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Chapter 3

Light seeped into the forested hillside like liquid amber, illuminating the curved tops of trees and uniting the land with a cloudless sky. This breathtakingly picturesque sunrise over the forest was what Rena had admired every day since she was a young girl. For a peace-loving elf, the mesmerising scenery was almost like a breath of surreal magic in what seemed to be a world of mindless bloodshed and politics.

With a trilling crescendo, the dawn chorus began, birds of the forest each warbling their own melody which interlaced with other tunes, creating a mellifluous consonance that echoed throughout the woodland and greeted the coming dawn. There was something she loved about this diurnal birdsong, the way they celebrated every passing day no matter the circumstances, the way they all sang something dissonant yet harmonious.

It was also a cue for Rena to awaken from her trance and begin the day.

Getting to her feet, she bounded from her lookout branch to the nearby shelter, her movements swift and practised. She swept aside the tangled layer of vines draping over the doorway and entered, making her way to Raven who looked tormented even deep in his sleep. He lay twitching on his back, mechanical limb steaming with dark rills of blood thickened around gashes that seemed to have re-opened from him thrashing around. She wanted him to rest longer, but his wounds had to be treated sometime soon in case of infection.

"Raven?" she asked tentatively.

He frowned but didn't seem to respond, much to Rena's disappointment. She wasn't too eager to physically shake him awake...his reaction would be unpredictable, most likely violent.

She was right.

The moment Rena laid a hand on his shoulder, he jerked awake and gripped her arm, twisting her wrist to flip her over and pin her down. His Nasod fist was hovering above her face in a split second, almost about to punch it into nothing more than an amorphous mass before his conscience overtook his battle reflexes just in time. The man rolled off her and apologised.

"It's...It's fine", Rena answered shakily as she stood up and dusted herself.

Raven noticed the uneasiness she was trying to conceal and showed her a wry smile. "Old habits just die hard."

She nodded and pursed her lips. "Yeah. It wasn't your fault."

He gave her a cold stare.

"Um...okay, let's get breakfast!"

Much to the man's horror, Rena's idea of breakfast was some kind of muesli and a pitcher of thick green liquid. He wondered if she originally had blonde hair that turned green because of her questionable diet but he decided to stick to logic and keep his mouth shut.

The assortment of dried raisins, nuts and granola wasn't too bad. It was simple, filling and about twenty times better than the viridescent concoction that Raven was more than eager to avoid.

"Aren't you going to drink it?" asked Rena, motioning at the full cup that lay untouched in front of him.

He glanced down at the crushed flecks of leaves suspended in the mixture, gulping when a bubble oozed its way to the foaming surface. "Uh...I just feel like water right now", he choked.

Rena pouted and downed the contents of the cup before rinsing it with the water from her canteen and storing it away. She sighed and tied her wavy, green hair into a high ponytail, peering at Raven out of one eye. "You know what we should do?"

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"Pick some berries!"

"You go do that."

"Aw come on, it'll be fun!" Rena attempted to persuade. "Besides, you want food for the next few days don't you?"

Raven had an intense look of disgust on his face. "Are you saying that we'll be eating berries for the next few days?"

"Well we're going foraging for berries, roots, edible leaves, the like. This forest is like a goldmine for leaves~"

"...that's because it's a forest."

Rena rolled her eyes. "Come on, you killjoy. Don't expect me to feed you for the next few days."

He groaned and attempted to get to his feet, wincing at a sudden nauseous feeling. He suspected it was due to his loss of blood. He was in a frustratingly weak state and it angered him that there was nothing he could do about it.

Rena pushed him back into a sitting position and tutted. "I need to clean up your cuts. They've dried up now but it seems like you were wriggling around too much last night~"

She pulled out a cotton swab from her nearby first aid satchel and poured some cloudy liquid onto it. Raven mentally braced himself for the stinging sensation that would follow but he could only feel the gentle pressure of her fingers and the relieving feel of dried crusts of blood unsticking from his skin. His taut muscles relaxed and he closed his eyes slightly, listening to Rena's quiet humming and the whispering of the wind blowing through the forest. He felt strangely at ease, peaceful, even if he was currently completely vulnerable to someone who seemed like she could be a formidable opponent.

"Okay, all done", she sang, "They should be healing in no time!"

"Thanks."

Rena smiled at him kindly in response to his gratitude and for a moment he saw Seris in her place. Seris...she had such a beautiful smile...

"Raven?" the lady called after noticing him staring at her, his eyes clouded with an emotion that was unmistakably remorse.

He frowned. "Let's just get this berry-picking thing over and done with."

