A village on the field

The village of Herst.  That was the name of the town were Petra followed Yun's scent. It was almost midnight when she arrived. The guards haven't rise the barrier yet and some people were still going on about their last days of sun to close their busienesses and getting ready to go to sleep. Getting ready to receive the night to prepare for the next day. Small houses for smaller people and humble huts for humble workplaces. It kinda made sense that Yun lived there, seemed like his kinda place to live. But Petra didn't buy it; the smaller the place, the smaller the minds of those that lived there. And the smaller their hearts too.

So when approaching the village she's extra careful in her moves, always sticking to the shadows and covers she can found along the road near the walls. As soon as the day guards make a shift to the night guards (which are lesser due to the extra safety the barrier gives them) she takes advantage of the slight time when noone is watching to slip herself in one of the huge cracks of the wall of wood nature provokes. They'll be closed tomorrow, probably by the work of the local carpenters.

It's not really the first time Petra sneaks into a human village, though it's been a long time. After all getting into one of them is a great risk; she has to move qucikly and hide in plain sight, take advantage of the people's ignorance to get some kind of cloth to hide herself and avoid being recognized at first glance. Fortunately, the night makes difficult to fully recognize others unless you're holding a lamp nearby and are very close of other person. But still, danger is present nevertheless at every turn. One second of vagueness and it's over for her. Even if she hides, she will be found sooner or later. Once that almost happen and Petra was lucky enough to get out from the cities' sewers. Lucky is the word. One she barely never sees realizing.

And yet, there she was: hiding in plain sight, using al old quilt some lady had put to dry outside her garden to hide herself and trying to meld with her surroundings the best she can. And all for a blind boy. In other cases, some people might think this is even romantic, but Petra didn't had time for those kinda things; she had a friend to find and not a second to waste in her thoughts. She already wasted enough discussing this crazy plan and Yun's scent was getting harder to discern in the middle of the town.

She found a place noone would look into and focused the best she could in how the boy smelled. For others it could be weird to remember someone by their smell, but not for Gorgons. As they inherited some traits for snakes, they also learn to identify others via their heat or aroma, as some snakes are known to be blind as well. Not Gorgons, though. But they still remember the scent of others nevertheless. Some kind of instinct, pherhaps.

Yun smelled like vegetables... A farmer, pherhaps? Yeah, must be. However, many there were farmers. She needed to focus harder to find some discern between the other farmers. Yun smelled like wood too. What kind of wood? Not every tree is the same and not all have the same scent. The village woods had olms and pines. If the went to the forest to find wood, he shouldn't wander too far from Herst or he'll be lost. And still not enough. What else? What else?

Lavender.

Yun smelled like lavender. A rare kind of herb in the vecinity. And a rarer medical herb to find nearby. That could be a clue. She started to follow the several smells in the air, trying to find a trace of some sort.

The only trace that was strong enough lead her to a small cottage at the further side of the village, separated from the other, more united, houses. It had a small plantation of several vegetables, among them pumpkins, cucumbers and peppers. I hate peppers, Petra thought while wrinkling her nose in a grin of disgust. So bitter and barely have no taste. The cinnamon smell was stronger as she approached the home, so she decided to take a small look to the window. There, al elderly man with a thick beard and short hair, both white as snow, and blue eyes, was busy brewing a pot of some sort. Vegetables, Petra assumed. Didn't see any animals outside, so it couldn't be made of meat. Could this stern tough man be Yun's grandfather he talked to her about? The hall was wide and had few furniture, a long staircase was rising from the bottom of the room to a second floor.

"Dinner's served!" the man yelled. From the bottom of the stairs a young boy walked down while carefully holding the handrail. It was Yun! She found him! This was his house! Without barely notice it, a huge smile formed in her face just by seeing him. She felt happy.

"Thanks, grandpa" his voice sounded monotone and a bit grim as the boy took a bowl of soup. He seemed sad. They ate for a while until the man shared a few stares towards his grandson and stopped all of the sudden, left the half-eaten bowl and turned towards him.

"Alright, spit it" he said.

"Huh?"

"What happened?"

"Nothing"

"Don't lie to me, Yunnan. I know when you're mopy"

The Gorgon almost burst into a laugh. Yunnan? No wonder he prefers the short version.

"I'm not mopy"

"Young man, you've been like this for a while and I don't like it. Now stop the charade and tell me what's eating you inside or I'll find it by myself the hard way"

Yun's face tightened as he just smelled rotten eggs or something. After a while he finally surrender and his semblance became somber.

