The girl tried to ignore the pain of her arm as she gazed at the crimson eyed wolf who was obviously not happy. She noticed the image of the boy who she saw was dead moments ago. 'I have to fight..' she thought, wanting to ignore the boy's image. She had the perfect chance to attack. The animal was distracted by its failed attempt. She could have tried to attack. Actually, she was about to attack but.. "Please I beg you!" The voice of the young girl played in her head. The cry for help sounded so genuine. The scream of terror at seeing her brother dead was so similar to her own when she lost her own sibling. Elena wanted help. Killing the wolf didn't seem like helping her at all. Besides, she did not have the heart to attack someone's sibling. 'I am going to be fine..this is just a game' she tried to convince herself but the pain of her hand stated otherwise. An idea sparked in her mind as she remembered the image of the boy. Before she could try anything out, the beast came to attack her once again, this time successful. "Ahhh!" Another scream of pain left her lungs. 'It hurts, it hurts, it hurts' she thought, her breathing turning even more shallow as she gripped onto the rock for dear life. She watched the wolf come closer to her. She bit her bottom lip. She had only one shot. She wasn't even sure it would help. It was just a theory her naive mind had made. The wolf was a manifestation of the boy's sadness and fear and the only way to give peace to the soul was to dispel it. Due to fear, she couldn't remember the spell. "Think think think. Hazel think goddammit!"she cursed at herself as she placed her head on the rock, trying to block out the image of the wolf so she could remember. Then it came to her. The spell she wanted. She chanted out the spell, her voice came out low and hoarse. Even using her voice was painful. A bunch of souls gathered around the wolf but that was all she could see. Her hand slipped and she fell into the running river, crimson blood mixing with the fresh water.
Hanno flinched when he saw @Aurora Labyrinth getting chomped and thrown at the other rock, the situation didn't seem good at all- It needed to stop! The Faerin blasted off to run, he needed to kill that worg before it killed the girl. After all that, she didn't have energy to cast another spell, did she? He was wrong, the girl suddeny began cursing someone called Hazel, a little similar to how Hanno constantly would do when he was in a bad situation. But soon she began casting a spell, the Faerin's eyes glinted with a small hope, maybe she was going to defeat the worg? Yes, that was what someone would have expected, yet no, that wasn't what happened. Instead of attacking, the girl tried to dispel the creature. "What she's doing?!" His eyes widened in fear, now he probably wouldn't have the time to save her. Though either Aurora was a genius and had a great plan to avoid killing the beast, or Lady Luck was on her side once again- Because when the souls surrounded the worg, it got distracted. *GRRRR* The beast tried to slash the souls, of course failing to do because they were ethereal. With their ghostly presence, they kept haunting the creature, trying their best to repent it and send it to the afterlife- Of course in vain, since it wasn't dead. Flattening it's ears against the head, the worg backed off and ran from the spirits, probably feeling fear for fighting something that he couldn't kill for the first time in it's life. While that happened, Hanno focused on the girl. She wasn't going to endure for too long, not after casting a spell like that- And for the Faerin's horror she slipped on the rock and fell to the river. "AURORA!" He called her name, fear and guilty panging in his throat as he saw the blood on the water and the girl being mercilessly carried by the river. Shaking his head, Hanno brushed away the guilty. 'It's not time for that. This was necessary.' He mentalized, someone that couldn't bear with that pain and couldn't learn from their mistakes were probably going to keep being used forever, until death finally surround them and they get locked away in this cursed game. Hanno threw the Shield on the ground. "Ghast! Keep an eye on your surroundings, just in case that worg come back!" He ordered to his Shield, that nodded with a tentacle. "I'm coming!" He said to no one in particular, jumping in the running river. His arms fought against the rebellious water, his eyes focused on Aurora, and his feet kicked the underwater rocks to give him a boost in the swim. Letting out a growl from his throat, the Faerin gave a last boost before reaching the girl, wraping his right arm on her to firmly keep her close. Feeling the warm blood of his companion, Hanno knew that he needed to take her out of there as soon as possible. Keeping her safe from the boulders, he tried to make his way to get out of the river. "We are going to get out of here, I promise!" He whispered.
