"She's sure is.. uh..." Gwenmaris scratched his beard as he inspected the woman. She was sat on their log, Edan nearby smiling confidently in his decision, not a visible care for the tears in his armor, or that his right arm seemed to have gained more cracks. "You, sure ya good mate?"
"Oh, ya!" He gave an almost sparkling smile. "Never better!"
"Well. If yer sure." He turned back to the girl. "Hm.. don't seem injured. Sure issn one a us, though. What kinda thing are ya lass?"
"A fae." She said gently, though it felt more automatic than spoken like a lever pulled and a line spoken. Everyone, save for Edan, took an unconscious step back.
"Faerie..." The stout man muttered with no small amount of fright. His hand hovered near an iron dagger at his side, but Edan placed a hand on his shoulder softly.
"We are not to judge those for what they are, but who they are." Edan spoke with his regal voice for a moment, a quiet display that, in spite of the kind tone, any harm to this girl would be returned in magnitudes.
"But... Lad..." He glanced between them for a moment. "She be a Fae. They don't got souls or hearts like us."
Edan walked over, thinking as he knelt down to bring himself eye to eye with her. "Sea, was it?"
"Yes..." She said sheepishly. Her eyes slowly moved about, and Edan wasn't sure if she was drinking in the world for the first time or regaining a sense of bearing with where she was. Maybe even when she was.
"Don't worry. We won't let any harm come to ya." He gave a gentle smile to her as the girl's eyes lit up slightly. There was a soft and childish glow to them that nearly broke Edan's heart to think back on how he found her. "I promise, on my oath to the goddess, I shall do all in my power to protect you." She leaped at him from that, hugging tightly almost as a daughter would a father. She was rather short, so the image was not hard to discern.
"E...dan." She mumbled.
"Wow, Lad, practically like a little scamp of yer own!" Laughed Gwenmaris.
"Next thing you know, she will be calling him papa." Another muttered jokingly.
Edan just chuckled, stroking Sea's hair softly as she hugged a little closer. "Are you hungry, Sea?" She gave a soft nod, her stomach starting to bellow slightly with appetite to which a chorus followed of other's bellies.
"Lass is in good company then! Let's get breakfast movin then!" His mate exclaimed, quickly forgetting his worries to begin his art.
....
"So, just what were ya doin' all locked up in there, lass?" One of the women said, eying Sea skeptically with her dark red eyes. The woman had shaved her head bald, showing off tattoos that had similar patterns to the markings Sea had seen, though hers seemed to have more of a protective shape to them.
Sea shook her. She could not remember much of anything. She just had a dull ache behind her eyes and this harsh, painful dryness to her throat that made the few words she did know difficult to say. Everything also felt so bright and painful in the daytime, and she already missed the darkness, but this steange man felt safe. Touching him took away the burning feeling entirely, while being near Edan made it only a dull itch. She clung a little to his glowing arm, relaxing at the added warmth. She didn't like how one of the other men glanced at her dress, or how the lady kept staring at her like she wanted to stab her.
The strong but shorter man seemed nice. He seemed nervous around her, but he also did not give her the kind of stares the other two did. She lightly squeezed Edan's arm as the man by the cart stared a bit more intently on her bosom. She didn't like it.
"Is something wrong, Sea?" Edan looked at her immediately. He was rather perceptive. She nodded, pointing a finger at the man in the black helmet by the cart. "Burtrum?"
"Staring..." Now the woman turned her gaze to the helmeted man Edan called Burtrum. That skepticism turned into venom so quickly.
"The lass is practically an infant, ya pig." She spat at him.
"I 'aven' don notin ya raggedy hag."
"Don't speak to my sister that way." Another man stoos up.
"Enough." Edan spoke with a soft but powerful voice. It calmed Sea and instantly silenced the others. "Burtrum. You will sleep apart from camp tonight." His eyes narrowed softly on the man. "If there is no merit, perhaps Sea is just young and unsure of whay she is seeing. If she isn't..." He gave a soft smile at Burtrum, who gulped loud enough to be heard. "We will discuss it privately." There were no further questions on that matter, though Edan now seemed troubled.
Sea softly pressed her forehead to his shoulder, unsure how exactly to ask. She gave him as best she could mimic of worry that she had seen him give for her when she woke, and he seemed to understand. "Oh, this rabble is usually rowdy. Just never seem them turn that quick to anger." He scratched his chin softly, before offering to feed her a small bite of the egg she had on her metal plate.
She sniffed it slightly. It had a sharp smell that burned her nostrils, but underneath was something softer. It made her think of something warm and gooey and of a pleasant sunshine. She tried a small bite. Her body and brain quickly became of two minds. To her tongue, it was pleasantly simple. A bit spicy and tangy but so very savory with this strange center that popped and coated her tongue in flavor. Yet, her mind suddenly started shouting to spit. Every flavor was right, but her throat felt so very wrong. She clutched her neck, wretching slightly and coughing up the egg onto the plate.
She felt so ashamed all of a sudden. Edan had made her food and she had spat it out. That worry died on the vine as she felt his handerkchief gently wipe her lips. "Seems eggs aren' for ya." He patted her head softly, and she rather liked that. "Here. Try this." He offered her a large brown and red thing that made her nostrils scream suddenly. It was meaty, and she was cerrain there was other aromas, but something in there made her lips water like mad.
