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The rain had finally stopped, but the damage had been done. The forest was cold and damp, the few hours downpour having made everything slippery and even harder to trek through. The mulch squelched underneath Petra’s boots, wet and horrible sounding, nausea spiking up as she tried to push it down. Trees stood tall to either side of her, closing in and bunched together like the tight weave of cloth. She could barely see the bright red accents of Rosemi’s cape ahead of her, and Selen was merely a blot of shadow leaving a trail of snapped, low hanging tree branches.
Bruises throbbed on Petra’s sides, and a cursory inspection that morning at the inn they stayed at revealed starbursts of yellow and purple on her ribs; markings from the job they had taken at that town. Normally it would have been freeing to be out of a cramped village, but Petra found herself nervously palming the hilt of one of her many daggers, gauging the various weights of the few weapons that were hidden in her armor and cloak.
Something flashed in the corner of her vision; dark red and angry, radiating malice so strong that it had Petra stepping back for a second, making her lose sight of Rosemi and Selen entirely. She raced forward, the aches on her body disappearing as she tried to reach her two friends as fast as possible. The eyes were still following her, matching her pace and looming steadily closer.
Petra stumbled, her ankle almost giving way beneath her, but she managed to regain her balance and focus on sprinting onward. Selen’s dark armor was visible finally, the shadows cast by the dense canopy of trees giving way and letting light shine on the metal of her pauldron. The eyes were still following, now looking away from Petra to her unaware friends, to where Selen’s muscled back was bare and vulnerable.
A burst of energy, of adrenaline, maybe a boon from the god that Rosemi prayed to for healing; Petra didn’t know what fueled her on, but she threw herself forward at the same time that the eyes leaped out of the dark underbrush. Petra slammed into Selen, the paladin shouting from the movement as she toppled forward, out of the way of the lunge of the hulking wolf.
The beast’s jaws snapped shut on Petra’s leg, a scream ripping itself from her throat as she hit the ground hard, but experience had her quickly turning onto her back, daggers already out of their sheaths and brandished in front of her. Her whole body screamed from the rough impact onto not only the rough forest floor but also partially onto the hard metal of Selen’s armor, and her leg was so dirtied with blood and the creature’s drool that Petra got lightheaded even looking at it.
The wolf rumbled, a constant baritone that had the hair at the back of Petra’s neck prickling up, her grip tightening on the leather wrappings of her blades’ hilts, their weight a comforting presence. Its form was bulky and misshapen, a large red growth of exposed flesh and bone pulsing on its shoulder as it paced back and forth, dark frothy drool dripping from its jaws. Its fur was messy and clumped, blood and other substances matting the dark fur together, various wounds open on its form and letting out the foul scent of rot.
There was a beat, with only the sound of Selen’s armor clanking as Rosemi helped her up and the guttural snarls torn out of the creature’s throat. Petra slowly stood on her own, her injured leg shaking underneath her as she tried to not put weight on it, tried to make herself seem bigger, tried to block the beast’s vision of her two friends, tried so desperately to protect them both even as her consciousness seemed to drift away from her leaden body like a released balloon. The wolf’s jaws opened with a vicious crack, the right side of its jaw seemingly popping out as it lunged forward, necrotic energy steaming from every part of it, its body moving forward with a speed that seemed impossible for its size.
And then it slammed into a bright gold shield with a horrible thump, the familiar, warm embrace of Rosemi’s magic almost enough to make Petra burst into tears right then. Selen moved forward, moving so silently under the weight of her armor as if she were some angel of death, broadsword lifted up and coming down brutally on the almost parasitic pulsing mass that swelled on the wolf’s shoulder. It was removed in one fell swoop, falling onto the ground wetly as the wolf collapsed beside it, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Selen breathed heavily, still gripping her sword tightly as she whirled around, about to say something to Petra when Rosemi shouted, “There’s more coming!”
It was like a horrible warped symphony of growls and snarls, more creatures descending from the darkness with horrible tumors growing on their bodies that radiated foul, necrotic energy. Not all were wolves, Petra noted with some despair as she saw the faint silhouettes of human-like figures, stumbling forward alongside the wolves with what seemed to be a bear and an owlbeast.
“We gotta go!” Selen dashed back, already sheathing her blade and snatching up Petra in a bridal carry, apologizing with the rogue hissed at the jostling of her injured leg.
They ran like death was chasing after them, which was accurate considering what was in fact chasing them. Rosemi cast the occasional spell behind them, trying to slow the horde down, but after a few minutes of that Petra saw the sheen of sweat and the shadowy tinge that came from mana sickness. But they carried on, until the cracks and splintering of trees and undergrowth faded away, the area before them suddenly giving way to a wide open meadow.
It was too peaceful for what had just happened; the grass green and vibrant, the sky a robin’s egg blue with two bright suns like egg yolks in the center. Selen gasped for breath, her shoulders trembling from the strain of carrying Petra for a ten minute sprint, but she still didn’t put the rogue down. Rosemi had to help their paladin forward, groaning under the weight of Selen leaning on her as they moved towards the dusty road in the distance. Behind them, the forest’s grasp and menace diminished the further they got.
