Outcast

Start Again

She feels him get heavier as she opens the door "come on, just a few more steps, I can't carry you" he nods, they make their way to her bed and she lays him down. He grunts in pain again weakly so he closes his eyes. She gets water in a pail and a piece of soft cloth. She feels his forehead with her hand, as expected he's burning up. She replaces her hand with the cloth earning wince from him. "It's okey"
She gets another pail and cloth to clean the blood off his face. He lips part slightly to reveal pearly whites teeth with the incisors and canine in a straight arrangement not curved. Anan finds this oddly attractive. She dabs the blood out of his hair as much as she can. Remember how much pain he seemed to be in she checks around his body for fractures just as her mama had thought her.

He winces as she touches the third rib, she then proceeds to clean his chest off the blood revealing gashes and lots of bruises "What happened to you?" she whispers to no one in particular. She picks up one of her skirt and rips it apart to make a bandage to mend the fracture. As he makes no sounds she assumes he's passed out, she changes the cloth on his brow then leaves him to rest.

Over the next few days all he does is drink water and sleep. Anan takes note however that Black doesn't like him, she attributes it to the fact that non of the villagers has ever been nice to him so he's just defensive.
Anan leaves her cottage to harvest some berries for supper. She walks into her hut to find him sitted on her bed staring off into space.
"Hi" she sets down the basket full of berries carefully.
"Hi" he looks at her with sorrow in his eyes masked by a slight smile.
"How do you feel?"
"Good, thank you" he answers
"Are you hungry" she walks towards him "I have roasts and fruits"
"No thank you"
"What happened to you" she stands in front of him.
"My village got raided, everyone was killed, everything was burned to the ground" he glances at her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know" she wonders if he would be like the rest of the villagers. Perhaps he would forget about her, or she could finally have a friend.
"I'm kind of an outcast here so it'd be better if you pretend you never met me or say I was mean to you, you'll get accepted"

"Why you seem like a nice person" he looks at her.
She smiles "you should rest, I'll see you tomorrow" she returns to feed Black who won't go close to him. She then bundles up with her head on Black's stomach and goes to sleep.

****
Morning arrives just as fast as the night did Black wakes her up with the usual morning licks, she wakes up and begins to prepare breakfast.
"How do you that" he asks.
"What?" she looks up at him from her pot of soup.
"Aren't you cold?" he asks.
"You are better" she answers referring to his not so pale skin.
"I'm sore" he stands up causing her to notice just how tall he is and also the several bruises on his face "thank you for helping me"
"You're welcome, you should probably find some help else where, I'm kinda going to be bad luck to you" she says this seemingly selfless while she selfishly wants him to stay so she won't be so alone.
"Why?" he asks.
"Do you want some breakfast" she offers him a bowl of soup. His eyes flash with horror as he looks into the bowl, he brings up his hand to his mouth trying to swallow the bile rising up in his throat.
"Are you okey" Anan quickly drops the bowl and rushes to his side.
"I had never seen so much death, the children" he says as she supports him to sit "my mother" he whispers as tears roll down his eyes "they where cannibals" he coughs "I'm gonna be sick" he stands up and rushes out, more like stumble out. Next she hears him retch on end as theirs nothing but bile to throw up. After a while it stops but he doesn't come back in, she decides it's best to give him space and time. A whole while later, after Anan prepares a veggie meal for him he comes in with blood shut eyes.

"You know you never told me your name" she starts.
"They call me Seth" he hangs around at the door.
"I'm Anan" she answers setting the meal on the floor.
"Anan?" he questions.
"It's short for Anantiya" she looks up at him happy to have company.
"No it's a strange name"
"It's only fitting don't you think" she looks around.
He smiles, a one sided smile, that of amusement.
"You need to eat something or else you won't heal" she sits down.
"I think I can stomach that" he sits in front of her "do you mind if I stay here for a while, until I know what to do"
"I don't but.."
"Why" he cuts her off.
"Look at me, my hair, my eyes, my lips. I'm different"
"I think they are all just really jealouse" he compliments with a smirk.
"I wish" she mumbles handing him a plate "are you okey"
"Yes, I just don't think I'm ready to see people yet"
"I understand" she eats with her hands as all the cutlery left by her Mama is broken.
They eat in silence then she does the dishes. Black returns with a rabbit to top up on their reserve. By night she stays out with Black to watch the stars unknown to her that Seth is staring at her from the door, he looks on as the gentle night air whips around her white hair against Black's fur, dark as a moonless night.

His lips curl up in a sinister smile as watches her. "You are more beautiful than I saw " he speaks to himself as his eyes flash crimson.