Rooming with the Wicked

31 | susie

There's just something oddly relaxing about waking up from a deep, dreamless sleep with zero time conception whatsoever. Being greeted by the subtle scent of baked goods was almost as good. If my nose didn't deceive me, which—let's be fair—it totally could, those could be the same cookies Haze and I had...made peace over.

Because that's what we'd done, right?

My foot tingled. For the first time in weeks, that strange weight on my leg didn't induce panic the moment I noticed it. This time, I knew what, or rather who was responsible.

Grabbing my trusty thermal imaging binoculars from my nightstand, I pushed myself up on my elbow, making sure not to move my right leg too much. When the weight didn't leave, I took a deep breath and raised the binoculars to my face, feeling both excited and a little nervous.

After the others had caught up to us during the tournament, I'd tried to get a glimpse of her multiple times, but she'd vanished. Or at least kept her distance. Maybe Haze had simply instructed her to scout the area, but something told me the others weren't exactly aware of our invisible, fifth roommate.

Even though I was expecting to see a...hellhound—yup, that still sounded just as weird—at the foot of my bed, I was not prepared for the fluffy orange furball curled up on my leg. Susie was big, much larger than your average dog—hell, she took up almost the entire space across the mattress and her tail was still hanging off the side—but she looked so...peaceful and very not deadly.

Then again, she'd also knocked a full-grown wolf shifter into a bush midair.

Due to the color spectrum of the binoculars, I couldn't make out every detail or the true color of her fur. Her triangular ears were pointed with little tufts of fur attached to the tips, and the one front paw I could make out was darker than the rest of her body and almost disproportionately large. When I moved my leg ever so slightly, two pale-yellow eyes blinked up at me.

She was gorgeous.

Susie unfurled her front paws and extended them in a cute little stretch. Then she pushed herself into a sitting position and went right back to staring at me. I couldn't help but wonder just how many times she'd been laying here, napping away right alongside me while my head was spinning with all kinds of paranoid theories about the side effects of soporis and whatnot.

Maybe Haze had put her up to this... But why would he send his pet to spy on me? I wasn't a threat to him.

After another stretch and a yawn, Susie hopped off the bed and disappeared beneath the curtain in a way that barely moved the heavy drape. She sure was sneaky despite her size.

My stomach loudly declared its need for a long overdue breakfast when a fresh wave of cookie smell surrounded me. I reached for my alarm clock. The glowing white digits stared back at me, but it took me a moment to comprehend that I'd slept a solid seventeen hours.

As expected, the room was empty when I emerged from my niche. The sweet aroma was stronger out here, and my body automatically drifted toward the source. A plate of colorful cookies sat atop the counter, and I helped myself to a purple one. The distinct dew flavor melted in my mouth, and I leaned back, sighing happily.

Cookie breakfast was totally a thing, and I could most definitely get used to this.

Seeing the room in its usual semi-messy state—mostly in and around Haze's niche—I felt myself smile. It was crazy how familiar both this space and its inhabitants had become in such a short time. Hell, I could even get used to the mess.

Soft afternoon sunlight trickled in through the windows, casting Jaydis' and my bookshelf in a warm glow. In anticipation of next week's quiz, I scanned the bottom shelf for my copy of Delightful Draughts. With my supplies running low, it couldn't hurt to restock.