Four Drowned Leaves

by Gazara12

One small misstep was all it took for Uesugi Fuutarou to lose his footing – and drag the woman he loved into the depths with him. Now, he has only one goal - keeping them both alive. An isekai. Spoilers for chapter 114. A Fuu/Yots fic.

3. Evacuation

Chapter 3:

Evacuation

With the flames of what had once been Foryth Eldi flickering behind them, the four plunged into the depths of the forest, orange-lit brambles giving way to murky greenery, details hidden in the fog of night. Adrenaline pounded through their veins, muscles screamed under duress, and branches whipped by, slashing Fuutarou in the face at least twice. Nevertheless, the desperate dash away from the vortex of death and destruction they had once called home carried them far into the darkness.

Finally, after what felt like years of running, they slowly came to a halt.

"This... is safe. Probably," Fuutarou said, panic and fear degrading his grammar.

Kora immediately lowered Gryf to the ground with the help of Yotsuba, and then she herself collapsed. With her back against a tree and closed eyes, drawing in deep, raspy breaths that spoke to sheer exertion, she silently nodded.

They stayed like that for just the barest of moments. Then, three things happened at once.

Gryf let out a grunt of pain, and started panting.

Kora took one last deep breath, and then opened her eyes, and crawled over to her companion to begin the long process of attempting to provide treatment.

Fuutarou and Yotsuba both, independently, were overcome by waves of nausea. Yotsuba stumbled her way over through the shadowy darkness, and vomited into a bush - and moments later, Fuutarou followed suit a few metres away. The sight of jagged steel ripping flesh, tearing through guts, the smell of fear and shit and death - Fuutarou wasn't sure he would ever be able to wipe his mind clear of the stench for the rest of his life.

He weakly looked over at where Yotsuba was still hunched over a short distance away. He could barely see her in the moonlight, but what he could see made his heart skip a step. The blood and ash on her face were smearing in lines with the salty tears silently flowing down her face.

"Fuutarou," Kora said sharply. "I need your help."

In a daze, Fuutarou rose and stumbled over to Kora. With a quiet hum, a small glowing ball of light appeared overhead, illuminating the scene before him. Kora was splattered with blood and guts and ash, and her clothes were covered in lacerations, though her skin seemed mostly untouched. Below her, Gryf was starting to writhe on the ground. She had cut open his shirt, revealing the deep wound slightly below his rib cage on the left. The wound glistened in the faint light.

The thing that caught his attention the most, however, was the light in Kora's eyes. It was wild, untamed by the pleasantries of the modern life he had left behind. It made him tremble with fear. The girl before him was the Kora who had taught him to speak, who had laughed with him over meals, who had taught him the secret of magic, who had saved his life.

The girl before him was also the Kora that had just torn a man apart with her flames in a blinding rage. The blood splattered across her face and body was, by and large, not her own.

"Hold him down," she growled. "I can't work and keep him in place."

"Yes," Fuutarou said simply, grabbing a wrist and kneeling on it. The light immediately flickered out. "Yotsuba, come help me."

Yotsuba numbly rose from her crouched spot, and came over to hold Gryf's other arm. She didn't say a word, save for occasional grunts as she tried to hold Gryf in place. The large man was writhing in pain as Kora began to sing. The darkness was lit up as a bright light appeared at Kora's fingertip - a small flame, burning white hot, about ten centimetres in length.

"Hold tight. This is going to hurt like a bitch."

Kora took the flame, and applied it to Gryf's wound. The man screamed at the top of his lungs, desperately writhing, his muscle flexing underneath Fuutarou. It was all he could do to use his entire body-weight to keep Gryf's arm pinned. Yotsuba, who was lighter but also stronger, was having about an equally hard time.

The light of the torch coming from Kora's finger flickered as the flames licked the wound, burning skin, burning muscle, and burning hair. It briefly illuminated Yotsuba's face, tear-streaked and ashy, contorted with exertion as she desperately tried to keep her large friend from thrashing free. Gryf's pupils, occasionally lit up by the flare of the torch, were extremely dilated - when his eyes were open, that was. His legs kicked, but Kora had him straddled, and so he couldn't break free.

Kora's song was harsh, the notes tight and staccato. The stench of burning flesh filled the air, but eventually, after about twenty minutes, Kora stopped singing, and the scene faded to darkness, the only illumination the faint light of the moon.

"I've burned the wound shut. Now I can try to actually heal him."

Gryf had passed out from the pain, his body limp below them. Kora began to sing, her voice ragged from the twenty minutes that had preceded it, as well as dehydration from the headlong rush into the woods and the smoke. Nevertheless, a faint green light began to appear between her hands. By the faint glow it provided, the wound in Gryf's belly was illuminated. It was an ugly red, but it was at least closed now. The area was coated in dried blood and ash.

Yotsuba stood, retreating from the unconscious form below us, and went over to a nearby bush. Fuutarou could hear the sound of retching again, and his heart broke. He turned to look at Kora.

"Do you still need to hold?"

In the weak green light, he saw her shake her head, and so he rose in turn to follow after Yotsuba. Fuutarou found her huddled near the bush, her arms wrapped around her knees. Squatting down next to her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tight - and feeling her squared shoulders beneath his hands, her back pressed against his chest, he could feel his own fragile stability he'd managed to briefly recover begin to tremble under the weight to which it was being subjected.

"Uesugi-san..." she whispered, speaking at last. "I don't think... I don't think I can do this."

"You have to," he whispered back, pulling her even closer. "You have to. I can't... I can't lose you. Not here. Not ever. We promised to get through this together."

Yotsuba leaned in further, the wetness of her ash-stained tears wetting Fuutarou's shirt. Yotsuba's sobs racked through his body, and for a time he lost himself, his entire self focused on enveloping Yotsuba, protecting her, keeping her safe. The adrenaline and cortisol draining from his system left him exhausted, and his defences lowered. Finally, with the last semblance of stability torn away from him, Uesugi Fuutarou was left with nothing but the woods, the moon, the faint green light, and the woman he loved. Everything else had been stripped away, and his soul was laid bare.

Nevertheless, his own tears would not come.

They stayed like that for a long time, but eventually stillness came, and Yotsuba's cries reduced to soft whimpering. Fuutarou leaned down and kissed the top of Yotsuba's head, and then let out a quiet sigh.

"I have no idea what we'll do from here," he whispered, his voice cracking in the remnants of his tears. "I have no idea where we can go. I promised you we would survive, though. So... we're gonna survive."

Yotsuba looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the moonlight, and gave a small nod. Then she reached up and kissed him. It tasted of blood and ash and bile, but she was alive, and he was alive, and that was all that mattered in that moment.

The green light suddenly winked out, leaving the two of them in pitch darkness. Fuutarou began to hum softly, his voice creaking and complaining, and a small ball of light appeared again. He rose gently, disentangling himself from Yotsuba, and walked over to where the healing operation had spontaneously collapsed.

Kora was hunched up over Gryf, panting, sweat streaking the ash on her face.

"This... this is the worst," she growled, wiping the sweat away with her arm. "Granny tried to teach me more healing. I wouldn't listen. I... I wanted to play with fire instead. I'm a fucking idiot."

"Did the healing work?" Fuutarou asked softly.

"Only a little. I managed to stitch some of his insides together. Stabilized him a bit. But he needs more powerful healing than I can do. Granny could maybe have done it... but our speciality was never healing. We need someone stronger."

"Where can we get that?"

"Dunno," Kora said, shrugging exhaustedly. "Think maybe there's... a village. Maybe we can ask... I..."

Kora then slouched over, and slid off of Gryf, falling to the forest floor. Fuutarou immediately rushed over to check on her, and found with some relief that she was breathing fine; she had simply collapsed from exhaustion. Laying her gently down next to the still-unconscious Gryf, Fuutarou wearily turned to look at Yotsuba, who was staring at him with glassy eyes.

"I don't know what the hell to do," he croaked out. "I thought... I thought we could use Foryth Eldi as a base to learn about the world. Now... now I don't even know how we're going to survive."

Yotsuba stared at him for a moment, then did something he didn't expect: she reached her hands up, and slapped herself in the face, hard.

"The first thing we need to do is find water," she said with sudden confidence, shaking her head. "You've been here longer than I have, and spent more time in the forest. Do you know where there's a decent water source?"

Fuutarou thought back, and an answer immediately came to mind.

"The lake where you originally fell," he said confidently. "It's about four hours' journey from the village, so it's probably far enough that we'll be safe from the raiders, assuming we cover our tracks along the way. Luckily, you and I aren't injured, so we can go full speed. I'm worried about Kora and Gryf though."

Yotsuba looked over at the sleeping pair, and a pained look crossed her face.

"I don't think Kora is injured physically. Gryf, though... I'm really worried, Uesugi-san. That wound... it was horrible. I don't know how Kora had the guts to do that to her friend, even if it probably saved his life. She's... she's so much braver than me."

"She did what she had to do," Fuutarou said simply. "I respect her. A lot."

As he said this, a horrible thought crossed his mind.

If I were in her shoes, and I had to do something like that to Yotsuba... could I do it? Could I bring myself to take fire to her flesh to save her?

With a sick feeling in his stomach, he realized that he didn't know the answer.

"I need to learn healing magic," he muttered to himself quietly. Then, he shook his head.

"Let's camp here for a few hours, then I'll wake up Kora and Gryf, and we'll see if they can walk enough to travel to the lake."

Yotsuba merely nodded, her face barely illuminated in the light of the moon.

"I'll keep watch," she said quietly. "Get some sleep, Uesugi-san."

"Are you sure?" Fuutarou asked, pausing. "You need to sleep, too."

"I'll... I'll sleep at the lake," she replied, staring up at the starry sky, only partially visible through the canopy above. "I have a lot of thinking to do."

Fuutarou opened his mouth to respond... but he couldn't think of what to say, and so eventually he just closed it again, and just nodded. He leaned up against a tree, and closed his eyes, slowly allowing sleep to take him. His dreams were turbulent and bloody, the screaming faces of the villagers of Foryth Eldi whizzing past him, laughing raiders, and spears made of bone and death raining down. He saw the face of the raider who had killed Granny, his mouth drawn back in a howl of mirth, and his blade buried in the old woman's throat.

Then, the old woman was Kora. Then, it was Gryf.

Then, it was Yotsuba, her eyes lifeless and her head lolled to the side, blood slowly dripping from her mouth.

Fuutarou awoke with a scream, his hands clutching his head. Sweat was pouring down the back of his neck, and his shirt was drenched. For a moment, he was panicked, the darkness around him oppressive and claustrophobic, unsure of where he was, if he was safe, if she was alive, if-

Arms suddenly wrapped around him, and he was pulled in close, his head resting against something soft.

"It's ok, Uesugi-san," Yotsuba's voice said softly, holding him tight. "I'm here. I'm here."

The panic within him was still overwhelming, the vivid sight of Yotsuba's dead body running through his mind. There were deep, wheezing breaths, involuntary scrambling of his hands on her back - and then finally, the dam broke, and he broke with it. Gasping, hyperventilating, the tears broke forth as he cried into the breast of his lover. The raw terror of how he had almost lost her overwhelmed his senses, and his hands clutched at her back, a mirror image of his own role the night she had arrived.

Yotsuba's hand stroked his hair, her other pulling him closer. His sobs, ragged and broken, coursed through her body, vibrating her chest with their deep frequency. Fuutarou's mind was awash with the visions he had seen - Yotsuba's limp form, sword through her throat, dead eyes, dead lips, dead, dead, dead, dead... all he could do was continue to affirm through touch that she was still alive, still breathing, that he hadn't lost her.

"I'm here," she whispered again, stroking his hair. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I can't lose you again," he whispered. "Never again."

"I'm not going anywhere," she repeated. Fuutarou took in a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

"I know," he murmured softly. "I know."

