Page 100 of To Trap a Soul

The corner of her lips twitched, as if she were close to offering a smile. “They’re good. Londinium is still standing, and I have helped many other towns and cities since then. How was your sleep?”

Weldir stood a little taller, surprised she would ask, as she’d never done so before. He was pleased she was interested in his wellbeing.

“It was the same as it always has been. Uneventful.”

Grasping a new orange orb, she drifted the side of her thumb back and forth over its thick skin. “You know... I’ve always wanted to ask, but do you ever dream?”

He cocked his head, once more surprised at her intrigue regarding him. “Dreams? No, I have no use for such things. But I do remember the past, as it was, without alteration or fantastical perception.”

Lindiwe’s brows drew together. “What does that even mean?”

Weldir offered a small chuckle in return. “I have seen humans’ dreams, and they are strange. They dream of things that are not possible for them, or things that have not happened and never will happen.”

“I dream,” she quickly interjected. “Like you, I remember, but then the memories run away from me and become something else. I think it’s human to dream – maybe that’s why you don’t.”

“Perhaps,” he answered, hoping she heard the shrug in his tone. “How long have I been asleep?”

She was slow to answer, and she rested her chin on her right shoulder as if coyly. “Almost fourteen years, since I started helping Londinium.”

“I see. So little time has passed, then.”

Her lips twitched before she rolled her eyes with a lengthy sigh. “Really? That is actually a long time, Weldir. I expected you to be furious with me.”

“I see no point in being angry with you. I have collected many souls from Demons, our offspring have brought me several that lack any toxin, and I can see you are content from aiding the humans. I’ve never had a better waking.”

“I’m glad you’re pleased.”

Lindiwe peeled the orange and cracked open its pieces to take one.

“Why do you eat when you have no need to?” Weldir asked, curious about this and finally desiring the answer.

“Eating reminds me that I’m human. It tastes refreshing and I miss doing it.” Then she used her long thumbnails to split apart the membrane to reveal the pulpy insides. “I’m also collecting the seeds.”

His gaze slipped to the off-white seed she’d revealed. “Why are you doing that?”

“I never know when I’ll need them, or when a town could use a new source of food. Oranges, in particular, stave off illnesses from malnutrition such as scurvy.” She let out a sigh and turned her face up to the sun. “I’ve actually collected quite a store of seeds, and the Anzúli have taught me how to preserve them forever. There’s the means to grow lemons, apples, cherries, and oranges, to name a few.”

“I was surprised when the Anzúli took you in with such welcome.”

Her lips pursed and her eyelashes lowered when she narrowed her gaze. “I still haven’t forgiven you for not informing me of their arrival on Earth.”

Another chuckle slipped from him. “As you said earlier, such time has passed. You hold onto your grudges fervently, little human.”

“I can’t help it. It’s how I’ve always been.”

“I see no issue with this. I enjoy your peculiarities.”

They were harmless to him, and they had forever for him to knead out her disquiet with him... Although, that did come from a place of hope that he was actually able to.

Weldir was grossly aware she was discontented with him, and she was not very forthcoming as to how he was able to mend that. It was difficult to repair something that had never existed in the first place. Trust was something apparently to be earned, and he knew she trusted him distantly.

“Says the most peculiar being I’ve ever met,” she commented quietly.

Their conversation lulled, and Weldir took that as the chance to continue his original task. He finally pressed the untainted soul his offspring had procured for him into the cavity of his mouth, and swallowed.

He received a small burst of strength, finding true replenishment without punishment. His mist thickened and collected tighter against him in relief.

He then reached out for a new soul while keeping a careful eye out for any more that weren’t sickened, so he could gain mana without any cost. He kept the viewing disc up, peeking at her occasionally while he worked in their shared and comfortable silence.

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