Prompt #1: Rain
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0 Days
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"This storm is ridiculous." Drew the bard pondered, standing in the door way of the rather durable tent he'd set up under some trees. He could hear the rain and wind rip through the forest him and his friends had settled in. They started a small stove fire in the tent to provide light and warmth. Willow sat in the corner sorting out the rations for the upcoming days, Max propped himself against the walls and rolled joints back into place that had been hurting him from fighting. Gahenna kept the fire going and looked back at Drew, wondering how long he was going to stand and stare out into the darkness and let the rain get it. The four of them would have to settle with tight quarters tonight.
"Come inside, Drew," Gahenna began. She was slightly irritated, but never dropped her motherly tone. "The floor is getting wet."
Drew sighed and backed away. He was about to zip up the tent when he heard a loud rustling in the bushes outside. He stopped dead in his tracks. "What?" Willow asked. Drew shushed her and listened again. The rustling sounded even closer this time.
"Max." Drew turned to his companion and without saying a word, Max was up with his sword at his side. "Do you think we were followed?"
The half-elf shrugged. "I don't think so. We pretty much took care of all we needed to before we moved on."
"Hey!" Drew called into the night, stepping out of the tent and towards the brush.
"Drew, don't be stupid!" Willow hollered, standing up and looking out to see what was happening. Max followed Drew a few steps behind, ready to attack if need be. Drew approached the bushes and caught them rustling once more. Looking down, he saw a rather heavy branch laying at his feet. He picked it up and swung it a few times to get a hang of how much damage it could do. Max rolled his eyes.
"Wait! Wait!" A timid, feminine voice called from the bushes. A cloaked figure came out from behind the brush, holding an arm out. "Please, I'm just passing by and I saw your tent." She was shaking, her voice seconds away from cracking into a sob.
"It's a girl..." Willow spoke softly. She had followed the men out and stood beside Max, who quickly put his blade away.
"I'm just on my way to the next town. I don't mean any harm." The girl stepped forward. As she got closer, Drew could see that she was soaked and dirty, with blood pooling around her foot.
"Hey, you're hurt." He pointed out. He dropped the branch and extended a hand out, much sweeter than he had been moments ago. "You gotta get that cleaned up, or you'll end up losing that foot."
Willow, sensing no threat from the unmasked cloak, helped her throw an arm over her shoulder, and walk her to their tent. "You don't have to do this." The girl said, wincing at each step from the rather large gash in her foot.
Willow turned her head and smiled. "Our gnoll friend will fix you right up." She was careful to make sure the girl didn't put much pressure on her foot. She guided her into the tent and sat her down on a pile of blankets. "Gahenna, this girl is hurt. Can you help her?"
Gahenna was taken aback by the sudden stranger bleeding in front of her, but she agreed and started rumaging through her things. Max and Drew entered shortly after, shaking the rain water off themselves. The gnoll turned around and saw the sopping wet cloak and reached a paw out to her. "You should take this off. We will hang it to dry over the stove."
The girl pulled the cloak tighter. "N-no that's okay." She argued hesitantly, regretting coming off rude to the people that were so kind to her.
"You'll get sick if you don't." Max added, standing in the doorway.
She knew he was right. She exhaled audibly and slowly started to pull the hood off. Long, matted tendrils of muted pink hair peeked through as they fell down her bare shoulders. Her skin was incredibly green, and it was definitely from pigment and not from any illness. Her ears were large and pointed back, similar to Willow's, but there was no way this girl had Elf blood anywhere in her. Her face, along with the rest of her, was chubby and smooth. Her eyes large and pure black.
"Woah.." Drew said, only to be elbowed sharply by Max.
"Please don't be scared...I'm really not dangerous." She begged, looking around to see faces mixed with horror and genuine curiosity. "My name is Felix."
Gahenna sighed. "That's an unusual name for a girl." She was the first to break the silence, for she knew how it felt to look different in a group of moderately attractive people.
"My Mama named me Felicia...I don't care for it. I'd rather be known as just Felix if that's okay." Gahenna took the cloak in her arms and stoofd to hang it on a rope above the stove.
Willow got down on her knees and crawled over to Felix. She reched up and tugged lightly through her thick hair. "Is this your natural color?"
Felix nodded. "I'm half Moth Avian. At least that's what my father says I am."
"Avian?" Max asked. He stepped forward and circled her a little, studying her full appearance. "How? Avian creatures don't tend to settle around humans. Especially those of the insect variety."
