Bloodfang

The Map

Feral watched as the boy occasionally stopped, glanced around him, then walked again, every step bringing him closer to his chosen spot and Feral's perch. Other than being overly cautious the boy always seemed happy. Or he had done until today. Feral noticed a slight droop to the boy's shoulders this morning. His face, usually an open book, looked a little sad. Feral could have listened in to what the boy was thinking to assuage his curiosity but doing that risked letting the boy in, too. Feral was still unsure as to how this communication between the two of them worked. As he was not ready to reveal himself, Feral did not risk reaching out mentally, and chance opening a frequency.

So instead he did as he had done the last three days; he watched.

The boy, an apparent creature of habit, also did what he had been doing over the last three days. He sat down and propped his back against the large pine tree. But today, unlike the last three days, the boy did not reach for his things. Instead he plopped the army bag onto the ground beside him and left it untouched.

Feral did not know what to think of the boy's behavior. He was not crying. His heart rate was steady and even. Despite not having any outwardly obvious symptoms it was clear that all was not right in the boy's world. His apathy confused Feral. Not being able to step into his thoughts frustrated him. The fact that he cared one way or the other infuriated him!

But he did care and he was curious. He just did not know what to do about either of those things.

More time passed and Feral watched as the boy just stared blindly into the forest. He did not hum or talk to himself as he was often want to do. Feral had observed him many times over the last several weeks expelling thoughts and observations to no one there. But today he was silent. His silence disturbed Feral more than anything. When the boy released a loud pent up sigh, Feral decided he had had enough!

But he didn't leave like he thought he was going to do. He didn't fly away. Instead, he sprang from his perch and flew down, down to land directly in front of the human with a solid thud and loud flap of his wings! The boy's head whipped up and his mouth opened. Feral heard his heart gallop into life. Feral was pleased by that sound. The kid was showing at least some spark!

Feral retracted his wings before the boy lifted his head. He wanted the human to be more animated, not frightened. Though the boy had seen his wings it was not something Feral wanted to draw attention to. He still was unsure of this child or if he could trust him. Drawing attention to just how different he was-was not something he yet felt comfortable doing, so instead he acted as if he had bounded up to him at full speed and not dropped down from the sky.

He did not have to wait long for the boy's response. The shock on his expressive face turned to open pleasure and what looked like... relief. The dullness and dejection he had been projecting the last few hours was wiped away. His cheeks flushed red and his dark brown eyes fairly shown with excitement. It was then Feral realized the boy had been acting unhappy because he had been missing... him. Though Feral had known he was the reason the boy was out here to begin with he had not realized it was because the boy... liked him... was missing him. The concept made Feral feel strangely warm inside.

The human jumped to his feet and lunged toward Feral before abruptly checking himself, to take a quick step backward. Feral had the funny feeling the boy had been about to hug him.

"Hello!" the boy said in a rush. "I thought maybe you were gone!" he confessed.

"I have not gone away," Feral replied, almost tacking on, yet. He was not sure if getting close to this human was a good idea. He was still undecided whether he would stay in the area or leave. Whether he should!