‘Is that what a human looked like?’ This was a question that first appeared in Larisa’s mind when she saw a visage of this person. She saw drawings of humans before and she was well acquainted with a reflection of herself. Whether it be on the surface of a pond or the steel of her dagger, that gave her somewhat of an idea of how she looked liked. However, this person seemed different in some way from the image she had of herself.

This human was smaller than Larisa and their hair was red as the late sunset. They lay down near a palm, clutching their uncovered leg and breathing heavily. They didn’t seem to notice Larisa, as she was partially covered by a thick, verdant bush.

Perfect moment to observe and judge this human.

At first, Larisa saw their blazing red hair. They were longer than Larisa’s, with a braid that seemed to reach their shoulder as they lay.

Their face was covered in dirt and drops of blood that seeped from small cuts on their cheeks and forehead adored their face in bloody freckles. They were sweating a lot, Larisa could see it as well as smell the heady musk permeating the air. They wore thick leathers, brown and plain, that were not very well taken care of. Many breaks were visible near the places where the leather was the most used, like the joints or near the neck and hips. Such a thing could easily kill you in this jungle. A brittle leather won’t stop a cienja’s sharp talon.

Other than that, Larisa noticed a dagger by this person's side. It was unsheathed and laid down next to their hip. The words Larisa heard the person speak before were coming down to a trickle. A whisper of begging and pleading for aid ran through this person’s lips, quieter, and quieter. It was a sign that Larisa had to decide if she should help them.

She tried to focus on this person’s feelings. Such things flew easily into the Essence if potent enough. Unfortunately for Larisa, there wasn’t much to feel out. This person had mundane deposits of Essence. A lot of darkness and spirit but not much else, and in little reserves. They might’ve fought their attacker before, so they probably used most of their Essence to scare the predator. Whatever the case might’ve been, Larisa decided to act.

She slowly emerged from behind the bush and put the arrow back in the quiver and the bow at her back. She took out boiled sabadyla petals and parietaria weed paste from her bandolier. One for the pain and the other for potential infections.

With the knowledge of what the creature was that attacked this human, Larisa would be able to decide if she could help this person at all.

The closer she got, the more the wound looked to be caused by two sharp talons. A basilisk wound, maybe? This human must’ve provoked one to end up like this.

The closer Larisa got, the more the human looked to be a female if the mounds on their chest were anything to go by. So, just like Larisa, this was a woman. How curious that they looked so different.

A loud rustle reverberated through the space when Larisa stepped on a dry shrub. The human woman’s eyes widened and focused on where Larisa stood. The Essence around was suddenly swollen with fear. The woman was terrified when she saw Larisa and her hand shot to the dagger by her side.

“Don’t come any closer, kur!” She screamed furiously.

Larisa stopped, from shock at the woman’s vitriol-full words, as well as her command. While Larisa was certain she could defend herself from this woman's now tightly gripped dagger, she did not want to take that chance. For all she knew, the blade could be poisoned.

The bleeding woman was scared and Larisa was unsure of how to proceed.

“You’re wounded.” Said Larisa. The woman did not relax, but some oppressing taste of fear in the Essence lessened somewhat. It trickled into weary anxiety.

“And what do you care?” Said the woman.

“I will help.” Larisa said while raising the two tubes of medicine that she took out of her bandolier.

“What? I don’t see anything. Are you with the expedition?” She asked hopefully. “I was sent here with a team of two. The damned captain didn’t brief us at all! I lost both Jul and Aran to those kurnet beasts! One got me right in the leg before I even realized the beast was close. Come here, captain has sent you?”

Stolen novel; please report.

A flood of words assaulted Larisa’s senses. She was able to understand some of it. That this woman thought that Larisa was someone else.

“I’m not of this captain,” Larisa admitted carefully. “You wanted help. I’ll help.”

“This makes no sense. Then who the Hal are you?!” She screamed yet again.

