76 Uninvited Guests (Part 1)

The sound of boots crunching in the snow got louder and louder. Instead of giving them a chance, I walked out into a weird scene. A woman probably twice as old as, me was carrying a middle-aged man on her shoulder. Cuts and wounds were visible on both of them, while the man seemed to be unconscious.

"Hey! Please help us", the woman shouted due to the wind. "None of this is my business! I don't need trouble! Why don't you take your problems elsewhere?!", I replied with a stone face. "Are you insane?! We were attacked by some bastards, they are gone already! We are only asking for some warmth and shelter!... I'll pay you whatever we have! Please!", she begged.

'She does sound desperate, and doesn't seem to be lying... Haah', "Fine, fine. Come in!". Both of them were injured, therefore not a huge threat. Moreover, her words weren't orders but genuine cry for help. I wasn't completely heartless, but I wasn't an idiot either. "You may stay here until the winds die down, but then I expect you going your own way. Like I mentioned, I've no need for other people troubles". The woman nodded and thanked me.

With the fireplace lighting them up a bit more, I could see the proper extent of their injuries. She'd live, but that man wasn't in good shape. A few cuts on his hands and legs, but the biggest problem was a sizable gnash on his chest. "Your wounds will be fine, but he's a different story", I commented. "These bastards ambushed... ", I stopped her right there. "Lady, I'm not interested in details. We are strangers, so let it stay that way. Since you are already here, I'll take a look at his wounds. You can take a seat next to fire and rest".

She was taken aback a bit, and asked "Can you help him?". "If you let me, I can check", I replied before examining the guy. While taking off the man's armour, I heard a surprised "Ah" from the woman. "What now?", "Oh, I'm just surprised. Didn't realise this was a live turtle", she replied. With nothing else to surprise her, I finally checked the man over. The wound on his chest was quite deep, and bleeding badly. Only thanks to his armour and cold weather he was able to survive that.

I wasn't about to use my medicine on some random stranger. Besides cleaning and bandaging the wound, there was nothing else I'd do. "Help me move him to my bed, I'm not going to sleep anyway", I said to the woman. With the guy in my bed, I sat next to Shelly and took out some meat. "Here, you must be hungry. Heat it up over the fire", I said while throwing a piece at the woman.

She caught the meat and thanked me. 'At least she behaves sincerely, I hope they leave as soon as possible though', I thought while feeding Shelly as well. We sat there in silence for a while, before the woman tried to strike a conversation. "You got an unusual pet... Out of curiosity, isn't it hard for you to live here?", "... I got used to it. Why, do you perhaps want to give it a try?", I replied. So long we didn't talk about troubles, I didn't mind a conversation.

"Hehe, no. I'm comfortable where we live. Anyway, did you build this place yourself?", "Well, there was no one else around to build it for me. Took a while and some effort, but this should last through the winter... That man over there, you've been glancing at him a lot. Your husband or lover?", I decided to ask. "It's that obvious? Yes, he's my husband. We also have a daughter, a bit younger than you... She's not as resourceful though, hehe", she said with a slight chuckle.

"Haha, not everyone would choose to live in a forest... Alright, it's late and you must be tired. You can join your husband, there should be enough space for both of you", "... Haha, hehehe... Sorry, it's just... I'd say something like that to my daughter, hearing this myself as a mother... Nonetheless, you are right. This was a long night for us", she replied and joined her husband.

While they slept, the memories of my family resurfaced. A caring mother, and father that would act strict yet let go of mistakes with a few words and a hug. The night passed quietly, and the following morning, the wind died down. The couple remained asleep during my morning exercise, but the woman woke up once me and Shelly heated up our breakfast.

"Good morning..." she mumbled and checked on her husband. He was lucky. Thanks to a warm place and my first aid, he'd live. "Ugh... Everything feels heavy... Rita?... Where are we?", the man woke up disorientated. "It's fine now, this young man sheltered us from the weather...", she explained the situation to her husband, before they turned towards me and Shelly.

"You must be hungry, here... Eat your fill, I'm not lacking food", I said while passing some meat for both of them. "I'm really grateful, but for someone so young to live out here, why...", before he could finish, his wife stopped him. "No need for questions dear. He helped us and that's all that matters". The man got the clue as to what she suggested, and didn't ask any other question. He simply thanked me for food and the treatment.

"Don't worry, I'm not throwing you out. Stay until your wounds heal a bit. With this sort of weather, you'll need more strength to get somewhere", I assured them. Since they weren't bad people, I didn't mind helping them out. They appreciated the offer, and relaxed a bit while eating their breakfast.

A while later, I stood up and announced, "You guys can stay here, I'll be out for a bit". "Do you need help or something? I can move around and help you with firewood or whatnot", the woman proposed but I shook my head. "We're going to hunt, and I'd rather you rest or take care of your husband... Until later", I replied before me and Shelly left the hut.

Due to blizzard the night before, threading through the forest wasn't easy. Shelly was especially affected thanks to the thick snow on the ground. Though admittedly, it looked hilarious when it sort of jumped in and out of the snow. "Hehe... hehehe... Hahahaha... Okay, let me help you out here", I picked Shelly up while trying to contain my laughter. "Mah! Mamamah!", Shelly complained about it's predicament. "Not my fault, is it? I didn't make it snow. Anyway, we have a long day in front of us. I'm sure most animals sheltered themselves because of the blizzard", I replied.

We had food left, but because of our guests I'd rather hunt. An hour passed and we had almost nothing to show for it. Only two rabbits and no sign of wolves or boars. "I guess it's pointless today. We can try tomorrow or in a few days. What do you say, want to check up on our guests?", Shelly nodded in agreement. After all, the longer we sat out in the cold, the more energy we'd use. Albeit Shelly's thoughts were probably a bit different.