"Well alright then, no need to be so eager all of a sudden. Follow me!" Rena leapt out the door and plummeted through the air onto a bough below. He looked down, watching her first land lightly on her feet then tumble down the tree as if she were a practised acrobat.

Raven suddenly felt very much like a heavy brick.

Although it was possible to make his way down by clambering along the branches, it would undoubtedly be a painfully slow process and he had already noticed an alternative method to reach the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Raven edged his way across the outside of the shelter then jumped, feeling himself fly through the air momentarily before he tightly gripped onto a cord-like vine. He slid down, feeling the wind rush in his face and the return of a long-lost sense of exhilaration. But it was short-lived; the vine tapered off unexpectedly and he felt himself free-falling through the air. Flailing around desperately, he tried to grab onto the nearest branch but his body was still weak and unable to respond.

Perhaps Raven would have unceremoniously turned into a grisly pancake if Rena had not swept him up and carried him to the ground where she softly sat him down.

"That wasn't necessary", he grumbled when he finally caught his breath.

The lady chuckled. "I know you don't like people saving you but that's not the way to thank someone."

"I know you don't like people doing things for you but that's not the way to thank someone!" Seris pouted as she shoved him playfully.

Raven scoffed, "What, should I bow down and present you with a bouquet of roses?"

"Yep!" The blonde girl giggled and linked her arm through his, "Bright, red roses!"

Bright red liquid pooled around her dead body.

"-over my dead body!"

"Oh I will get what I want, Raven. Too bad you won't be there to see it", Alex laughed mockingly.

The enraged man lunged at him bare-handed, landing a solid punch to his smug face but stopping short when he felt the sharpened tip of a blade graze his cheek.

"Don't you see, brother? I have a sword and you have nothing."

Raven stood up, glaring at Rena with iridescent golden eyes. "Nothing!"

She took several steps back. "Nothing?"

"Nothing! You left me with nothing!" he yelled.

"I didn't-"

"Don't even try to-"

"Stop, Raven! Stop!"

The man bared his teeth and growled like a rabid wolf.

Rena took another step back. "How did I leave you with nothing?"

"You turned me into a monster! You stole my life from me and...and Seris!"

Seris

Rena thought carefully. "Seris meant something to you, didn't she?"

"Something? She meant more to me than you'll ever know, you filthy bastard, "

She tested him, curious. "But your Seris is never coming back."

"Not since-"

He lunged at her with his steaming arm outstretched, body quivering with anger.

"Not since I killed her", he muttered darkly, his tone heavy with remorse.

Rena dodged his attack and gasped, unable to conceal her horror. "You killed her?"

His eyes narrowed and a roar scraped its way up his throat. "YOU DARE MOCK ME NOW?"

His cold claw scraped at Rena's skin as he caught her off-guard and swiped faster than she had ever seen someone move before, even in her many years of combat experience. For the first

time she felt that her life was on the line, and a very thin one at that.

She stepped backwards, one careful foot at a time as Raven slowly made his way towards her like a predator closing in on his prey.

"There's no point in running, Alex."

Rena continued to back away and her eyes darted desperately from left to right to see if there was any means of escape. But there was none. She noticed the cord-like muscles in his neck tense not a second too soon before he launched a barrage of attacks that barely missed her for the surrounding trees, several already toppling to the ground as they were completely sawed through. It was then she realised his hair had quickly transformed from its usual black through to a bleached white, his eyes glowing unnaturally with sheer fury. At what, she wanted to know.

But she had to worry about saving her own life first.

"STOP RUNNING AND DIE!" Raven landed several blows on her and rammed his shoulder into her stomach, leaving her winded, momentarily paralysed, and helpless as he slammed her into the ground. Rena felt her body being crushed under his weight and heard the jagged fingers of his metal claw grinding against each other with a harsh screech, itching to carry out his revenge. He raised his fist, about to end her life in one unrelenting final strike.

"Wait, Raven!" she coughed out, choking on what could be her last breath of air. She tried so hard to make her next words sound as genuine and tender as possible. "I love you."

He stared at her, the frenzied look in his eyes gradually dissipating and his hair visibly returning to its usual charcoal colour. The conflicted emotions inside of him were evident on his face as what had just occurred and who he had actually attacked dawned on him, which seemed to prove too much for his mind to come to terms with. Raven's eyelids began to droop and he collapsed on top of her with a thud.

Hope you enjoyed it!

In case you haven't figured out by now, all those line breaks and whatnot are supposed to provide flashbacks and the scattered nature of them are supposed to represent Raven's confused and tormented mental state.

If it doesn't make sense and is just over-complicated in a stupid way, please let us know! Sometimes an author becomes too familiar with their work and forgets what it's like from the audience's POV, y'know?

Thanks and see you in the next chapter!

- Izzy & Ducky