They stayed like that for a long time - how long passed, neither could say. Eventually, Yotsuba looked up at the sky, and sighed.

"Gryf taught me a bit of how to read the stars," she said quietly, still stroking his hair. "It's been about four hours. We should move."

She slowly let go of Fuutarou, who pulled back, and wiped his eyes.

"Yeah," he said softly. "You're right. Let's wake up Kora and Gryf."

"Um... Uesugi-san... I think Kora is already awake," Yotsuba said, suddenly a bit awkward.

"Huh?"

Fuutarou turned to look, and saw the faint outline of Kora hunched over Gryf.

"Just because I don't understand your language doesn't mean you two can just make out in front of me," Kora said drily.

"I see you're well enough to make jokes," Fuutarou responded in kind.

"You know what they say," she said hollowly. "Laugh to hide the pain."

"It's ok to cry," Fuutarou said, slowly getting to his feet. "Nobody will think less of you. I was just crying like a baby."

"I will allow myself to cry and to mourn when we are safe," Kora said curtly, "and when Gryf is healed. Before that, I don't have time."

Fuutarou frowned. Somehow, he felt like he was being reprimanded, which he didn't feel was particularly fair.

"We should move," he said, deciding to think about it later. "Yotsuba suggested we go find water. I agree, we should go to the lake."

"That's fine," Kora said, stretching. "We need to move Gryf though."

"Can he walk?"

"What do you think, genius?" she replied, rolling her eyes. "No, he can't walk."

"I can try."

All three of them looked down to see that Gryf was conscious. He winced, grabbing at his gut.

"Goddamn, that hurts."

"Let me rephrase that," Kora said, frowning. "Gryf, I'm forbidding you from walking."

"And how are you planning to get me to the lake if I don't walk?"

"We'll carry you," Fuutarou said, resignedly.

"You mean we'll carry him, Fuutarou. You're weak as hell," Kora said, shaking her head. A small smile was finally starting to creep onto her face, though.

"Hey! I can help!" Fuutarou complained. "Though maybe it would be better if I sped us up, and you two carried."

Kora walked over and grabbed Gryf by the legs, lifting them up with surprising ease. Yotsuba raced over and helped her, lifting his torso. Fuutarou quietly began to sing, and he could feel the magic working to speed up their movements, and lighten the burden of Gryf's large, muscular frame.

"I could get used to this," Gryf said, smiling weakly.

"I'll drop you, idiot," Kora shot back at him. Gryf laughed, and then winced at the pain in his abdomen.

The four of them travelled over the next several hours, Fuutarou's ongoing singing hastening their step, but not nearly making up for the slow-down Gryf's immobility imposed. The journey, which normally would have taken about three hours from their location, took them seven. It also didn't help their efficacy that every hour or so, Fuutarou would stop, and create several false trails for any possible pursuers to follow.

Eventually, they emerged from the treeline with the sun beginning to set, the lake in view. At this point, Fuutarou's throat hurt, his vocal chords ragged from the ongoing singing. He thought he could taste blood in his mouth, but he wasn't sure. The two women laid Gryf down near the edge of the lake, and he smiled up at them.

"Sorry," he wheezed. "I feel pretty useless."

"You are useless, you great lug," Kora said, gently punching him in the shoulder. "Shut up and get better."

Gryf frowned. "Sorry. I will do my best."

"That was a joke, dumbass."

"Oh."

Leaving the group, Fuutarou gratefully lowered his head, and lapped at the water of the lake, drinking for the first time in nearly twenty-four hours. His parched throat screamed at the liquid relief, and he had to make a conscious effort to pace himself.

There was a rustling sound next to him, and Fuutarou turned to see that Yotsuba had come to sit next to him.

"How are you not exhausted?" he complained, pulling back from the water's edge and flipping onto his back.

"I'm not sure," she mused, staring out over the water. "I've noticed ever since I got here... I don't really get tired very easily. I mean, I sleep at night most of the time... but I'm not sore, you know?"

"No," he groaned. "No, I don't."

Yotsuba laughed and patted him on the head. "Poor Uesugi-san. Rest up."

"Yeah..."

The two of them fell silent, Fuutarou staring up at the reddish-purple haze which indicated the approach of dusk, and Yotsuba gazing out across the lake. The silence stretched for a long time, but in it was held a joint pain, unspoken. Neither of them wanted to break it. Breaking it would mean acknowledging...

"Damn, I am tired. Yotsuba, how are you not dying? I know you didn't sleep last night."

Kora flopped down in-between the two of them, and shoved her head in the lake. A few bubbles splashed up as she drank greedily, possibly due to how thirsty she was - but Fuutarou had a sneaking suspicion that she was just blowing bubbles.

"Uh... dying? What...?" Yotsuba asked, not understanding the figure of speech, a look of horror crossing her face.

"She asked how you're not dying. Like, from exertion. It's a figure of speech that translates pretty directly."

"Oh-Oh, I see. I not know how. Big... big strong?"

Yotsuba grabbed her bicep with her arm, and gave a cheeky grin. Kora laughed, shaking her head.

"Big strong," she agreed.

Kora took a few more sips of water, then pushed herself up into a push-up position, and hopped to bring her legs in under her, rising to her feet.

"We need a plan," she said, definitively. "We can't just wait for Gryf to get worse."

"Yes," Fuutarou said, sitting up. "You said something last night about a village...?"

"I've never been," Kora said, frowning, "but I've heard of a village about a week's journey to the northeast. If we go there, maybe we can get help for Gryf."

Fuutarou frowned. "If it is so close, why do you not go?"

Damn these incurious people!

Kora shrugged, as though the answer was obvious. "They are Gweridth."

"I do not know that word."

"Ah, yeah, that makes sense. I have never met one myself. Granny described them to me, though. They are quite tall, with skin as pale as the moonlight... actually, a lot like yours. Their ears are tapered to a point, and their hair is the colour of honey. Granny said that they're very beautiful..."

Fuutarou frowned, then turned to Yotsuba.

"How much of that did you understand?"

"Uh... moonlight skin... honey... and their ears are a point?"

"There's no way around it - that's an elf, right?"

"Yeah, that sounds like an elf."

Fuutarou nodded several times, and quickly devised a mnemonic for the word. He was certain it was going to come up frequently.

"So, these... Gweridth," he said, turning back to Kora. "Are they hostile? Why do you not go to their village?"

Kora shrugged. "I don't know. Granny always told me it wasn't safe, and so we shouldn't go. Something about the ancient laws protecting us if we stayed home."

Fuutarou frowned. Now that was new information. There existed some kind of 'ancient law' which was supposed to keep Foryth Eldi safe, which had evidently failed in some way. Frowning, he looked back up at the sky, contemplating this information.

"Where is the nearest village that is... not Gweridth."

With a start, Fuutarou realized that the word for "human" had never come up - it had simply never been relevant.

"I do not know the word for... not Gweridth. For us," he added.

"It's 'Dynd'," Kora said absently, frowning in thought as she stared at the water splashing near her feet. "The nearest Dynd village... uh... Granny said it was to the northwest... maybe three weeks away on foot? There're some fairly steep hills in the way, apparently. So..."

"Not possible," Fuutarou said, lodging the word 'Dynd' away as well. "We need to go northeast then."

"Yeah," Kora sighed, getting up. "It's the only chance we have. Hopefully they don't kill us on sight. I bet I taste pretty good."

"Huh? Taste?" Yotsuba interjected, confused. "Is... Kora is food? Tasty?"

Kora just patted her on the head, and Yotsuba scowled. "No, I'm not food. I'm definitely a treat though."

She winked at Fuutarou, and then went back over to Gryf's side, and began humming, the faint green light reappearing. Fuutarou turned back to Yotsuba, and repeated the entire discussion in Japanese, to make sure she understood.

"It's a week's journey, huh?" Yotsuba asked, rubbing her chin. "I think I'll be ok, but you and Gryf especially... that's going to be rough."

"Please don't put me in the same category as the man who's injured so badly he can't walk," Fuutarou said drily. "I can at least move under my own power."

"For now," Yotsuba teased, poking him on the nose. "Don't worry, Uesugi-san, if you fall, I'll carry you."

"Thanks," he said, shaking his head ruefully. Then, he stood up, stretched, and held out a hand to help Yotsuba to her feet in turn.

"If we're going to travel that far... we need to make some preparations. We can't do it just as-is."

"Yeah, I guess we need food..." Yotsuba mused, looking around the clearing.

"Yeah, that's true, but we can hunt for that along the way - or at least, Kora can. There's a more pressing concern, I think."

"Yeah?"

"Water," Fuutarou said grimly. "We have a steady supply here... but once we leave the lake, we're not guaranteed a source of fresh water. We need some way to take the water here with us."

Yotsuba pondered that for a moment, and then a nauseous look came over her face.

"Don't... Don't tell me..."

"I'm sorry," Fuutarou said quietly. "But... we'll need to go back. We need supplies."

Yotsuba held his gaze for a long moment, and then she seemed to crumple.

"Do we... really need to go back?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

Yotsuba pressed up against him, not saying a word. He could feel her fear radiating out from her, though, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to his chest, hoping that he could provide some small level of comfort.

"...Ok," she finally whispered.

"I don't want to go back either," Fuutarou murmured. "We have no choice, though."

Yotsuba nodded, and then suddenly wiggled out from under his arm.

"Anyways," she said, shaking her head. "If we're going to make the most of the daylight, we should probably go to sleep soon."

Fuutarou glanced up; the reddish-purple had faded to a deep navy blue, and the fading light had greatly decreased while he'd been distracted.

"Yeah... I suppose so," he said quietly. "I need to go talk to Kora before that, though."

"Ok. Goodnight!"

Yotsuba scampered away, and Fuutarou wandered over to Kora, who was still singing, weak green light surrounding her hands.

"Fuutarou," she acknowledged, glancing over at him. "Do you know any healing magic?"

"Did you teach me any healing magic?"

"No."

"Then, no."

"Drats," Kora said, biting her lip. "Foiled again by my own shortcomings."

She let out a hollow laugh, and then turned back to face Gryf.

"Even if I did," Fuutarou said carefully, "using it on him would be... bad."

"Huh? Why?"

"Did Granny not tell you? My magic does not mix."

Kora frowned. "Crap. I forgot. Yeah, please don't kill Gryf by trying to heal him."

Fuutarou scowled. "If you say it like that, it sounds like I am just bad at it."

"Can you do it?"

"Uh... no."

"Then you're bad at it," Kora smirked. "Go back to your studies, young grasshopper."

"Ha ha ha."

There was a moment of silence after that, and then, quietly, Fuutarou broached the subject.

"...You know we need to go back before we go to the Gweridth village... right?"

"Yeah," Kora sighed. "We need supplies, and weapons. I can hunt with my bare hands, but I have no way of skinning our catches. We also need water skins."

Fuutarou nodded. "It will not be safe, though."

"Obviously," Kora said with a hint of disdain, not looking at him. The silence stretched, and eventually, Fuutarou got up, and left.

"I'll take first watch. Go sleep when you can," he called back. Kora grunted back at him, and then he left.

Fuutarou pressed his back against a tree, sliding down to the ground. Yotsuba was lying on the ground about two metres away from him, already fast asleep. The only light in the clearing was the faint light of the moon, and the fainter light of Kora's magic, working desperately to keep Gryf's injuries from getting worse. Staring up at the silver circle in the sky, Fuutarou began to hum softly, his throat screaming in protest.

The faint taste of blood emanated over his tongue.

What is needed to heal?

He hummed a song reminiscent of the moonlight, a stoic attempt to centre himself.

How much anatomical knowledge is required? Could I make some headway with my modern knowledge of anatomy? If I try and heal myself... does that even work? Can I use my magic to heal my own injuries?

The voiceless voices in his chest seemed... unsure. He decided to start with something simple; healing the scratches that he'd incurred on his face while running headlong through the forest in the initial mad dash away from Foryth Eldi. Closing his eyes, he focused on the mental image of blood clotting, and capillaries healing.

