The Purebreds

Chapter Seven

I emerged from the water, feeling completely humiliated. Having miscalculated the distance between myself and rock, I had landed on the edge of the first rock, and promptly slipped off into the water. Mortified, I had refused his encouragement to try again, and swam the rest of the way across.

Completely drained, I flopped onto the bank of the island, panting. And this time, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be getting back up anytime soon.

Thump

Looking up, I saw the last rabbit in front of me. He nudged it closer with his nose, “Eat. You’ll feel better.”

I look up at him, to see traces of amusement mixed with concern in his eyes. Casting him an accusing glance, I began to rip into the rabbit, grateful for the morsel. So maybe I would be getting back up soon...

“We’re not that far from my place. So, just... hang in there for a little while longer?”

I look up from the rabbit curiously. He avoided my gaze.

“You don’t have to push yourself to comfort me, you know.” I said nonchalantly, swallowing another bite. I waited a little while before adding with a weak chuckle, “But thank you; despite how awkward the delivery was. And for future reference, just let it come naturally. Comfort works best when it’s not overanalysed.”

I flashed him a smile, to show him I wasn’t trying to be offensive. He looked at me slightly abashed and shocked, before turning away. I finished the rabbit in silence.

When I was done, we headed into the forest silently. When I couldn’t stand the crushing tension anymore, I spoke up.

“Look, I’m sorry if I offended you earlier. I didn’t mean to, it’s just...”

“Don’t mention it.” He cut in, throwing me a small reassuring smile, “I was just shocked is all.”

I waited for him to elaborate, dropping the subject when the silence dragged on. We’d only just met, after all.

As promised, it wasn’t long before we came to his house. If you could call it that.

Emerging into a small clearing, my eyes were immediately drawn to a tree; a strange misshapen tree. The base of its trunk was about the size of a house, bulging out, before coming back into the size of a regular, though thick, trunk several meters off the ground. All in all, the place seemed to have grown straight out of the forest and blended right in, despite its size and shape.

“Well, welcome to my place I guess.”

I chuckled nervously, following him towards the front of the tree. As we approached, I noticed etchings in the tree that resembled a door and two windows. Glancing around, I tried to find an opening into his home.

“Um… how are we…’’

The tree began to creak and sway, coming to life. I stopped and watched, amazed as light began to pour through the outline that made up the door. Then, when my allusive companion was close enough, the door swung open revealing a fully furnished room. I stumbled back in shock.

He waited patiently by the door for me to calm down. When I turned to him, after having spent several minutes gawking at the house, he gave me another one of his small reassuring smiles.

“I’ll explain everything when you get in.”

I responded with a timid smile, before slowly creeping towards him, stopping at the door. It was about as far I could get before I was once again frozen in shock. The room was huge. It really was the size of a house. Peering in, I found what seemed to be a living ‘room’ on my left and a kitchen on my right. The rest of the room was in an upper landing of sorts.