The familiar large green leaf, the one I'd been given twice now. I looked back up towards the little girl and stared intently. Her eyes looked human, her skin was deathly pale and almost mask like. The green hair, if it really was naturally green, was thin and looked to be styled in a strange manner. I couldn't see anything beyond that, the cloak over her head blocking out too many features from being seeing, and the darkness of the world only accentuating that fact.

"Eat, no?" She repeated herself. I nodded and looked back towards the meat. I was still hungry, the amount of food I'd eaten wasn't enough to fill me, although it was enough to keep me going, and any food would be helpful. Picking up the leaf along with the meat still on it, placing the leaf on my bad hand I tried to think of a way to eat it without making a mess of myself in front of this being. Whatever she was.

Although she's probably already seen me at my worse. Looking over at her, the same expressionless face, albeit her eyes aren't so wide anymore, I judged it'll be fine to eat it as I normally did. But some amount of politeness is necessary, I tried pushing the meat a bit on the leaf so that I could bite it while it was still on the leaf. Attempting to take a chunk out of it, the method works. I repeated the motion until there was no more meat left, the spirit, faery? Whatever she was, watched my silently eat the entire time.

"Good," she said. What now? I placed the leaf back on the ground, she watched me do so but didn't move to retrieve it. Guess she didn't want the leaf, it was just a leaf after all.

We stared at each for a while, not doing or saying anything.

"You hurt? Hurt me? You no hurt me?" She says, pointing at herself and then at me whenever necessary. I shook my head, and she nodded.

"Good."

She walked deeper into the shelter and sat herself inside. She was an arms distance away from me, if I wanted to grab her I could. Although she wouldn't be able to do the same to me as her arms were too short. She kept her gaze trained on the ground below us, on the grayish walk. The spear resting on her lap, and her hands to her side as if she were ready to grab something. A knife most likely. It doesn't take a genius to realize she was wary of me.

I turned my gaze away from her given that she wasn't staring at me any longer. Staring excessively was rude. We stayed like this for what felt like hours. Perhaps hours had actually passed, the rain didn't let up and the sky was still dark. Looks like I'm going to have to sleep here tonight, thankfully I've been fed by this creature next to me. What did she want from me anyway. I glanced over to her and saw that she hadn't moved from her position the entire time, her eyes trained on a single spot in the ground. She'd blink sometimes, the only sign of her still being alive.

There's a level of silence I could handle. This was starting to surpass that level, by a massive margin.

Finally she glances at me as well. We held eye contact for a while. Turning her face, towards me, she stares at me unblinking. No emotions running through her face. Just those green eyes that almost feel unnaturally green, and that skin that looked as if she were dead.

"Attie," she points at me. She knew my name. Not bothering to ask, since I couldn't, I nodded. She points at herself and says, "Ard."

So she's Ard? Doesn't that mean tall? She calls herself tall? She's pretty short for being tall.

"Understand? Me, Ard." I nodded. She really wanted me to answer. "Me feed you. Ard feed you. You no hurt Ard?"

I shook my head. What did she think I was? Why was she making so certain I wouldn't hurt her? As far as I'm aware she's my savior, or at least someone who'd help me.

"Good. Then, change topic. Ard cast magic, Attie stay still. Understand?" I hesitated for a long while. My nerves tell me I should say no, don't trust strangers for anything. Perhaps all this was a long and elaborate ploy for this moment. But on the other hand, why would she wait until now to cast the spell? Why would she need my permission anyway? My head is telling me no but my heart is telling me to trust her, for now.

I nodded.

"Good. Stay still," Ard got up and tentatively walked towards me, her right hand still on her hip. I nodded and let her walk close to me. She stopped a couple steps away from me, close enough to touch me with her short arms. Which she did, casting some sort of spell that I couldn't tell the structure of. At all. Blues, a light blue, being the only thing I could see. She tapped my forehead with her finger, and nodded. Then she returned to her position, not turning around. Keeping her eyes trained on me, she didn't turn away until she had sat down again.

"That's better. I don't know your language well, and speaking like a baby isn't the best way of communicating. You understand me, yes?"

