kierca knows how to breathe, how to shiver and shake in the night. she knows how to sleep, can't forget infact but right now, she's trying to remember how to wake up ,how to open her eyes again.
and she thinks she's doing it but all she's seeing is black.
she thinks for a short while what maybe, just maybe she's gone blind from her angel.
and that's when she remembers.
she wakes up, eyes snapping open as she bolts up from the bed, panting like she's woken up from a nightmare.
and she has, because all she could do in the blackness was listen to the screams as she tried to block out the images of the people she's killed that were all thrust upon her at once.
but now it's quiet and she's deaf and blind in different ways.
Oz is startled by her sudden awakening, and he looks at her for a moment, just watching. His lips part slightly, as though he is on the brink of speaking. But, in reality, he was just amazed. Her eyes were captivating in their own way, and he stared into them for a minute before glancing away.
Finding his voice, Oz asks with genuine concern, “Are you alright? How do you feel? Are you hungry or thirsty at all?” He needed to ask all of these, because he couldn’t when she was unconscious.
And he wanted to make sure he could get her back to full health.
He then remembered something, and reaches under the bed. Oz pulls out her satchel, and sets it on her lap.
for a moment all she hears are words and she almost screams and all she see's are hands and she screams a little but they die down when she see's her satchel and she turns towards the person returning it, gasping loudly at the sight before her.
it was her angel!
"i-i...." she frowns at her voice it sounded weak and her throat was dry.... how long had she been out?
she coughs and clears her throat to try again "i-i...h-how long...?" is all she manages to get out for now and she scowls because of it.
but then she remembers the fire and it makes sense to her all of a sudden as to why her voice is hoarse and she can barely make a sound.
Hearing the hoarseness of her voice, Oz holds up a finger, to say he’ll answer the question he returns. He gets to his feet and disappears through the doorway, and returns minutes later with a small cup of water. Oz hands it to her, smiling gently.
He then sits back down, and replies, “A little over a month. . .”
she almost spills the water at this, eying him warily before she drinks it all in one go, gasping for air when she's done.
she's going to have to get used to talking again but that's fine....
"i... where are...we? h-how did i?" she goes to say survive but finds she's unable to get past a few words for the time being so she makes a motion at all of her wounds and tilts her head in question, ears twitching atop her head and she almost curses because they hurt too....
Oz really didn’t know how to explain, and he scratches the back of his neck as he leans forward slightly in the chair. He gnaws on the inside of his cheek, and then looks at her once more.
“More or less, I scared the hunters away. . . I suppose.” He clears his throat, feeling his ears press back against his skull under the turban. He was still wearing the same Egyptian clothing as before.
“And you fell unconscious. And I couldn’t leave you. . . so I found a safe place. . . and took care of your wounds. . . and yeah. . .” His voice drifts as he lost the right words to say.
“Sorry if I didn’t do a well enough job of tending to you.” He sincerely apologizes, frowning.
she shakes her head frantically, soon finding it to be a terrible idea and groaning, a hand reaching up to steady her head somewhat before she looked over at him "i'm alive.....thanks" kierca says, smiling lightly at him before pointing at her throat in question "will it get" she has a small coughing fit for about five minutes, her chest hurting by the time she's done "better?" she asks.
Oz now smiles beneath his mask, and nods multiple times at her. “Of course~” He practically purrs, and then quietly chuckles. He gets to his feet once more, and gives a slight stretch and a yawn. He holds the mask up so it doesn’t fall off, and then also fixes his turban.
“So, are you hungry?” He asks her, taking the cup from her, as he planned on getting her more water. “Oh! And I’m Ozzyre. But you may call me Oz.”
she nods at this "kierca" she says and frowns down at her stomach as it makes a noise, her ears pinning themselves back to her skull in a form of apology to her stomach.
"c-can i ask more l-later?" kierca asks, confusion evident in both her face and voice.
Oz smiles once more, nodding once and then twice, "Of course you can~ But try to get some more rest while I go find something for you to eat, okay?" He says before walking out of the room.
This was more work than Oz imagined.
Truth be told, he wasn't even sure what was getting into him. . .
Oz is in the kitchen. Throughout the weeks, he had gathered food. Mostly fruit, though, because he loved fruit. And he had a feeling Kierca enjoyed meat, so he ended up doing a lot of hunting, too. Oz grabs a rabbit he had caught earlier in the morning, and starts to skin it.
With a sigh, Oz places the rabbit into the fire, and waits. As he waits, he pours another cup of water from the pitcher. He had purified the river water and everything. Oz had done a lot within the past month.
“What has gotten into you Ozzyre. . .” He mutters to himself, arms folded over chest as he stares into the fire pit. With an even heavier and dragged out sigh, Oz just uses his hand to pull the cooked rabbit out of the fire, and sets it on a plate.
He then picks the plate up with one hand, and the glass with the other, and ventures back into the bedroom. He smiles at the sight of her being asleep. She needed all the rest she could have.
