Shiloh let out a loud whoop of triumph. They had done it. They really had! The castle stood before him, impressively looming over him. But more than just the castle, there was something else, and he quietly dismounted from Penny. He led her to a small grove of trees outside of the castle walls, looping her long reins around one of the branches, short enough that she couldn’t wander off, but long enough to let her graze. He rustled some grain and treats from his pack, setting them on the ground for her.
“Here you go girl,” he murmured happily, petting her proudly as she lowered her head to eat. He owed the success of the trip to her, and she deserved all the apples and grain she could eat.
His own stomach growled, and he needed to get them both some water, but something was still calling him. It was as though someone was here, watching him, just out of his sight. It wasn’t a malicious presence, or at least didn’t feel to him to be that way. It was almost familiar, and at first thoughts of his sister came to mind but in his heart he knew that she wouldn’t be the one that greeted him here. Curiously he looked around, wondering if maybe he would spot one of his allied companions, wondering if Mimsy had made the journey safely.
Leaving the alpaca to her munching, Shiloh stepped curiously towards the castle, and the moat of water surrounding it. The water was clear, he noted with thanks to the Goddesses, he and Penny would be able to drink their fill and replenish their stores on top of that. He lowered himself to his knees on the bank, leaning over to scoop some of the water into his hands, splashing it onto his face.
He still couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was there.
And that was when he heard it, soft childish giggles that echoed not from any space around him but rather from inside of him, the playful sound beginning and ending in his mind and soul.
“Shiloh!” called the voice, small and girlish. “Shiloh, you found me! You’re so good at these games.”
He ought to have been alarmed, or at the very least surprised, but by her cheery tone and of course, her games, the memory of Haruka instantly sprang itself from his mind. How could he have forgotten her? He didn’t know quite what she was, or how exactly she’d become such a part of him but he rejoiced to hear her happy voice again.
“Haruka, I missed you. It was too quiet,” he answered, laughing.
“Of course you missed me! I missed you too! What have you been doing, what took you so long? I was waiting you know!”
Her voice was bubbling and endless, and scooping some water into the bucket he’d brought along from his pack, he carried it back to where Penny stood, laughing with Haruka the entire way. He regaled her of his journey, hard though it was to get any answers in with the multitude of questions she asked. She wanted to know everything, to know every detail and he happily gave all of them up.
He introduced her to Penny as he watered the alpaca, setting the bucket and remaining water next to her while he decided what to do next. Haruka chattered excitedly in his head, she’d missed out on all his adventures and she now wanted to have her own, suggesting eagerly that they should storm the castle.
Shiloh shook his head, laughing yet again.
“No, Haruka, we don’t know what’s in there yet. It could be anything… It would be best to wait for help to arrive.”
Help, and people. People that he was sure Haruka would want to meet, even if she couldn’t speak with them. She had always analyzed everyone he met, though never meanly, and she loved when he made new friends. He sighed for a moment, content, and then moved to finally grab some food for himself. Haruka had gone silent for the moment, considering things, and probably replaying his stories over and over in her head. He smiled, and bit into a piece of jerky. Having her presence back was comforting, she was like the little sibling he’d never had, she was his to take care of. She wasn’t his sister, and no one ever would be, but at night when the darkness crept in, and he shivered scared under his covers, it was Haruka’s voice that comforted him now.
