”Not really.” Mari shook her head a little as she sat down, taking off her shoes and hoodie. ”Sometimes I can stay up a bit later than this. I guess it's just been an exciting day. And the run probably tired me out too.” she explained though she wasn't opposed to going to sleep soon.
The floral smell of the sheets was very soothing and helped her relax further. She stretched her arms over her head and laid down when Damien did. ”Good night, Damien.” she smiled softly as her eyes closed.
"Oh, i see" he hummed, taking out a second blanket and making himself comfortable on the couch. "I just assumed most people aren't meant to stay up for too long - im sorry if i understood things wrong"
He curiously peeked over at Mari's clothing, silently studying them, especially her shoes - for one, they weren't darkly colored like the ones he was used to and they were also a very different shape. It made him wonder if they were comfortable.
The boy moved his gaze away after a while, still thinking of the girl's hoodie and checked on the fire one last time.
"Good night…" he replied softly, his voice fading before tucking himself in. Out of habit, he slept on his left side as a safety measure - he was somewhat comfortable having Mari around, but old habits die hard. He sunk in his pillow and closed his eyes, curling up under the blanket
At this point, Mari was already too close to sleep to correct him. He was right that most people needed more sleep than others, but there were others who couldn't. Such as insomniacs and ”night owls”. He probably just didn't know about those things. Maybe, if she remembered, she could tell him in the morning.
She also laid on her side, but she was facing the window so she could watch the rain as she fell asleep and listen to the beautiful soft rhythm.
For a while, Damien just laid on the couch, listening to the rain noises with eyes closed, trying to fall asleep. He normally needed some time in order to doze off, but even then he was quite the light sleeper.
Throughout the night, he periodically got up from his little nest to put some more wood on the fire, keeping the room at a pleasantly warm level. And every time, he would peek at Mari before diving back underneath the covers. The boy was still very curious about his new friend and liked looking at her from up close, even if for just a few seconds. He hoped he wasnt being creepy or anything - although a very tiny part of him became hungry upon seeing one of the girl's exposed arms, but he quickly fixed that with a midnight snack.
No way he was going to bite her, not after he promised her he wouldn't, and he was not about to break that promise
Mari wasn't exactly a light sleeper but she stayed blissfully asleep through the night, only stirring slightly at the louder thunderclaps. She did turn a little in her sleep but she would admit that this was the most restful night she had in a long time. Maybe it was because the house was so quiet, compared to having two younger brothers. One actually still needed a nightlight and sometimes it shone into her room and kept her awake unless she closed her door.
Damien tossed new pieces of wood on the fire every hour or so, therefore his sleep was frequently interrupted - he didnt mind it, after all, he slept a few extra hours in the morning when he felt too tired, but this time the adrenaline of having a new friend kept him up.
The storm outside continued up till morning, but thankfully it had turned into a relatively peaceful rain, with no wind. Light from the rising sun poured weakly through the windows, enlighting the room.
Dawn found Damien fast asleep on the couch, face half buried in the pillow, breathing slowly underneath the blanket he'd pulled up to his neck. The fire had been reduced to cold ashes, but it was pleasant enough in the room to not consider that a problem.
Mari groaned sleepily and rolled over as a beam of sunlight hit her eyes. She didn't want to get up yet. But she was only able to sleep in for a few more minutes before she sat up, yawning and stretching. It took her a moment to be coherent enough to recognize where she was and smiled over at her still sleeping friend. Even though she was technically grounded, she wasn't in a big hurry to get home yet. And she wasn't going to leave while he was asleep and not say goodbye.
Damien continued to snooze for a little longer, just the top half of his face peeking out from his blanket - now that there was natural light in the room, it turned out the boy's hair wasnt black, but rather various shades of pine green. He most likely didnt use dye, so that was a curious detail about him.
He continued to sleep until a low thunderclap made his only visible eye blink awake, slightly startled, but calmed down right away after when he remembered whom he shared the room with. He curled up under the blanket, stretching his limbs as he yawned.
"Morning" he greeted her softly, rubbing his eye
Mari raised a brow slightly at the sight of his natural hair color. She had seen stranger colors but they were usually just dyed. It was actually pretty cool… and definitely interesting.
”Good morning.” she smiled at him, still a little groggy as she combed her fingers through her hair in an attempt to tame her bed head. ”Sleep well?”
"Pretty good i can say. As well as a vampire can sleep" he replied, slowly emerging from underneath the blanket, with one hand on the left side of his face.
His hair had become very ruffled during the night, standing up at the back of his head and left side, as he slowly made his way towards the door to the kitchen to go wash his face. He still had his large sweater on, hanging well past his waist, like it was a few sizes larger.
A few minutes later, he poked his head out through the cracked door, looking towards Mari.
"Do you want breakfast?"
