FIRST ENCOUNTER
AN
Friendly reminder that English is not my native language, so if you see anything wrong and want to correct it, please do it politely :) thanks!
Hope you enjoy!
The cold, harsh wind whizzed past Lixian's ears as his wings carried him away from the death scene behind him. His breath came in staggered, pained gasps, while warm tears ran down his face. Even though he was exhausted, physically, and mentally, he couldn't stop. Not until he was somewhere safe or out of reach.
Painful stings coursed through his stomach when he turned directions, his flexing stomach muscles disturbing the wound there. Instinctively, his hand grabbed a hold of it. His balance wavered slightly with the sudden movement, and the wings flapping on either side of him felt heavy, too tired to keep him aloft after hours of flight.
Eventually, they failed him. He plummeted from the sky, his large black wings instinctively wrapping around his body as he fell.
He hit the ground with a loud thud, branches that had scraped against him on the way down now lying scattered next to him on the ground. Even the soil underneath him was dented from the impact. Lixian lays there for a good few seconds as his body shakes. He tried to breathe through the pain before slowly unravelling his wings from around himself.
He groaned, his wings now damaged from the fall. Slowly, he attempted to roll onto his side, his hands clawing at the ground. Taking a deep breath, Lixian pushed himself up onto his knees, his wings dragging on the forest floor, too exhausted to lift them up.
He gripped a tree trunk as he tried to stand, but his legs were equally worn out, trembling beneath his weight and causing him to stumble. He cried out in pain, his forehead resting against the tree as he struggled to catch his breath. This wasn't going all too well... It wasn't fair. Why did just he survive? As all these thoughts ran through his head, he couldn't help but sob quietly.
Lixian tried to rise again, but a sudden hum caught him off guard. Immediately, his heart went into overdrive as he grasped onto the tree's bark, slowly sliding back down to crouch low to the ground, hiding.
Was it one of them? Had they found him?!
His breath came in ragged gasps as he peeked from behind the tree, his eyes darting through the greenery for any sign of life. The hum came again, closer and louder.
Lixian's heart raced when he caught sight of the human—a young man—gathering sticks, a bunch of them already stacked under one of his arms. The young man, oblivious to Lixian's presence, softly sang to himself as he worked, not far from where the demon was hiding.
The man looked harmless enough with his curly brown hair, white blouse, and dark pants. But Lixian didn't trust appearances—he knew better. Every single one of them was evil.
As the human drew nearer, Lixian tried to slip away stealthily but flinched when a branch snapped under his weight. The sound was loud enough for the man to snap his gaze in Lixian's direction.
Their eyes met, and a shiver ran down Lixian's spine as he ducked back down behind the tree.
His ragged breathing worsened as the human called out, "Who's there?!" His hand clamped down over his mouth to silence himself.
When Lixian didn't answer, the man continued, his voice sounding more gentle, "I know you're there; it's ok... I'm sorry if I scared you."
Lixian looked up at the grim sky peeking through the leaves, unsure of what to do. He was in no condition to outrun or fight—his legs still trembled under his weight, and his wings were damaged. How could he escape?
"Why are you hiding? I've already seen you, you know?" The man's voice came closer, the snapping of branches confirming he was closing in.
With what little energy he had left, Lixian prepared to run. But before he could even move, a figure appeared from around the tree.
Startled, Lixian flinched back and scraped his wings. He yelped out in pain with the sudden movements, the pain forcing him onto his knees with his eyes squeezed shut, his right hand holding onto his stomach where the wound had started to bleed again. New tears started to stream down his face as he groaned in agony.
A soft gasp made him look up, the tears in his eyes blurring the figure standing a few feet away. The young man looked shocked, his gaze lingering on Lixian's wings. His breath wavered once he realised what Lixian was.
Lixian's vision blurred as he struggled to stand, not wanting to be so vulnerable on the ground. His legs wobbled beneath him, barely holding him up, when a sudden touch on his arm made him gasp and push away the human that had tried to help him. The young man fell back with a yelp and looked up at him in shock from the force.
"I-I'm sorry," the man muttered softly, moving slowly as he sat back onto his knees.
Raya, the human, had never seen a demon up close before, let alone spoken to one. Most of them could speak their language, but with the silence and the murderous glare he was receiving, he wondered if this creature could too.
His gaze flickered to the demon's hunched-over body, quickly taking in every injury he could see. The demon looked battered—rough slashes marred his torso, and a dark bruise encircled his throat. Raya could only imagine the mental anguish he must be enduring, making him wonder what had happened to this poor young man.
Raya's eyes widened and he fell to his knees beside the demon as he saw blood seeping through his fingers. "You need help!" he exclaimed, reaching out again. But a low growl and a flash of red eyes stopped him.
What was he supposed to do? He didn't want his help... But how could he expect him to just leave him out here? He couldn't... leave him.
The injured creature shook his head and collapsed; his trembling arms unable to support him any longer. Raya frowned in concern, his hands aching to help the suffering man.
"Please," he whispered almost desperately. "Let me help you."
Lixian wanted to yell at him to go away, to scare him off, but his head was spinning. He stumbled over his thoughts and words, his vision fading to black as his body finally gave out.
The last thing he saw before blacking out was a pair of brown, concerned eyes looking down at him.
