The Girl and Her Goat Chapter 8: The Visitor
Three days. Three days since that camping trip, and I had not been able to forget the young man who had become my first friend in years, the young man who had cluelessly given me my first kiss. I felt my face redden and a tingle on my lips, as I did every time I thought back to that moment. My bedroom ceiling was an awfully boring thing, especially when compared to that interesting character. Unfortunately, that ceiling had been pretty much all I had been looking at in the past few days. Never before had I wanted so badly for my vaccation to end, only so that work could give me something to do, anything to do.
I closed my eyes and snuggled further into my pillow. I know it was 11 in the morning and I had been awake for three hours now, but I did not want to leave my comfortable navy-blue blankets. It was warm in here, and the outside world felt cold.
I opened my eyes. I thought I'd heard a sound, like something striking the wall somewhere. I closed my eyes again. It was probably just a branch. My eyes snapped open. Three distinct sounds. Like...someone knocking on the door...or...someone knocking on glass.
I sat up and looked towards my window. The heavy blue curtains prevented me from seeing outside. My heart was racing. Nobody could be out my window...it had to be my imagination. My room was on the second floor. How on Earth would anyone or anything get there? I was about to lay down again when I heard it again. This time, I got up. There was something out there. I carefully stepped towards the window, feeling dread. In one swift movement, I drew back the curtains, and nearly fell over in shock.
Fiery amber eyes gazed into mine. As soon as I got my heart and breathing under control and convinced myself that this wasn't a hallucination, I hurried to open the window. Toh'ma was starting to shake, obviously putting a lot of effort to cling to the narrow ledge out the window. How he had gotten there, I had no clue. As soon as the window had opened, he plopped inside my room. Letting out a sharp breath. He ran his fingers through his curls and looked up to me. "...hey."
My mind caught-up with the situation. The Goatman was in my room, in the city...THE GOATMAN WAS IN MY ROOM, IN THE CITY. "What are you doing here?!" He flinched back from my angry tone of voice, a look of fear flashing through his face. He clutched against his stomach the bundle of cloth he had been carrying, backing-up a bit. My vision got hazy, without me initially noticing that it was from crying. I embraced him in a hug. "What are you doing here..." I repeated again.
He looked at me with an unreadable gaze. "Wanted more." And without a word, he kissed me again. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there, waiting for it to end. He backed away and I looked down. The contact had given me that feeling again...tingles everywhere. I had to tell him...
"Toh...I don't think I explained properly..." He tilted his head to the side, looking to me with a confused expression. "People kiss...when they love each other, yes, but...not just...in a caring way..." I looked back to him, wanting to see if he had understood. His expression was the same as before. I bit my lip and blushed, carrying on with my explanation. "People kiss when...well...I guess when they want to...erm...mate."
His body went rigid and, all at once, his face flushed bright red. "...Oh." It was all he said as he looked away. A few seconds of silence hung between us. "...Sorry." I rubbed my arm nervously and looked back to him, but he avoided my gaze. "It's okay. You didn't know. Just...there are more...friendly ways." He looked back to me. "Like...this." I leaned forward and lightly kissed his cheek. I looked to him attentively. His eyes seemed briefly empty, as if he was processing what just happened, then they narrowed a bit and he looked around my room. "Doesn't feel the same." The air was heavy with awkwardness. "...I know."
I decided to change the subject and satisfy my curiosity. "Hey how did you get over here anyway?" A soft smile drew it's self on his lips. "Spirits help me." That was all he answered. I was about to say something else, but I noticed something that made me feel suddenly sick. Blood. There was blood on the edge of the window. My gaze trailed down, and I noticed more splotches of it, leading down to his right foot. His left foot was pressed flat on the ground, but his right foot was held-up on tip-toes, a small pool of blood forming under it. "Toh what happened to your foot!" I had said it as an exclamation, not a question.
I grabbed his arm and began to drag him across the room. He dropped the bundle he was holding and followed me, limping a little. His facial expression was one of surprise at me grabbing him, but nothing in his eyes showed any hints of pain. We went down the hall and to the bathroom, where I let go of his arm. I flicked on the lights and gestured to the sink. "Can you put your foot in there?" He nodded and stretched his leg up. Blood dripped into the sink at a steady rate. I looked to the floor, only now noticing the trail of bloody footprints he had left behind. God, why didn't he have shoes?
I turned on the water and started washing away the blood. The source of the injury became visible. A shard of glass was imbeded in his foot. I heard him mutter out in Fishuu, his tone of voice sounding slightly irritated. "Vin ken poorl krank ka..." The statement made me smirk. I knew enough of the spirit language to understand aproximately what it meant. "The crystals attacked me." I grabbed a pair of tweazers and moved them closer to his foot. "This is probably going to hurt a lot, but I have to get it out." He nodded and clutched the edge of the sink. his body stiffening.
