“We should probably get what we need and head back soon, just in case a storm hits. I’d rather not be trapped in this house with a dead body if the weather gets bad,” Sparrow laughs, turning back to Adam with a grin on her face.
“I mean, it wouldn’t be that bad,” Adam replied with a small smile. Then, remembering the body upstairs and how hungry he felt he shakes his head.. “Actually, you’re right. We’d better get going.”
“You’re right,” Sparrow says, turning towards Adam with a grin, “It really wouldn’t be bad at all.” The girl grins, reaching out and taking Adam’s hand, pulling him closer. “If you want to stay out longer we could go and see if there are any other camps near here? I’d enjoy spending more time together before we go back.”
Despite having an already quick heartbeat due to his demon physiology, Adam’s heart begins to beat even faster as Sparrow pulls him closer. A nervous smile twists his lips and is accompanied by an equally nervous laugh before he nods. “I would indeed like to spend more time with you. I’ll do whatever as long as I get to do it with you,” he finally settles.
With eagerness in her voice Sparrow says, “off on another adventure!” She steps to the side, making her way around Adam and then grabbing her books off of the sofa. For a moment she pauses, eyes scanning the room. Nothing else of use pops out at her, so she makes her way towards the door, eager to find somewhere else to explore. Outside she jumps down the house’s front steps, landing with laughter in a cloud of dust on the ground. Her laughter goes from cheerful giggles to coughing as she breaths in the dust. Adam appears behind her, his hand rubbing her back in an attempt to help her stop coughing. Before he can get a word in her coughing stops and she grins.
“Let’s head East. If the house I grew up in hasn’t been destroyed it should be that way.”
“You lived near Sanctuary?”
“Well I mean, it’s not that near. It will be a bit of a walk, but I’m sure we’ll get there eventually. Besides, the longer it takes, the more time we will get to spend together.”
Above them the clouds move swiftly through the sky, strong gusts of wind propelling them forward. In the distance an animal howls. Sparrow’s eyes dart around as she walks, heart rate quickening. She turns to Adam, seeking some sort of comfort from him. Her hand instinctively takes his and she relaxes a bit as he gently squeezes it, feeling safer with the knowledge that he would be there to look out for her.
“So, the thing you told me earlier, about being a demon, was that all true?”
“Ah, yeah. It’s...It’s all true,” he spoke. “I guess I’m a failed demon, because here I am with you.” He gives a nervous chuckle before looking towards Sparrow.
“I dunno about failed, what you did earlier was really scary, and you looked totally different... I mean really if the demons were trying to making one of their kind into a convincing human-like creature they would have to give it some sort of emotions, otherwise it would never be able to get close to us." She shrugs in a nonchalant manner. “I heard that demons can smell fear, is that a thing? I figured it wasn’t real, just something we tell the little ones so they act brave, but now I have someone I can ask for real!”
Adam nods before replying, she made a good point. “Well when I mean I failed, I just don’t think they meant for me to have emotions. It’s something they didn’t think about.”
“Oh, I see.” Sparrow purses her lips, eyes darting between Adam and the forest floor as they walk. If she was able to block out the idea that her friend was this terrifying creature with claws and a tail it was easy for her to talk to him, or even joke about this 'demon side' of his, but if she let the reality of the situation sink in she was quite certain she would be scared out of her wits and not want anything to do with him.
“And we can’t smell emotions,” Adam continues with a chuckle. “But we can smell things that tell us you’re feeling. Like right now I can smell you sweating and I can hear your heart beating at a rate that it shouldn’t be. Why are you nervous?” A soft smile appears on his lips, seeming to genuinely want to know what was triggering the reaction in her. With his question Sparrow’s cheeks turn red- another tell-tale sign of nervousness in humans.
"It's kind of..complicated I guess. Part of it is that I'm not really sure how I feel about earlier. If anyone from the guard back home finds out about you, best case scenario they'll run you off and I'll never see you again. And that's the most positive outcome I can see happening." Her eyes lower and she frowns. "I don't want to think about what other things could happen. Our king is very accepting, but if they think you're really a demon in disguise and that you mean the people in sanctuary any harm... they might try to kill you."
Her voice softens to barely a whisper, trailing off at the end, and her eyes close for a moment, the world seeming to freeze in place all around them. No birds chirp, no breeze rustles the trees, no insects buzz. Sparrow turns to Adam, her eyes lifting to meet his own. He was listening, she could tell by the way he met her gaze. His eyes never wavering. He was a good listener, she knew that. "I don't know why, but I can't bear the thought of anyone trying to hurt you. You're not evil. You're not like the ones who try and break through our gates. You're kind and patient and funny and- and loving. I wish others could see what you really are and understand that not being human doesn't mean you're not more than some evil creature."
