Shaded Death

Chapter 2- Helped

With a sigh, Shade welcomed consciousness, but kept his eyes closed. He tried to move, but a fiery pain stopped him. With a start, he realized that this wasn't normal. Something wasn't right. Two magenta-colored eyes opened wide, to find that he was laying on his back, staring up at a straw-roofed ceiling. Where was he?! Suddenly the daze that came with waking up in an early morning disappeared all at once, and jolting up to a sitting position to look around caused him to fall out of the bedding where he lay. He hit the ground with a groan, and a shock of pain coursed through him. He closed his eyes as a flash of brightness passed through his vision.

He lay there, stunned, until finally he opened his eyes and looked himself over. His dark, mottled cloak was no where to be seen, making Shade feel exposed without the ability to melt into the shadows. His shirt was off and he had a large bandage wrapped right above his waist. Where it hurt the most, a deep red was starting to appear. Shade was wounded, he knew. But he couldn't recall how.

Where am I? Where's Frost? He thought, now growing uneasy. His heartbeat sped up slightly, despite his best efforts to stay calm. He tried to push himself to his feet, but didn't have the strength. He closed his eyes once more when he suddenly felt a headache. Letting out a soft groan, his eyes fluttered open once again. Then he realized that his quiver and bow were missing. His breath quickened as he realized that he was close to defenceless now.

Footsteps were heard soon later, and Shade held his frightened breath for about ten seconds to hear better. Then he let out his breath, but this time he was able to slow it.

Then a figure appeared, opening a doorway that Shade hadn't seen before. Why hadn't he? He didn't know- but he did know that he was out of his game.

The figure wore a simple brown outfit, and he had a large frame. Shade stared at the figure, and the figure blinked and stared back, seemingly speechless. Then as the figure took a few steps toward him, Shade stared back untrustingly, managing to scoot back a slight bit; but it would have to be enough, since his back soon hit a wall.

"You're awake. . !" Came a gruff, yet surprised voice. Shade just stared back. Only now did he realize that his black hat was nowhere near him. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. As young as he was, that gaze held a silent threat.

The figure just looked him over, then came a few steps forward. Shade would havve jumped to his feet to fight—or even just run—but he couldn't. So he just stiffened as much as he could, ignoring his throbbing headache. His weakening wound kept him rooted to his sitting position. Now Shade saw that the figure had a knife in its sheath on his left side—easy to hide and easy to grab.

"Calm down, son. You're wounded, and need to heal. Lemme help you to that bed to your right, and I'll give you some well deserved food... along with some answers, possibly." The voice didn't seem dangerous. Rather, it was a friendly, light-humored voice. As the figure came to Shade, he bent down to examine his wound.

"Mmm. Tsk tsk tsk. You opened up your wound again..." The figure trailed off, then glanced up to look into Shade's eyes. Shade quickly grew uncomfortable. When he was uncomfortable, he was used to being able to blend into the shadows, but he couldn't here. He then shifted his position ever so slightly to where it didn't hurt. The figure noticed this and blinked awkwardly.

"Er, sorry..." Then started to gently help Shade to his feet. Shade never took his eyes off of the man, though. From his training, Frost taught him to never trust anybody—especially a random person who just about appears out of nowhere. But he made no move to get his dagger. Not yet, anyway.

As Shade was able to sit in the bed, the figure turned away slightly, seemingly searching for something. But at that moment, when his attention was elsewhere, Shade, in a quick, but almost clumsy lunge, grabbed the dagger from the man's sheath. When he turned to look again at Shade, eyes slightly widened, Shade held the dagger to the man's throat. It didn't draw blood, though. The man seemed weirdly calm.