New world (5)

She took it back. She wasn´t ready. She wasn't ready at all.

Aside from the fact that little Amycus was a taskmaster in making her work, there was also the fact that while she, Alula, was used to riding a horse, this body of hers wasn't. Her butt was killing her and the way her body was moving up and down wasn't helping her aching body any more. She felt her body temperature rising at the same time her head pounded as if a professional player was hitting her with a baseball bat, continuously.

Her chapped lips were bloodied from where she kept biting at them as to not let out any whimpers out. She tried to think about other things to distract herself from the pain, but she couldn't. This body's pain tolerance wasn't that high. It was only thanks to her will that she could continue on.

She should count her blessings that she was coherent enough to ride.

"How much longer?" she said, the words escaping her mouth with frightening ease. She felt ashamed for a moment. Not of being seen as weak, but of putting stress onto this kid's shoulders.

Amycus glanced at her, his eyebrows almost touching in worry. "Maybe half an hour? But we can rest if-"

"No," she interrupted him, shaking her head for more emphasis. If she stopped now, she wouldn't be able to continue. She wanted to rest, she really did, but she knew it would hurt more if she took a brief respite. "Let's get going."

As if reading her thoughts, his fists clenched on the reins once in stress but then Amycus nodded at her firmly. They went a fraction faster from then on and it wasn't until less than half an hour later that she was able to see the small cave. She almost cried in happiness at the sight.

Actually, she might actually be tearing up. Her vision was dizzy though it could be because of the headache, too.

When her feet touched the ground, she almost couldn't keep her balance and fell, her gaze going black for a second. Luckily, Amycus was there to help her in keeping her steady.

"Thank you," she said, wanting to fall unconscious but knowing she couldn't in a place she hadn't secured beforehand. So they entered the small cave, barely enough to fit them both. No more than three meters wide and one meter high. They had to crouch down to check it thoroughly, actually. And when that was done, she engraved a couple of runes on the sides of the cave with the knife she took from those men, the one with the runes, hoping that would help her in not expending her own magic.

She guided herself by touching and feeling more than sight as it was still blurry. When it was over she looked at her wrists again and saw that they still had that faint grayish color instead of its usual cyan. Meaning, it was in charging mode, not that she thought that a couple of hours wouldn't have been enough for them to be ready.

Still, it had to be enough for her to take some potions and medicine.

With a deep breath, she took a small peek and proceed to grab a pill for her headache, a potion for her malnutrition, and a cream for injuries. She then took the first two and motioned the kid to grab the last.

His brow furrowed as he slowly took the cream, before inspecting it, taking note of the plastic the container was made of before opening it a sniffing the inside. "What's this?"

She pointed at the bruises on his skin. Some looked a day old, the time he was sold, while others had a discoloration that spoke of being made a while ago. "It's for your bruises."

He hesitantly put a finger inside the container and, when he was sure he poured enough on his finger, he approached the digit close to his nose. "It smells like... mint."

She dipped her head down in a silent nod, her stomach not hurting as much thanks to the potion. It was a shame the pill didn't work as fast.

"Do you have other places that you're hurt? Infections or internal injuries?" When he shook his head, she added, "Then take your shirt off and put some of that salve."

He immediately blushed. "Wha- But, I'm a boy and you're a girl!"

She blinked slowly. "Yeah, I know."

"Then why did you say that? It's wrong!"

"Aren't you like ten, or something?"

"I'm eleven and a half!"

She squinted at his form. "And that changes things, how? You're still a kid."

"Nuh-uh! I'm a man now! I started going to the army at the start of..." he trailed off, before glancing down at where both his hands were tightly grasping the container full of cream. His eyebrows scrunched up and his eyes teared up.

She silently sighed before approaching moving her aching body close. "What's wrong, Amycus?"

Seeing how he wasn't talking and instead chose to hug his folded legs close to his body, chin resting on top of his knees, she could only place her arm across his shoulders and pull him close, offering comfort in the simplest way she could.

He startled slightly at her touch, instinctively inching away. However, she didn't let him go, used already to squittish kids thanks to her job as transporter in her previous world.

She was used to find magical kids in need of shelter and it was one of her jobs to take to a safe place. She was rather brusque at first. And while she wasn't the best at comforting, too awkward to be that, she was still honest about it, in her own blunt way of doing it.

Perhaps he could sense her sincerity because, even if it took him a couple of seconds to decide she wasn't going to harm him, he still leaned onto her, seeking comfort.

"Let's try to sleep, okay?" she said, as she leaned her back to the wall of the cave.

He nodded once before moving her arm away from his shoulders. She didn't stop him, thinking he wanted to act like a grown-up now.

Some children were like that.

"You stink," he said as if to offer an explanation.

It took her a while to process his words and when it did, she had to refrain herself from giving him a noogie.

You damned-!

(When she was sure he wasn't looking she sniffed her armpits and couldn't help but frown.

In her defense, it had been more than a week since this body took a bath, okay?!!)

- -

(A/N: Oh, the innocence of kids... yeah, right. They are sometimes too smart for their own good

PS. I'm listening to Melanie Martinez's Cry Baby album. Fitting considering Amycus is a bit of a cry baby, huh? What about you, what are you listening to now?)