Chapter 22:Companionship and Exhaustion

Simon dragged himself to the edge of the boundary wall, his feet sluggish from his exhausted mind.

"Are you sure you do not want to join the dorms?" asked Bella, her tail in their perpetual slow wag.

"Nah. I still got folks I wanna return to."

"Ok! Remember the offer is always open! Bye-bye!" She waved at him and Amy gave her a customary bark.

Simon moved through the gap that in his head acted as both entrance and exit. The same moment of vertigo washed over him as he moved passed trough. Combined with his current lack of mental fortitude he lost his balance and fell on his face.

Amy came to his rescue using her soft fluffy body to break his fall followed by a worried whine.

"I am fine... Just drained is all. Who knew dealing with other people could be so... exhausting."

A playful bark followed.

"Yeah. Yeah. I know. It was fun all the new scenes, all the new people, all the new experiences."

This time he received an inquisitive woof.

"Nope. Gonna go home and crash on my bed and sleep. We can deal with school..."*yawn*"...again tomorrow."

"Arf!"

In response, he felt the medium-sized wolf grow a few orders of magnitude. His body which was loosely hanging on to the monster girl with limbs sprawled across the dirt now were completely off the ground. Her cute barks turned a lot more gravelly to match her new massively increased size.

Then they were off home. Amy kept at a gentle trot making sure his limp body was stable and comfortable on her back. Not that he even needed the ride, he was physically fine. But he appreciated the gesture nonetheless. He pat her soft fluffy white fur as he mumbled.

"Thanks, Amy..."

A happy yip which came out as a menacing growl was her answer. But that was enough, he understood and closed his eyes to take a short nap on the back of his beloved companion. But the excitement of the day kept sleep from truly claiming him.

He had done a lot.

He met with a lot of monster girls that he only read about, cute petite psychics who were a contradiction in their actions and speech, and a cat girl that was such a joy to be around. There was even a very voluptuous arachne in there somewhere. He also met new another human being that was not his dad, which was very scary and exciting.

He saw so many unique sights, statues, murals, towers, stone pillars, crowds and so much more. Everything that he had only read in story books.

Then there were the experiences. From having his mind read to feeling like he was about to die to get a [Status Screen] where he found out he had some very cool abilities. Then there was also the fact that he got his clothes made right in front of his eyes, and got to choose stuff he would be learning from now on... So many new things.

Yet he was riding on the most important experience of them all.

His hand clutched onto the monster girl who had been with him for such a short period and yet had become so important. His days no longer felt like they were grinding and getting up in the morning was no longer a chore. He had something to look forward to every day. His hands started petting the white pelt as he felt her warmth and even on this hot evening, it was very welcome.

"Thank you... really... thank you for coming into my life when you did."

"Grrr..." The growl was a concerned one, which only made him smirk. He got up and now sat on the back massive wolf as sleep was no longer on the table. He patted her on the side as he said.

"I am just thinking out loud Amy. Let's just get home. Today was a very exciting and hectic day. Now all I want to do is go home and hit the sack. And maybe... get to that feeding I have been neglecting all day."

Amy's large canine ears went straight and her blue eyes stared at him intently, her body coiling like a spring.

"Amy... No! You don't get toooo...!!!"

The rest of his words were lost in the air as he grabbed onto her fur. Amy bolted at an unbelievable speed as all the scenery around him became a blur.

Simon no longer took the scenic and cozy route and came back to his home at extreme speeds as his puppy could not be denied her meal any longer.

If only he realized that he would be coming to nothing but the inanimate objects and Amy for company. Then he would have probably decided to stay back at home and not go through the roller coaster of emotions he experienced over the last few minutes. Neither would he have to suffer coming to an empty desolate home that was once teeming with life.