Reflections of Light

Creeping Shadows

"It's not all my blood."

"That's not better! Sit down!" Nyx hissed, yanking him down into the chair at the kitchen table. Flustered, she set about finding a cloth to run under the tap. "You're an absolute mess. What happened?"

He ignored her, instead twisting his head to try and look at the slowly spreading bloodstain on the shredded fabric of his shirt shoulder; wincing just audibly as he did so, his eyes scrunching closed as his head lolled exhaustedly.

"Here." Nyx said, holding the damp cloth out towards him. "Try cleaning it with this. I can't even see where you're injured clearly."

Standing up out of the chair, he reached down and pulled the threadbare shirt over his head, before dropping back down into the seat and taking the cloth from her as he dropped the filthy clothing item on the table.
He wiped the blood from his skin with purpose, peering to look at the wound.

"... I'll... Get rid of this." Nyx said, trying not to look as she crossed the floor to carefully pick the discarded shirt up of the table and drop it into the sink.
"I probably wasn't the best person to come to, to be honest. All I can really do is clean it and bandage it."

"You're hardly going to take the chance to strike me down though, are you?"

For some reason the words sent a chill down her spine, even as she moved to reach the first aid kit in the cupboard. "Well that's... A decent rationale, I guess."

The words were barely out of her mouth when she heard him let out a hollow groan, turning around just in time to see him collapse forwards into his hands.
Swiftly, she scurried over, looking concerned. "Alright, alright. Let me look."

Pulling up a chair next to him, she sat on his injured side. Slowly, she reached out to manoeuvre him closer; and felt him tense as she placed a hand on his back.
Her eyes flicked to his still hidden face, his reaction suddenly making her nervous. "Is this alright?"

He stayed there; still and silent, the seconds ticking by on the nearby clock as the air settled heavy around them.

And then, she felt his muscles relax under her hand, as he gave a small nod; Nyx's unwittingly held breath taking that as a cue escape in a quiet sigh.
Steeling her nerves, she positioned herself to examine his injury; her eyes tracing over the jagged tears in his skin that even now still weeped blood. "Damn, you really sliced yourself up. Luckily though, I think they're pretty shallow. I've no medical training though, mind. How'd it happen?"

An almost derisive sound answered her question. "Got bored. Picked a fight."

"What even...? Why'd you do that?"

He shrugged, then made a sound of pain at the movement of his shoulder.

"Shh, easy now." Nyx soothed, taking the cloth and gently pressing it to the cuts in his skin. Then she removed it, giving the cloth an experimental squeeze. "This is not very warm. Hang on."

Getting up, she turned to the sink, washing out some of the grime before running it under the cold tap.

"It's worse at night."

Nyx stopped dead, eyes wide with puzzlement and again that irrational fear. Suddenly, she got the feeling of eyes on her; the feeling on the back of her neck of being watched- that he was watching her.
Carefully, she schooled her voice to stay conversational. "Oh yeah? What's worse at night?"

"It's louder at night. The night's quiet, and it's loud."

"It?" Nyx enquired carefully, tentatively approaching him once more.

"It. They. Him. Doesn't matter." He spat, looking off into the distance with hard eyes as if he could see the something Nyx could not.

Nyx's mouth fell into a slight 'oh', although no sound came out; her mind racing as to what he could mean by that. Tentatively, she approached him again, placing the now-warmed cloth gently against his injury; jumping slightly as she felt him flinch quite violently under her hands.

"Sorry! I should have warned you. Is it too hot? I did make it quite warm."

"He says things."

"Oh, You're still... Talking about that."  Nyx said cautiously, nervously nibbling her lip.

"Do you want to hear what he says?"

"Uh..." Nyx chuckled nervously. "Let's get done patching you up first, yeah? Priorities, you know?"

She reached her arm over his shoulder for the medical kit on the table, going to pick up the dressings; when she felt his fingers brush her arm.
Pausing with her arm in that outstretched position, she turned her gaze from the table to him; feeling the feather-light brush of his fingertips tracing lines up and down her arm- along the ride of one bone, and then the other; trailing down to the bracelet on her wrist and the faded scaring underneath, tracing the lines were the healing rune had once been.

"I want you to know."

His hand closed around her wrist.

Immediately, she froze, dropping the dressings reflexively as the position forced her close to him; her body thrumming with the sense of being in the sights of a predator.

Closing her eyes and taking a breath, she quashed her rising worry, and turned her head to meet his gaze. "Yes?"

There was something wrong with his eyes; his strange, bi-coloured eyes that she'd grown somehow used to seemed almost to be... Flickering; and yet that was not the right word.

She didn't know what she would call it, but it was something.

Creeping shadows. We're they newly risen, or had they'd always lay there, unseen till now?

And then he grinned. A wry, almost lopsided, handsome grin as he reached out an elegant finger to playfully tap her nose. "But not. Quite. Yet."

He released her arm then, her lack of expectation for it causing her to stumble a little.
He watched her with a slight smirk, wearing the amusement of a cat playing with a mouse.

Suddenly, his face screwed up in an expression of obvious torment, and once more he clutched his head in his hands, muttering viciously under his breath with curses enough to scar anyone's ears.

With sympathy in tongue and trepidation in her stomach, she dared broach him once more, raising her hand this time to his soft hair. "Hey..."

"It HURTS!" He roared, turning to her suddenly, his face an expression of desperation as he clutched at her forearms like a man desperately looking for a life raft; looking like he was wanting to cry, and yet no tears would come.

Surprised, she tried to pull out of his grip, but was yanked forwards between him and the table, practically onto his lap as he curled into her, burying his face in her shirt as he wrapped his arms immovably around her waist.

Stretching her right arm around his uninjured shoulder, she tangled her fingers in his hair, soothingly stroking the pale fronds.

"It's okay. I'm with you. I've got you."

But she couldn't stop herself shaking.

This turned out... Very different from the initial plan, but I'm impressed.
Whether you will be is a different matter XD
But I do believe I managed to convey a more deliciously sinister atmosphere this way, and the hard work paid off.
Sorry its a tad late though XD

Also, please let me know if the video works, I've been having some issues. :)