"Oof!" A streak of red flew over her head, tackling the boy onto the ground. It was the dog from earlier. It bounced off the teen's chest, now taking Zenobia's place as protector. It barked and growled, intimidating the rest of the group back. She was so surprised; she didn't even register a pair of hands lifting her up into a seated position until she heard someone speak up behind her.
"I suggest you leave us alone! I already called the cops and gave descriptions of each of you. They'll be here in five minutes to drag you in."
"What?"
"Oh shit!"
"I'm outta here."
They left in scattered droves, picking up their fallen friends in a dusty trail. It was over…as quick as the fight started, it ended. With the danger now gone, the golden retriever turned back giving a soft whine.
"Thank goodness…" She felt a soft sigh hit her ear. It sounded exhausting, but relieved, something she could definitely relate to. There was a shuffle of shoes, the gentle palms that got her off nature's floor shifted until she was staring into the masked face of the bullies' original victim.
"Are you alright, miss?" And now she could see why those teens were messing with him. Now that she was close enough to see, he indeed wore a cheetah mask. A very interesting choice symbolically speaking. Especially since the spots had hints of red mixed in with the typical black patterns. Those factors weren't why he was targeted though.
It was his eyes. No matter how much of a bad reputation certain eye colors can have, there was only one that regardless of the time and place where it was considered the worst one to have. It wasn't red, or brown, or even black. It was white. They were the worst omens for a child to be born with.
White eyes were the sign of deformity, of disability…damaged. Like rare albinos in the wildlife, they were considered weak and inferior. They were also the only eye color someone didn't have to be born with. People who fell ill or got into a bad accident could easily obtain them regardless of what their natural hue was.
"Miss? Can you hear me?" One in two thousand are born with them, again, that was rare, yet here she was staring into beautiful milky-white. What's more was that the gaze he had was kind. He looked worried as he carefully rearranged the hair strands that covered her face. It was when the pad of his finger brushed her skin, chilling it, that she returned to reality. Immediately she held her hands up to her face.
Her mask-it was off! In a panic she jerked her head around, hunting for it. On her left was the dog, still whining. Zenobia flinched, she didn't even notice it move, however she recovered as soon as she saw what it had. It took a few seconds of careful prying, but her fox mask was once more back in her possession.
Sadly…wearing it was a completely different matter. It was fractured from the bottom up. She could replace the leather cord that kept it on her face easily enough, however it was far too damaged to wear. Not only would it not be socially acceptable in any case to use it, but she would be more likely to deal with slivers scratching, if not stabbing into her skin.
"I'm sorry about your mask." Another flinch broke through. She forgot he was still there, still questioning her. After feeling super rude and guilty she glanced at him again, offering him what she hoped was an apologetic smile.
"Don't be, it was old. And thanks…for helping me."
"It was the least I could do since you did the same for me." He backed up a few paces, silently allowing her to stand on her own. She tried, only to plop back on her butt after a jolt of pain ran up her left leg. Her mouth twisted, clamped down to prevent an irritated sigh. A headache and from the pain she felt, a sprained ankle. All of this combined with an interrupted nap to boot. Today was just not her day.
"You better get out of here. If the cops show up, they'll drag both of our assess in."
"No, they won't."
"Why not? You called them, didn't you?"
"Define call." Her jaw dropped in shock. He chuckled; no doubt able to see her disbelief. If the situation didn't directly involve her, she would probably be laughing too, unluckily for her, it did. Immediately she wanted to call him an idiot.
Actually she wanted to call him a bunch of things, idiot being the first of that long list. Thankfully her mental filter stopped whatever insults that came to her mind in time when she opened her mouth.
"You were counting on a bluff. If they didn't book it, we both would probably be dead in a ditch by morning."
"It's a good thing those guys are very familiar with the police to where they fell for it then, huh?" Zenobia couldn't believe what she heard. This guy most likely didn't even need her help. She got involved for nothing. Absolutely exhausted, she landed on her back.
"H-hey! Are you alright? Can you stand?"
"No, and no."
"With that sassy tone, I think you'll live."
"Thanks, really appreciate the analys-IIISSS!" That damn lick-happy dog just slobbered all over her cheek. A shudder coursed through her frame, her eyes squinting as the excess drool dribbled down her face. However, that didn't last long when she heard him snort, causing her to scowl instead.
"Down, Rosette." Well, that solved the mystery of why this overgrown fur ball insisted on staying there. She( not it) was his dog. Zenobia heard the jangle of her collar as she trotted over to her master, sitting on his right.
"In all seriousness, do I need to call an ambulance for you?"
"No. My ankle hurts, but it's fine. I'll get up in a few minutes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. You don't need to wait for me." Crimson and white orbs peered into one another for an unknown amount of time. She couldn't read his gaze, which was unfair if anyone asked her. Here she was, vulnerable with all aspects of her face showing, yet here he was looking down at her with no shame whatsoever.
It didn't matter if he was concerned about her. She wasn't in the mood to be coddled by a stranger. It's been years since she had someone to rely on for comfort, why bother now? So she rested there, closing her eyes while evening out her breathing. All in all, now that she was prodding her wounds, she wasn't too bad.
Her left side hurt like hell, don't get her wrong, but there was no sign of broken bones anywhere that she could feel. There was a huge possibility of bruises, the worst seemed to be her sprained ankle. Those could be remedied with a nice hot bath topped with pain lotion. A few days of that and she'd be good as new, her mom none the wiser to this little adventure.
That couldn't happen until he left though. Her eyes remained closed, her breathing still calm, but frustration bubbled inside. There were no fading away footsteps. Not a hint of comfortable silence. Rosette was panting a few feet from her, most likely in the same position Zenobia last saw her and her owner. They were both waiting for her despite her clearly telling them to leave.
"Ok no. I'm not letting you resemble a corpse."
"What? H-hey! Put me down!" This boy was rude! Zenobia did not appreciate being compared to a corpse when she lived long enough to tell him to leave her alone. It was even worse when he lifted her up like a bag of dog food.
Zenobia snapped her eyes open to find herself being given a piggyback. Her hair in front of her face in lieu of her mask that was still in her hold. Rosette gave a happy bark before rushing forward, leaving the two of them alone.
"Where are you taking me?"
"A doctor."
"I told you; I don't want to go to the hospital."
"We're not, but even if we did, you weren't too eager to move."
"That's because I wanted you to leave!"
"You're weird." Zenobia took a deep inhale, biting down a retort. She was not weird. Reckless and stubborn, yes. The teen won't ever deny those two traits, but she will to being weird. Her exhale came as a huge puff.
"If you're so strong, why the hell didn't you beat those guys down?" Wait what? That wasn't what she intended to say at all! Maybe she'd retract her previous thoughts about looking like a corpse because she certainly wanted to die.
"Other than letting a dashing heroine come to my rescue? I don't know martial arts. I was outnumbered..."
"Neither did I-"
"No way! You looked like something out of a kung-fu movie. I don't believe you haven't had any sort of self-defense training."
"The moves I got are from kung-fu movies." The two of them found themselves diving into a randomized set of conversations. Bouncing, interrupting, the two were lost in their arguing chatting to the point where they weren't aware of the stares they were receiving. A dog leading a random guy who had a girl on his back. With Zenobia having no clue where she was being taken to.