Here is a short story I wrote as a freewrite to figure out how Andir (Nanda) and Alana (Aditi) met each other. Name changes for all of them are in the works, so get used to it. It's not meant to be good. In fact, it's definitely not. I hashed it out purely for information's sake.
Word Count: 762
Nanda forced his way through the dense undergrowth near the stream bank and stumbled across the figure of a young girl collapsed in the mud. She was lying on her side, tea-colored hair matted across her face and the damp ground surrounding her. A suspiciously thick and dark smear of dirt covered her left shoulder. He ran his finger along it and pulled his hand to his nose. An acrid, metallic smell suffused his senses. Blood. Frowning, he gingerly pushed her hair away from her shoulders, exposing an enormous tear in her hunting leathers. Three deep gashes ran from her shoulder blade to her armpit. Whatever had attacked her had clearly gone for the jugular and missed. He was unsure how she had survived this long; the wound was several days old and felt hot to the touch. She needed help immediately. Silently, he summoned his companions to him. Nanda's older brother arrived first. After a quick survey of the scene, he stepped forward and picked the girl up in his arms. She rose effortlessly, with the weight of the half-alive. His brother was the tallest and brawniest of his family, standing almost five feet tall. The girl must have been at least five years younger than he was; his bulk made her seem even smaller than she had on the ground. Rahim was already twenty, which meant she must be about fifteen. Nanda's age. No one their age should be out in the wilderness alone. It was obvious she wasn't from the area, since there wasn't another village for three days in any direction. He looked for signs of her companions, but there was no indication of other people on the muddy ground. It was decided that three of the party should take her back to the village, while the rest remained. Nanda desperately wanted to return with the girl, to be there when she woke up and find out what happened, but he was the most adept at finding game for the hunt. If he left, the chances of their success decreased exponentially, just as their danger would increase. Sighing, he turned his back on the three led by Rahim and returned his attention to the earth. Pushing the girl out of his mind proved difficult. The smell of her blood lingered on his skin, and his mind kept returning to the image of the infected wound at her shoulder. He felt his pulse quicken, and clenched at the walking stick in his right hand. Whatever had hurt her, he wanted to find it. And kill it. His brothers chuckled at him condescendingly, and his face grew red. He could feel the slight wave of their disapproval. Outsiders were not to be trusted. Why should he care for someone who was clearly running from something? No one left the village unless they had done something terrible, after all. He shook his head angrily. He hadn't gotten the sense that she was running from something. Rather, he wanted to believe she was looking for something. What that something was kept his mind occupied for the rest of their excursion. They came in later than expected, dragging a large five-point buck between them. Instantly, the meat was being cut and divided, and their mothers began work on their communal meal. Nanda's sister came out of their house and took him aside. “Where did you find this girl?” She asked him, eyes piercing into his. “By the river.” “She's in bad shape. She has a terrible fever, and she's not fighting it.” He shook his head. “She's too exhausted.”
“Nanda," she sighed. "I don't think she's going to make it.”
He pushed past her roughly and stepped into their house. The girl was lying on his sister's bed under a light blanket, shivering. She had been washed off and her wound dressed, and he was shocked to find how beautiful she was. Her skin was just barely lighter than her hair. It was unusual for one of their race to be so pale, and he wondered again just how far she had traveled. He stepped closer and took her hand in his. It was clammy and hot. His sister came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. Together, they willed the girl to wake up.Slowly, her eyes opened. Her blue eyes focused on his, and as he heard his sister gasp behind him, he suddenly understood just what she was running from. In that moment, his heart went out to her. Their planet was no place for a half-breed.
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