Chapter 85 - 84:
The conversation eventually came to an end.
Nina still had questions about Velaris, but she had no answers to them.
For now, she decided to stop trying to understand everything.
She had spent too many days worrying about things she couldn’t control.
At least here, she could breathe.
The group slowly began moving again.
Nina followed Veronica, occasionally glancing around the village as they walked.
There were still too many unfamiliar faces.
Residents.
Survivors.
People she had never seen before.
Yet there was something strangely peaceful about the way everyone moved around them.
Nobody seemed to be in a hurry.
Nobody was screaming.
Nobody was running from anything.
People simply went about their business.
Some carried supplies from one building to another. Others stood along the road, talking quietly among themselves. A few residents glanced toward the newcomers, their eyes lingering on the dirty clothes, tired faces, and injuries the survivors carried.
But nobody looked afraid.
Nobody reached for a weapon.
Nobody shouted for the guards.
Nina almost didn’t know how to react to it.
She had grown so accustomed to danger that silence itself felt suspicious.
Back in King’s Territory, silence had rarely meant peace.
Sometimes it meant everyone was waiting.
Waiting for an attack.
Waiting for a monster to appear.
Waiting for the next scream.
Here, silence simply seemed to mean that nothing was happening.
Nina found that strangely unsettling.
She glanced at Veronica.
Veronica was speaking quietly with another woman, occasionally smiling as though she still couldn’t quite believe that Nina was standing beside her.
Nina smiled faintly.
At least one thing in this place made sense.
She had found Veronica.
That alone was enough for now.
They continued down the road.
Nina’s gaze wandered across the buildings again.
She still couldn’t get over how different everything looked.
There were no piles of broken materials lying beside the road.
No makeshift shelters.
No desperate crowds fighting for space.
Even the roads looked clean.
It made the entire place feel almost unreal.
Nina was beginning to wonder whether she had somehow fallen asleep somewhere in the forest and was dreaming all of this.
Then a sound came from somewhere ahead.
A low growl.
Nina stopped immediately.
Her hand moved toward her knife.
Several other survivors reacted at the same time.
Veronica’s expression changed.
Kyle turned toward the sound.
Even the people who had been talking moments earlier fell silent.
Another growl followed.
Closer this time.
Nina’s eyes narrowed.
Something was moving between the trees.
A shadow shifted behind a large trunk.
Then another shape appeared.
Someone whispered,
"Monster."
Nina tightened her grip on her knife.
Her body instinctively prepared itself.
After everything they had experienced, there was no reason to assume anything else.
The wilderness had taught them a simple rule.
If something was approaching, prepare to fight.
Nina shifted her weight slightly.
Her eyes remained fixed on the trees.
The other survivors were doing the same.
Some reached for weapons.
Others stepped closer together.
Veronica moved instinctively toward Nina.
Then a familiar shape stepped out from between the trees.
Nina froze.
She stared.
The creature was large, covered in thick fur, and unmistakably a dog.
But it wasn’t some wild beast charging toward them.
Nina knew that dog.
Her eyes widened.
"Wait."
The word escaped her before she could stop it.
Veronica looked at her.
"What?"
Nina lowered her knife slightly.
"I’ve seen that dog before."
The dog stopped when it noticed them.
Its ears perked up.
Its tail began to move.
Nina stared at it for another moment.
Snow.
She remembered seeing the dog around Iris’s group before.
It wasn’t a stranger.
It belonged here.
A second shape appeared behind Snow.
Dog.
The other survivors remained tense, clearly not understanding Nina’s reaction.
One of them whispered,
"Do you know those things?"
Nina nodded slowly.
"I’ve seen them with Iris."
That immediately changed the atmosphere.
Several survivors looked toward Iris.
Iris was standing a short distance away, watching the dogs with an expression that suggested this was hardly surprising.
Snow stepped forward.
Instead of attacking, the dog walked straight toward Iris’s group.
Its tail wagged as it approached.
Nina watched carefully.
She had expected the creature to behave differently after seeing it from a distance.
But now that she was closer, she could see that Snow wasn’t interested in fighting anyone.
It looked completely comfortable.
Almost happy.
Snow passed by Iris before stopping near Nina.
Nina stiffened.
The dog sniffed the air.
Then it stepped closer.
Nina didn’t move.
Snow sniffed her clothes.
Then her hand.
Nina slowly lowered her knife.
"You’re the same one, aren’t you?"
Snow tilted its head.
Nina almost laughed.
She reached out carefully.
The dog sniffed her fingers.
Then it licked them.
Nina blinked.