Felix looked up at him and met his piercing eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and found him to be a little intimidating. "I-I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't know their story." Max said nothing and walked back to his original corner of the tent. "My birth mother gave me up when I was just a few weeks old. I was adopted by a ship captain and his wife."
"You don't have to tell us your whole story, sweet cheeks." Drew said. He zipped the tent up. Felix blushed and felt embarrassed for exposing too much. Gahenna found her supplies and started to disenfect and bandage her wound. "What happened to you, anyway?" Drew asked, walking over to her.
"I stepped on a broken branch, Got me right through the foot." Felix hissed at each movement Gahenna made, tying tighter and tighter with each wrap.
"I'll make you some soup, Felix." Willow chirped happily and bounced up from her spot, looking at the newly organized rations.
"Make us men some filet while you're at it." Drew laughed, looking at Max. Max rolled his eyes again.
"Please, don't go through the trouble." Felix insisted. Gahenna finished the final bow on her dressing and she was quite proud of it.
Willow ignored her and within minutes had a fresh bowl of beef and vegetables in front of Felix. Felix looked down wide eyed, then peered back up to Willow. "What's wrong? Are you a vegetarian?" Willow asked, concerned that she wasn't eating.
"No, not that" Felix said, careful not to seem rude. "I just haven't had a meal like this in weeks. Thank you so much.."
"Willow." The elf answered. "My name is Willow. This furry lady right here is Gahenna. She can fix any injury in minutes flat." She wrapped an arm around Gahennas elbow. She gestured her head forward towards the bard. "This handsome piece of work is Drew. He'll charm you just as quickly as he'll irritate you." Drew shrugged and agreed. Then Willow turned to Max who still sat in the corner. "And this old grump is Max. He may look like a hard ass, but he has a heart of gold."
Max failed in holding back a laugh. "Is that how you see me?"
Willow smiled and turned her full attention back to the girl who received way too much information in the past few minutes. "Felix, we can't let you go out like that alone."
"Please stay with us for a while. Until you're healed at least." Gahenna finished.
Felix blinked. She waited for them to start laughing like it was a joke. Drew and Max said nothing. They knew at the end of the day they had no say in the matter. Willow stared at her with pleading eyes. Felix thought about it and she knew she had nowhere to go. She'd eventually end up dead out there all alone. This group apparently had some skill that kept them alive all this time. "I suppose I can for a while..." She was hesitant, but was immediately greeted with a gentle hand upon hers.
"You'll be safe with us." Willow was so kind and so beautiful. It made Felix uneasy.
"Welcome." Drew said and for the first time that night, he smiled at her.
"If there's anything we can get you..." Gahenna started.
Felix only yawned. She was four bites in to her food and too tired to take another one. "I hate to waste food, but I'm really tired. Would it be alright if I lay down?" Gahenna got up immediately and rolled an extra bed out in the corner next to Max, who got up and sat by Drew instead. She lowered the lighting on the stove and gestured for Felix to lay down. She thanked the gnoll through heavy eyes and a loud yawn. She craweled on the bedding and with no effort at all she was already asleep.
"Poor thing, she was so beat up." Drew noted. The four hung around huddled in a circle to keep their voices at a low volume.
"So," Max began, clearing his throat and preparing for the inevitable backlash, "you guys just trust some random girl? She could be an assassin or something. It's not like there aren't people out there that don't want us dead."
"Max, look at her. She's practically a child." Willow argued, looking back and admiring the sleepy, chubby face on the other side of the room.
"You know who else was a child? Juno. That didn't stop her from being a thorn in all our sides." He sighed. "I'm just saying, let's not be too careless. Yes, she's probably fine but that doesn't mean everyone is."
"You're such a buzzkill. She's cute, man. I'm tired of looking at Willow all the time." Drew scoffed, and was greeted with the empty soup can thrown at his temple.
"Cute doesn't mean safe. She can stay, but I'll have my eye on her, is all."
"There's a saying in my home village." Gahenna spoke, interupting the argument happening before her. Everyone turned to her. "Helping a stranger in the storm leads to good luck. That's what I was taught. In this case it's a literal storm, but I want to believe we will finally have some good luck. We have all gone through so much, I will give this girl my trust until she proves she is unworthy." Gahenna closed her eyes.
Willow stood up. "I agree."
"Maybe she'll be our little good luck charm, Max." Drew added, nudging Max with his elbow. "She could change our lives."
Max gave one last glance over to Felix, who never stirred once during their whole conversation. He shook his head. "Change my life, huh? A little dramatic, wouldn't you say?"
