We both stiffen. “I’ll accept it.” He narrows his eyes at the pig for a while, “It does make sense why you are so small for your age.” Then he looks at me, “Normally I would have punished you for your attitude and blatant disobedience but I’ll let it slide this time.”

“You gonna ignore slashing me and then sewing me up?” My voice trembles a little. “You tried to get me attacked, of course I didn’t blindly obey. I was scared.” My voice cracks and the teen winces a little. I note that maybe I should talk to him about what happened next time we’re alone, he was hurt too. 

The madman hesitates and then crosses his arms, “I acknowledge that. I’m guessing you’re going to tend to the pig more now?”

“I was always going to tend to him,” I say softly, exhausted, shaking my head. “Since you seem to be a little more… understanding right now, let me leave him unshackled.” I clench the key in my pocket.

“What if he runs off?” The madman tilts his head.

“Good.” I shrug.

“I won’t.” The teen says, staying still, under my hand as it’s still on his bristles, “I won’t leave my sister.”

I frown in guilt especially when I feel a twinge of jealousy. He had family left. 

“Are you hungry?” The madman asks completely ignoring him, “I’m going to go hunting soon.” He gestures to a set up of what I realize is an outdoor grill. A public one I think with a wince. I shake my head no quickly, feeling sick and notice that once again the dark black eyes are observing me. I glance up at the cold blue eyes that seem dark with evil thoughts then back to the dark brown or black eyes that are so soft and kind, the irony. The psycho walks away with a huff.

I can feel the breath of relief leave the teens snout. He rubs his neck and wrists with a little grimace then peeks up at me. I start as I see a flash of burns and then tilt my head looking at the illusion of the cute boy. The illusion makes me want to protect him but in reality I’m sure he’d be the one doing the protecting in any senario. 

The teen looks out into the woods. “I could forage,” his tired eyes can’t help but twinkle, then he winks at me, “and get you something to eat as well.” My expression of relief makes him smile a little before wincing in pain. I touch my healing lip subconsciously in understanding and then nod for him to go. 

“Be careful.” I whisper. He nods and hurries looking back quickly before ducking into the safety of the treeline. I wonder if he will actually decide to run away. I kind of hope he does.

The air is cool and I go to situate the adorable baby piglet more comfortably with blankets and keep her entertained. I glance over to the table to see the fairy press its body against the bars reaching out eagerly for the woods and I hesitate. The madman moves the cage closer to himself with a look at me. I lower my head with a shuddering breath. 

I get up abruptly and go back to the truck. Laying in the much comfier backseat now that it was made up as a bed and all the bags and carseat were out of it. Turning on my phone, I lay face down in my pillow, dozens of notifications go off and I snatch my phone. Opening up the messages from the really pretty teen from the motel. He’s sent multiple messages and pictures of himself on a little motel to motel road trip. 

‘Just checking in, it's been a while since I heard from you.’ 

I quickly text, ‘I’m okay. Looks like you’re having fun, where are you going?’

I look through the messages. Apparently the old hotel got busted so the workers moved on until the heat dissipated a little. He looks so happy and free. 

‘Dunno wherever the road takes us or the shadiest joint we can find lol.’

I have to scroll back up I tilt my head at some of the more seductive pictures he sent. ‘Is he flirting or does he just know he’s hot.’ I heart them and flush and then quickly send a little update as well making sure to leave out anything too detailed or weird. 

‘Traveling in a group too, got a brother and sister joining us to wherever our destination is still don’t know lol.’

‘Send a pic of your face?’ He asks randomly and I fluster, glancing at the madman. I make it less obvious that I’m taking a picture by taking it from my lap and unflattering angle especially when I awkwardly smile. 

I delete it quickly and then lift my phone and take one with a glare, mostly at how stupid I am about this. He probably just wants to make sure I haven’t been abused more.

I stare at it for a long time. 'Is this what everyone sees?' My hair is a moppy mess like always but a lighter warmer brown than my mom's. The orange hoodie making it look even lighter. It's getting pretty greasy too. I need to shower. I wince at the pain and sadness in my eyes that I remind myself is in my head. My eyes just look like I'm glaring to anyone seeing the photo.

