SarahNSH

CHAPTER 3: YOU EAT HUMANS

Cassia slowly awoke and peeked one eye open. The girl thought she might be able to catch the Donestre asleep, but he was watching her sleeping form. She stared into the pair of large cat eyes and couldn't help but to smile at him. Light streamed into the cave and illuminated his face. She slowly raised up on her elbows and took a deep breath. At first dots appeared in her line of vision, but they slowly disappeared. Breathing a sigh of relief she looked up at the Donestre and noticed he was no longer watching her.

"Please tell me I haven't slept for days," she said. The Donestre had his back turned to her and she could see he was searching for something.

"No, not days, just last night. I have food," he replied. He walked towards her with a fish poking out of his mouth. The Donestre sat down and offered the food to Cassia. She stared down at the uncooked fish as it looked back at her with its one eye.

"This is really nice of you to do but... I don't eat fish unless it's cooked."

"It's fresh, I killed it recently," the Donestre gave her a peculiar look. The girl felt hunger pains and heard her stomach growl in disapproval. She couldn't see herself biting into the fish's flesh without it being cooked. Racking her brain on how to make a fire she finally discovered the answer.

"Okay, I can make this work. If you can get me some branches and stuff nearby I think I can make a fire," Cassia stated. Annoyance flashed on his face and disappeared as he gracefully stood up. He spun on his heal and grabbed an object on the ground. Holding it in his hand he placed it within Cassia's reach.

"I will do this if it is the only way you will eat," he told her over his shoulder. He stalked toward the mouth of the cave and she observed him as he walked away from her. Cassia was mesmerized by his long, graceful strides as she finally saw him in the daylight. There was an underlying awkwardness to his movements, yet it was barely noticeable. When he had disappeared from her view Cassia brought her attention to the object in front of her. Picking up the circular bowl she carefully inspected it. She sniffed the inside of the cup to smell what it was and found it was odorless. Cassia brought the bowl to her lips and closed her eyes as she took a tentative sip. Cassia realized the drink was water and quickly guzzled down the entire bowl. Cassia wiped the back of her hand against her lips with a content sigh.

The girl eased herself to stand up and waited to see if she could move. Cassia didn't feel light-headed and moved forward to explore. Bones cracked and crunched beneath her feet as she advanced further into the cave. Bending down to one knee she picked up a fairly large bone of an animal she didn't recognize. She guessed that it was a leg bone and turned it over in her hand before setting it back down. Scanning the ground for remains Cassia noticed a skull out of the corner of her eye. She turned to the side and bent down to examine it. The girl felt an unease growing inside her as she gripped the bottom of the skull. Cassia lifted it with two hands and turned it so that the front was facing her.

Cassia covered her mouth to suppress a scream as the human skull rolled away. It stopped to give her a side-long glance and she saw that the jaw and several teeth were missing. An insect scurried out of the empty eye socket of the skull and disappeared. It didn't hit her until this moment that the Donestre she was with ate humans. Cassia recalled that he had threatened to eat her when they first met, but she didn't want to believe he'd do it. When she looked into the Donestre's eyes she didn't see hunger, only a plea for help. He was young, nearly her age, and she felt couldn't fathom him gnawing on human bones. An uncontrollable shiver run through her body as she desperately wanted to escape. Cassia backed away from the skull and turned to run away. She burst into a sprint only to collide into the chest of the Donestre. The sticks he was carrying plummeted to the cave floor as they stared at each other.

"You eat humans," Cassia stated breathlessly. She knew that the fear in her eyes was showing and she tried to control it. The girl found that she couldn't stop gasping for breath and tried to quel her terror.

"I shall eat humans," the Donestre replied in a casual tone.

"You mean you haven't yet?"

"I am too young and have not learned how to wear my mask yet. I must hunt smaller prey until I realize how to trick humans," he explained to Cassia. The girl's breathing slowed as she heard this, even though her heart beated fast in her chest. There was a question the girl desperately wanted to ask. It felt as if at any moment her heart might leap out and fall onto the ground still beating. Cassia battled with whether or not she should ask the Donestre what she wanted to.

"Will you ... will you eat me when you learn how to use your mask?" the girl blurted out. She adverted her gaze as a tense silence followed her question. Cassia found herself unable to move as she awaited his response.

"No," the Donestre answered simply. Her eyes darted up to catch his and she took a step forward.

"Will you trick me?" Cassia asked. There was an edge to her young voice as she stared him down. The Donestre seemed unfazed up until that point and he looked away from her. The girl didn't know if she was imagining it or not but he appeared embarrassed. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other before bringing his gaze back to Cassia.

"I cannot trick a creature such as you. I am afraid you would see past my mask into my true form," he admitted. Cassia didn't understand why she was blushing. She tried to quiet her insides as she looked bashfully at her feet. The girl didn't feel afraid and found that her heart was beating hard for some other reason. Deciding to hide her face from the Donestre she gathered the sticks he brought back. She strode away with them in her arms as she headed for the mouth of the cave. The girl could hear the Donestre following behind, though he made little noise.

"I'm going to show you how Maji make fire the easy way," Cassia stated with a smile. She set the small and long sticks in no particular order on the ground. Let's see if I can do this, Cassia thought as she closed her eyes. She slowed down her breathing and brought her hand over where the firewood was. Cassia repeated the same thought of her being fire over and over again. She recognized the gentle humming noise and her body gradually heated up. The girl transferred the heat to her arm and then to pool in her outstretched hand. She held onto the burning warmth and her eyes suddenly popped open.

