Some Wings Must Bleed

Chapter 10 - Lost Horse Arc

Walking up the hill and noticing that Kouta was nowhere to be seen, I turned back to the hunter.

Why is he just standing there with wide eyes?

"Hey, blondie, where's your horse?"

Kurapika snapped out of whatever he was daydreaming about and looked up to me. "Oh, I couldn't get him to move, so I just ran here."

NANI?!?

"You, ran here?"

"... Yes."

"... Good lord."

. . .

Walking back took longer than expected, and by the time we had reached the village again it was already dark. Upon arriving to the stables I saw Katashi snorting unhappily at a worker. "Katashi! I left you in town, didn't I! I'm sincerely sorry." I said, walking up to the horse and petting his nose.

Katashi snorted again and I giggled, handing an apple to the horse. "Excuse me, I don't suppose you found another Clydesdale in town, did you?" I asked the worker at the stable.

"No, I didn't. The only reason I brought Katashi here was because I was already on my way to work." He replied, shoveling hay into the stalls.

"Very well. I'll be taking Katashi out for a bit. Kurapika, get on." I said, mounting the horse and waiting as Kurapika sat himself behind me.

We rode out of stables and to town once again, following the same road to Kenta's house as we did earlier. We sat in a comfortable silence for a bit until Kurapika spoke. "Are you going to do anything about Kenta? Do you wish for me to do something?"

"No, he was right. I stepped out of line. I always let my temper get in the way..."

"I respect your decision, but please know that if I ever see him lay a hand on you again, there will be consequences." Kurapika stated, his voice telling me not to argue.

"Geez, consequences? You sound so dark..." I mumbled, knowing well that he could hear me.

"I'm just doing my job. Besides, the way he treats you when he thinks no one is around is disgraceful."

I laughed softly. "He treats me very well compared to other men from the village. Not many are wealthy enough to speak to a Princess, but the ones who aren't? They're..." I paused.

Let's just change the subject.

"You pretend to be all civil, but you're actually incredibly emotional, aren't you Kurapika? I can tell you have another side to you that you try so hard so cover up." I observed cheekily, turning my head to look back at the blonde.

"What do you mean by that?!" He questioned.

I giggled at his defensive response. "Geez blondie, it's not an insult! All I'm saying is you feel things hard, just like me! The difference is I wear my emotions on my sleeve and you keep everything to yourself. Nonetheless, being emotional helps with communicating, so it's starting to make sense why such a monotone person is such a natural at connecting to animals."

"... Did you just call me monotone?"

"It's nothing I haven't said before..."