What? What'd she do? This is the voice I recognize, that oddly feminine voice. Not precisely childish, not precisely mature, a voice all of its own. I nodded, too dumbstruck to do anything but. Without turning her gaze away from the floor, she continued to talk.

"Good. As I said, I've fed and even healed you. I've protected you from the stray predator, and I've saved your life from your own folly. You remember the girl you fought two days ago, yes? When you were on the brink of death, I saved you. And when you ignited yourself on fire with that white flame, I was the one who taught you what to do. Understand this more than anything, I am not going to hurt you. Nod if you understand."

She looked my way and waited for my response. I nodded my head, and touched my maimed hand in silence.

"I had made a vow to see the trodding spirits, the group the girl had made a deal with, would see their word through. But in order to do that, I need your... word? You can't speak. Your acknowledgment, then, and agreement to my words. You, Attie, will loyally follow me and my words and will do me no physical arm."

"Do you agree?"

What?

"Stop contorting your face around. Do you agree?"

No. I have no way to verify her words, why would I so easily trust her just because she fed me? Did she think I'm a wild animal, that the only thing needed to gain my trust was to feed me? Was that why she placed so much emphasis on her feeding me? That wasn't enough. But healing me, and protecting me from predators, that I can more or less verify had happened given that I've not seen any animals bigger than a squirrel for a while now. And that my arms and wounds had healed before. I can accept her having healed me of my burn wounds, but I can't be sure she healed me from Brenna's attacks.

"Well?"

I didn't respond. Just continued to look at her. She betrayed no emotions, keeping her own eyes on mine. Blinking occasionally. Outside of the precise truthfulness of her words I didn't have much reason to not believe in this girl. I knew her voice, and I know what kinds of foods she presented me with. I didn't like the intrusions of privacy but outside of that, I can listen and abide to her for a while. Until I get a bearing on my condition, I can listen. I nodded.

She nodded back at me, staring at something in the air I couldn't see, and turned her face back to the rock below. I guess she's done.

"That cloak is yours now. It was just recently finished, forgive me for not giving it to you sooner. Although perhaps that was for the better, considering what you did last night," she says. Without turning away from the rock, she continued. Does she not like eye contact? I can understand that somewhat. I crawl over to the cloak and pick it up. Very finely made, felt to be the same material as what my tunic was made of. I put it on, and it seemed to fit me nearly perfectly. A bit small. Why was she giving me so much stuff? I looked over at the little girl and noted she didn't have her hands on her hips, even though I had to pass by her in picking up the cloak. I returned to my spot and looked out into the forest, watching the rain abuse the trees.

"In truth I don't entirely know what is happening to you," Ard began, "but I have enough of a sense to know how to make sure you don't kill yourself. And, I wasn't the one who healed your hand. It healed by itself, and without cutting off your arm from the elbow down and regrowing it, it's going to be stuck horribly scarred. Sorry."

Ard is saying a lot of unbelievable things as if they were nothing to glance at. Normally I wouldn't expect the arm to be healed, especially not 'by itself,' and my arm growing back is sleep talk. This doesn't feel real.

"We'll explore it together. For now let's sit and wait for the sky to not drop so much water. I have no magic to help with that, either."

I nodded.

We stayed in silence. The sound of rain continuing, the rock all around us protecting us from the worst of nature's might. The little creature next to me didn't mind the silence this time, and neither did I. Eventually the rain let up, the sun past noon and entering his transition into evening. The colors of the sky still blue, but the dark clouds had made their way towards someplace else. Here they no longer felt the need to rule us in tyranny.

The faery got up and walked outside, looking as if staying still had done nothing to stop her ability to move. I soon followed, stretching my limbs for a bit. She watched quietly, not looking as if she had a care in the world. She really was short. She barely stood to the middle of my chest, and I wasn't fully grown. Many women were still taller than me. Her face didn't look like a child's, but her proportions were somewhat reminiscent of one. Perhaps I should treat her as an adult?

"Follow me, fathach, you've barely travelled throughout your little journey. Running out into the forest and away from your people shocked me, but more than that your lack of will to survive is troublesome. What am I to do with you?"

I looked away from the little faery, in shame but mostly in embarrassment. I don't know what took me, what convinced me that the first sign of resistance was enough to justify not trying. The creeping void no longer ate at my stomach, and I now had the will and energy to do what it takes to survive.

