(Warning: Cringey Content)

[ The guard stays silent, ‘Maybe you shouldn’t be forcing him, he’s obviously a shy animal.’ He watches the Healer storm out and go to the Chief’s tent. Looking back he sees the human panting and struggling to move, apparently fighting the medicine’s effects. He feels bad for it. ]

The chief is talking to someone quietly as the Healer enters. “I want you to assign someone else to the human.” He says calmly. The chief stops and looks at the Healer. Then sitting up straighter, gesturing to the spy, introduces him, “He’s just returned with some news about the humans, and some food,” and the chief’s lip snirks up in amusement. “You may not have to babysit him for much longer.” “Then I will take my leave and not return, my presence is no longer needed anyway.” The chief narrows his eyes, “that’s not what I said.” “You can punish me if you want, I refuse to tend to the human anymore.” The chief’s eyes darken, “Then you will be relieved of your duties all-together if you don’t like Healing that badly.” “Chief.” The Healer bows deeply. “I will stop all my duties starting now.” Surprising the chief. The Healer then storms back out. 

The guard stares straight ahead as the choking continues but adrenaline courses through his body, finally he rushes into the tent knowing he might be dehorned, or fanged for this. Still he wouldn’t let the creature under his guard die. Rolling the human onto its side he lets it finish expelling the medicine from its stomach. The human doesn’t cry but lets out little whimpers of pain and discomfort as the guard tries to gently clean its face. 

The chief approaches the tent. Seeing no guard he bristles at the amount of disobedience today. Someone is getting banished. Storming inside he roars in anger upon seeing the guard inside until he sees the human. 

“Please Chief, I think he was poisoned. I didn't have time to go get you, he was choking!”

The Chief looks at the evidence and nods at the spy, “Carry him to my tent, I’ll take care of him myself.” The spy pulls out a vial of something and pours it into the human's mouth then picks up the limp human, another whimper escapes it. Going to the entrance he looks back waiting on the chief. The guard kneels with his head down submissively. “You saved his life.” The chief starts. “He seems to make many of our clan break the rules for him.” 

The guard winces, “I wouldn’t forgive myself, or dare call myself a lover of animals if I let one choke to death right behind me.” 

“Well you’ll have plenty of time to forgive yourself in the stocks tonight.” The guard whips his head up, face full of gratitude and relief. ‘That’s more like it.’ The Chief thinks. “Go!” He watches the guard scramble out of the tent then wrinkles his nose at the smell before leaving.

I wake up to smell and feel the Chief crouching beside me. “Calm.” He says putting a hand on my chest, “I have something to wash you up with.” I sit up slowly, realizing horrified that I’ve vomited and some other things. He guides my hand to the bucket of water and cloth. Then another wave of nausea hits and I gag covering my mouth, the medicine or something made me sick. He continues as if he didn’t notice it, “You have clean clothes as well, they might need adjusting afterwards so call me if you need my help.” He leaves and accidentally announces himself outside, far to the right of the tent entrance by talking to someone. I grimace and my stomach hurts, ‘Is he smart enough to know I won’t bathe with anyone watching but how would he know that, did the Healer tell him?’ I slowly, shakily rub the cold water all over my face. I don’t know if I have the strength to take my clothes off.

Then someone rushed up to me. I barely hear them other than the slight rustle of fabric. I don’t recognize them as they touch the water and turn to speak in German angrily, reprimanding someone. I yelp but otherwise I’m too weak to resist as they wrap me in a fluffy towel and carry me somewhere. I’m fading. I close my eyes exhausted. 

Warm water streams over me and I lift my head groggily, getting a relieved sigh from the person caring for me. I pull at my now sopping wet shirt. Relief, I fall forward a little bit. 

They catch me and calmly, with a perfect english accent, ask, “Is it okay if I help you bathe, since you are weak.” 

“Who are you?” I ask weakly. 

“A spy for the Chief.” I feel a little jolt. I try to lift my head but slump exhausted. A pained and almost crying sounding gasp leaves my chest. “Don’t push yourself. You were poisoned, probably by one of the foods you ate.” I reach out around me and the spy helpfully explains. “We’re in a heated pool, there’s magma far below heating up the water with steam.” Ah. 

“That explains the smell.” I laugh trying to lighten the mood. He lets out the sexiest laugh. I would probably have swooned if I wasn’t feeling so horrible. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” He continues carefully using a bucket or something to pour more warm water over me while keeping me supported. “Oh really?” My voice cracks, “like what?” 

“Like the fact you’re a liar.” The chief’s voice growls and all the color leaves my face. I struggle to breathe as the spy exclaims, “He hasn’t recovered yet. Couldn’t this have waited until he regained his strength?!” 

“What do you mean?” I feel sick to my stomach again. 

