The next week passed by slowly. Ash didn't come by to recruit Sil, and I was grateful for that. Sil may have been a cannibal, but at least he was my cannibal. That and the fact that he cared about my wellbeing. He was good to have around when one was concerned about a different cannibal trying to send rain creatures to kill you. The evil you know...
That said, the days had been peaceful enough. No major beasts had come into the garden. Though, there was one creature that had. A little thing, somewhere between a rabbit and a snake, its fur blending into scaled patches. It'd had a long curling tail with a rattle and had been an off shade of fuchsia. To top it off, the vicious thing had been crowned with a pair of dainty moose antlers.
I hadn't needed Sil's help, though. It had been small enough for me to simply beat it to death with a nearby rake as it'd hissed. I'd examined it afterwards to find gashes along its tail, clotted and bloody.
Cannibal claw marks.
Sil had given it a grimace and we'd shared a look of unease. At least he was on my side...
Then there was that. That, being our 'relationship'. I'd spent the last few nights with Sil curled against me, his head often on my shoulder. It left me with a warmth in my chest and a tingle in my toes. I shouldn't, but I found myself becoming a little too comfortable around him.
He was more daring now, and I more tolerant... I wasn't sure that was a good thing, but I let him into my personal space anyway.
I even took pity on him and patched up his clothes occasionally. He'd sit across from me at the picnic table with his face plastered against the wood, a light pink tinting his cheeks and a low growl leaving him. His growl would grow louder and his flush pinker, whenever I started to chuckle. He'd give me an outright snarl when his actions started a full fit of laughing.
But, then I'd grin at him and his eyes would widen, a trilling purr slowly following. My stomach would fill warm and my throat bubbly. Even though I shouldn't, I found it nice. Certainly better than worrying about Scales trying to kill me.
And so, it was on the second day of the next week that I found myself sitting with my back pressed against the fountain basin. Sil sat curled up beside me, dozing off, and I was enjoying a can of Frawnana's fleeing rodent pasta and spaghetti. The mascot was a grinning grandmother holding up a winged rat by its tail. Their slogan? A chipper "A gleeful spaghetti, you won't soon regrhetti!"
...
Yeah.
I was starting to lose faith in the most recent generation. I'd thought I'd lost it all with the apocalypse, but no. There was still some left to be chipped away at.
Sil gave a soft snore and pressed further into my thigh. A smile curved my lips as I was broken from my thoughts. I shouldn't linger on such things. It was a nice day, not too cold, sunny enough, nice breeze.
And then the peace came crashing down as I caught the sound of padded feet on grass. I glanced up to see Ash making his way to us, a grimace marring his face.
Oh, boy.
I furrowed my brow and nudged Sil with my elbow. He grumbled and cracked an eye open to look at me. I nudged him again and he followed my gaze.
His eyes widened and he jerked up to a sitting position. Smooth.
Sil barked out a greeting, to which Ash narrowed his eyes. He gave his own bark as he sat down before us.
I glanced the other way and returned to my pasta as they started their conversation. Not like I could participate, and Ash seemed to have a foul air about him today. What had been chewing on his ear today?
My shoulders felt a touch stiff as Sil's tone elevated a touch. He rumbled something out, fast and even.
I flicked my gaze back to see Ash give a huff, growling in a flat tone.
Sil visibly swallowed and I raised an eyebrow at that. He mumbled back, his spine stiff.
We both flinched as Ash snarled, the sound like grating gravel. He spat something long out, eyes hard and his jaw set.
Sil winced, a sigh following as his shoulders sagged. He grumbled, briefly flicking his gaze to me. His brow was furrowed and his lips curled in a concerned grimace. He'd wanted to stay...
I gave him my own frown and shrugged. Ash was radiating distaste, his posture stiff and his back slightly arched. He stood abruptly, stalking off and throwing a snarl over his shoulder. He really needed Sil to do whatever it was he did, I guess...
Sil watched him go, but his gaze soon settled back on me, a whine leaving his throat.
I bit my lip. I guess it was left to me then.
I cleared my expression and made a shooing motion. "Go, I'll be fine. No sense in making your boss mad."
Sil gave me an incredulous look, but I merely held his gaze. Slowly, he turned and followed after Ash, stopping to look back after a few steps.
I mustered up a smile that was more of a grimace, and gave him a little wave. His frown deepened, but he nodded and bounded off to catch up with Ash.
I waited till they were long gone, before standing. This was the perfect opportunity to try and leave.
My heart tightened, but I swallowed it down. It didn't matter.
I marched my way to the hedge maze and dove between the dark leaves. A strong wind sent the walls into a flurry of shifting green, the clatter dizzying.
A touch of fog curled up my ankles as I walked, a slight chill running up my legs. How did one traverse a hedge maze? Wasn't it, follow the left wall when in doubt?
Well, worth a shot.
I wandered, the twisting paths all looking the same. A dead end here, a larger square with a pond there, a statue of Aquarius, a four-way intersection. A ... random vending machine?
Take a left, rest on a stone bench, right, right. No, other way. All these are dead ends... Going back, I guess. Did that turn take me back to where I had been?
Why couldn't the map have shown the layout? Had that bush spread to cover a path? Was I lost? Weren't these places required to have maps? Like a you are here sign or something? Yes. Definitely lost.
Oh, well there's one. I glared at it for a few minutes. What wasn't run through with jagged claw marks, was too faded to make sense of. Rain creatures.
Wander, wander, wander. Why did that wall have pink flowers? Roses? Another left, Had I been here before?