Cassia snapped her fingers and at first nothing happened. Trying again she saw fire drip from her fingertips. She released her magic once the fire came in contact with the sticks and it spread immediately. The girl felt as if some of her energy had been consumed by the hungry flames. Pushing this aside she smiled at the Donestre next to her. She selected a thin stick from the stack and plucked it out. Cassia saw that her food was near the fire and drove the pointed end into the fish. Placing it on top of the blazing flames she watched it crackle and flicker in the brisk air.

"And you say the fish is better this way?" the Donestre asked in a sketical tone.

"Wait till you taste a small bite and you'll see why I cooked it," Cassia said. She saw the fire lick at the scales of the fish. As she watched the fish it seemed as if the flames would devour it whole. Cassia had never made fire from magic before and she hoped that it wouldn't backfire. The girl had seen Maui create her own flames before, but her teacher was a master at controlling her magic. Maui, Cassia thought as a bubble of worry floated to the surface. The Donestre didn't tell her specifically how many days had passed but one day would have been enough. She could see Maui scouring every inch of the land looking for her.

"What is wrong?" he asked with a concerned look. Cassia snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at the Donestre.

"What do you mean? I'm fine, see?" she flashed him a smile. He didn't seem to believe Cassia as his penetrating gaze fixated on her. When he refused to look away after several moments Cassia felt herself cracking. His emerald orbs went right through her and she couldn't escape them even when she adverted her eyes.

"Okay, you win, I'm thinking of my teacher, Maui. I have to leave soon and find my way back to the village. She will probably kill me for being gone so long but I don't care. I just hate thinking about how long it's been since I saw her," the girl confessed. Cassia wondered how she would find her way back home. She didn't know what part of the forest they were in and had lost her sense of direction. Cassia hated the thought of wandering aimlessly, yet she wanted to return home. She gazed at the forest in front of her and the line of gigantic trees seemed to never end.

"I shall help you if you need me to. I've seen your village and will take you there," he stated. Cassia stared at him in surprise and cocked her head to the side.

"Why would you help me?"

"Because I want to give you help," the Donestre replied. Cassia wrinkled her nose and turned her attention back to her food. Well, that doesn't tell me much, Cassia thought as she removed the charred fish. The girl delicately picked apart the white flesh and shoved it in her mouth. Savoring the taste for a moment she quickly chewed and swallowed. The fish had a slight sweetness to it mixed in with a tangy taste.

"Try this, it's so good!" she gushed. Tearing off a piece Cassia handed it to the Donestre. He gingerly took it from her and inspected the small piece of meat. She could see that he was sniffing the fish before he ate it. Cassia watched for his reaction and she couldn't tell whether he liked it or not.

"I prefer my food fresh and uncooked. It is interesting," he said. Rolling her eyes she continued to devour the food at a feverish pace. I should have guessed he would like his way better, Cassia thought as she finished taking off the last bites of meat and popped them in her mouth. She felt much better with food in her empty stomach and jumped to her feet. Cassia glanced down the steep incline leading up to the cave. She didn't see how any normal human being could climb down or up it. It was at a ninety degree angle and Cassia wondered how she was going to get down. There was a twenty foot drop and she assessed what would be her best plan of action. Moving closer to the edge several rocks were disturbed and tumbled down. The girl gulped at the idea of tripping and falling over the edge like the rocks.

"Are you ready?" he asked. Nodding her head in reply the girl took another step forward. Her feet were scooped up underneath in her one swift movement. Cassia gasped as she found herself cradled in the Donestre's arms. She stared at him dumbstruck until she found her voice.

"What are you doing!" Cassia yelled at him. He seemed to ignore her as he jumped off the edge. Screaming she shut her eyes and dug her nails into the Donestre's shoulder. There was a moment of silence as it felt as if they were floating in the air. The wind whistled in her ears and she held her breath. The Donestre's body jolted as he made impact with the ground. He crouched down on his legs in an attempt to absorb the concussion and only took a second to recover from it. He was walking off as if nothing had happened and she peered out. Once she saw they were still in one piece she began to breathe normal again.

"Put me down!" the girl exclaimed. The Donestre looked at her with a curious look and continued to hold onto her.

"Are you certain you don't want me to carry you?" he questioned her. She shook her head vigorously up and down.

"Very," she replied. He paused in his step and carefully set her down. Cassia watched as he continued to stalk forward and weave through the forest. She took a deep breath before she followed him with wobbly legs.

butchiesmom

What I like the most about this is how well your writing is becoming. It's getting harder for me to find things to bold and you know how much I love to do that, lol. All joking aside, this reads well, you captured my attention immediately and kept it there.

The Donestre, though I'm getting a better sense of who he is, still isn't completely defined for me (perhaps that's what you want). Cassia, like Mara, is becoming a complete person. I can see her, almost reach out and touch her. Your descriptions of the cave, the bones, and her reaction to it was fantastic. Though I don't think I've ever been in a cave, from the descriptions I've read over the years, I'd sure like to try one myself. (without the bones, of course)

I'm glad I went back and reread this. It was worth the effort, Sarah!

hugs,
Gail