She practically lunged at the fork with a chomp. Her eyes melted into closed bloss as she chew and savored this strange, hot, flowing bliss. She could not taste anything but this one flavor. It was rich, salty, and tasted slightly of iron in a way that did not made her shake. She swallowed, a little drool surely dripping down her chin.
"The fork, too...?" She heard the woman say with a mix of confusion and awe. She blinked back to reality, a little lost in the taste, and looked at Edan's hand. She blushed a deep red color as she saw his fork had been snapped off at nearly his fingers.
"So ya like black puddin huh? We make it extra special and extra juicy, so I'll save my portions for ya!" Edan smiled brightly, patting her head again. He was utterly unbothered as he picked up another piece to feed her by hand. The others watched, nervous stares from all.
Sea gulped a little herself, gripping on tighter to the prince's arm for a little stability. She leaned up, resisting the urge to lunge again as he fed her in gently. She took it softly with her sharp teeth, chewing it down with a slurp that was rather silly to watch, like a kid slurping up a noodle, before revelling in the blissful taste again. She chewed slowly, wishing she could taste more than that one blissful flavor, but she did not want to spit out anything Edan gave her again.
"Carnivore!" Gwenmaris laughed happily. "Girl has the pallet of a farmer! Guess she just don' fancy eggs." He rubbed his beard, starting to clearly puzzle over egg recipes as Sea watched quietly. Her throat still itched.
...
The night was far more calming for Sea. The stars did not radiate such a painful light, nor did the moon's pale glow harm her. She sighed oeacefully, watching it from under her blanket, head poking just out of the tent. He was so nice to her. He did not mind that she wanted to poke out and peek at them. He even encouraged it.
This place was so beautiful at night. The harsh greens turned to navy blues, and the sky shifted from the frightening blue to a deep and rich blackness that swirled with the soft hue of so many swirling little lights. They danced so marvelously. She lightly scratched a hand across the earth as well, reveling just a little in how nice the cool dirt felt beneath her nails. She felt as safe when she touched the soil in the night as she did with Edan's arm held tightly. Was this what it meant when Gwenmaris had joked about him acting like a papa? Papa... She liked that word.
She traced her fingers gently across the soil, smiling as she could feel the little tremors underneath. The tiny, wiggling little babies that made the soil rich for the trees, which fed the deers and the squirrels. She was remembering done things so easily as she touched the earth, yet some things still felt so put of reach. She had said her name was Sea, but it was the only word she could pronounce. She did not know where it came from, only that it fit her. Sea.
Her eyes moved a little as she turned on her side, holding the blanket closer as her crimson hair spilled out across the grass. She didn't care if it got dirty. There was always a river to wash off in. She wasn't sure why she knew that, either, but she was certain it was true. She smiled more as she saw a couple caterpillars nearby, light snacking on two sets of leaves. One was fuzzy with longer hairs on its antennae, while the other was short, squat and green. Both snacked on two leaves of the same flower. It was a serene sight.
She heard a soft crunch nearby in the dirt as she frowned slightly. Her gaze moved up just as a boot stomped down beside her head and a metal grip took her by the hair. She started to shout, but a rough hand was forced over her mouth. "Once yer dead, Prince will see better." The man stuffed a ragged into her mouth and dragged her off, kicking and struggling for a time until the man tossed her against a tree with a painful slam. "But who's to say I can' have a -"
His words were cut off by the split of flesh. A greataxe cleaved his head off in a single swoop, and any thought that came after that died in Sea's mind. She saw red. She saw so much red. She screamed suddenly and spat out her gag, her nostrils searing with the rush of a sickly sweet aroma. She saw it. The sweet crimson pooling and spoiling in the dirt. She had to eat it quickly. It couldn't go cold!
... why, did she know that?
She lunged forward toward the crimson delight, only to be caught midair by a pair of firm and burly arms. She screams, slashing angrily for a few moments before a different gand rested on her head. She stiffened. Her vision started to clear. What had happened...?
She slowly blinked away the fog of red as she saw she was being held by Gwenmaris. He had some nasty cuts along his arms that made her mouth salivate, and she wrenched her head away to bury into Edan's chest. Had... she made those...?
"What is wrong with me... papa...?" She whispered shakily.
"Nothing." He said gently. "Nothing is wrong. Only different."
"She's got the blood thirst brother..." Gwenmaris said, but his tone was not accusatory. Cautious, but also concerned.
"Then we shall teach her to eat only on what can give, and who deserves to lose." He assured the other man. She did not understand right now. She just felt this horrible ache of guilt. Why she had attacked Gwenmaris? What was that red scent? Why did she feel so thirsty?
"Papa..." She leaned in closer, whispering softly. She sniffed, and she suddenly caught this hot scent close to her noae. She heard Gwenmaris say somwthing, but it was lost as she slowly opened wide.
"So... thirsty..." She chomped down and was met by sheer bliss. More than the black pudding by leaps and bounds. It was hot and tasted of vanilla and strawberries. It was so rich and tasty she never wanted to stop drinking. She felt a hand slowly rest on her head.
"That's enough for now, sweetheart." She heard Papa whisper softly, and her fangs unlatched with ease from the spot on his bicep she had bitten. The wound was small, a ring of sharp needle pricks, but she licked it anyway as the guilt washed over again. "Good girl." She felt him kiss rhe top of her head, and all guilt melted away. "Just no biting anyone but food and papa, ok?" She gave a little nod, and he patted her head. They started talking about adult things, but Sea stopped paying attention now. Whatever it was, Papa and Gwenmaris would keep her safe.
...right?