I darted towards the scene as others fled, fear clear in their jerky, frantic movements. My heart pounded a thunderous beat, swift and unrelenting. I furiously blinked away the tears in my eyes, any feeling beyond exasperation having been lost to me. And when my vision cleared, my heart dropped to the floor.

Ziko lay on the ground, unharmed, his little body curled in a defensive position.

And there, a few feet away, fought our escort, the hound gnashing on his arm without any notice of stopping. The two rolled on the ground, further and further away; he was trying to lure the beast elsewhere, my dazed mind noticed with a start. An animalistic howl rung out through the night, just as I reached Ziko, swinging him into my arms before looking back for the shortest second.

The beast lay thrashing on the floor, the male's knee pressed to his stomach.

Run. No one cares for him. A cruel, serpentine part of me whispered. I squeezed my jaw hard, the tinge of pain enough to bring me back.

So I ran. Away, to the surrounding shops- one now open as a shelter. I bent down, leaving a short, whisper of a kiss on Ziko's head before hurtling out, towards the writhing animal, and towards the injured human that had saved my son's life.

"What are you-" his words fell short as I skid along the grass, adrenaline still at an all time high.

The male struggled to keep the large animal on the ground, as the dog continued to snap its teeth, too close to his face for comfort. I could make out the deathly luster of its fur, scintillating against the city lights. The desperation in its movements- desperation to kill, shed blood was an all too similar feeling. I looked into its eyes- an endless den of darkness and held myself from snarling back at it, at the thing that had the potential to easily rip open the throats of fully grown men, much less a helpless child. And for a moment, just a moment, I wondered if I was any better than this animal.

It's torso equalled the size of mine, I surveyed as I put weight on its left leg, easing onto its stomach with practiced patience. It snapped at me frenziedly- once- before large, tattooed hands encircled its snout, enclosing the sharp canines, coated with saliva and blood. Blood, splattered on its muzzle, heaving stomach, some on the nearby grass. My gaze followed the trail of red to a painfully marred forearm, inches from my face.

"Orias," my lips moved a fraction of an inch, almost imperceptible to the human eye. His gaze jumped to mine, just as I wondered at how foreign the name sounded on my tongue. I looked up at his face, grim with concentration, blood dripping down a scratch on his jaw. His eyes, full of relief, held mine.

Relief...relief for my son, I realized. Not for himself.

"Thank you," I whispered, words that I had not uttered in months- years. I dug my other knee in the ground, hard, the slight pain reeling me away from plunging into the intensity of his gaze once more. He tilted his chin down for a mere second, accepting the gratitude, still holding down the hound's continuously jolting hind legs. I only clenched my jaw, mind still running through all that could have gone wrong.

It didn't take long for a medical team to reach us, the lights and sirens so out of place in the peaceful city. I walked away from the scene, Ziko hanging quietly to me. I craned my neck, attempting to get a quick glance at his face, only to find his eyes still wide open, the events of the night obviously having left a permanent imprint in his mind. Tucking him securely into my lap, I slid the seat belt over both of us and watched, from afar, as Orias brushed away the help of the paramedics. After a quick pat down, he begrudgingly accepted bandages and limped over to the car. My eyes scanned the leg he was favoring, but could get nothing on the extent of the injury as he slipped into his own seat, shutting the door gently.

I threw countless glances at him throughout the drive, making sure he didn't slump over. My eye lingered on his wounded forearm, having stopped bleeding, but still looking painful. Humans and blood loss did not make a good duo, a lesson I'd learned quickly.

"I have a higher pain tolerance than you'd think, Rock," he cut off my train of thought, throwing me a side glance, "I'm fine."

I said nothing, only continued to stare ahead, rubbing soothing circles into Ziko's back until his eyes drifted shut for the night.

--

I brought the first aid kit to the bathroom- the bathroom which we'd have to share.

"It's unlocked," a rumbled reply came after I'd knocked. I inched the door open, slipping in quietly.

He'd cleaned the blood off of the wounds and I could now see the extent to which the dog had harmed him. The damage to his face was minimal, a lone superficial cut running down his right cheek. But the bite marks on his arm were a different story. They needed stitches, I could tell with one glance, as the brute had left multiple lesions.

My eyes snapped up when I noticed that he has stopped moving. Our gazes clashed in the mirror opposite us. I looked away, busying myself with the contents of the box.

"Does this happen often?" I asked, handing him an antiseptic. He took the pack and slumped over onto the closed toilet seat, making space between our bodies.