I cautiously picked at the shard of glass, gently pulling it out. A trickle of fresh blood followed it and I worked on cleaning it right away. He had flinched visibly, but remained with a blank expression. I tossed the piece of glass in the trash, turned off the water and looked back to my companion. "Now I'll just dry it off and put on some bandages..." Before I could do anything, he retracted his leg from the sink and placed the tip of his toes on the ground. "It's gone?"
I blinked, understanding he meant the glass. "Yeah, it's gone." He smirked and gestured to me with his hand, a movement telling me to stand still and watch. He then began to change to his other appearence. However, instead of simple discomfort as usual when it reached his feet, he actually flinched and recoiled, pain clear on his altered face. I reached out for him, but he simply shooed my hand away as the transformation was complete. His ears flicked up and he looked at me, a smug grin on his snout. He then started to shift back to a human appearence, this time only showing mild discomfort.
I felt my jaw drop as he showed me the underside of his foot. The only sign of the wound was a long and ugly scar that zig-zagged across his skin, stretched and disformed. There was no more blood, and as he put his foot flat on the ground, I guessed there was no more pain either. I looked back to his face, where I was met with his proud smile. He then showed me his left foot, which had a small scar on top. I gasped as he flipped it over, showing an identical scar exactly underneath it. I shuddered at the thought of what kind of injury that could have been. However, what really made me feel sick was the large and nasty scar on his heel. It was actually slightly sunk in. He spoke again. "Doesn't work everywhere, but I can heal. Have to get the thing out first. Or else...it goes in." He tapped to the large scar on his heel. "Then I have to get it out." I turned away and grimaced. I didn't want to think of what he'd meant by that.
I turned my attention back to the blood on the floor. "I have to clean this up. I'm going to buy you shoes after." His head tilted to the side, a look of surprise on his face. I grabbed a piece of cloth, wet it slightly and got to work on scrubbing away the burgundy spots. When I was done, back in my room by the window, I noticed the mass of cloth he had brought along with him. It was actually a tattered and torn grey coat, used as a bundle, which contained a few shirts, a pair of shorts, one pair of boxers, his ratty old blanket, some broken shoes with the soles coming off, a dirty old hairbrush, a razor, a worn-out toothbrush and his cook book. I picked-up the book, hearing his footsteps draw closer to me. "You wanted it." I looked up to him. "...You're...giving this to me?" He nodded, his fiery eyes gazing into mine. I smiled and looked down to the book. "Thank you." I then looked back and saw that he had also brought the picture of his parents.
It became clear to me that he intended to stick around for a while. I looked again to his horrible wardrobe and then back to him again. I picked up the sorry excuse for shoes. "We're getting rid of these. I'll get you new ones. We'll get you some new clothes some other day." He silently listened to me. I looked out my window and thought a bit. My house was on the far side of town, closest to the woods where we had met. If he walked all the way here, he hasn't seen much of town... I looked back to him, thankful that I had finally been given something to do.
"Toh, how about we go exploring the city?" His eyes brightened-up and he smiled. The look on his face was giddy, like that of a yound child finding-out he was going to go to Disney World. I sent him out of my room so I could get dressed and walked towards my bedside table to grab my hairbrush, brushing down any wild strands I had. I walked out to find him waiting in the hallway. I then motioned for him to follow me and walked downstairs, putting on my running shoes. We headed out the door, off to an other adventure.
The morning air was fresh, but not cold. It was a nice day, sunny, but still having beautiful fluffy clouds drifting about. Birds were chirping, fluttering about the sidewalks and gardens. A squirrel crept up a phone pole and raced across the cables.
"Have you ever taken the bus before?" He walked by my side, looking to the small symetrical houses that lines the street. "No." The bus stop was coming into view. "Well, you're about to." Mere seconds after we reached the sign, a bus pulled over. I walked in and looked back. My companion seemed unsure. I motioned for him to follow and he cautiously stepped in, looking amazed at the inside of the elongated vehicle. I paid both of our fees and walked towards the back, where there were two available seats.
We sat and I smiled at the young man's look of awe as he gazed out the window, his nostrils occasionally flaring as he picked up the various scents of the city. "Do you at least know what a bus is for?" He looked to me, seemingly lost in thought for a few seconds. "It brings...people...places?" He hesitated at every word. I nodded to him, and he seemed pretty proud that he had actually gotten it right.
