Chapter 4: You talk too much
"Can you put me down now?" The girl's tiny voice asked, annoyed, as she bounced to the demon's steps.
"No." He muttered as his feet lead him through the forest.
The girl pouted, her body protesting or a second before going lump on his shoulder. "My belly hurts."
"You're too slow and clumsy, kid. You'll die to a wild Swoncer before even getting out of the woods."
"Hmph. Weren't you good enough to save me from those, too?"
"Your father told me to bring you to him. Didn't mention anything about your jolly little self... or a corpse." He hissed the last word, making her shiver.
They remained silent for more than ten minutes, when she broke the silence again.
"Can you at least hold me how daddy does? Your shoulder hurts." She asked.
The demon came to a stop, doing his best to just bear with it. He let her slide down, until her feet were on the ground. There, she fixed her dirty dress and looked at him, stretching her arms his way.
His green eyes looked down at her, his expression contorting to one of confusion and disgust. Seeing that he didn't move a muscle, she cleared her throat.
"Bend down." She said, motioning her hands her way. He reluctantly did what she asked, allowing her to awkwardly hug his neck.
Then, with a little jump, she circled his waist with her legs. He straightened his back, not knowing exactly what she was doing.
"I'm falling!" She whined, clearly struggling to hold on. "Just hold me!"
He clumsily slid his arm under her, supporting her weight.
"Was it that hard?" She said, looking straight to his eyes. "Haven't you held a kid before?"
The demon looked back at her, his lips making a tight line. That was his signal that it was time for her to shut up.
And so she did. He accepted taking her like that, which was a huge win for her.
Her little dove eyes looked around, a little too paranoid that something would come at them any moment. She tried to remember even more about the night before, but the only thing she remembered was black. Black, cold, and the feeling of flying.
She squeezed the demon's neck unintentionally, and even though he noticed, he stayed silent.
That was none of his business.
The walk back to the village took longer than he planned, as half the way in, the girl insisted she was hungry and dirty; and couldn't wait any longer to shower. And her voice had become so annoying, he couldn't imagine hearing her complaints and whimpers any longer.
That girl surely knew how to push his buttons.
"So, why does everybody is scared of you?" The girl mumbled as she munched on a thick chicken thigh.
His stoic expression remained, obviously ignoring her question. Something she didn't mind.
"Because daddy tells me you're cursed and that people shouldn't talk to you." Her little eyes looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer."
This was the tenth question she made him since they stopped for a break. And it was already getting the best of him. He let the air out in irritation, lowering his own food to look at her.
"And yet you talk to me."
She shrugged. "You don't look that scary to me." She took another bite. "Even though you do scary things." Suddenly, her face turned sour. "Don't you feel lonely?"
Her question left him speechless for a second, pondering why he was even considering on answering to that.
"No." He half-lied. It was true that it was lonely, but at some point of his life, he got used to that.
"Liar." Her dove eyes looked right through him. "What's your mum like?" She changed the subject, too curious just to stay in one topic.
Now, this question DID sparkle his attention.
At first, he didn't answer, but she waited long enough to not let him any choice but to answer.
"She was... Warm." He said, remembering how she snuggled with him in his little bed, under his navy blue rocket sheets.
This memory triggered another one. One of his mother laughing under the dying light of the day, her hair dancing at the rhythm of the wind. She was sitting on the grass, stretching her arms to him, calling him on a tight embrace. She remembered her fragrance, one of wild flowers.
"... And sweet." He said, his eyes lost behind the girl's tiny frame.
She watched as his eyes looked for something behind her, something tightening her chest. Suddenly, she felt she said something wrong.
"She sounds like my mom. " She said, pulling him out of his trance. "Well, that's what daddy says. He says she's watching me from over there." She pointed one slim finger to the sky.
The demon's gaze followed her lead, slightly nodding.
"I guess... To this point, mine's there too, kid."
"Why?" She tilted her head to one side.
"I haven't seen her for a long time."
"Why don't you go visit."
He made a long pause before answering, as he was not sure of the answer himself.
"I can't." He heard her breathe in, readying to ask another question, making him stand up as fast as lightning. "Enough. Time to go."
He took the last bite of his meal before opening the palm of his hand over the fire he used to cook, a bright circle of runes lightening his hand, followed by a stream of water falling from it. The girl watched his magic, fascinated.
This was her first time watching a magic wielder in her life.
With a swift move, he picked the girl up in his arm, resuming his march to the village.
"My name is not kid, by the way." She said, finishing the last bite of her meal before throwing the bone away. "I'm Gressia." She said with a tiny smile. "What's yours?"
He sighed mentally. "What was the point of telling her his name? He was going to move out of the village soon enough, and she would forget about him even faster. And even if she didn't, the moment she grew up, the moment her hate for him would begin.
Like everyone else's.
There was no point on doing so.
There was no point on him making an effort to remember the name no one has called him for in the last twenty-three years of his life.
Not since her mother last called him that before everything turned black.
And yet...
"Nathaniel." He answered.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
XanaTrygg
XanaTrygg Swoncer: Rather small monkey-like predators that hunt in packs. Their numbers vary, but could go from 20 to 35 per pack. They live in large forests.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone