Luca didn't stop teaching her once the arrow was out.
No, that was only the beginning.
While Lulu lay groaning softly on the grass, face pressed into her arm, Luca took the opportunity to continue explaining, his tone slipping into that instructive cadence of someone who'd done this countless times before.
"Alright." He began, brushing the dirt off his gloves. "Now, removing the arrow is the first step. But you also need to know how to deal with the aftermath. That means cleaning, closing, and preventing infection—the real work comes after the pain."
Luna straightened up immediately, instinctively attentive.
And for the next few minutes, Luca went on in depth, teaching her one thing after another—not just about arrow wounds, but about everything connected to it.
He explained how to tell when an arrow had punctured muscle versus fat, how the blood color could reveal if a vein was hit, how infection smelled, and how to stop bleeding using moss, pressure, or even heat.
He even described how to make makeshift disinfectants using saltwater, fire-ash, and crushed herbs.
Luna's ears twitched with every new word, her hands trembling slightly as she listened.
This was only natural as she had never heard anything like this before.
These weren't things her tribe healers taught—these were human battlefield techniques, things forged in blood and experience.
The knowledge that was being revealed was so overwhelming that she even took out her little notebook from her pouch—something she always carried and hastily began jotting everything down word-for-word, terrified of missing even a single instruction.
At one point, he even started to teach her how to stitch up a wound.
"Alright, lesson nine—stitching. There's a right and wrong way to do it. Pulling too tight tears the skin. Too loose, and it won't close."
He reached down, grabbed a broad leaf off the ground, poked a few holes into it using a needle, then began stitching the torn edges together as if it were living tissue. His hands moved quickly, cleanly, without hesitation.
"You're...doing that blindfolded?" Luna watched, wide-eyed.
"Mm-hmm." He said, stitching more and more leaves together so that she could understand better. "When you're on the battlefield, sometimes it's dark. Sometimes, there's smoke or blood in your eyes. You can't depend on sight. You depend on touch."
Every movement he made was precise like a surgeon and Luna's quill danced across the page, scribbling everything down in small, neat letters.
He then showed her how to tie off the knots properly, how to thread quickly using her teeth, and even how to sterilize needles by holding them over fire or in strong alcohol.
He even described pain management tricks—pressing nerves, using ice, or distracting the patient with a story or humor.
To Luna, every word felt like gold.
It shocked her how much this man knew. Things she hadn't even heard of, knowledge that the elves of her forest had never spoken of, not even the elders.
He was...extraordinary. And though he was human, a supposed enemy, she couldn't deny it.
'He's so intelligent...so capable...' She thought, her heart racing. 'I've never met anyone like him.'
She didn't even realize how engrossed she'd become until a loud voice suddenly broke through the air.
"HEY! YOU TWO!"
Both Luca and Luna jumped as Lulu shouted, face red and eyes blazing with indignation.
"Enough already!" She barked, sitting up halfway and glaring furiously. "How long are you two gonna talk like that?! I've been lying here for ages, and you just keep going on and on about needles and moss and knots and all this boring stuff!"
Luna froze, realizing how long she'd been sitting there listening. "O-oh, Lulu, I—"
"I swear." Lulu went on, pointing dramatically at the ground. "It's been so long that the ants down there think I'm a piece of rotten meat! They're trying to carry me away! And look!"
She jabbed a finger up at the sky.
"Even the birds are circling me like I'm already dead! I can feel their beady eyes judging me! Don't you two even feel a little bit of pity for me?!"
Her voice cracked, almost tearful by the end, and Luna blushed, looking away guiltily.
"I...may have gotten a bit carried away…"
Luca on the other hand smirked faintly, rummaging through his bag before saying,
"You'll never make a good archer, you know that? With how impatient you are, it's no wonder your arrows go everywhere except the target."
"WHY YOU—!"
She started, ready to launch into another rant, but before she could, he reached into his bag again and raised a hand in front of her face.
"Wait." He said as he opened his hands.
"What...is that?" She blinked, caught off guard.
In his palm were three small, brightly colored patches—pink, yellow, and blue, each printed with tiny animal shapes.
And seeing how adorable they looked, her anger immediately vanished, replaced by wide-eyed curiosity.
"Ooooh...they're so cute! What are they? Why are they so colorful?!"
"Bandages." Luca said with a grin. "You don't need stitches, so I'll patch you up with these instead."
"Bandages?" She repeated in awe, staring at them like rare gems. "Then...why are they all so colorful? Don't tell me…" She gasped dramatically. "Each color has a special power!"
"Like this one heals faster! This one makes the skin tougher! And this one..." She lifted the pink one reverently "...this one probably makes my butt extra beautiful, doesn't it?"
Luca blinked slowly before shaking his head.
"…No."
"No?" She pouted.
"They're just children's bandages." He sighed. "The colors are meant to calm kids down. You know—like you."
Lulu ignored the insult entirely, beaming.
"They're adorable anyway! And I don't which to choose since they're all so freaking cute!"
"Well, if you can't choose..."Luca shrugged. "...I'll just put them all on."
"You're indulging her…" Luna groaned softly.
"Children or atleast girls like her deserve to be indulged." He said dryly.
And then, still blindfolded, he peeled the first patch open and gently placed it over the wound. Lulu flinched a little but didn't protest.
