Green

Friend was restlessly tossing his head.
"It's okay," I said soothingly.
He huffed at me and looked at me with doleful eyes like I was an idiot.
I patted his neck and smiled like a lunatic. Demaren had just told me I could stay with him. I didn't think it was healthy to be this happy, but I was. That had to mean he liked me a little. I continued to grin as I stroked at Friend's mane, trying to calm him.
Suddenly he bounced up and down on his front feet, baying angrily, and I grabbed his reigns.
"Friend, what's wrong?" I asked, frustrated by his behavior. Normally he enjoyed it when Demaren and I got along.
I heard Demaren, then, mutter my name, but friend gave a shriek and I was somehow toppling to the ground. I cried out unexpectedly, rolling onto my back to find a very large beast atop me.
My mouth fell open, I think, to utter a horrified scream, but nothing came out. The breath had been knocked out of me. Large, blue iris-less eyes surveyed me with what I thought was interest. (It's hard to tell expressions if you can't see a mouth.)
Oh, so it's real. I thought, moronically.
I was being straddled by a huge--what had the stories called them? Oh, yes--avery. It's spindly fingers gripped at me from elongated limbs and it's equally long neck swayed above me, bring it's head down to sniff at me. I turned my face away, not wanting to see the small circle of sucking fangs that were now hovering over me, breathing in short little bursts to find a good spot... Because, if the stories were true (and they obviously were) I knew what was coming next.
With a shriek, Friend collided head first into the avery, knocking it off me and making it roll toward Demaren. The hop placed itself between me and the avery, growling menacingly, as I scrambled to my feet. Lanky appendages set into a crouch, the creature seemed to take in the situation for a moment then spun fluidly around to face Demaren.
In a split second, it was on top of him. Without thinking I rushed forward to help him, but Friend stood in my way. Impatiently I tried to get around him, my head spinning a little from my fall.
"Stop it!" I told him. "It's going to--"
Demaren cried out and my head snapped up to see the avery's mouth attached to Demaren's chest, directly above his heart. Friend's screech brought on a scream of my own and I hurtled myself over the hop's body only to find myself flat on my back again as he grabbed at my vest with his teeth. I was nearly in tears with frustration as the hop stood over me and prevented me from getting up.
"Demaren!" I nearly screeched, flinging an arm around Friend's leg as if I could reach him.
Nononononono... I thought, or maybe I said it. I'm not sure.
But suddenly, something light green and vaguely humanoid dropped from the trees and landed on the avery's back.
With a pop, the avery's mouth released Demaren and it awkwardly got up to lumber away. The greenish person slipping from it's back. I finally managed to shove Friend off me and scurried over to Demaren, half the distance spent scrambling on my knees until I managed to fully get up.
Blood was everywhere.
"Demaren!" I called, placing a hand on the winged man's cheek. His eyes were closed and his face was a sickly pale color.
A pool of blood was beginning to form around him and seep into the ground as the wound in his chest pumped out blood erratically. Without thinking I pressed my hands over the hole, trying to stop the flow.
Demaren gave a wet sort of cough, his lips turning a light red as some blood made it's way out of his broken lungs and up his throat.
I could hardly see anything, tears were streaming down my face. What was I supposed to do? I didn't know how to doctor this sort of wound. It was far beyond me. He gave another wet cough, blood trickling out of his mouth now.
"No!" I cried. "No, please, no..." Whether I was pleading with Demaren or fate, I didn't know.
A hand dropped to my shoulder and my head whipped around, my own hands not daring to move from Demaren's chest.
A young woman, the same form that had dropped from the trees onto the avery, smiled down at me. Her skin was tinted green and her eyes were a dark brown, almost black. Friend was flustering around between us and the avery.
"Help him!" I pleaded, forgoing any sort of thank you or introduction.
She looked from me to Demaren and a flood of pictures enveloped my mind.
"Wha--?" I started, but my hands were already moving.
My hands, bloody and shaking, found the hem of my shirt and pulled hard. With a rip the bottom began to come away. I gathered up what I could and pressed the rags over the bite mark in Demaren's chest. Which, I now noticed, was not moving nearly as much as it should be.
"Um. Help!?" I squeaked.
A green hand appeared in front of my face, cupping a strange looking gray power. I looked up at the green woman and made an inquisitive, though strangled, noise. Once again a bunch of pictures flowed into my head.
