It never grew terribly warm out in the northern country. Even though it was the start of summer, there was a strange chill in the air all throughout the evening. Being in the woods made it worse, having to find the occasional patches of sunlight to warm my face with. I’d been out hunting all day and only managed to score two rabbits. As I made my home with my bow slung over one shoulder and my kills on the other, I heard a strange noise further ahead. Worried about spooking another hunter’s kill, I approached as carefully as possible.
“I told you to stay out of our way. We’re not looking to adopt diseased rats like yourself.” Came a deep man’s voice.
I pressed my back against a tree and peered around it slowly as he spoke. There was a tall figure wearing a large fur cloak, and he was looking down at something. With a little more stretching, I saw who it was. A small girl with shocking pale skin, dressed in tattered clothing. There was mud around her feet, clearly she’d not been inside a house in ages.
“But the ones that killed my family were enemies of your house! Doesn’t that make you want to take me out of vengeance at the least?” The girl pleaded, shaking her arms at her side.
“If our enemies step on a rat, we don’t take it’s litter with us out of spite. You’ve got the blood of wild beasts in you more than human blood, we don’t need some stray following us around anymore. Try to enter our residence again and you’ll be tied to a stake outside. Do you understand?”
“But I—!”
“I won’t repeat myself, and I refuse to stay here longer. The folks here leave a bad taste in my mouth...” The man muttered before disappearing out into the thicker woods.
Hiding back behind the tree properly, I put a hand on my chin and thought on the conversation some. There was talk about a new nobleman and his family moving nearby, and those are the only folks I could think of who would talk about families like that. But even if it was them, then I didn’t get the girl wanting to join them, as well as stating the family had some enemies.
Before I could get much further down my trail of thought, the girl started crying. I let out a sigh to myself and pulled out from behind the tree. She was slumped down on her knees in the dirt, and she only noticed that I was there a few steps away. Her head snapped towards me with a small growl and I had to hold my hands up.
“Easy there. Didn’t mean to surprise you or anything. What are you doing by yourself out here?” I asked, trying not to scare her.
If I hadn’t heard her speak just a while ago, I might’ve thought she was feral. She looked at me like I was a wild dog, even as she scattered back on her hand and knees before glaring up at me. Getting down on one knee, I set my bow down on the ground.
“Come on, you’ve got to be freezing with that stuff on. Do you have somewhere you can stay?”
“What do you care?” She hissed back.
“I just happened to overhear a bit of... well, whatever that was. Seemed like you got kicked out of wherever you were trying to stay. I can’t say I really relate to that feeling, but I’d be pretty heartless to leave you out here when I’ve got a free bed.”
Her eyes felt more chilling than the wind; it was like they held the glow of fresh snow upon the ground. After staring for a few seconds, her stomach grumbled and she clutched her sides. I held out my hand towards her as diplomatically as I could muster, and she thankfully took it without more struggle. We both got up on our feet and I headed back in the direction of my cabin.
I wonder if she’ll mind having to eat mostly meat. Haven’t gotten crops yet from the local market, and all I’ve got fresh is some venison. I thought to myself. She seems like a good enough kid though. Damn nobles, thinking they can treat others however they want just cause they have some land in their pockets. I ought to see if she’s got any family nearby to take her in, assuming they’re not the ones that kicked her out.
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“By the way, my name is Leo. Yours?” I asked, turning back to her for a second.
“Senna. That’s the only name I’ve got left now, I suppose.” She said more to herself than me.
There wasn’t much of a walk left, but it seemed to stretch on longer than normal. Every step gave me this strange sensation that something was watching me. I stopped to look around a few times, but I had to play it off so I didn’t scare her. When I finally got home, I hurried to open the door and usher her inside. She hesitate to go in, even as I held the door open.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“...This better not be a trick of some kind. I know how to defend myself!”
“Er, right... would you rather step inside first? Long as you don’t mess around with my stuff, you can poke around if you want. Not sure what you’re expecting to find, but I’m just trying to give you some shelter.”
She finally entered my house and looked all around. Her steps were so light I could hardly hear them, even being right next to her. When I closed the door she grumbled, but I wasn’t going to let it get too cold in here. Tossing a few logs in the fireplace, I started a small flame to heat things up. Despite getting it nice and warm, she seemed even more scared of it than the house. Not wanting to pry too much, I set about cooking some food for the both of us.
