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Katzleins don’t cry.
At least, that was what Diona liked to assume. They were strong; her family was strong; she was strong. She was okay. Everything was okay.
Diona drew her knees closer to herself and repressed a shiver. In the dark of night, she hid within the bushes, and tears escaped her eyes, making the sight of the prowling wolves blurry to her. She shouldn’t sob, though. She shouldn’t move at all. She shouldn’t say anything at all. They might hear her if she did. She hugged her legs tighter and buried her face in her legs, curling her tail tightly around her feet. Everything was okay.
A low growl crackled through the air like thunder. She saw a dark, bony face look up and almost look straight at her, its dark golden eyes and mane glowing in the darkness. It floated just above the ground’s surface, its long black claws hanging there, ready to strike.
She was in Wolvendom, but these were not Wolvendom’s wolves. These were Riftwolves, Diona was aware. She knew about their invasion, even though she hardly saw any herself before today.
This “wolf” edged closer to Diona’s hiding spot, and for a moment, she stopped breathing. Then, it turned away, looking elsewhere. It didn’t leave, though. It just kept prowling around, its companions not far behind. Were they looking for her? They didn’t know she was here, right? Diona hated hiding, but she didn’t know what else to do. There was no way she could take on a whole group of them alone like this. Maybe she could take on one of them alone (she was a really good archer, just like any hunter should be), but she couldn’t possibly imagine winning that fight against them all. She wasn’t strong enough. Not even…not even…
Not even her dad could win that.
Diona shivered from her neck to the base of her spine. She didn’t want to think about it, but she just couldn’t stop. And the more she thought about it, the more she kept crying, like a child. She wasn’t a child. At least, she wasn’t a baby, anyways. She should be way stronger than this.
Her daddy didn’t come home tonight. It wasn’t the first time that had happened. Sometimes, he would just be out on the hunt until much later than he said he would be. Other times, he would pass out drunk somewhere. Tonight, she waited for a long while before deciding that it was time to go look for him. She was used to him being out for days at a time for a hunt, sometimes, but she was supposed to know when that happened. She wasn’t that far out the door before she ran into some of the other hunters, the sight of them confirming to her that he wasn’t just on a big hunting party that he forgot to tell her about. They said he was out in the Wolvendom area, and that he should’ve been back by now, but apparently, he was still out hunting. They weren’t that worried, but Diona wanted to go find him, anyways. What if he got drunk out there? Or maybe even, got into trouble with the wolves? She knew that the wolf pack and Springvale didn’t always have the best relationship, since their hunting grounds overlapped and all that. Or maybe, more likely, he ran into some monsters and got hurt?
Her daddy was strong and could handle any danger at all, as long as he wasn’t drunk. Diona just needed to go find out if he was or is he wasn’t. She needed to lay eyes on him. She needed to see him in person, so she could yell at him for making her worried, and then they would go home, and everything would be fine.
Diona wished it could have stayed that simple. She wished she could have kept telling herself that she was worrying for nothing, but that wasn’t what happened.
She saw the Riftwolves from afar, while walking through Wolvendom’s forest. She got quiet and came closer, taking advantage of her feline feet to step with absolute silence. There were five of them, gathered around each other, as if looking at something. What were they doing? Diona crept closer, and then, half-buried in the leaves, she saw it.
It was a broken bow, a hunter’s bow. The style was plain and standard to just about every hunter in Springvale, but that didn’t make it anonymous to her. Picking it up gently and observing it, she knew it by the shade of oaken brown, by the little nicks and scrapes on the edges, by the weathering marks. This was her dad’s bow.
She heard a noise from one of the Riftwolves. It turned slowly, as if looking at her. It drifted forward. In that moment, Diona dashed behind a tree to hide. In that same moment, she caught a glimpse of a scene that would haunt her memories forever.
There was blood on the ground, where those Riftwolves were. It was smeared on the trees, too, accompanied by deep claw marks ripping through the bark. Blood also left a streak across the face of the Riftwolf currently coming straight for her.
It spotted her with a loud growl, lunging for the spot where she stood with a swipe of its claws. Diona had to run away full tilt just to dodge it. In the flurry of the moment, she summoned her bow and fired a round of icy shots at its face, but now, the others were alerted, and she was too scared to stand there and fight.
She ran away. She ran away, and now, here she was, hiding in the bushes in a fetal position, unable to do anything but hope they would go away. She prayed to Barbatos that they would just go away.
She also hoped beyond hope that she didn’t see what she thinks she just saw. She couldn’t stand the thought of it. Her daddy was out here, but she never found him. All she found was his bow and…and blood. He…he couldn’t be…could he?
Could he be…dead?
