Thalia ran and ran as hard as she could Grasping her chances of survival until she couldn't run anymore.
After a while, She stopped to rest behind a tree. suddenly, the cold tundra turned into a warm forest. As far as she could see There were only trees, wild berries and sunlight. Weirdly enough She could feel the cold but there was no snow around.
As she took a few steps to get up, She could feel the tingly sensation of the grass caressing her feet, Though… the feeling was a bit odd, To say the least
She continued to walk forward, Looking around in suspicion of her surroundings. She set her pace to the rhythm of her heartbeats, Accelerated and strong
Everything was strangely calming though She could hear the crackling of twigs and the movement of leaves while they grazed each other as the wind Gently moved them
She got a bit scared of the strange sound. She turned around and took a few steps and just after a second of not looking at the ground, She Fell into another trap, This one less violent. A rope tightened around her Ankle, lifting her aggressively.
She didn't lose the grip on her wound which Kept bleeding despite the cold of the environment.
After a few minutes, She could see a silhouette that she couldn't recognize, and right when the mysterious silhouette approached, She blacked out.
After quite some time, she woke up in what seemed to be a common-sized cabin. She could smell the strong scent of spices and meat, She looked down to find herself in an oversized pajama shirt and shorts. The wound on her shoulder seemed to have been treated with utmost care
She was still half asleep when a Big silhouette of what seemed to be a grown man approached. She rubbed her eyes and took another look, It was indeed a man But he seemed to be holding a bowl of stew
"Well, Kiddo… you were asleep for a few days but here, Eat up. So you can feel better" Said the man with a calm smile.
Thalia, on the other hand, couldn't understand him very well since he spoke another language But she has heard her sister Practicing it with her grandmother. Though barely, she could understand.
"I…. Food? Me… Sleep?" Said thalia Using her few remnants of strength
"Oh… Don't worry kiddo, here let me help ya." He picked up the Spoon in the wooden plate of stew and said "Say Ahhh~" She understood, and opened her mouth slowly.
"There ya go!" He said as he slowly started to feed her "You dont seem to be from here, Those crystal blue eyes… Brown hair… and that cinnamon skin… You look like a Khaleshi… hm… But aren't you guys extinct? I should stop speaking. You can barely Eat on your own. Here, here. Once you finish you should tell me your name…" He fed her slowly With extreme care despite how brute he looks, He seemed to have experience with children.
After quite a while and quite some care she started to slowly recuperate. As the days passed she started to realize the damage to her body from running, the forest, her wounds, and the aggressive cold of the Tundra. but as soon as she worried, the memory of the man taking care of her reassured and calmed Thalia. During one of her meals the man asked her for her name, and as he asked, she delivered.
"T-Thalia… my name… Thalia… your name?" said Thalia still a bit weak but with enough strength to speak a bit
"Heh- Quite a strong one I see… I'm Hanz, Hanz Kristoff. well I don't know if your tribe has adapted last names. well don't force yourself too much Thalia, you still have a long way to get well" he said smiling as he thought My, My, hanz… talking to someone who doesn't even know Common tongue as well as you do
he continued to feed Thalia with a nostalgic smile.
After a few weeks, Thalia's wounds healed pretty decently but still left trauma in her body which will eventually fade over time. in the morning, The sun is barely touching the dimly lit cloudy sky. In the warm comfort of the inside of the cabin, Thalia was looking out the window, seeing how Hanz punched a Log. The log itself seemed very degraded at a certain point around the middle section, Hanz seemed to have been doing this for a long time but as soon as Thalia finished making these observations, bloody fist marks started to stain the log on the spot Hanz was hitting it. Though He seemed calm, He just reached out to his bag on the side of the log and pulled out bandages which he started using to wrap his own hands and make less of a mess on the old Log.
She watched him in awe Seeing his resilience and also seeing quite many scars on his hands and wrists. After more and more time repeating the task, he entered the house and the first thing he saw was Thalia standing on a crate Looking out the window
"Hey Kiddo Be careful, the windows can get a bit cold at this time of the year"
"Hanz… Your… hand…" Thalia pointed at the log with her tiny hand as she looked at hanz with big puppy eyes "I wanna do that…" That seemed fun, So why not?
"Are… you sure? that is very painful for beginners…" Hanz's tone changed from calm to worried very fast, Yet… He liked her decision and the determination she had on her face. He couldn't say no to those puppy eyes, What kind of monster would say no to that?
"Fuck… Fine… I will bring the log but We are gonna train inside and you will stop the second I tell you to. Okay?" He opened the door and went outside, once he was next to the log He grabbed it and pulled it out of the snowy ground as easily as it were a splinter in his hand. Inside, He Nailed a few thick planks to the floor of the cabin and nailed the log to the planks.
"Here you go… but hm…. I don't want you to hurt yourself, so.." Hanz snapped a broomstick and cleaned it with a knife, Making two toy shortswords for Thalia "here you go don't go too hard in. Two slashes, one with each one of these" Hanz handed the swords to her "Don't overwork yourself too much"
She nodded and grabbed the two sticks with short edges. As soon as she hit the log, They bounced right off due to the impact and her weak grip strength
"bounce…." She pointed at the nothing that the two sticks did after she attacked. She looked around and pointed to the sword rack above the fireplace "Those…." She signaled at the two shortswords with adorned sheaths "Give.." she lifted her other hand and started doing grabby hands at the swords
"Thalia… I cannot give you those…. yet…. What about this? Do a 1000 hits 500 with each sword, in 4 days limit. Can you deal with that?" He raised an eyebrow with confidence she would just turn the offer down
She nodded with excitement at the challenge. A big reward for such little effort, She thought, after all. 500 each is easy right?
She got in a clumsy attack stance and started right away, hitting and bouncing left and right non-stop. After a while (About 15 minutes) she was sweating, exhausted and her muscles were all cramped
121 DONE, 877 TO GO
"I knew you will give up at some point," Hanz said sweeping her off her feet and carrying her to the bathroom "You shouldn't push yourself this hard but I commend you for your efforts kiddo," He said as he prepared a hot bath "Now let the water sit for a bit and get in, once it's the right temperature. Shout when you're done and i'll bring you clothes and a towel, I should wash those old rags you carried with you" he stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door as he did
Now having all the time to herself, Thalia thought about what happened, So much in so little time and all of it is so hard to comprehend but thinking about it is so scary and such a headache that Thalia avoids it as best as she can
Once she's done, she called hanz in her very distinctively raspy yet high pitched voice "Done!!"
"Ok kiddo, I'm coming!" he replied just as loud while he walked towards the bathroom, he opened the door and handed the clothes to her "Here and if you don't know how to put the vest on, just ask. i'll be by the fireplace"
He went and sat on the comfortable chair right next to the fireplace. A few minutes passed and she walked out of the bathroom with her new clothes on and a little vest for her in her hands. with direction to where Hanz is sitting she lifted the little vest and looked at him waiting for him to do what he said
"Hehe, I knew you weren't gonna know." He proceeded to dress her up and fix the little imperfections and as he did Thalia asked "Yours?" referring to the clothes
"Hah, These? Nah. They are my daughter's clothes" Hanz said as he carefully buttoned her shirt and vest in the right order "Daughter?" Thalia hesitated "Yes my daughter, She and her mother are in a place I'm too coward to go…"
End of chapter 2