Petrona tried to defuse the situation. "Stop! Both of you! Calm
down, please! Luka,... at least apologize for attacking him and as a
good gesture, bring him some clothes to change into..." She held Demyan by his pants and looked at him with puppy eyes. He glanced her way and released the grip on Luka's collar.
Luka put his arm on Demyan's hurt shoulder and put a little pressure on it. "Come out... I want to talk..." Mirko protested. "His neck is injured, he can't speak right now." Luka's eyes dropped to the bandages, which covered it. "Ok; I will talk and you will listen!" Demyan glared at Luka and followed him outside of the room.
"I
have no clue, who you are, but be sure, if something happens to
Petrona, I will personally find you and make you pay! She doesn't need
any fake hopes. She might look tough, but she is very fragile, when it
comes to her feelings. Don't even think about using her as a plaything! I
am warning you, stay away from her! You will only bring her ill luck."
He turned back to Demyan and walked past him down the hall. Demyan was watching him and thinking about what he said. "Why ill luck?"
Mirko was reprimanding Petrona for getting into that dangerous
situation by venturing out of the outpost with the other men, while the
Blood Moon was at its peak.
Demyan interrupted him. Mirko raised his hands up. "Ok,
ok, I will go now. You two should rest for today. Later you also should
visit the commander as well, he will probably ask you for a report." Petrona smiled and nodded her head.
Around
lunchtime, she felt much better and asked him, if he wanted to stay a
little at her place. Mirko, who just came in with the clothes from Luka
dropped them on the floor. Everybody inside the room stayed silent out
of shock. She never let anyone inside her home. A weird stranger get the
chance to spend some time there? Whispers filled the room.
Petrona leaned towards Demyan's ear. "Don't
mind them, they are probably just jealous, because I never call anybody
inside. It's a huge trigger and a secret for them. I like teasing them
with it."
He looked at her face and smirked. He felt special.
Petrona opened her mouth in awe. This was the first, seeing some
reaction from him. From the start, his face lacked emotions. Showed only
sadness and disinterest. She was glad, that he began to warm up to her.
Demyan paused... he shouldn't be able to feel nor show emotions. What
is going on? Something isn't right. Lately, he is different...
She
took Demyan to her living quarters on the far north side of the
fortified houses. Those were the cheapest, since they were the closest
and easiest when attacked. She showed him into her small attic
apartment.
At first, as she opened the door a shaby-looking chest
with drawers stood across the room and under the tilting roof. Next to
the door, leaning to the wall, stood a small table and the left side of
the room was obscured by a closet.
After a turn, he was surprised by
a cat hissing at him on a massive wooden bed with engraved animals,
trees and flowers. It looked beautiful, so he ran his hand over it.
Petrona at first apologized, that she picked up that kitty on the
streets, because it was injured. After didn't hesitate to admit, she was
the one crafting that bed.
Demyan looked at her with wide surprised
eyes. Then he walked towards her and inspected the palms of her hands.
They were full of calluses, tiny scars and bruises. It made him sad
instantly. A lady should never deal with such things.
Petrona interrupted his thoughts. "It's good, I get to do a lot of things. In the future wherever I will end, I won't get lost in life." She smiled at him brightly. "Actually,
these will be my last two weeks here and the last time I see the
Festival. I hope you can join me and we will enjoy it together."
Demyan
was shocked about the new information he heard, but why should he care?
She is a human, he is a vampire and soon he will return back to his
home country on this continent. Their paths will part anyway. So why
does it makes him feel upset out of sudden? He looked into her hazel,
wondering eyes.
She couldn't mind reading, just kept still, while he
was deep in his thoughts holding to her hands. Petrona's face flushed
red. A handsome overly tall man held her by the hands. But still, she
knew her place and left it only for her fantasy.
The social norms of
their society didn't really approve of a relationship between a tall
and a short person. Mostly short men had a slight advantage, if they
made enough money, of course. Taller women carried the gene for taller
kids, so short women mostly ended up alone or in the adult industry as
toys.
Petrona escaped from Demyan's grip. "Well, I never asked your name. Could you write it for me?"
She took out a piece of paper and a pen from the little drawer under
the table in the corner. He did write it down, but since he was a
vampire, he used the ancient language instead of the new modern, which
was used in the Lush Lands.
It evolved from the old one, but some letters changed through time. She of course took it as a foreign writing system. "Hmmm, I can not read these,... but I recognize those." She could read only the last three...
"Y-A-N." He nodded. So she was right at least with those. "Can I call you Yan instead? It also sounds kind of like a pretty nickname. Don't you mind it?" He agreed.
Since
the name introduction was at last finalized, she decided to go down
from the upper floor to fetch something to eat, leaving Demyan to stay
in her room by himself. "I will be back with some food! Just wait patiently for me and don't let other people inside, please."
After Petrona left, he looked awkwardly at the black cat and the cat at
him. He felt tired and dizzy, so he sat down at the cushioned window
pledge. "This view..."
Demyan's attention diverted
from the window. He felt something odd, something familiar coming from
the shabby chest with drawers. He opened the second one, but he couldn't
reach the source. He figured out, it had a secret compartment. Reaching
inside and under, a click sound announced its opening. Demyan took out a
ring... his eyes widened in shock.
The main stone; Obsidian shaped like a crescent moon and diamonds filling up the empty space on the other side of the crescent moon. The whole thing was set into a lovely leaf-shaped gold band.
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