Remedy for sadness

A warm glow surrounded me, my portable fireplace roaring to life. I sighed, warming my paws in front of it. My ears twitched in agitation. I’d just solved this seemingly impossible riddle, opening a door to a dungeon so that this party that paid me could pass through, taking the spoils for themselves.

My expertise wasn’t appreciated enough, the party had declined my offer to join them even though they were down a couple members. Tingles ran down my spine, sending a tightness and unease throughout my body. Why wasn’t I ever good enough? I’m an Item Leech, that’s why. Everything always came back to that – no powers of my own, no class that others held in such high esteem. I cursed them, then turned the hatred on myself. No one would ever see the good in me, the use that I had. Did I really have any good without powers? Was I destined to be paid for my services and then cast aside like trash? My whole body felt hot and I shivered against the anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’d been used and cast aside my whole life.

The flames flicker in my glazed over eyes, I was lost in thought when a large pair of arms enveloped me. I jumped and struggled against the arms, ready to fight. How would I fight this thing, anyway? Judging from the arms around me, it was easily ten times my size. When I turned around to face the huge creature that had found its way into my RV (how did it even get in here?), I realized that it’s none other than Lullaby, my sweet, eldritch horror of a wife. I relaxed into her arms, sighing and burying my face in her fur. My fear dissipated and I unclenched my jaw – I hadn’t realized that I’d been grinding my teeth.

“Salmonberry, what’s wrong?” She asked, her voice low and soft.

I ran my hands along the coarse texture of her fur, staring into space. “This party I opened a dungeon for didn’t want my help.”

Lullaby’s fur bristled and she let out a low growl. “Do you want to go in there? Beat them to the prize? How silly they’d feel when we got all the treasure for ourselves.”

“It wouldn’t make a difference, they’d still think I’m useless.” I sniffled a bit.

“You’re not useless. They wouldn’t have even been able to get in there without you.” Lullaby wrapped her many arms around me, pulling me into the soft, finer fur of her belly.

I sighed, taking in the sensations. The pressure of the weight of her arms felt good, calming my ever-frayed nerves just enough that my tight muscles began to relax. I closed my eyes, breathing in her scent. A cedar forest, just after a spring rain. One of the best smells that ever existed. The soothing texture of her fur helped release the final bit of tension inside of me as I lost myself in it, like a meadow of sweet grass you’d never find your way out of. Being here, with her, was the best remedy for all my troubles and anxieties. Everything fell away when I was in her arms. She was the sweetest, most loving creature I’d ever known. Most people thought she was terrifying, but they were so wrong. Maybe they were wrong about me, too.

“You know what?” Lullaby asked, and I felt the vibrations of each word in her chest.

“What?” I asked, muffled as my face was still buried in her fur.

“I bet you’d run that dungeon solo faster than that whole group could.”