"I... I made a friend, but I think I've upset her"

"Is that so? Have you apologized?"

"I did, but... I doubt she accepted my apologies"

"What do you mean?"

"She got upset because I told her about my trick and didn't like it. It's always the same, that's why the other kids avoid me"

Yun...

The old man sighed deeply.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I tought you this skill because I thought it'll make things easier for you, but apparently not everyone is able to accept people like us so openly"

Like us? What does he mean by that?

"I just want to make a friend. Is that too much to ask about?"

"Maybe one day, though. One day, son"

The man stand up and took the bowl with him.

"I'm gonna get some to your mom"

"I can do it"

"I'll do it. You rest"

"I'm the youngest here"

"Precisely for that. You can't do all the work all the time, Yunnan. Adults are supposed to take care of children, not backwards"

"Grandpa..."

"I know you think you're a burden, but you're not. You're my grandson. Family. And family always comes first. So listen to me and let me do this. You eat and relax. You already work too much as it is. Finish the soup and go to bed, it's getting late"

That being said, the man walked upstairs and disappeared. Maybe the mother was ill? Nevertheless, this was her chance. Slowly, Petra carefully opened the backdoor and entered the room without making a sound. She then walked towards Yun after closing the door as carefully as she opened it.

"Petra?" the boy whispered.

She wasn't surprised he had found her so soon. Pherhaps he also had a strong sense of smell.

"Hello, Yun"

The boy stand up and frantically walked towards her to hold her hand.

"What are you doing here?!" he took extra care not to scream "If someone find you in here...!"

"I've been very careful, noone has seen me"

"Why are you here? It's too dangerous"

"I wanted to fix things between us. And... You weren't coming back"

Darn, the boy thought. She made a fair point.

"I... Wasn't thinking of doing so"

"Why?! If it's something I've said...!"

"No, no. It's me. I always do this. Scaring people, you know"

"You don't..."

"You said I was making you uncomfrotable"

Ouch. That hurt pretty bad.

"That doesn't mean I don't want to see you again!"

"Normally, for most people it does"

"I'm not 'most people', Yun. Heck, I'm not even human"

"Still..."

"Look" she inmediately cut him off "I don't hate you, okay? In fact, I really like you. You're the only person that I feel I can actually trust in this world of people who would freak out or kill everything that is not like them (mainly reasonable, though; monsters can be real jerks). The thing is that with you it's the first time I've done something that is not running for my life or struggling to survive. It feels... Nice. And I don't want to lose it"

"Petra..."

She then hugged him tightly "I don't want to lose you" The Gorgon couldn't deny the obvious anymore. Yun made her feel safe and she liked it "Please, don't leave me" She didn't wanted to lose that again.

"I... I understand" The boy then returned the gesture to Petra, hugging her tightly as well "I won't. I promise"

Petra couldn't respond, she was lost in it. The warmth. Beign as she was cold-blooded, she always looked for some warmth. She got used to the cold and being alone for such a long time she had forgotten the feeling. 

"Are you cold?"

"I'm always cold. I'm a Gorgon, and therefore cold-blooded"

"But you still feel cold"

She remembered when she once had a nest and her sisters used to cuddle up like this one next to the other around a cozy fire. Even if it was for need, they still did it because they felt united and normal. And it felt good.

"All the time"

Yun then took a few steps towards a small room at the side, holding Petra's hand all the time. Inside there was a simple bed that looked comfy in which the boy sat after moving the blanket aside.

"Come in"

"H-Huh?"

"It feels a lot better in here. And it's better if grandpa don't see you before you leave at dawn, right?"

"I... Guess so"

"Then come on in. It's not like you can go anywhere"

"Are... Are you sure?"

"Of course"

Petra timidly sat on the bed next to Yun and get inside the blanket. The boy did the same and hugged her again as he covered her with the blanket. "You're right" she said.

"Told you so"

But for Petra it wasn't the mattress nor the soft blanket. For her it was Yun's warmth. The feeling of his arms around him. The smell of lavender, freshly cut grass and dirt in his clothes. She could almost taste the soup he just eat in his embrace. She felt united and normal. And she felt good.

"Yun..." she muttered, half-sleep.

"Goodnight, Petra" the aforementioned whispered to her.

Goodnight, Yun.

I...

She never knew if she said it outloud or not.