet, we didn’t vanquish them.”

“There is no end to evil, master wolf,” Margrave began. “That only means that your opportunities to fight will be plentiful.”

Varg quirked an eyebrow. What was the pirate captain leaving out? “What do you know of our fight?”

“Eh, there might not be many pirates you see taken with the pleasure of the written word, but I’m the exception that confirms the rule. I know of that myth, the one written in the tomes in libraries all over the world. And I think I just met the tiger the old stories speak of.”

“We just learned of it, here, at the library. Do you say it is a well-known tale?”

Margrave shook his head no. “Look around. How many people would care to read, understand, and believe old tales? Go on your journey, get to know the world, and the myth will take life. It is the way of any legend as it struggles to get born.”

“You’re reminding me of someone who prefers to talk in such convoluted ways.”

“Another pirate captain?” Margrave asked with a sly smile.

Varg chose to let it slide. After all, the people of that ilk only told what they felt like saying, and pressing them served no purpose. “Are you here with us, on the much-despised land, to ask for your booty?”

“Of course I am. It would be against my duty as a captain if I weren’t here for that.”

“The people of Shroudharbor might be all too happy to get rid of the wealth that has tainted their city for so long.”

“All for the better,” Margrave admitted. “As I have just the remedy for things that are tainted. Saltwater,” he added joyously.

Varg grinned. “I knew you would say that.”

***

Duril took a step forward as Toru and Varg encouraged him to speak. The city was now all gathered there, in the central square, and a dais had been erected on the spot so that everyone could see them once they climbed on it.

“My name is Duril, and I come from a place up north called Whitekeep,” he began. “I travel with Toru and Varg, and together we have already faced an evil force several times. Even here, in your city, we found it and we fought it.”

Nobody was speaking or even breathing, as all the eyes were on him.

“Go on and leave nothing out,” Varg whispered. “They have the right to know.”

Duril nodded. Because they were together, they were strong. “Centuries ago, a giant pearl washed up on the shore…”

As he recounted the story of Neel and Narissa, murmurs rose time and time again from the crowd gathered there. If it hadn’t been for the storm, the fight out at sea witnessed by the sailors and fishermen from the other boats, as well as Naella’s and the other men’s vows that every word he said was true, he doubted that he would have been believed.

With each word that left his mouth, he could see the people’s faces changing. They became grim with worry as Duril explained how Narissa could have won, and shone with relief once he reached the end of their story.

“Narissa was but a young girl when the evil from the abyss called her to it. Her father was a just and brave man, and Shroudharbor should honor his memory, as well as hers.”

Murmurs of agreement rose again from the crowd.

“As a remembrance of times past, we promised Narissa that we would celebrate her father and what he stood for in this place that once was just a fishing village. I cannot speak for you as I’m a stranger. But I, together with my friends, will work to help erect a monument that will stand here, on these shores, to help people remember how easy it is to lose one’s way, and what sacrifice is needed to keep to a straight path.”

“We will build it!” one of the men from the crowd shouted. “It is our duty!”

Varg’s hand came to rest on Duril’s shoulder. “I think you just convinced them to do their part. We might just make a speech giver out of you yet.”

Duril wiped his sweaty palm on his thigh and let out a small laugh. “It is much harder than it looks. I’m glad they listened.”

“Now, come,” Varg said, “the people who got elected temporarily by the others to run this place instead of the merchants invited us for a piece of bread and a tankard of ale.”

“I think Toru would like that very much.”

“They better not be cheapskates,” Toru intervened. Somehow, he had managed to get his hands on a piece of jerky meat and he was munching on it vigorously.

“Where did you get that?” Duril asked.

“Do you want some?” Toru offered the half-munched piece.

Duril laughed and shook his head. “No, I was just wondering how you could get your hands on something to eat so fast.”

“Naella gave it to me,” Toru confessed. “She kept apologizing that it’s dry and hard, but I have strong teeth.”

“You sure do,” Duril admitted and took his hand. “Now let’s enjoy that meal together.”

