Bubblin' Up Inside Her Gut

Jarel’s legs ached as he sprinted through the city streets, heading for the park where he and Quinn had exercised only two days earlier.

Searching there had been Jinxia’s idea.

According to her, because of several complicated phenomena involving demons and magic, Quinn could only have “teleported” - though Jinxia had insisted it wasn’t teleportation, merely something similar - to somewhere she had seen before.

Jarel wasn’t entirely sure what he would do if he actually found her.

But he had no other choice.

Jinxia was already searching the mall and the supermarket, using the same ability herself. Apparently even demon travel wasn’t fast enough to check every possible location before Quinn gained ground if she did the smart thing and ran.

Luckily, Jinxia had offered one reassurance.

Whatever spell she had used to knock Quinn unconscious carried unpleasant after-effects. Nausea, mostly. Without access to healing magic, Quinn wouldn’t be able to counter it.

For at least half an hour, she wouldn’t be able to move very far.

That gave Jarel enough time to search the entire park and some of the surrounding streets.

But his chest churned with emotions.

He was scared.

He didn’t fully understand what Jinxia had meant by going feral. By definition it meant becoming wild again. Untamed.

But did that mean she would never come back?

Would his last memory of Quinn be her lying on top of him on the couch, moments before cheese sent her mind spiraling?

He hated that thought.

So as his lungs began to burn, he forced his mind toward other unanswered questions.

The biggest one was impossible to ignore.

Just who - what - was Sayang?

He had more questions about her than he cared to admit.

She was almost omnipotent.

She seemed to know everything.

She seemed to be everywhere.

She manipulated people effortlessly… even literal demons.

There was no way she was human.

Surely.

But then what was she?

An angel?

An archdemon?

He didn’t - and couldn’t - know.

The truth was far beyond what his mortal mind could comprehend.

Sweat gathered beneath his shirt as desperation pushed him forward.

He wanted reassurance.

Anything.

Some sign that everything would turn out alright.

But all he could do was run.

Run, search, keep running.

The park entrance came into view.

He crossed the street without even checking the lights. No cars were immediately visible, and that was enough.

A deafening honk exploded behind him.

His head snapped around just in time to see a white delivery truck screech past, brakes screaming.

A second slower and he would’ve been sent to another world.

He barely registered the near miss.

Instead he sprinted beneath the arched golden gates and into the lush greenery of the park’s rolling hills.

At his pace the full route would take about twenty minutes.

Too long.

He took shortcuts instead.

Through flower beds.

Between trees.

Across patches of grass.

Whatever shaved seconds off the path without straying too far from his search area.

His heart pounded, drowning out the worst-case scenarios looping through his mind.

His legs burned.

His lungs fought to keep up with the demand for oxygen.

Minutes dragged by.

Then, as he rounded a bend in the path-

A flash of silver.

His head snapped toward it faster than a startled bird.

He slowed.

A figure leaned against a tree.

Silver hair.

Red eyes.

A pair of proud, fluffy wolf ears.

An equally fluffy tail rested lazily in the grass beside her.

She wore a black knit turtleneck sweater that barely reached her thighs.

Her eyes lit with recognition.

She raised one hand and waved.

The other held a block of cheese.

“Jarel!”

He approached slowly, bewildered, as her tail picked up speed. She beamed innocently.

“Where were you? I’ve been waiting!”

He blinked, stunned.

“What do you mean? You suddenly teleported away.”

She frowned, nodded, then smiled.

“It’s not teleportation, but I did!”

He sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

“No, sit down first. You’re not being lazy enough.”

She patted the ground beside her, on the side where her tail lay. It curled as if outlining the spot he was supposed to take and didn’t stop wagging.

He smiled and obeyed, leaning against the tree beside her. It was large enough that they could sit shoulder to shoulder with their legs stretched out in front.

Her tail wrapped around him and flopped contentedly beside his legs.

Only then did he notice the cheese.

It was no longer a full block. It had been reduced to a small lump, clearly picked apart piece by piece as she nibbled it.

She smiled.

“What were you going to say?”

