"Who are you?", you asked, slowly standing up again.

Your (E/C) eyes were glued to the stranger in front of you.

He seemed so calm, at ease even. There was the hint of a smile on his face, just very lightly but noticeable.

Despite him being dirty all over, he seemed proper and almost civilised. There was this shimmer in his blue eyes, this interest.

And yet.

There was this shadow in them.

It was so... unknown.

Looking at him for too long caused a feeling inside of you. Almost like the desire to run away.

As he bowed down to pet his wolf, you used the moment to take a huge step back. Now, in the safe reach of your car, you felt a bit less threatened.

"You're not from here.", he repeated.

You frowned.

"You already asked that question.", you said, opening the drivers door slowly.

He nodded. His eyes followed your movements. The corner of his lips twitched as he noticed the open door.

"I know. But I wanted to be sure."

"Why?"

He shrugged.

"It's good to know if people are from around here or not.", he smirked, but it was a weird smirk.

Almost as if there was no real meaning behind it. He just smirked. Nothing more.

No. There was more to it. It was a strange grin, indeed, empty but also so broad and light-hearted that it seemed too real to be true. It looked like he had learned to smirk this way. As if he didn't know how to do it by default, in a natural manner.

"Who are you?", you asked again.

"Jacob. Jacob Seed.", he tilted his head and eyed your face. "What's your name?"

You swallowed thickly. Suddenly, your hands were shaking.

"(Y/N)."

You didn't know why, but somehow it didn't seem to terrible to tell him.

After all, what would he be able to do with one stupid name?

There was this weird atmosphere of security around him. He looked like a threat. But he didn't feel like one.

Why was that?

Maybe your brain was trying to get you into trouble. At least your common sense still worked, telling you to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow.

"Just (Y/N)?", he asked and stepped closer.

His eyes wandered to the car.

You nodded.

Something on his face moved, call it surprise, amusement or anything like that, but he did gift you a quick smirk again.

It was strange, even though he was a total stranger to you, you couldn't help but feel how your heart jumped. It almost felt like a quick flirt, like a man that was at a party, eager to attack your attention.

Despite the way he looked and smiled, he still seemed... reasonable. As if he was a totally normal man and not some blood splashed guy that had a fucking pet wolf and a rifle strapped to his chest.

A hot feeling spread across your cheeks and soon you realised you were blushing a bit. Embarrassed, you pulled your head in and slammed the drivers door shut.

The stranger tilted his head, raising an eyebrow for a silent question. His lips parted and closed again.

"Rude.", he said, positioning himself right in front of the car.

With a quick glance into the mirror, you were able to see how the wolf walked behind it, almost fully disappearing behind the trunk.

You pressed your lips together and rolled the window down a bit.

"Could you tell your... wolf, dog... whatever it is, to get out of my way? It be a shame to run him over.", you asked nicely.

He tilted his head, leaning to the side to check on his pet.

"Sorry.", he shrugged and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Only the weak retreat. I didn't train him to be weak."

As he talked, the vibration of his voice made the necklaces around his neck dance.

You noticed dog tags, shining silver.

It seemed weird, he looked so rough and dirty and yet the tags were as clean as if he had polished them mere minutes ago. The sunlight got caught in the metal, throwing bright spots through the windshield.

With your eyes squinted, you tired to read what was stamped into the metal, but couldn't. He was standing too far away. Plus, the crossed arms didn't make it any easier for you to read.

As if he had noticed exactly what you had intended to do, he came closer, walked up to your window and pressed the tag against the glass.

With a strange look on his face, that was a mix between mockery and pride, he raised his eyebrows and leaned against the side of the car as if he was trying to impress you.

"Interested in an old soldiers story?", he asked, having to grin again. "No worries. I don't bite. Just ask, I'll tell you."

Confused, yet a bit intimidated by the statement, you let your eyes wander over him, from the dog tag, over his arms to the broad shoulders and up to his face.

At that moment you realised that he looked a bit different that you had initially thought.

He was taller, better build instead of a bit chubby.

His face was rough, not only because of the skin, that looked like it had grown thicker after being damaged. His beard was also not as well kept as it had appeared before and his hair was not short short.

He had a typical army haircut, sides as short as possible and the top a bit longer. The colour of his hair wasn't dirty blond but a crisp, orangey ginger colour.

Together with a pair of bright, blue eyes, he really had a handsome face.

Your eyes jumped back down again, as you realised that you had been staring into his eyes directly. Your heart was beating faster.

You noticed the arm he used to support himself at the car door.

The sleeve of his jacket was rolled up to the elbow, revealing many scars and holes. It seemed like he had been burned.

Your hands twitched at the sight.

He noticed.

"Not used to the view?", he asked in a strange voice.

Still trapped by his arm, you shook your head.

"Do you need help?", you asked without thinking.

His eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Pardon?"

"Your arm. It's injured. Do you need help?"