Roth held his breath in anticipation as he eyes the wooden door located at the far right wall. The steps grew closer and the muffled sounds of the footsteps are accompanied with a delayed creak. The fireplace set an unnerving yet comforting ambience to the whole room. Maybe it is due to this comfortable setting in contrast to these strange circumstances, which made the whole thing seem unnerving.
The series of footsteps grew louder and less muffles as the moments went by, until they ceased with a unusually long *CREAAAAAK*. He uses a pillow for support, making him properly sit up as he observes the shadow forming under the door. There is a big pause and the room is quiet except for the occasional snap or crackle of wood from the fireplace, then suddenly the handle on the door starts to rattle as the door begins to be pushed open.
As the door is pushed ajar, a cold breeze travels inside and momentarily blinds Roth as it caresses his face. The door is being opened as Roth tries to fix his eyes back to the slight change in environment and just as the door is swung fully open, Roth faces the doorway with squinted eyes...And there she was.
She now stands in the doorway, the dark orange background of the evening sun highlighting her tall enigmatic features. The animal ears were now more prominent and her piercing yellow eyes, made it clear that the current events were no dream. Roth was enchanted by her eyes which now hold a slightly different feeling....concern perhaps? It was hard to tell as she didn't give much indication apart from the deep stare which now seems to be a part of her behavior.
Roth was enamored once again as the woman watches him from the door way. Before this turns into another staring contest, the woman takes the first step and enters the room by slightly bending her posture. Roth keeps his focus on her face as she slowly approaches the bed, the evening light creating a smooth backdrop for her runway; The light from outside also begins to highlight the dust on the floors and other furniture.
She stopped just a few inches away from the bed and Roth gulps down his momentary fascination and regains a slight control of his thoughts. He looks up at her and the sheer difference in height gave him flashbacks to their first encounter. He felt a sense of fear, which is surprisingly rational for him and also a sense of...excitement? Well, that balances out the 'rationality' with the usual curiosity of an over the top explorer.
They both stayed still and looked at each other; The scene was a reflection of their first encounter but this time the atmosphere was different. Roth wondered if he should break the silence as he waits for any spark of a conversation. Before the passing moments stretch onto an awkward silence, Roth decides to say something.
"H-Hi I'm Ro-"
"Have You Rested?"
Her low yet soft voice interrupted-or more so gently overshadowed Roth's shaky dialogue. Roth paused a bit as he took in her voice, which seemed a whole lot more comforting than their first exchange of words at the river. Her voice still carries a reassuring confidence but it lacks something...maybe its the commanding edge. Roth blankly stares and answers her question in a daze.
"...Yes?"
"Good."
And that was it for the long awaited reveal.
Most would expect something to follow after a remark like 'Good.' but no, she just stood there almost like the conversation had a satisfying conclusion. Roth was also expecting something to follow in order to initiate any sort of conversation but now he is again left with the awkward tension. Roth clears his throat and speaks in a steady yet unsure tone.
"Umm...Miss, Are you the one who brought me here?"
"Yes, I have brought you here."
The woman reveals in an almost automated voice. It feels like she is talking to herself more than she is responding to Roth. The adventurer clears one of his doubts regarding the situation and he acknowledges the woman for what she is-His savior.
"Thank you for saving me, you have my gratitude."
Roth says with a slight bow and the woman remains rigid, seemingly not fazed by his show of expression. She keeps eyeing him and doesn't respond verbally. The silence builds again but this time its short lived as something interrupts them.
The beast gal's ears perk up as they pick up on a squelching noise. It is the familiar low growling sound that most commoners have heard in their lives...the grumble of an empty stomach and it comes from the hungry adventurer. Roth is slightly flustered as he chuckles saying:
"Well that's a bit embarrassing..."
The lady looks at him with her eyes slightly widened as she lowers her gaze to his belly, almost like she could silence the sound with her gaze alone. She looks back up and asks in her calm-collected tone.
"Do you require food?"
"Yes, if its possible."
"I see."
And there goes another awkward exchange.
