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"Faust..! Faust… where is he… where did he go… why did he run from Leno… why did he run from me…?"
It had felt like eons since his execution. Lycoris had been there that day, she had seen all that occurred. Since then, Lycoris had been worried. She knew he had survived, she knew Lennox had saved him.
But then why. Why was she alone again? Why was she out in the middle of the forest, lost? She could be home, with her family, her dreadful, suppressive family… not out here, unable to defend herself.
A rustle came from behind, startling the poor girl. She froze, looking behind her.
There was nothing.
“The wind… just the wind… it’s fine, it’s fine… Perhaps a squirrel, perhaps a fox, it’s nothing. I’m stronger than a squirrel, I’m stronger than a fox. I can handle it.” She mumbled to herself, wanting to tell herself she'll be fine.
Again, she heard a rustle, this time to her left.
"It's fine, it's just an animal, it's nothing that can hurt me…" She mumbled this to herself repeatedly. Whatever was in the bush seemed to be circling around, the rustling becoming louder.
"U..uh… hm, what should I do… uhh... p-《Parigoria Silenti》!" She shouted in the direction she had last heard the noise. Floating up, now restrained by invisible strings, was a wolf.
"D-doggy… it's fine, it's just a puppy… nothing to be scared of… nothing at all." She slowly backed away as she spoke, obviously frightened. She took a step back, but collided with something. Someone. She heard an annoyed groan and looked up. Above her was a familiar face. Annoyed, but familiar.
"F-Faust! It's you! I found you! It is you right? You aren't someone else pretending to be him?? Right??" She turned around, forgetting immediately about the wolf she had just bound. Faust looked down at her, putting a hand on her head and ruffling her hair a bit while shaking his head and sighing.
"Regrettably, it's me. Why did you come out here all alone? It's dangerous in the valley, you could very easily get yourself hurt. I know you are able to fight, if only for my sake, but you are obviously terrified."
"Because, I missed you. Leno and I both were looking for you, but I split off on my own… got worried. Oh so very worried about you..."
"Reckless… oh well. Come with me, Lycoris. You'll be safe with me." A small smile graced his lips as he put an arm around Lycoris. She nodded a response as he led her to the place he had been hiding away in, his small home in the Valley of Storms.
The strings that had previously captured the wolf disappeared as the pair left, causing the poor thing to fall back down into the bush it was hiding in. The sound surprised Lycoris, causing her to look back for a moment.
"Come in, let's get you cleaned up." Faust opened the door for Lycoris, letting her in. "I can get you some clothes to wear until we make some new ones for you… Those can't be comfortable." He looked at Lycoris' ragged clothing. The fabric had been frayed and torn almost to tatters in the time it took to find Faust. It looked horrible.
"Huh..? New clothes? Yes, I suppose I'd need those… I am cold." Lycoris walked inside, looking around. The house was small, obviously made for one person. It made sense, Faust was never expecting to have company. And yet here he was, a woman he had only known from the revolution and befriended on his doorstep. He could manage, there could be worse people to have around, and she was another wizard, making it all the better.
The pair could manage. They were already friends, after all.