Lonely One

Chapter 5 - Healing Wounds

××Stormy××

I gritted back my anger at the horrid nickname and quickly spoke, "You can't follow me around forever." I reached forward, taking a step away from the wall, and tried snatching my bag from his grasp.

He smirked and pulled it back, watching me stumble forward.

"I'm immortal so I think I can," His smirk now showed unnaturally pointed teeth in a set of two on both sides. What a show off.

"I am too. Have fun wasting your life," I countered, sarcastically smiling back. That wasn't completely true, but I was going to run with the possible fact.

A small shocked expression invaded Nitons face, dropping his annoying smirk. That meant it was my turn to pull my mouth up into a smirk, happy to catch him off guard for once. It was nice to switch the game around.

I whistled, drawing Fallow to my side. With his help I was able to hobble over to a group of mushrooms I had noticed growing near the cave floor. If Niton wasn't going to give my backpack back, I was going to have to forage for food again. At least it would take my mind off the pain.

Niton stepped out of my way, watching me make the trek around and partially over the dead creature. It had turned an ashy grey color and its blood had begun to evaporate into the air, creating a pungent smell.

I could feel his gaze on the back of my head as I kneeled down to the ground. There were bright glowing mushrooms near the brown mushrooms I was going for. I made sure to steer clear of the clearly toxic plants as I picked the brown ones I knew were safe for consumption.

"Why don't you help me out instead of just standing there? I'll share my mushrooms with you," I offered, "Or you could give me back my bag."

"I don't need to eat," was his gruff reply. I rolled my eyes. That wasn't the answer I was looking for.

"First, you're immortal and now you don't need to eat. Sounds a lot like a demon to me." It was an absentminded comment but it must have hit a cord with him.

Silence was all that followed and I turned around quickly when I heard a loud thump. Niton was no longer standing in the cave with me and the monster was no longer resting near my feet.

I looked down at my mushroom filled hands and sighed. I scooted over on my knees, rubbing them uncomfortably against the rock ground and set them in a central area. I brushed the hair out of my eyes, feeling the sweat on my forehead begin to accumulate.

The poison in my bloodstream from that creature's burn was taking on a stronger effect than I hoped it would. I sat back, deciding to wait on making a fire. I needed to make sure my leg wasn't going to fall off first.

As I pulled up my pant leg, the distinct sound of boots hitting rock brought my head up. Niton stalked inside the cave, arms full of sticks and a couple bigger pieces of wood.

As Niton set the wood down near my mushrooms, my bag slipped off his shoulder and onto the ground near me. I glanced up but found his stoic face focused on building up the fire. My fingers found the fabric and I yanked it towards me.

After sticking my hand in the bag, I produced two sharp rocks. I began to move to lean over the fire but Niton snatched them from my grasp. I sighed and leaned back against the wall, going back to examining my injury. Niton was quick to strike the rocks together, igniting a much needed fire. It was getting too dark to see anything.

The skin around my ankle was bright red and swollen and all the veins near the area were dark. It didn't look good but at least my skin wasn't bubbling anymore.

"Can I see?" Niton questioned, sounding genuinely concerned. I narrowed my eyes but nodded anyway, removing my hands from the area as he knelt next to me.

His black as night eyes examined the wound with precision. I held my breath as he leaned forward and more into my personal space than I was comfortable with.

A yelp was forced from my throat when his hand came down on the injury with a slap. It brought the sting and burn back tenfold.

"That hurts!" I belted. My hands immediately found to his wrist and began pulling. I pried at his hand, yanking at his fingers in an attempt to make him stop, make him let go. The pain only grew the longer he kept his hand pressed down and the more I tried to move him, the more he tightened his grip.

"Stop!"

He let go as suddenly as he had grabbed on. The relief I felt from the action was so unbeleveivable it almost brought tears to my eyes.

I pulled my leg back, clutching it to my body protectively as I glared at him. I was met with an emotionless stare. I scooted to the side and away from him and when I felt I was far enough away, leaned down to look at the injury. My hair fell down around my face, covering my shocked expression.

It was practically gone. My skin around that area was slightly pink but the pain had dissapearered and everything else looked good as new.

"Thank you," I breathed. When no reply came, I glanced up through my hair.

Niton was gone.

I looked to Fallow who had his head up high, staring out the cave entrance, to the nighttime sky. Possibly seeing things that I could not.

I sighed, stood, and got the mushrooms ready to roast. I fished through my returned backpack and pulled out the wrapped up food Dew had gifted me. I unwrapped the corner and smiled when I saw it was sweet bread. It was her favorite.

I fixed up a makeshift spot to set them over the fire and placed them around the contraption. They roasted evenly, turning a darker brown color. They overtook the dying creature smell easily, allowing me to breathe without grimacing.

I divided them up and set Fallow's share down near where he had his head laid. I brought my own over to the side of the wall, sliding down the rocky wall to rest. I watched as Fallow peeked his eyes open at the smell of food near his face. They lit up in excitement and I couldn't help but chuckle as his long tongue lolled out of his mouth.

Niton may have healed me but I was still exhausted physically. Fallow propped his head up and began eating so I did as well. I would sleep after this and hopefully get an early start tomorrow.