Confrontation

Is he honest now? It seems so sincere, I had no idea that Harry thought of me this way. It feels so warm, fuzzy, like feathers tickling my insides brushing the cold pain away. And the hug, its embrace is utterly calming, I could almost fall asleep like this, no I probably can, but I shouldn't, not right now at least. *Ouch!*

"Khat, what's wrong?" The brand, that crimson bell it's stinging again, it is so sudden.

"The mark... it stings like it's heating up." The deep blue in Harry's eye seems to narrow in worry.

"Has this happened before?" Before the only times are when...

"During my visions when something... when I get seen, or before something bad happens." No, that sound, that deep inhumane growl, seemingly rising from the ground itself, right there beyond the door, the exact same one from my visions. Harry... what should we do? What can we do?

"Shit... It probably picked up my scent."

"Harry..." His gaze, he's trying to mask the worry from me, but I know when I see it. When his pupil dilates slightly and small drops of sweat gather right beneath the bangs.

"Stay here, do not make a sound."

"But."

"Shh!" Harry's heading towards the door with muffled steps, I must try to stop him, but my body still feels faint, will we be ok? It swings open quietly and like that Harry's gone and I'm left in silence except for that deep vibration of hostility.

Minutes have passed on the clocks needle fingers, the growling has stopped, it was sudden but now it is just complete and enveloping silence. Pressing against the sounds of my heart and muffled breaths... Will it start again? Did Harry kill it or is Harry right now... No don't think like that, everything else has been fine after all, he is fine... but he was already hurt and he looked worried. My heart feels like it's being clenched by an unseen hand, a hand cold and uncaring, ready to squeeze. A few more minutes have passed, was that a grunt I just heard? Did something just break this stillness, the door, the handle is turning, it is opening... A hand, dyed in red, even splattered over the leather mask peeking through, the left arm limp, dripping with viscous crimson pouring from three open gashes.

"Harry! Bandages, do we have bandages?" The air fills with the thick stench of iron. I need to help him, I need to.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, it is in my bag in the corner. Just sit still, you still need to rest up."

"But, your arm its..."

"Not too deep, it will be fine in about a week. Just relax, I will take care of it." But... it's still dripping, staining the wooden floorboards in its shade, I should trust him, this is not the first time he's hurt... not the first time he has made one of those things go away either. I should do as I'm told, just lay back, relax, maybe I should catch up on that book, I'm not exactly sleepy, but I need to stay occupied. Where did I put it again? Oh, right here by the bedside.

"when showing her the incomplete journal that I'm currently holding, she chuckled some times skimming through the contents within and as she put it down she told me with a smirk over her strangely timeless face that she had a story for me, one that would span over several years." There it is, that strange timeless lady was about to tell him a story right? Something about her childhood with the Muinntir Coille? I wonder what that is.

"She stated that it started when she was only a mere seven winters of age, due to a great famine in her hometown of Willowick her parents took her out to the forest of Willsburrow under the pretense of hunting but left her there, alone and abandoned." My heart, the thoughts of parents abandoning their own children it makes my stomach turn, I don't like it, what if... no with what I've been told that will never happen.

"As the cruelty sat in she was forced to find some sort of shelter for the coming night, and out in the wild at that time of year, the sun tends to set quickly, even within all the uncertainty and fear she pressed on. Shivering from the creeping cold, not knowing what was were she kept walking in hope for something that could save her from the quickly dawning darkness." Turn page.

"How far are you right now?" Harry, the bleeding has stopped but the half-covered bandages on the left are still steeped in red, I wonder if he'll truly be ok.

"A bit, I'm honestly not sure but it's so interesting, the person who wrote these really cherished stories passed from people to people. I wonder just how many more he got to gather."

"Anything that stands out to you so far?" He seems curious.

"The stories surrounding the forest king, and there is one more that got me wondering, something about Muinntir Coille, I'm not sure what it is yet but I cant wait to find out." His eye seems puzzled about something unplaceable.

"The forest king huh? I think I've heard some stories while growing up." I wonder which one those were.

"Maybe we'll share the stories we know later." The hand grazing against my cheek feels warm, cozy, it is making my wings flutter a bit, I must make sure they don't mess up the bedsheets too much.

"Yeah, I think we'll do just that, I'll leave you to your reading. I'll take a bit of a rest before night comes." Always so caring... where would I ever have been without you.

"She eventually came across a narrow cave splitting through an overgrown wall of stone, fearing what could come she headed inside hugging the moist moss dragged across a slightly jagged stone wall, she used the wall as a guide as she headed in deep enough where the cold winds rustling from the trees and the panting of nocturnal predators could not reach her. Wet hungry and alone, yet she was not freezing, there was somehow a warm gust emanating from somewhere unseen in front. And there little Ruth spotted it, a pleasant beckoning disembodied hue floating in front, turning the black to the soft colors of trees and moss, and from it came voices, boisterous laughing voices conversing in a language she had never heard or would ever hear again. And with that, she let go of the wall she leaned on and headed straight into its mystical embrace."