Primal

Chapter Thirteen

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Chapter Thirteen

 

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. ~Edmund Burke

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They were close to a small market town that Aeron claimed was in the middle of the forest. By his words alone, it was a small little area with outlaws from all races mingling together in peace. It was perfect in the way he kept describing it, like it was some kind of temporary peace within their tiring travels. “How much longer?” Tilly moaned from a few feet back, causing Noor and Aeron to share an annoyed glance. The small girl complained every few feet, not allowing any true amount of time to pass before she would make another comment.

 

Nobody answered her, knowing that the same words would leave her mouth as soon as she could process their own response. There was a howl in the distance, but none of them were worried about it. They had faced enough wolves to grow immune to just a few scattered attacks, and they weren’t so tired that they couldn’t protect themselves. Noor leaned against Aeron’s side, his arm holding her body up from the ground. “I thought you said that it was close.” She whispered into his forearm, causing an immediate sigh to leave his mouth.

 

He never answered her either. He was tired of answering people, knowing that it was only another hour away if they kept at this slow pace. Another howl, this time closer, and the terrible smell of unwashed wolf fur and decaying meat brushed against his nose gently. His arm tightened around Noor instinctively as if his single limb would be shielding her from all harm. The smell was growing stronger, and he could hear the crunch of leaves under Tilly’s feet stop as she began to smell it too. Stronger and stronger, he could now hear the soft growls. He turned to face their arriving bodies, the pack large and hungry. Their fur was matted down with a dried mixture of blood and mud, their teeth stained red.

 

Their attacks were sudden, a blurred mass of infuriated bites and ravenous claws. There were angry howls from the wolves and pained curses from the group, blood falling onto the ground from both sides. Aeron lost sight of Noor, his eye frantically scanning the area as his hands snapped the neck of a larger wolf. Its limp body fell to the ground, and he heard a female scream fill the air. “Noor?” He yelled out as the grey bodies fled the scene. Gentle hands wrapped around his wrist, and he looked down to see big yellow eyes looking up at him. Noor was there, concern flowing onto her face in one large wave.

 

Tilly. She was laying there in the clearing, her small fingers holding onto her leg as her face watched in anguish as the blood slide through the cracks of her fingers and onto the ground. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” She repeated to Zander, whose body was kneeling next to her in worry. Aeron wasn’t sure when they had become so close, but it wasn’t the time to question that. Aeron walked away from Noor, leaving her standing there as he looked over the gash. Tilly let out a cry of pain as Aeron took off his cloth shirt and wrapped it tightly around her leg to try to slow the blood flow.

 

“We have to get her to the town. Now.” He demanded, throwing her body into his arms in one fluid motion. They all moved quickly through the trees, a new determination in their steps. They hadn’t traveled this speed since they had all met up, all three of them running as fast as their bodies would allow.

 

By the time they reached the tent town, Tilly’s quick breaths were gasping for air, begging for oxygen to come into her lungs. People almost immediately turned their attention to the new arrivals, calling out for some kind of medical attention to help them. Two people came over, one Fauneck and one Felamus, their hands taking Tilly from Aeron’s. The three of them disappeared into the nearest tent, and Aeron immediately collapsing onto the ground. Noor’s hands were on her back to try to comfort him, but nothing could get him to calm down then. Noor managed to get him to his feet, pulling him towards the only permanent standing structure—a wooden cabin with a rickety sign dangling above the door labeled ‘The Shattered Blessing Inn’. Zander walked ahead to get them a room as Noor attempted to get Aeron to speak. Her fingers kept rubbing the top of his head, her lips forming words that didn’t mean anything to him.

 

“She isn’t going to die, Aeron.” Noor’s voice whispered, her lips gently touching the top of his forehead. “It was just one cut on her leg. We’ll be stuck in this place for a little bit, but we’ll be moving again soon enough.” He simply nodded, his hand tapping her on her shoulder to tell her that he’d be fine. Eventually, all of them would be fine.

 

Their fingers became intertwined as they walked towards the rooms that Zander managed to scrape together in the farther end of the inn. The hallways were thin, the floorboards creaking loudly under each footstep. The tent marketplace outside had created their town around this building, but it was falling apart at the seams. The rooms were not much better; the bed springs squeaking under every slight movement and the sheets torn. Aeron didn’t really expect it to be much better. After all, how would the people buy anything nicer than this? They made a living off of creating their own products and stealing from rich Nocarae travelers. Noor sat him down on the bed, checking over the surface of his skin for any cuts or bruises. He knew that he wasn’t physically damaged, all of the pain he felt directly coming from his heart alone.

 

Her hands finally landed on his shoulders, her eyes staring directly on his face. “Snap out of it.” She demanded, giving his upper body a sharp shake. “We all need you.” She let go of him, turning to walk out of the room and probably join Zander in the hallway. He moved quickly, his fingers tightening around her wrist, pulling backwards to keep her there.

 

“Stay.” He said simply, the single word looming in the air between them. Noor looked at him, her eyes sad as she thought over his words. He knew they would make no difference, the two of them probably had so much to talk over in reference to everything that had recently happened, but he couldn’t let her just walk out the door to someone else.

 

He smiled upon seeing her nod gently as she sat down beside him on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in, taking in her scent without a word. They sat there like that, neither one of them speaking in the beginning, only enjoying the company of one another. She curled into his arms, her body fitting into his arms almost perfectly. “Aeron?” She eventually whispered, her voice opening his eye as if he had never seen before. “Why did you ask me to stay?”

 

The words hung above them, many different answers moving through his head. “Please Noor, listen to me. I don’t have a lot of time before Zander comes looking for you, so just listen. I really shouldn’t be talking to you and trying to get you to come back to me, I’m just putting you in danger. The noble thing to do would be to keep you out of it. After everything I have done, the noble thing for me to do would for me to just let you just go home now.” Aeron stopped, his hands moving to weave into her knotty hair softly. When they first met, her hair was sleek and absolutely perfect. Everything about her was nothing but pristine, and now she looked as if she had never seen a shower with her own eyes. He had done that to her, he had done everything to her. Her body was tired, her mind was tired, and she needed to rest. She needed to permanently rest in one spot, finding her own home in the world.

 

He continued on then, taking a deep breath before he allowed his words to sound. “But Noor, I’m not a noble person, and I’m no hero, even if that’s what you want me to be.” His words were soft, gentle loving tones flowing into her ear. “That’s why I need you. I need you because I’m a coward and I can’t do this without you.” Tears were flowing from her eyes now, streaming to drip down onto his chest. She shook her head gently before pushing her head into his skin forcefully, her sobs coming out in syncopated cries. Everything that had built up inside of her chest was now releasing itself, and he just let it all come out of her in one single moment.

 

Aeron considered it somewhat ironic that she had entered this room to comfort him, and in that very moment he was comforting her like he should have been all along.