Average brown eyes. My dad's eyes were brown and green but mine are an annoying amount of brown with a tiny bit of green. You couldn't even tell there was any green from this picture. I look at the it tempted to delete it as well, I'm average. My split lip draws my attention and I realize with irritation that it messed up the cupid's bow I inherited from my mom, going straight up through it.

I send it and he immediately has a group photo of everyone crowding to look at me, even editing little hearts and awww’s into it.

‘Little emo.’

‘Why he look so angry?’

‘Sorry they stole my phone. You look cute and significantly more healed so that’s good.’

I relax and feel a little embarrassed so it was just to make sure I was okay. I touch my slashed chest just as I realize my cut neck is in the image. I see three dots then they disappear then reappear again.

‘Wait, what happened to your neck?’

‘Freak accident.’ I type and then immediately regret it because I sent, ‘Freaky accident,’ instead.

‘Ooooooh someone have a vampire kink?’

‘Actually yes,’ I think to myself, flushing as I imagine fangs against neck and then text, ‘Possibly.’ I glance up as the madman notices the teen coming back. ‘Gotta go.’ I turn off my phone and jump down.

The boar stops at the outer edge of the circle and then hunches a little as he carefully steps over the circle which makes me confused. “Wait, why didn’t the circle work?” I whisper to him.

“I have no ill intent and I’m not that type of fae.” He whispers back. “It’s like pushing through water.” 

I narrow my eyes so that means that some creatures out there could just walk up on us? I get pulled out of my worries when he shows me what he foraged. It’s actually quite a lot.

"Wow." I say eyebrows raising, "Impressive."

His smile fades a little assuming I'm being sarcastic.

"No actually...maybe you could take me with you next time?" I tilt my head for extra emphasis.

He slowly let's out a shy noise, ever kind smile returning, "I've got a good nose."

I squint, "Which one, they're both," 'cute', "good."

He looks unsure again.

I continue, "So, you can just smell it under the ground and stuff?"

"I also have to keep an eye out but yeah." He settles down near his baby sister. I pause reading his body language. Back turned to me a little as he checks on her. He looks back and smiles, "Aren't you hungry?"

I smile releived which honestly felt more like a grimace and sit down near him to share the nuts, berries, and roots. I ignore the mushrooms. I think about how easy it was to befriend the pretty teen this time my experience is a bit more what I was used too.

'Maybe I should adjust my approach.'

"Will you show me?" I ask forcing a little exitment into my voice because I was apparently sucking at sincerity so far. I end up sounding more breathless.

He goes through some complicated emotions, it's obvious he likes the thought but still doesn't totally trust I'm not teasing, "Yeah o, of course."

"It's a useful skill to have." I hear my tone become monotone again so I suck in a breath looking up. "One...I'll probably need."

"Yeah it is." He says mostly to himself cracking open the stubborn shell of a nut.

I stare at it enviously, 'If only I could get him out of his shell that easily.' I look down at the one that I’m using my knife to assist, the shells of whatever it were are particularly stubborn.

“Here.” He says and hands me the one he already opened, easily cracking open the other one with his teeth for himself. I eat it gratefully and rub my hurt arm giving it a much needed break. He notices I’m also avoiding the mushrooms. “I promise you’ll like the more yellow one.” He grins lopsidedly at me. I look at him and wince before tentatively taking a bite then frown a little. 'It's not horrible.'

He laughs, “They're better cooked but good right?” I shrug a little and then he looks at the fire that the madman started. 

“Stay here.” The uncle comes up behind me putting a hand on my shoulder. He uses the truck keys and locks the fairy and the baby in the truck before leaving. I frown. The teen watches tensely. I go to him and instinctively touch his arm. He doesn’t respond until the madman disappears from view then looks at me. I can’t make out his expression but it’s probably grief and frustration.  

“Try it now?” He asks hopefully. I blow on the mushroom and and then bite into it perking up a little bit, ‘some salt and this would be amazing.’ He sighs and stands up straight stretching by leaning back a little, reminding me how much bigger he is than me. I turn away a little noticing my shoudlers hunching a little. He rubs his forage stained hands on his pants and then smiles at me. 

“What if he never came back?” He muses, we're sitting again, poking at the fire.

I laugh, “That’d be great. I'd break the window to get in the truck, hotwire it and drive to the nearest diner for some real food.” I notice his smile tighten before I frown, “But then I’d get killed by the monster that’s after us. Unfortunately I need him to protect me for now.”

