Leona 一点也不担心.如果没有名片,她就找不到 Tricky.这不是现代,人们彼此漠不关心.如果 Tricky 真的想举办宴会,她只需要进城四处打听就行了.然后一些爱管闲事的人会透露他的一切.早餐时,有 Eric 猎到的兔子.就在她面前,他剥了兔子的皮——用匕首在兔子的肚子上划了一个口子,然后用双手抓住伤口,用力撕开,撕掉了皮毛.但她不敢.吃完早餐后,Eric 用水浇了火,然后在余烬上踢了一些泥土,最后用靴子把松散的泥土踩得结实.经过一连串的行动,火势几乎已不留任何痕迹.不得不承认,招募 Eric 是她跨界以来做出的最明智的决定.他似乎有着极其丰富的荒野生存经验.他的动作平静而迅速.他先把帐篷收拾好,和羊毛毯一起叠起来,然后系在马鞍的斜檐上,最后把背包水平放在马鞍的后面,用一条粗带子紧紧地系紧.在现代,马是奢侈品中的奢侈品.许多骑马的人都是在骑马教练的陪伴下骑马的.普通人根本不知道如何在不惊吓动物的情况下安全地接近马匹或调整马鞍.虽然和埃里克在一起充满了危险,但她不得不承认,如果不是他,她可能会死在经理的枪下——或者凯撒的蹄子下.蕾欧娜没有忘记,当凯撒发疯时,他咬掉了一个看守人的耳朵.埃里克帮了她很多.她忍不住对埃里克说:"...谢谢你.旅行时,多说声谢谢总是好的.埃里克装作没听见的样子,骑上马,紧紧抓住缰绳.就在蕾欧娜正要说"我可以自己上车"时,他向前倾身,就像上次一样,抓住她的腋窝,把她抬上了马.蕾欧娜只能咽下她的话.她还记得名片上的内容——Tricky 住在新奥尔良的一家酒店.她只是不知道从这里到新奥尔良有多远.他们默默地骑着马.蕾欧娜盯着路上的风景,她的心比以往任何时候都更吵.其实,一开始她根本不想组建马戏团.她这么说的原因完全是为了赢得 Eric 的青睐.后来说她会为畸形演员量身定做剧本,让观众知道他们也是活生生的生物,也是为了拉拢他.他总是沉默寡言,有着高深莫测的思绪和不可预测的行为.她只能利用与她有相似经历的人来突破他的防御.只有这样,她才能增加在他手下生存的机会.她没想到 Tricky 会来找他们.这样,她就有了创办马戏团的资源和资金.如果她不组建马戏团,她怕会引起他的怀疑,她就得咬紧牙关兑现承诺.沼泽里没什么可看的.它到处都是高大而阴暗的秃柏树,树枝上长着厚厚的苔藓,绿色的地衣垂下来,在风中摇曳.蕾欧娜看着看着,直到她不小心睡着了.当她醒来时,天已经黑了.周围不再是沼泽柏树林.有几座简单的农舍,有饲养猪,牛和羊的围栏.路是一条湿滑的泥泞小路,每隔几步就有一堆马粪.当他们接近城市时,雾变得更浓,变成了肮脏的黄棕色.路上有煤气路灯,但因为雾很浓,光线似乎被雾吸收了,根本没有照进来.蕾欧娜忍不住皱着眉头,用手臂捂住了鼻子,感觉这里的空气比现代的道路还要刺鼻和臭气熏天.埃里克似乎以前去过新奥尔良.即使雾气如此浓密,他也轻松找到了酒店的位置.就在这时,他身体前倾,仿佛要把缰绳甩到搭便桩上似的,Leona 赶紧拦住了他——怕他看不见她的动作,她几乎要抱住他的腰:"等等,你知道哪里有服装店吗?Eric停顿了一会儿,然后再次拿起缰绳.他在马背上轻轻地抽打着鞭子,朝着另一个方向走去.蕾欧娜松了一口气.经过一夜的发酵,他的体味已经变得相当奇怪,混合着汗水,血液和沼泽的腐烂气味.如果他不换衣服,大概一进酒店就吸引了大家的注意.想到那一幕,Leona 不寒而栗.Eric 不喜欢出现在人们面前,他更喜欢被人看.如果那真的发生了,他可能会大杀四方.服装店快关门了.经过多次劝说,Leona 终于说服了店主让他们进来.出于某种原因,店主从容地将 Eric 的面具戴在脸上,并从他的脖子上拿了一把柔软的尺子开始测量它们的尺寸."六英尺二英寸..."店主嘟囔着 Eric 的身高,"你走运.通常,我们店里没有这么大的衣服.一位名叫 Tricky 的顾客为他的"怪胎"订购了很多衣服,包括这个尺码.我们通常在做衣服时多做一些,所以有一些剩下的会适合你.Leona 立即感谢他.店主似乎以为她是 Eric 的经纪人,开始随意地和她聊天:"你是来参加那个眼镜展的吗?最近有不少人来到这座城市,都是为了那个展览...""不,不,"Leona 说,"我们是兄弟.他是我的弟弟,刚从沼泽地打猎回来.说着,她把衬衫和裤子递给Eric,让他去旁边的更衣室换衣服.店主量了量她的身高,非常困惑:"你们两个兄弟,一个高得离谱,一个高得离谱或者...什么,他偷了你在子宫里的奶吗?Leona 差点被自己的唾液呛到.幸运的是,Eric 在更衣室里,没有听到这句话.母亲,女性,亲密接触.这些都是他不能触碰的禁忌.他不允许任何人拿这些事情开玩笑.蕾欧娜突然想,如果她像妈妈一样照顾他...她能在他手下活得更久吗?她不得不扭转"捕食者与被捕物"的关系.这可能是一个很好的突破.她这样想着,转头问店主:"你们有裙子吗?以我的尺码..."最后,Leona 买了几条印花裙子,几件衬衫和裤子,一顶宽边帽,一顶毛毡女帽和一件黑色斗篷.埃里克对她挑选的衣服没有异议.只有在付款时,他才给自己买了一双黑色的皮手套.黑色皮手套.当他慢慢戴上黑色皮手套,用他极长的手指拧紧它们,直到薄而坚韧的皮革在他的指关节上绷紧时——她的脑海莫名其妙地回放了电影中的那一幕,她感受到了某种冰冷残忍的猎人气息.可能是因为害怕,她的腿感觉有点无力.蕾欧娜让他穿上黑色的斗篷,戴上黑色的宽边帽,然后他们回到了酒店.在酒店门口,有几位绅士在抽烟.当他们看到他们下马时,他们冷漠地看了他们一眼,继续吹嘘.• 去购物是正确的选择.