***

Varg fell in step with the pirate captain again, as soon as he noticed him leaving the group of people who now were in charge of ruling Shroudharbor. Margrave seemed not in the least pleased and he was wringing his hat in his hands as if it was someone’s neck, someone he wasn’t fond of, to put it lightly.

“Where is your treasure, captain?”

“Can you believe it? According to these people, it’s all gone!”

“It doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Varg commented. “We were discussing Blayves and his bony servant. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve disappeared somewhere with their ill-gotten gains by now.”

“I thought these people would still have their coffers full,” Margrave bemoaned and pushed his crumpled hat back on his head. “But now they’re as poor as dirt.”

Varg patted Margrave on the back. “Try to take things in stride a bit, captain. You helped saved the world today. Or at least, a small part of it.”

Margrave let out a long sigh. “Since when are pirates content with doing good deeds?”

“It could become a tradition, starting today,” Varg suggested with a wink.

The pirate captain broke into a loud, hearty laugh. He patted his belly. “Not that bad an idea, I believe. Yes, the captain of the Greed of the Sea should be known for more than just making fat merchants tremble in fear.”

“Without a doubt, you earned your place in Duril’s big tome. He’ll write about you, so you will be remembered for eternity.”

“That’s good,” the captain admitted, “that’s good.” He appeared to have regained all his jolliness from before. “I might have a hard time selling this ‘doing good deeds’ thing to my crew, but I’ll bloody do it!”

***

The celebration in Shroudharbor was different from the one in Fairside or Whitekeep. After learning about how their place had become the proud city of their present, the city dwellers had taken to organizing what needed to be done to erect the monument in Neel’s honor. Varg had stayed behind, to teach them about mourning rituals. Claw had joined him, as well, joking about how he needed to carry some heavy boulders for the monument or else his body would just grow weak.

That was how he found himself walking on the shore with Duril, away from everyone else. They were both quiet, and the waves rolling against the shore were soothing for the soul.

“You know,” Toru started as his eyes traveled far, over the expanse of water, “I didn’t mean those things about you.”

“What things?” Duril had his hand in his, their fingers linked of their own accord.

“When I thought you were a monster,” Toru said. “You are a very handsome orc.”

Duril laughed, his pleasant laugh that Toru liked so much. “I was scared you would find me disgusting, without a doubt. Narissa could wield a very powerful type of magic.”

“I didn’t find you disgusting. I mean, if you ever happen to transform fully into an orc for good, I’d love you just the same.”

He looked away as soon as he said those words. For so long, he hadn’t believed or trusted anyone but himself. But there they were, having gone through hell and back a few times, and throughout it all, he had never been alone. Even when they had been separated, their yearning for one another had pulled them together once again.

“You know something?” Duril stopped him and gazed tenderly into his eyes. “I never doubted you, not for a single moment. I knew you would come back to me.”

“It was more like you coming to get me,” Toru said and snickered.

Duril raised his hand and brushed the hair out of his eyes. “I would do that if I had to travel to the end of the world.”

Toru blushed slightly. He was so used to loving and discarding people, but now he didn’t want to do that anymore. “It helped that you were so strong as an orc you could carry me like that.”

“Ah, so you mean that I’m not usually capable of carrying you?” Duril wrapped his arm around him and lifted him off the ground, making him laugh. He put him down quickly, though. “I should pay more attention to my real strength.”

Toru turned and gave Duril a small kiss. “You kissed me then, when I was under Narissa’s spell,” he whispered. “You saved me.”

Duril’s eyes became hazy. “You are strong, Toru. You would have prevailed against her.”

“Not without you. I’m stronger now because of you.”

It was the truth, even if Duril might not believe it to be so.

“What is that, over there?” Duril asked, as they started walking again.

It looked like an old hut, weathered and forgotten, but it was close to the waves, and Toru wanted to check it out. “Let’s go,” he said and dragged Duril after him as he broke into a sprint.

The hut was not even that. It had only three walls and a roof, and the floor was the sand underfoot. A few fishing tools had been left in a corner, but otherwise, there was nothing else there.

Toru sat and tugged Duril down by his side. They watched the waves for a while together.