He didn't feel any different, and some part of him sensed that the magic hadn't really worked - there was a strange trill to the voices when a spell was successful, something he had only noticed in the last week or so. Nevertheless, he got up and walked over to the lake. Humming to create a ball of light, he inspected his own face in the glassy reflection.

The person looking back up at him looked like a battered shell of his former self. There were bags under his eyes, and scratch marks across his face and neck. His hair was also far longer than he ever would have let it grow back home - it was wild and unkempt. There was also stubble across his entire lower face, remnants from when he'd attempted to shave with a knife and water a few days prior. Fuutarou gently smacked his cheeks, and shook his head.

I look like shit.

He then closed his eyes, and focused in on a very particular scratch that he'd seen, one that was above his left eyebrow. All of his focus went into the idea of the skin knitting back together, white blood cells cleaning out any infection, and platelets aiding the healing process. He sang like this for fifteen minutes; and while he couldn't see with his eyes closed, the darkness behind his eyes was taking on a distinctly reddish-green colour; the view of green light coming through the capillaries in his eyelids.

Eventually, the magic trilled, and he sat back. Somehow, he was absolutely exhausted - it was the first time that he'd felt magic take a toll on him, apart from the physical effect on his throat from singing for so long.

Maybe I just never used this much magic before...

Leaning forward, he created a small ball of light again, and investigated his face. The scratch was still there... but it looked three or four days older, and much closer to healing. Fuutarou sighed, and got back up. It had taken him fifteen minutes just to partially heal a scratch - any real healing was far beyond his reach, at least for now.

Glancing back over, he saw the faint green glow as Kora continued her tireless efforts to heal Gryf.

She's literally keeping him alive... while the best I can do is partially heal a scratch.

The gulf between their skill levels was immediately evident - and also, the gap between Kora and the old woman.

Looking down at his hands, Fuutarou clenched them into fists.

I have to get better at this. If something ever happens to Yotsuba... I need to be able to do what Kora's doing. I need to be able to save her.

Defeated, Fuutarou returned to his tree, and returned to keeping watch. About an hour later, Kora stopped healing Gryf, and simply fell over on the spot, as she had the previous night. He watched over the clearing, the only sound the occasional call of night birds, and the splashing of the lake. Fuutarou could feel the call of sleep, but he kept himself awake by practicing magic - by softly humming, so as not to hurt his throat, and imagining himself wide awake. The effect was self-sustaining. The more he envisioned himself being wide-awake, the easier it got to focus. The easier it got to focus, the more he could pour into the magic keeping himself awake.

By the time the moon was high in the sky, Fuutarou wasn't tired at all.

Goddamn it. Side effect.

He rose, and shook Yotsuba awake.

"Hmm?" she said, looking blearily up at him. "Oh... Fuutarou..."

Then, she fell asleep again. Fuutarou looked down at her, a faint redness entering his cheeks.

Is that the first time she's called me by my first name...?

Shaking his head at the ludicrousness of the situation, he decided it didn't count, and shook her again.

"Yotsuba, wake up. It's your turn for the watch."

"Mmm... five more minutes," she murmured, a small line of drool coming out of her mouth.

"No. Zero more minutes," he said, booping her gently on the head. "Get up."

"Myeeeeeh," she said, opening a single eye. "Mean."

"Goodnight," He said, flopping down next to her.

"Fine," she sighed, getting up. "I won't forget this, Uesugi-san! You'll rue this day!"

"Good," he smirked up at her. "Wake up Kora in four hours."

"Will do," she said glumly, sliding against the tree which he had recently abandoned. Soon, Fuutarou's eyes grew heavy as the magic wore off. As he stared up at the night sky, his mind still whirring, sleep took him, leaving Yotsuba alone in the clearing to keep watch over his still form. His dreams were torrid, a dark mess of blood. When he finally awoke, he was once again drenched in cold sweat - but thankfully, this time he didn't scream.

As he rose from the ground, he saw that Kora was standing up, submerged up to the middle of her calves, in the water of the lake, her pants rolled up to her knees. She was staring down towards her feet... and then occasionally shoving her hand into the water at lightning speed. On the ground behind her were a few small fish - but there wasn't much of a collection. Nevertheless, at the sight of the potential food, his stomach began to painfully cramp. It had been over twenty-four hours since he'd last eaten anything.

"Good morning," Fuutarou said, walking up behind her.

"Ah, Fuutarou. Good morning."

Kora's eyes never left the water, tracking back and forth as the fish swam around her ankles.

"Are you having much luck?"

"What does it look like?" she snapped, and Fuutarou frowned. Kora seemed to be in a bad mood - though with everything that had happened, that was understandable. It also didn't help that she was probably just as hungry as he was - perhaps even more so. Looking at the small pile, his frown deepened even more.

Is there something I can do to help? I don't want to just be a burden...

"These... damn... thing," she hissed, repeatedly stabbing her hands into the water in frustration, "are never... where... I think they are! This is why I never fish. This sucks."

"That is because of... oh, I do not know the word. Uh... in my language, it is 'refraction'. The water bends the light, the fish are not where they look like are. Try grabbing a bit closer to you than where they look like."

"Where they look like they are," Kora corrected. She frowned thoughtfully. "I will consider this... refraction. I will try it."

Kora's hands began moving like lightning again - and this time, with moderately more success, though in the grand scheme of things her haul of fish was still rather pitiful. Nevertheless, there was enough that they could have something approximating breakfast.

"Let's start a fire, and cook these," Fuutarou said - but Kora vigorously shook her head.

"No. That will get us killed. I have no intention of giving our position away to any possible pursuers."

"Then... how can we eat?"

"Like this."

Kora took one of the dead fish, and opened its mouth. She inserted her pinky finger into its mouth, and began to hum to herself. There was a small flash of flame, and the fish began to slowly spin around her finger; the grass under the fish was moving to rotate it. After about two minutes, she moved on to the next fish. It took her about twenty minutes in total before she'd finished cooking the eight fish she'd caught.

"Two for each of us," she said grimly. "It will have to be enough."

"I'll go wake up the others."

Fuutarou made his way over to where Yotsuba was sprawled on the ground. He noticed with some wry amusement that she was gently snoring, her tunic riding up slightly to expose her stomach. Crouching next to her shoulder, he gently shook her. When that got no response, he leaned over, and kissed her forehead. She stirred, and then slowly opened her eyes.

"Mmm? Uesugi-san...?"

"Morning," he whispered. "We have food."

Yotsuba immediately sat bolt-upright, smacking Fuutarou in the nose. He reeled back, clutching his nose, and her eyes immediately widened.

"Ahhh! Uesugi-san! I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," he said, wincing. "I thought you were Itsuki with that reaction, though."

Yotsuba laughed gently, which was the reaction he'd been hoping for. Then, she looked around.

"Where's the food?"

"Kora has it. It's... not much, but it's something."

Yotsuba rose to her feet, and trotted over to Kora, while Fuutarou made his way over to Gryf. To his surprise, he saw that the big man was already awake, though he was just lying on his back staring at the sky.

"Good morning, Fuutarou," he said, smiling over as Fuutarou approached. "I heard there was fish?"

"Yes. Small fish."

"I will eat what I can," Gryf said quietly. "I apologize - I cannot move. Could you bring me my share?"

"Yes," Fuutarou replied, his heart hurting to see his friend struck so low. He returned to Kora, and grabbed two fish for Gryf. Bringing them back to the man, he bit into one, and grimaced.

"Tastes like shit. Thanks, Fuutarou."

"No problem. We should figure out exactly what to do after everyone has eaten."

Gryf just nodded, and took another bite of the fish, scales and all. Fuutarou went back to Kora and Yotsuba, and had his share of the fish that Kora had cooked by burning them from the inside.

As expected, the charred fish did, indeed, taste like shit.

After they'd finished ingesting something approximately resembling sustenance, the three mobile people went to sit next to Gryf, and plan their next move.

"First, we need to get supplies," Kora muttered. "So... we need to go back."

"We don't even know if there are any supplies left," Fuutarou said, frowning. "The whole village burned."

"Fire isn't perfect. There will always be something spared, unless the raiders thoroughly went through and destroyed everything."

"They might have done that," Fuutarou shot back. "They were extremely thorough."

"We escaped. They're not perfect."

"Only because of Granny."

There was a dark silence for a moment at the mention of the old woman, and Kora looked away.

"Um... um... we... go back? For... stuff?" Yotsuba said, trying to navigate the tongue that she had still not yet remotely mastered.

"Yes," Kora replied, glancing at her. "It is dangerous, but we must go."

Yotsuba nodded several times. Then, she pointed at Kora, and back at herself.

"We go. Me. Kora. Leave Uesugi-san."

"Eh?" Fuutarou responded in Japanese. "Yotsuba, what the hell are you saying? You and Kora can barely communicate with each other - that's not safe!"

"We can communicate just fine!" Yotsuba said, pouting. "Besides, no offense Uesugi-san, but I'm a lot faster than you - and stronger. If something happens and we need to run... we're the two who are the most likely to be able to get out in one piece."

"I- I-"

Fuutarou ground his teeth as he realized that Yotsuba was making a solid argument - his physique had improved since arriving in Foryth Eldi, but it was nothing compared to Yotsuba's years of honing; and that was without taking into account that she'd spent the last three months doing physical labour.

"I don't like it," he finished lamely.

"Why?"

"I don't like putting you at risk," he murmured. "I've already lost you once."

Yotsuba smiled at him, and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"That's sweet, but think about if you were to go - I would be stuck feeling the exact same way. One of us has to go: it's not safe for one person to go by themselves, even if they're as amazing as Kora. So... it had better be me."

Fuutarou couldn't rebut Yotsuba's points, as much as he wanted to. Sighing, he laid back in the grass.

"Fine. You win," he said quietly. "Yotsuba will go with you, Kora."

"Uh... did you just volunteer me to go?" Kora replied, a dark look on her face. "I never said that I was willing to make the journey. That was Yotsuba's idea."

Fuutarou scrambled back up to a sitting position, his eyes wide.

"Oh, shit! Sorry! I just assumed..."

Unexpectedly, Kora laughed. "I'm just teasing you, Fuutarou. Obviously I'm going to go. I'm the only healthy person here who can fight."

"While... while you are gone," Fuutarou said, swallowing, "I will practice. Practice my magic so that I can help. I... I do not want to feel useless."

"Good," Kora said, the dark look coming back to her face - and he sensed that it was real this time. "I will not always be around. I am fond of you, Fuutarou - I do not wish to see you die due to a lack of training."

"I will do my best," Fuutarou replied, sobered. "You as well."

Kora stood up, and looked up at the sky. It was still quite early in the day, though the sky was covered in grey clouds, making an exact judgement of the time impossible - the sun's light was diffused in every direction.

"If we go now," Kora said, "we will arrive in the early afternoon. Do you understand, Yotsuba?"

"Early... afternoon? Afternoon... oh! Time after middle! Afternoon! Yes, I understand."

Fuutarou chuckled, but Kora gave him a wry look.

"You were worse than that, you know. Far worse."

"I know, I wasn't laughing at her. It's just... interesting to seeing the process from the outside."

"To see," Kora corrected. "You still have a ways to go."

"Yes, sensei," Fuutarou said glumly.

"Yotsuba, let's go. On the way, we'll come up with a plan."

"Ok!"

The two of them quickly conferred, and then they both sped out of the clearing, delving into the depths of the forest. With their departure, just Fuutarou and Gryf remained alone in the clearing, silence reigning save for the chirping of birds, and the occasional splashing of the lake.

Fuutarou frowned, and looked around.

I want to be useful... so what're the most important things I can do right now?

His eyes roamed the clearing, before coming to a halt on Gryf, who appeared to be lightly dozing again. After a brief pause, Fuutarou's face broke into a small smile.