She stands there after confirming his hunger-Its almost as if the concept of hunger is foreign to her and she is documenting a new species. Roth began to feel her gaze and shifted in discomfort as he felt the routine silence which now seems to follow their exchanges. He waited for any words to leave her mouth and start a more constructive conversation, but she kept on just staring.
Finally as he musters up his courage to say something but she suddenly nods to herself and turns on her heels, exiting the room with a determined look. Roth is left with his thoughts as he sees her vanish outside the door. The fire keeps humming its crackling tune as he recollects on his current situation. He was was on the verge of death at the river-He is now resting in a cozy room. He encountered a strange beast woman-She is now taking care of him. He came to the Ravenous Forest for....wait...what did he come for?
Roth rubs his forehead as he tries to remember his reason for this particular venture and then after a few moments of scrambling his brains, it clicks. The Ravenous Beast. Roth looks around, as if the Beast is waiting for him right there in the room. He then sighs and lets out a exhausted chuckle thinking that he might've deviated a bit too much from his original goal.
"Maybe that's a good thing."
He thinks to himself as he looks at his legs, under the blanker, still buzzing with pain. Even though the injury is obviously not a cause for celebration, maybe his 'fate' had altered his path to avoid something more gruesome...or at least that is what his naïve mind tells his adventuring soul to keep it striving.
As he surrounds himself with his thoughts, a sudden large *BOOOM* along burning sound shakes him up. He can see brief flashes of light outside the door and a warm wind quickly follows, hitting his face. Before he can even formulate what's going on, the footsteps follow and quickly the beast gal is back. In her hand is a black sizzling mass.
"What is that?"
Before he can even ask that question, the familiar scent of of roasted...or in this case, scorched flesh, answers his unasked question. She carries it to him with grace and just as she reaches him, she holds it out to him. She says with a firm and calm voice:
"EAT."
Roth is left a bit bewildered as he takes the unknown 'food' in his hands. He inspects it and tries to make heads and tails of the refreshment she has bestowed upon him. After a few moments, he can only make out that it is indeed meat...or it was, at least a few minutes ago. He pokes around the meat, trying to understand what it belonged to....Was it a bird....boar...it could even be a giant crab.
He looks at the meat for a few moments and back at the woman, the tremble in his throat signing his uncertainty. Was he really expected to eat...this. The woman looked at him with a slightly furrowed brow, seeming confused. Its almost like she doesn't see the burnt meat in the same way as Roth. Suddenly her ears flutter up, a thought flashing across her calm eyes and she stands up, saying:
"How foolish of me...Wait."
She walks to one of the drawers and Roth lets out a relieved sigh, as he thinks that maybe she had forgot the rest of the cooking process. He holds the 'refreshment' in his hands as the woman sits on her haunches as she shuffles the short drawers.
"I believe he kept those here."
She murmured to herself as she tries to find something. Roth assumed that she is searching for spices, or something of that sort, to cook or at least season the...meat. He picked up on the mention of 'he' but chose not to investigate further, at least not at this moment. Suddenly her shuffling comes to a halt as she takes something out and closes the drawers.
"Found it."
She says as she showcases a pair of wooden spoons, forks and a clay plate. Roth watches on as she marches back and places the utensils onto Roth's lap. She stands back and says maintaining her cool demeanor:
"I believe humans use...these, during times of food consumption."
Roth stares blankly at her as he excepted her to follow through with some spices, herbs or something but the addition of only the utensils, made it clear that their thought and way of living was different. Roth thinks about refusing the food she has provided but as he notices a glimmer of expectation in her stoic eyes, he chose to not deny her kindness as she wasn't obligated to help him, but she did....and that's what matters.
Roth places the food on his newly provided plate as he took a piece out of the chunk with his fork, as graciously as possible for the crusty flesh. He examined the piece on his fork and visualized the taste in his mouth...the imagination wasn't pleasant to say the least. He looked at the woman's face and he steeled his resolve, as he tells himself:
"Well...How bad could it be?"