“I’ve been dreaming of something for a while now,” Toru said, his voice cracking a little. He wrapped one arm around Duril’s shoulders. “And I’ve imagined what it would be like. I thought of it happening in a place with soft pillows and luxurious blankets. Somewhere you would feel good.”

Duril laughed softly and placed his cheek against his. “I’m not one for soft pillows. I’m happy anywhere you are. I always feel good when I’m with you. What could be more beautiful than this?” He pointed at the calm sea and the evening sky with streaks of orange and violet. “I’ve never felt so free before, Toru, not before you knocked on my door and fell into my arms. I thought I wasn’t allowed to raise my eyes to the sky, but now…” he trailed off for a moment. “Look, there,” he added, gesturing with his chin, “the evening star. I can gaze upon it and feel my soul soar as high as it is.”

“Can I kiss you again?” Toru asked abruptly. Words were beginning to fail him, but he knew for a fact that his actions could speak louder and better.

Duril didn’t reply but angled his head to allow the new kiss, one that had less of the gentleness from before, and more of the urgency of something they both felt. Toru moved slowly and turned him so that they could both lay on the sand and kiss at length for as long as they wanted and their ability to hold their breath allowed.

“Someone like you,” Duril whispered and brushed Toru’s hair behind one ear, earning an instant purr from the other. “I’ve never dreamed of someone like you coming into my life and turning it around.”

“I’m a troublemaker,” Toru said. “I brawl, I eat a lot, and I can’t stay in a single place. But with you, and Varg, too, I feel like I’ve found my place.”

“You’re not the only one that feels that way. And I don’t mind any of the trouble you make. You might make me feel scared sometimes, for your sake, but you make me feel, and that’s the most important thing of all. I love you, Toru.”

Duril’s words were like that familiar scent warming his soul. With two people from a place up north, he had found his home.

His heart danced and sang now he knew his feelings were returned, too. He kissed Duril deeply, teasing his tusks playfully and biting on his bottom lip. He didn’t have to be told to be gentle; he had an inkling that Duril was shy as he trembled in his arms. He loved that.

“We are the only people here,” he whispered. “And I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Words were no longer needed after that point. Duril wrapped his arm around him and held him close while their foreheads touched. Toru slowly pushed away Duril’s shirt and began caressing his chest slowly. There had been others before, people he had loved and forgotten, but the fact that he was there, with someone like Duril, taught him the most important lesson of all. This time, he wouldn’t run. This time, wherever he went, there would be other feet falling in step with his, and he would never be alone again.

“I’ve been with others before,” he said, and his voice cracked again.

“I can imagine that,” Duril replied and laughed softly. “Someone as beautiful as you, you must have had many lovers. If you’re saying that to make me feel more insecure than I already am --”

“No,” Toru protested, “what I’m saying is that it has never been like this with anyone else. You shouldn’t worry about all the others that I’ve been with before. They are long gone from my heart.”

“Then I should feel guilty and lucky at the same time to have your heart,” Duril said tenderly.

“You have it. You have it all. It’s yours forever. I love you, Duril,” Toru said and leaned in to deepen the kiss between them.

So far, they had just tiptoed around the growing urgency to mate. Toru had always dreamed of this as being something unique that he would remember forever. As he had confessed to Duril already, his dreams had been of a place that would make his lover feel like the most desirable person in the world.

But Duril was right. They didn’t need soft cushions and a palace. The sky, the waves, the wind ruffling their hair, were the witnesses of their communion, and nothing else was needed. All his life he had been free and had feared that if he ever grew attached to someone, his freedom would be at risk.

Now he knew that was not the way it was. Now he was as free as ever and even the worries of everyday life were dimming. He had people who cared for him, and he cared back.

Duril’s soft breathing became more labored as Toru’s fingers sensuously kneaded his chest. His gaze in the twilight was hazy and wanting.

“Can I have you?” Toru asked with a timidity that he had never felt before when dealing with such encounters.

“Yes. You can have me now and forever,” Duril, his eyes heavy with trust and passion, told him. “I want you, Toru. I have since the very first day.”

They didn’t have to spend time on being awkward and becoming adjusted to each other’s body. They fit together like they were parts of a whole, and their rhythm was perfectly matched as they began rocking together.

