'That every long lost dream led me to where you are

Others who broke my heart, they were like Northern stars

Pointing me on my way into your loving arms

This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you'

Nonetheless, my next words breaking the silence in a gasp were quick to remind me that even if meteors may have shone for a second, they always crashed, and as my gaze came back down to the slopping path, my heart plummeted like a meteorite there.

"Oh no!"

I froze all my movements at the sight my flashlight illuminated: a little trembling ball of fur, and when I took in the stain of red, my whole body dissolved to nothing, but not in the good way from a few minutes before.

I didn't know how I was still standing, and it surely had to do with the hand holding mine and the strong chest I could feel against my back. But anyway, it wasn't my preoccupation as I quickly ran the light and my gaze all over the dark tuft, and once more, I quickly understood everything without words when I met those two gleaming black orbs staring at me from under a line of white hair.

It was a baby raccoon full of emotions I was too familiar with: pain, fear, and powerlessness.

I risked a slow step towards it, and as its only movement was more shakes, it confirmed what I'd supposed. It should have run, and it meant it was hurt.

From closer, I also recognized the unmistakable form of the wound. There were no claws or teeth marks.

"Oh no, it got shot. Those inhuman hunters, how can they hurt innocent lives?" I tried to keep my voice low to not scare the poor little raccoon more, but I could feel the energy coming back in my veins through boiling anger.

"And then they call us the murderers..." Blade was still holding firmly my hand, kneeling beside me when I did, and as I glanced at him, I could catch the deep frown shadowing his gaze almost as much as the little animal's black mask of fur in front of us. "It looks superficial, the bullet probably just grazed it. It'll heal."

"But it can't move, and if it stays here defenseless..."

"Yeah, it'll make an easy prey," he took over my cracking voice, as he was much more used to those sharp words, though it was the first time I didn't find any rolling syllable in his tone, and with the deadly echo of his words, I was sure even the little raccoon could hear it.

"No!" I exclaimed a little too loudly, making the raccoon squeal a sound that resembled my protest, and I was quick to lower my voice, turning back to its little onyx eyes. "We won't let that happen, don't worry, little baby."

It squealed again, but this time, I was sure it sounded more like an agreement.

"Give me the bag," I told Blade, keeping my focus on the little raccoon, which seemed to shake less.

"What–"

"Give me the bag," I repeated, not letting him question, though I was still surprised when he complied and gave it to me silently.

I could feel two pairs of curious eyes on me as I was searching through the large bag, but I didn't stop. When I was driven by the loud beats of my heart, I was a shooting star, and when I pulled out leftover crackers from our picnic, Blade's question didn't even slow me down.

"What the– are you crazy?"

My hand had already advanced towards the raccoon, putting the cracker in front of its small front paws, and I only stopped to watch its reaction, holding my breath.

The silence was so loud that it felt like none of us was breathing, and when it grabbed the cracker, and soon, a faint crunch filled the silence, a whiff of air tickled the side of my neck.

I didn't turn my attention away from the hungry little ball of fur though, and as it already finished the last crumbs, I put another cracker, this time, slightly farther away.

"Smart." Blade's breath tingled my neck again, and I was actually impressed by his patience tonight.

He'd told me he could be patient, yet for everything that had happened on this unusual date, it was still impressive. 

Was this little cuddly toy softening his sharp armor? It could have been because my own heart was melting into a puddle of adoration when the raccoon extended its little paws, trying to reach for the cracker and its eyes turned more glimmering, fixing me with a pleading stare.

With all the 'unsaid' emotions they'd been through tonight, it was a miracle my muscles still propelled me forward to grab the cracker, and this time, I didn't pull my hand away.

"You're crazy! It can bite you, it's a wild animal."

I had to hold back my giggles when the 'wild animal' tickled the palm of my hand, and even more when it purred under the strokes of my other hand.