“What’s after you?” He asks, concerned. I suddenly realized I wanted to ask him something about that. “Do you know what type of fey it is? It was like a tree, its skin was bark and it was really aggressive.” 

He looks thoughtful, “Maybe a forest guardian.” He looks a little uncomfortable, “But to piss one of those off you’d have had to-”

“I have the scent of their dead on me.” I say curling in on myself.

“Did you..?” he looks uncomfortable, knowing what the apothecary box carried. 

“I tried to stop him but I guess they saw me with him and then assumed I took part, then of course he forced me to…to take part recently so.”

The teen lifts his hand to comfort me and then hesitates as I tense, “Does touch make you uncomfortable?” He glances at the slash in my hoody.

I mess with it. “Is the smell bothering you?” I ask, getting up and wandering away a few steps trying to avoid the turn in conversation. He shakes his head, “It’s faint.” I play with the hoodie strings for a second. Finally, I go back to sit down next to him.

He’s playing absent-mindedly with a ladybug on his jacket. I watch and feel a little safer around him, reminded of his gentleness. And of course the fact that he didn’t want to eat me, or couldn’t even smell my blood without gagging helped. I observe a few of his decorative pins. I wonder what they mean?

I reach out to touch one. “What’s this?” 

He looks like he wasn’t expecting that. “I was given it as a gift… after I… came out.”

I look at the colors, “So…?”

He makes a face, “I don’t really want to be talking about this with you.” I almost missed a beat, cause it hurts more than it should, “Yeah you’re right.” I turn away and suddenly pull out my lighter. I flick it a few times and notice him watching me confused. “I like the noise.” I say.

I notice his real ear flick a little as I keep doing it, “I’m probably annoying you so I’ll go.” I mutter.

I get up and go sit behind the truck to be somewhere by myself.

‘Did I misread something? We were being so friendly. Or maybe I was misreading all that. Maybe I should be more guarded around him too.’ I pull my headphones on curling up and self soothe for a while, especially since my arm is so sore. ‘I guess asking personal questions about pins is weird.’ I clench my fingers hard into my arms, ‘Or maybe it was because I asked specifically about his sexuality, did he think I was coming on to him?’ I think about the green haired guy he’s more my type anyway, we could probably keep it simple and not anything complicated like a relationship. No offense to the boar but he seems like the type to fall hard.

I light the lighter and look at the fire for a little before bringing my fingers over it. Lowering them until I wince but leaving them there feeling sharp pains, I wait until I feel the urge reaching down with the sensitive fingertips to touch myself. I quickly jerk my hand back, ‘What's wrong with me what am I doing?!’ 

I curl up on myself and bury myself in the darkness I feel bubbling. I stay there until I sense someone watching. I look up, pulling down my noise canceling headphones. I feel my breath catch when it’s a deer similar to the one before at the motel. Long white antlers dangling with something that sparkles in the sunlight. I watch as it approaches slowly until it’s a few feet away. I look back towards the campsite and try to keep it in my peripheral vision, my voice dying in my throat.

The deer keeps staring silently and I stand frightened. I watch as it observes me with ancient eyes. ‘I must be ridiculous to them.’ I think. ‘Fretting about little things when they’ve seen the birth and death of so many centuries.’ I tense as I take a step forward. My wounded arm reaches out on its own and tears fill my eyes as the deer touches its snout to my hand. I fall to my knees as it leaves just as calmly as it approaches. No judgment just healing me and leaving. I touch my chest with my healed arm, licking the split lip now just a scar.

“Wait.” I whisper hoarsely. The deer pauses looking back and I scramble to give it something. I dig a nickel out of my pocket and hold it. It’s all I had that felt valuable. It lets me approach and I feel a distinct shiver when I leave the circle. It stays still as I lift the silky strings tangled in its horns and tie one around the bauble. Once secured it transforms into a metal droplet and I make a murmur of awe.

The deer gently pushes me back until I’m back in the circle and then walks away. I feel tears pouring down my face because I want to follow it so badly but it’s not letting me. I blink rapidly and then cover my eyes curling up again. I thought unicorns were supposed to look like horses?

I look up as I hear a soft noise. The boar’s covering his mouth, eyes wide. I look at him over my arms but say nothing. Slowly he asks, “Do you know what that was?”