5 Chapter 5 - Not a kid

Declan squinted when sunrays fell on his face, waking him right up. He opened his eyes slowly, frowning when he caught sight of something moving in the corner of his eye.

He glanced at it and found the hybrid pressed up against the far wall, he didn't look terrified though, only curious.

Declan threw his legs over the side of his bed, sitting up at the edge of it, his elbows resting on his thighs.

"How do you feel?" He asked because it was the polite thing to do.

The hybrid was still in his coat, he would have to find some proper clothes for him.

"Good." Faun answered quietly, his big eyes bright as he stared down Declan.

His limp looked to be mostly gone which was perfect, the sooner he healed up, the sooner Declan got him off his hands.

"How old are you?" He asked the question that had been plaguing him since the first time he saw the hybrid.

He didn't look particularly young, he just had a small stature which considering the life Declan guessed he had to live was no surprise.

But he wasn't prepared for Faun's answer.

"Twenty." Faun murmured with a slightly disgruntled look.

He didn't need Declan's expressive look of surprise to know that the human thought he was still a child, it irritated him for some reason.

'The kid had to be lying.' Declan thought with a serious face. "I see." He mumbled vaguely, sounding disbelieving.

Faun didn't try to correct this, it didn't matter anyway.

"You aren't from this town, are you?" Declan asked even though he knew very well that there was no way Faun could be.

"No." Faun's disgruntled expression fell off, now he was just tired, tired and sad.

Declan picked up on his change of emotions, telling himself to not think too deeply about it.

"Where are you from then?" He prodded, quite curious about this.

"I am… I'm a uh traveller..." Faun scrambled to come up with a story. "I was travelling with my group but then I fell asleep and they left me behind."

Declan's brow fell low on his forehead, putting two and two together.

He must have been on the run with a group of other hybrids, he probably had no personal ties to them, it was the only explanation to why they wouldn't wake him up when they were on the move again.

"Don't you have any family?" Declan asked, getting to his feet to stretch out his muscles.

It was the start of fall so it was still warm out, the leaves yet to turn brown.

Faun shrugged. "I think I was the only child and my parents have been dead for a long time." He said in a steady voice, his tone cold.

Declan hummed, walking to his closet, he had been expecting something along those lines. "Do you know where your group is headed to?"

Faun's eyes sparkled a little at this, an earnest look on his face. "Yes, we were going to the North, can you help me get there or rejoin with them?" He blurted out.

Declan whipped around in Faun's direction, all the colour leaving his face at his words. "What? The North?" He repeated just to be sure that he had heard right.

"Yes, it's not very safe for us here so we are going to the North to find safety." He said as honestly as he could manage without spilling the secret on what he actually was.

Declan pulled a blank expression on, for hybrids, the North was the last place they wanted to be but he couldn't tell Faun that.

Declan shouldn't care, he should arrange for the hybrid to join the others but he found himself hesitant.

"I'm not particularly familiar with the North." He lied blatantly. "You're welcome to stay till I do my findings though." He added carefully, not wanting to blow his cover.

He couldn't hold on to the hybrid and he didn't want to either, maybe he could find a safe place to send him off to?

Telling Faun why the North wasn't safe would be easier than that, there were no safe places for hybrids.

Faun's eyes were stars. "Thank you!" He clasped both hands together gratefully.

Faun was well aware that the human wasn't obligated to help him and he had expected a response along those lines, because his makeshift Pack had said many times that they were still a long way from the North.

He was also grateful for the fact that Declan had given him a place to stay till then.

He liked the cottage very much, it provided a familiar space like the woods, yet it was warm and had a soft bed and chairs.

"Thank you." Faun found himself saying again, standing awkwardly like he wasn't sure what to do next.

"Can you clean yourself up?" Declan asked, making his way back from the closet with a handful of clothes.

"Yes." Faun said shortly, biting back the witty remark that nearly slipped out, he couldn't risk offending Declan.

"Great." Declan said in a level tone, handing Faun the pile of clothes. "I'll go see if I can get something in your size soon but till then you'll have to manage my clothes."

It was a Sunday, which meant that in a small town like Oakwood, the only places likely to be open are grocery stores and the occasional restaurant.

Faun took the clothes and immediately made himself scarce, eager to clean up.

Declan followed right after him, dressed in a tank top and low hanging sweatpants, he needed to check Faun's bandaged leg.

Faun clutched the clothes in his arms tightly, hyper aware of Declan who was walking right behind him.

Meanwhile, Declan was lost in his thoughts. He noticed that Faun didn't talk a lot, well, maybe it was a little too early to judge.

Faun was a little tense when Declan directed him to sit on the bed so he could check his leg but he hid it well.

Declan hid his surprise well when he unwrapped the bandage and saw nothing but a healing scab, it had truly caught him off guard but he made no comment on it, relieved that he wouldn't have to seek out other alternatives.

If the hybrid healed so fast though, why did it take so long for the wound to heal? What exactly had he been through that his body couldn't even spare the energy to heal itself.

"Clean up and come out to eat." He said shortly, making his way out.