Then he placed the second, then the third to the sides, arranging them neatly.
"There." He said, moving back slightly. "I can't see right now, so tell me—how does it look?"
Lulu craned her neck around to glance at her butt—and her eyes sparkled.
"It looks amazing!" She squealed. "It's like a tattoo! My butt was already a masterpiece, but now it's a decorated masterpiece!"
"Glad to hear your national treasure's been upgraded." Luca chuckled, shaking his head.
But he wasn't done yet. He reached into his bag once more and held something out to her—a small white stick with a bright red ball on top.
"What's this?" Lulu blinked at it. "It smells sweet…"
"This..." Luca said, smiling. "...is a lollipop. Something doctors give children after a checkup so they don't cry or feel sad."
"Go on—put it in your mouth. You'll see."
Her eyes lit up instantly, though she still tried to act suspicious.
"Hmph...if this turns out to be some weird human trick—"
But before she could finish, she popped the lollipop into her mouth and the moment the sweet-and-sour flavor hit her tongue, her entire body perked up.
Her long ears twitched straight up like startled rabbits, and she let out a delighted squeal.
"I-It's so sweet! So sweet! But also sour—a good sour!" She said, her voice muffled by the candy. "Oh my gods, it's so tasty! What is this sorcery?!"
She started wriggling in excitement on the ground—her ears flicking, her butt wiggling slightly, the colorful patches glinting in the light.
Then she turned to Luca, eyes shining.
"You know...before, I didn't trust you, human. I thought you were a lying demon trying to eat me. But after this…" She paused to take another loud suck on the candy. "...I think I can trust you a little. You're not that bad after all."
"That's high praise coming from you." Luca smirked faintly.
Meanwhile, Luna stood there in utter disbelief, staring at her sister as if watching a wild animal being tamed by sugar.
'She really...just changed sides because of a candy.' She thought, horrified.
She imagined the day humans invaded the forest—and Lulu betraying the entire elf clan for a basket of desserts.
And terrifyingly, it didn't seem impossible.
Luna was still thinking about her sister's absurd loyalty to sweets when she suddenly felt a shift in the air. And when she looked down, she saw Luca staring at her from behind that blindfold with the faintest trace of a smile curving his lips.
Something about his expression that was strangely gentle made her tense up. She stiffened, her fingers unconsciously brushing the notebook still open in her lap.
"W-What?" She asked cautiously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Then, to her surprise, he said softly.
"Thank you."
"...Thank you? For what?" She blinked, completely caught off guard. "I don't remember doing anything worth thanking. Rather as embarassing as it is, you're the ones who's helped us a lot."
Luca smiled faintly, his tone quiet but sincere as he said,
"I want to thank you for trusting me."
"I know just a moment ago when I offered your sister the lollipop, you had your doubts. I could feel it. You were torn between warning her not to take it and letting her try it."
"I could practically see you fighting with yourself even with this blindfold on."
Luna's breath hitched slightly because he was right.
She had been struggling. When he'd handed Lulu that strange colorful candy, her first thought had been what if it's poison?
She had been seconds away from stopping her, but something inside told her not to.
And now, hearing him say that so casually, as if he'd been watching her heart the whole time made her blush furiously.
"You...you could tell that?" She stammered, ears twitching nervously.
"Of course." He said with a small chuckle. "You wear your thoughts all over your face. But even despite your doubt, you still decided to trust me."
"You didn't interfere, and you let her have it. That kind of trust..." He gave a faint smile. "...means more than you think."
Luna lowered her gaze, her cheeks warm. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. Finally, she muttered,
"There's...really no need to thank me for that."
He tilted his head slightly, curious. "Oh?"
She took a small breath and looked back up at him, forcing herself to speak clearly.
"It's simply illogical for you to poison her after everything you've done. You healed her, you taught me, you even blindfolded yourself to make sure we wouldn't feel uncomfortable."
"It would make no sense for you to go through all that only to...to kill us with candy."
"You're surprisingly rational for someone who was ready to stab me an hour ago." Luca raised an eyebrow under the blindfold, amused.
Her lips twitched.
"I'm just not stupid." She said softly. "And besides, you don't seem like the type to use poison. Scumbags resort to things like that."
"And you...well, you clearly have the power to kill us both in an instant if you wanted to. So, there's no reason for you to stoop to such pathetic methods."
She then hesitated again, then added quietly with a little blush on her cheek,
"But I will admit...I do trust you a little more now."
That made him look up.
"Even though you're human…" Her voice was calm, but her words were earnest. "...and even though everyone in the village has had those strange dreams about you—the kind that make it hard to trust anything related to you, your actions don't match the stories."
"The way you've acted, the way you've been trying to teach me things, it's…" She trailed off, her ears coloring slightly. "...it's hard to believe that you're someone who's come to harm us."
Luca stared at the look of resolve she had on her face for being so honest with herself before finally saying,
"I see. So you've been watching me carefully too."
He chuckled, genuinely pleased before saying,
"But still, the trust you have in a human like me, it means more than you know. And tell me tell you, I really do appreciate it from the bottom of my heart."
Hearing these heartfelt words, Luna felt her face grow even more warm.
She also couldn't help but think that in one way or another, something was starting to grown between both of them who were supposed to be mortal enemies.