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"C'mere' Scott'" Pearl sang, striding after him. She wasn't trying too hard to catch up with him—she didn't even know what exactly she'd do when she got close.
"What if I don't want to?" he challenged, scampering just out of reach. Pearl's wolf, Fairie, flanked his left, driving him away from the forest and closer to the cliff. "How about you let me go, huh, Pearl? That way we both win." He smiled wide, teeth flashing in the light, accent thickening.
"You know I can't do that, Scott," she called.
"Of course you can," he fired back. "How about this?" He stopped, unsheathing his sword. Fairie loped closer, head bowed in a low growl. "How much do you care about your dog? If it dies, do you care?" He stepped closer to the wolf.
Pearl watched, assessing her odds. "Are you sure you want to do that? The dog dies, you die."
"Hm, I'm willing to take my chances." He switched to his bow. notching an arrow with expert fingers, pointing directly towards Pearl's heart. She paused.
"Fairie, si--"
The arrow flew.
She immediately knew it was a misfire. The arrow thudded into her arm, lacking the power to go up to the shaft. She pulled it out quickly, already looking to see Fairie lunging and Scott raising his sword.
"No!" she cried, unsure of who she was commanding.
Fairie sunk her teeth into Scott's ribs, ripping and tearing away at the skin. Blood soaked the fabric of his jacket, bright red that would never wash out properly. Pearl was too far away to do anything. She watched helplessly as Scott raised his sword, teeth gritted in pain, and brought it down on Fairie's head. The wolf fell back with a yelp that sounded eerily like scream, stumbling before collapsing. Dirt puffed up around her body, crimson watering the ground.
She stumbled to her knees at Scott's side. He lay on the ground, abdomen torn beyond recognition. Her hands hovered over the carnage, searching for some way to help. There was no way she could stop the bleeding. The hole was too big, too much skin lost to Fairie's attack.
"Shit, shit, shit." Pearl pressed down on the wound, blood slick between her fingers. "You can't—you can't do this," she seethed through her teeth.
Under her, Scott smiled sadly. His face was drawn and pale from blood loss and pain. "It's okay, Pearl. Let me go. You could win."
"I'm not—" Pearl cursed again as a spurt of blood warmed her hands. "You can't do this, Scott," she repeated instead. "This could be yours. I don't…" Did she have a healing potion or something nearby? A golden apple? She risked removing a hand to pat down her cloak. Nothing useful.
Scott winced. He looked terrible, hair disheveled and clothes rumpled. She supposed there wasn't much time for general upkeep when you were being hunted, but he was always so perfect.
His hand reached up to cup her face. "I'm not sorry, Pearl. You deserve this," he whispered.
His body loosened, tension leaking from his stiff form. The warmth of his hand fell away, landing on the ground with a dull sound she associated with death. Pearl choked back a sob, pressing harder on the torn section of his abdomen.
"No, no, no," she whispered, a whine crawling into her voice. "Scott, you stupid—you—" Her throat closed. "I need you," she mouthed. "I still needed you," she mouthed again, face collapsing on itself. Weight pulled on her shoulders, the gravity of another unintentional death hovering behind her head like a spector.
As she watched, the body began to dissolve and Pearl's hand fell through, landing on flattened grass. She looked on as smoke crawled over his body, leaving nothing in it's wake. The blood on her hands lifted into little white wisps, rising to the air and dissipating. The last thing to go was his face, glossy, blank eyes staring at the sky.
Pearl stayed there, quiet tears rolling down her cheeks. There was nothing left of him, not even the impersonal spread of dropped items. Broken gasps filled the silence in the lack of his presence, Pearl's chest heaving as she tried to breathe.
A skeleton rattled and instinct dragged her up, carrying her to some semblance of safety. She spent the night huddled in a corner of her base, Fairie's scream replaying in her mind.
Did Scott deserve forgiveness? Did he deserve Pearl's grief and attention? She didn't know. She didn't particularly care. What was done was done and tomorrow was another day to try again.