𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙮 | 𝘹𝘪𝘢𝘰

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

★ 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 ★

When I awoke, I slowly opened my eyes and noticed that Xiao's presence was gone. I managed to stand up, even with the catastrophic pain, and I exited the room I'd been in. Xiao seemed to hear me right when I opened the door since he came rushing into the hallway to stop me from going any further.

"What are you doing?" He scolded. "You can't walk on that leg, it'll only make it worse."

"How much longer do you think until I can go home with no problems?" I asked.

"That would take a while," he stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "The injury was deep, it's not one to easily heal. I'd give it a month at least before you could walk normally again."

"A month!?" I exclaimed, staring at him. "Damn it! Why didn't you say that before!?"

He rolled his eyes and ignored my question, "Lay back down, you're gonna hurt yourself."

He guided me back to the bed and I slipped under the covers, anxiety now looming over me. I knew what my mom would do if she found out. She'd lock me in my room forever, even if it was just one incident. That would be enough for her to ban me from stepping in the sun ever again.

"Is there any way to speed up the healing process?" I questioned.

"Not unless you know a healer."

"Damn..."

I thought about what things would be like and I instantly wanted to cry myself to sleep. I didn't, but the urge was strong. It did seem silly to try hiding a huge injury like that from my mom altogether though.

"Go home and face her," Xiao sighed. "If it's really that important for her not to know, just pretend you fell and hide the pain."

"Easier said than done..." I mumbled.

"I know," he said. "You decide whether it'd be worth it or not."

"Hm... Okay, but I have a request," I spoke.

"What is it?"

"Can we stay here and watch the sunset together before you take me home?"

"There'll be plenty of sunsets to watch when you can actually manage to get out of the house on your own," he replied. "And how would you know I'd take you home?"

"Because you didn't just spend a bunch of hours taking care of me and letting me stay here for me to trip in the woods and be found by more treasure hoarders," I grinned.

"How can you smile while saying that?" He muttered. "Whatever. Get some rest, we're leaving in an hour."

He left and I exhaled, drowsiness settling in comfortably. The moment I closed my eyes, I passed out.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

"Where have you been keeping that spear!?" I yelped.

"None of your concern, let's go," he snarled.

I stared at the green spear with fascination and tried reaching to touch it but Xiao slapped my hand away. I apologized and we went on our way.

Well I guess I still have a lot more to learn about him...

My arm was draped over his shoulders so he could help me walk. To be honest, I was pretty sure he only let me touch him at all because he wanted the trip there to be faster, but I couldn't blame him. I'd only be able to imagine how annoying it must've been to him, so I was glad he decided to help in the first place.

"Xiao..." I said.

"What is it?" He sighed.

"I have to thank you again. Y'know, for saving me. I feel bad for being such an inconvenience, but I probably would've died," I mentioned.

"You most definitely would have died," he snapped. "Get some sort of weapon to take with you from now on so I don't have to keep coming to rescue you."

That statement confused me. Even if I did get into trouble again, how would he find me? He said that as if he actually would have to go out of his way in order to protect me. Maybe I was thinking too much into things, but what did that mean?

"I'll look into that," I smiled. "Wouldn't wanna cause more trouble for you."

He remained silent for the rest of the walk and we finally arrived at my home. I exhaled shakily, not wanting to go in and risk my adventuring privileges. I had to, though, so I mentally prepared myself as Xiao brought me toward the front door.

"You'll need to change your bandages," he stated.

"I have what I need, don't worry," I replied.

"I wasn't worried."

He let go of me and retreated, heading out of sight. I could still feel his eyes on me, waiting for me to go inside the house. I knocked before opening the door to let my mom know it was me instead of some intruder, then tried walking normally as I entered.

"Y/n! You're home! How are you? Are you okay?" She gasped at the sight of me.

"I'm fine," I chuckled, repressing a wince as I tried to keep pressure off my leg without her noticing. I was lucky Xiao had given me new clothes so there were no blood stains on the pants.

"That's good. I was just about to start dinner, are you hungry? You must be, from the journey. You said you went far out, didn't you?" She asked.

"I'm not that hungry," I responded. "I ate before I left."

"Oh, alright then. What'd you eat?" 

"A few apples," I answered since it was the first thing that came to mind.

"Healthy decision," she smiled. "Well, I'm sure you want to write about your adventures now that you're here, so go ahead and do what you must."

"Thanks, Mom."

I waited until she went to the kitchen. She could still see me from there, but once she turned around, I headed to my room. I didn't want her to see just in case my injury was too obvious. I was surprised I could hide it from her, but I would need to keep up the act for a month, and I already knew that was going to be painful.

"What type of weapon should I get?" I queried as I sat on the edge of my bed, happy to lift my leg off the ground finally. "Maybe... A sword. Or a spear...? A bow?"

I didn't even care to write down everything that happened, I just wanted to rest and sleep. I needed sleep after that long walk. It was tiring, and my injury didn't make it better. It wouldn't have been a big deal if I wasn't shot in the leg. However, that was not the case. I was shot in the leg, and it was a pain in the ass.