Of course, everything in the world of humans had a price. That was why he was traveling in the first place. Being angry at him for that was silly, especially when he worked so hard to earn every penny. I could not just sway him willy-nilly to purchase every trinket that struck my fancy.
But to see him still daydreaming, not even noticing that I had returned, put me in a foul mood.
“Hey, just how long do you plan on sitting there?”
I spread out the blankets as I spoke. Perhaps my icy tone finally did the trick, because he suddenly looked up at me. He had not eaten much, being utterly lost in his calculations and scratching on a waxy board with a stick.
“Oh.. wow, it’s getting pretty late, huh..”
No matter where humans traveled, they could tell what time it was just by glancing up at the sky. It was one of their bits of wisdom. The oaf nervously tidied up and shoved the rest of the bread in his mouth. He still had not even noticed that I had eaten those two candies.
“So you’ve had your fun, then?”
His sudden question caught me off-guard as I prepared to rest. I was certain that he had not even noticed I was away, but evidently he did care enough to keep an eye on me.
“Does it worry you when I stray away so slightly?”
He laughed, but it was clearly to cover up some mischievous intent. It was impossible to miss that stupid look on his face. He was like a cat that feared water, yet was obsessed with catching a fish. This is what he said.
“Not really, since no matter how far you wander, you’ll surely come back when your stomach begins growling.”
It was impossible to be angry at that stupid grin, like he had just told the world’s greatest joke. The way he always kept trying to one-up me, time after time, was endearing.
“Alright, well, I’ll get the horse.”
He then rose to his feet and walked up to said horse. I lifted myself up with two hands, peeking at him over the edge of the wagon. He was a kind man, but his confidence sometimes bordered on conceit. Money was second only to his life in importance, and sometimes that line blurred to the point where it frightened me.
But he was by no means a mean-spirited miser. In fact he sometimes amazed me with his generosity. I had even caught my tail wagging at him in appreciation, on occasion. He knew the pull food had on me, yet he still believed it could be just any food.
Did he really think a Wisewolf was that fickle? I would return when my stomach grumbled, indeed! The fool. In fact I returned because I could not stand eating alone. And here he proudly assumed that I would come back, tail wagging, so long as he had just any food.
“Idiot..”
His horse was making him grumpy, as it shook its head from side to side and fought back. Even the dourest wolf would have laughed at such a spectacle.
“He truly is but a sheep..”
I muttered to myself, the quietly warming sunlight somehow making his stupidity all the clearer. I smiled in satisfaction, amazed at his comeuppance.
“But perhaps it is I who is the fool..”
My muttering continued as my eyes fell to the ground beside the wagon. And there, they spotted something.
“What is that?”
I stared at the unfamiliar object for a moment before hopping out of the wagon and picking it up. It was metallic, bore the face of a beast, and had a leather strap through it.
“What’s wrong?”
I looked up in surprise, but his voice was not directed at me.
“Come on, let’s go!”
The horse was happy to be free, and kept grumbling about having to get back to work. His eyes were stark, but the fact was, he was often allowed to run free. There was no reason for him to bicker. In fact, he was probably just having a bit of fun with Lawrence.
“Hey, hey, don’t get angry.. just let me put this back on you.. oh-ho-ho, I know, I know.. don’t take it that way.”
Of course the horse was quite used to this. He soon accepted his fate, and let Lawrence put the bridle back on him. A perfect man playing the fool was nice, but seeing a fool suddenly act competently was equally heartwarming. At least, that was how I felt.. until the horse’s muzzle poked Lawrence in his back and made him stumble with a sigh.
“Well, alright, we’re good to go, Holo.. huh?”
I just wanted to wrap myself in the blanket, so I ignored him. In turn, he just scratched his head and sat back down in the driver’s seat, ignoring me and resuming his driving as I resumed my study of the object I had found.
I knew of many rocks and metals used by humans, and this reminded me of lead. It was the size of my thumb, and had something resembling a dog on it.. or perhaps it was a wolf’s face? It was quite worn down, so the finer details had long vanished. All that was left was the blackened base.
But I found such worn things more interesting than shiny, new things. It had a leather strap running through it, so I opted to try it on. I was looking forward to seeing his reaction. But it did not fit around my waist, and I already had my wheat pouch ’round my neck, so I struggled to think of a suitable place to wear it.
I then recalled that humans wore hair bands, so would it not be suitable for a wolf like myself to wear it on my tail? It required some slight adjustments, but since it was only the size of my thumb, it did not look half bad. Of course I would never wear something like this out in a forest or field, but I still wanted to stand up and wag my tail like a pup at him.
“Huh-huh-ho..”
As I giggled at the sight of something so unusual-
“Oh, yes, I’d like to ask you something-”
The oaf turned around, and saw me chasing my tail. I could not hide it from him, but fortunately I did not want to. He, however, was surprised.
“What are you doing?”
I wagged my tail in his face to show off.
“How is it? Pretty, is it not?”
I spun around like a dancer in a troupe as he stared at my tail, speechless.