To the girl’s surprise her words are met with questions from Adam, though not the ones she expected. "This is exactly what I thought about before I entered The Sanctuary. The last time I thought about it, I didn't have a reason to fear my end. But I have another question. What is ‘kind’, ‘’patient’, and ‘loving’?"
Sparrow purses her lips, searching her brain for a simple way to explain the emotions which came so naturally to her. "Kind is... well it's like when you saved me earlier from the demons. Usually when you're being kind for someone you're helping them with something or doing something for them, it's being considerate to others." She pauses to pinpoint when Adam had been patient with her, since that was the second thing he asked about.
After a beat she grins and gently touches her fingertips to the deep purple bruise on her forehead. "You were kind and considerate when you helped me after I hit my head, and then were patient as I added another delay to us getting out of the city. I guess patience is waiting for another without being upset, or helping them grasp something that you've tried to get them to understand once already and not being angry about it."
And loving. Loving is... Her breath catches in her throat, and her heart seems to skip a beat as she takes both of Adam's hands in her own. "When you love someone... you sometimes do this-" Leaning in she presses her lips against his. It lasts only a moment but in that moment time stops, and Adam’s body stills under her touch. Her hands release his and circle around his neck. When she steps back her cheeks are tinted pink and she looks at him with a small smile on her lips. In front of her Adam’s expression is one of shock, and disappointment fills Sparrow’s eyes.
"Wh...What was that?" Adam asks, clearly amazed. "Why are you pink? Wh-Why did that feel so...nice? What was I supposed to do? I...I don't know what that was but...I-I want to do it again."
“Again?” Sparrow raises a brow, laughing a bit as all nervousness vanishes and she clasps her hands in front of her body. "It was a kiss," she explains. "It's supposed to feel nice, at least it usually does if you care about the person a lot. Just try and relax, I know you have human instinct in there somewhere, let your feelings tell you what to do. It should feel natural, like it's supposed to happen." Her eyes gaze into his as she leans in once more, their lips brushing together softly for a moment before she steps back again. With pink cheeks, hair falling into her face, and glistening eyes Sparrow watches him for a reaction of any sort. "How was that? Still good?"
Adam is silent for a moment when Sparrow steps away, then all at once her puts his hands around her waist and pulls her close, connecting their lips once more. He kisses her, every nerve in his body telling him his feelings aren’t wrong, that everything is right. It clicks inside him then, at his core, in his heart, he wasn’t a demon.
“I mean, it wouldn’t be that bad,” Adam replied with a small smile. Then, remembering the body upstairs and how hungry he felt he shakes his head.. “Actually, you’re right. We’d better get going.”
“You’re right,” Sparrow says, turning towards Adam with a grin, “It really wouldn’t be bad at all.” The girl grins, reaching out and taking Adam’s hand, pulling him closer. “If you want to stay out longer we could go and see if there are any other camps near here? I’d enjoy spending more time together before we go back.”
Despite having an already quick heartbeat due to his demon physiology, Adam’s heart begins to beat even faster as Sparrow pulls him closer. A nervous smile twists his lips and is accompanied by an equally nervous laugh before he nods. “I would indeed like to spend more time with you. I’ll do whatever as long as I get to do it with you,” he finally settles.
With eagerness in her voice Sparrow says, “off on another adventure!” She steps to the side, making her way around Adam and then grabbing her books off of the sofa. For a moment she pauses, eyes scanning the room. Nothing else of use pops out at her, so she makes her way towards the door, eager to find somewhere else to explore. Outside she jumps down the house’s front steps, landing with laughter in a cloud of dust on the ground. Her laughter goes from cheerful giggles to coughing as she breaths in the dust. Adam appears behind her, his hand rubbing her back in an attempt to help her stop coughing. Before he can get a word in her coughing stops and she grins.
“Let’s head East. If the house I grew up in hasn’t been destroyed it should be that way.”
“You lived near Sanctuary?”
“Well I mean, it’s not that near. It will be a bit of a walk, but I’m sure we’ll get there eventually. Besides, the longer it takes, the more time we will get to spend together.”
Above them the clouds move swiftly through the sky, strong gusts of wind propelling them forward. In the distance an animal howls. Sparrow’s eyes dart around as she walks, heart rate quickening. She turns to Adam, seeking some sort of comfort from him. Her hand instinctively takes his and she relaxes a bit as he gently squeezes it, feeling safer with the knowledge that he would be there to look out for her.
“So, the thing you told me earlier, about being a demon, was that all true?”
“Ah, yeah. It’s...It’s all true,” he spoke. “I guess I’m a failed demon, because here I am with you.” He gives a nervous chuckle before looking towards Sparrow.