Oz makes his way over to the bed, and sets the plate and cup on the table beside it. Gathering his thoughts, he carefully pulls his mask down and leans down to lightly kiss Kierca on the forehead.
kierca's eyes flutter open at this and she almost smiles at his actions, it had been a long time since she'd received a kiss like that while she slept... longer than she wants to remember....
but she's confused, very confused as to why this stranger brought her here, saved her and healed her....
but her main concern right now is why her angel's smile is too bright for her eyes right now and wondering how she can stop it from being bright in her face and the just right smile she somehow knows he's capable of....
Like a frightened rabbit, Oz sharply gasps and takes a quick step back. He shakes, almost uncontrollably, his smile having faded within a second. His eyes are wide, and for a moment he was paralyzed. She had seen his face. She had seen him. . .
With panicked breaths, Oz’s quivering fingers fumble with the mask, and he struggles to pull it back up. He whirls around, his back to Kierca as he fixes his mask, trying his hardest to not hyperventilate.
kierca looks confused at this and reaches a hand out to touch him slightly, in hopes it would help her understand better "why do you hide your smile?" she asks, voice somewhat improved now "i think it's...lovely..." she says, confused at his actions.
Oz slowly looks over his shoulder to see Kierca, his heartbeat gradually simmering to a light fluttering. He then lowers his head as he looks away again, his back still turned at her as he whispers, "Because I. . . I have to. . ." It was clear within his tone that he was frowning.
"i...i....why? who said you had to hide your smile?" kierca asks, tilting her head slightly, her brow furrowing in obvious need to work something out.... she doesn't understand what's going on but she thinks that maybe it'll be the first answer to make sense to her all day...
Finally, Oz turns back around to fully face Kierca, and he drops into the chair. "I change my appearance every so many years to avoid being caught by those who are. . . well. . . after me. . . but my smile always stays the same. . ." He answers, looking at her. "So I always wear a mask to hide my face. . ." He touches the mask as he continues, "And now it's like this mask is my face. . . I feel disgusting without it on. . ." He slouches somewhat.
"i don't see why... you look han-hand-handso-" she coughs at this point a look of anger crossing her face and she shouts quite loudly the word 'HANDSOME!' before realizing what she's done and attempts to hide behind her tail, face now having gone bright red at her embarrassment.
Oz’s eyes practically widen to twice their size as he looks at Kierca. He could feel his own face shade a shade of deep red. No one had ever called him handsome. When Oz thought about it, no one had ever given him any type of compliment.
He stutters to find words, pulling the mask up to hide his entire face. “Th-th-thank you!”
Oz takes in two deep breaths, lifting his head to look at Kierca once more. He then clears his throat as he unties the mask, and sets it aside. He sits in the chair, completely silent and still, not wanting to say or do anything but just stare at his bare feet. . . fighting every urge to put the mask back on.
"F-fo. . .for. . . for you." Oz trembles as he speaks, clutching tightly onto his baggy pants. He bows his head slightly before adding, "There's f-food on your other side. . . and m-m-more water. . . sorry if y-you don't like rabbit. . ."
(can i just date them as a couple please? like i'll only require hugs and kisses and snuggles for when i'm upset and that is all but like... D
kierca squeaks at this and smiles happily "n-no it's fine i...i love rabbit... i'm just s-sorry y-you had to get get it for me... if..if i was better...i'd do it myself" she says, frowning at her words "s-so i'm sorry for being a nusience but..t-thank you..." she eeps as she goes to drink some of the water and reach for her plate at the same time, finding her body having not yet balanced out and almost tips everything over in the process.
(I would just like to have them as people to go to when sad or angry or anything!)
Oz's breath catches in his throat, and he swiftly moves to catch the plate before it could drop, and then balances the cup with his other hand. He holds each item, and smiles at her once more. "N-no. . . you're not a nusience at all~" He chimes, his voice clearer than before. He then moves the satchel to the side and puts the plate on her lap in its place, and then sets the cup in her hand.
"i...th-thank you..." she says, ears flattening down to the sides of her head before she takes a quick drink and puts the cup on the nearby table and starts to eat, her claws having come out to use in place of knives.
she stops midway between her third and fourth bite to turn and ask sheepishly "u-um... w-would you like any?" kierca gestures to the plate.
“Th-thank you for the offer, but I already ate a little while ago. That’s all yours! And if you’re still hungry, then I have plenty more!” Oz happily replies, his smile growing and brightening.
He wanted to understand what was going on. . . why he had even saved her in the first place. He didn’t want anyone to die. But. . . still. . . he could have left her after scaring the hunters away.
she smiles sheepishly a him for this, nodding and continues to eat.
half an hour later she looks over at oz and frowns "...oz? i-i am allowed to call you that right?...um....w-why d-did you save me?" kierca asks, her vulnerability in her voice showing.
Oz arches a brow at this question, as if wondering himself. And he truly was. He was trying to find the answer somewhere, but it seemed out of reach. And he suddenly felt horrible for not being able to give an answer.
Out of nowhere, and unconsciously, he says, “Because you’re different from anyone else I’ve seen in this world. . . and I really like that. . .”