"You may kill yourself once I'm done with you. For now, follow me. Do not give mind to the destination, I want you to walk without anything in your mind," finally she began walking. Her cloak still covering the majority of her hair, I guess she didn't mind having it over her head still. Droplets of water might fall from trees, so it's not a bad idea to keep it high. But my own cloak hadn't a hood, so I didn't have that privilege. Trailing along behind her, we walked for a long while.

The ground was wet, and with wet ground came wet feet. Even with shoes the leather would be bypassed and the moisture let in. Very uncomfortable, but it's not something I hadn't experienced before. I just had to grit through it for today, not let it get to me too much.

Shiny ground, the water had been more or less drunk into the ground. Even now I wouldn't be able to find a source of water. What a shame.

---

Ard's POV

---

The boy is a crybaby. He had run away from a threat, the leader of the large fathach group had threatened to kill him. I sensed barely contained bloodlust from that large man, and had my spear ready to throw in case I couldn't reach the boy in time. Luckily, for me at least, the boy decided to run. Deep into the forest he ran, for what felt like hours surely for him. Hours would be appropriate, he ran until his legs could no longer send him forward with great speed, and then continued to run, panting and gasping for breath until he finally collapsed.

Fathachs aren't particularly fast or nimble, I could run after them fairly easily. Perhaps their bodies are too large and heavy, running through the forest is incredibly difficult for them. This also served me well, as I only had to make sure I wasn't noticed by the boy, not exert myself. An easy task, he was too focused on pathetically running away. Without a tunic, either. Didn't think to put it back on? How moronic.

At least he had grit. He ran for a long time, even I had begun to get tired, or more appropiately, bored, before finally collapsing. From there he stared into the blue sky until it almost became night. Perhaps he had overworked himself. Would he need me to feed and cloth him? I didn't think I'd have to take care of a child. Oh well, more work for the mórán back home. It's a new task, they shouldn't complain so much.

Eventually he had begun to start moving again. Looking around, I imagine he decided he needed to find shelter. Which he eventually did, a pathetic one within the shallow depression of a fallen tree. He sat within it, very little ceremony involved, and stayed, shivering, alone for the rest of his night. It was at this point the spell, or perhaps more aptly the curse, the trodding spirits had placed on the boy had begun to work its true magic. Perhaps he didn't fall asleep in fear of nightmares, of what that curse would bring. I didn't stick around for long, leaving a ward around the general area I headed back to my mother tree.

Telling the mórán of the things necessary for his continued existence, they readily agreed to making the fabrics for him. Or rather, to making the clothes, since they already had fabric on hand. They always did. I'd need to go hunting, to catch something before morning. Or would small game be better? I don't know how much the fathach boy eats, I do know they eat a massive amount. What do they do with the amount of food I see them normally eat? Does it all just go out the other end?

A question for another time.

Deer. Long, elegant, too much meat. Perfect for a fathach. I'd have enough meat to last him days, hopefully. I don't know how much he eats. I had a tag on a group of them already, I only need to cast a light tracking spell and I'll know their general location. Life in the forest is rather boring when all you've got to interact with are the two móráns, it's good to explore a little and waste time tagging everything and everyone. All the móráns talk about is plants, rocks, wood, and their squirrels. How can they find so much pleasure from such meaningless work? Why do they barely move? They're more like the mother tree themselves.

No, deer, not móráns. They don't feel far. Maybe an hour's travel? That should be plenty of time. The moon was transitioning from night to day, the halfway point of its travel has already been surpassed. I'd have more than a couple of hours, and that'd be enough.

Heading out away from the mother tree I headed to the direction of where my tracking spell told me they would be. Through the dark night, which wasn't much of a problem for me, running on the ground and trying to keep a pace both fast but not exhaustive. I'd have to carry the meat back, and it should take me a long while to do so. At least four hours, considering how far this deer is and how much I can carry on each trip.

Perhaps I wouldn't be able to feed the boy come morning. He can survive a day without eating, I think. I hope. Fathachs aren't so weak as to die from that, are they? I'll hope not. Eventually I spotted the deer I was looking for, a small pack of five does browsing and eating whatever foliage they can find within twigs and branches. I slowed my movements and silently made my way towards them. I could wait for them to come to me, but I don't want to waste too much time.