She nodded at his answer and hoped that was actually a good thing despite it sounding a bit strange to her. She got up, slid on her shoes, and grabbed her hoodie before checking the time. Fortunately, her phone had held most of its charge overnight though she would have to plug it in once she got home.
Deciding to be a good guest, Mari started to at least straighten out the bed. It wasn't much and not quite as neat as he had it yesterday but it was the best she could do. She looked up at the question and smiled at Damien. ”Sure. That sounds good.” she answered as she walked over to him.
Receiving his answer, Damien ducked back behind the door and resumed his activity. The left eye was hiding behind his hair once again, presumably combed back once he'd washed his face.
The boy had taken out some eggs and bits of meat, cooking them in a frying pan he'd pulled out from the wall hooks. The meat looked like it was already cooked, so he was just reheating it so they could enjoy it better.
"I hope you dont mind some eggs and chicken" he said to Mari once she walked in, putting the food on plates and taking them to the table
She wondered why he had his hair covering his eye again but decided to save that question for when they were better friends. It could have very well just been part of his style. She did vaguely remember that mark on his face near that eye… but it had been hard to tell if it had just been a trick of the light or something more serious.
Mari smiled softly at him as she walked over to the table. ”I don't mind. It smells delicious.” she told him, sitting down as he served the food and waited for him to sit as well.
"Ah, im glad you think that! I hope the taste is also as good" he shyly chuckled, as he put down her plate before taking his seat. As per usual, he'd spiced the food in order to make the flavour more strong, but he hoped it wasnt too much for Mari - he'd in fact abstained from adding hot spices, leaving that option to her.
Damien stayed mostly quiet during breakfast, mostly because he didnt know what to talk about and because he was focused on cutting the egg as cleanly as possible by only using his fork - a little habit of his
"I hope i didnt spice the meat too much" he said, looking up from his plate
She nodded with an assuring smile. ”I’m sure it is. You already proved that you're a good cook.” she reminded him, since dinner last night had been so good, before eating.
She didn't really have much to say during the meal either but she shook her head slightly at his question. ”No, there's not too much spice. You did a good job on this too.”
The boy's face seemed to flush as he started eating, nicely surprised by the compliment. He didnt really think of himself as a good cook, more like average - good enough to not ruin it in any shape or form. Cooking held a certain spot in his heart, as it was one of the things he used to remember his former mother by.
"I'm glad then" he sighed in relief, before taking a bite out of his food. At the very least, the worry that all the years in isolation had taken a toll on his cooking skills was laid to rest, with the confirmation that he was still socially acceptable.
"If its still raining after we eat, you can take an umbrella, so you dont get wet." he said. "Do you live far away? I really hope you dont have to walk for too long"
She smiled brightly at his blushing and nodded. He was certainly a better cook than she was and probably better than he thought. Mari could cook a little and enjoyed baking with her mom but she didn't have as much proficiency as he had. ”I’m not an expert but I think you’ve got some talent and you definitely have experience.” she told him.
”Thank you.” she said in response to his offer before shrugging a little. ”I’m not sure how far away… I know how to get back though.” she assured Damien. When she was running yesterday, she hadn't been keeping track of the time. It was probably a five-ten minute run to where the road branched off to the little path that lead to his place but she didn't know how long it she was on that road before she got here. It couldn't have been too long since she beat the worst of the storm.
"You think that…?" he asked, looking up at her with a hopeful gleam in his visible eye. Honestly, he'd only ever cooked for his mother and himself only after that, so he considered his skills to be just enough to provide a good meal, but never a talent. Truth was, he hadnt experimented too much, given his isolation from the world.
"Thank you…"
"Ah, thats good then, i suppose." the boy said, finishing up his meal and pushing the plate away. "Truth is, i wouldnt have known to guide you back, even if i wanted to"
He didnt like admitting it, but aside from one or two paths in the forest, he had no idea how to leave the place, at all. It wasnt like he tried, or wanted to in the first place, so he had no ideas that would have been useful to Mari, had she not known her way home
As she saw that hopeful twinkle in his eye… how could she say anything else to him? ”I do.” she said truthfully with a soft smile. There was absolutely no way she would do anything to discourage or disappoint the sweet young looking boy. He was so innocent and absolutely adorable. It was impossible not to feel protective of him. ”You’re welcome.”
Mari raised a brow slightly at his confession. ”You don't know how to leave?” she asked gently. It didn't seem that hard to her to be able to get back to town. ”You know… If you'd like, I could show you how to get out and take you to the town sometime.” she offered before explaining. ”There’s some markers near the trail and you basically follow them out of the woods.”
"I uh, havent cooked for anyone in a long time. I was very unsure if my tastes had changed over the years" he admitted, sitting up to clean his plate and put away all the other utensils he had used to make breakfast. "Is there any type of food you like, in particular?"
