Fantasy Forest 3: Ressurection

12. Claws

Seally treated Demetri's wound slowly and with very little care. It was my belief that it hurt very much but if that was true then Demetri didn't show it as he bit his lip and remained silent. After a couple of minutes he leaned forward to Seally and whispered loud enough for me to hear.

"Why is a human here?" He asked, the curiosity dripping from his voice.

"She's mine." Seally stated blankly.

"Your friend?" The cat man asked.

"She's mine." Seally repeated as he took a moment to look back at me from where I stood across the room. I was taking Seally's advice not to get to close. Demetri seemed friendly but those long claws of his made me uneasy.

"Are you some sort of cat monster?" I asked him before realizing that perhaps asking such a thing was rude.

"Sorta." He said. "There isn't really an exact name for it but human terms you would probably call me a lion."

"You look nothing like a lion." Seally retorted.

"I could be a lion if I wanted to be!" Demetri argued and Seally sort of smirked in a condescending manor as he finished wrapping the wound on his arm.

"Don't let this guy trick you." Seally said as he turned to me. "He's nothing better than a house cat." This statement seemed to anger Demetri as he growled deeply in a way that was not at all like a simple house cat. HIs voice echoed through the room and seemed to imbed itself in my chest. Seally ignored him as he stood up and wiped the blood off his arms with a rag. "Are we done?" Seally asked him.

"Are you kicking me out?" Demetri asked.

"Yes."

"How cruel." Demetri said as he stood up and stretched out his arms. "Do you not see how dark and scary it is out there? On top of that I'm still injured. Can't you just let me stay here one night?"

"No."

"Ill sleep in the kitchen."

"No."

"Ill be gone before you get up."

"No."

"Dude, why are you being such a hard ass?" Demetri asked and in that second I realized that the only reason he was probably denying his friend was because I was here, because he thought I was afraid. I admit that Demetri's long claws did make me anxious but I was not afraid. Thinking this I went over to Seally and whispered in his ear.

"Cant you let him stay?" I asked and Seally looked at me surprised, probably both from the question and the sudden close proximity.

"Why?" He asked.

"I would feel bad if he got hurt again." I answered honestly and Seally seemed to accept this as he mused over the decision.

"You can sleep in the kitchen." Seally said at last and Demetri smiled as he flashed me a thankful look.

"You won't even know I'm here." He said as he disappeared down the hall. Now it was just Seally and I and the sound of the crickets outside.

"Is he a friend of yours?" I asked him.

"Sorta.." Seally mumbled. His mood seemed foul so I didn't press the subject. "You should go back to bed." He said and I nodded as I walked back up the stairs with him towards the room I had been but before I got there he stopped me. "Not there." He said. I looked back at him and he gestured towards his room.

"You want me to sleep in your room?" I asked, surprised.

"My room is quite large. You can sleep on the bed and I'll sleep on the couch." He said and then he waited for me to agree and when I didn't automatically agree and follow him he frowned and brushed some hair out of his as he looked down at the floor. "I don't want you being alone with that guy in the house." He answered honestly and I paused before nodding. I realized that I had forced Seally into letting Demetri stay and now he was regretting it so if sleeping with him in his room made him feel batter about the whole thing than that was just what I would have to do. 

I followed Seally into his room which was, just as he said, quite large. There was a big king sized bed on one wall along with a dresser, a desk, and a couch with a small seating area. Seally walked over to the couch and laid down as he breathed out a long and tired sigh.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly as he looked back at me.

"What for?" He asked, sounding somewhat surprised.

"For forcing you into letting him stay. You obviously know him better than me and you weren't comfortable with it but I kind of guilted you into it so I'm sorry." 

For a second Seally stared at me. In the dim light of the room his face had a usual expression that I hadn't seen before. He seemed confused yet at the same time he looked almost happy.

"Thanks." He said at last as he looked away from me and laid his head back down on the couch. I took this as my signal to end the conversation so I walked over and climbed into his bed. It felt weird sleeping in such an insanely large bed by myself but I pushed that feeling aside for now as I pulled the covers up over my shoulders. I don't even remember falling asleep but when I next opened my eyes it was light out and I could hear the sound of birds. I sat up and looked around the room but Seally wasn't there. I walked out of the room and back to my previous room where I found my clothes. I put them on and as I did so I saw my phone on the bed with a message flashing on the screen. It was Talia asking me where I was and what had happened to me. I realized that what she had seen that morning with Seally and I must have seemed odd and she had probably been chewing on it all night. For a second I thought I should answer her honestly but then I realized just how big a freakout she would have if I told her I was in a castle in the woods with a monster child. Slowly I put my phone back in my pocket. I would talk to her when I got back to town. Hopefully very soon.