The Heart and the Hero

Chapter Nine - Mommy Issues, Male Secretaries, and Manipulation

(AN: I sincerely apologize to any readers for not updating consistently, I'm working on my college applications right now and recently was diagnosed with epilepsy and a cavernoma, so I haven't had much free time. (Alsoooo bc writing anything besides Forest x Sorin interactions wears on my soul and I get major writers block, even though I know it's important to the storyline). This chapter was initially supposed to be combined with chapter ten, but it was getting super long so I just decided to split them. Enjoy chapter nine, and stay tuned! I appreciate everyone who has made it this far and for all the nice comments and support :)

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The first week of acting as a civilian went by fairly uneventfully. Forest read some books, went on some nice walks, and overall had a good time.

But by the second week, they were starting to feel the boredom creeping in. They hadn't really realized how much they relied on weekly fights as a motivator to keep themself going, and as that usual date passed, the little itch of needing something to do started to take root inside them.

It wasn't about not getting to see Wolfsbane. Of course it wasn't. It was just... hard to keep busy without something to look forward to. Not that they looked forward to seeing their enemy. Um. Yes.

This train of thought was getting them nowhere.

Letting out a groan, Forest let their arm drop and brush against the carpet. They had sprawled theimself languidly across an armchair, with their back against one arm and their legs draping over the other. They had tried to read another book to pass the time, but as much as they enjoyed the actual plot of the novel, the words were beginning to swim in front of their eyes as they found it harder and harder to focus on the page in front of them.

Now, the novel just sat open on their lap, no longer serving any real purpose, so Forest finally closed it and set it down on the coffee table beside them, taking a moment to rest their eyes before getting up to go examine their fridge for anything they could eat as a third midday snack.

It wasn't that they were particularly hungry, but at least eating would give them something to do, rather than wither away in boredom like a mango left too long on the kitchen counter.

Their fridge, however, was shamefully lacking, and they just paused for a moment and stared into the painfully bright interior. Perhaps if they kept looking, something good to eat would materialize somehow.

They blinked once, then let out another little sigh as nothing appeared. Oh, how they wished their superpower could have been summoning rather than antigravity and being a human nightlight. Could you imagine the sheer ease of their existence if they never had to worry about finding things for themself, with every possible tool at their fingertips whenever needed?

That wasn't nearly in their caliber of magic though. Everyone knew that summoning, arcana, foresight, and flight were some of the strongest variations of superpower, and Forest was certainly not some big shot like that.

Still, they remained in front of their fridge for almost a whole thirty seconds, hoping that just mayyybe if they really wished hard enough then they could make something appear.

Cerberus snapped them out of it by rolling out of his bed, happily trotting over to follow Forest and wiggling his big old head in between their elbow and its perch on their knee, where they were still squatting pointlessly in front of the glowing box of disappointment. (The fridge had plenty of Kate's salad kits and various other foods, they were just feeling too lazy to cook anything).

Giving him a little scratch between the ears, Forest allowed themself a little smile and felt themself brighten a bit. It truly was hard to remain in a bad mood while petting a dog.