YOURS•AND•ONLY

Chapter 2 - Consideration

Dark haired man sat on one of the branches looking down on the inhabitants of the forest. A quiet rage penetrated to his bone, while his red eyes continue watching the witch wander around his home for several days in row. To the uninitiated observer, he seemed impartial, unbothered. However, his stiff shoulders and upright back revealed how annoyed he really is.

When he first saw her, he didn't pay much attention to her. Yes, it was uncommon for someone to come so deep into the forest, but sometimes it did happen. Most of the time, however, it didn't last long, and the same evening the visitor came they also disappeared. But she... She was here even the day after and the next day too, staying the whole night. It was four days ago since he last zigzagged in the air between the trees. He missed his freedom. He missed flying. It was his joy; it filled every cell of him with pure bliss. The inability to fly freely for several days in a row so as to not reveal his existence to a stranger was a suffering for him.

He couldn't figure out what the young woman wanted to do in the middle of the forest, where daylight would shine through the trees only for a few hours a day. She seemed to be looking for something, but he wasn't sure what that something was. One day she picked up one of his fallen feathers, the next day he saw her feeding the Thestral, the next day she discovered Niffler's residence and the day after she brought him silverware and a watch. She played with him for the rest of the day.

She was kind to every creature she came across. Even the shy and fearful fairies liked her. A thorn of jealousy pierced him when he saw how easy it was for her to befriend them - they ignored him even after a month of giving them endless treats.

He didn't know why, but he enjoyed watching her. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen a person in a long time, or because he wondered what she really wanted. But it was definitely not because he liked her carefree smile and her playful nature.

Or maybe that was exactly why he decided to help her.

He noticed the manticore long before she did. He tried to warn her discreetly with the cones he was throwing to the ground, but she didn't seem to react. She continued to hum a melody that had been playing in her head for several hours. Frustrated, he grabbed one of the branches and aimed directly at her head. He heard her grunt in pain as she started stroking the painful spot, but it served its purpose. She turned around her axis, trying to see the culprit, who dared to throw a branch at her so shamefully when she saw the hungry beast lurking behind her.

He thoughtlessly pressed the woman to his chest and carried her to the safety of his home. Only when he released her from his hold he did realize what a serious mistake he had made; now she knows where to find him, where he lives. And he has no idea what she's going to do with this information.

His heart was furiously pounding in his chest as he watched the scene unfold below. The young woman tried to pull her wand out of her robe, but she was unable to do so in a sudden surge of fear. With his predatory eyes from the height of the trees, he watched her eyes widen in horror as she realized she was completely defenseless. She stumbled over her own legs as she tried to escape the hungry creature. But it was useless to her - the manticora catching up with her in one long step, its claws running down the girl's back, trapping her on the ground under Its heavy paw.

Before he realized what he was doing and could stop himself, he bounced sharply of the branch he was standing on and plunged headlong into the manticore. He buried his claws in its exposed back, leaving deep bloodied grooves. The manticore wailed in pain, but before it could take revenge on the young man with its tail, he was long gone.

He learned not to trust people, especially to wizards such as yourself. He did not intend to make the same mistake as his parents once did and pay for it with his life. But before a wave of grief and rage swept over him, he forced his memories back into his subconsciousness. Instead, he decieded to focus on you.

You were dressed in a tight-fitting black cloak, your hair was pulled back by a tall ponytail, and you were holding your wand in a shaking hand. Your dilated pupils reflected the faint light of the stars, and you stared straight at him. He wanted to hide from your piercing sight.

"Are you done staring?" He asked you, but you didn't seem to notice his words. Instead, your eyes darted all over his body and he began to feel uncomfortable. He straightened nervously and cleared his throat loudly, hoping to divert your attention from his appearance to his words.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Your eyes were focused on something behind him, he thought: probably on my wings, but his voice caught your attention.You looked at him, for the very first time really at him, your eyes wide and magnetizing like two wells, stared straight at him. And then you spoke; he heard your voice for the first time, and yet it seemed as if someone familiar had spoken to him.

"I'm Y/N. And for your second question... Circumstances at work brought me here." You are hiding something, that much he could tell. But he wasn't one to pry when you clearly didn't want to say more. "And what is your name?" You asked the curiosity evident in your voice. In the interest of his own safety and peace of mind, he should not answer your question, yet some incomprehensible force in him forced him to open his mouth. He wanted you to know. Was it because he wanted at least one person to remember him before he disappeared? Maybe yes.

"Talbott."

"Nice to meet you. Thank you for saving me back there. If it wasn't for you..." Your voice broke at the end of the sentence, but you still gave him a gentle smile. He didn't know how to answer so he stayed quiet.

"So..." He began, rubbing the back of his neck and peering at you with those magical deep iris of his.

"So?" You smiled at him. He could feel the corners of his mouth rising to mirror your smile, but he resisted. Instead, he proceeded to noisily clear his throat, avoiding your gaze. You stared at him confused but at the same time utterly mesmerized.

"Do you have a place to stay? Or did you decided to live here like a homeless girl that lost everything?" His words were crueler than he had originally intended, but he can't just take them back. With a discomforting feeling in his stomach he watched your smile fade. Despite being hurt a little bit you held his gaze.

"I have some free time on hand so I walk around here until I have to move on. I don't live nearby so in the meantime I am staying in Hogsmeade."

Talbott nodded in understanding and looked down where the manticore was walking in circles around the tree where his home was. It still did not accept the loss of its prey.

"Maybe you should stay here for a little bit... At least until it's safe to go." He says calmly but his entrails contracted uncomfortably. You go stand next to Talbott to lean over the railing and you look down as he did a few seconds ago. There you saw the beast roaring in anger looking up at you. Your tender scent attacked his olfactory cells, and he couldn't resist the urge to lean over and inhale your fragrance.

"I don't want to be a burden." You shook your head yet you didn't tell him you were hiding a broom in your bag that you could easily summon with accio and fly to Hogsmeade at any time. At the bottom of your heart, you secretly hoped that you could stay with the mysterious young man a little longer.

"You aren't." He asnwered a bit too soon. Your eyes widened in surprise and you felt how the blood rushed into your face. One sheepish smile mirrored the other one skittish behaviour.

After the awkward silence he invited you inside and this time, to his relief, you didn't refuse.

To be continued