There is something I can do to be useful, at least for now.

He began searching around the edge of the lake, hunting for his prey. Eventually he found it - a smooth rock, around the side of his fist. He then sat with the rock on the edge of the lake, closed his eyes, and began to hum. In his mind's eye, he visualized the edge of the rock being scraped, narrowed, and sharpened. As he hummed, he could hear a scraping sound, a noise which sounded a lot like nails on a chalkboard.

It took all he had not to wince.

He also occasionally felt heat on his hands; presumably, it came from whenever the process produced sparks. Opening one eye, he glanced down at the rock, and saw that the edge looked a little thinner, though not by much. Frowning, he opened his other eye, and stroked his chin.

Why is it going so slowly? Is it... because I'm only humming?

Opening his mouth fully, Fuutarou began to softly sing. In his chest, the voiceless voices began to harmonize along with him - and it was only then that he realized that, as he had been humming, they had been mostly silent. It was only as he truly began to project his voice that they sang along, supporting his melody and guiding his voice.

Carve. Shear. Hone. Let this rock become sharper than a knife.

With the full power of his singing behind it, and the full support of the voiceless voices, the rock began to emit a constant stream of sparks - and the screams of nails on chalk that went with them. It hurt Fuutarou's ears, and he had to back up to get out of the path of the sparks, placing the rock down on the ground. Nevertheless, with the guidance of the chorus in his chest, the rock began to get closer and closer to a form that looked usable.

When he eventually stopped, it was almost unrecognizable. One end of the stone looked the same as before; but the other came together into a razor-sharp edge, one that looked so thin as to be a severe finger-injury hazard. Picking it up by the thick side, he examined the edge... and then walked about a metre away, over to where the grass started. Grabbing a single blade, he pulled it taut, and brought the stone blade against it, hoping it would be somewhat effective.

It cut through the grass like butter - he hardly needed to apply any pressure. Grinning, he then walked over to the nearest tree with a low-hanging bough - and pressed the sharp rock against the edge of the branch. Singing again, he began to will the rock to press into the bark with intense force, augmenting the power that he would have been able to put into the blade with just muscles alone. The voiceless voices seemed to have a moment of hesitation, before the blade began to slowly sink into the bark, causing it to splinter.

It was certainly far less effective than an axe would have been, especially in the hands of someone like Yotsuba... but after about twenty minutes of slicing into the bough of the tree, Fuutarou was able to twist the branch, and bring it crashing to the ground. It was about two and a half metres long- about right for what he needed. He quickly stripped the off-shoot branches, which were far thinner for the most part, leaving just the fallen bough. After stripping the bark off that as well, he repeated the process with a second bough.

With the two boughs together side-by-side, Fuutarou looked down at them, and wiped his brow with his free hand, careful not to bring the rock-blade anywhere near his face.

I have about six hours until they get back, at the earliest. Well, five now. I should be easily able to finish by then.

He smiled, before glancing back at the forest's edge.

Still... I hope they're safe.

---

As Kora and Yotsuba plunged into the woods, Kora began to hum, and a white glow began to surround both of the women. Yotsuba could feel her muscles becoming lighter and more powerful - her already powerful stride was lengthened, and her pace increased. Kora turned to look back at her, and nodded.

"Run?" she asked simply.

"Run," Yotsuba agreed, and Kora grinned at her. Then, she turned back forward, and increased her pace by a factor of almost three. Yotsuba, temporarily caught off guard, shot off to catch up to her companion.

Fuutarou had explained to her, on one of those peaceful evenings when they had sat by the fire in the big house and talked, what it was like travelling to the lake with Kora. She had never been allowed to come along - Kora had forbade it, and she'd had her own work to attend to. Nevertheless, he had described how, no matter how much he boosted himself with magic, Kora was able to keep pace with him without so much as a whisper, such was the difference in natural ability between them. At the time, Yotsuba had just ascribed that to her boyfriend's own lack of physical ability; while Kora was probably in excellent shape, there was no way she was that fast.

As they whipped through the woods, branches flying past at a breakneck pace, Yotsuba was forced to acknowledge her error.

Kora was unstoppable.

The same magic was being cast on both of them, but Yotsuba was having trouble keeping pace with her. It was only because of her training as a runner that she was able to keep up at all - and Kora hardly looked like she had broken a sweat.

Wow! I would loveto know how she got this fast.Maybe we can train together!Uh... after everything is over, I mean.

Yotsuba was pretty sure that Fuutarou had said that it normally took about four hours to get to the lake from the village... but she was also pretty sure that it was only about an hour and a half later that Kora held up a hand, and they both slowed to a halt.

Yotsuba looked down at her legs in amazement. It was still something hard to believe, the fact that magic was real in this world - in her daily life in the fields, she hadn't really encountered it at all. The villagers tilled the fields in the same way that people back home did; through the power of manual labour. Even after seeing Kora and Fuutarou (she didn't think she would ever get used to that) use magic, it was still hard to believe.

But... but...

Running at top speed for an hour and a half with no soreness at all... somehow, that's a more real magic to me than shooting fire from your hands.

Shivering, Yotsuba hurried over to where Kora was crouched next to a large tree trunk. Her companion held her finger up to her mouth to indicate silence, and Yotsuba nodded, squatting next to her. Kora then glanced around the tree, and pulled back.

"The -word Yotsuba didn't know- bushes are past here."

"The... bushes?" she replied, testing the word. "Small, green, tree?"

"Yes," Kora nodded. "It's open past there. Might not be safe."

"How is village? Fire?" Yotsuba asked, frowning.

Kora leaned back around the tree trunk, and narrowed her eyes as she looked at the husk of the village where she had been born and raised. Yotsuba took a moment to admire the woman's ability to compartmentalize - she was sure that if her own home had been in such a state, she would have been a lot worse off. As it was, crouched behind the tree, she had so far been spared the sight.

"The fire is out. I don't see -word Yotsuba didn't know- but we should still -word Yotsuba didn't know-."

"I did not understand. Fire is out. We should...?"

Kora grimaced, and Yotsuba immediately felt guilty.

It can't be easy having to deal with all this... and also having to deal with someone who can barely understand a word you're saying.

Not for the first time since she'd arrived in Foryth Eldi, Yotsuba felt like a complete and utter failure.

"It might not be safe. We should go slowly." Kora said, speaking slowly. Yotsuba simply nodded.

Leaning back around the tree, Kora pointed. "Do you see the bushes?"

Following her lead, Yotsuba leaned around the tree - and the sight took her breath away in horror. The once-thriving village was in complete ruins. Half the buildings had completely burned to the ground; the other half were half-standing, the stone walls remaining where thatch and wooden supports had failed. The bramble bushes themselves had caught fire at some point, and about half of them were gone.

"I... I do," Yotsuba choked out. She hadn't thought about it too deeply before, but now that the reality was staring her in the face... she really was terrified to go back to the village.

Not because of the raiders.

Not because she was scared for her own safety.

It was because she was scared of what she knew she would see.

"We will -word Yotsuba didn't know- through the bushes."

"What is word? We will what?"

Kora sighed, and then dropped to the ground.

"This," she said, crawling on the ground on her elbows.

"Oh! Ok. That word is... crawl."

"Yes," Kora agreed. "Let's go."

Staying down, Kora began to crawl towards the brambles, and after a moment Yotsuba dropped to the ground and followed suit. Kora began humming again as she did so, and the glow resumed around the two - but now that they were out of the forest, in the bright light of day, it was practically invisible. Yotsuba felt her muscles and tendons sharpen again, and as she army-crawled her way through the gaps in the brambles, she felt like she could continue on like that forever.

Suddenly, Kora stopped, and Yotsuba smacked into her boot with her face.

"Ow," she muttered, rubbing her nose.

"Sorry," Kora whispered back. "I'm looking for raiders."

"It's ok."

Kora stopped humming the tune that Yotsuba had been intermittently hearing for the last hour and a half, and the white glow faded. A new song began, but there was no discernible glow this time; whatever Kora was doing, it didn't give off a visible effect.

After about five minutes, Kora stopped, and sighed with relief.

"We're safe. There's no one here. Or at least, nobody within range."

She stood, wiping the dirt off her trousers. Yotsuba looked up at her, then slowly got to her feet. Maybe it was the stress of the situation, the impending doom of what she knew she would see in the next few minutes - but an intrusive thought had pushed its way into Yotsuba's head.

Wow. I never noticed before... but she has a great ass.

Ashamed of herself, Yotsuba smacked herself on both cheeks, trying to force herself to regain her focus. Kora looked at her with a concerned look on her face, but Yotsuba just shook her head.

"Don't worry. I stupid."

Kora snorted, and patted her on the shoulder.

"No."

Somehow, the simple word, belying years of Yotsuba's self-image, hit her like a train. She just stared at Kora in shock; the woman, having simply said the word in passing, had no idea of the effect it'd had. She'd already turned away, and begun walking towards the village. Yotsuba watched her go, and then shook herself from her stupor - the time for worrying about things like that could come later.

Catching up to Kora, as they approached the village boundary, Yotsuba frowned.

"Are you ok?"

"No," Kora said quietly. "But I have to be."

Yotsuba didn't really know what to say to that, so she just put her hand on Kora's shoulder.

"I am here," she said.

Her companion glanced back at her, and smiled - but Yotsuba thought that it didn't quite reach her eyes. Then, she turned back around, and continued trudging forward.

When they finally entered the village, Yotsuba felt sick. It was everything she had feared it would be, and worse. After the ransacking of the village, the bodies had been piled in the centre of the town and put to the torch; but the flames had only partially taken, leaving behind a pile of desiccated corpses, some burnt beyond all recognition, the moisture long evaporated from their bodies. As the two of them approached, Yotsuba recognized, half-sticking out of the pile, one of the children she would sometimes play with after dinner. Only her face was recognizable - the rest was burnt to the point of falling apart.

The waves of nausea, which she had managed to suppress for the last day or so, returned full force, and Yotsuba lost the fish she'd eaten that morning. As it splattered on the ground, Yotsuba felt a hand gently on her back.

"Don't look," Kora whispered. "Don't look."

Even without a solid grasp of the language, Yotsuba could tell that she was talking to herself as much as she was to her.

Kora's hand on her back was trembling.

"Don't look, don't look, don't look," Kora repeated, almost like a mantra.

"We need to look around," Yotsuba whimpered miserably, wiping her mouth. "Let's... let's look big house."

"...Ok."

The two of them walked into the wreckage of the big house, their backs firmly pressed to the horror that lay mounted in the centre of the village square. As they walked through where the door had once been, the central room which had at one point contained a fireplace and tables and the washing bin where Fuutarou worked so laboriously... it was all now ash and debris. Some of the furniture had avoided the fire, but it looked like the place had been ransacked by the raiders in addition to the damage caused by the flames.

As the two of them dug through the wreckage, Yotsuba found a few kitchen utensils; in particular, she found a steel paring knife, and a cleaver in a leather sheath. There was also a rucksack sitting on the bottom of a wardrobe; it was quite musty, which may have been why the raiders didn't take it. Kora seemed visibly relieved when she saw the wardrobe was intact, and after Yotsuba had pulled out the rucksack, she dove in, and ripped one of the boards off the bottom - revealing a small hidden compartment.

"I never thought this would be useful for anything besides hiding stuff from Granny," she said, shaking her head sadly. "Looks like they missed it though... so, that's a relief."

Inside was a wicked looking dagger in a leather sheath. As Kora experimentally swung it about, the blade let out a schwing sound as it cut through the air.

"Why hide?" Yotsuba asked, frowning.

"Granny didn't like me using -word Yotsuba didn't know-. She said a Valkyrie's only -word Yotsuba didn't know- she needs is her voice."

"You not think yes?"

"I just thought it was cool," Kora murmured, fastening the dagger to her waist. "Childish of me. I never thought I would actually need it one day."

