176 Lily (12)

"Girl, think before you speak. I could shatter your shoulder this instant if I wanted," the man drawled, and cold sweat broke out on her Iris' forehead.

She wasn't ready for things like this. It could have been tolerable if this had been just some random creep, but he knew Lily's name. There were a thousand explanations for that, but neither of them was good.

"Who is he?" the girl chose this moment to ask, her voice really quiet. "Is he a friend?"

"Ye—"

"NO!" Iris was scared, but the girl was probably terrified. Having been a fox not that long ago, Iris knew full well what it felt like to be faced with an opponent that was four times your size and weight.

This gave her an idea. Fighting fair wasn't an option, so she could only use deceit. Why should she treat this guy as anyone else than a random creep? It wasn't like she knew who he was.

"Help! A pervert!" she screamed out at the top of her lungs and slapped him with all the bags in her free hand.

It did little damage besides making the man angry, but a crowd was instantly attracted. Her attacker didn't seem to realize that, however. He tightened his grip on her shoulder even more. "You think I care what you call me? Ge—"

His words were cut short by a purse hitting the back of his head. "What do you think you're doing in broad daylight?" a middle-aged woman asked, aiming her purse at him once more. "Release the lady at once!"

"Help!" Iris shouted out again. No one else came over right away, just standing and staring at the show, but the middle-aged woman was getting really angry. She swung her purse again.

The man got ready to catch it, growling low in his throat in disgust, and Iris used that moment to kick him where it hurts. She hadn't been in a fight even once, so her attack dealt minimal damage, but it did distract the attacker.

His grip loosened, and Iris wrenched herself free. Her shoulder ached like hell, but it wasn't important. She grabbed Lily's hand and dashed away. They weren't far from the escalator, so she went down it, pushing people aside if they didn't move fast enough.

Not once did she spare a glance back. It didn't matter if they were being chased or not, for all she wanted was to get away. This place was too dangerous. Another moment here was unbearable.

In a few moments they were outside, and Iris jumped into the first taxi she saw. While still crawling in, she shouted out Kyro's address and told the driver to hurry. The man gave them a questioning glance, but didn't say anything and started the car.

While trying to catch her breath, Iris realized that her hands were shaking. She tried to stop them, but it didn't work. 'You're terrified,' a detached voice in her head noted, but knowledge didn't give control.

She could still feel the man's hand on her shoulder, his indifferent gaze as he saw her as nothing more than an ant to be trampled. To him, she hadn't been worth any attention. 'If we weren't in such a populated area…'

A shudder ran through her whole body.

"Who was that man?" Lily asked in a soft voice.

Iris raised her head. The girl was sitting to her left with hands wrapped around herself. Her lips were quivering, but she didn't cry.

"Oh, dear." Iris shifted and brought Lily into her arms, hugging her close. "I'm so sorry. No need to be scared. It's all fine now."

The girl hugged Iris back, tears dropping down from her eyes. She clearly didn't know what had happened, but Iris' fear was enough for her to sense that something was terribly wrong. And that scared her.

"It's alright, it's alright. We're fine now." The words were meaningless, but Iris kept repeating them like a mantra. She knew they were only partially true, but she couldn't let the girl know that. Children weren't supposed to have to face such things.

'Neither am I,' Iris added in her mind, but it was an empty thought. She was already in the thick of it. The moment she had agreed to help Gale, she had written down her own death sentence.

The ride was silent for the most part, with Iris only speaking words of comfort once in a while. She forced herself to calm down and act an adult. It had been just a random creep. Nothing more. Once she met Kyro, she would tell him about it, and he would do something that it wouldn't happen again. Simple as that.

Once they entered the apartment, Iris looked around to take in the familiar atmosphere. They were going to be safe here. Nothing could ever happen in this place.

Lucy was sleeping on the sofa's backrest, but once he saw an unfamiliar face, he quickly sauntered away into the bedroom.

"What is this place?" Lily asked, looking around wide-eyed while holding onto Iris' hand.

"A friend's house. Don't worry, it's a safe place."

"Why didn't we go home?" the girl asked then, looking distrustful.

'Ah… I might have said the first address that came to my mind.' "It's… I wanted to show you something." 'I'm sorry Lucy.' She then dragged the unwilling cat out and brought it to Lily, who was instantly interested.

All her reservations disappeared, and she began petting Lucy while exclaiming at how fluffy and cute he was. The black furball was quite indignant at such words, but he didn't try to attack Lily, just glared from time to time at Iris. She was certain that she was going to hear back about this.

While the two played, Iris ordered a pizza and turned on the TV. She found a children's channel, and Lily was soon caught by the action on the screen. "I'm not allowed to watch cartoons at home since they don't help with my studies," she confessed with her eyes glued to the screen.

Soon though, the day's excitement caught up to Lily, and she fell asleep on the sofa. Iris covered her with a thin blanket and left the room. In the bathroom, she took off she shawl to examine her shoulder.

It was all blue, with the bruise still in the process of getting worse. The sight was nauseating, and she didn't even dare to touch it. Just looking at it was painful.

Gritting her teeth, she put the shawl back on and smiled at the mirror. The image there was grimacing, so Iris practised until she could fake her expression well. It wouldn't be good to worry anyone. She'll just tell them what happened and that's it.

As she was about to leave, a thought suddenly struck her, and she looked back at the mirror. "Isn't fear the trigger? Why am I still human?"