"No," he was quiet for a moment, "The mutt was specifically set free in that area. He was expected to fatally injure someone tonight." I held his gaze this time as he regarded me.

"You said you own a business?" he asked after a moment.

I nodded, indicating that he go on.

"Have any enemies I need to worry about?"

"No." my answer was firm, preventing the conversation from moving any further.

I watched silently as he slipped out the antiseptics. I made no move to help him, noting how he didn't flinch when the fluid soaked cloth hit his open wounds. Feeling that I had no need to stay, I turned and reached for the door.

"Mind if I shower?" he asked suddenly. I nodded- once- before locking the door behind me.

I didn't close my eyes until the water had stopped running. Until he had slipped out of the room. And until I had locked the door behind him- this time- for a whole different reason.

An hour later, I lay still, mind too preoccupied to find it in itself to allow me to sleep. I puffed out an exasperated breath before gently pushing away the covers and jumping out of the cocoon of heat offered by Ziko and the blanket.

My eyes took a minute to adjust to the soft lights illuminating the beige walls. I moved forward slowly, eyes scanning for the male, when the sound of hard breathing drifted into my ears. I halted, brows rising, mind persistent in running back to improper conclusions. A part of me wanting to turn back around and return to bed, but another pushed me to continue. That stubborn curiosity stuck to my conscience, fueling my steps as I padded down further, to find the male on his back, eyes closed with concentration...pushing up off the ground with his uninjured arm, over and over again. I shook my head at the risque thoughts racing through my head.

Nonetheless, my eyes lingered on his back, muscles straining incessantly under the white tee. He proceeded with his workout, not having heard my movements due to the buds plugged in his ears.

I made my way to the kitchen and returned with an unopened water bottle. I sat it down next to his hand before sliding down onto the floor without a word, leaning my head against the nearest column. A heavy exhaustion pulled at my limbs, yet sleep seemed persistent in running farther away from me as the minutes passed.

For the hundredth time, I asked myself what exactly I was doing here. Why, after all these years of being alone, was I finally feeling such desolation that it begged me to seek out a companion, someone to tell all that I'd been through. An image of Autumn flashed through my mind, but I quickly hauled it away. No more people put in danger, no more after Reya. Even her, my heart squeezed painfully. The thought of her would always drown me in remorse, and the fact that I could have done something never helped to lessen that guilt.

When I opened my eyes again, when I'd finally composed that rare sense of yearning, he'd stopped, and was now looking back at me. I looked back just as hard- no expression, no chance of cowering. He slipped off an earbud, and I glanced down at the blood which had seeped through his bandages.

For a moment, he said nothing, only continuing to pin me with a deliberative stare...and then his lips tilted up. I noted the way that slightest bit of a smile shifted his face- almost making him seem younger, more brash if that was even possible.

"You saved my ass today."

Ever the lady, I rolled my eyes, knowing nothing of the sort was true. He had the animal under control after the first few skirmishes; I'd only provided the smallest fraction of support.

Instead of continuing, he paused, eyes still trained on me. I could feel the question rising to his mouth before he had even begun to speak.

"You were comfortable out there," another pause, "no fear, nor hesitation."

I shrugged, "Self defense classes are considerably convenient," not giving a hint at the training I'd completed, had endured and survived through. I looked up to find him still staring, head tilted as if he'd caught the lie without much effort. Finally, he grunted in agreement, looking away.

After a few awkward seconds, he rose, rolling his neck a few times before throwing his head back and gulping down the water. Wordlessly, I slipped back into my room, grabbing the leftover bandages, only to come back and find him on the couch, uninjured arm thrown over his eyes. I whispered my intentions of changing his bandages, to which he nodded, obviously exhausted. I was done within a few minutes, having been exposed to the art of first aid early on.

"Thank you," he mumbled, then shifted, face turning away from me. A soft jingle met my ears as something slipped out of his pocket and onto the carpeted floor. I bent down to retrieve it for him. My fingers slid over cold metal, and I caught the small gadget in the palm of my hand. I squinted down at it, thinking, for a moment, that I was hallucinating.

The steel glinted in the light as a symbol came into focus. A symbol, letter, one I did not recognize. This tag- this same tag- I had seen it today...around the neck of a hound. 

And I could swear with my life, that it had been in that exact same spot before we had left the scene.

Thank you guys so, so much for being patient with me!!! I hope everyone's doing well!