The animalistic noises just past the door eventually settled. Reia waited a long while before she eventually gained the courage to peek open the door. The sword was dragged beside her when she leaned against the doorframe and ducked her head outside.

A tall heap was lying at the foot of the stairs. Deep huffs of breaths came from him as he faced away, ending with more of those little whines that sounded awful, like he was in terrible pain.

“Are-are you okay?” she asked with just her head outside.

He turned his head to her, and she was thankful to find his eyes blue, like he was sad rather than an anger-filled red.

“It hurts.”

Stepping outside slowly, she came forward so she could see him better. There was a small pool of blood forming beneath him, and his wounds looked severe. There were a few bite marks around his neck and shoulders while his torso was covered in deep gashes.

“I want to help,” she told him, her eyes bowing in sympathy for him. “But I can’t. I’m sorry.”

She couldn’t risk getting hurt because he lost it again. She couldn’t wash his wounds or bandage them like she had for Orpheus.

Shit, I really trust that big bonehead.

“It’s fine. I will heal soon enough.” Then he curled into a ball as he hugged his midsection and shuddered slightly.

“Can I stay? I will be attacked if I leave. I do not want more pain.”

“Yes, you can stay there.”

Reia kept the sword firmly in her hand as she slid her back against the wall outside and sat. She stayed there and watched him. Part of it was so that he didn’t have to be alone while he went through this. Another was so that she could, maybe, protect him if another flying Demon came.

I’ve never seen one before. She eyed its headless corpse on the ground, black feathers like a sea around its body.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said quietly when his movements settled, and his shaking eased.

Fortunately, the puddle had stopped growing a while ago as the day grew into the mid-afternoon.

“I did not mean to attack you, Reia human person.” He finally pulled away from his curled-up position to sit while leaning on an arm and hip. “I am sorry.”

“All good,” she said with a laugh because it definitely hadn’t been all good. “It’s not the first time I’ve been attacked by a Duskwalker.”

“He has attacked you?”

“Orpheus has tried to eat me multiple times.”

“And yet, you are his friend? I do not understand.”

Reia gave him a smile, knowing her eyes were glittering with the brightness of it.

“You did not mean to attack me, just as he didn’t mean to attack me. He has protected me multiple times, and he is very sweet which makes it easy to forgive him.”

He groaned as he continued to steady himself, touching his wounds on his chest to check them.

“But sweet is a taste. What does that mean?”

“It means he is very kind and gentle with me. He puts my needs first and wants to make me happy.”

“Hmm.”

He placed his hand on his snout and started tapping it in thought. She was beginning to wonder if he did it so much because he found it hard to think, like it was a difficult strain that required the help of an action.

He didn’t give her a reply before he started making his way to his feet, stumbling a step and using his hand to steady himself. He hissed in a breath that came out as snort through his nose.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she got up to stand as well.

He made his way to the flying Demon to drag it over the yard.

“Outside.” He pointed to the new Demons that had come and had already eaten the one she’d killed earlier. “They will help to get rid of its body. I will try to hide the smell of blood with dirt.”

He tossed its corpse through the barrier and the others descended upon it without hesitation, making wet, slurping sounds as they ate. She watched them with a cringe marring her features. Ew, gross.

The Duskwalker limped around while occasionally clawing into the ground to collect dirt and sprinkle it on the patches of blood.

“I have dirtied your hut.” He pointed to the bottom of the stairs where flecks of blood had managed to fling off his body and onto them when he’d been attacking the barrier.

“They are inside your protections. I cannot hide them.”

Reia walked inside and grabbed a wet cloth to wipe it down and then threw it into the fireplace so it could be burned when she lit it at night.

“There, all gone.”

She clapped her hands together like she was brushing them of dirt as she came back outside to walk down the steps and out of barrier since she felt like it was safe to do so.

He’d calmed down, and she really wanted her sword back.

She was also starving after the events of the day and could really use something to eat.

After her few hours of resting while watching him recover, her shoulder didn’t hurt so bad. It was still tender to touch

so she tried not to move it too much.

She placed her hands on her hips while awkwardly holding the sword.

“I don’t have any food for you, but I do have water. Are you thirsty?”

He surprised her when he reached forward to place his clawed fingertips on her cheek.

“What is it you are doing with your face?”

“Hey!” She stepped back and smacked his hand away.

“We spoke about this.”

His hand flung away, and he cupped it to his chest while his eyes turned white.