He didn’t seem quite so terrifying when he backed away from her, and even less so when he held up his hands, revealing a patch of blood. [i]Don’t bleed on his floor![/i] she thought to herself, knowing that her boss would be furious, especially if the man bled on any of the products. She should have felt guilty for being concerned about the product first, but she had no idea if this man was a serial killer, or what. She didn’t get the chance to address his words about needing to hide before there was a crash in the back room. She turned, half-expecting to see an accomplice robbing her blind, but instead she saw some sort of creature that…she had most certainly seen before. 

It took her a few moments to place the creature, because she hadn’t seen it when she was awake. No, she had seen this creature in her dreams, in her visions. The man seemed to communicate with the creature by whistling, or this was some sort of extravagant ploy to make her think that she was insane. She stood in frozen shock until the creature left, and the stranger spoke to her again. “You…” She paused, turning back towards him and looking down at his wound. “You cannot bleed on this floor… Come.” She gestured, but didn’t reach out to touch the man. 

Going into the back room, Rhys saw that a few boxes had been knocked over, nothing disastrous. There was a work-table back here with a stool and some supplies for cutting and templates for shoes and other products. She gestured to the chair and scooted some things out of the way. “If my boss finds you here, you threatened me and my family with a gruesome death and making sure that we could not confess our sins…He is deeply religious, and otherwise, he might strangle me for allowing you here. Do you understand?” As she spoke, she became a bit more authoritative, taking control of what little she could. 

She grabbed another needle, and a thin string, along with a clean cloth from her gown. “Let me see your wound.” She said, kneeling in front of him as she thread the string. “You likely need it stitched if you have a chance of getting out of here quickly.” She said. If he doubted her ability, she would gesture to the intricate work he had seen in the front of the shop. Blood didn’t particularly make her squeamish, having two sisters, and a father who worked in construction. They couldn’t afford proper medical care, so her mother would sew her husband back together when he injured himself.

Rhys was usually quite shy around boys, but her desire to get rid of this stranger quickly propelled her to act. When it actually came time to touch the man, however, her nerves would begin to set in, and she froze for a few moments before she regained her composure and would be able to clean and then stitch the wound properly.