Primal

Chapter Six

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Chapter Six

 

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

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He had finally physically touched her in a way that wasn’t fighting, and he was surprised that he managed to make his hand come across as gentle with a touch soft. All he had done in his life was take the lives of others to save his own skin. He should never be able to care for another, never be able to touch another with kindness and affection. When he did finally touch her, a shock had moved through his veins, and his skin was still throbbing minutes later.  He had saved her life just then, and his adrenaline was now pumping through his veins with a wild ferocity. How would she have reacted if she knew that it was Aeron? Would she have still said thank you as she had to the stranger, or would she have tried to attack him once again? The worried possibilities appeared within his head one by one, floating around in a whirlwind, filling every inch of his mind. He was hidden within the branches now, following her from above. Light feet were jumping from branch to branch, his fingers wrapping around the leaves rustling around him. His hair fell down now, shielding his face from anyone that would happen to somehow look up and see him. His trained eye watched a feather drift from her wing, flying with the trail of the wind until it landed into his palm.

 

He had to talk to her. Tonight. Even though he had just left her alone, he had to go back to her. Was it too much? Was it pushy? He wasn’t sure of either of those answers, but he knew that the feather was a sign that he must go to her as soon as possible, continuing to save her from any danger. It wasn’t an option that could be questioned or considered, it was going to happen. He wasn’t sure how he would make it happen, but there would have to be a way. He couldn’t think about it, he just had to act. His body dropped down from the branches thick, landing just a few inches behind her silently. “Noor.” He whispered, reaching out to stop her. His fingers gently brushed against her wrist, wrapping his fingertips around the gentle bones. He felt like he could easily snap her in half with a single twist, but this time his intentions weren’t to hurt her. The area around them was so dark that she wouldn’t be able to recognize him, the air even darker than it had been a few minutes ago. “Hello.” His eyes adjusted, his eye slowly focusing on her face. Her expression was confused and concerned, her mind most likely wondering who the man in front of her could possibly be.

 

“Who are you?” She whispered, reaching out to touch his face with gentle fingertips. Was she scared? She seemed scared. He never meant to scare her, but it was part of the whole ‘falling out of the trees and claiming that you were there to save their life’ thing. “Are you the one who has been watching me?” How does one even answer that question, with the way she had put it there was no way it couldn’t seem like there were sinister intentions behind his actions. There weren’t, but how could he possibly explain that? Even if it was for her best interest and protection, it was true that he had been following her around in the shadows for so many days that it became routine.

 

“It doesn’t matter who I am.” Aeron said as he took a step backwards so he would be out of her blind reach while still holding on to her wrist. “It matters that you’re safe. And I will keep you safe. You’re in danger, Noor. You need to be careful of everyone you interact with.” He finally dropped her wrist when he was done speaking, allowing her to back away as well. She didn’t respond to his claim then, turning and quickly walking away from him. She faded into the dark, and he wanted nothing more than to follow her. He had to warn her. She had no idea what kind of danger that she was in. He didn’t want her to leave him; he wanted her to know whom he was. If she kept walking away like this she would die before daybreak. She was especially in danger with her friend on the constant verge of betraying her. Aeron might not have been able to stop them right then, but he would be there to protect Noor when the terrible people acted. Or maybe they weren’t even planning anything at all. He had seen another form following Noor around, but he hadn’t been able to track them down enough to see who it was.

 

His interest in her was odd, and he knew that. He had been told that by Tilly many times, yet every dream that crossed his unconscious mind only brought his fascination to a new level. Every night for the past eight years he had the same dream, only tiny details altering with the decisions he made. Every time the night began to come to a close, his dreams ended the same way; Noor dying. It wasn’t important how she died—every night the situation she was in was different. She would fall from the bridge; a Felamus would kill her; She would drown in a river. In all possible scenarios he was just out of reach to help save her life. When one of his dreams eventually came true, he would have to be there to save her. He owed it to her; in every dream her wing would cause all of her possible deaths.

 

Though he had meant to kill her in their first encounter, the dreams had formed a bond with her that he couldn’t break no matter how hard he tried. She could be described as nothing less than a toxin. Once she was inserted into his mind, there was no medicine that could save him from his fate. She wouldn’t feel the same way at first, of course, but he was determined to change the future. Watching her die helplessly time after time again was too much for anyone to bear, and now his mind was full of pictures of a broken wing and his heart longed to see her yellow eyes.

 

When he could no longer feel her presence lingering in the air, he began to follow the path back to her shelter. She lived in that building, but he could tell that it was no home. He knew that the wooden space she lived in was a building with four walls and a roof, the ghosts of her nightmares constantly wandering through the empty spaces.