"Eh?" I was dumbfounded by his request. "Why?" I asked.
"Quickly or I'll leave you here alone." He snapped, so I instantly wrapped my arms around his neck. It's not everyday someone like him offers to help someone like me.
He chuckled as he grabbed my legs, pulling & securing them around his waist before standing up. He's making fun of me again, I see.
Regardless... "You were the one who wanted to do this so even if you regret it now, I'm going to cling to you no matter what."
"Hmm..." he replied amused.
We fell silent after that and I began to momentarily reminisce about my brother who carried me like this a few times before. Those days, I still haven't contracted solar urticaria & UV Ray allergy so I could still go out, but that had eventually stopped, too. It was very painful for me when I found out that I will never be able to go out in the sun anymore. I didn't want to recall the feeling so I distracted myself by watching his legs as we ascended and descended the undulating terrains of the forest.
This man... He walks as if he's not carrying an adult human behind his back. I may not weigh much but surely he's going to feel tired later.
He didn't.
I secretly praised his healthy body in my mind and prayed for my body to be as strong as him someday.
As soon as we stopped by an inconspicuous place, he put me down gently and told me to wait while he goes around to scout and look for branches to light up a fire.
"Oh and give me your drinking bottle as well. There's a nearby river here so I'll get you some water."
I gingerly handed the item to him. "How did you know there's a river here?" I asked.
"...I know a lot about forests." He replied. That pause was suspicious but I didn't think too much about it. Maybe he just knows about this area because he'd crossed it before. Whatever the case, he seems to be someone I can trust so I shouldn't be needlessly suspicious of him.
He was about to disappear into the dense trees when I remembered about something important. "My knife...-!" I awkwardly paused. I don't feel too good being left alone.
Old habits die hard...
He sighed as if he could see through my thoughts. His hand disappeared behind his black coat to reach behind his waist. It had soon emerged and his fingers were now wrapped around a sheathed dagger.
After looking st it for a while, he threw it in front of me saying, "Don't even think of cutting your hair," and quickly turned to go.
I was perplexed at his warning tone but didn't think too much about it as my eyes fell to the shimmering item lying on the grass.
I picked up the dagger and gasped in awe at the craftsmanship. The hilt looked like it was made of gold. An intricate pattern swirled from the front which faded as it slowly reached the back where a black gemstone was carved inside. I wonder what it is. I touched it slightly and turned it over again to look at the pattern.
It's so pretty...
It looked like an emblem of some sort. Does he belong to a distinguished family? Or did he steal this from someone? The reflected light from the steel blinded me for a moment so I moved it away from the strings of the morning sun that reached the ground despite the lush barrier of leaves growing from the humongous trees. I removed the sheath to check if it would be useful in a struggle and found the edges were frighteningly sharp. I even cut myself by accident while removing the sheath.
