Dragon's Rage (Rewrite)

Chapter 16: Warm

The noise is so loud out here, but somewhere it was so quiet. A source of silence sat alone, and it wants to be heard, but everything else is just blocking its way. It calls out, but nothing has responded. Another day was misery.

It was a quiet morning, but it was also nice. The food was nice, and the coffee was delicious. Eyes were wandering low, but I soon picked them up again once Alice turned around to face me. There was that same warm smile on her face, and I could have sworn that I would have started to smile. Pan looked up at both of us, but she became bored of us.

I brought the cup of coffee to my lips and took a quick sip. Closing my golden eyes for only a second and then opening them once again to be greeted by Alice's emerald eyes. She sat across from me, taking a bite from her rice and eggs. For the most part, we didn't speak, but I could tell that she wanted to bring up some kind of conversation.

Though, it was a mystery to me on how I got here. The last time I was conscious was when I was in the grass fields, close by to town, and flat out tired. When I woke up, I was in the guest room, cleaned up and refreshed. I'm not sure what she did to me while I was out, but I guess I should be grateful for the most part.

"Alice, you haven't told me how I got here." I mumbled, but she must have heard it. Her eyes shined for a second before smiling sheepishly then finishing the rest of what was on her plate. Slowly setting the coffee down, I leaned onto my hand as I waited for a response. Giving her the time, the blonde stood up from her seat and placed the plate into the sink. Once she came back to sit down, she gave me a nervous smile.

"I don't know how to say this, but I guess it was just convenient." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Natalia and I were going down to Kilali again since she was so interested about that park, but then we saw your body in the field while we were walking." My eyes lit up for a second, but they dimmed down. "I don't know who was lucky in this time, but we managed to take you back to my house to help you rest and get cleaned up. You weren't in the best shape, Viper.."

Mixed emotions ran through me as I listened. She mentioned Natalia, which rose caution and suspicion. Though, her expressions showed sincerity and sadness. These two found me, unconscious and brought me here to heal. For the most part, it was working.

"If we left you out there alone then I don't know what I would do! For all we know, some random stranger would have taken you instead and probably would have done something terrible!" I lifted my head from my hand before letting out a sigh. Maybe she was overreacting about that, but the concern was heartwarming.

"I would have handled it, Alice, but thanks for worrying." I shrugged then took another sip of my coffee.

Alice was holding her cup a little too tightly though. Her mouth curved into a frown, and she didn't like looking into my eyes when she was like this. While she is upset, she starts to fidget a bit, but maybe she needed something to calm her down. Alice is probably one of the most innocent people I have ever known that was human. She has her ups and downs, but overall she hasn't done anything terrible to me personally.

"Now I have a question." She spoke up, making me glance at her. Giving her a short nod, she understood to continue. "What were you doing out there? Going for a run and being exhausted is one thing, but you looked like you just ran from a man with a shotgun because you were sleeping with his wife." She sighed. Then her eyes shifted, "And why did you have dry blood on you?"

I almost choked on my coffee, and I took a quick moment to breathe again. "Er.." What the hell was I going to tell her? I killed a kid because I was imagining things, no problem, right? It wasn't normal, and she would think I have some mental illness! That isn't going to excuse my actions at all!