“I dunno about failed, what you did earlier was really scary, and you looked totally different... I mean really if the demons were trying to making one of their kind into a convincing human-like creature they would have to give it some sort of emotions, otherwise it would never be able to get close to us." She shrugs in a nonchalant manner. “I heard that demons can smell fear, is that a thing? I figured it wasn’t real, just something we tell the little ones so they act brave, but now I have someone I can ask for real!”
Adam nods before replying, she made a good point. “Well when I mean I failed, I just don’t think they meant for me to have emotions. It’s something they didn’t think about.”
“Oh, I see.” Sparrow purses her lips, eyes darting between Adam and the forest floor as they walk. If she was able to block out the idea that her friend was this terrifying creature with claws and a tail it was easy for her to talk to him, or even joke about this 'demon side' of his, but if she let the reality of the situation sink in she was quite certain she would be scared out of her wits and not want anything to do with him.
“And we can’t smell emotions,” Adam continues with a chuckle. “But we can smell things that tell us you’re feeling. Like right now I can smell you sweating and I can hear your heart beating at a rate that it shouldn’t be. Why are you nervous?” A soft smile appears on his lips, seeming to genuinely want to know what was triggering the reaction in her. With his question Sparrow’s cheeks turn red- another tell-tale sign of nervousness in humans.
"It's kind of..complicated I guess. Part of it is that I'm not really sure how I feel about earlier. If anyone from the guard back home finds out about you, best case scenario they'll run you off and I'll never see you again. And that's the most positive outcome I can see happening." Her eyes lower and she frowns. "I don't want to think about what other things could happen. Our king is very accepting, but if they think you're really a demon in disguise and that you mean the people in sanctuary any harm... they might try to kill you."
Her voice softens to barely a whisper, trailing off at the end, and her eyes close for a moment, the world seeming to freeze in place all around them. No birds chirp, no breeze rustles the trees, no insects buzz. Sparrow turns to Adam, her eyes lifting to meet his own. He was listening, she could tell by the way he met her gaze. His eyes never wavering. He was a good listener, she knew that. "I don't know why, but I can't bear the thought of anyone trying to hurt you. You're not evil. You're not like the ones who try and break through our gates. You're kind and patient and funny and- and loving. I wish others could see what you really are and understand that not being human doesn't mean you're not more than some evil creature."
To the girl’s surprise her words are met with questions from Adam, though not the ones she expected. "This is exactly what I thought about before I entered The Sanctuary. The last time I thought about it, I didn't have a reason to fear my end. But I have another question. What is ‘kind’, ‘’patient’, and ‘loving’?"
Sparrow purses her lips, searching her brain for a simple way to explain the emotions which came so naturally to her. "Kind is... well it's like when you saved me earlier from the demons. Usually when you're being kind for someone you're helping them with something or doing something for them, it's being considerate to others." She pauses to pinpoint when Adam had been patient with her, since that was the second thing he asked about.
After a beat she grins and gently touches her fingertips to the deep purple bruise on her forehead. "You were kind and considerate when you helped me after I hit my head, and then were patient as I added another delay to us getting out of the city. I guess patience is waiting for another without being upset, or helping them grasp something that you've tried to get them to understand once already and not being angry about it."
And loving. Loving is... Her breath catches in her throat, and her heart seems to skip a beat as she takes both of Adam's hands in her own. "When you love someone... you sometimes do this-" Leaning in she presses her lips against his. It lasts only a moment but in that moment time stops, and Adam’s body stills under her touch. Her hands release his and circle around his neck. When she steps back her cheeks are tinted pink and she looks at him with a small smile on her lips. In front of her Adam’s expression is one of shock, and disappointment fills Sparrow’s eyes.
"Wh...What was that?" Adam asks, clearly amazed. "Why are you pink? Wh-Why did that feel so...nice? What was I supposed to do? I...I don't know what that was but...I-I want to do it again."
“Again?” Sparrow raises a brow, laughing a bit as all nervousness vanishes and she clasps her hands in front of her body. "It was a kiss," she explains. "It's supposed to feel nice, at least it usually does if you care about the person a lot. Just try and relax, I know you have human instinct in there somewhere, let your feelings tell you what to do. It should feel natural, like it's supposed to happen." Her eyes gaze into his as she leans in once more, their lips brushing together softly for a moment before she steps back again. With pink cheeks, hair falling into her face, and glistening eyes Sparrow watches him for a reaction of any sort. "How was that? Still good?"
Adam is silent for a moment when Sparrow steps away, then all at once her puts his hands around her waist and pulls her close, connecting their lips once more. He kisses her, every nerve in his body telling him his feelings aren’t wrong, that everything is right. It clicks inside him then, at his core, in his heart, he wasn’t a demon.