A New Deal

Alpha was surprised to see Dave come back to him. He thought he was already done with his meeting the queen by the time he even reached the town. After his talk with Gruf, Alpha had an epiphany and wanted to share it with Dave. But then again, the way he left him was pretty abrupt. He did not know how to deal with this situation so he was relieved that Dave was the one to make the first step. However, this was not the best moment to engage in a conversation with a "ghost". He already seemed crazy enough with his so-called curse and then he had to explain that he would sometimes speak to some sort of spirit that only he can see.

— Hey! shouted Dave. Why aren't you replying? Yoohoo! I'm trying to talk to you here!

Alpha nodded subtly to signal it was not the right timing. His head even tilted a bit toward the merchant to imply he could not talk in his presence. However, as dense as a socially seclude individual can be, he in fact did not get the signals and continued to poke Alpha around to get his attention.

— Why are you ignoring me? I know you can see me! There ! Your gaze is actively looking away from me!

Alpha said nothing and tried multiple grunts and coughed loudly to make him understand his situation but to no avail. Even Gruf was starting to worry about his well being as he looked agitated.

— You know that if the guards suspect you're acting strange, even I can't guarantee you passage. So please, stay still my friend. Because you're new to town they need to fill out quite a lot of documentation so the process might take a while. And if they see you acting up, they might just kick you out...

— I... I'm sorry sir, said Alpha. I'm just a bit under stress that's all.

Alpha then started to stare downward and try his best to ignore his friend. He could always apologize to Dave later when they would be both inside of the city.

— Are you still mad at me? I guess it hasn't been a day yet, so of course you still are... Look, I think it's because no one other than you can engage with me that I consider that the people of this world like just a bunch of data. If I could actually live among them and truly have a feel of what it's like to be living in this world, then maybe I would be more... sensitive towards them, I guess.

Alpha listened and noticed it was not an apology from him but rather an explanation. And it made sense to him. However, there was no guilt, shame nor regrets for what he had said and done in his tone of voice. Dave was just entitled to his behavior because it just didn't feel real to him. Because he thought all of this world was revolving around him. At this point in time, Alpha realized his friend was too much self absorbed to be the one who came up with Mr. Gruf's rich and complex upbringing. Someone with so little empathy needed a reality check. He wanted his first friend to understand that his view of the world is flawed. However he could not just tell him this flat out. He needed to show him how much larger this world had become beyond his own imagination. Alpha's goal changed. Not only did he want a face of his own, but also prove to Dave that his own creation had outgrown him and is worth living in.

Dave started to grow impatient and finally snapped:

— You really leave me no choice then... time to pull up my secret technique! said Dave before leaving the cart for a few minutes.

Alpha was staring at his feet in silence. Suddenly, hair started to grow out of the wooden planks. His eyes could not believe it. Then revulsed eyes popped out and a wide open mouth started howling incomprehensible mumbles. A nightmare coming true before his very sight. He jumped and screamed in panic. That was when Dave's body phased entirely out, revealing a laughing "troll".

— Hahahahah! I can't believe you fell for that! exclaimed Dave who was still trying to recover his breath.

After witnessing Alpha's near heart attack, Gruf mimicked him instinctively.

— What was that!? What did you see, boy? asked the merchant. Wh-What... Wait a second there's nothing, said Gruf after calming down. Come on! Don't scare me like this boy! I don't enjoy this kind of pleasantry, you know?

— Y-Yes, Sorry! I thought I saw something... Must have been the exhaustion getting to me... Hahahah...

Alpha then sat down next to Gruf and whispered in his ears:

— Actually there's another side effect to my curse... There is... How can I explain... A not so evil spirit that follows me? More like a prankster… He doesn't actually do bad things, really! explained Alpha who tried to reassure the old man. And the thing is: if I ignore him too much, he'll come and prank me, just like this.

— My boy... I don't know if you need a priest or a doctor at this point, said Gruf who was holding back tears of pity.

— I-! I'm not crazy... Please believe me, sir...

— You have a good heart, boy. I'm not sure about the head though. Alright, Let's do something so you stop being a suspicious lunatic inside of my cart, proposed Gruf. You can act like you're talking to me, while in reality you have a little chat with this little devil of yours. At least it won't look like you're talking to yourself.

— Yes, that could work! Thank you sir!

— Now quick before they come back checking on us, said Gruf.

— Yes, of course, said Alpha before he finally turned to Dave. So, what did you want to talk about?

— I'm gonna be honest. It seems I can't do this by myself. I need some kind of authorization to enter the castle.

— Look, I'm still a bit pissed off because of your previous behaviour. I want to make it clear: I am not your puppet. I want to make my own choices from now on. I want us to be respectful to the people of this world and stop disrupting their lives with your ability. It is wrong of us to do that.

— But if I'm the only one doing the deed then, it's okay-

— No, it's not. It would mean that I turned a blind eye and this makes me an accomplice— Yup, I guess I can agree to that... But let's agree to discuss exceptions, like doing it on evil NPCs?

— We can leave room for exception, but we must both agree before you do anything.

— Right!

— Also, one more thing: I get to choose how I fight, how we are going to travel and how I live. No more trying to maximize efficiency. I will still listen to your suggestions and your opinions but that will be it. You will be able to live out your own life and make your own choices soon enough anyway, said Alpha with a genuine smile.

Alpha extended his hand towards Dave while Gruf just shook his head thinking he finally lost it. Dave hesitated for a second before shaking his hand.

— Deal! And like you said, we might just reach our goal when we see Mia. Honestly, I don't know why you went through all of this if we just are going our separate ways when this will all be over.

— Oh... But I thought that in either case, we would continue to travel together, said Alpha naively.
Dave turned red from his embarrassment and looked away for a bit.

— Yup... Sure, why not?

— Then hop in, friend!

— Is your quarrel with your little devil over? asked Gruf.

— Yes, he'll be on his best behavior from now on!

— I'll be haunting you while you sleep..., threatened Dave.