Worse Than His Bite

Chapter 10: Burning heart

"Hey, pal."

Phineas hadn't slept this well in a long time. He didn't dream of anything which was a mercy within itself. In that moment, he didn't have a body, he was simply a thought in a warm void vaguely aware of there being something around him.

He was brought back into his body as a hand touched his head. Lazily, his eyes peeked open. The light of the fire cast an orange glow on everything in the room. The only sound being the crackle of the wood as the fire slowly devoured it.

The stranger who Phineas had let into the cottage was ruffling his hair. He had such a friendly smile. It was strange to say and Phineas wasn't entirely sure why he felt this way, but he felt rather emotional looking at him. It had been some time since someone had smiled at him with such undeniable warmth.

"I've got to go." The stranger whispered.

Phineas made a small 'uh huh' noise to covey his understanding, even if his body hadn't woken up enough to give a proper response.

"I'll see you around though, okay? I'm always about if you need anything. Just ask for Angus."

"Angus?" Asked Phineas. With his mind still fogged by sleep, he could only think of one thing to ask. "Like the beef?"

Angus laughed at him. "If that'll help you remember."

Phineas struggled to keep his eyes open as he watched Angus gather his things and say something to Sebastian and Leo. Since when had Leo shown up? Wasn't he supposed to be entertaining his friend from the bar?

In the waving light of the fire, Angus looked almost like a figment from a dream as he gestured goodbye at the door. The movement of the fire casting his figure in ever changing shapes of light whilst casting the rest in dark made his form look semi-permanent. Neither real nor fake. Something beyond that. A man so strange in nature, Phineas could be convinced that he was just a creation of his own imagination. A way to deal with the isolation and new found loneliness of being on an island with other strangers for company. Perhaps he had invented Angus as a convenient friendly stranger who took interest in him for no particular reason.

It would be nice, if there was someone to care for him.

He didn't need anything from such a person. Not food or shelter or even money, though the latter was the only reason he was here (ignoring his personal scholastic drive to improve modern understanding of ancient Celtic civilisations). If he had someone to care for him again, he would want them only selfishly. He would want them only for himself.

The more he awoke, the sillier he felt for already imposing something like that onto Angus who had been nothing but kind to him. He did not need Phineas trying to make a parental figure out of him.

Phineas wasn't a child anymore. He needed to let go of silly fantasies. Being back on the same island she died on though, maybe he could cut himself some slack for feeling vulnerable.

The door gave a loud creak as it closed behind Angus.

It took a lot of mental energy to convince himself to move. He felt so warm and the jacket wrapped around him was the perfect weight. It smelt like citrus and he had no idea how.

He stretched his limbs and groaned aloud.

"Have a nice nap, sleeping beauty?" Asked Leo. He looked even grumpier than usual as he sat across from Phineas in the chair Angus had been in not too long ago.

Phineas nodded his head.

"Yeah." Said Leo. "Must've been pretty tiring spying on people."

"What'd you mean?" Asked Sebastian.