"It's a wild and hurt animal, but it just needs to see he can trust us," I pointed out, although I still wasn't breathing as I slowly grabbed its small body to pull it to me, and when it snuggled closer in my arms and a low, familiar chuckle echoed around, my chest filled with both explosions of warm fur and sparks, everything as soft as the little baby in my arms.

Even Blade's chuckle sounded softer, and it drew my gaze back to him.

I wanted to see his eyes as he looked at this innocent and fragile life, and I discovered a new shade of crystalline, as mystical but maybe softer, as his gaze flickered between the raccoon and me.

"Do you do this often?" He leaned closer, his left hand pointing to the wild animal in my arms, though not touching it.

"Rescuing animals? Um... sometimes..." I pulled my lips to the side, my eyes going the opposite way. "I rescued birds, cats, a duck, a fox... and maybe a few others." I stopped my listing as I could feel his eyebrows lifting more and more, yet his 'you're crazy' stayed near his dimple; it didn't need words.

"And you'll rescue this one?"

"Yes, it can't move. It's still young and lost." I glanced down at the little raccoon, barely bigger than a cuddly toy in my embrace, and the way it curled up in my bent elbow like a baby, hiding half of its black and white face under the leather, made the answer easy.

Although I still exposed my arguments almost automatically, "I don't see or hear its mom, and it looks like it's been here for quite some time." My gaze flickered quickly to the dried blood near its right leg, surely from a few hours before, and my head snapped up even faster upon that thought. 

"Oh no, do you think it's heard us?"

I didn't know why I asked this to Blade, nor why my aghast eyes searched for his because the mischievous sparkle coming back in the blue shades was worse than his rasped words.

"Dorothea, the whole wildlife of the area has heard your moans... from miles around."

"We traumatized a poor baby!" My hand flew over my open mouth as I risked a glance at the poor baby, which seemed to blink at me judgingly.

"Maybe that's why it's so calm. It thinks you're its mom with the screams you've made."

I was torn between narrowing my eyes at his smug grin or widening them in horror, and in-between no word came out of my agape mouth.

I would pretend it was because I didn't want to disturb again the raccoon, whose eyelids were slowly growing heavier, and not because I had no voice left.

I was quick to get up, turning away and hiding my burning freckles, as I feared they would light up in the dimness.

"And how will you do with your raccoon baby on the bike?" Blade caught up with me, thankfully dropping the previous subject of my squealing moans, almost too easily, and I knew he was saving it for later.

"It'll be fine." I softly caressed its little head, and as it purred again, his eyes staying closed, it was clear it had adopted me.

I just needed a name, and it came out naturally.

"Meteorite is courageous."

"Meteorite?" He asked through a sideways glance, and even though the squeak coming from under the left side of his jacket could have been my heart, it was the raccoon that apparently liked the sound of its name in Blade's contrasting voice as much as I did.

"Yes, because we found it after a meteor shower, like fallen from the sky."

Like a little gift from above.

"So you'll have a raccoon named Meteorite as a pet?" He shook his head the same way as when I'd danced and sung to 'Blue Moon' on our first encounter, when I'd jumped in excitement in front of his motorcycle, or when I'd shot with incredible 'beginner luck'.

"I told you I'm not ordinary." There was no heaviness in my words, neither in my shrug, as if this secret part of myself was slowly coming back to light freely.

Nothing could put it out, well, nothing, except someone...

"Um, about this..." I faced Blade as we arrived at his motorbike. "Could you take care of Meteorite for me?"

"Me?! Take care of this?" He pointed to the little ball of fur who had, of course, opened its tired eyes upon the loud gasp, while mine were pinching closed to not glimpse the large expanse of blue turning tempestuous, or worse: to a reflecting icy.

I gnawed on my lower lip as if to keep the words inside and make sure to weigh them before speaking. 'Taking care' was clearly not the best word to use with him.

"Yes, I can't come home with it. There's probably a war platoon waiting for me there."

