Bald Spot

The aftermath of the killing/Niall's POV

“Could I borrow Robus for a while?” I think I need a hug. No, I’m certain I need a hug. However, it’s a shame that Marcus was at home. I’d preferred to grab Robus and leave without seeing him. He always smells when something is wrong.

He’ll poke me till he gets the answer.

And this time, I can’t give it to him. I’m sure he’d understand but–

Marcus squints his eyes at me. “You look like shit.”

“Yes, thank you. Could I–”

I yelp as he grabs my arm. He quickly lets go with his brows furrowed.

“Why are you so jumpy?”

“I’m not.”

“What’s wrong?”

I look away so I don’t have to meet his gaze. “I can’t tell you right now.” He wouldn’t believe me if I lied. He sees right through me.

The frown on his face lingers until he says: “Don’t tell me you learned about your accidental lovechild?”

“What? Is there a–”

He bursts out laughing. “Not that I know of. You’d make a good dad, though.”

I sigh. “This is not funny.”

“No, it doesn’t seem like it.” He shakes his head and calls for Robus. “Fine. You can coddle Robus for the night.”

Robus gives me a bark as a greeting and we’re off. I choose to ignore Marcus’s stare as we walk to the wagon.

–

After assuring Paios and the others that I’m fine (no, nothing is wrong, I’m just tired, you can go to bed, yes, let’s meet in the morning), I retreat to my room with Robus sauntering after me.

“So, Robus… things happened.”

Robus yawns and starts making her way to the bed. It’s wide enough for us both, she’s used to sleeping next to me.

“I won’t take too much of your time, I just need to talk a little, alright?”

Robus curls into a ball and looks at me, probably urging me to continue. Or asking me to be quiet. I choose to believe the former.

“Alright, so, basically… You know the Optio? He was a bad guy, right?” He was. Yes.

Robus yawns.

“Sure, he wasn't the worst or anything like that.”

Seriously? Am I trying to justify it?

Robus looks at me with one eye open.

“I told him not to beat the recruits. That they’d get better results if they were treated better.” But he took his orders from Marcus, not me. And, Marcus said that the balance of carrots and sticks is a healthy diet for the recruits.

I still think they’d fare better with carrots without the side of sticks.

I sigh and slump down on the bed. Ignoring my usual shoe-related rituals, I kick the soggy things off. They make a thumping sound when they meet the wall.

“I told him to stop…” I look at the shoes without seeing them.

Robus pokes her snout at me.

“Right? That’s what I said. It’s not that he deserved it but–”

“Woo woo!”

“Shh, quiet! No one should hear us.”

Well, you shouldn’t talk out loud about killing your colleague, you idiot. I sigh and realize that my head is hurting and there’s something in my fist.

I frown at the sight of it: there’s a chunk of red hair.

Did I just… That’s just great. I’m a murderer AND I have a bald spot.