“Apologies if what I’ve got isn’t exactly up to your standards. I don’t have any vegetables at the moment, but I do have some meat. Got any preference for how it’s cooked?” I asked, placing two pieces in a pan over the flames.
“...Raw?”
“I think you mean rare. Guessing you do actually come from a noble family then, huh? I’d say you were feral or something, but you’ve got too fancy of an accent for that. Some kind of money or power struggle got you kicked out?” I asked, turning back to her while they cooked.
Her eyes were locked on one of my hatchets. There was a bit of dried blood on it since I hadn’t cleaned it after I skinned a catch yesterday. Unlike most of when we were talking, she had a softer look on her face. Here eyes weren’t as sharp, but they unnerved me just a little bit. It took a few seconds to break out of her small trance, but she acted like no time had passed at all.
“A power struggle is good way to put it. My family is gone, and now I’ve just got to find another one willing to take me in.”
“Jeez, bit of a cold way of putting it don’t you think? You should give yourself a little time to grieve over things. Rushing from one family to the next is just going to mess with your heart. Why don’t you stay here for a bit, we’ll get you some clothes tomorrow, and you can think over what you should do?” I offered, checking one of the pieces of venison and pulling the pan off the heat.
“W-What makes you think I’d want to stay here?!” She shouted back, making me jump and nearly drop the pan.
“Calm down! I just meant you shouldn’t be wandering the woods in rags like that, it’s not good for your health or your safety. Not saying you have to or anything, considering it is kind of a risk on both our parts, but I just felt obliged to lend a hand.”
“...Fine. Can I have some of the meat now? I haven’t fed in a while.”
Fed? I guess that’s the fancy way of wording it these days. I thought to myself while I placed the extra rare piece of meat in front of her.
I returned to the fire and cooked mine for a few more minutes. Even over the crackling of the fire and sizzle of the meat, I could hear her sloppy consumption. I glanced back around and she was more of just gnawing on the piece. A little embarrassed, I just kept to my own food. Once it was cooked to a more reasonable color, I took it back to the table. Her piece was already gone, and she was licking the drippings from the plate as I sat down.
“Guess you were hungry, huh?” I asked with a small laugh, cutting into my own.
She used some of the rags from her chest to wipe the excess of her lips and then fell back with a small pout. I had to eat mostly in silence, though occasionally she would perk her ears up and look out the window. After the first few times it hit me that she must be looking up at the moon. I finished my food and took the dinnerware away from the table.
“You keep checking the moon. I’m not keeping you from anything am I?”
“No, it’s just... I haven’t seen it full like that in a while. It makes me feel nervous for some reason.” She said before slouching on the table. “Maybe I’ve got some bad memory of it and can’t remember what happened. Then again, I guess I could just be getting paranoid...”
Setting them down in the washing tray, I moved back to her side. For someone living on their own outside, she had a shockingly pale complexion to her skin. Her hair seemed exceptionally silky as well, almost like it had been meticulously washed despite her destitute state. Almost hypnotically, I reached my hand out and gave it a gentle pat. The girl shiver and knocked my hand away before moving back like she did when I first met her.
“Calm down, was just trying to comfort you a little.” I said, holding up both of my hands defensively.
“You should only pat my head if I tell you to do so!”
“Uh.... right, sorry about that. I was going to get ready for bed, you should probably do the same. The only other bed is more for a kid, but I think you should have no trouble fitting.”
“Hmpf! Despite the appearance of my size, you should know that I only have poor posture from having to hide in the wilderness recently. To be more accurate, I might even be your height!”
I paused and looked down at her, holding the bedroom door open. Even as she stood up and turned her nose up at me, there was a good few inches of difference between us. Not wanting to make her angrier already, I just let her statement hang in the air. After a bit of fuss, she admitted that the smaller bed was enough, and sat down on the edge of it.
With my own night clothes on, I climbed under the linen covers and rested my head on the pillow. I found myself tossing and turning for a few minutes, worried that she might do something while I was asleep. Opening one eye, I saw she was near the window. There was a small piece of something in her hand, which she read by the moonlight. A part of me wanted to ask about it, but I thought it better to leave for tomorrow morning instead.
Closing my eyes, I turned my back to her and fell asleep for the night. My sleep felt very deep, keeping me from even dreaming. Still, it’s odd I was so relaxed with a stranger in the room.