I meandered on for hours, stopping to take breaks and eat. It was late in the afternoon by the time I caught sight of something that could have been an exit. At this point, I didn't care if it was what I was looking for or not. I'd had enough of hedge mazes for a lifetime.
I was a foot away from the gap in the hedge when I heard growling. I froze, heart thudding. Great. I spend a day lost in a hedge maze and now I have to deal with cannibals too?
I slowed my approach and leaned to peer around the hedge. Oh, this was the meadow I'd ended up at the first time I'd gone through the maze. Huh, figures.
I scanned the gently swaying grass and soon found the source of the growling. My eyes widened as they landed on Sil and Scales. What?
They were sitting across from each other, Sil with a deep frown and Scales with sneer. They were talking, the growls and snarls quiet. I held myself still, listening.
I felt my cheeks pale as Scales broke out into laughter. Sil grimaced, a flat snarl leaving him.
Scales only wheezed louder. When he recovered from his fit, he smirked and sneered out something that ended in a cough. A question.
Sil snarled, louder than before as his eyes narrowed.
Scales snorted, shooting a grumble back and turning his attention to something nestled in the grass behind him. I couldn't see what from this angle.
He clamped his teeth around it and turned to present it to Sil. A chill ran up my spine, muscles stiffening and breath faltering. An arm, the hand dangling and limp. The elbow gone, leaving only a snarl of tattered skin and muscle.
Human.
No blood dripped from it, and I could see a few flies hovering about Scales' head. Not a fresh one, but I wasn't sure that was any better.
Scales dropped it, only to bend down and take a savage bite from it. He ripped the chunk out, chomping on it and letting the shredded skin dangle from his lips.
I felt my fingers tremble, breath fast.
Sil watched him with a grimace of distaste, body looking stiff.
Scales gulped the flesh down and snarled something, a sharp grin curling his open maw. He picked the arm up again and, with a flick of his head, tossed it at Sil's feet.
I could see Sil flinch back, his eyes going wide as he stared at it.
Nausea pooled in my throat as Scales continued his sneering. My mind was blank and my breath hitched as I watched Sil.
He stared down at the arm, frozen. He didn't seem to be paying Scales any attention now, just staring. I felt my mouth dry out as I saw a faint tremor run through Sil.
A few seconds passed and it became more pronounced. Enough that I could readily see it.
Scales didn't notice though, he just continued on about whatever he was ranting.
A breeze blew by and I just barely saw it as Sil's eyes twitched. And then he was moving.
He gave a roar, the sound making me flinch back to cover my stinging ears. Sil smacked the hand away, sending it up into and arched curve. It landed a few feet away, rolling a bit with a grassy sound.
Scales froze, his eyes going wide, but he didn't have any more time to react than that.
Sil pounced, swiping his claws into Scales' cheek. Scales scrambled back with a yelp, but Sil followed till he was nose to nose with him.
He snarled, the sound deafening, and snapped his teeth. He snarled something long and low out, his eyes narrow. Sil tossed his head towards where I knew the exit was.
Scales watched him with wide eyes, but didn't move. This earned him snarl and another vicious swipe.
Scales backed out of the way, but the swipe still nicked his already bleeding face. He shook himself, grumbling something slowly, and proceeded to make his way over to the arm. He snorted, giving Sil one last look before picking the arm up and taking his leave.
Sil snarled after him, glaring even when Scales was long out of sight.
A long few minutes passed and then Sil deflated, shoulders falling and a shuddering breath pouring out.
I swallowed, my throat dry. What was that about? Scales had tried to get him to eat...? Oh.
I was food. Right. But Sil... Right.
I watched Sil's trembling form. He held his head low, wide eyes glassy behind his hair as he stared into the grass at his feet. His fingers twitched, claws digging sharply into the ground.
I bit my lip, my stomach dropping. He... It bothered him that much? He couldn't even bring himself to eat a human limb? ...Because of me?
It wasn't like it mattered about his health, cannibals did just fine on human free diets. But, were there social obligations surrounding it? Then again, maybe clans didn't really care if some of their members skipped out?
Sil still sat there, unmoving and breathing unsteady. There was a touch of pain in my chest. I bit down harder, a red taste in my mouth, but not enough to draw blood.
I couldn't just leave Sil like this... What could I do?
Maybe...?
I swallowed, saliva scratchy in my dry throat. Now or never.
I slowly detached myself from the hedge I'd been leaning around. My muscles were stiff, but they loosened as I moved. Breathe. I took a moment to compose myself. It'd be better if it looked like I hadn't heard anything.
Smoothing my features, I stepped out into the meadow and gave a whistle. "Sil?"
He jumped, straightening up as he whipped his head around. His breathing was heavy as his gaze fell on me. I held still as his form loosened a touch, breathing easing and gaze softening.
I marched on over to him. "So, I've been wandering lost in the hedge maze for eternity and I think I could really use a bath."
He blinked at me, frowning and tilting his head to the side.
I sniffed my jacket, eyes catching on the smear of the tongue beast's blood. "Honestly, I really smell. I don't see how you can stand me with your better sense of smell, and all."
He coughed out a question, brow furrowed.
"I'd also like to get this blood off too. Do some laundry you know?" I leaned forward a bit and put my hands together. "Would you mind accompanying me?"
He leaned away a touch, frown deepening as he raised an eye brow.
I was simply rambling, but at least he was distracted now.
I gave him a wide smile and a shudder seemed to run up his spine.
"It's not really like you have a choice at this point. Come on!" I walked a few steps backwards and swept my arm in a becoming gesture.
He perked up some at that, getting to his feet. Good.
I turned and started walking, my chest loosening as I heard the sound of light steps behind me.