Yotsuba nodded, not really knowing what to say to that. Kora began rummaging through the rest of the wreckage, and after a moment, Yotsuba did the same. Their biggest triumph came when Kora found that the supply of waterskins had been almost entirely untouched - being alone inside a container which had itself been spared the falling debris, they had been essentially ignored by the raiders.

Upon entering Granny's room, they found another damaged rucksack, as well as a few herbs, which Kora promptly wrapped in whatever she could locate by way of cloth - they were, she claimed, invaluable. However, there wasn't much else to find - while the room had been virtually untouched by the flames, the same couldn't be said for the raiders. The bed, which had once been adorned in fine furs and linens, was stripped bare, and a stench of urine filled the air.

Finally, they crossed to the bedroom which Yotsuba and Fuutarou had shared for months - and Yotsuba's heart sank.

The room where they had shared their first kiss, where they had truly become a couple... it no longer existed. The walls were still there, but the ceiling had collapsed and burnt to ashes, along with the beds. The hottest part of the fire had been here, and hardly anything had survived. As much as they searched, there was nothing of value they could find to recover.

Finally, as they returned to the main room, Kora grabbed Yotsuba's shoulder.

"Yotsuba, look."

She followed Kora's pointing finger, and saw that there was a scrap of half-burned parchment pinned under a charred wooden beam which had fallen after once supporting the ceiling. Working it out from under its overbearing cover, Yotsuba realized that it was the remains of the dictionary that Fuutarou had made for her.

Parts had been burned away, or charred beyond all saving. Only the cover was still partially legible; it now read "世界の", the rest completely illegible.

"The world's..." Yotsuba murmured.

"Do you want to keep it?"

She shook her head. "No. Uesugi-san can make new. One day."

Kora nodded her head approvingly. "Good. Let's check the other huts."

"Ok."

Yotsuba stood, and the two of them started to make their way towards the hole in the wall where the door used to be. Then, Kora suddenly stopped, and Yotsuba had to pull up short to avoid walking into her back.

Kora began to tremble, and turned away from the door - and Yotsuba could see that her eyes were wide, and her face blanched (or, at least, as blanched as it could get).

"I... I can't do it," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I can't face them again."

Kora began to tremble even more, and she grabbed the ruins of the stone wall to support herself. Yotsuba watched her... and then made an instinctive decision. She stepped forward, and pulled the girl before her into her arms, holding her in tight. After a moment's hesitation, Kora returned the gesture, her hands gently clutching at Yotsuba's back.

The trembling got worse, and Yotsuba tightened her grip. The muscles of Kora's back were like steel, but Yotsuba was surprised to realize that she actually had more than a few centimetres on the girl in her arms. Her personality was just so... larger than life, normally, that Yotsuba had never noticed before.

Yotsuba tentatively reached up, and stroked the back of Kora's hair as she pressed her face into Yotsuba's shoulder. Somehow, the gentle touch released something in Kora, something that had been bottled up and stoppered - because as Yotsuba pet her hair, Kora finally, finally broke down.

Her shuddering was brief, but intense. It wasn't that which broke Yotsuba's heart though, nor the shallow, hyperventilating breaths that she took, her lungs demanding more air than her tears would allow her, tears which soaked through her shirt immediately.

It was the wailing.

The sheer pain and mourning in the sound, the brokenness, it would have been enough to bring Yotsuba to her knees if she hadn't needed to be a rock. Listening to the girl she had come to respect break, her agony finally coming to the surface... it was almost more than she could bear. The keening threatened to drown her, and it was all she could do to keep herself together. Yotsuba pulled her in as tightly as she could, determined to be as much of a support as she could. Stroking her hair, she whispered soft words, which meant nothing, but that she hoped were comforting.

Eventually, far, far sooner than they had any right to, the tears stopped, and Kora pulled back. Her eyes were swollen, red mixing with the tanned brown of her cheeks. Her cheeks were red too, and she glanced away from Yotsuba.

"I... Thanks," she murmured, wiping her eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry you had to see that. Hear that."

"I said I am here," Yotsuba said simply. "So, I am here."

"Yeah..."

Kora was clearly embarrassed, a feeling with which Yotsuba could empathize from her own (multiple) breakdowns since arriving in Foryth Eldi.

"Um... please don't tell Fuutarou," Kora said, looking at her feet. "I... don't want him to know that I cried."

"Huh? Why? He has seen me cry," Yotsuba asked, puzzled.

"That is different. You are his lover."

"So?"

"I am his teacher," Kora said simply, "and also a warrior. I cannot cry."

"Uesugi-san doesn't care," Yotsuba said, shaking her head. "I don't too. He is Kora's friend. You can cry."

Kora paused... and then a soft smile came across her face.

"Maybe," she replied, quietly. "Still. Please don't tell him."

"If... If you want it."

Kora nodded, took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and then slowly turned back around.

"...Let's go."

The two of them exited the big house back into the village square, the sight of the horrible pile in plain view for both to see. Averting their eyes, Kora and Yotsuba began to work their way through the remainder of the huts. Most of them had been completely destroyed by the fire, but a few were still half-standing, especially the chieftain's house. However, they didn't find much more of value. The food stores had all been spoiled, and anything remotely of value had been taken by the raiders.

The last hut they went to was Gryf's. Most of it had been burned to the ground, to the point that Yotsuba was hesitant to even enter - but Kora was confident.

"Gryf hides stuff," she said confidently. "Let's see what there is."

She began hunting through the ashes, and after a moment Yotsuba joined suit. They searched for about twenty minutes to no avail, and Kora was beginning to get visibly frustrated. Then, Yotsuba pulled back her hand from the ashes with a yelp.

"Ah! Blood!", she said, nursing her finger. "There's something sharp."

"Show me," Kora commanded, and quickly healed the small cut when Yotsuba showed her. As she did so, a wave of nausea came over Yotsuba which had nothing to do with what she'd seen. She covered her mouth with her now-healed hand, and took deep breaths.

"I feel sick."

"Shit, I forgot," Kora hissed. "The magics don't mix. I'm sorry, Yotsuba."

Yotsuba waved her concern away, and returned to the debris. They began to carefully clear away the ash from where Yotsuba had been injured, revealing a long metal box with ornamentations on the corners; Yotsuba had cut herself on one of them.

"That bastard," Kora laughed. "It was hidden under the floor, the fire must have covered the gaps so they didn't find it."

"What is it?"

"Open it and see."

Yotsuba flipped the clasp, and opened the lid to see that the inside was made of soft furs. The fuzzy interior was cushioning something that Yotsuba had only ever seen at sporting events - a beautiful longbow, at least as tall as she was. As well, there was a quiver with about fifty arrows.

"He must not have had time to grab it before the raid started," Kora chuckled, shaking her head. "Lucky."

"Uh... this is huge. Can anyone besides him use it?" Yotsuba asked doubtfully.

"I can. Very effectively, too."

Yotsuba nodded silently. After having felt Kora's back muscles, she had no reason to doubt her, despite her height.

"Anyways," Kora murmured, "I think we've got everything we can from here. It's -word Yotsuba didn't understand- that we couldn't find any blankets, but that's not too surprising given the fires."

"Ok," Yotsuba responded.

The two of them stood, and made their way out to the village plaza, and began to walk towards the remains of the bramble patch... but then Kora stopped.

"I can't," she whispered.

"Huh?"

"I can't leave them like this. It isn't right."

"What you do?" Yotsuba asked, frowning.

"I can at least finish the job."

Kora turned back around, and walked straight towards the pile of bodies that had once been her friends and her family. As she walked, she began to sing. It began with a low tone, a dark and aching note, and it stayed low for a long time, Kora's deep alto resonating through the village. As she approached the corpses, it almost felt like the light of the sun had become a little bit dimmer, like the heat of the day had grown a little bit colder. The shadows seemed to lengthen, and though Kora was but small, she seemed to Yotsuba to be all-encompassing. Her focus was drawn entirely into the singing woman.

As she sang, the wind began to whip up, stirring the ashes on the ground into small vortices, spinning along the surface. A perimeter of small flames began to flare up on the ground, starting at various points and following their own arcs across the stone pavement, until eventually a low circle of flames surrounded the pile. Then, Kora began to raise her pitch, and the flames rose with her, until there was a towering pyre before her, flames rising twenty metres into the air. The inferno closed in, and though it was day, Kora's silhouette was all that Yotsuba could see, backlit by the dancing, nauseating flames.

Everything else, every other source of light and reason was blotted out.

As the circle closed, the stench of burning flesh came through the air, and Yotsuba thought she would be sick again. Though the flames were intense, they weren't perfectly opaque, and Yotsuba thought she could see... things sticking through the flames, things she didn't want to see. Dancing figures, burning figures. Things that, if she thought about too long, she knew she would feel like she was dying herself. There was more to these flames than just heat.

The column of fire condensed in on itself, until eventually it was solid, and the inferno was so scorching that the stones themselves underfoot began to sizzle and melt. Kora's song was reaching the upper reaches of her range, the approaches of a soprano, notes sickening and piercing. Ash and smoke rose high into the sky in their numbers, but the flames were so hot that the combustion was almost perfect - very little was able to escape.

Kora's song of flame and grief continued for about twenty minutes, until finally she let out a scream, and the flames exploded, shooting high into the sky in every direction, balls of burning stone flying away. They sizzled out before hitting the ground, but only just - and where they landed, impact craters remained. Where the flames had once been, where the awful pile of human misery and death had been... there was now only a shallow pit, lined with white-hot stone and sizzling ash.

And with that, all trace of the fallen of Foryth Eldi was burned away.

Kora fell to one knee, and would have fallen over entirely if Yotsuba hadn't run over to support her.

"I never... I never want to do something like that again," she whispered. "Never."

"You never will," Yotsuba whispered back.

Suddenly, Kora stiffened, and her eyes widened. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no."

"What's wrong?"

"We have to go. Now."

"Eh? Why?!" Yotsuba asked, confused.

"Riders. Five of them. They're still a ways away, but we can't let them catch us. We have no time. Forest. Now."

"O-Ok!"

Kora began to sing again, and the white glow of movement-enhancement surrounded them once more. The pair started sprinting for the woods at full-tilt, their magically enhanced speed augmenting their natural agility. Within less than a minute, they had plunged into the woods, branches whipping past their faces and trees whizzing by.

"Fuck!" Kora yelled in frustration as they ran. "Right after I lectured Fuutarou about lighting a fire, too. We would have been fine!"

"It was important," Yotsuba shot back. "Do not... look back in time with sad."

She didn't know the word for regret. She hoped her point got across. Kora was silent for a moment, the only sound the pounding of their feet, and the branches screaming by.

"You're right. It was worth it," she said finally, shaking her head.

"Will they catch us?" Yotsuba asked, a note of fear entering her voice.

"If they had been the raiders, then no."

"If...?"

"They're not," Kora said bitterly. "I could tell even from that distance. They were Gweridth."

"How you know?"

"The ears."

They kept running in silence for a few minutes, then finally Yotsuba couldn't hold her questions in any longer.

"Are they coming after us?" she asked.

"I don't know," Kora replied, glancing back over her shoulder. "My range only goes so far. I'm not worried about them following us now, though. I'm worried about them tracking us later."

Yotsuba's eyes widened - she hadn't even considered that.

"All we can do is hope." Kora spat. "If they track us, we'll never get away from them with Gryf in tow."

Yotsuba was silent at that, not sure what to think. Then, as they ran past the small clearing where they had sheltered immediately after the attack, she made her decision.

"Slow. We need to be."

"Huh? Slow? Why?" Kora asked, frowning.

"Slow them down. Fake foot."

Kora's eyes widened, and then she nodded. Suddenly, the light around the two of them got a bit weaker - and Yotsuba felt a sense of loss as her muscles reduced to a state that was more than what they normally were... but less than they had been.

It was compensated, however, by the fact that when she ran, her feet suddenly didn't leave footprints.