“Um, well.. yeah, it’s nice? Uh..”
His “uh” made it clear just how flustered he was. How adorable! He quizzed me as I twirled around.
“Where did you find that?”
“Well, it was just lying on the ground.”
I took another look at the object, satisfied. Its dark grey matched my brown and white fur quite nicely. He had a perplexed look on his face as I wagged my tail at him.
“Really?”
It took him a while to even say that much before he turned back to face me. If I were to tilt my head like a proper maiden, he would surely lose it, would he not? Clearly my little tail-charm was having the effect I wanted, so I hopped into the seat next to him.
“Hey, would you like to tell me something?”
Having sat next to him, I now had to look up at him. When I took my wolf form I had to look down on others, so I loved being able to look up in this way. Especially when he was being elusive. This was a highly effective tactic.
I left my smirk behind, and put on the most pure maiden’s smile I could manage. When he caught a glimpse of that, he fought even harder to hold back his words. These were my favorite pastimes, right after eating and sleeping. I could watch him clear his throat and struggle to find his next words.
“Um, well, no, nothing..”
I caught him peeking at my tail, perhaps intentionally.
“..I just wanted to talk about those furs from yesterday..”
“Oh?”
He changed the topic to money again. Well, if he could earn more, I would be able to eat better. Nothing was a better motivator. And I meant that. After all, if we were to travel together, it would be best to smile rather than glare at each other. I cleared my throat as well.
“Very well, then.”
He began asking questions, about which fur is better and why. After all, humans only had their hands and eyes to rely on, unlike me and my nose. I answered each question, affirming which product was good and which was not, until his focus once again drifted away
from me and onto the furs.
After his final question, he grew silent, making me wonder how he could be so impolite. But that serious expression was another of the many I could not get angry with. I could only sigh. Suddenly his hand shot out to the wagon-bed and pulled out the wax board he had written on. He shouted loudly.
“Yes! That’s it!”
Humans had poor noses and ears, so they could be surprisingly loud. I was not the only one shocked - the horse neighed in protest as well. But Lawrence just ignored us and stopped the cart, tossing the board back into the wagon-bed.
“..What is it?”
I pawed at my sore ears like a cat, watching the happy fool.
“There is a way to make money off this!”
He turned to face me like an eager puppy. I had spent long enough with him to know about trade. Selling, buying, and ending up with the original product at a profit. He had surely figured something out.
“People hate buying expensive things with small change, and they hate buying cheap things with big denominations, so they exchange.. and it works the same in the fur market. Simply put-”
“You must avoid unreasonable exchanges at the end.”
“Exactly. I’ve checked and re-checked, and it’s watertight. I can make twenty or even thirty percent profit if we head back! Amazing!”
That was all well and good if true, but I was a bit upset at his excitement over that instead of my new decoration. But I could not ask for too much from someone too dim to focus on more than one thing at once.
It seemed that we would be going back to the city we left that morning. It would still be crowded; I wondered if that was part of his plan.
Still, most people either succeeded or failed in boring endeavors, while this man at least had a heart for adventure.. something that I had very nearly forgotten. It was endearing to watch him when he was this anxious about a trade. He looked like he was already planning on which stable to leave his horse in when we arrived.
“So.. would you mind waiting for me at that pub for a while?”
“Huh?”
I was stunned.. was he not planning on bringing me with him to evaluate the furs? This was a disappointing development.
“It’s just that I’ll have to dart around between all these shops.. and you hate those crowds, don’t you?”
How devious. He probably meant that I would just get in his way, yet he turned it around to sound like he was doing me a favor! And I could not argue. I often wondered if he was using this tactic on me.
“Alright.”
I smiled, feigning happiness, but he did not seem to buy it and rubbed the top of my head. I could tell he was worried about leaving me on my own again. Like a proper fool, he thought he understood me. But that look of confidence was yet another of the faces I liked to see on him, so who was the real fool here?
“Then here’s something to help pass the time.”
He took my hand and put something small and hard into it. I could tell he did not want to, but he had given me a silver coin.
“Don’t spend it all.”
Of course he would add that.
* * *
It turned out that he really did not have the time to dally with me. In a high-walled city, the only way to know what time it was, was when the market bell tolled. The first time it did so, the market opened. The second time it did so, the workers left to take their rest.
They all seemed like puppets to me, and I was even more apt to look down on them after a glass of wine. Lawrence was the one with the most freedom here. He freely drove around in his wagon across the wide lands, traveling under the sun or stars. Being free meant having strength, so the fool really ought to be more powerful than he was. Especially if he trusted in himself so much.
But as I reflected back on our trip, I realized that I was simply miserable right now because I was alone. I was just looking to vent. But then, with only one silver coin to spend, the bars were my only option. And alas, the only people in a bar before sunset were lazy merchants and wealthy sons of noblemen.
It was quite empty where I sat now, but I still nursed my drink in the corner of the bar. There had been no time to change my clothes, so I was still in my nun’s robes. People often tossed a coin my way as I uttered the usual pleasantries.
