Black Equation - The Hunted Ones

THREE

"Being different can be dangerous."

THREE

"Stop making fun of him," a cheerful voice admonished from a distance. "If you are uncomfortable seeing him in his birthday suit, you could just politely tell him to wear clothes. His clothes are already dry."

The girl rolled her eyes, a corner of her pink lips lifted in a sneer as she faced the other boy. "Not my fault he seems oblivious to the world. He might have drank a lot of seawater, muddling his head."

Meric immediately felt his worries evaporate at the familiar sound, but still, this didn't show in his stiff face. For some reason, he had this intense urge to slap this silly little girl. He grabbed the clothes folded near his feet. He could not find the boxers, so he simply wore the wrinkly, tattered denim that slightly resembled pants. Better rags than nothing.

His tone was low as he quickly inquired to the newcomer, "You all right?"

Coming out from the woods, a seventeen or eighteen year old brown-haired boy in threadbare cargo shorts carried a load of dry wood in his arms. His whole body was the same with Meric, covered with cuts and bruises. On his neck, there were even marks of being choked with ropes. There were a lot of shallow cuts on his arms, but there was a frighteningly deep wound on his left shoulder. However, it was bandaged with a long strip of cloth, and only the blood stain gave out the situation.

Unlike Meric with his grave and serious aristocratic features, the younger boy was all smiles with warm, honest features.

"Nothing worth fussing over. A little tired and hungry, that's all," his friend, Kreuz, replied with a nonchalant shrug. He placed the sticks in front of the girl, squatting over and arranging stones around the wood as if they were about to have a bonfire party.

The girl threw something on top of the wood, and Meric stepped back in haste, only to realize they were only strips of fabric and lace, most likely belonging to a dress.

The girl chuckled, her low, sultry voice filled with unrestrained disdain. "Prince Blondie here is as jumpy as a rat. D'you think I'll do something to hurt you when I even sacrificed my clothes to save you?"

"Prince what?" He gritted his teeth. "I have a name, and it is Meric."

"And? All High and Mighty Prince Blondie, this doesn't change the fact that you are one, scared of me, and two, suspicious of me."  

Meric realized that the girl tore down her dress to cover Kreuz's injury, preventing it from festering. However, this also doesn't change the fact that has a very bad impression of her. He wasn't one to easily forgive grudges, but he also knew how to distinguish favors. This annoying little girl was Kreuz's savior. Swallowing his pride, he knelt in front of her.

"My apologies, miss." He lowered his head in shame. He took one deep breathe. "Forgive me if I have offended you. This one merely acted out of caution."

"You have a funny way of speaking." The girl curiously stared at him, tapping her lip with a dainty forefinger. "And although I appreciate you worshiping me like a goddess, I don't think this is being practiced by Americans in the 1980's."

Kreuz forced a laugh as he pulled Meric up to sit beside him. "Is that so? How quick the world has changed."

"That is so." She quirked a brow.  "And so is the fact that you are not from here. Where are you from?"