They set up camp silently by the road, Selen setting Petra down against a fallen log with a warning to not get up, one that the rogue listened to albeit grudgingly. Rosemi gathered up a few sticks and twigs, setting them ablaze with a spark of magic before sitting down next to Petra. She looked horrible, her build not meant for all out sprints in uneven terrain such as a forest. Shadows as dark as bruises were under Rosemi’s eyes, her skin pale and sallow as her hands trembled.
With Rosemi too weakened to do much else, Selen took up the task of fully setting up; their bedrolls being laid out on the plush grass as Petra and Rosemi watched, their armor and gear sitting next to Petra for safekeeping. Evening began to fall when all was done, Selen looking worse for wear as she collapsed on the ground with a thump, the stress from everything taking its toll after much delay.
“Are you guys okay?” Petra croaked out, finally noticing how dry her mouth was, and how the pain in her leg had turned into a no-less worrying numbness.
“You’re an idiot,” Selen growled out, not looking at Petra and staring into the depths of the flame, feeding it occasionally with a stick or two.
“Hey-” Petra protested, but Rosemi interrupted, voice entirely too weak for Petra’s liking.
“I wouldn’t call you an idiot Petra,” Rosemi took a deep breath, taking a sip of water as Selen reached over to rub her shoulder comfortingly. “But what you did was rather…”
“Stupid. It was stupid,” Selen finally looked at Petra, eyes stormy with anger and no small amount of fear. “I could have tanked that.”
“Not if it went for your head,” Petra said, crossing her arms and trying her best to withhold with a wince from the twinging in her ribs.
“That isn’t the point, Petra,” Rosemi said gently, hand resting on Petra’s tensed bicep. “Selen has much stronger armor than you, an attack from a wolf like that wouldn’t have done much to her.”
“But to you-” Selen bit her lip, looking back into the depths of the fire. “That could have killed you.”
There was silence as Petra struggled to come up with an argument, but she couldn’t find one, not when Rosemi looked at her with the saddest expression and Selen didn’t even acknowledge her existence as she sat there.
“I’m sorry,” Petra said, looking down at where Rosemi’s pale hand rested on her arm gently, like a drop of dew on a flower petal.
Her hand was marked with callouses from holding her staff, from the hand-to-hand training she did with Selen sometimes when they were bored and goofing off, a roughness to her hands that didn’t seem right for a healer but seemed right for Rosemi. Petra uncoiled her form, reaching up to take Rosemi’s hand in apology.
“I’m sorry,” Petra repeated, resting her forehead on Rosemi’s shoulder as Selen scooted closer, the paladin’s hand nestling into the small of her back.
“It’s alright,” and Petra could hear Rosemi’s smile as she said it, her faint flowery sweetness like a cloud around her head. “Can I heal your leg now?”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Selen agreed, Petra lifting her head to blearily watch the two shift about, Selen rooting through their gear for their medical kit.
“This is going to hurt a little,” Rosemi whispered, as she rolled up Petra’s discarded cape and settled it under her leg to raise it up.
“I trust you,” Petra said, her words slurring a little as her head throbbed, her tongue a stone in her mouth. Rosemi’s brow furrowed, Selen moving a bit faster as she came over.
Petra hissed as they started cutting the fabric of her pants away from the wound, the dark drool having solidified into an almost glue-like substance that stunk of death and decay.
“Sorry,” Selen whispered, uncharacteristically soft, her sharp edges smoothing out as her palm rested gently on Petra’s thigh as Rosemi worked with the sterilized dagger.
Petra shot her a weak smile, taking Selen’s hand and squeezing it tightly as Rosemi worked. It got colder as time went on, Selen nestling closer to Petra’s side when she started shivering. Petra’s head ached and her leg pulsed with pain, soothed slightly by Rosemi’s warm healing magic radiating from her hands. The gashes on her leg, now uncovered and clean of dirt and grime, mended themselves, melting away into nothing but scar tissue, leaving only a dull pain that could be compared to a small papercut.
“Thank you, Rosemi,” Petra said, slightly loopy and grinning dopily at her friends, pressing a sloppy kiss to Rosemi’s cheek.
She didn’t see how Rosemi’s cheeks flushed in a blush, instead lurching forward and trying to stand until Selen stopped her.
“What are you doing?” Selen asked, half laughing as she led Petra over to her bedroll and laid her down gently.
Petra pouted and reached out her arms, making grabby gestures at Selen and Rosemi. “Cuddles,” She whined, patting the ground to either side of her.
Selen made a face as Rosemi laughed, the healer already pulling her bedroll over to Petra’s and laying next to her, faces already enveloped by the shadows of the night.
“I’ll take the first watch,” Selen said gruffly, sitting down next to the pair as close as she dared, a bit of space between them that Petra bridged with a pleading gaze.
Rosemi was already falling asleep, arm draped across Petra’s side and pulling her in closer, mumbling something about flowers as she snored. It looked warm in the space they had made for Selen, and the area around them was clear enough that Selen figured that if anyone got close they would hear them in time. So she lay next to them, thankful for her bulk as she pulled them both into her chest, curling around the both of them as Petra nuzzled into her chest with a pleased hum.
And it didn’t rain at all.