//countryhuman stories\\

DenEst (goddess au) 2

Eventually, she moved her face out of his neck, rubbing her eye as she looked forwards, at the open field around them. Distantly, she could see a group of buildings, little dark silhouettes of cottages.

That must have been the village.

She let out a gentle breath as she rested her cheek against the young hunter's leather shoulder pad, looking up at his face again.

Funnily enough, she couldn't get tired of seeing him. The freckles seemed to interest her the most; perhaps none of the gods or goddesses— hell, even moons never had such a thing.

Den took no notice of her gaze, adjusting his hold on her so she was more facing him than outward, not wanting people to gawk and make her even more uncomfortable.

Thankfully, once they reached the village, Den made it to his house no problem. Of course, a few people cast them strange and curious looks, but no one said anything.

Once they were inside, Estonia breathed a breath of relief, already growing used to being close to the hunter, not wanting to let go of him.

Her gaze didn't pick up off his face.

"Why?" Her voice was soft, back to its normal tone. "...why did you help me?"

"Uh... well, why wouldn't I? Most people would help someone in need." He carefully set her down on a cushioned chair, arms a little tired from carrying her all that way.

Estonia let her hands run over the arms of the chair, gaze finally breaking from Denmark's face as she adjusted her seating.

Her gaze then went back up to his face, as if it was a magnet.

"You..." her voice trailed off, moving one of her hands to her lips. "I'm sorry. You must be tired. You should rest." She folded her hands on her lap, a small frown tugging at her lips.

He just shook his head, smiling at her. "I appreciate the concern, but I have good stamina. Are you hungry at all? Do you want some water?"

He went to the tap, taking a cup and filling it with water anyways.

As he went off, she looked around the room.

It was really cosy. A red, wool rug beneath her feet, a few decorations here and there and just generally warm. She shifted again in the seat.

She didn't belong here.

Watching as the glass was set down in front of her, she adjusted her white dress a tad, rubbing her sore eyes at the water. She then looked up at Den strangely, as if asking, 'what am I supposed to do with this?'

Despite the glance, she shifted closer to the glass of water, tipping her head tiredly as she viewed it, trying to observe if there was anything wrong with it— were there supposed to be creatures inside? Was this supposed to be some sort of remedy the humans used?

She was only used to water in its rawest form; from the lakes, from the rivers and streams, from the ocean. What did he want her to do with it? Show him magic?

Once he realized she was just looking at the water with confusion, he sighed softly, picking the glass up and putting it in her hand. "It's clean water. You drink it. People can't survive without drinking water, our bodies need it. Drink a little while I go check the bed, alright?" He needed to make sure Esti would fit comfortably there. He could sleep somewhere else.

She blinked up at him and then down at the water, hesitantly bringing it up to her lips and swallowing it.

It felt somewhat weird to be drinking what she was supposed to look after on the earth. But whatever. It was weird she was even down here in the first place.