Coming close to about forty feet of them, I positioned my spear in the overhand position and waited for the right moment. Steadying my breathing, activating the runes within my spear for a soundless flight, I held my breath and threw the spear as hard as I could towards the closest one. Aiming to pierce its heart, or if not then its lungs would be fine, I threw towards the shoulder blade and waited for the spear to piece through its flesh.

The spear did, and it hit precisely where I wanted it to go. It should've pierced the heart. The deer exploded into movement, not going very far before suddenly falling into the ground and from there remaining motionless. Good, now all I have to do is dress it, wait for the blood to drain out, then bring it back to the mother tree.

Once the field dress was done with, and being absolutely certain not to get any blood on my cloak by taking it off, I headed to a stream to wash the blood off of my hands. I'd have free time, but not long, so I stood and watched the moon move through the sky. There's not much else to do, after all. Eventually the blood was drained out enough, and although it would be ideal to let the carcass age, I didn't have the time to do that.

Butchering the deer, only keeping the meat, and running back and forth between it and the mother tree took three trips. In all, by the time I've prepared a chunk of the meat for the boy it was well past morning. Not afternoon, but getting close to it. I'd need to find him again, but I also had a tag on him. I'll figure out what he's doing before I prepare for him anything.

The constant running was starting to get to me. He was much closer to the mother tree than he should've been, a bit farther away than where the deer had been but running all the way towards where we were rather than any other direction surely was more than a coincidence. Regardless, I found the boy heading towards the direction of a wild apple tree. Surely he isn't going to ruin all my work just by chance? That can't happen. It might be petty, but I need the boy to owe me, and to know he owes me.

Rotting the fruits from the tree would be easy. All I needed to was to be close enough to it and force the life away from the fruits and into the tree once again. The tree can't complain to me, it'd be getting the energy it invested more or less back. It would take a while, not enough time to completely ruin all the fruits, but enough time make most fruits inedible.

Eventually the boy came, his eyes widening and his face breaking into one of those face contortions the fathachs are wont to do at the sight of the tree. He looked rugged, tired, and sleep deprived, I could feel it from the aura alone. I guess he really did stay awake the entire night, poor kid. Of course, he found no fruits to eat. And in response he beat the tree with a stick he picked up off the ground, perhaps hoping to discipline it. I've found physically abusing trees to only be useful when asserting dominance, I'm not sure the fathach boy knew what he was doing.

He gave up at one point and walked away, slouched and looking miserable. Good, it'd be easy to convince him to sleep with some charms and suggestions. Turns out, it took much less than I expected to have him lay down next to a tree and sleep. I waited ten minutes for him to fall into a deep enough sleep in order to ensure he doesn't wake up from me stealing his waterskin. I'm going to need it, and I don't want to put more work on my móráns by making a new one when he already had a waterskin.

Bringing him water and food, I waited throughout the day for the right opportunity to greet him. He ate messily, greedily, and drank in the same fashion. That I do know isn't a custom of the fathachs, just the boy being sloppy.

A day had passed, and I had trapped the boy in a charm, directing him away from any animals or fruits and berries, even a water stream at one point. I could sense his frustration, but forgive me, boy. I need you to rely on me. Go to sleep, I'll provide you once again with food in the morning.

That night he slept under a tree once again, and caught fire. Through what means I didn't know, but the boy has finally resolved himself to suicide. A little suggestion on what to do if he regretted his actions was all I could offer. The trodding spirits were torturing him from within, neither did the purpose of such actions did I know, but it seemed to trigger something within him. New growth, his spirit started to consume his flesh, manifesting within a flame. The boy needed to accept it back within himself, to not break his body.

Luckily he did. My word could still be kept, then, and the boy would still live.

All I didn't plan for was the surprise meeting, while bringing him a cloak and another slice of the meat he had jolted awake. I thought he was asleep, but it turns out the boy had more of a will of resistance than I thought. Did last night's event change him? Regardless, fathachs are scary. And big. And unpredictable. And foreign, I didn't want to meet one now. My heart wasn't ready.