Didn't Think This Would Ever Happen...

Chapter 2: Fresh Food

It was late into the afternoon and the young lady was examining her houseguest again. She had surveyed them multiple times already and nothing seemed to have changed so far.
They took shallow, infrequent breaths and their chest barely moved when they did.
Their face possessed a sort of childish appearance. They didn't look much older than fifteen or so.
How had such a young person scared the surrounding area into dead silence?...
She paced, wondering if they would ever wake up at all. They had lost so much blood already...
Earlier she had followed the trail of blood for a short distance, but didn't want to leave the area. The blood that was splattered on the grass was in very small puddles, as if big droplets had fallen, rather than being from an open wound.
It must have been from his arms, his clothes absorbing most of the blood from the chest wound.
She had patched them up rather shabbily. She could do better, but didn't think she could remove their shirt without causing more damage. Thankfully, the wound wasn't all the way through them. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to patch anything up. And they'd be dead!!!
She sighed as she sat herself down on a bench, leaning her head against the wall. It had been eerily silent since last night.
The crickets seemed to have all migrated away and she hadn't heard any birds sing this morning. Normally the forest around her little house was filled with life and sounds. It never felt so lonely...
Perhaps all the animals in the vicinity had felt the same crippling sense of peril she had when this person arrived.
Suddenly, her attention was caught.
The body that lay on her bed twitched. Their hand opened and closed slightly.
She hurried to her feet. She didn't know what to do! What should she say? Would they try to hurt her again??
Their eyes blinked open, their face painted blank.
"Are you alright?" She ventured quietly.
They looked around with their eyes.
When those eyes met hers she gasped. They were as red as the blood in the grass with flecks of pink along the outside of their irises. What's more, their pupils were the thinnest of slits.
They stared at her with those big eyes, their face still devoid of expression.
"Are- are you alright?" She tried again, taking a step closer.
They blinked, then looked back up at the ceiling. They braced their arms on both sides of the bed.
She hurried over, "don't try to get up yet, you'll hurt yourself-"
They gave her a curious look, but seemed a little offended.
She stepped back again, "I'm sorry, I couldn't do much but stop the bleeding and apply medicine..."
They sat up, then seethed, pressing a hand to their chest.
The young woman winced, "I can help you more if you'll allow it. I just didn't want to take your clothes off or anything..."
They looked down at their hand before opening their bloodied shirt and letting it fall into the crooks of their arms in order to get a good look at the bandage.
The blood that stuck to their upper chest was a stark contrast with their incredibly pale skin. Their skin was almost the same shade of white as the clean parts of the bandage!
Her mouth moved before she could think to stop it, "you're a fairy, aren't you?"
Their eyes slowly moved to meet hers.
She looked around the room, avoiding them, "I... Your arms. Last night they were covered in cuts, but when I went to bandage them, they were gone... And you're still alive despite how deep your chest would was..."
They nodded, pulling at the bandage over their arm. The one that covered the gash from the girl's axe, "you could say that." Technically, yes, he was a fae. But he wasn't sure he could be called one anymore...
His voice made it quite obvious he was male. It was actually quite a shock to hear such a deep voice come from such a young-looking body!
She smiled, "I've never met one before. I- I don't have any magic... I always dreamed about meeting one when I was little..." She completely forgot about how terrifying this person had been the night before. She was just so excited! Besides, they looked so harmless!
"Ah!" She slapped herself in the head, "I'm Sylvie, it's nice to meet you." She hurriedly grabbed her healing kit and set it on the bedside table, "and you are?"
He paused for a long moment, "Lilia."
She smiled, "that's a cute name."
He didn't have any particular reaction to her statement. He removed his shirt and Sylvie noticed that there was a hole in the front and back of it.
Lilia caught her staring.
She hesitated, "what happened?..."
He pulled off the bandage on his arm, revealing perfect and unblemished skin. "It doesn't matter." He ran his nail over where the axe wound had been, as if he had seen it.
She shrugged, "alright." She set out a fresh roll of bandages and some cotton.
Lilia haphazardly pulled off the bandage over his chest, gingerly pressing against the skin around his wound. It was significantly smaller than last night, but it was still quite deep, the bright red of his insides showing.
"I guess it doesn't help, but I'm sorry for axing you in the arm," she smiled nervously as she mixed some herbs.
