Chapter 9: Curiosity

Sirius' POV

"Hey," Marien interrupted me when I started to move the man. "If you go far away, how do I catch up with you?"

I smiled lightly at her again.

"I'll find you, don't worry. I already know your scent. It won't take long."

"Oh." She nodded with a slight red color on her cheeks. "Sure..."

She took the boy back to the city entrance, which was not far away.

I rushed over and grabbed the man's legs to drag him. He was heavy, but I still went almost at a brisk pace.

As I heard, we evolved people weighed a little more than humans since our bones were denser and we had a certain percentage more muscle or something like that. I hadn't dedicated myself to studying all that. I only lived training and learning things about my people.

Remembering that, apparently, Marien feared me made me tighten my lips. I wanted her to trust me...

I heard the man complain and stopped.

"This isn't over," he murmured. I turned to look at him with annoyance. "I want that human. She smells good." What?! Ugh. This man was such a...! "I'm sure you think that too. Or maybe not. You're just a kid."

I let go of his legs, approached him, and while he tried to continue threatening me and talking nonsense, I knocked him unconscious with another punch.

***

I saw Marien leaving the city. She had left the child with the guards. It somewhat surprised me. I left her alone, and she could have run away. She may have thought I was wild and dangerous and changed her mind.

However, there she was, looking for me while she hugged herself. She could have escaped if she thought I was a monster, but she hadn't... Maybe it was because she wanted to know about the evolved people.

I shook my head and walked closer. As soon as she saw movement, she turned around and saw me. She smiled with that sweetness that disarmed me and walked towards me.

Geez. Why did I become a fuss around her?

"Ready?"

She nodded, and we started walking. I saw her look at the broken sunglasses because, at some point, they flew off my face. She sighed sadly and tried to repair them as we walked. I didn't even remember I had them on when I launched to attack that man.

The child's situation moved her. Many humans were empathetic towards their own, not like my tutor said.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, don't worry," she murmured.

I knew she was lying, but although I wanted to comfort her, I had to respect that.

"Let's find a place to sit and eat, okay?" She suddenly asked with her smile, now calmer.

"Sure."

We sat on rocks near a river, and I smiled when I detected a familiar scent in the nearest bush—a rabbit.

The little animal came out, and Marien smiled when she saw it. She was probably hungry too. I got ready. I didn't even blink. I crouched so slowly that the rabbit didn't notice me, so before it did, I launched.

I buried my fangs in that precise place on its neck and rolled due to the momentum I had taken. I stood up with the animal already dead.

"Do you like the rabbit?" I asked Marien.

She had her eyes wide open.

"Yes, but alive!" She exclaimed, to my surprise.

I was stunned for a millisecond before laughing at her horrified face. It was normal to hunt; otherwise, how did humans live? Furthermore, I was considerate of the poor man.

"Come on. It didn't suffer," I calmed her down.

"You..."

"You eat meat, don't you?"

She wanted to say something but just pursed her lips, leaving the words stuck in her mouth. She turned away not to continue watching, and I chuckled. She wasn't a vegetarian like some humans were supposed to be, so why was she scared? Didn't they have to kill them too? Uhm... Anyway.

I cleaned and cooked the animal while she ate what her aunt gave us.

"Well," she seemed resigned, "I guess you can hunt for lunch when we need it."

I gave her my smile again and some meat to eat, hoping she would like what I had made—another new sensation.

After that, we got ready to continue. We played a little in the river, brushing our teeth, throwing little drops of water at each other, and laughing. I felt better seeing her calmer and eager to play.

As we walked, I thought about the route to take. She let me guide her because of my knowledge of the forest and the exterior world.

"I hope you didn't eat any of the little birds you caught in the laboratory garden," she commented with amusement.

I smiled a little.

"No. I only did it for pure pleasure. Besides, too much feathers."

She laughed, fascinating me.

"Oh, how picky!"

I wasn't into birds. I preferred to chase them. They were like a challenge. Unfortunately, when I was a child, I killed one because I played too much. I tried to get it to stand up for an hour, but the poor little bird didn't wake up. I never played more than necessary again.

Marien took a little device, which she carried in her pocket, and gave me a little white thing that, from what I saw, was used in the ear.

"Woah! I had heard stories about these devices."

"Seriously, what era do you think you are in? Well, this is a music player. I will give it to you so you can listen to everything it has, okay?"

That filled me with excitement, knowing she thought of giving me something. Ugh, wait, I didn't have anything for her. Uh. I would see what to give her. It had to be beautiful like she was...

When night fell, she wanted to make a bonfire.

"It can alert predators or worse, evolved people," I warned.

She sighed and nodded.

"It's true. How silly," she whispered at the end.

"No. You are not."

She smiled. She looked around with concern and seemed uncomfortable, perhaps because of the darkness. I could see in the dark, so I had no problem.

"I'll take a bath," she said suddenly.

What? In the middle of the forest, with all those predators nearby?

It worried me.

"Right now? Stay where I can see you."

"Are you crazy?!" She exclaimed, surprising me. "Forget it. I think you don't understand. I'll be right back."

She left, and I was absorbed.

Did I make her upset?

At that moment, I realized what I said. To stay where I could see her?! I said it wrong! I didn't want to see her nakedness... Well, yes, but I didn't say it with that in mind...

I was an immoral person! How could I have thought that I did want to see her naked?!

