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You'd followed Leon mindlessly around, unsure of where you were going. Until you managed to get out of a courtyard via the gate. He pushed it open, revealing the dark, rural landscape.
Twisting down a path, you faintly heard the cries of what sounded to be a wounded animal. Your ears perked at the noise, and you began to walk quicker in front of Leon. "Hey, where are you going?" He whisper shouted. When you didn't reply, he reached for your wrist, making you stop in place. "Answer me." His voice was low, and you jerked your chin over to a dog trapped in a bear trap, whining.
He let go, and you walked away and over to the dog swiftly. The dog cried, high pitched, it pained you. You braced your hands on both sides of the trap, forcing it open with what little strength you had left. The dog limped but made its way over to you. You stroked its matted fur and watched it run off into the trees when Leon approached it. "Take care of yourself, buddy." Leon sighed, hands on his hips looking down at you.
You stood and dusted the soil and dirt off of your legs and shorts, not that it helped much.
"You like dogs?" He asked, deciding breaking the ice would save you both from insanity. You nodded. "I love animals anyway, all of them. Before I joined the force, I wanted to be a vet." You replied, smiling fondly at the memory of searching for veterinary schooling. All of which were out of your price range, and you hated having to pay off student loans.
"I have a serious question now." Leon's tone matched the severity of the question. "That is?" She inquired, waiting for him to ask that serious question.
"What happened to you while you were captured? Genuinely."
You braced yourself to spill everything.
"I came to Spain for a vacation, just a break from everything back home. So Luis wasn't that far off with this joke. But, I had too many drinks, wandered a little too far from the bar, trying to shake off a rather persistent man." You shivered, then felt his hand on your lower back again. "In short, some cloaked group knocked me out, dragged me to someplace, and...well, I'd rather not go into detail about the things they did to me there. Three years. Three years that lasted until you found me."
Leon shuddered at your story, and he was saddened by the shift in your tone. He would find who these people were, and he'd personally kill them if his colleagues don't do it first. Whatever he felt towards you was a sense of protectiveness, especially if people were after you. He wasn't sure why. And possibly never would. That was fine by him though.
Soon, the familiar village came into view. You didn't want to go back, by any means, even if it meant a chance at getting out of here. Leon immediately raised his gun, and your grip on the axe tightened.
"Shit, ready for round two?" You asked sarcastically, he sighed with a grin before looking in the direction of the church. There was a tower on either side of it, it look old and rickety.
Then it exploded.
The stone crumbled, sparks seeped through the structure. "What?!" Leon backed up a few steps, alarmed. You grabbed his hand and squeezed it before walking forward and letting go, over to the rubble and debris. Until you were stopped. Dust clouded your vision. Growling was heard in the smoke. You'd already gone too deep into that cloud to see Leon or the source of the growling and snarling.
A gunshot out of nowhere made you flinch. A black, fuzzy mass gif clearer and larger as it approaches you. A rabid dog? Are you fucking kidding? You thought to yourself, raising your axe. You'd need to find better means of weapons soon enough, but this will have to do.
You swung harshly, the metal digging into its neck with a cry. It was twitching on the ground, you decided to let it be. The smoke started to clear while you ran out to find Leon. He was panting, looking around wildly before his eyes landed on you.
His feet acted before his mind did, rushing over to you. His hands found their way to either side of your face. "Fuck, you alright?" He asked, scanning your face for any injuries. Of which there were none. Your hands moved to sit on his for a second. "Leon, I'm fine." You chuckled, moving his hands back down to his sides. He only nodded.
You saw the corpses of the same rabid dog that tried to attack you laid strewn across the dirt.
Except for the one you didn't kill...
It ran and lunged for Leon, pushing him to the ground, you struck it with your axe as he struggled to get it off. The strike sent it flying, bleeding, and finally, it was dead. You lost your footing and fell right on top of Leon, hands braced on either side of him. You were both frozen. He moved his hands to your waist while you tried to stand, keeping you steady. "Sorry." You said quickly, clearing your throat. He shook his head and waved it off, smiling at you.
You continued, ignoring what had happened, walking closer to one another. After the dogs, he didn't want you to go off far by yourself, even if you've proven you're more than capable.
Leon's mind kept flashing back to you on top of him, as shameless as it is, he didn't mind it all that much. Even if you were in a life-or-death situation every other second, he tried to find the good in those situations. That good was you, he deduced.