He sighed again.

There was so much he wanted to ask. Why she wasn’t nauseous. Why she wasn’t feral like Jinxia had implied. Why she seemed perfectly normal.

“I’m so confused.”

She glanced up at him.

“But I sense a lot of relief coming from you.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“You can do that?”

She shrugged, taking another bite of cheese.

“Only when I’m eating cheese.”

She held the block out toward him.

“Want some?”

He couldn’t help but grin. He broke off a chunk.

Somehow it was still cold, though it tasted like normal cheese.

“Thank you.”

After swallowing, he spoke again.

“I am feeling a lot of relief, yes.”

She looked at him curiously.

“Why’s that?”

He smiled softly.

“Because I thought I’d lost you.”

She froze.

The nibbling stopped.

Her tail went still.

When she spoke again, her voice was quiet.

“Lost me?”

He nodded, no longer bothering to hide his feelings.

“I was scared I’d never see you again. Really scared.”

“Why?”

He smiled faintly.

“You didn’t research love like I told you to, did you?”

She shook her head, almost ashamed.

“I didn’t. But… is this love?”

He nodded.

“I think it is.”

She thought about that carefully.

“Jarel?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you remember when I said I was going to use the cooking lessons to test whether I loved you?”

His heart skipped.

“Yeah?”

She spoke solemnly.

“Well… when I came here, I didn’t think I felt any different. And that made me really sad, so I started eating the cheese. But then I saw you and I felt… how do I describe it?”

She thought harder, searching for words.

Suddenly her ears perked up and she snapped her fingers.

“My chest tried to grow!”

He decided not to question that too deeply, assuming she meant something like a spark in her chest.

She looked up at him with a bright smile.

“So that must be love!”

He chuckled, ignoring how nervous he felt.

“I think it might be.”

Her ears drooped.

“Might be?”

He corrected himself quickly.

“I think it is. I think it… is. I think it’s love.”

Her ears returned to normal, her tail beginning to wag again.

It was hard to maintain eye contact with her large red eyes when she kept shoveling cheese into her mouth.

Eventually he broke and laughed helplessly.

He took another piece for himself, sighed, and leaned back against the tree as his body and mind finally caught up with everything that had happened in the last two hours.

Quinn shuffled closer.

Then her head rested gently against his shoulder.

A moment passed.

Then another.

The cheese continued shrinking.

Finally she spoke softly.

“Jarel?”

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t keep your promise.”

He glanced down at her as she straightened.

“What promise?”

She looked sad.

“You promised to kiss my cheek when we got home yesterday… and you didn’t.”

His chest tightened.

“O-oh. I’m sorry.”

She gave a small smile.

“That’s okay. You can make up for it now.”

She turned her head forward, presenting her cheek.

His heart pounded.

“A-are you sure?”

She nodded gently.

“I am.”

He took a deep breath and leaned closer.

But before he could react, she moved.

Her head snapped back toward him, and with the speed of a striking snake she pressed her lips against his.

His mind exploded.

The kiss lasted barely half a second before she pulled away, her cheeks heating rapidly. He could feel his own doing the same.

A stunned silence settled between them.

Finally he groaned.

“I thought you were learning about consent.”

She looked horrified.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I forgot!”

He smiled. Her sincerity was obvious.

“I forgive you.”

She shuffled nervously.

“Then… can we do it again? I didn’t really get to feel it properly.”

His heart refused to calm down as he nodded.

They leaned closer again, eyes slowly closing.

Their lips met.

This time they stayed.

It wasn’t a complicated kiss.

It didn’t need to be.

Warm. Soft. Simple.

He could taste the cheese on her breath.

She could taste it on his.

When they finally pulled apart, neither really wanted to - but it felt a little too public to linger much longer.

Her smile said everything as she whispered.

“So… are we married now?”

He chuckled softly, breath still shaky as he slipped an arm around her shoulders.

“Not quite.”

“Aww.”

She leaned back against him again.

And there they remained beneath the tree, bathed in warm morning sunlight beneath a deep blue sky dotted with drifting clouds.