Leona couldn't even imagine how disdainfully those gentlemen would look at them if they hadn't gone shopping.
And if exposed to such gazes, what terrible things would Eric do.
Another close call.
If this were a game, achievements should have been unlocked by now.
Leona wiped the cold sweat off her forehead and found the hotel bellboy to rent a room - she originally wanted to rent two rooms, but considering Eric's dangerousness, she thought it was better for them to stay together.
The hotel had a private bathroom. The previous guest had just finished bathing, and the water was still hot. The bellboy said that if she didn't mind using used water, the cost of bathing could be reduced.
Leona politely declined and asked him to boil two tubs of clean hot water.
Their room was on the third floor.
At the stairwell, there was a child handing out business cards.
He looked no older than twelve or thirteen, wearing an adult suit with his hair slicked back:
"Gentlemen, next week, there will be an unprecedented Spectacle Exhibition here - this is the business card of the curator, Tricky · Terry!"
Leona took it and looked. This one was simpler than the one Tricky had given them before. There was no address, and the edges of the card were printed with elaborate patterns. Below the big name was a line of beautiful small print:
-"Spectacle Curator".
Leona put away the business card, thanked the child, and walked upstairs.
After the attendant led them to their room, he told them that the bathroom was next door and that the water was still boiling. When the water was ready, someone would come to notify them.
Leona thanked him again.
After closing the door, she suddenly realized that she didn't know if Eric was willing to take a bath.
Wild animals didn't like taking baths.
...Wouldn't he resist taking a bath?
Leona turned to look at him, but before she could speak - the next moment, everything went dark before her eyes, and she was pinned to the ground.
The floor was covered with a thick wool carpet, but even so, she still almost screamed in pain.
"...You," she gasped painfully, "...what's wrong again?"
Eric loomed over her, silent, with a gaze as tangible as if it were pressing on her throat.
She seemed to be in great pain and fear, and sweat seeped out of her neck, slippery and burning, like the touch of moist charcoal, causing pain in his palm.
But even in the midst of her extreme fear, she was willing to let him touch her.
He disliked this feeling.
It made him feel... at a loss.
She seemed to be overly eager to touch him and let him touch her.
No one had ever treated him like this before.
Including his mother.
In the past, the most he had touched were corpses.
In the palace of Mazandaran, he was responsible for performing executions for the king - torturing prisoners in the torture chamber or killing with ropes in the arena.
He had touched all kinds of corpses.
Warm, cold, stiff, bloody, with unseeing eyes.
When they were alive, they rejected his touch. After dying, they were like docile livestock, letting him drag and pull them.
He was a calm and rational person who never fantasized about touching the living.
But these days, it seemed that he had touched too much.
She had been hugging him, kissing his mask, and sleeping in his arms, as if he were a harmless large plush toy.
Now, she was going too far by getting him new clothes, bringing him to a luxurious guest room, and even preparing to let him take a bath -
What was she treating him as?
A pet?
He had never felt so uncomfortable. His temples throbbed, and a sense of self-preservation urged him to strangle her immediately.
Otherwise, something very bad would happen.
Leona didn't know what was going on.
It seemed that Eric was really considering whether to kill her.
She was completely at a loss, thinking it was just the sudden madness of the protagonist in a horror movie.
She breathed with difficulty, carefully propped herself up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed his mask.
To her shock, kissing his mask didn't work anymore.
He looked down at her from above, his gaze behind his eye sockets showing no ripples, seemingly indifferent.
"..."
She couldn't help cursing in her heart. Could this also develop immunity?
Fear was like a cold lead block pressing on her chest. Perhaps due to excessive nervousness, she even heard sharp white noise.
At this moment, she noticed his neck, the pale, sweaty skin with a slightly bulging vein, like a raging, trembling snake -
Without thinking, Leona kissed it.
That was the first time she had kissed his exposed skin.
He flinched as if stung by a poisonous insect and suddenly released her.
Leona collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
She closed her eyes, sweating profusely, her heart pounding violently in her chest, almost causing pain in her throat.
She chose correctly again. She was really a genius.
It was just that she seemed to have developed some kind of strange conditioned reflex. Whenever she faced a threat, she wanted to kiss him.
The only thing to be glad about was that he also seemed to have developed a similar conditioned reflex - being kissed by her, he would give up killing her.
Leona couldn't tell which of these two conditioned reflexes was more pathological.
Nor could she tell who was controlling whom between them, or who was domesticating whom.