"...Oh."
The tension in her shoulders slowly disappeared.
Snow wagged its tail.
Veronica laughed softly beside her.
"I think it remembers you."
Nina looked down at the dog.
"Maybe."
She cautiously ran her hand over its head.
Snow leaned into the touch.
Nina smiled.
It was strange.
She had spent so much time being afraid of creatures like this.
Now she was standing in the middle of Velaris petting one.
A second later, Dog trotted closer.
Several survivors immediately tensed again.
But Nina turned toward them.
"Don’t worry. They’re friendly."
One of the men looked unconvinced.
"You’re sure?"
Nina nodded.
"I’ve seen them before."
Dog walked past them without the slightest interest in attacking.
Instead, it moved toward the rest of Iris’s group as though checking whether everyone was where they were supposed to be.
The reaction from Iris’s family was completely different from that of the newcomers.
Benjamin barely looked up.
Henry gave the dog a brief glance before continuing his conversation.
Veronica smiled.
Even Caleb didn’t look particularly surprised.
Nina noticed.
"You all know them?"
Caleb looked at her.
"Of course."
He scratched the back of his neck.
"They’ve been around us."
Nina looked at the two dogs again.
That explained why nobody else seemed alarmed.
The dogs weren’t mysterious creatures to them.
They were simply part of the group.
Nina couldn’t help smiling.
It was another small reminder that she was the newcomer here.
A few meters away, Caleb had been watching Snow and Dog.
His expression slowly changed.
Suspicion.
Curiosity.
Then suspicion again.
He crossed his arms.
"No."
Benjamin glanced at him.
"No what?"
Caleb pointed at Dog.
"I’m not going near that thing."
Benjamin raised an eyebrow.
"Nobody asked you to."
"I’m just making that clear."
Dog’s head turned.
Its eyes landed directly on Caleb.
Caleb froze.
Benjamin’s lips twitched.
Dog took one step forward.
Caleb took one step backward.
"Don’t."
Dog took another step.
"I said don’t."
Benjamin covered his mouth.
Caleb glared at him.
"Don’t laugh."
"I’m not."
"You are."
"I’m really not."
Dog tilted its head.
Caleb stared back.
For a few seconds, neither moved.
Then Dog’s tail began wagging.
Caleb frowned.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Dog took another step.
Caleb backed away.
"Stay there."
Dog stepped forward again.
"I said stay."
Someone nearby laughed.
Caleb looked around.
"Why is everyone laughing?"
Nobody answered.
Dog suddenly broke into a run.
Caleb’s eyes widened.
"OH, HELL NO!"
He turned and ran.
The dog chased him.
Several survivors burst into laughter.
"Caleb!"
"Get it off me!"
Dog wasn’t biting him.
It wasn’t attacking him.
It was simply running after him with its tail wagging furiously.
Caleb sprinted around one of the buildings.
Dog followed.
"Why is it chasing me?"
Benjamin called after him.
"Maybe it likes you!"
"I don’t want it to like me!"
That only made everyone laugh harder.
Caleb ran faster.
Dog easily caught up.
The creature bumped against his legs, nearly knocking him over.
Caleb stumbled and spun around.
Dog immediately stopped.
It sat down.
Caleb stared at it.
Dog stared back.
Its tail thumped against the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Caleb’s expression slowly changed.
"...What?"
Dog tilted its head.
Caleb looked over his shoulder.
Nobody was coming to save him.
In fact, everyone appeared to be enjoying the situation far too much.
He sighed.
"Fine."
He crouched slowly.
Dog leaned forward.
Caleb hesitated before reaching out.
His hand touched the dog’s head.
Dog immediately pressed its face into his palm.
Caleb blinked.
"...Oh."
Benjamin smiled.
"I thought you didn’t want it."
"I changed my mind."
Everyone laughed.
Caleb scratched behind Dog’s ears.
The dog’s tail started wagging so hard that its entire body moved with it.
"Look at you."
Caleb grinned.
"You’re actually cute."
Dog licked his face.
Caleb recoiled.
"Okay. Too much."
The laughter grew louder.
Even Nina couldn’t stop herself.
For the first time since entering Velaris, the survivors were no longer standing around as though they expected something terrible to
happen.
The tension had finally begun to loosen.
Some of them had settled beneath the shade of the nearby trees, resting their backs against the trunks while they ate whatever food they had managed to carry with them.
Others sat along the edge of the road, talking quietly.
A few had wandered closer to the buildings, staring at them with the same curiosity they had shown when they first entered.
Nobody seemed to know exactly what they were supposed to do.