Instead, the earth sprung back up wherever she stepped, vibrating like a string. Glancing back, she saw that two sets of footprints were running off in either direction at a forty-five degree angle to their true trajectory. She turned and grinned at Kora, who gave her a wink.

"Fake foot," Kora said, laughing slightly. "Good idea, Yotsuba."

They continued at the reduced pace, with fake footprints shooting off at random angles every ten minutes or so. Kora also altered their real path so that it didn't aim directly back to the lake, instead veering off towards the north. Then, when she judged they were far enough away, she had them make a sharp turn to the right, and make a beeline for the lake.

Finally, about five hours after they had originally left, Kora and Yotsuba returned to their companions.

---

Fuutarou was just putting the finishing touches on his construction when he heard a crashing sound coming from the woods to the north, orthogonal to the direction from which Yotsuba and Kora had left. Whipping around to look, he reached for his sharpened stone, which he'd had to hone multiple times over the past several hours.

Then, he relaxed as Yotsuba and Kora burst out of the trees, putting the stone back down.

"Welcome back," he called as they approached. "Did you get what you needed?"

"Yes, but there was a problem," Kora said. "We might be being tracked."

"What?! What happened?"

Kora began to explain, but Fuutarou cut her off.

"No offense, Kora, but it sounds like time is important."

He then turned to the girl next to her. "Yotsuba, explain to me what happened."

Yotsuba explained the situation in rapid-fire Japanese, and by the end, Fuutarou's face was pale.

"We need to go," he muttered. "I don't know if you are being followed, but it's better to think that you are, and be safe, than to think that you're not, and be danger."

"Yes," Kora said, frowning, "But we need to also make proper preparations to travel. Rushing off and leaving our only water source before we're done preparing is a bad idea."

"Yes - and we still need food."

"I- I'll try fishing again," Kora said, a dejected tone to her voice.

Fuutarou got a manic grin on his face, one that certainly didn't suit his usual demeanour. "Actually, I had an idea. Can you make lightning, Kora?"

She blinked. "I... guess? It's not easy, but I guess I could try."

Fuutarou went over to the small pile he'd made while taking a break from his construction project, scooped it up in his hands, and handed it over to Kora.

"Here," he said, smiling. "Toss those into the water. When enough fish have come to the surface to feed, strike the surface with a lightning bolt. Any fish that are partially emerged will die."

Kora looked down, a doubtful look on her face. "What are these...?"

"Chopped up worms."

She made a gagging sound, then threw them over-handed into the water. Then, she began to sing, and the air above the water began to crackle. As she sang, she watched the fish carefully. Then, when about twenty of them were nibbling at the worms, she released the bolt and smashed it into the water's surface, and the whole lake was hit with a percussive blast, sending water up into the air in a small column.

About three minutes later, somewhere on the order of forty fish were floating belly up in the water. Kora began to sing again, and their prey began to slowly drift towards the shore.

"Well, that was effective," Kora said drily. "Good job, Fuutarou. Gross, though. Did you do that on purpose to mess with me?"

"Uesugi-san, are you an eco-terrorist now...?" Yotsuba asked, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Yes," Fuutarou replied to both at the same time, and all of them began to laugh.

Once the fish had been cooked and stored in the rucksacks, and the waterskins filled with water from the lake, Fuutarou led the two women over to where he'd been hard at work for the last several hours.

"Eh? Uesugi-san, is that what I think it is?"

"Yep!" he said, proudly. "It's a stretcher. I didn't have any fabric, so I had to make the bed from branches... but it should be sturdy enough."

"Where did you get the nails?"

"Made 'em from rocks."

"Where did you get the bindings?"

"Made 'em from grass I re-enforced with magic."

"Where did you- you know what? Nevermind. Good job, Uesugi-san!" Yotsuba said, shaking her head.

"Thanks! Now it should be easier to move Gryf."

"Would one of you," Kora asked impatiently, not understanding a word of their conversation, "please explain to me what this thing is?"

"Person carry bed," Yotsuba said. Kora's eyebrow raised, and she turned to look at Fuutarou.

"Person carry bed," he concurred, and Kora sighed.

"Person carry bed it is, then," she muttered.

Given how late it had gotten, they elected to spend one more night at the lake before heading northeast - they would make faster progress, Kora claimed, in the long run if they at least got some rest. Fuutarou had the first watch, and as Yotsuba, Kora, and Gryf slowly all fell asleep, he leaned his back against his usual tree. Eyeing the women's sleeping forms from afar, he frowned. He had the distinct feeling that a lot more had happened than Yotsuba had explained to him. There was something... different about the dynamic between the two.

I suppose when you risk your lives together, you grow closer.

When the time finally came for him to wake up Kora, he felt emotionally and physically exhausted, and he fell asleep almost immediately. His dreams were, for once, quiet - for some reason, his sleeping brain had decided it wanted to show him a stretcher-making competition. He awoke in the morning convinced that he was getting ready for a climactic battle with his rival, who was apparently named "Earl".

Sitting up, he noticed that Yotsuba, who was supposed to be on watch, had fallen asleep leaning against the tree. He got up to go over and reprimand her... but as he got closer, he could see that there were dried stains on her cheeks - she had been crying in her sleep. Frowning, Fuutarou decided that there had been no harm, and so that meant there had been no foul.

Whatever she saw at the village must have been terrible.

Quietly leaving Yotsuba to sleep and walking over to the lake, he sat by the water, humming to himself to practice his magic. In particular, he was quite pleased with the progress he'd made with his control the previous day - the voiceless voices had done exactly what he wanted them to do, especially since he hadn't asked for too much. As he sat by the water, he attempted to just change the currents in the lake, forming small whirlpools. The vortices complied with his demand that they exist, and he amused himself by creating intricate patterns, and watching the fluid dynamics react to the disturbances his magic was creating.

Eventually, Yotsuba awoke with a start, looking around her in a panic. Fuutarou raised his hand in greeting, and Yotsuba's face turned red.

"I... I fell asleep on watch?!"

"Yep," Fuutarou said, looking back at the water. "You must have been exhausted."

Yotsuba was silent for a moment, and then called back. "Sorry."

Fuutarou shrugged. "It is what it is. Let's get ready to head out - I'll wake up Gryf and Kora."

Rising to his feet and dispelling the currents he'd taken under his control, he roused his two companions. Kora was easy to wake up, but Gryf was having trouble - the wound in his abdomen wasn't looking good, despite Kora's emergency treatment. Fuutarou eventually managed to get him awake, but his breathing was laboured, and he was beginning to worry that Gryf was going to suffer an infection.

With the help of Kora and Yotsuba, they moved Gryf onto the stretcher - to Fuutarou's pleasure, the stretcher held beautifully.

"Are we ready to go?" he asked, hoisting one of the rucksacks onto his back.

"Yep," Yotsuba said, carrying the other and holding one end of the stretcher.

Kora just nodded, her dagger and the giant bow she had recovered from the village strapped to her body. Fuutarou began to sing, and they began the long trek to the northeast in search of a healer, leaving the lake behind them. The woods seemed deep and oppressive around them, and at least once Fuutarou was sure he heard the call of some kind of predator animal - but they just kept pressing onwards.

The Gweridth village was a week away, or so Kora had claimed.

The journey did not take a week.

Their progress was slowed on multiple fronts - carrying Gryf affected their progress, as did the need to frequently find new sources of water; the water-skins lasted about three days each. The fish they had collected also only lasted about three days - while there had been a lot of fish, there were also four of them.

On the second day, Fuutarou's fear began to be realized - Gryf developed a fever, and the wound itself began to fester. Kora's repeated healing slowed the development of the infection, and they frequently washed the wound, but Fuutarou feared the worst. It was quite possible that it wouldn't be the wound itself that killed their friend, but what had entered through the wound.

On the third day, they stumbled across a small creek, and took the opportunity to refill the water-skins. They also drank their fill from the creek itself, and set up camp there for the night, choosing to stop a bit early. The supply of fish was also beginning to run low, so Kora took the bow and arrow, and hunted game - a job at which she was far more proficient than fishing. When she returned, she had in tow two animals which looked like deer, though they had small bony spikes growing in ridges from their backs. She skinned them with the paring knife Yotsuba had found, a task which took her no small amount of time. Eventually, she had a considerable amount of meat, as well as the pelts, which she washed in the clean waters flowing by.

When evening came, Kora was finally willing to hazard a fire, and so they cooked the meat over the fire. It tasted far better than the fish, though still rather gamey - it also didn't help that they didn't have any spices, or even salt. After the four of them had finished eating, Kora spent the rest of the evening cooking the remainder of the meat, preparing it for later consumption.

The fourth day was bad. Gryf's fever deepened, and he began drifting in and out of consciousness. Kora got quieter and quieter over the course of the day, focusing her attention on healing Gryf as they moved. There was a near constant low-level green light around Kora's head as they travelled. Fuutarou knew from experience how draining the healing magic was - yet Kora barely even stumbled.

His respect for her, and his worry, only grew.

When they finally made camp for the night, he fully expected Kora to collapse from exhaustion. Instead, however, she beckoned Yotsuba over to her.

"I was thinking," Kora said quietly, "that Fuutarou and I can both use magic. You cannot, and so you have no means to fight, or protect yourself. That must change."

Yotsuba's eyes widened, and a look of fear entered them.

"I... learn magic?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Kora shook her head. "Not magic. You don't have the aptitude. Regardless... you must learn to fight."

Then, she cracked a smile, though it didn't reach her eyes.

"Dagger, or bow? Your choice."

Yotsuba looked back and forth between the curved, wicker dagger on Kora's hip, and the huge bow on her back. She swallowed audibly, and then whispered, "Bow."

"Good choice."

Despite her obvious exhaustion, Kora spent the rest of the evening teaching Yotsuba how to use the bow. While she'd had a little experience from having done a small amount of archery in various gym classes in the past, Yotsuba had nothing on Kora's near-perfect aim, slamming arrows into the tree she had chosen as a target with almost nonchalant ease. However, what she did have going for her was her own natural physical talent, and her hard-won hand-eye coordination. By the end of the evening, Kora was nodding approvingly.

"We'll make an archer of you yet," she smiled. "You're definitely better than Mister Weakling over here."

"I heard that," Fuutarou growled from where he was sat, practicing his magic.

"Good, you were supposed to. Go do some push-ups," Kora laughed. Fuutarou rolled his eyes, and returned to controlling the flow of the air over the grassy forest floor.

The fifth day was much the same as the fourth - Kora relentlessly healing Gryf to try and stem the course of the infection, and Fuutarou singing the whole time to speed them up. His throat was getting quite raw now, though the absence of smoke and the availability of water was making the whole process much easier compared to the last time. In the evening, Kora again trained Yotsuba on how to use a bow. Her accuracy was decent, if she had time to think and line up her shot, though she still wildly missed about one in three shots - which was still far better than Fuutarou would have done.

On the sixth day, they finally emerged from the woods into open grasslands, large open plains stretching far ahead of them. Kora got a dark look on her face at the sight of that, and murmured that they would be far easier to spot. When they made camp for the night, she focused entirely on healing Gryf, and set Yotsuba to practice archery on her own.

On the morning of the seventh day, Kora called a meeting.

"According to what Granny told me, the Gweridth village was a week to the northeast. She also gave me some basic instructions on how to get there - there's apparently a large standing stone about a day's journey away to the southwest of the village. If we see it, we can go there, orient ourselves, and then it's apparently due northeast of the stone."

"It's good that there's a landmark," Fuutarou frowned. "Hard to move in these fields."

"Easy lost!" Yotsuba agreed.

"Also," Kora said, "we're running low on food again. Yotsuba, I want you to go hunting with me - you'll only get better with that bow if you use it on a real target."

Yotsuba's face immediately blanched.

"Y-y-y-you want me? Shoot? K-kill?!" she asked, her voice getting a bit shrill.