Lilia paid her no mind, lost in his own thoughts as he stared down at the bloody mess on his body. He collected his memory, piecing together the events leading up to this moment.
Sylvie pressed herbs into a small bit of cotton, "oh, do healing herbs work on fairies?..."
Lilia looked over at her and shrugged, "I don't know."
She thought hard for a moment, bringing her hand to her chin, "it probably won't hurt, though, right?"
Lilia shrugged again.
She shrugged as well, "could you lay down?"
Lilia held his hand out, "I can do it."
She blinked, "oh." She handed the cotton over.
Sylvie stood up, "we should go wash up after we're done, then. There's a small stream nearby!" She opened up her dresser, "you can borrow a gown while we wash and mend your clothes if you want."
Lilia wasn't really paying attention. His head was fuzzy and his wound hurt. Normally he didn't take so long to heal. He guessed whatever he had been struck with was pretty effective...
Sylvie sighed heavily, "or maybe I should hunt first so I can wash all that off, too... Ah, but I smell like blood, so it would be difficult... But then I would be getting all dirty again. Haaa!!!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her head violently.
She turned around, "you decide, Lilia! Are you hungry or do you want to wash up first?!"
Lilia jolted. He hadn't been called by his name in a long time, and she said it as if she had said it everyday of her life.
He looked over at her. He didn't want to admit it but... "I'm... hungry..." he said it anyways.
She smiled, "alright. It's settled, then! Oh, what do fairies eat???"
Lilia began wrapping bandages around his chest, wincing a little, "I'm not picky..." It wasn't exactly a lie. He could eat whatever he wanted without an issue. But he was a bit picky... He didn't want to burden his host with his tastes. And he couldn't tell her that she could be on the menu.
Sylvie smiled, "great! Don't worry, I'm pretty good at cooking! I might not have a ton of spices, but I do pretty well if I do say so myself!"
She triumphantly pulled her boots on, lacing them up.
Lilia tied off his bandages, "I can help-"
"Absolutely not!" Sylvie frowned at him, "you're hurt and I'm the host! You may have attacked me, but I'm the one who harmed you, so I need to make up for it! I won't be gone long."
Lilia seemed to twitch at the word "attacked".
Sylvie paused by the door, slowly sliding her quiver over her shoulders, "... why did you attack me?"
Lilia stared down at his bloody hand, "I don't remember..."
Sylvie smiled, "I'm sure you just wanted help. You just moved so fast it scared me!" She giggled, "I can't believe I actually met a fairy!" She closed the door firmly.
Lilia clenched his fists, laying back down. A human saved him. Well, he probably would have been fine had he not ran into her. But even after he tried to hurt her, she still wanted to help him. It didn't make sense... Humans never made sense.
They pretended to be things they weren't.
Lilia scowled as he sat back up. The least he could do was try to clean up before leaving.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed only to feel a headache coming on. He looked at his bloodied shirt with disdain. He didn't want to put it back on. It was crusty and gross.
His eyes wandered over to where a nightgown was folded neatly on the dresser, waiting for him.
Sylvie wouldn't miss one gown, would she?...
Lilia sighed as he stood, pushing away his pain. He slid the thin dress on backwards and buttoned it up. Then, he turned it around and put his arms through the sleeves. It was rather large on him and threatened to fall off his shoulders at any moment. He couldn't remember the last time he had worn a dress...
His pants weren't as gross as his shirt but they were torn and stuck to his legs like mud so he removed them as well.
Lilia peeked his head out the door. He seemed to be in a peaceful clearing. There were shrubs and trees all around, but he saw no sign of any wildlife.
He stepped outside and silently closed the door. He looked around once more and didn't see anything different.
He carefully squatted down and began pulling up the bloodstained grass. Once he had gotten done with the clearing he used his magic, hoping his wound wouldn't interfere.
The wind blew by gently at first, swishing the hem of the dress that brushed at the insteps of his feet.
Then, it blew harder, taking all the grass and moving it above the trees and out of the clearing. As it continued to blow, a few seeds came to settle where the bare ground peeked through the grass.
Lilia sighed as those seeds buried themselves and the wind ceased to blow.
"Woah..."
Lilia's eyes snapped open and he turned to face the sound.
Sylvie stood at the edge of the clearing with a deer over her shoulders, "was that magic?..."
Lilia nodded. He had wanted to leave before she got back... Didn't humans normally take a long time to hunt?
