Gavriil opened his eyes. He was disoriented, tired and covered in snow. He felt like he could sleep for days, but he knew that he shouldn't. He noticed that it was day time, perhaps early morning. He couldn't believe that he survived the night. He pulled the blanket over his head and…Immediately forced himself up. At some point in the night, he got medical attention and his clothing was changed. He also had a coat on. He started prodding at the bandage underneath his new shirt. It didn't seem like something his brother would have done. He picked up the blanket and wrapped it around himself.
He spotted a satchel a few feet away and reached for it. He grabbed the bag and began to open it but was startled by a sudden movement. He stood up quickly, which ended up being a bad idea. The world started spinning and he fell to his knees. However, he was still aware that he was not alone. He was ready to run if he needed to. He was trying to stay still but he saw movement once again, which made him turn his head quickly to it, which was not the smartest idea either.
"What do you want?" Gavriil called out in his native language. He was still looking around, trying to identify if he was in trouble. It seemed to slow to be an animal, but then again, he learned how slow but powerful bears could be just a few days ago when he was once again exploring the forest.
"Please stop moving!" Gavriil finally had it and he lunged for where he thought the moving being would be. He hit something and positioned himself in a way that he could pin it. He was aware that he had not brought any weapons on his little adventure. He and the moving being finally hit the snow and Gavriil brought his fist back, ready to strike. He was about to punch the being when he stopped halfway.
Looking up at him was a child, maybe five or six years old. She was young and tiny and he felt like a giant on top of her. She looked terrified and he still had his fist ready to strike. He got up quickly and pulled the black haired girl up. She looked up at him in awe and fear, which was something that he was not used to. She reached out to touch him and he slapped her had away. She recoiled and held her had close to her body. She bit her lip and softly asked. "What are you?"
Gavriil was taken aback by the question. He didn't answer. Instead he looked around. Gavriil was young himself, but this girl was practically a baby. Her mother had to be nearby, or worse, her father with a gun. Gavriil shivered at the thought of meeting another gun. He was still looking around when her soft voice spoke again.
"Are you a demon?"
Gavriil look sharply at the girl and said in a heated whisper "I am not a demon!"
She recoiled and then said "I have seen pictures of demons. I just think you look like one."
"I am not a demon" Gavriil then added "Where's your mother?"
The girl merely shrugged and then asked "What is your name?"
Gavriil looked around once more before kneeling down and answering, "I'm Gavriil. Gavriil Resnikov. What about you?"
The girl didn't reply, instead she asked another question "What is your demon name?"
The teen mutant sighed and said once again "I am not a demon." He was more relaxed but he was still obviously annoyed by the girl and her belief that he is a demon.
She shrugged and asked, "If you were a demon, what would your name be?"
Gavriil sighed in defeat and said, "I don't know, what would you call me?"
The girl put her finger to her mouth as she thought. She then got excited and started jumping up and down. "I know a demon! He was a goat. I think…His name was a…It started with an 'A'"
Gavriil had stood and was now looking down at the girl. While she was thinking of the name, he wondered what he would do with her. He couldn't leave her out here to die, but he was interested in knowing how she got there. The girl continued to talk but he was no longer listening to her. He was thinking.
He was brought back to reality by tugging on his pants. The young girl was looking up at him with excitement in her eyes. "I remember the name! It was Az-"
"First tell me your name and why you are out here." Gavriil had cut her off before she could finish the name of the demon that she wanted him to be.
She smiled and answered quickly, a bit too quickly. Gavriil couldn't quite understand what she said so he asked her to repeat herself, but slowly.
"Ok. I am Anichka. Me and mama went to go get some uh...Food things from the farm and then I went to go play with the chickens but mama had left me. So I went to find he and I found you." She leaned in close to him and whispered gravely "You were sleeping on the floor." She giggled as if that was the most hilarious thing she had ever heard and continued. "So-"
"Wait, you bandaged me and changed my clothes?" Gavriil once again cut her off and she let out an exasperated sigh.
"No. Mama said not to touch boys. I just gave you a blanket." She smiled up at him and said, "Can I tell you your new name now?"
"No. Let's go.", Gavriil nudged her toward the direction that the shelter was. It would be a trek and he still wasn't sure if he should take her, but he wasn't sure if her mother would return for her. After all, any mother who forgets their child at a farm isn't a good parent anyway. The girl was quiet for the first ten minutes but then asked once again. "Can I please tell you your new name? Please!"
Gavriil shushed her and continued walking. He looked at the satchel he was holding and opened it. Inside was a cooked piece of unidentified meat and a knife. It was odd but he was grateful to whoever helped him. His wounds hurt, but it was something he could get over. The two walked in silence for what Gavriil could only assume was an hour. It wasn't quite noon, but it would be soon. The girl had the blanket wrapped around her and she seemed fascinated by the falling snow.
She was wearing decent clothing, it wasn't something that he would have ever worn. His tiny family didn't have money for new clothing, instead they stole what they could. He watched her silently, periodically looking ahead and around for danger. She had dark hair and beautiful brown eyes. She was a cute little girl and she seemed sweet, a bit annoying, but sweet. He didn't understand why she would be allowed to wander off or for her own mother to seemingly abandon her.
The silence was broken by a familiar voice calling out for him. He recognized his brother's voice and was relieved when he finally came into view. Andrei ran to him quickly and practically tackled him with a hug. He pulled away and looked Gavriil over. He must have not noticed the bandages under his shirt because he seemed too relieved. He once again pulled Gavriil into another unwelcomed crushing hug. Gavriil wasn't one for hugs. He hated feeling constricted in any way. When Andrei finally let Gavriil go, he asked. "What happened to you? You don't even know how worried I was!"
Gavriil growled, "Sorry mother." Gavriil stepped back from his brother and waited to be chewed out for leaving.
"Gavriil, I was told to protect you. This may possibly be our mother's dying wish, so why don't you stop being such a brat and be grateful I am still dealing with you!"
Gavriil rolled his eyes and practically threw the satchel to his brother before saying. "Feed the girl." With that, Gavriil continued to the shelter that he and his brother had found.
"I left the cave. We need to find a new shelter."
Gavriil turned quickly to his brother and exclaimed "You idiot! Where are we going to find shelter around here?"
"Hey idiot, we can use the blankets to make a tent like structure. I was able to find some dry wood too." Andrei replied calmly. He then looked to the girl and asked. "Where did you find the puppy?"
"I found it in the woods, were else?"
"You can be nicer."
"I can be, but I am tired, so I don't want to."
"You both could be demons." Anichka's voice was unexpected and both of the mutants looked at her. She then continued. "You're Azazel-", she said pointing to Gavriil. "-and you're Silver", she said as she then pointed to Andrei.
Gavriil threw his hands up and asked, "Why does he get a fake demon name?"
"What the hell is a 'fake demon name'?" Andrei asked, obviously confused.
"Silver can be a demon name! I think his hair is pretty so that is his new name!", Anichka exclaimed excitedly. The two mutants shrugged almost simultaneously and Andrei then began to create a make-shift shelter.
"Ok, I guess I am silver"