"Well, I don't want you to plant fucking flowers with it," Kora snapped, more than a hint of irritation in her voice. "If we get attacked by bandits, or the raiders find us again, I need you to be able to defend yourself. That thing isn't a toy."

"O-Ok," Yotsuba whimpered.

Fuutarou frowned. Kora's irritation struck him as unfair - but he found it difficult to fault her. She was spending all day casting draining healing magic while taking on one-half of the burden of carrying Gryf, and also teaching Yotsuba how to not die at night. On top of that, she was in charge of hunting all the food, cleaning it, and cooking it.

Now that he actually stopped to think about it, she had taken on almost the entire burden of their survival.

It's a wonder she hasn't snapped before now...

Silently, as they broke camp, he vowed to do more to aid in their defence.

The day was bad. Sometime around noon, Gryf lost consciousness entirely, his forehead blazing hot to the touch, and his clothes soaked through with sweat. As they moved, Fuutarou let off on the speed magic, and instead cast magic to cool Gryf's head, reducing the temperature of the air around his skull - since he wasn't casting magic directly on Gryf, it didn't seem to have an adverse effect. Additionally, the standing stone was nowhere to be seen - but the tension of anticipation remained throughout the whole day. By nightfall, all three of them were tired and irritable.

After they made camp, Yotsuba went on her own to practice the bow, and Kora sprawled on the ground, her chest heaving from exertion.

"We... need... to go hunting," she panted.

"No," Fuutarou snapped, shaking his head. "You rest."

"But-"

"No," he repeated fiercely. "If you keep going like this, you will collapse. Then we have two Gryfs."

Kora stared at him for a long time without saying anything - two, perhaps even three minutes. Then, she growled, and stared up at the sky, a reddish-purple glow cast by the sun dropping below the horizon.

"Fine - but we will run out of food some time tomorrow."

"We will go hunting. You stay here and rest. Watch Gryf," Fuutarou said defiantly.

"Huh?! You don't know what you're doing!"

"Can't hurt," Fuutarou shrugged. "Might help."

"It will hurt if you two get lost, and I have to come find you," Kora scowled. "I'm trying to keep everyone alive here, Fuutarou. I don't want to lose either of you two."

Fuutarou hadn't considered that - the difficulties of navigating the plains at night with no discernible landmarks. Nevertheless, he shook his head.

"I'm worried about you, Kora."

Her face softened, and she sighed. "...I know."

"Please, just... rest for a short while. It doesn't have to be the whole night. Just... just a moment."

After a long pause, silently, Kora nodded. Then, she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. Within a matter of minutes, she was asleep. Fuutarou watched her, seeing how her chest rose and fell, her face serene as her waking worries were stripped away. It made his heart ache, seeing the difference between the sleeping Kora and the waking one... and the Kora of a week and a half before.

She's become so burdened...

Fuutarou sat there practicing his magic for the next hour, controlling the wind blowing around the grass so that it formed tiny little cyclones. He'd started enjoying this 'vortex practice' as he'd come to mentally refer to it, ever since he'd started in the lake. The magic didn't like going in circles; it seemed that, like everything else, it had some form of inertia, and so deviations from a straight line required force - and therefore, control. It felt almost like resistance training with a weight. It felt good.

After the hour had elapsed, he sighed, knowing he couldn't delay any longer. He walked over, and shook Kora away. Her eyes snapped open immediately, and she slowly rose to her feet.

"You should not have let me sleep," she said, though her tone was far less grumpy. "We've lost a lot of light."

"Sorry," Fuutarou said, not sorry in the least. Kora looked at him sharply... and then sighed.

"I'll go find Yotsuba... and we'll go."

"Sure," Fuutarou said, going back to his spot. "I'll watch Gryf."

Kora nodded, and began to walk over to where the rhythmic thrum of Yotsuba practicing the bow could be heard. Then, she paused, and looked back at him.

"Fuutarou?"

"Yeah?"

"...Thanks."

He smiled, and waved her off. Kora delved into the grass, and then was gone.

Fuutarou sat next to his fallen companion practicing for another hour. Occasionally, he would take breaks to cool the air around Gryf's head whenever he was worried that the fever was getting too high. At one point, as he was doing so, he suddenly got an idea. After he'd finished bringing the temperature down, he got up and walked about ten metres away from Gryf - a safe distance away if anything went wrong.

He focused on a small volume of air in front of him, and began to sing out loud.

Fuutarou imagined the molecules in the space vibrating... and then the vibration being transferred out of the volume of air, thereby bringing the temperature down. He also imagined the water molecules in the air beginning to condense, coming together into a clump. Before his eyes, as he sang in harmony with the voiceless voices that were vibrating within his chest, a small ball of clear liquid appeared as though out of nowhere. Then, starting from the outside and working its way in, the ball began to freeze.

As it did so, Fuutarou changed the shape of the water, elongating it until it formed a half-metre long rod, dangerously thin. The water continued to freeze, until about five minutes later it was solidly ice. It continued to float in the air in front of him, staying absolutely stock-still. Then, he used his magic to rotate it until it was pointing straight down towards the ground.

Slam.

The rod rose a few centimetres into the air... and then slammed down into the dirt with a high velocity. The ice buried itself almost half its length into the ground before snapping from the impact, the upper half falling to the ground. Fuutarou picked up the broken shard, and inspected it. It was perhaps only a millimetre thick - hardly durable enough for a serious weapon. Nevertheless, that had been partially due to his choice of how to distribute the water.

With enough power... and time... and if I increase the velocity, and find a way to make the freezing process instantaneous...

He grinned to himself, and chuckled. "Icicle bullet acquired."

There was suddenly a rustling in the long grass, and he whipped around to see Kora and Yotsuba emerge - Yotsuba was in tears, and Kora was covered in blood. Over her shoulder were slung several animal bodies, though she was too far away for him to make out what they were.

"Uesugi-saaaaaaan," she cried, running over and wrapping her arms around him.

"Eh?! Yotsuba, what happened?"

"I had to kill a bunny... or, I don't know if it was really a bunny... but it was so cute, tiny, and fluffy! And... and... and Kora made me shoot it! Right through the neck!"

Fuutarou patted her on the head. "Um... I'm sorry. At least you managed to hit it?"

"Uesugi-saaaaaaan!"

Fuutarou patted her on the head again, and looked over at Kora.

"Did you get a lot?"

She shrugged. "Just a few hares. It will hopefully last us a few more days though. They were quite big."

Fuutarou eyed her as she walked over to Gryf's side, and laid out the carcasses.

"Unfortunately, I don't think we can have a fire tonight," she said sadly. "Too visible on the plains."

"True," he said quietly.

He continued to pat the head of the sobbing Yotsuba, and after a moment, broached the awkward subject.

"So... you made her shoot the hare?"

Kora looked uncomfortable. "I feel bad... but it had to happen. I can't be the only one who can hunt. If... if something were to happen to me..."

"I'm not blaming you," Fuutarou said quickly. "I... just..."

To his surprise, Kora looked immensely relieved at that.

"I'm glad. I don't like being the bad guy," she sighed. "I had the exact same reaction when Granny forced me to take my first kill... I still have the image of that poor duck in my head. I was a wreck for a week. So... I'm not without sympathy, you know?"

"I know," Fuutarou murmured. Then, he looked down at Yotsuba.

"Will you be ok?"

There was a sniff, and then Yotsuba looked up at him from his chest.

"Yeah... I know it needed to happen... it's just... it was so cute, Uesugi-san. I feel so horrible right now!"

"Good," Fuutarou said quietly. "If you feel horrible, that means you won't ever take a life unless you need to."

Yotsuba nodded, and pressed her cheek back against his chest. He glanced over at Kora, who seemed amused, despite not understanding what either of them had said.

"Hopefully we're close to the village," he said.

Kora just nodded.

The eighth day marked a sea change. Yotsuba was the first to spot it - to the north, there was a tall standing stone. They changed course, making directly for the landmark. Distances were misleading in the plains, however, and it took them almost the entirety of the remainder of the day before they finally arrived at the base of the massive standing stone. The thing stood almost twenty metres tall, dominating everything around it.

In the presence of the looming behemoth, Fuutarou had to wonder if it was even possible for humans to raise such a thing without modern technology, even with the use of magic. It was hard to believe.

On the ninth day, they set out directly northeast of the standing stone. The day was hot, and the sun beat down on them overhead. Nevertheless, they kept a steady pace, the plains making it easier to make direct progress relative to the forest depths. Finally, as the sun began to get low in the sky, they emerged from the grass to find themselves on the edge of a tilled field.

Standing in the field were two men who were in the middle of a conversation, farming equipment lazily thrown over their shoulders. However, Fuutarou's eyes widened as soon as he saw them. The men had skin as pale as the moonlight, with silky blond hair, and pointed ears. They were lithe, and tall.

"Elf," he whispered.

The two men noticed them, and one of them brandished what appeared to be a hoe at them; the other took off at a blinding pace in the opposite direction.

"Please!" Kora called, desperately. "We need help!"

The Gweridth man who was fleeing paused, and the one closer to them lowered his improvised weapon slightly, but he still looked suspicious.

"Wait here," he said. Somehow, Fuutarou hadn't considered the possibility... but the man had an accent, at least compared to the Tayernasi he had learned from Kora. "Foy, go get the chieftain."

The second man resumed his flight, and soon he was gone. The silence that grew reminded Fuutarou painfully of his own arrival in Foryth Eldi - he hoped that things would go more smoothly than they had before.

You had Kora last time. You have Kora again. Relax. We made it.

About twenty minutes later, the man named Foy emerged from the grass again - and behind him was an even taller man with broad shoulders and a long beard. Accompanying him were ten other people, all Gweridth, and each holding long spears with deadly-looking tips. Eyeing them up, Fuutarou dearly hoped they wouldn't have any cause to use them.

The tall man with the beard, who he assumed was the chieftain, stepped forward.

"Tell me your purpose here, Dynd," he growled, and Fuutarou immediately knew from his tone that they were screwed.

"We're from Foryth Eldi," Kora said, her voice trembling. "The village has been destroyed, burned to the ground by raiders. Everyone... everyone is dead. Our friend was wounded, he's dying. We need help. A healer. Please - I beg of you."

The chieftain stroked his beard, and eyed up the human group in front of him - the look in his eye was a calculating, cruel one.

"Tell me, Dynd - what do you have to offer us for the kindness you seek?"

"We- we have nothing. We are refugees," Kora said, Fuutarou picking up the last word via context.

"Is that so?" the chieftain said, shaking his head. "Then I'm afraid we have nothing to offer you. We aren't going to let some filthy Dynd into the village without anything in return - you'll spread disease, and eat all of our food."

"I- Filthy?!" Kora exclaimed, outraged.

"You reek," the man sniffed, turning up his nose. "You're lucky we don't kill you on the spot - it is only out of regard for the holy land, wench, that I stay my hand. Count your kindnesses."

Kora opened and closed her mouth, words unable to form, so extreme was her anger. The chieftain smirked at her, then turned around and walked back the way he had come.

"Don't let them into the village," he called loudly enough for them all to hear, lazily raising a hand. "If any of them try, slit their throats and put their heads on pikes. Show them how we deal with insolent Dynd in this country."

"Yes, sir," one of the guards said, eyeing Kora up like he would enjoy nothing more than piercing her with his spear.

Then, the guards turned, and followed the chieftain out of the field. The man who had threatened us with the hoe shrugged.

"Well... uh, that's how it is. Now, if you'll excuse me - you're on private property."

Kora's mouth hung open, and then she turned back to Fuutarou and Yotsuba.

"I... I..."

Then, her shoulders sank in disbelief.

"This was our last hope," she whispered, looking down at Gryf as though he was already a dead man.

"Let's make camp," Fuutarou said, clenching his teeth. "There's nothing else we can do."