The bus went into a dark tunnel and Toh's eyes grew wide and filled with even more amazement as he watched the orange lights pass by. His lips had parted slightly and he overall had a very childish appearence. I tapped his shoulder and pointed out the bus' front window. "We're about to go into downtown." The bus exited the tunel, the brilliant light of day briefly blinding us, but what followed caused my companion to actually gasp. Immense silver skyscrapers reflected the sun's rays with their prismatic glass pannels, large fluorescent signs lined the streets, advertising hundreds of stores, brands and other things. People walked by in large crowds, wearing clothes of every color in the visible spectrum. Flocks of pigeons flew by boldly, weaving inbetween the cars.
The Goatman's face was pressed into the glass as his orange eyes darted about, taking in every detail. I looked around, recognising the streets. "We're getting off soon. There's a shoe store not too far from here and it has a restaurant close by." He blinked and looked back to me, mumbling out a single word. "Restaurant." I pressed the button, signaling the driver that we were getting off next stop. I gently held the young man's wrist and stood-up, holding onto one of the poles to keep my balance. The bus came to a halt and we both made our way to the door, stepping outside. Toh'ma looked all around, amazed by it all, but his gaze mostly wandered upwards. The sheer size of the buildings was clearly a shock to him.
I tugged on his arm, pulling him forward. "Watch where you step. You don't want to hurt yourself again." Suddenly, his gaze scoured the ground, searching for anything that could potentially hurt him. I noticed people around us looking to him strangely. I guess it's not everyday you see a young man dressed in rags with his pants held up by hair, walking downtown barefoot. We reached the store and walked in, hearing the bell chime. Toh looked up and experimentally opened the door again, smiling at the sound of the bell. He looked to me and chittered, trying to immitate it's sound. I giggled, gazing into his eyes.
"Erin! Hey!" I looked away from Toh to stare at the teen who stood behind the cash register. "Hey Pablo. I'm buying a nice pair of shoes for my friend here. Got any ideas?" The black haired boy stepped out from behind the counter, looking down to the shorter man. "Hm...well he's...um...got an interesting style." Toh'ma gave a light huff and glared up to the boy. This one recoiled. "Jeeze don't stare at me like that. It's giving me the creeps." Pablo looked away and I briefly noticed Toh'ma's dark smirk of victory. He better not start going all supernatural on the townsfolk...
I spoke-up again. "This is Toh'ma. He's...an orphan." That wasn't a lie. "I picked him up a few days ago, fending for himself. He seemed like a smart guy, so...I'm giving him a chance, you know? He doesn't belong on the streets." Pablo smiled warmly. He knew what it was to have a rough life, so I guess it was wise to play the homeless card.
"Tell you what, whatever you buy today, it's 50% off for your generosity." I smiled to him. "Thank you." I then walked towards the mens' section, Toh'ma following close by. We stopped and I looked to him. "Is there anything you like?" He looked around, walking from box to box, looking at all the models of shoes available to him. His searching finally stopped at a pair of large black skater shoes, equiped with neon orange laces. He picked-up the shoe and showed it to me. Now we just needed to find his shoe size, which would be pretty difficult since he doesn't have any shoes to use as a refference. And so there was the agonizing ten minutes we spent, through a process of trial and error, trying to find a pair that fit him. We finally made the purchase and were on our way out. "Thanks Pablo!" The young man smiled and waved to us.
Out on the sidewalk, Toh'ma was trying to get used to walking in his new shoes. Thankfully, he already knew how to tie his shoe laces, but his way of walking was somewhat clumsy and overall comical. I noticed his expression, visibly upset by the fact that I was laughing at his expense. We stopped by a Subways and got sandwiches to go, walking as we ate. Toh was captivated by it all. We walked through a small park on the way back, and he had fun feeding the pigeons with pieces of his bread's crust. By this time of the year, the fountain was up and going, sprinkling a cooling mist over the park. The Goatman seemed taken aback by this. Everything here was strange and foreign to him. Eventually, something else bright and colorful caught his attention and sent him wandering somewhere else. It was a man, selling balloons.
Toh's amber eyes were wide with awe. I instantly knew this was something he needed. So I got him one. He held the string carefully, looking in wonder to the colorful violet balloon that was now his. "Carefull not to let go, now. It's a hellium balloon, so it'll fly away." His face scrunched-up in an expression of focus, and he muttered. "Hellium...gas lighter than the components of air." I nodded. "Yes that's...wait, how the heck do you know that?" He just shrugged and kept walking.
As we headed towards home, he would occasionally bump his forehead against the balloon, smiling childishly as it bobbed back and forth. He even once experimented with the object's shadow once he realized it cast a purple one, since some light could still pass through it. I didn't lie back then. This guy was really smart, and he certainly didn't belong alone in the streets, or in the woods, or anywhere. He had a lot of pottential.
