Harvest 7, 855
“You can’t go anywhere with that monster on the loose,” Uncle Kavir shouted, red-faced. Buu flinched as he watched Aru receive the full brunt of one of his uncle’s rare rages.
“That isn’t up to you. The military barging in and bossing me around was bad enough without you thinking you can do it too.” Aru didn’t flinch as she met Uncle Kavir’s glare with pointed disapproval. “But I would appreciate it if you could negotiate some supplies for me to make the journey.”
Their argument had no privacy, all the villagers crammed together amongst a handful of farm animals. The villages of Scarred Lake took them in reluctantly, offering a barn as shelter. Buu pulled the blanket around his shoulders tighter, knowing that they would have been offered better shelter if the grimm didn’t follow them everywhere they went.
“Anaya’s light, Aru. This isn’t about controlling you! You’ll be dead before you make it anywhere near the university.” Uncle Kavir gestured vaguely North and East, towards the distant magic school. Buu bit his lip, watching his uncle’s brow cave into the same little lines it got when Buu did something stupid. “I could talk to the elder here on your behalf about the supplies, but I won’t play a part in getting you slaughtered.”
“I am a mage, Kavir. Don’t underestimate me. I can handle myself. I should be teaching classes right now, not slogging across the countryside. If I don’t get back ahead of the news of what happened, they’ll give my grant away,” Aru said, turning from uncle Kavir and squeezing in between a villager and a sheep. “I’ll be leaving in the morning, with or without supplies.”
Uncle Kavir chewed his lip like he did when he tried not to yell, watching Aru with something between a pleading look, and a glare. After a moment, he stalked to the other side of the barn, settling into the only uncrowded place in the barn — a pocket of empty space around Buu.
Buu didn’t meet his uncle’s eyes as the man sat, frustration boiling from him like heat. Instead, he watched Aru burrow closer to her ovine neighbour, striking up a conversation with the villager on her other side. They laughed at a quiet comment from the woman behind them, and the sound sliced into the somber quiet that had wrapped itself around their march for the last few days.
Not a doctor then, a magic teacher. Someone who knows everything there is to know about sorcery, who knew the name of the monster stalking them. Someone that could help.
Buu felt his lip quake with the thought and sucked in a steadying breath to keep from crying. Being able to talk to someone that might have more than guesses about what he had done to the general, or how to dislodge the grimm — letting an adult take over — the relief made him giddy. Buu clenched his fists to stop his hands shaking.
Nightfall brought another visit from the grimm, squeezing himself through the barn walls for his usual staring contest with Buu. The villagers didn’t scatter, the routine of it and the cold outside the barn keeping them frozen in place. Once the grimm had growled at him and left, Buu turned to his uncle.
“I can go with Aru,” he offered, just above a whisper.
“What?” his uncle’s brow shot up, eyes wide and mouth quirked in an unsure smile. “You’re joking right?”
Buu shrugged. “It would draw the grimm away from you and the others, and he probably wouldn’t attack Aru if I’m with her. Besides, maybe someone at the school could help get rid of it.”
The surprise on his uncle’s face melted into disbelief, his mouth hanging open slightly. He snapped it shut with a clack and answered, “Absolutely not. You did well to travel this far, but you’re still not healthy, and as long as that thing is hanging around, I’m not letting you out of my sight. I made a promise to your parents that I would—”
“Protect me, I know,” Buu cut off his uncle, his own exhaustion and frustration bubbling up. “But who is going to protect everyone else from me? The grimm is following me. It’s picking off anyone that it can, and how many deaths do you think it will take for every village around the three lakes to turn their backs on us?
“It’s not far to the university. I’ll be with an adult,” he gestured to Aru, “and she’s a doctor so she’ll be able to help if I do get sick. You know the others are going to need you right now. Let me do this for you, and for everyone. Let me be useful just one time.”
Buu resisted the urge to soften his words. His uncle’s greatest wish, as far as Buu could tell, was for Buu’s good health — but his second greatest was for Buu to be useful. To have a nephew who pulled his own weight and helped around the house and the village. He didn’t want a liability that got sick every time he lifted a finger. For once, Buu hoped that dream would play to his advantage.
His uncle sat back, inhaling sharply as he considered Buu. He shook his head, but his eyes shone wetly. Buu bided his time, trying to look robust as he waited for his uncle to speak.
After a time, Uncle Kavir made his decision. “You did well to make it here, but I don’t like the idea of you going where I can’t keep an eye on you.” He took in a big breath, his frown mirroring Buu’s. “But, you’re not wrong about this monster, and what it might mean for everyone else.
“I will pray for your parent’s forgiveness tonight, and tomorrow, if you’re still healthy, you can go with Aru.” Uncle Kavir chewed the words out with a pained expression.
Buu knew that his uncle would spend the night trying to find a loophole. Making excuses about why he should come too, or why Buu couldn’t go. But Buu also knew that his uncle felt as much duty to the village as he did to his own nephew. Buu’s proposal would keep as many people safe as possible, but as he and his uncle watched each other, he couldn’t help but wonder if his uncle’s acquiescence came from the need he saw in Buu’s face, rather than the sense of his argument.