“Right...” she said with trepidation. That was my chance to push her off and free myself, but I didn’t want to risk upsetting her. She quickly recovered from her lapse. “Did you look?” she said, anger coloring her voice. She tightened her hold.
“Only because I had to treat you, and I didn’t touch you except for when it was medically necessary. I promise,” I stated, making sure to keep my voice level.
“Are you telling the truth?”
“If I lied, you can wring my neck.”
She locked her gaze with mine. After a few seconds of intense eye contact, she sighed and released my neck. “I’ll believe you for now.”
“Thank you.”
“Humans give off a distinct scent when they lie,” she added. “You don’t smell that way.”
“You can tell if I’m lying just by how I smell?!”
“Yeah, but only when humans are rattled. Canine and lupine beastfolk, on the other hand, can smell lies any time.”
I nodded. If I had felt her up while treating her and lied about it, she would’ve seen through me and killed me on the spot. It was only my second day here and I was already on thin ice.
I got up and rummaged through my belongings, pulled out a change of clothing, and handed it to her. “Put these on for now,” I instructed.
“What about my clothes?” she asked.
“I had to cut them off to get to your wounds. Plus, they were soaked with blood. It’s probably best to throw them out.”
“Oh...I see.”
“I’m sorry if they were important to you.”
“No, not at all. Just scraps,” she said before starting to change.
She’d been naked up until now, but for what it was worth, I turned away to give her some privacy. For a space currently occupied by two people, it sure was quiet. The only sound was the rustle of the clothing.
“Do you own this cabin?”
“Yes,” I said, turning to face her again since she’d finished changing.
“What are you doing all the way out here?”
“I’m a blacksmith.”
“Blacksmith?” she asked.
“Well...I just moved in yesterday.” I’d waffled on how to explain my living situation, but ultimately, I decided to stick with the truth. There was a good chance that she knew this area, and I didn’t want to make her suspicious by saying anything careless.
“Was this cabin always here?”
Bingo! She knew where we were.
“It was here when I got here,” I replied. That was true, except for the part where it’d appeared out of thin air.
“I’m not in this part of the Black Forest often, so I probably just missed it before.”
The Black Forest. I had seen this name in the geography data that’d been installed in my mind. Though I was trying to keep a poker face, on the inside, I was jumping for joy; I didn’t want her super senses to detect anything. If I combined the data with what I’d seen while walking around yesterday, I could guess our location. Was it around...here?
“Right now, we’re in the eastern part of the forest,” I hazarded.
“Oh, I mostly roam and sleep in the north and west. I rarely come here.”
Phew. I didn’t know our exact coordinates, but at least I got the general area correct.
She continued her explanation. “As soon as I ventured this way, I ran into a black bear, and well...you can guess what happened. The only reason it didn’t kill me was because it sensed you approaching, I think.”
“I see.” Something vicious enough to take her down lived here? In this forest, she was likely considered a strong predator herself. Besides the fact that she was part tiger, she must’ve been strong since she wandered around the woods all by herself. However, she was injured right now.
I didn’t want to turn her out, so I said, “I have a proposal for you.”
“What?”
“Well, it’ll take time for your injuries to heal, right?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “Beastfolk are sturdier than humans, but a wound this large will take time to heal. I won’t be able to hunt or gather food for two weeks.”
“Why don’t you live here then?” I offered.
“Huh?”
“I don’t mean anything strange by it. It’s just mutually beneficial,” I reasoned. “I’m new to the area, and I’ll need some help with my smithing. You need to heal, and even after you’ve recovered, you’ll still need some time to adjust, right?
“True.”
“You’ll be more comfortable here. At least, you won’t have to worry about rain. I’ll bet it’s hard to hunt during a storm.”
“Makes sense,” she said and paused to think.
As she considered my offer, her softly pointed ears swiveled in different directions, and I was mesmerized. I could look at her tiger features all day. I didn’t say that to her though—I figured she’d be outraged.
“All right. I’ll stay here until my injuries are healed and I can move normally again. When that time comes, I’ll consider what I want to do long-term. How’s that?” she asked.
“Works for me,” I said.
“Cool. Let’s get along then!”
“Great!”
I’d said that I wanted to live with a cat, but never in my wildest dreams had I thought that this was how my wish would be interpreted. I supposed a tiger girl counted. Watchdog, was this your answer to my request? I asked her in my head, but there was no response. Not that I’d expected one.
“By the way, what’s your name?” I asked.
“Samya.”
So her name was Samya. “Nice name,” I said, but she didn’t respond. “What’s wrong?” I finally asked.
“It’s too cute. I’d rather be called something that sounds tough.”
“Umm...like González?”
“Pft—” The sound burst out of her. A second later, she was rolling on the bed, cracking up. “Ha ha ha ha! González! Your naming sense is horrible! Ha ha ha!!!”
“Stuff it. At least my parents gave me common sense,” I said, disheartened by her jeering. She was laughing so hard that she was crying.