“I’ve wondered how it would feel to touch you here for as long as I want,” Toru said as he began lightly stroking Duril’s manhood.

“Toru, don’t tease me, please,” Duril keened.

He laughed at that, some of his natural naughtiness coming back to him. “But I like teasing you. You’re easy to tease.”

“You naughty tiger,” Duril chided him affectionately. “Am I the only one who cannot bear it any longer?”

Toru gasped as Duril exacted some revenge by sneaking his hand between them and catching his hardness in his palm while kissing along his jaw. It was a rough, calloused hand that stroked him, but it was so gentle in how it moved that he couldn’t ask for anything better.

“I want you now,” he decided and deftly caught Duril’s hand to stop him before it became too much.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Duril whispered.

No, he was done waiting. Fighting evil would have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight was a night for him and Duril only, and they deserved it. Their bodies fused together as Toru found his way slowly, with careful touches, inside his lover. Duril encouraged him with soft murmurs and low moans as he descended into his body.

As he had thought, Duril was warm everywhere, and down there, the heat was growing, engulfing him and making his desire soar.

“It’s so nice inside you,” he confessed.

“It is?” Duril’s voice sounded unsure.

“I like you even more now,” Toru said and snickered as he gave his lover another kiss.

“You’re so mischievous.” Duril laughed. “But it’s nice for me to be with you like this, too.”

“Only nice?” Toru moved, changing his angle and making Duril gasp and his eyes go even foggier than before.

“More than nice,” Duril admitted, panting a little.

“I thought so.” His competitive nature came back in full force and he grabbed Duril firmly so that he could increase the pace of his hips.

He was soon rewarded by Duril’s small cries of pleasure. They were too far gone and beyond the point of no return, so he whispered again and again between licks and tiny bites on Duril’s ear, “I love you so much.”

***

Duril couldn’t recall ever feeling like this before in his life. He was alive, his entire body hummed, and Toru’s whispers of love in his ear were igniting his soul. Yet, he didn’t burn to be consumed, but to be born anew, and it was due to the amazing man in his embrace.

“Are you ready?” Toru whispered. “You squeeze me so good I don’t know if I --”

Duril caressed Toru’s nape and held him. “Ready when you are.”

Their mingled cries rose into the evening air and were soon scattered by the wind. For the first time in a long time, Duril felt truly complete. There was no more doubt or fear in his heart. He caressed Toru’s neck slowly, listening to his breathing as it struggled to get back to normal.

“Thank you for coming into my life, Toru. And thank you even more for staying there.”

“I’m glad you accepted me like this. But now you know it means that you must keep me fed.”

It was so like Toru to remember about his needs. Duril laughed and caressed him some more. “I believe I can live with such challenges. I’m not some amazing cook, but I can hold my own when it comes to you. A lot of meat. No cabbage.”

“That’s great.” Toru gave him one last kiss, lifting himself up only so that he could lay on his back, cuddled to his side. “But I like your cabbage.”

Together, they watched the sky and the sea embracing each other at the horizon. Toru snuck one arm under him and brought him close. Duril rested his head against Toru’s chest and he fell asleep as the sound of the waves and Toru’s continuous purr lulled them into the world of dreams.

THE END OF HUNGRY HEART BOOK ONE (THE CALL OF THE ROAD)

Author's note: And this was the last chapter of Book One! As you can see, I found a name for it, too. The heroes will continue their adventures in Book Two, which will start next Sunday, and I hope you will join them again. 

It was due to Dave's amazing generosity that this book happened, so I want to use this occasion to thank him again for his substantial support, engagement with the storyline, and for always keeping his eyes open to detect incongruities along the way while working on the edits.

This saga is only going to get more epic. I won't bore you with details of my process, but keeping everything in check for a fantastic world that gets larger and larger is quite the challenge. A beautiful and interesting challenge that I love.

So thank you for reading and being here! Your comments and likes have more than once picked me up when I felt down. You guys are awesome!

See you next time with Toru, Varg, and Duril! (And Claw)

All the best,

Laura.