Larisa really did not like the screaming. It bothered her ears, which were mostly accustomed to the buzz of the jungle. An occasional threatening growl and high-pitched chirping as well.

Larisa decided to come closer, while also taking out her dark-seeing paste. When brushed around the eyes, the fumes helped to see in the dark. The woman could clearly use some. The sun was still halfway to set, and it would only get darker from here in such dense vegetation.

“I live here. Let me help.” Larisa said while kneeling some distance from the laying woman. Since the beginning of their conversation, the woman managed to up herself on one elbow, while still threatening Larisa with her dagger.

The woman lost some strength, Larisa could tell by her shaking hands.

“You try anything and I will kill you, kur. You understand?” She responded. Desperation overthrew the suspicion, it seemed.

“I do.” Larisa said swiftly. “You need to see. I will help you see.” The leaf tube, in which Larisa held her dark-seeing paste in, unfurled, and she put some of the dark and viscous substance on her two fingers. She then tried to paint it under the woman’s eyes.

The woman followed the movement of Larisa’s hand and flinched only briefly when she touched her dirt-covered face.

The skin underneath Larisa’s fingers was grimy with dirt and wet with blood and sweat. It was cold and soft under her touch. The woman’s eyes followed closely every movement Larisa made. The woman's eyes tried to pierce through the darkness to look at Larisa, but were unsuccessful. That was until Larisa finished painting under one eye. The pupil grew bigger and its blackness engulfed the woman’s grey-as-steel eyes.

They widened and another tremor of fear trickled into the Essence.

“There should be no humans in this jungle. What are you?” She flinched as Larisa started painting under the other eye, but she stayed in place.

“I am Larisa. I live here. Who are you?” When finished, Larisa put the tube back in her bandolier. She had to stop the bleeding now.

The wound was not as deep as Larisa first thought, but it was high on the thigh, which could prove troublesome if not taken care of properly.

It needed to be cleaned, and then Larisa had to put medicine on it and bind it until she’d find a solution to stitch it. There were a couple ideas that didn’t require a needle and yarn that she could think of.

“Larisa. That’s a Nacht name. You look like a nachtak.” The woman spoke again after a few moments of still silence. Larisa felt some fear disappear out of the Essence.

“I’m Farre, sergeant of the Ta.”

So her name was Farre. The rest she did not understand.

“I need to clean this wound. Stay still.” Larisa pulled out her water skin and then poured some water on the wound and cleaned it with her hand. There could be no dirt, rock or loose hair or the medicine would not work.

“Kura! That hurts!” The woman, Farre, did not move in spite of her protests. Around the cut, Larisa spotted many tiny scars, their shiny silvery hue contrasted strongly against Farre’s tan skin. It had a colour of hikora wood, warm tan shade. The books Larisa read described human skin colour to be light and creamy. Like Larisa’s.

“Are you a human?” Larisa asked. Farre probably was, but Larisa saw beasts in this jungle that looked human enough but weren’t. Like the sirens. They had faces similar to Larisa’s and the ones she saw drew in books, but they were clearly beasts, if the stench of the Wild was anything to go by. Farre was mundane, her Essence did not reek of a beast.

“Are you joking with me?” She said with a laugh. “You’re not, are you?” Then she added with a dose of seriousness. “You really live in this jungle, don’t you? You aren’t dressed like a Nacht soldier.”

“I do live here, and I need to tie this wound. You have cloth on you?” Larisa asked. The wound was not bleeding that profusely, but if left untied for longer, the recovery will be harsher.

“Cloth? Yeah. Yeah, I think I do. I did, anyway. I lost my pack when I was running. It should be somewhere this way.” Farre pointed to her left.

“Is it far?”

“I don’t know. I was running for a couple of minutes after the beast nicked me. It must’ve fallen off of me somewhen then.”

So, not that far. “I’ll go and look. Should take only a couple of minutes. Press the wound here.” Larisa pointed to the top of the wound that was bleeding the most.

“Hurry then.” Huffed Farre. Then Larisa went to look.