I had left the house when the princess Daisy had been here, and I didn't even dare to think about the possibility they'd seen me on the motorcycle.

"I don't want to bring a poor innocent animal to this battlefield." I couldn't imagine the reaction of my mom if she saw it, and I instinctively squeezed my arms tighter around its tiny frame.

"I understand..."

I could already hear the 'but' following, surely the force of habit.

"But I don't know how to take care of another life."

But I hadn't expected this kind of argument.

"It's not complicated. You just give it a bowl of water, a few crackers, and a blanket to sleep on."

As if checking if it agreed, his piercing gaze flickered down to Meteorite, who stared back curiously at the inked finger he was still holding in the air.

"You sure?"

Because gestures were worth a thousand words, and especially they were easier to pass with Blade than the words coming to my mind, I did the same he'd done earlier tonight, and I passed my message as I grabbed his hand, closing slowly the distance separating it from Meteorite.

I could feel all the tensions at the new contact, not in Meteorite, but in Blade's hand. The same hand that had spun sharp knives was barely grazing the soft fur. Yet it wasn't because he was ready to jump back at any sudden movement of the wild animal. He was holding back; it was a faint nuance, but I could sense it under my fingerpads, as if he was afraid to hurt the fragile life under his hand, and I was sure Meteorite could feel more the thumps of my heart against my chest than Blade's touch.

It was surreal as my small hand guided his large one to brush the tiny head. It was a unique contrast, and even more when the rough skin progressively relaxed, diving further into the smooth fur.

"You see? It's easy." My fingers released their pressure, now tracing his inks more than anything else, and when a soft purr escaped Meteorite, there was no better argument.

I peered up just in time to catch the twitch of his dimple, and I wished I could have captured this moment in a bottle as the softness on his features was rarer than a shooting star.

"Water, crackers, and a blanket?" His gaze found mine, the rare phenomenon already disappearing into a smirk when he caught my stare, yet his eyes still shone as much as the starry sky.

"Yes." As he was still scratching the top of Meteorite's little head, something told me the baby raccoon would also receive a lot of care, if he accepted of course.

"Just for a night. I'll come pick it up tomorrow and clean its wound... once my parents can't see it. I think your uncle will be more understanding."

"If it comes from you, yes." He chuckled, and with how close we were, the sound engulfed me whole in warm tickles, and I couldn't hide the ones on my cheeks.

"And you... do you agree?"

He let out a heavy sigh, which surely would have been really convincing if he hadn't been still showering Meteorite with caresses and care.

"Okay, but just for a night." His pointed index finger traveled between Meteorite and me as we both squealed.

The raccoon was surely more frightened by my jump than anything else, but I still felt like it understood the emotions of this moment.

"When I say you both sound the same." The sharpness was back in his words, even if they still sounded too smoothly through his sly smile, and both Meteorite and I stayed silent in reply, ignoring his extended hand as I climbed on the motorcycle.

"We can put the raccoon in the luggage? There's enough air, and that way, it won't risk to jump if it's scared."

How could we stay mad? Meteorite squeaked as if understanding, or maybe just hearing the bangs of my heart.

"See, you know how to take care of it." I carefully grabbed Meteorite to put it in his large hands, and I would have been gloating about leaving him speechless like he'd done seconds ago to me, if I hadn't been too captivated by the contrasting sight of his inked fingers, which took lives away, now holding the fragile life like they had been made to protect it with all the care in the world.

Whose heart melted? 🥺😍 

And did you expect this? I told you my new character would steal hearts, so does Meteorite have your hearts? 😉🥺

Also, do you think Blade will be able to take care of this little baby?

We'll find out in the future chapters... In the meantime, don't forget to vote ⭐ and comment if you liked this chapter! Your comments are always the best, and you're as cute as Meteorite 🥰😘

PS: I just wanted to say, Blade is right about wild animals though. It's good to save and take care of them, but you gotta call professionals. We know by now that what Dorothy does aren't things to reproduce 😅