Damien didnt know what types of food people ate in the current days, but at the very least, he wanted to try make something just for Mari, as some kind of thank you gift for being so nice to him all the time.
The boy shook his head, in a somewhat guilty manner - honestly, he did not even remember how he got there in the first place. The memory of him stumbling through the woods at night, his head pulsating with pain and barely seeing where he was going was already very foggy, so he genuinely could not even tell which way he came from. In fact, it was his mother who found him and brought him to the manor, at no point in time had he seen the path taken to get there.
"You… you'd do that? For real?"
The offer took him aback, mostly because he had never thought of leaving and he was also a little afraid to go. But after meeting Mari, he was starting to think that maybe poking his head out into this new world might be a different experience
"I, uh, would like to try, one day…"
She nodded slightly, listening to his explanation. ”Understandable. Maybe they did change but your skills are still impressive.” she told him, tilting her head slightly at his question before shrugging. ”I’m not usually a picky eater. I like a lot of things… Umm, but I’d probably have to say my favorite is… chicken enchiladas.” she decided with a small smile as she added a cookbook to her growing list of things to bring Damien.
Mari smiled softly and nodded again. ”Only if you want to. I’m not going to make you.” her smile grew when he admitted that he wanted to try. ”When you're ready, we can go together. I’ll show you around and keep you safe.” she promised him.
Damien wasnt exactly used to all the complimenting just yet, and every kind word just made his visible cheek turn a shy shade of pink. He felt like he wanted the floor to swallow him, but at the same time he craved more. Of course he wouldnt tell her that, not if he wanted to add shame to the pile of growing emotions.
"Th…Thanks" the boy managed to whimper out, his hand going up to his face and attempting to brush away the hair tickling his lips, before reflexively stopping. The tiny portion that had been revealed did contain the mark from last nigh, so no, it hadnt been a trick of the light.
"Enchi-what?"
His tone seemed a mix of confusion and maybe a bit of disappointment - mostly because the name sounded awfully foreign to him.
"Thank you, but, wont i look out of place if i go with you? I mean, your clothes are so very different from what i remember seeing the last time…"
He pulled at his sweater, his pale hands getting lost in the large sleeves again. Despite not being exactly era accurate clothes, they still looked somewhat peculiar
”You’re welcome.” Mari smiled kindly. Honestly, she was just telling the truth but since he had been alone for so long, it made sense that he… Well, it seemed like his self-confidence was a bit on the low side and if telling him this things helped him, then she would gladly saw them.
She wasn’t too surprised when he didn't know what enchiladas were, considering his isolation. ”En-chi-la-das.” she said again, slower this time so he could pronounce it. ”It’s a baked Mexican dish. It's a rolled tortilla with a sauce and you fill it with… Well, you could actually fill it with a lot of things. Chicken, beef, potatoes… There might be a seafood version out there too.” she explained before she realized she was rambling. ”Sorry”
She noticed the mark again, biting her lip not to say anything. His little act showed her that he didn't want it seen, so she doubted he wanted to talk about it either. She moved her eyes down to his outfit and nodded a little. ”Yeah, a little. I mean, I could get you a hoodie and you can just wear it over your clothes. It should be enough to fool everyone else.” she offered.
The boy's train of thought derailed once again the moment she pronounced the words 'mexican' and 'tortilla' - obviously, he hadn't heard of them at all, but at the very least he preferred not to voice his little questions, as he didnt want to bother Mari again. He would just have to find out on his own, probably later.
"Hmm, so its something like a weird pie? But with various fillings?" he inquired, trying to find something that resembled it in order to understand better. "its okay, no need to apologize. Im the one who asked in the first place. It sounds delicious tho."
Getting him a hoodie? Like the one she wore? Damien once again analyzed his own clothing before looking at Mari's. By the looks of it, it wouldnt look good if he just slapped it on top of his sweater, so maybe he'd have to give up on the latter for the former to work.
"Mmm, we could try…" he slowly agreed, half curious to actually try this new plan. Who knew, maybe this time it would be different for him out there.
She tried to hold back a chuckle at his description and shook her head. ”Not really.” she said gently. She was definitely getting him a cookbook. ”A tortilla is a round flat type of bread that’s already cooked. And it's very flexible so you can put stuff on top of it and roll the edges to keep everything in place.” she tried to help clear up his confusion, unsure if she was making it worse. Maybe she should just bring over some ingredients and show him the different types of food that people had access to these days.
At least until he was ready to go out in public. Then he could try some of the food himself. Looking again at his… top, Mari realized the slight problem with her original plan. ”Maybe I can bring you a t-shirt too.” she amended. Since it seemed like he liked being able to hide in his clothes, she was thinking about getting him a large pullover hoodie… Well, it would probably be a medium-sized but it would still look large on him.
