----.ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎.----
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
°･:*✧✧*:･ﾟ
:・ﾟ
･ﾟ✧
'

ㄥ|爪|ㄒㄥ乇丂丂

✧*:･ﾟ✧

ch⁴ - he wakes up

---.ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎.---

His dark, heavy gaze pierces into mine, and I am forced to drop mine to his lips, unable to withstand it's intensity. His eyes are like the endless, limitless dark space, yet the twinkles sparked by the reflection of the lamp in his eyes are like a million galaxies merged together to make one; whereas his lips are the reincarnation of a beautiful baby pink rose.

Watching my gaze falter from his, he loosens his hold on my wrist making me heave a sigh of relief, yet I'm pretty sure it's reddened furiously by now.

Lifting my eyes again to his, I find that even though the bruises are spread across his face, down to his neck and below, they can't seem to overshadow his beauty.

He is, by far the most handsome man I've seen.

He growls, lower by at least an octave, and he has all of my attention again.

"Who are you? Why am I here?" his voice is angelic, yet it sounds as if it is shaded by the devil; calming, yet daunting; smooth, yet rough.

He steps back a little, when he sees me holding my breath. Taking this opportunity, I try to step away from the wall, which proves to have me in a vulnerable position, but he immediately slaps his hand against the wall beside my head to stop me from moving away.

"I asked you w-" he abruptly pauses in his speech, grabbing his chest by his free hand, eyes squeezed shut and expressions twisted in extreme pain. Taking a step back with a stagger, he lets out a a deep groan, and then collapses to his knees.

I rush forward to help him, but I hault when he raises his palm, asking -no, ordering me to stay in my place with a glare. He drops his hand to the floor to balance himself, bending over even more, as if it would help him endure the pain.

The fracture.

I tilt my head for my eyes to have access to the injury on his chest, only to find the area around the bandages turning a painful red.

He's strained it. And he still is, with the current position of his body.

Carefully, I approach him, taking small steps. His head snaps from the ground to me, fixing his cold his on me.

"I told you to stay the fuck away!"

I flinch at his loud tone, fearful not only for myself, but also for waking my brother up. Things will turn worse, if we get caught by him.

I take in a deep breath, preparing myself for the next. My eyes soften when they fall on his miserable state, he's obviously in so much pain. I begin my little steps again, my empty hands raised in front of my chest, palms facing the front, to assure him that I am harmless.

"Please calm down, I'm here just to help you.", I try to sound as gentle as it is possible for me. It is important for him to not see me as a threat.

"I don't fucking need your help. I need to leave.", he snaps.

"You are very much free to leave at your will, just, let me treat you first. You won't be able to make it in this...state."
It is true. He is not in a shape to leave here through the night, it is not even in question. Though, I can understand why he wants to leave so bad, him being brought in an unknown place in an enemy territory, while being unconscious.

He squints his eyes in suspicion.

"And why would you help me? An enemy, must I mention?"

True again. Him being suspicious of my offer to help him is obvious. No one in their correct mind would do so, helping an enemy, nesting him in one's own house. Therefore, one can term my actions as foolish, treacherous.

Yet, I could not have helped the guilt I'd have on my conscience if he had died back there in the forest. The war was senseless in my opinion, too.

There had been another reason as to why I wanted to help and treat him, though I'm not so sure about it yet.

"I-I could not leave you to die back there in the woods. I'd just help you recover, it may take only a few weeks or so, and you can be on your way then."

By now, I am close enough to him to be able to touching him without reaching him arm too far out. I just need his trust on me. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done that a lot earlier.

A sigh leaves him, followed by a stifled groan.

"You don't know what you are doing, lady."

A smile curves my lips.

"I'm just helping a fellow human."

His eyes widen, as if my answer was unexpected to him, but his features twist in pain yet again for the umpteenth time, and I take this as a cue to reach out to help him.

I crouch to his level, reaching out for his arm, hesitation lacing my actions, which eventually fades away from his lack of rejection.

Putting his arm around my shoulder, I help him up, a louder groan leaving his lips. I carefully bring him back to the mattress, and lay him down with the utmost care, making sure to not hurt his injured self in any way.

Undoing his bandages across his chest, the sight of the swollen muscles greet me, and I wince, not being able to even imagine his pain.

The swelling needs ice.

He lays with his eyes closed shut in pain, his breathing heavier than before. What did he even do to have it in this condition?

"Uh,"

He opens his eyes to look at me.

"What? What is wrong?" he pants.

"It seems you have strained the area, thoroughly. You have fractured a rib, just so you are aware. Don't move so much, please, else, it'll get worse. Just...calm your breathing."

"Easy for you to say-ahh!"

"Please, just...listen to me, and breathe slowly and deeply. In, hold, then out, repeat this."

Doing so, I manage to get his breathing under control. He lays there, still, his eyes shut.

"Pardon me, but I need to get some ice for the swelling."

"Yes? So what? Get it then."

I hesitate.

"Don't leave, please."

He opens his eyes, annoyance written in them.

"Of course, I can't, as you can see. Now move, will you?"

His cold speech manages to pinch me in the heart, but I manage to nod. I get on my feet, and with one last glance at him, I make my way upstairs and out to get some frozen dew, thankful for the first time for nights to be cooler than the day.

✧*:･ﾟ✧

1130 words.

----.ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎ᴥ︎.----
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
°･:*✧✧*:･ﾟ
:・ﾟ
･ﾟ✧
'