We finally got home later in the afternoon. As soon as the door was shut and we strod into the living room, I turned to my friend. "Hey Toh..." "Erin." "Why didn't you wear shoes before?" He blinked slowly, huffing. A fine coat of fur began to cover his body as he transformed. He then raised his leg and shook it a bit. The shoe wobbled about, even dipping to the side a bit. He set his foot down and tried to take a step, only for the shoes to move about in odd ways, making it clearly difficult. Oh...I guess shoes aren't really designed for hooves, now are they?
He pried off his footware and began to walk around the house, only to pause and look back to me. "Oh you can explore if you want. It's fine. Just...try not break anything...and be careful so that nobody outside can see you through a window like this." He nodded and disapeared into the living room, his beloved balloon in tow. I went off to the kitchen, deciding to cook some soupe for us.
When it was ready, I poured two bowls and decided to go fetch the guy. I found him brushing his hair in the bathroom, using his broken and old brush. I only now noticed how he could use a haircut too. His dark brown curls fell a bit bellow his shoulders, and the ends were clearly split. New shoes, new clothes, new hair...why was I doing all this for him?
I remembered why I had come up here in the first place. "I made some food downstairs, if you want any. Vegetable soupe." He nodded and set down his brush, following me. We ate supper quietly. I offered him some orange juice, but he seemed sceptical about it and decided to drink water instead. "Um...Toh'ma." "Erin." "Where are you planning on going now?" He shrugged, swirling his spoon around in his almost empty bowl. I couldn't get out of this...he was going to be sticking around for a while. I stood up, grabbing our bowls after getting his confirmation that he was indeed done. As I set them in the dishwasher, I turned back to him. "I'll go set-up something in the living room so you can sleep here tonight." He nodded.
I went upstairs and grabbed his bundle of things, bringing them down to the living room where I put them on the coffee table. I then went back up to my room and dug through my closet, finding two spare pillows and a blanket. There was no way he was going to sleep with only that old rag. I went back to the couch, setting-up the pillows and blankets carefully. He walked in, watching me. His balloon was tucked in his arms. He cautiously let it go, where it drifted up to the ceiling. Thankfully, the string hung low, making the little colorful thing still reachable. He walked by me and grabbed the picture of his parents, placing it up on the table. I gestured to the couch. "You can sleep here. I'll get you a bottle of water incase you're thirsty. You can brush your teeth in the bathroom up stairs. Feel free to use my toothpaste if you want. I don't mind." He nodded. I then picked up the tv remote and gestured to the screen. "Do you know how to use the television?" He looked to it, then to the remote. He carefully took it from my hands and pressed the power button, flicking on the television. The news came on, talking about who knows what celebrity who did who knows what pointless thing.
He looked down to the remote pensively before handing it back to me. "Forgot." I took it from him and pressed the buttons, changing the channels. I eventually paused on some nature channel. "Here. These are shows about animals. If you press this arrow, you'll go to the history channel. If you press this one, you'll end-up on the science channel. If you press this button, you'll get a menu with a list of all the channels and you can choose any you want from there." I handed it back to him and he nodded. He slowly sat down on the couch, tucking himself into the blankets. As I started walking away, I heard him speak up. "Thank you..." I turned back and smiled to him. "No problem."
I went up stairs, brushed my teeth and went to get changed for bed. As I laid in the covers, I couldn't help but smirk. Well...at least now I didn't have to worry about never seeing him again.
AN: Hey. Sorry if it took a bit of time to update... I've been lazy and stuff, playing Castle Crashers and things. Anyway, I feel like I need to clarify something for Fishuu incase anyone wanted to use it. The verbs in Fishuu don't have different tenses. It's just the verb. So you can't really tell from just that when an action happens, so there are words for that. Like in the sentence "Vin ken poorl krank ka." The word 'Vin' is used in the begining of a sentence to show that the action you are about to describe happened in the past. 'Van' would mean that it will happen in the future. 'Vayen' means you want it to happen. You can combine it with either of the other two (Vayen'vin or Vayen'van) to show when you wish for something to happen. I won't actually be using Fishuu that much and it'll become not so present as things go on, since Toh will adapt to city life, but it's still fun. I'll probably use this language again, making it some other race's language, in some other fictional universe. It's pretty fun, making-up your own language.
As usual, thank you, readers. Give me advice, spot my mistakes, leave suggestions, anything. I really like the feedback. I'm happy to see that this fanfic is getting a good amount of readers. It'll be my longest one yet, and I really want it to be my best one. I don't know if it'll be my most read one, though...that would be...I think it was "Slendy"? Yeah I think it's that one. It's a Slender fanfic, also a romance, if anyone is interested in that.
