Chapter Text
Gentle touches dab away the blood on the girl’s knuckles.
“There’s more,” she mumbles, slouching forward into Kiara’s shoulder. “More… outside. Didn’t get them all.”
“Shh, shh.” Kiara doesn’t know if it’s true, but the makeshift spikes and barricades around this house should at least give enough time for this treatment. Her last bottle of medical ointment is half gone, but this is exactly what it’s for, isn’t it? She just has to pray that none of the girl’s wounds are infected, and given the number of bodies she's left in her wake, the odds seem slim.
“You’re safe, dear,” she says softly, and the wild cornered-animal glint in the girl’s eyes slowly starts to dim, even as she hisses from the disinfectant. “What’s your name?”
Distrust flickers, and Kiara’s arm is gripped tightly, nails digging in, but she grits her teeth and pulls the girl’s hand up to finish bandaging it. There’s a small sigh, perhaps of relief, and the fight seems to go out of her all at once.
“F…Fauna,” comes a dry whisper, a fading plea. Her eyes are golden, still shining with the wolfish, fierce bluff of someone who’s been trudging through this apocalypse alone.
Kiara recognizes it from mirrors. It’s kind of hot, the thought flashes for an instant, and she almost has to laugh at herself. Now was not the time.
“I’ll keep us safe, Fauna,” she promises, gently laying the bandaged hands down, pushing her into something resembling comfort on the old cot. “Sleep.”
“You’ll protect… me?” Fauna says, faint and faraway, into the dark corners of the room. It sounds like a wish, something she doesn’t really believe, and something in Kiara’s chest crackles grimly.
“I will. I swear it.”
The last bit of tension finally leaves her neck, and she slumps down, eyes fluttering closed.
“Thank you…” she says, drifting away.
Kiara pushes herself heavily to her feet as faint rustling comes from the woods outside, driving the insects into fearful silence.
“Wake up soon, please,” she mutters. “If you do, you'll get to hear my name.”