Xoris

Chapter Thirty Two

Warning: This chapter contains gore. If that is something that bothers you, I recommend skipping.

"Hold on a minute. I need a break."

Instead of turning around, Xoris continued to face forward, looking at Will from the back of his neck in acknowledgement. "All right." He took a step back from the thick green and purple brush, noting as Will flinched a bit behind him. "Are you also not feeling well?"

"No!" he shot back defensively, but Xoris could see him looking away once again. "I mean..." He sighed, realising that a yes or no answer didn't work well in the context. "I was just going to get some water. It's been..." He glanced at the empty sky above them, the light blue speckled only with a few clouds. "A while now."

"We can do that." It was a simple enough request. Xoris didn't think any sort of drink would clear up the constant ache settled in his throats, but he agreed that it had been a while now, at least three or four turns. Still, he couldn't help notice Will's standoffish demeanour as they headed towards the red stream they'd been following along the way. "Why did you flinch then? Are you cold?" He certainly felt shivery, perhaps Will did too. He reached his arm out a bit to the man, trying to inspect him better.

Will once again took a step away, giving Xoris a look. "No. How could I when it's so damn hot every day?" He wiped his one, untorn sleeve against his forehead, wiping away the sweat gathered there as if to prove his point. "No, I just really wish you'd... turn your head to look, or something if you're going to talk. No offence, but things are strange enough already, so when you don't do certain things, it's just..." He circled his hand again, trying to find a word, but eventually gave up. Xoris could see him swallowing hard as he finally stood at the river's edge, glancing down into the thick, crimson depths.

Is it important to turn my head? Luina had always raised him to know that it was rude to avoid eye contact, but he had done that. It felt like so much needless effort to focus out of his Human eyes. Why turn his head when he was already facing any direction he needed to? But Will only continued to stare off, offering no answer. Part of Xoris whispered of how none too long ago, he would have been afraid to even look out of any others in the first place, but he pushed the idea aside. Thoughts like that weren't healthy. They made it seem like he was changing, but that couldn't be right. He wasn't losing himself. He could be a Human and a Stained, if he wanted to. He just needed to figure out how.

All the same, if it made Will feel better, he figured he could do that much. Breaking away from the thickness of his stuffed mind, he made an effort to crane his head down, only to find Will about to dip his flask in the water. His hands jumped in response as a shout broke out of the mouth on his side. "What are you doing? You're going to get Stained!"

But Will already was filling up his flask, craning it towards his mouth with no hesitation. Panic surged through Xoris as he stood, watching in horror. He's going to die! I need to do something! Instantly, he yanked at the purple energy that lay sleepily within him, pushing it forward as he focused the eyes on his cheeks to the man's own warm brown. Stop! As Will's body froze up obediently in response, Xoris was already lunging to smack the flask out of his hand, sending it off to roll along the ground, its contents oozing out. Satisfied, he broke the connection, moving back with a sigh of relief.

It took a moment, but Will finally snapped back into his senses, blinking at him. "What... just happened?"

"You were about to drink the water, and I knocked it out of your hands to save you." Xoris beamed at him with a mouth full of fangs. "You're welcome."

His gaze only continued to shift between Xoris' face and the flask though, seemingly not content with the answer, but also not having a better one himself. All the same, he narrowed his eyes, shoving Xoris off him to go grab the flask once again. "I wanted to drink it. That was the entire point of coming over here."