Defying Certain Death Part 5

He closed his eyes, purring at the wonderful taste of the frightened human girl. It had been far too long since he caught one of the tasty little morsels. He felt the girl curl up in fear, shaking slightly. He was all too familiar with various human fear reactions, but he hadn’t paid much attention to that before. But now was different...As much as he loved the taste, and as hungry as he was, he knew he couldn’t. Not after all she did, not after 3 weeks of taking care of him, helping him recover and escape.

He went still, no longer moving her around as he tasted her. He heard her faint words as she managed to speak again, “Please... Please don’t hurt me...” He sighed softly, closing his eyes a moment and nodded. He spoke, keeping his tone soft so the volume of his voice wouldn’t bother her too much, “Shh, little one. I won’t. I won’t hurt you, won’t kill you. I would be dead without you. I’m just... I’m just so hungry... I needed something to help cope until I can get washed up and hunt. I can use a protection spell; you’d be completely safe. If you don’t want me to, I won’t. I owe you too much, but it would help me. I’ll get you back out before I go after food... but I would really appreciate if you would agree to this.”

He received no response aside from her faint whimpers of fear. He realized that with her health also in poor condition, she probably wasn’t focusing too well, that she wasn’t able to easily get past the fear of her current location to focus on his words. He so badly wanted to swallow... so badly wanted to do something to curb the feeling of hunger until he could get some actual food. But even if her kind was inferior, even if they were typically no more than prey... She had saved his life. The whole reason he had been able to grab her so quickly was because she had been there to save him. No matter his normal feelings about her kind, he could not treat her like just a meal. His kind may be known for having little regard for intelligent species... But they did have some sense of honor. There were exceptions.

Hesitating briefly, he took her from his mouth and held her in his palm, watching her frightened, shaking form. He really should have talked to her first, not simply given into his desire to know her taste. He nudged gently at her with one finger to try to get her attention, watching her hesitantly relax, then turn to look at him in puzzlement. He gave a slight smile, careful to keep the sharp fangs hidden this time. He reached down to gently stroke her back, pausing when he saw her cringe, “Easy now... I’m not going to hurt you. I swear.” “But... you...” He sighed, “I know; I’m sorry. I just... wanted something to take the edge off. A little taste... but I would never eat you. Not for real. What I was trying to ask you while you were panicking... I want to use a protection spell. I just want a little something to help me cope until I can go wash up a bit and hunt. I was trying to ask... but I would be dead if you hadn’t helped me over those three weeks. So I just want to ask... Please, will you help me one more time, will you help me to cope with the hunger while I wash up, until I have the opportunity to hunt or gather food? You’ll be perfectly safe... I’ll get you out before eating anything…” He looked down at the young woman in his hand, hopeful as he waited for her answer to his request.