His ankle is now wrapped up neatly in a bandage and I offer him a ride back home. He's against it and says he'll be fine on his own, but I ignore it, I just pick him up and put in the horse saddle. My ride shakes and stomps in protest feeling the bad vibes as well, but I calm it down somehow when I pat it and shush. I grab the bundle of sticks and throw them over my shoulder, I grab to the reins and walk beside the horse. We don't talk much, but I can feel his piercing gaze on my back.
We reach the end of the forest, and the youth points at a house that stands to the right of the path. It's very close to the forest's entrance, the other village houses are further away, standing in a neat cluster past the bridge. So you want to finish me off in a secluded place like this? How convenient, I think.
"Would you like to stay and enjoy a meal with me?" He says once I put him on the ground. "You look like you could need some rest too." I shake my head. I lie that I am full, but of course the goddess of irony just had to screw it up for me, as my stomach growled loud denying what I just said. Jun tilts his head like a puppy "You sure...?" I surrender.
"Well... maybe I should grab a bite..." I'll eat something real quick and scram afterwards.
We enter the house after I tie my horse to the shabby fence. The inside is simple and tidy, only necessary furniture and tools are to see. Doesn't really feel like someone would live here, especially a guy - I expected it to be more messy. Maybe it's not even his house, but it belonged to someone who was chased away, or worse, killed.
"I hope you like scrambled eggs. Just give me a moment..." Jun rests in a chair and winces when he rubs his ankle. "It's alright, I can cook for us." My paranoia kicks in and I volunteer to prepare the food. Else he may go as far as to put drugs or poison in my share. "Got appetite for some pancakes?" He blinks and I can see a little blush on his face. "Sure!" he nods eagerly. Gosh, how cute. In that moment I didn't really care if he's a beast or not, and it didn't matter that I'm sleep deprived, I wanted to show off a little. A lot of my friends love my cooking and it's something I am proud of. I'm a simple man - I like to eat well, which is why I always carry a cooking set with me with some necessary ingredients. Speaking of which, he doesn't have half of what I needed, so I use my own supplies.
He watches me carefully when I recite the recipe out loud while mixing the stuff together. Soon the air is filled with loud sizzling and the smell of fried batter. He gasps and claps when I show him the trick with flipping a pancake in the midair. I divide the shares evenly and put on the table, pour some milk in the glasses. I ran out of syrup, so I open a jar of cherry preserves that I found in the cupboard. By the looks of it, he really enjoys my cooking, as I watch him how he digs in the fresh, fluffy goodies with excitement. That bright smile leaves no soubts - another satisfied customer. Thank you, thank you!
I almost forgot that I'm dining in the presence of a monster.
I finish my meal faster than him, and by the time he finishes his, I carve him a makeshift crutch for the wounded leg. I yawn and get up, it's time for me to retreat and get some rest before I can encounter him again. I might run some investigation in the village too and ask around if anybody knows something about this Jun guy. "If you're tired, you can use my bed" the person in question says as I'm gathering my stuff. "No thanks... It's in my policy to not to sleep in a private bed, for various reasons. Don't worry about me, I'll find an inn and crash there." That's not a lie actually, I do have my rules.
"Are you afraid I'll do something inappropriate? Do I look like a bad guy?" he frowns. No, you look like an angel, honestly. "Besides, there's no inn in this village. You'd only waste your time." He adds quickly. Aw shucks, for real? I sigh, thinking what to do now. It might be a lie though, so I can always pretend to go to bed and then sneak out through the window and ride away, hopefully without him noticing. "Well... alright. I'll take the offer this one time, I guess." I pretend to play along.
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