Zanian

Aurio

She looks up, grinning a little.  “I guess so.  Well, the cloth on your eyes make you look mysterious.  So a threatening-ness - I don’t know where I stand with that...” she said. I nodded, fiddling with the knot at the back of my head. "There's always a story, miss. Always." He muttered.

•••
(POV-Aurio-age 10)

I ran through the trees, tears sliding down my cheeks. I had headphones and my phone in my hand, covering my eyes with my hands. I'm cursed with these stupid eyes! I cried out in my mind, falling to my knees in the forest. There I sat for hours, sobbing into my hands. That's when I thought of an idea. I quickly tore off the bottom of my white shirt, keeping my eyes down. After making it a long strip of fabric, I tie it around my head, wrapping it multiple times around my eyes. I sat there after that, calming myself down.

Soon enough I heard footsteps, footsteps of something big. I love behind a tree, shivering at the thought of it being a cop or the CIA. I see the hooded figure stop, his face covered by his hood. I start shaking, covering my mouth. He surveyed the area, looking menacing. I blinked, my breath coming out ragged. He sighed. "Hello, is anyone out there?" He called out. I wimper, my hands moving to the knot behind my head. "Please, stay away!" I shouted, ducking deeper into the brush.

“Hm?”  He mumbles, coming closer.  “I do not wish to hurt you.  What are you doing out here?” he asked in my direction. I was ready to unravel my cloth as I cursed this day. "I-I don't trust you!" I shout, scooting back. The stranger puts on a slight grin as he sighs.  “I have heard that a lot.  I promise no harm.  You do not have to show yourself, I just wish to know why you are out here.”  He says calmly, kneeling down to the brush I was in. I forced myself to stop shaking, my hand slowly moving away from the knot. "T-There are people after me. People that want to kill me. They're after me because I killed people." I whispered softly.

He sighs.  “Mm.  Is it to do with that cloth around your eyes?”  He asks, staying a comfortable distance away to seem less harmful. I jumped, realizing he could see me. Slowly coming out of the brush, I nodded, fiddling with my hands. "Y-Yes." I stuttered out. The stranger grins a little bit more.  “Well, I am not after you.  If I were, I probably would have murdered you, but instead I decided to sit here in an attempt to calm you down.” He joked. I nervously looked down, shivering. "Y-Yeah... I can see that. I'm not very strong." I muttered.

He looks at me cautiously, then pulls his hood off.  “Well, if you believe you are weak, then I can aid in protecting you.  If you wish for that.” he soothed. I jumped at his appearance. He had the head of a wolf, no neck to attach the head to it's body. I shutter at the sight, but decided that I'm in no place to judge. He was offering me help. I nodded. "Yes, yes that would do. What's your name?" I asked. He nods.  “My appearance can be a little off putting...I am Damon.  And you are...?”  Damon replies confidently. I nodded. "Aurio." I said simply.

Damon nods, pushing himself to stand at his full height.  “I have not heard a name like that.  It has a certain...ring, to it.” he said. I laughed, no longer fearing him. "It's definitely unique, right? But the same can be said about your name." I shot back. Damon grins.  “Yes, Damon is not an every day name.  But it is more common than Aurio.”  He teases, looking down. I grin. "I'm just unique, that's it!" I defended myself with a laugh. Suddenly shouts rise from the woods around us and I recognized them.

The police.

Panic rose in my throat and it started getting impossible to breath. I reached for the knot in the back of my head, my hands shaking. "They're here." I rasped. Damon sighs, pulling his hood on and nudging Aurio behind him.  “Here.  I can deal with them.”  He growls, hands bursting into flames. I shivered. "No, please. I've seen enough death for today." I whispered. "Don't kill them. They have families, wives." I pleased to him. Damon seems surprised, cocking his head.  He sighs, snuffing the flames.  “Then we have two choices.  We run, or we try to reason.” he suggested.

I shook my head. "They won't reason. I've tried, and they nearly killed me. Running is no good either. They have us surrounded." I thought out loud, trying to find a solution. “Well, I am not surrendering, so I will either fight or run.”  Damon growls softly, looking around at the shouting voices. I gulped, thinking fast. "I have an idea. Come on, follow me." I hissed and raced to a tree, climbing as fast as I could. Damon follows, climbing up with ease without rushing too quickly.

Once we made it to the top, I surveyed the area. They formed a circle around us, quickly closing in on our tree. I sighed, turning to Damon. "Heh, nice meeting you. If I don't make it, then fight your way out." I said quickly before jumping off silently. The tree was tall enough where I would die if I land. Damon watches after me, looking on in awe as I fell, not saying anything. I grasp a vine from one of the trees, dodging their bullets that were meant to kill.

I quickly swung onto a branch, racing along it. A bullet plunged into my arm and another plunging into my leg, but I kept running. I couldn't afford to stop. I saw Damon jump down, killing some as he did. It no longer was a big concern for me. I collasped, falling off the branch as more bullets hit me. They rushed at me, their guns at the back of my head. I wasn't as fearful as I thought I should be.

Instead, I laughed weakly, black spots in my vision. "Kill me, I have nothing else to live for." I muttered. Suddenly Damon starts walking up, his hands up. "Oi!" He shouts. This confused me. Is he doing that for me? "You idiot, run!" I shout. They jabbed a gun in the back of my head. "Shoot him, now!" One shouts. I cringed, waiting for the bullet and the pain. But it never came. Damon rushes towards the one with the gun, burning through his body and slicing him in half.  “Anyone else?”  He says, turning.

I blinked. Was he... Protecting me? I undo the knot in the back of my head, trying to unwrap it quickly. They started to shout at each other before aiming their guns at Damon, ready to fire. I finally got the cloth off wrapping it around my hand. I growled, looking at them. They all started to shout in pain, dropping their guns. Their shouts die down as one by one, they dropped the the ground, a river of red flowing from their mouths. I shield my eyes from Damon, making sure he couldn't see them.

Damon looks away at the same time, making sure to place my eyes as clearly out of his vision as possible. I sighed, wrapping my eyes back up after they were all dead.  After I tied the last knot, I collasped on the ground, coughing up blood. "I'm sorry." I wimpered. Damon kneels down beside him.  “What is there to be sorry about...?”  He whispers. I laughed, coughing up more blood. "That... That I did that. That you had to do that." I say weakly before passing out. I wasn't scared of him leaving me there. I was scared of what I did.