The Moon has Awakened

Chapter 9

The next day, the bond between Varian and Hugo did not change from how it was before Varian's episode, because... Shortly after Varian went to sleep, Hugo made him breathe a scentless gas that made him completely forget about everything that happened that night, the episode, the nightmare, the hug, all of it. He felt awful about doing so, but he didn't want Varian remembering such troubling things like that, especially since he knew he had some kind of dark past or trauma already. Despite Varian forgetting about their moment of understanding and vulnerability, it still felt like there was now a spark between the two, even with their reluctant alliance, something just felt.. different from the day before. In that moment, Hugo noticed rapid rattling coming from Varian's backpack.. "Um, Goggles, there's something moving in your bag, it's not possessed is it??" He asked. "Huh?" Varian mumbled, taking his backpack off and opening it. Varian's pet raccoon quickly came crawling out and climbed onto his right shoulder. "Oh! Hey buddy, I completely forgot I brought you along too! Sorry little guy!" Varian chuckled. "Varian? Who is that??" Hugo asked. "Oh um.. This is my raccoon, Ruddiger, I can't go anywhere without him, I didn't even realize he was with me, when I left, he was asleep so he just woke up in the bag and he hates dark places so that's probably why he was moving around so much in there." Varian explained nervously. Hugo stared at the raccoon, then he heard squeaking from his pocket too. "Oh no.." He thought, "This is gonna be embarrassing.." With that, a robotic mouse rolled out of Hugo's pocket and sat on his head. "You got a pet too??" Varian queried. "Um.." Hugo tried to protest, but it was no use. He groaned and clenched his teeth as he stammered, "This is my pet.. Olivia, I um.. I made her when I was younger and she has been my only friend since.." Varian noticed Hugo paused so he asked, "Since what??" Hugo didn't want to answer but he felt it was necessary so he explained, "Since my parents abandoned me.. I was on the streets for about a year before a woman took me in, she taught me alchemy and how to not show emotion, but after a few weeks with her, I secretly built Olivia so I wasn't alone." Varian felt kind of bad for Hugo now, his arrogance isn't intentional, he just, forgot how to show emotion over the years. "Listen, from what I heard, my mother left me and my dad behind when I was born to go to that library with her partner, only to never return, it's not the same because she didn't willingly leave me for good but I still know what it's like to feel like you're all alone.." Varian told him. Hugo looked surprised that Varian could feel his pain, he wanted to drop everything on Varian and who the woman was, but he felt like he need to keep his stoic mask on and pretended not to care. Varian felt a little annoyed about it, but was more forgiving, now knowing why he was like that in the first place. "It's fine, I told you, I can tolerate it, but just know, you don't need to hide behind that facade, it's okay to be vulnerable when you need to vent Hugo." Varian said. Hugo turned away, trying to keep the mask on, but he softly smiled to himself, trying not to blush. But then, the two heard ethereal singing and saw that an entire pack of banshee's surrounding them, ready to strike. TO BE CONTINUED...