tbh at this point I have no idea if this is actually gonna be a romance

Review replies:

Giggieba: Nahh I named Orion after a preschooler at my church, his name doesnt mean anything that I havent made up

Bookkeeper: I refuse to confirm or deny that statement

LPK9: *fingerguns*

When Olivia woke up, she found herself curled up on the ground and swaddled in warmth.

Pushing herself up, the brunette reached out to find herself covered by a thin blanket. Brushing it aside, she reached down to investigate her torn and aching feet, and found them wrapped firmly in bandages.

Huh. Had she done this?

The last day (or so?) was a blur, she remembered being rescued by the stranger and following him to this cave to hide. Beyond that, not much.

"Hero?" She croaked out, sitting up and tucking the blanket around her legs. There was no response. Her throat was insanely dry, she noted as she swallowed. How long had it been since she had water? Or food, for that matter? Not since the attack, for certain, which was… maybe a day or two now.

Pressing a hand against the ground, Olivia pushed herself up, letting out a soft groan as she shifted her weight onto her aching legs. She needed to find some water. Dehydration would kill her a lot faster than starvation would.

Snatching up the blanket, Olivia wrapped it around her shoulders, then started to wobble her way towards the exit of the cave. She kept one hand raised in front of her, the other holding the blanket, to ensure she didn't smash face-first into a wall. Following the sounds of the forest, she managed to limp out of the cave and onto the grass once more.

Holding her breath, she stopped and listened, searching for any sound that even resembled flowing water. Nothing. If there was a stream or river nearby, the sound was masked by the wind that danced through the trees above her.

Shoulders slumping, Olivia stepped back, sinking back down onto the stone. She really was helpless, now. Lost in the wilderness with no supplies or a sense of direction, wholly dependent on a stranger who may or may not have her best interests at heart. If she did strike out to try and find food and/or water on her own, she would most likely get lost and end up eaten by a zombie before Hero could find her. She hated being the recipient of pity, but even she pitied herself right now.

She heard footsteps crunch in the grass, and Hero's presence appeared once more.

"Olivia?" She lifted her head at the sound of his voice, and he let out a breath. "You're awake."

"Yeah." She rasped. "Do you have- water?"

"I do, here." The hollow sound of a leader boot on stone echoed through the cave behind her, and she held still as the man lowered himself beside her and pressed a bottle into her waiting hand.

"Th'nk you." Releasing her death grip on the blanket, Olivia tugged the cork out of the mouth of the bottle and took a long, slow sip of the sweet water. Immediately, her body felt better, less like she was about to crumble and blow away in the wind, and she downed the contents of the bottle before replacing the cork.

She offered the empty bottle back to Hero, who still knelt beside her, then spoke.

"What are we going to do now?"

"Do?" He echoed, taking the bottle and getting back to his feet. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, this isn't your plan for forever, is it?" Olivia scrambled up beside him, only to grit her teeth at the pain in her lower body. "Live in a cave in the middle of nowhere? And my family, I have to- have to do something, I don't know what whats-his-face wants with them but I know he's a few sandwiches shy of a picnic and-"

"Olivia." Hero interrupted. "What can we do? You've seen- that is, you're aware of his forces. We're just two people. What can we possibly do against him?" Olivia's mouth opened, then closed. A million daring plans flashed through her mind, plans to rescue her mother, find Isaac, and send Orion crawling back to the swamp he came from, but each one was so far-fetched that she dismissed them in an instant. He was right.

"Well we can't just stand here." She managed at last. "We have to do something."

"Like what?" Hero challenged. "Even without his men, Orion is a nightmare to behold. We can't. They are at his mercy. I'm sorry, but that's simply the way it is."

"What about me?" Olivia snapped back. "You rescued me! You took out two zombies like it was nothing! Why can't you help the others?!"

"Rescuing one girl, alone and divided from the rest of the pack, is far simpler than taking on an army of zombies and skeletons." His voice was low, almost a growl. "Besides, I've told you already that I am not welcome among the others of your kind."

"The Nether do you mean 'your kind'? Humans? Are you not human?!"

"How should I know?" Hero spat. "They don't seem to think so." Olivia stopped. She didn't have a coherent response to that.

"Your eyes." She managed after a moment. "That's it? Your eyes are different, and people hate you?"

"Yes." He replied bitterly.

"What about your family?"

"I don't have one."

"...oh." Her thoughts flitted to the concept of her not having a family, and her heart ached. "...I'm going back to help them."

"That is suicide." Hero's voice was stone-cold and firm. "You will be in an unfamiliar area, surrounded by unseen enemies, who by now will have orders to kill you on sight. How can you even suggest such a thing?"

"My family is all I have left, isn't it?" She protested. "They destroyed Preosan City, right? My home, my city, they're gone. My brother might be d-dead." Her voice hitched, and she pushed forward. "I'm not going to stand by and let them kill my mother."

"You would let them kill you first?"

"I'm not defenseless!"

"But you are at a disadvantage." A firm hand grasped her shoulder, and though she jerked away he wouldn't let go. "You are outnumbered 500 to 1. Let me reiterate- this is suicide."

"Maybe." She grabbed his hand and pushed it away, a stubborn note in her voice. "But maybe a world without my family isn't one worth living in." Her mind made up, Olivia spun around, facing the trees. Letting the blanket drop from her shoulders, she marched forward into the grass, one arm raised in front of her to keep her from walking face-first into a tree.

She only made it two steps before Hero called out after her.

"Wait!" She stopped in her tracks - more from the fear of hitting a tree than his words, but regardless. "I'll help you."

"Really?" She frowned back at him. "Whatever happened to 'suicide mission'?"

"We are not running straight into their camp and being struck down by zombies." His tone left no room for argument. "No- we need to take out the ringleader."

"I thought he was too powerful to behold or whatever."

"With our current knowledge of him, taking him on ourselves would be unwise." Hero agreed. "But Orion is a being of myths - and a legendary individual, as you might guess, is chronicled in the legends." Footsteps followed her, off the stone and into the grass. "So the legends is where we will go." Olivia was silent for a few moments, aware of his presence directly behind her.

"...yeah I don't actually know what that means."

"It means we need to do some research." Taking her by the wrist, Hero turned and began to lead her back to her left. "Come. We are going to Ikaisal."

"Can we afford to just leave them here?" Olivia protested, but didn't resist. She was perfectly aware she had no other option.

"If we attack now, we die, and they are left at the mercy of Orion." Hero responded simply. "This gives them the highest chance of survival."

"Mm." Olivia cocked her head, focusing for a moment on the sounds of nature around the cave which had provided her shelter for a night.

I'm coming, mom.