What was happening to me?!

I looked at where she went and tried to relax, but it didn't work, now that that new idea was floating around in my head.

I had talked about that, that it was forbidden. It was a couple of years ago with my friend Altair while we were resting in some meadows.

"Do you think joining a woman is a good idea?" He had asked me suddenly.

I looked at him with some intrigue. We young people could join a partner after the age of eighteen, with someone chosen by our parents, or after reaching an agreement.

"Are you thinking of leaving us?" Our group, our friendship.

He formed a line with his lips, frowning slightly. Our tutor hadn't given him good jobs in town, so I understood that silence.

"Before, I didn't want to join anyone; of course, it's nonsense, but... Sometimes I get very curious to know... what it's like..."

"What? What they hide so much from us?"

"Yeah. The class about the' family core', what happens after you join a girl," he barely murmured.

"You won't die if you don't know," I mocked.

He looked to the sides and murmured again:

"I just heard that there is a part where you must be without clothes. I mean, Antares said it a while ago... and I heard it."

I was surprised by that idea.

"Without clothes to do what?" I asked, confused. I didn't see any reason for it unless it was for the sake of feeling ashamed because that was what I would feel.

"So that they give you a kid," he answered, surprising me even more.

"How odd." I sighed.

"Don't you want to know what girls look like..." He looked at the sides again. "... without clothes?"

That sparked my imagination. I had wondered. Despite their baggy clothes, the girls were completely different, at least in a couple of things. Although, of course, we were forbidden to see, touch, or even think about it. It was immoral. But what would it be like exactly?

I shook my head, and Altair broke the silence again.

"Antares and his brother talked about some young girls. I know it's wrong, but... I've also wondered if seeing a girl's body is something beautiful like they said..."

"Beautiful?" I mocked. "Only nature is beautiful. We intelligent beings are full of imperfections, including humans."

"Well, humans are even more so. Remember that they are cruel and almost destroyed this beautiful planet."

I reacted and looked back to where Marien had left.

What would it be like to see her body? What would it be like to touch her skin? My mind flew in seconds for the first time. It was not difficult to imagine that soft and beautiful skin... Admiring it.

The heat was present in my cheeks, and I felt ashamed of myself for being unable to contain those thoughts. The elder leaders of the town would banish me. I was mischievous as a kid in my village, but this was already crossing the limit. This had never happened to me.

She was naked now, a few feet away, and the temptation to spy was eating away at me.

It would just satisfy my curiosity...

No. It was not correct.

...But I could be very silent...

No. I couldn't. I shouldn't.

I shook my head. I took a deep breath, and my blood froze when I detected a scent.

Damn, the man of earlier!

I jumped into a run, cursing every millisecond for my distraction.

I did what Marien asked and didn't tie him to a rock so he could meditate and leave without fighting, but I should have obeyed my instinct. He had followed us!

I burst onto the shore, and Marien hid from me under the water, up to her neck. I located the intruder to my right and ran in his direction. He came out from hiding to attack my girl, but he didn't get far. I intercepted him, and we fell into the shallow water.

Again, I became aggressive. I brought my training to my mind, along with the rage. I growled, bit, and hit no matter what.

The bastard wanted to harm a sweet lady; worse, he'd probably seen her naked!

I punched him in the face, but he hit me back, and I fell. He jumped and pressed me to the bottom, the water covering me. I couldn't surpass his strength, as he was more adult and muscular. I couldn't breathe. I clawed at his arms and kicked, but he wouldn't let me.

He had discovered that I lost the plot when it came to her, and he had taken advantage despite having a bad arm.

Suddenly, he finally let go of me, but, to my horror, Marien was on top of him, hitting him, screaming for him to stop. The man tried to grab her, so I attacked again. I pulled and tried to suffocate him with my arm against his neck. He struggled, and we fell. I hit him again, and he stayed in the water.

"Who...? Who taught you to fight like that?" He coughed and tried to catch his breath. I took a couple of steps back, keeping my guard up. Without a doubt, he knew that I was not an ordinary townsperson, but I was not going to answer. "Alright. You win. I will go. You just got lucky this time."

Finally, he decided to give up and stood up to leave. I took a deep, calmer breath when he was out of sight.

"Are you OK?" I asked Marien.

"And you?"

"Don't worry. I heal quickly." I turned and saw her covering her body with her legs drawn up against her chest and her arms under the shallow water. "Let's get out of here. I'll get your clothes." I took off my shirt to give it to her, and she looked at my torso for a couple of extra seconds. "Come on. I promise I won't look at you." I extended my hand to her, looking away. "I didn't plan to do it before, either. I think you misunderstood me. I wouldn't. It wouldn't be honorable at all."

She took my hand, and I helped her to her feet.

I went for her clothes while she covered herself. I felt ashamed for the things I thought before. I was still surprised at myself, but it couldn't happen again. It wasn't good. She deserved my respect. What the hell was wrong with me?

I took her clothes and brought them to her.

After drying off and dressing, she gave me my shirt back. Her scent had permeated the damp fabric, and the image of her covering herself returned to my mind. Her legs, the curve of her waist, the curves of her chest hidden behind her thin arms...

I shook my head. I shouldn't continue thinking.

After walking a long distance, I carried her on my back so she could sleep. Her body kept me warm, and we arrived at the next city in the morning.