Echoes of the Lost Elf-Chapter 44 - 43 : Furball

Historias woke up feeling refreshed when he heard the sound of laughter. He got up to check it out only to not be surprised at all.

Zephyr lounged around, eating snacks as they lived there. They were chatting casually, but the moment they noticed him, all eyes turned toward him.

His brows furrowed. "How did you all get in? I'm fairly certain I locked the door."

Zephyr popped a grape into his mouth and pointed lazily at Nyx, who was curled up smugly on the table. "Your little furball let us in."

Historias turned to Nyx, who flicked his tail as if to say, You're welcome.

Adriana crossed her arms. "Valak informed us that you collapsed, yesterday. You've been out for two whole days."

He blinked, processing that. "Two days?"

Kael nodded. "It was already Saturday when we got back, and now it's Sunday evening."

Historias exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Two days, huh?"

Leon grinned. "Yep. We were starting to wonder if we should throw a party to celebrate your miraculous return to the living."

Adriana rolled her eyes. "More like we were debating if we should wake you up with a bucket of water."

Kael nodded. "It was Zephyr's idea."

Zephyr held up his hands innocently. "Hey, in my defense, it would've worked."

Historias gave him a flat look. "And you wonder why I question your intelligence."

Zephyr grinned. "You say that like it's not my best trait."

Historias sighed, deciding to let it go. His stomach growled slightly, betraying his earlier statement about feeling fine.

Leon smirked. "Sounds like someone needs real food. The snacks are good, but they won't cut it, huh?"

Adriana stood up. "I'll go grab something from the kitchen."

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Historias raised an eyebrow. "This kitchen?" He gestured vaguely at the dorm. "The one that has nothing but instant noodles and some condiments?"

Leon winced. "Okay, yeah, fair point."

Kael stood up as well. "Let's just head to the dining hall. You need a proper meal."

Zephyr threw an arm around Historias' shoulder. "And while we eat, you can tell us why exactly you pushed yourself to the point of passing out for two days."

Historias simply peeled Zephyr's arm off him. "Let's eat first. Then, perhaps, I'll consider humoring your curiosity."

Leon grinned. "That means no."

Zephyr pouted. "Figures."

As they all got up to leave, Nyx stretched lazily, looking up at Historias as if debating whether to follow.

Historias patted the Nywraith's head. "You stay here and rest."

Nyx flicked his tail but didn't argue, curling back up on the couch.

With that, the group left, heading to finally get a proper meal after the chaos of the last few days.

..........

After finishing dinner, Historias leaned back in his chair, feeling properly satisfied for the first time in days. He glanced at Zephyr.

"Where is the furball?" he asked casually.

Zephyr blinked. "Furball?"

"The spirit. The one you contracted with. Surely you haven't lost it already?"

Zephyr huffed. "Of course not! I left it in my room!"

Leon snickered. "Are you sure? It looked like it barely trusted you when you made the contract. What if it ran away?"

Zephyr paled slightly. "Wait... that is possible, right? Spirits can break contracts if they hate their contractor enough?"

Kael shook his head. "Only if the contractor is completely incompetent." He smirked. "So maybe check your room."

Zephyr shot up from his seat. "I knew that thing was giving me the stink-eye!"

He ran off toward their dorms, leaving the others chuckling as they followed at a more relaxed pace.

When they reached Zephyr's room, the door was already slightly open.

"Oh no..." Zephyr muttered.

He pushed the door open fully, and the sight before them made Historias chuckle.

The once malevolent spirit, now reduced to a small, fluffy creature, was perched on Zephyr's pillow, glaring at them with glowing ember-like eyes.

Zephyr groaned. "You do hate me, don't you?"

The furball let out an indignant squeak and turned away, clearly sulking.

Leon crossed his arms, tilting his head. "So... are we gonna name it?"

Kael nodded. "Yeah, giving it a name would probably help strengthen the contract."

Adriana tapped her chin in thought. "Something fitting... Maybe Ignis? Or Cinder?"

Leon snapped his fingers. "Ooh! How about Blaze? No, wait—Ash! Or maybe Smoky?"

Zephyr, looking entirely unimpressed, waved a hand dismissively. "Furball will suffice."

The room fell silent.

"...Furball?" Kael repeated blankly.

"Yeah, Furball," Zephyr said with a nod. "It's small, fluffy, and a ball. It just makes sense."

The spirit—now forever doomed to be called Furball—twitched, its glowing eyes narrowing in silent protest.

Leon stifled a laugh. "You do realize you just took in a once-powerful evil spirit and named it Furball, right?"

Zephyr shrugged. "I don't see the problem."

Historias, amused, merely shook his head. "How fortunate, then, that it lacks the power to protest."

Furball let out an angry squeak and promptly buried itself into Zephyr's pillow, refusing to acknowledge them any further.

Kael eyed Furball, who was sulking on Zephyr's pillow, and asked, "So... what exactly can it do now? It's not like it's some all-powerful spirit anymore."

Zephyr poked the tiny fluffball, which let out an indignant squeak. "I dunno. But I do know it can still drain mana. That's how it survived all these years, right?"

Adriana raised an eyebrow. "Wait, are you saying you could just throw it at someone and have it drain their mana?"

Zephyr grinned. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

Leon burst out laughing. "Oh, that's evil! Imagine some poor guy thinking it's just a harmless puffball, and then boom! Their mana's gone!"

Kael crossed his arms. "Wouldn't that make it pretty useful in a fight?"

Zephyr nodded. "Yeah, and since it's contracted to me, it could transfer the stolen mana directly to me. It's basically an emergency battery."

Historias chuckled. "How devious. You've turned an ancient terror into a glorified throwable mana leech."

Furball let out a dramatic huff, clearly offended by its fate.

Adriana smirked. "Well, I suppose it's better than being sealed away for eternity."

Leon leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "Alright, so the plan is—if we ever get into trouble, Zephyr just chucks Furball at the biggest threat?"

Zephyr smirked. "Exactly."

Furball let out another indignant squeak, but no one seemed to take its complaints seriously.

............