Sylvie seemed to sense his confusion. She smiled as she approached and lowered the deer onto the ground, "I didn't think I would be so fast, either! But there she was! Not ten minutes away from here!" She wiped her hands on each other before walking over to the door, "I'll start skinning it in a second! Gotta grab my tools!"
She waved as she entered the cottage.
Lilia stared down at the dead animal. An arrow was stuck in its throat, it's eyes closed and its face relaxed. It didn't seem to have bled much. Was she that good of a hunter?...
And she said it was only ten minutes away that she spotted it? That meant it had been at least twenty minutes sense she left... Was Lilia really that out of it? It felt like it hadn't even been ten minutes yet.
Lilia knelt down next to the doe, pressing a hand over its ribs. He used his nail to slice open its underbelly. Not much blood came out, surprisingly. Had Sylvie drained it already?...
Lilia tore off the skin over its chest, it's intestines spilling onto the ground around his knees. He quickly pulled the dress up and tied it around his waist.
Sylvie stared from where she stood at the door. She had on a tool belt with items Lilia wouldn't have recognized in it, and a hatchet in her right hand.
She saw the guts on the ground and the deer's exposed ribcage. Was Lilia really that strong?... Sure, he was a fairy, but they weren't exactly known for their strength. And he looked so tiny.
Lilia pushed up his sleeves as high as he could before plunging his hand into the doe's ribcage. He pulled at something, but couldn't get it free.
Lilia grimaced, "come on, give it to me. You're dead already, you don't need it."
Sylvie slowly approached, her mouth dry. What was Lilia doing?...
The fae pulled his arm back out. Then, he closed both his hands around one of the deer's ribs.
Sylvie closed her eyes tightly as the sound of bones cracking filled her ears. It seemed to echo across the trees, too.
Once crack. Two crack. Three crack. Four cracks before it was over.
She looked through squinted eyes, about to let Lilia know that she didn't normally eat any of the organs other than the liver, and that was only occasionally. She cringed again as Lilia plugged his hand back into the animal.
Lilia cracked a triumphant smirk, "gotcha." He violently pulled his arm back out, the insides squelching in response.
Lilia's entire arm was covered in blood, his sharp nails closed around the heart of the doe.
He opened his mouth, displaying his wicked teeth. All but his frontmost four (two on the top and two on the bottom) teeth were all curved and dangerously sharp. The teeth of a predator.
Sylvie felt her body go rigid, her hands shaking. She held her breath.
The fae seemed just about ready to bite into the heart when he suddenly froze, lowing his arm.
Lilia looked over his shoulder at Sylvie, his eyes a bit wider than normal.
She swallowed hard, forcing a smile, "thanks for the help, but you should really be resting..."
Lilia blinked at her, feeling the urge to mind his manners. But he was so hungry... and it was already in his hands...
He couldn't help himself. It had been so long since he had eaten anything. And he had just gotten incredibly hurt.
He bit into the heart, blood oozing out of the organ as the arteries emptied out their final drops. The red fell onto his white knees, barely avoiding the dress, which was shockingly much less white than his skin.
Lilia leaned forward so as to not drip on the dress. He sucked what little blood remained out of the heart with a disgusting sound.
Sylvie wanted to close her eyes, or look away! But she was frozen in place, stricken with the same paralyzing fear she had felt last night.
Lilia hardly chewed his food as he madly scarfed it down. Though, that was normal. His teeth weren't made for chewing, anyways.
After finishing off the heart, he reached back into the deer, licking his lips. His eyes were wide in hunger, his lips curled in the ecstasy of gluttony. His pearly whites shone in the late afternoon sun, blood and other bodily fluids dripping down his lips and chin.
Lilia had consumed a half a lung—which was two times the size of his hand when intact—and he was reaching for the intestines when he stopped himself.
Without any expression Lilia turned his head towards Sylvie. He licked the blood and juices off of his lips before letting go of the organs. He stood up, wiping his face on his arm and moving towards her, "I'll let you take over now."
He walked past her and to the small well that sat beside her house.
Sylvie realized she hadn't been breathing. She quietly let her breath go. As she slowly walked over to her kill she couldn't take her eyes off of the vicious teeth marks left on the half-eaten lung. Neither could she get the sound of bones breaking from her mind as she pushed the ribs aside with the toe of her shoe.
Lilia was certainly a fae, just not the kind Sylvie thought he was.