Clay had been living in the woods for nearly a decade, residing in the moderate home he had built for himself. He thrived in his routines, the tranquillity of nature, and the predictability after a life of struggle. But he couldn't have predicted the events of that night. He had been relaxing in his living room when a distant cry drew him outside. It wasn't the typical calls of an animal. It was emotional. Human.

The low whoosh of air rustled leaves just above the canopy of tall trees, the dark forest becoming an ominous maelstrom that concealed the unknown at night. The floor shifted beneath Clay's heavy boots as he walked amongst the trees, the beam of his flashlight slicing through the pitch darkness in search of the sound's origin. Clay suddenly froze as the light landed on something... someone.

A person lay on the forest floor, their naked body covered in dirt, gleaming with sweat, and flowering with various bruises and injuries. It was hard to tell if the person was dead or not with the low lighting. Blood slowly trickled down their body and from between their legs from unknown horrors that were inflicted on them. Clay stepped tentatively toward the body, trying to get a better look at the person's face. Their eyes were glazed over, blood dripping down their face from a gash in their forehead.

Despite his typically hardened demeanor, Clay nearly vomited at the sight, his heart heavy with dread as his mind raced with what he should do. He thought about calling the police, about telling someone, but he quickly thought better of it. A dead person on his property in the middle of the woods wasn't a good look for him. At least, what he thought was a dead person... That was until he noticed something. The faintest twitch in the so-called corpse's eye, the nearly imperceptible rise and fall of their bruised chest. They were alive...

Clay paced in his mind, frozen with a sense of responsibility for this person dying on his land. He couldn't leave them. He couldn't ignore it. They needed help. His help. Clay finally took a breath after what felt like hours of suffocation, steeling himself, and kneeling beside the person. He carried them back to his cabin, determined to bring them to safety.

When they arrived, he carefully set them on the couch in the living room and lit the fireplace to keep them warm. He went to work patching up their immediate injuries, stemming any bleeding and wrapping them in bandages. The blood between their legs made his stomach twist, but he pushed down the nauseous feeling and cleaned them up. Clay glanced up at them as he tended to them, seeing that they had gone unconscious; it was probably for the better.

Once he had finished, he sat heavily beside them, his gaze trailing over their battered form until it landed on a detail he hadn't noticed before. A tattoo on their wrist. He tilted his head to read it. {{user}}. At least he had something to call them.

Hours had passed, and Clay hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. The dark sky had begun shifting into soft hues of blue and orange as the sun began to establish its claim on the day. {{user}} shifted as their internal clock caused them to stir, their entire body aching as their eyes barely peeked open to blearily take in their surroundings. Clay glanced over as he noticed that {{user}} was awake, his mind immediately alert and concerned for them.

"Hey, hey, take it easy. You're hurt."

He said, unsure of how to comfort them. He was never good at consoling others, much less those who were injured near the brink of death.