“May God bless you.”
They bowed and took my hand, then returned to their seats. I hated Church believers, but they were sincere in their words, so it was impossible to get upset at them (a nun should be touched by their words, after all). And so, I simply ate my beans, wiped the corners of my eyes after stretching, and sipped my wine.
What would we do if that fool failed? Right now, all I had was this awfully bitter wine. What I needed was sleep. My mood kept worsening. Finally, as I wiped my mouth I noticed someone familiar out of the corner of my eye. It was him, and he bore many furs on his back as he poked his head inside the bar.
His eyes made it clear that things were proceeding smoothly. He had never realized this, but when things were going well he could not help but look happy. He thought he always wore a poker face, but that was only reserved for his times of failure. Men’s hearts were always stirring, and the only time they showed their true face was when they were fast asleep.
If I told him I knew he watched me as I slept, he would probably be too nervous to ever sleep again. Now that was an amusing thought. But my wine glass was now empty, and he had left, so without anyone to talk to I ordered another bottle.
After that I lost count of the number of times his foolish face poked inside. The next time he did, he finally walked into my quiet corner of the world. I felt too full of cheap wine, so I told him to fetch me some bread and milky sweets. Rather than grumbling, he smiled. He could hug me or poke me for all I cared.
“You’re still the master of your domain, I see? But I’m afraid I’m not done just yet.”
Sure enough, he pinched my cheeks in mirth. But he did not give me another penny.
Merchants.
“So you are still reaching for the stars?”
“Not just reaching, I have caught some already.”
His foolish confidence was infectious enough to make me smile. He truly had earned well, judging from the furs on his back; both their quantity and quality. But he had come across a fork in the proverbial road, and needed my help to ascertain which furs to purchase next before he headed off, to minimize his losses.
Perhaps he was being too careful, but that was just the way he was. He never stopped and yelled “I give up!” when things were not going his way. He simply formed a counter-plan and clawed his way back with devious cunning. But then again, he was sometimes utterly foolhardy. He was full of contradictions.
My mind swam, having had far too much to drink. My bottle was empty so quickly that I suspected there might be a hole in the bottom. And just then, I saw him appear so suddenly that it shocked me. It seemed my senses were too dulled by the wine. I looked up and brushed my hair away from my eyes, and there was his happy face.
“I earned a lot!”
He sat down and showed off the contents of his wallet.
“But someone else caught wind of what I was doing and started doing it too, so I fell behind. Thankfully we came to an agreement before both of us lost out.”
He sat down and drank so much at once that it surprised me. He then sighed, the dusty smell of his sweat finally hitting my nose. He must have been running hard the whole time.
“I wish I could invite you to raise a glass in celebration, but it seems like you’re at your limit, huh?”
This time his smile did make me lose my temper. I lifted the empty bottle to my lips, but my hopes of drinking away my rage were dashed.
“Well, let’s just have a nice drink tomorrow. I’ll find us a nice place for the night.. after all, we’ve earned it.”
He gulped down the rest of his wine after his happy speech. He was so happy in fact, that he was almost ecstatic. But all I could do was return a smile.
/>
“Alright, let’s go. Can you walk?”
It felt like it had been centuries since I had last held his hand. My fatigue suddenly hit me, and I leaned into him like an exhausted child. How embarrassing.
“Hang on, we’re almost there.”
His concern touched me, but there was no way I could reply right now. I could not even stand on my own power anymore. I just let him hold me and lead me through the crowds.
It was noisy. My eyes were closed, but I cared nothing of how the city looked. It was the sounds of people talking, animals bleating, and things crashing into each other that bothered me. Even amidst all that noise, I could hear the beating of his heart. Actually, it was my own, but that seemed like a trivial detail right now.
I was happy. I could only feel his hand, but I found myself wishing this moment could last forever. It made me feel stupid to make such a wish, but I did not have to feel bad for long.
“What do you mean?! Why can’t you buy them?!”
That sudden roar snapped me back to reality.
“We just can’t. Apparently someone’s been going around making money off furs in some scheme, so we’re not allowed right now.”
“What the hell?!”
A bellow of that level would not catch many people’s attention in such a noisy place, but the two of us heard it clearly.
“Whew.. that was close.”
Lawrence smiled at me as he whispered that same line he always used when his horse strayed too close to a cliff. I smiled back in recognition of our common secret. But the shouting man wasn’t going to stop at that.
“Get whoever’s in charge!”
People were finally starting to pay attention. The man seemed furious about not being able to sell his furs, but I got the impression that he was just putting on a show. He probably wanted to cause a fuss so they would be forced to buy the furs to save face. I had seen a certain someone do that before. It was the kind of courage that merchants had, and I had to admit that it impressed me.
“Come on, let’s go.”
My hand was being pulled, and the face controlling that hand was grim. He might have earned a lot from the scheme, but he did not like seeing a fellow merchant lose. Such a foolish softie. We slowly made our way out of the crowd.