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It was a woeful way to be woken up. Her head was being invaded by a myriad of needles that wanted to tear it up from the inside, the ground spinning underneath her, despite her knowing it was solid. Next to her, as her vision started to get less blurry, was Bennett, seemingly lifeless but still breathing, with how pale he was due to laying in a pool of his own blood. He faced the brunt of the blow; and a sudden truth dawned on Fischl as she observed the crevices of his roughened face, that faced so much.
He was always the unlucky one, the one who everyone seemed to hate despite his happy outlook on life. As toxic as that may be, Bennett was the scapegoat of the entire town, no matter what actually happened. So when he asked her to come with him on an adventure, for the first time in her life she felt genuine pity. Fischl was just as outcasted as he was, however, she had one true friend in her bird companion, and that was enough.
He didn’t have anyone of the sort.
Knowing he revered her by hearing it through the grapevine, she went with him. However, looking at Bennett's face was chilling. Even the fact, that as she turned over to gently graze his cheek, just to see if he could react to such a touch, he did not rouse in panic, yet mirth, was telling. He would have gladly given his life if it had meant she would accept him. If she would just be his friend. He would not shy away from any blow, no matter how devastating, for the sole reason of being loved.
"Hey." Bennett cracked his signature smile, giving a weak thumbs up. "You okay?"
Fischl silently nodded her head. "But you aren't."
"Nah," his voice was as airy as the winds of their hometown, "this is nothing."
Fischl didn't know what to say to that. He would never change, she realized, and she would not be responsible for the loss his fathers would face by putting him in these situations. So, she watched the smile drop from his face as she retracted her hand and quietly whispered:
"Maybe it would have been better if I had stayed away from you."