a guardian and an Angel

chapter 3

Sunset drowned the area with an orange tinted aesthetic, decorated with clouds of a blue contrast. This atmospheric design was dissipating before the eyes of the young protagonists. Calmly and gradually the sky and the world below it, grew darker, down to the dim color of sweet tea. the odd duo agreed that it was, in fact, time to set up camp, rest until morning, and start again from there.

To Viran's slight surprise, Natalya insisted on setting up the tent as well as the campfire as she practically shooed him away and assigned him to hunt for food, as they had Apparently not eaten since early afternoon. Without debate, he decided to do as he was asked to do, entrusting her with the responsibility she took on.

He ventured out into the horizon, though not too far, as he would prefer to be in close range to his new acquaintance, enough to hear any sudden cry for help, close enough to sense any dangers that may occur, all for the sake of her safety and well being, considering her small figure and inexperience in the area of self defense, as far as he knew.

As he hunted, he was naturally unaware of what the angel's taste could possibly be, as he had only just met the strange girl. Even so, Viran assumptively slayed light animals such as deer, sheep, etcetera, hoping this would be proper for her to have. In quite a short time, he had gathered all he could manage and surely, it was enough for one to two days and nights and before long, he returned to her with a bundle of corpses that could easily be converted into food that harbored nutrients necessary for travel.

When he arrived back at the camp area, he was delighted to see that Natalya fulfilled her task, graciously and welcomed him back, kindly. He also noticed that she had found large eggs and was in the process of cooking them at that very moment.

She stood, rather proudly, which was oddly heart warming to the troll. "Viola!" She shouted earning an uncharacteristically endearing chuckle from the likes of him.

He sat on the rough ground, next to her as she set up what would be their dinner and then scooted herself close to him as they prepared to eat. "So...." The small girl said, curiously, catching Viran's attention. He lifted a lazy ear, slightly, to show that he was, in fact, listening. "Where's your home?" She asked in a soothing voice that he could have lot his consciousness upon. The question was a painful one to answer but he let out a breath and said to her "I have no home. Not anymore. But maybe someday, I'll find a new place to call home."

Natalya looked up, thoughtfully for a minute before speaking. Then she nodded in understanding and said to the troll "home is a place where people care about you. I care about you. So then, your home is with me"

"H-huh?" Viran stuttered out

"I want to take you back to the village so that you can have a home" Natalya said, daringly and rather lovingly. And for the first time, emotion showed clearly on Viran's face. beyond the thick fur and large muzzle, there was pain, remorse and denial.

"I can't go any place whereas I should not be accepted. I don't belong in a place where there is such a high standard of etiquette. They would cast me out on arrival. At the sight of me"

Natalya shook her head "well...I don't exactly belong there either. But if you were there, I wouldn't be lonely anymore" she said in a low voice.

It was like an impacting blow, leaving Viran's heart raw. It stung with each passing thought. Just knowing that she felt lonely had crushed his heart so badly. He would never just leave it be. "I... I'll go with you then..." Viran said. And in response, Natalya jumped and hugged him, cheering with genuine joy. Nothing like Viran had ever seen before. And for a second that felt like time stopped, he felt a feeling of hope. But it felt familiar, regardless of the fact that he never felt it before.

Soon, dinner was over and they prepared to sleep while they could, until the next morning, when they would finally go home.

"Good night, Viran" said the angel and in response, Viran grunted awkwardly, as he was not used to such kind and civil conversation. T that, she just gave a heartwarming giggle in which he interacted with a smile and said "goodnight Natalya"

"Mmm-hmm" she hummed peacefully and before long, they both drifted off to sleep