“I asked three questions when I went to the surface and almost everyone responded the same way.” The spy says softly, sounding a little upset honestly. “Do Trolls exist? If they did, would you attack them to eradicate them or give them sacrifices?” He watches my reaction gently, “Nobody believes trolls exist and if they did they said they would have been hunted to extinction long ago.” 

I keep my head down and refuse to speak mostly because I can’t find the strength to. ‘Trolls, they really call themselves Trolls huh?’ After a second he shakes me a little. “I think he passed out again.” He says towards the chief. The chief lets out a really heavy sigh. Then the spy sinks a little deeper, relaxing. “You know…I don’t think San deserves any punishment.” I tense and then let out a weak moan since it hurt. The spy looks down at me for a while. When he relaxes again, I remind myself to act passed out better. 

I hear the sound of the Chief entering the water. He let out a couple grumbling sentences in German. “Really?! You were never going to punish him?” The spy gasps then laughs long and loud, “You actually had me convinced for a second there, so who was the act for? Kal or San?” I guess the chief answered with a look because the spy nodded. The movement bobbing him up and down in the water. “I guess they were starting to get pretty mischievous. Seriously, those two wouldn’t surprise me if they snuck to the surface one day.” 

“Oh gawd don’t even say that,” he groans, I imagine his muscular torso in the water with the way his chest vibrates from the moan. Quickly I scatter the thought. He washes himself casually, “Did the human say anything useful while he was awake?” The spy answers something in German which they both laugh at and then go on mostly in German. After a while I’m falling asleep for real. Suddenly the spy says, “He’s kind of pretty isn’t he?” I’m suddenly wide awake. The chief, who had been relaxing a good bit before, lifts out of the water, “You’re disgusting," he growls.

“I was just wondering why you suddenly took him in as a pet.” The spy says wryly, “And not that disgusting, I’ve learned lots of things while spying on the surface.” When the Chief still doesn’t answer he pouts, I assume.

After a while the chief admits, “He’s…soft.”

“What the heck does that mean?” The spy puts his head on his hand. Almost dropping me into the water.

 “You’re not supposed to hold him like that, here like this.” The chief takes me from the spy, situating me in front of him to rest limply against his body so I would be less likely to slip underwater. 

“I don’t like anything about humans, you know this, but their skin is surprisingly soft and squishy. I find it tolerable.”

The spy laughs and says something in German that causes a short argument. 

“Well I guess I'll be banished now, see you later Chief. I should make a quick stop to the surface and grab some food for your pet so he doesn’t die. Oh wait, how am I supposed to bring it back?” The chief barks something at him and he runs away, still laughing. Now that I think about it he was small and lithe for a troll, but to a human he’s super tall but passable. I still find his voice attractive as hell but I don’t like what he was insinuating earlier despite the fact that I feel every inch of the Chief’s skin against mine. All the muscles pressing into my back. The chief relaxes against the side of the pool with a long string of gravely german. 

I eventually stop aching and the effects of the poison are pretty much gone. I moan and start to move. The chief must have noticed but he didn't move and was still breathing deeply. ‘Isn’t he embarrassed or does he really just see me as some animal, and why does that deeply disturb me. Why am I bothered?!’ I’ve heard that being lonely for too long makes you desperate but this is ridiculous. I lift my head a little and open my eyes. The darkness that always greets me seems darker and scarier than before. “What does it look like?” I ask. ‘It’s been a while since I asked that question.’ The chief stays quiet, is he asleep? 

I shift moving slowly in case I suddenly get weak. I touch the side of the pool and pull myself along it. Curious I stick my hand out of the hot spring and find another one on the other side. I sigh and touch the chief’s arm. “Chief?” I shake him a little. ‘Oh my gosh what if he’s dead?’ I shake him a little harder then rise up to check if he’s breathing. I press my ear into his chest and he lets out a long sigh, “What are you doing?” 

“You scared me.” I force my breathing to calm, “I thought you were dead.” 

“You were worried?” He chuckles. After he stirs a little bit he says,“I gave you the opportunity to run away.” I go quiet pondering if I should explain that I can’t just run away, I don’t know how I got here and I can’t find my way back up top without help. “Why didn’t you leave?”

“I…can’t.” I say slowly. I have a feeling he’s looking at me. I play with the water, trying not to have literally every emotion readable on my face. ‘It’s so difficult not knowing if someone is staring at me or not.’ I take a deep breath and make my face stony. Unreadable. I look down at the water.

The chief tilts his head not understanding the complex emotions of this human, he refuses to run away even when he was told that they found out his lies. He seems to really enjoy water, that might be more evidence that he was like a fish. His soft skin must need the moisture. He’d have one of the other healers concoct something to help his delicate skin retain its moisture. And now that he looked closer at the human, “You have little hairs all over your body.”