Innocent Sinner

Mari couldn’t move. Her shock, confusion, and fear froze her to the spot she stood. She didn’t know what to do. Her mind was so empty that she didn’t even attempt to resist the human’s touch as he moved to pet her.

“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you" the deep, yet warm, voice soothed. The man slowly reached out. 

“There’s a good girl. Such a friendly one, too.” The man smiled up at the unicorn as he rested his hand on her snout. His touch was gentle enough, but Mari was still stunned.

‘Geez, this guy is HUGE! He could wrestle a chimera if he wanted to!’ Mari thought, taking in the man’s height and muscular frame. While her body was frozen, her mind was calculating at a hundred miles an hour.

Who was this man? How could he see her? How did his aura not repulse her? Adults being able to see unicorns was unheard itself but...a man? Only innocent children or exceptionally righteous young women were able to see them. 

At least, that's what she had had hammered into her head by her elders ever since she was a foal. All mankind was exceptionally, disgustingly sinful and unworthy of seeing them; even the few exceptions. 

Her aunt had explicitly told Mari and her cousins that no male had ever been able to see a unicorn before.  She just assumed the little boys she had occasionally encountered were extreme outliers.

Her inherit ability to read the natures of living creatures told her that he was just a normal human, but that made no sense. It went against everything she'd been taught! 

She studied the man’s clothes. Everything was made of dark, thick leather that was reinforced with some type of defensive magic. She could make out at least a dozen blades hidden on him. That and his build...

‘A soldier of some kind? No. As casual as his equipment is compared to the knights, it’s still too professional for a mere foot solider. It’s been taken care of, but heavily used. So he’s an experienced combatant, but somewhere in-between the two. But, if that’s the case, he shouldn’t be wearing dark colors or leather. Anyone fighting for the Opal Kingdom wears teal, blue, and silver. But, his hair and eyes aside, he is clearly from Opal,  though, so he’s not a spy. Then what on earth...?’ 

Mari couldn’t make heads or tails of the man and that frightened her. 

She knew that hunters had made effective use of human lures in the past, using young children or nuns to lure in unicorns and killing them for their powers, as well as magic to suppress their presence. Had this man managed to use some sort of charm on himself to interfere with her soul sight?

Unaware of how freaked out she was, the man let out a low chuckle.

 “Aww, you’re scared. It’s okay though. I know I look creepy, but I promise won’t hurt you. I’m just amazed such a beautiful horse would just come up to a human. This isn't normal behavior.” 

He laughed. It was a strangely light and appealing sound to come out of someone so intimidating. He reached to scratch behind her ears and Mari caught a whiff of something metallic and saw a flash of red. 

It took her a minute to process what she was seeing, but she quickly screamed and recoiled from his touch.

‘B-blood! Oh my god, it’s blood!’ She panicked. 

She had been too negligent to notice, or maybe it had just been concealed by the dark color of his clothing, but he was absolutely spattered in blood.

'T-that...That’s not just the blood of one person!’ Mari hyperventilated as she slowly crept backwards. ‘That’s a lot of blood from multiple people! Oh, God, did I find some serial killer?’ Then she noticed a wet smudge on her cheek and froze. ‘I messed up! I was so bored that I didn’t pay attention and now I’m screwed!'

“Wait! What's wrong?” The startled man reached out to comfort her but froze when he realized there was blood on her face. 

He looked at his hand in horror. “Oh no. I’m so sorry! Here I can-wait.” He paused, staring at Mari. 

Her heartbeat froze and she held her breath. “A-a unicorn? That horn... But how? I thought what was left of your kind went into hiding hundreds of years ago?” The man stared at her with giant eyes of awe, not much different from those of the children she had interacted with in the past.

 Wait, had he not realized that she was a unicorn? Was he really that dense? But then, in that case...was she safe? If he hadn’t realized what creature she was, then he hadn’t lured her in intentionally. She didn’t sense any of the tells of a liar in his demeanor, either.

The man’s face suddenly fell. "Forgive me for accidentally finding you. Poor thing...” 

Sensing that Mari was more confused than panicked now, he held a hand out and slowly shuffled towards her. 

“Your kind are holy creatures exceptionally perceptive. Someone as vile as me...of course you’re scared.” He was face-to-face with Mari now and she had no idea what to expect. 

“I’m a mercenary. My hands are tainted with blood. Of course, a sinner like me would scare you half to death.”

He reached up and rubbed the red smudge away. “I-I got blood o-on you...” 

Mari didn’t sense any malice or violent intent, so she cautiously relaxed. His voice began to break as he profusely apologized to her. 

“I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!” His eyes teared up.  Mari’s chest clenched. It was the last thing she expected to feel but, looking at the fragility and vulnerability in his face at that moment, she couldn’t help but pity the man.

 ‘He’s definitely not evil.’ She conceded, completely letting go of any fear as the man buried his face in his hands.

“Damn it!” He cried. “A murder like me, meeting a holy creature...this is something that shouldn’t have happened. For God’s sake, I’m still covered in blood!”

 He breathed heavily, starting to panic. “I’m the worst sort of person-!” 

Mari gently bopped her snout against his head, cutting him off. Surprised, he looked up. “You’re...not scared of me? Or mad? Heh...” He brushed his tears away and put his arms around her neck, laughing in relief.

She wasn’t scared of the man anymore. If anything, she felt like she was the lucky one. ‘I wasn’t wrong,’ Mari thought as the man buried his face in her neck. 

‘I really did sense someone able to see me. I thought it was impossible but, if little boys can see us...him being an adult is the real oddity. Only those who are exceptionally innocent or righteous can see us. A charm could lure us in, but there isn't a magic that can completely fake a human’s true nature.’ 

She smiled to herself as she looked down at the human embracing her. ‘My soul sense was right. He might be a mercenary but...’ 

She affectionally butted her head against his, making him laugh again.

‘He’s a good person. An abnormally, exceptionally good person among all the humans alive.’