Defeated, they retreated about a hundred metres from the field, and set up camp. Kora focused on healing Gryf, who still hadn't regained consciousness, while Fuutarou practiced his magic, and Yotsuba trained with her bow - all of them seeking distractions, all of them unwilling to face the reality of what had just transpired.

As the sun sank below the horizon, Kora surprised Fuutarou by setting up a fire.

"Kora?" he asked uncertainly. "Weren't you saying not to start a fire in the plains - that it would make us very easy to see?"

"Who cares?" she shrugged, staring at the flames she had just ignited. "We're next to a village of enemies who know we're here anyways - being a little more visible is worth the cost."

Her gaze wandered over to Gryf, and her lower lip trembled for just a moment.

"I... I want him to be comfortable," she said quietly.

"...Alright," Fuutarou murmured, and he helped her to stoke the fire.

They ate the last of the hares Yotsuba had caught, and simply used the fire for warmth. Moving Gryf closer to the flames, Fuutarou tended to him as best he could, keeping his head cool, and getting water into his mouth by gently trickling it over his lips. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do for the man.

Yotsuba eventually returned from her archery training, a dark look on her face. They sat around the fire, nobody saying a word. Finally, Yotsuba couldn't take the silence anymore.

"What now?"

The silence resumed, and then Kora sighed.

"We have to just keep going. Find another town. Find another healer. Pray that Gryf lives long enough to make it there. There's nothing else we can do."

"Do you know where the next village is?" Fuutarou asked.

"...No."

"...Oh."

The silence resumed, broken only by the cracking of the fire, and Gryf's deep, painful breathing.

"That doesn't change the fact that we have to try," Kora said defiantly.

"I know," Fuutarou said quietly.

Left unspoken was the fact that the odds of failure were so high as to be essentially certain.

Eventually, they decided to sleep. After a brief discussion with Yotsuba, Fuutarou told Kora to just rest; he and Yotsuba would take the entire watch. After a perfunctory protest, Kora accepted - and was asleep within minutes. Fuutarou took first watch, and Yotsuba curled up near his feet, falling asleep only slightly slower than Kora.

Alone, Fuutarou began to hum to himself, drawing the moisture out of the air to form a ball of water, which he subsequently froze. Over the course of his watch, he played around with the ice, making it take on different shapes, trying to determine what the optimal configuration was, and how much ice he could actually create from the humidity in the atmosphere.

It helped to distract him.

About four hours into the watch, he suddenly heard a rustling sound, and he immediately stood, swinging to look towards the spot in the darkness from which the sound had come. Lowering the ice into the ground, he released the magic, and then summoned a ball of light above where the sound had come from, illuminating the surrounding area in a faint orange glow.

"Who is there?" he growled, one hand dropping down to sharpened rock he'd kept strapped to his waist since the lake.

The light flickered as he spoke, then came back to full strength and revealed a Gweridth man in the grass, his pale skin reflecting the orange light like ivory and giving him an otherworldly look that added on to his already alien appearance. He raised his hands, and slowly stepped forward.

"I come in peace," he said, stopping about ten metres away from him. Astonished, Fuutarou frowned, looking over the man's face.

If they wanted to attack us, they have enough people... they could just do it. They don't need to resort to subterfuge.

"...Speak," Fuutarou said, his hand still on the sharpened stone.

The man stepped forward into the light of the fire, and finally Fuutarou placed him - it was the man who had brandished the hoe at them in the field.

"I... I brought some help," he said, biting his lip. "I don't like seeing people suffer. I... think what chieftain Bren did is wrong."

Narrowing his eyes, Fuutarou slowly lowered his hand away from the stone at his waist.

"...Go on," he said.

"I have some supplies, and I brought our village healer. I... can't do much more than this, or Bren will find out, and I'll be punished."

Fuutarou was stumped. This was a completely unexpected development.

"I... will wake up our leader," Fuutarou said eventually - and then he realized that, at some point over the last week, it had become true. Kora was their leader.

The man nodded, and Fuutarou backed up until he was next to Kora and Gryf, keeping his front facing towards the Gweridth man the entire time. He leaned down, and shook Kora somewhat more roughly than he'd intended.

"Mmm? Fuutarou, what are you-"

"Emergency."

Immediately, Kora was wide awake and on her feet. Her hand was on her dagger, and her eyes were alert, looking around the campsite. She immediately spotted the Gweridth man with his hands raised, and her eyes narrowed.

"Explain."

"He says he's here with help - supplies and a healer."

For a brief moment, Kora's face allowed hope to shine through. Then, reality took hold, and she frowned.

"How do we know he's telling the truth?"

"Maybe you can check? See who else is here?"

"Good idea."

Kora began to hum quietly, and as she did, she started walking towards the Gweridth man who was eyeing the two of them up curiously.

"Go wake up Yotsuba," Kora said. "As for you... you say that you've got a healer?"

Fuutarou hurried over to where Yotsuba was still curled up and gently snoring. He crouched over her, and shook her awake.

"Yotsuba, we've potentially got a situation. A Gweridth man showed up and said he's got a healer. Please get up."

Yotsuba sat up, bleary-eyed.

"Ehhh? Uesugi-san... what?"

Fuutarou repeated himself, and Yotsuba looked up at him disbelievingly. "Huh..."

Turning back around to look, Fuutarou saw that a second Gweridth had entered the firelight: an old, wizened man who walked with a cane. The first man seemed to be making an introduction of some sort, because Kora was nodding. She looked over at Fuutarou and Yotsuba, and gave a single quick nod - all clear.

Temporarily relaxing, Fuutarou rejoined the group with Yotsuba trailing behind him. Kora was standing next to the first man, her arms crossed.

The old man stood over Gryf and checked his temperature with his hand. He winced, then also took his pulse.

"This will not be easy. You are lucky that you got me as the healer."

Kora raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Let's see... an abdominal wound, eh? He's lucky to be alive. The wound is burned - was that your work?"

Kora stiffly nodded. "I cauterized the wound as soon as I could."

"Good, good. I also see signs of partial healing... you've been slowing the progression of the infection. Magic?"

Looking uncomfortable, Kora nodded.

"I see. Well, girlie," he said, and Kora bristled at the diminutive, "you've saved your friend's life. If the infection were any further along, I think even I couldn't have done anything."

It took a moment before his words sunk in, and then Kora's eyes lit up.

"So... you're saying you can heal him?!"

"Yes," the old man said gravely. "Just."

He opened a satchel, and by the flickering light of the fire, he began to prepare various poultices. Fuutarou saw Kora's mouth move a hair, and suddenly the clearing was flooded with light as a glowing ball appeared about half a metre off the ground - low enough to not be visible from the village thanks to the tall grass, but high enough as to not obstruct the old man's work.

"Ah, much better."

The man pulled out a small knife, and punctured the wound. Pus and blood flowed out, and he wiped it away with a cloth. He worked to remove the crusty build-up around the injury, then washed the wound out. When it was clean, he started to apply the poultices. In the light, Fuutarou could see just how red and inflamed it had become.

Then, after about fifteen minutes of applying various poultices and continuing to clean the wound, the man did something Fuutarou didn't expect: he pulled a book out of the bag, and flipped it open. He began to read by the light of the glowing orb. Fuutarou couldn't understand most of his words - he could tell the passage was in Tayernasi, because there were a few words here and there that he could pick up. The majority, however, was simply too complicated for him to follow.

As the man read, the white light of the orb began to compete for prominence with a green light that began to surround Gryf. The light was different from the one Kora and the old woman had used - this light was static, it didn't have the same... living, breathing quality that the other healing magic had shown.

Nevertheless, he could feel the voiceless voices begin to sing in his chest, an echo of the old woman's singing. He could almost imagine her voice as being part of the chorus.

Before his eyes, Fuutarou saw the muscle on either side of the wound begin to reconnect, and the tiny capillaries begin to fuse back together. All the little details were almost too much for him to follow... there was too much going on. In that moment, Fuutarou realized how much knowledge and power healing magic truly took - and he felt the enormity of the gap between himself and the old Gweridth man standing before him.

Eventually, the skin on either side of the wound itself pulled together, and reconnected. The wound was left looking as though it had never occurred - apart from some residual redness, the injury that had deposited Gryf at death's door was gone. The green light faded away, leaving just the harsh white of Kora's orb floating above Gryf's body.

"That's the wound done," the old man said, wiping sweat off his brow. "We still need to do something about the infection, though. Some of it has gotten into the rest of his system. This part is much easier."

He began to read from a different passage in the book, and Gryf began to glow green again. This time, it went much more quickly - fifteen minutes later, the light faded again, and the man leaned back.

"We're done," he said quietly. "When he wakes up in... oh, about three hours, make sure he drinks water slowly. I don't want him choking himself to death after I just saved his life. Understand?"

Silently, Kora nodded, her eyes wide.

"Food should be fine, but he should avoid walking for the next two or three days. After that, a daily training regimen of abdominal exercise - I healed the muscle wall, but it's not nearly as strong as it was. He'll need to work hard."

"Thank you," Kora breathed, still in disbelief at the turn of events. "I... how can we ever repay you?"

The old man snorted. "You kids don't have anything I want. Now, I want to go back to my nice warm cottage and get some sleep."

"Your name, at least. Please. I want to be able to tell Gryf who saved him."

He hesitated... then sighed.

"We'll likely never meet again, you know. Ah, well, the foibles of youth. Very well, my name is Meddyn. Some idiots in the capital call me "Meddyn the Sage", but I've met real sages, and I'm nothing like them. Still, I'm good enough for this village in the middle of nowhere."

Then, he let out a croaking laugh, and hobbled into the darkness.

"Um... I have some supplies as well," the man who had brought the healer said awkwardly. "Please take them."

"We'll gratefully accept," Kora said, bowing her head deeply. "Thank you."

The man looked embarrassed, and rubbed the back of his head. He took a rucksack he was wearing off, and handed it to Fuutarou, who was nearest to him.

"It has a few extra waterskins, which I filled... and also a few extra daggers. You looked a bit under-armed, no offense. Oh, and a blanket or two. The nights are getting cold."

Kora looked at the rucksack in Fuutarou's arms, and then back to the man. It could have just been a trick of the light... but her eyes looked watery.

"We can't thank you enough," she said. "Please, friend, tell us your name."

"Ah. I'm Gwyl. Sorry, I probably should have introduced myself first. I just... I wanted to get you these things."

"I have a question," Fuutarou said, piping up for the first time in a while.

"Um... yes?"

"Not to sound ungrateful," he said, frowning, "but after the guards left, you kicked us off your land. What led to the change of heart?"

"Fuutarou!" Kora scolded.

For a moment, Gwyl looked ashamed.

"I got home to my wife and my son... and as I looked at him in his crib, I thought about what it would be like if he was driven from his home one day, and had to wander the wilderness. I wondered... I wondered if he wouldn't like someone to reach out their hand if that happened. I thought... I thought maybe I should be that hand."

Fuutarou looked at him for a long moment... and then he smiled.

"You're a good man, Gwyl."

"Maybe," he said quietly. "A better man would be able to do more. All I can do is give you these supplies."

He glanced up at the night sky, and shook his head.

"I must go soon. I don't want to get caught by the guards."

He turned, and began to exit the campsite - but as he reached the edge of the firelight, he turned back around.

"Oh, one last thing - a piece of advice."

Kora nodded, silently listening.

"The reception you got from chieftain Bren... I'm sorry to say that his attitude is probably the normal reaction you'll get from most villages in Tarian. Many Gweridth see Dynd as being inferior, and disease-ridden - that's why he said what he said. If I were you, I wouldn't try to go further northeast. It won't go well for you."

Kora swallowed. "Then... Then where should we go?"

"Go south. Go to the border towns of Erlith. You will be able to find refuge there."

Then, Gwyl walked into the darkness, gone as easily as he had arrived, leaving behind a bag, and a spark of hope.