No, no, NO! Diona refused to believe it. Her daddy was a great hunter. He wouldn’t get eaten by wolves, not even dark ugly wolves like these. He could do anything, unless he was drunk. That was always the problem with him. That is, unless there was something else, like a monster, maybe, or a storm…
Diona’s mind echoed back to that one day, the first day that she decided to take matters into her own hands and get her daddy back herself rather than just waiting for him. There was a terrible thunderstorm that day, one that lasted three whole days with him still missing. Even the Knights sent search parties, but they didn’t find him. So, Diona went out there herself. She was terrified, she remembered. She kept thinking of all the terrible things that might have happened, but she kept going anyways, and she found him. She got her Vision that very same day.
If she was honest, she actually hated that, sometimes. Having ice powers was cool and all, but too many times, just looking at the thing made her think of that day. The day when she was drenched to the bone and shivering from the rain, hardly able to see a thing and suddenly feeling much too small for those woods, that fear growing in the pit of her stomach that she might have just lost the one parent she had left.
Back then, that one stubborn thought of ‘I have to save him’ kept her going. Now, this time was feeling a lot like that time, but her own fear anchored her in place. She had to go back and find his trail again, but…
She didn’t know what to do, except to find some way to stop crying. Maybe she could find a way to escape and not get noticed by the Riftwolves, or…?
And then, Diona heard noises.
Her ears perked up, wondering what that was. It was like someone running, and then firing a…
“Let it rain!”
An arrow on fire. Lots of them, actually. They dropped from the sky and onto the wolves, who erupted into a fight immediately afterwards. Diona felt whiplash. Quickly, she dried her tears, even though she remained fixed in place. Did someone actually come?
“Over here! It’s Diona!”
Noelle approached her quickly, then reaching out her hand in a gentle gesture as if she were a cat. “Diona, are you alright? It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
Behind Noelle, Diona saw those knights Amber and Eula thick in the battle with the Riftwolves, fighting in perfect sync. “But, how?” she said out loud. “A-And I’m fine, thank you very much!” she added with slight offense, taking Noelle’s offered hands and finally leaving her hiding spot.
“We knew you went out here alone and haven’t returned,” Noelle said. “Your neighbors were concerned, so we sent out a search party. We—”
Noelle was cut off short with a Riftwolf noticing them and coming for them. Embarrassingly, Diona hid behind Noelle. A second afterwards, before it could get to them, Noelle threw up her shield. “Stay by me!” she said. The wolf crashed into the Geo shield but bounced off.
The battle didn’t last long. One by one, the monsters fell, and then, they were left alone. Diona’s feelings were a confused mangle. She was immensely grateful for the rescue, still shocked and reeling over how they just showed up so quickly, but also, she knew she wasn’t done yet. “My daddy—Draff!” she told them quickly. “He’s in this forest. We have to hurry and find him!” Please let him be out there please let him be out there
“Oh, Draff?” Amber responded. “Don’t worry! He’s in the Cathedral now. He’s hurt, but it’s okay; the Sisters are treating him.”
In the…cathedral? Diona’s heart quickened. “He’s…he’s okay?” Her voice trembled as she spoke.
“Yes, of course!” Amber assured her with a smile.
“What do you mean ‘of course’!?” Diona spat back, her great well of emotion suddenly manifesting in great offense. “There’s Riftwolves here! I saw Daddy’s broken bow! I saw blood! I thought something had happened to him! I thought he was eaten!”
“Oh,” Amber spoke slowly, eyes suddenly wide with horror. “Oh, Diona… I’m so sorry…”
“Stop! It’s…it’s just…” Diona shook, arms straight as a rod against her sides. “Please tell me. He’s okay, right?” If they were just telling her things to make her feel better…
“He was attacked by Riftwolves, just as you said,” Eula told it plainly. “He’s badly injured, but he will recover. Some of the blood you saw could have been from the wolves, however. The real wolves, not the Abyssal ones. They had a skirmish here. However, you should know—as far as we have observed, the Riftwolves do not need meat as sustenance. They never eat their kills. Therefore, if your father was dead, you would expect to see the body. If he was moved, there would have likely been a more distinct trail of blood and entrails.”
“Uh, Eula…!?” Amber spoke quietly, making rapid-fire scissor-slide motions across her throat as if telling her to stop talking now.
Hmph. As if Diona couldn’t see them clearly or understand what they were saying or something when they were standing right there.
“Oh, yes,” Eula conceded with a note of realization. “My apologies.”
“Diona, how about we get you back?” Noelle offered. “We should move quickly, before any others show up.”
Diona finally reunited with her daddy that night (although at this point, it was practically morning). He was in a sick bed, with bandages everywhere, but he was talking to her. He was okay.
For the final time that night, Diona found herself once again crying freely, no strength left to hold it back. He was going to be alright. She didn’t lose him, not today. Everything was going to be alright.