Stray In The Storeroom (2)

The clock on the wall ticked the seconds away is I slumped deeper into the chair. It had been six hours since I found the Jinko in the back room, and I vowed to not leave her side until she woke up. That was proving harder than I thought. The only thing keeping me up aside from the coffee was the adrenaline coursing through my body and anxiety pumping my heart.

The seconds turned to hours as all I did was watch what was in front of me. My heart throbbed in pain at the thought of her dying. Although I had found the stranger not long ago and hadn’t even seen her open eyes, I felt obligated to help.

Eventually, her body slowly twitched awake. I had almost fallen asleep, but was nearly jumping up and down as her paw moved to her good eye and rubbed it open. Her body shifted on the couch to make her sit in an upright position. Once she became fully conscious, she looked around the room thinking about where she was, before finally putting her attention to me. She jumped back a few inches and showed her teeth. Most of them were dull points, and a few were missing.

“Hey there.” I spoke softly, making her ears perk up. “Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Whoo yoou?” She spoke in a heavy accent that I couldn’t discern. “Why I herre?” She pounced at me while still staying seated, I jumped to my feet. She stared at me, her eye piercing through me. Although she wasn’t a hellhound, if looked like her eye was on fire.

“I found you in my cabin storeroom, you’re in bad shape. I bandaged your body and let you warm up by the fire.” Her raging demeanor calmed significantly once she took a breath and actually noticed the full situation she was now in.

“Oh. Thank yoou.” She held her paws together and cradled the digits while averting her eyes. For an 8 foot tall mamono, she certainly was timid. Or maybe that’s just an act. I once again held my hands up until I sat back down.

“What’s your name?” She paused, it seemed like she was debating whether to tell me.

“...Yelena. Yelena Cheshra.” I hadn’t heard a name like that before. It sounded nice.

“I’m Brandon.” She nodded, seemingly not paying attention. “What were you doing in my storeroom?” She huddled her body tighter together.

“Hiding.” That surprised me. There isn’t any civilization I know of for at least 50 miles, apart from a few other rental cabins.

“Hiding? Hiding from what?”

“Banditss. Banditss took overr villaje.” Oh dear, is that how she got her injuries? “I run off, trry to find new plase.” A small tear ran down her face. All I could do was place a hand on her shoulder.

“How long ago was that?” Yelena paused again.

“Two... thrree months? Fourr?”

Ok how is she still alive? I know Jinkos are fierce fighters, but for that long in the forest during winter? That explains her condition. I wanted to think of the best thing to say, but I changed the subject.

“Well, that’s a long time. Are you hungry?”

“No thank.” Her thin, emaciated figure said otherwise. Anything would be good for her at this point. I stood up and walked to the small pantry. A water bottle and an uncooked steak would work for now.

“Here you go.” The plate clinked on the table in front of her.

“I say I not hungrry.” I leaned back into the couch with her by my side. Her stomach growled at the sight of the meal, and she reluctantly dug in. It didn’t take long for her to eat the plate clean. Her face appeared both content, yet ashamed at the same time.

“There, now that wasn’t so bad. Was it?” She was seeming to get more anxious as time passed. It was uncomfortable for the both of us, but more notably for her.

“You no need to gife help. I sstrrong Jinko.”

“Of course I do. I think you can be strong, but you need to heal.” I explained. Yelena sat in silence pondering my words. She looked outside of a small window near the front door, the snowflakes outside now falling considerably faster.

She was likely in a bad state of mind with her condition, anyone would. All that time out in the wilderness with a slew of injuries. But I couldn’t really tell how she felt. Lost, confused, scared? Was she even thankful for my help? A yawn exited my mouth as my mind kept racing.

All this time awake helping Yelena tuckered me out. Good thing I was already next to a fireplace, pillow and blanket. I zonked out before I knew it, Yelena by my side.

——————————

I awoke in a daze several hours later, the room having noticeably dipped in temperature. The fireplace was almost extinguished...

And the front door was wide open.