"How do you do that?" I muttered, taking the powder in my own hands so she could take my place.
With a quick motion, I scooped some of the powder up with my lips. Kneeling over Demaren, I pinched his nose closed with my free hand and blew the gritty powder down his throat. Some space in my mind was still free in the middle of the chaos to be trilled at the touch his lips. Perhaps the only thing that part of my brain did was relish kissing.
But the excitement was short lived as Demaren's lips were as cold as ice and his normally tan skin was paler than my own.
"Is it working?" I asked my knew, though strangely colored friend, wiping the powder residue from my lips.
She looked at me from where she sat, cross legged at Demaren's side, pouring some of the same powder over his wound. Her eyes were questioning.
"Is it working?" I snapped, not having any patience at the moment. "Will he be alright?"
Now her brow furrowed, bringing dark green eyebrows together--everything about her was green, from her mossy short dress to her toenails--and another stream of images collided in my head.
"Stop that!" I said, shaking my head. "Can't you just talk?"
The girl tilted her head to the side.
"I'm not being ungrateful!" I said indignantly. "What I'm being is frustrated!"
And frightened, and angry, and worried, and confused, and...
"And suddenly really, really tired," I muttered to myself.
Friend came up to me, butting me with his head comfortingly though still keeping himself between me and the aver. I rubbed my head.
"Okay, let's try it your way..." I said, looking at the green girl intently.
With an effort, I focused on pictures in my head. Demaren. Happy and smiling at me.
A light went on in the girl's eye. She nodded vigorously.
"Great. Okay," I said, glancing at the avery now.
It was sitting at the edge of our small clearing, swaying it's long neck slightly as if to some unheard music. Could it even hear? I didn't see any ears on the thing. I noticed a line of something dark running from it's small mouth and dripping off it's... was that it's nose?
The green woman must have thought I was wondering about the dark stuff around the avery's mouth because she was quick to provide a picture of where it came from...
"Oh, stars! I did not need to know that!" I said, closing my eyes as if that could help keep the image at bay.
When I opened them, she was picking up my friend in her arms. My mouth fell open. She was much taller than I am, but just as thin. I wouldn't have thought she had the strength.
She marched over to me and Friend lay down obligingly. She lay Demaren propped up on the hop's side. I came around to sit next to him, Friend huffing worriedly as I was in the avery's line of attack again.
"Shush," I told him. Somehow I didn't think the avery was a threat anymore.
I took Demaren's large hand in mine. It was getting a little warmer.
"Okay," I said, not taking my eyes off his still face. He was breathing better too. "Who--what are you?"
The girl didn't respond. I sighed and sent disjointed images until she responded.
"Larii?" I asked.
She nodded, her matted hair bouncing at her shoulders.
I sent another batch of images to find out what to do next.
Sleep, was the answer I got back. The girl, Larii, lay down on the spot and proceeded to take the advice she had given me. In minutes she was out.
I looked over at Friend, my mouth slightly open.
"Wha..." I whispered. Friend shook his bangs out of his eyes.
Well, I was tired. Being beaten down by a nonexistent creature and watching it suck out the life of the one you love was sort of a lot to process.
My head snapped up at the thought. Love? Where had that word come from. I had only known Demaren for a month. It couldn't be love. I mean. Sure, I liked him. (A lot.) And I didn't want to leave him. (Ever.) But that didn't mean I loved him.
Except for the insistent need I felt to kiss him. All the time.
I brought my free hand up to my face, covering my eyes and shaking my head. How stupid could I be? Demaren obviously didn't feel the same way or he wouldn't have pulled away when we kissed. This was a loosing battle.
But... He'd wanted me to come with him. That meant he at least liked me, right?
I looked at Demaren's blank face, finally almost a normal color. Maybe if I spent more time with him he'd grow to like me.
I shook my head. That was stupid. Stupid! What was I going to do? Stick around on the off chance he started liking me?
My eyes flitted up to Demaren's face again.
"Yep," I whispered to myself. "I guess that's what I'm going to do."
I rose up on my knees and, very lightly, pressed my lips to his warming cheek. Then I scooted down, not wanting to hurt him by snuggling up to his middle as usual, and pressed my back to his legs instead.