"..."
A silence hit harder than any sword; it was harsher than any wind. Noen just sat there, looking up at the sky alongside him. Her heartbeat pulsed weakly one last time before it went still; rain poured over.
As each drop fizzled the blood stuck upon the ground.
"I couldn't save her," he said, voice hoarse, while a drop of tear fell from his eyes, slowly sliding down his cheeks, but rain, it hid under the droplets of water.
It got heavier with his emotions; slowly and slowly, the hope was gone, and
His face was just devoid, a poster with no colour, sitting in silence while his body gave up; his last strength held him for a while, but it wasn't long.
Thud* he collapsed, water splattered, and the rain kept falling over.
Two bodies lay still, one burning with life, the other just a pale shell.
"..."
Lub dub… lub dub.. Lub! Huff huff huff, slow beating of heart echoed, someone panting as if woken from death, she jolted up with a slight pain in her chest before a mouthful of blood came from her mouth, coughing vigorously, taking a deep breath as if she hadn't breathed for years.
The rain was still heavy, the wind flew by, and trees rustled where, between the pool of water mixed with blood and the muddy ground, two people sat, one fallen down, one gasping for air.
Sera looked in a direction still hazy, trying to recover her memory of what had happened, how she was here? Her eyes still shocked, scared from the feeling of near death, hands shaking, but soon the strength that was holding her vanished, her body finally recovered just fell into silence.
Both lay on the ground completely soaked, but then a slow footstep echoed, steps calm, but water, it gave away his presence, moving toward the two humans fallen like a dead body.
It slightly glanced from its hood a black appearance, a cloak on its back, and a mask hanging over its face, but it was rather odd that the mask looked made of bone.
A crow mask it is, it tilted over looking at them with a mysterious gaze, an oddity that was hard to explain. It silently put a rough paper on the ground, coated with a mysterious substance.
And soon after, it vanished under the haze of falling rain.
***
Cold winds, night sky, the sound of chirping of small insects, and small fireflies flying over, making the place look surreal under the bright red moonlight.
But somewhere between, a moment occurred, something similar to a presence, as if a shadow was waking up.
It was none other than Sera who just woke up completely soaked, yet looking much better than her previous pale appearance. She glanced sideways, trying to fit pieces of everything, but like a missing piece in her mind, something clicked, remembering someone, she gasped for breath, and looked for Noen shouting.
"Mister!"
Her eyes teared up, scared, but that fear vanished, and calm flushed over her face. Glancing down, she noticed Noen sleeping or unconscious? But she knew he was alive.
She looked at him, her eyes affectionate? Her pupils pinpricked as suddenly she moved closer, an inch before she suddenly stopped her hand sliding over his neck, where noen slept still unmoving like a giant log.
He was completely naked as a realization hit her, and an embarrassment flushed over she screamed, "ahhhh!"
The sound echoed throughout the forest, which even made the insects go silent.
***
After a while of calming her heart, she glanced at him again, slightly blushing, her heart beating, seeing his muscular body standing like a statue in a museum, but minding her thoughts, she went near a fallen tree, everything was crushed, but somewhere near, she saw a completely fine leaf, it was huge, larger than her face.
She just took it, dragging it and throwing it on his pelvis like it would cover it and save her from more embarrassment.
And after that, she just started dragging.
"Eeeeehuf huf"
"Why is he so heavy she commented, bending down on her knees, sulking, but then after a moment she tried again, and again.
Until, after a min or so, she finally dragged him across the ground while his face and front just rubbed over, carrying his legs on his shoulder. She dragged him all the way to the stone remains, where they made their first camp.
But behind, till she reached there, the whole ground was covered in a trail of blood.
She screamed again, moving closer to his face, mumbling "sorry" over and over before she looked at his rubbed face that was covered in blood. She jumped back with a short scream.
But came back soon, just turning his head away, not to scare herself again.
In distance, the trail of his blood slowly faded as Sera looked at it in confusion, but ignored it, turning back to try to start the campfire and dry herself before she catches a cold.
As her clothes were drenched and her body was getting cold from the wind.
***
She sat near the campfire, covered in a few pieces of fabric, while her other clothes dried on a nearby stone.
The night was bright, stars hung over, filled with a deep blue hue of the dark sky, a giant red moon at its centre. She sat silently, looking at the burning cinders where Noen was still unconscious, covered with multiple leaves.
A mumble echoed, a calm female voice, and a beautiful face staring at him.
"Isn't the moon beautiful?" she said. "It's sad you aren't awake to see it…"
She looked at the fire, slightly down her eyes, numb as she sat, bending her knees.
"Do you know when I was unconscious, I had a dream, a dream of my mother"
"I was happy.. But."
A silence held longer before she continued, "In that dream, my mom was far away till she left me in that house alone."
A tear fell down as if unconsciously; she was crying. A saddened heart ached in her chest. Holding it, she said,
"I still wonder wh-why she left me alone there, I spent years waiting in that same house in the hope she'd come back…"
She turned back at him, face cold, covered in tears.
"I had lost hope, but then I found you in a forest, and just took you home. I don't know why, but you felt the same"
"I never thought I could see the outside world again— cause i was scared…"
Sniffle sniffle…
"Thank you." she said in a low voice, crying, her voice cracking, but a bright smile was on her face.
"Thank you for being with me— i-i don't want to be alone ever again."
She clenched her teeth, trying to calm herself down, her eyes teary, looking at him in glistening eyes…
"
***