Aurora may have had her eyes closed but she was not completely unconscious. She could still feel things. The feeling of being carried by the fast current, how the water felt harsh on her wounds, how her whole body felt so heavy but somehow so light. It was hard for her to explain the feeling. Her heart was beating quickly yet she felt a strange calmness fill her. It was as though she had accepted her faith and was ready to give her last breath. Was that it? Was this what death was? She had come to contact with reapers but never had they taken her away from the living, instead, the God of death always made contact to her loved ones. Even though it was game, she was going to die. The brunette did not like how realistic the feeling was. While most people would just die and no longer have to worry about how painful their next death would be, Aurora had to. After all, she wasn't truly going to die now. She had yet to die so she could truly leave the world. 'Oh ya... I was on training with Hanno..now I feel bad. It would be as though I ditched him...and he was so nice to offer help' she thought, letting out a mental sigh, just waiting for everything to get over. Another feeling filled her. It was an arm wrapped around her. She wanted to open her eyes to see who it was but she was too tired to. She was thinking of all the possibilites until she heard the familiar voice of her male companion. The fast beating of her heart slowed down and the strange calmness was filled with relief. The emerald eyed girl completely leaned her head against his chest, her eyes still closed as she managed to muster up words in her mouth "Ha...nno?" her tone made it obvious she was confused. How was he able to find her? It was truly a mystery for her. After all, she would never have thought that Hanno would be the type to watch from the sidelines. Little did they know, the running river was home for many, especially dangerous Bestiaries known to enjoy the taste of flesh. They all were designed to be adaptable in water and had a really good nose which could smell the young girl's blood from a mile away. Since very small edible fishes were left in the river and not many humans who passed by the place, it was obvious that food was scarce for them and no way were they going to let the human and Faerin get away that easily. The animals let out a terrifying growl, as though telling the two living beings to just surrender to their faiths.
Hearing @Aurora Labyrinth's voice, Hanno's expression softened in relief- She was still alive. "Don't worry, I'm here." He said with an assertive voice as he kept swimming against the river, luckily it wasn't being something hard to do- Until something happened... A growl. Widening his eyes, Hanno glaced back to see what was coming. Hidden: Creatures Turning to see the incoming danger, the Faerin saw three amphibian beasts that had the size of a hunting dog. They were charging at the duo with a vicious expression in their eyes, their growls pleaded for pain, blood and flesh... It has been so long since they got a proper meal, and the big creatures looked so juicy and tasty. Hanno clenched his teeth. Aurora wasn't going to die, he was determined to not let this happend. Only three things were going to die there- His arms kept hitting the water to swim as fast as he could, until he was able to touch his right feet on the water floor. "BRACE YOURSELF, I'M SORRY-!" The Faerin apologized, before throwing the girl on his arms at the grass like she was a ragdoll- It was probably painful, but it was necessary to let her out of the danger. After seeing the girl landing on the ground, Hanno turned back to see the creatures hastily swimming at his direction. He cracked his knuckles and opened his mouth to let out a power shout- ANCHOR GUARD The words echoed on the forest, and the vicious creatures could only see Hanno- Everything else was blurried and dark, except for the Faerin- THERE WAS ONLY ONE TARGET, THERE WAS ONLY ONE FRESH MEAT! Opening it's jaws, the first beast tried to crush Hanno's leg that was still underwater. The Faerin stepped back to dodge the first attack- Following the first attack, the second beast tried to strike the Faerin's thigh only to be rewarded with a knee on it's face. The third beast analyzed the attacks and noticed that Hanno was distracted protecting his legs, it growled already knowing how to attack next- The creature jumped out of the water to clench it's fangs on the Faerin's shoulder. "GRAAH..." Hanno flinched in pain, feeling the monster's fangs piercing his flesh- Throwing a punch on it's face as retaliation, knocking the stunned beast back to the water. While the other beast tried to attack once again, this time trying to bite the Faerin's face. Jerking back his face, Hanno dodged the crushing bite on his face, and the animal landed in the water once again. But they weren't going to give the Faerin any rest, immediately the monster that failed to attack previously, bited Hanno's ankle. Frowning and clenching his teeth, the Faerin held back a painful scream as he pulled himself out of the water, dragging the creature that wouldn't let go of his ankle. Recovering from the stun, the third beast jumped out of the water to charge at Hanno's chest. His eyes glinted in rage, he was done holding back- Opening his arms, the Faerin slammed his fists together on the creature's head- A loud cracking sound could be heard as the skull of the monster was crushed. Letting go of the creature's corpse, he looked down a the beast that was still crushing his ankle with it's fangs, completely determined to not let Hanno go. He glanced at the other monster that has recovered too, charging back at him. Enduring the pain of being biten on the ankle for some seconds, he waited for the right time. When the creature that charged him jumped to try to bite his neck, Hanno gave a death glare at it- Soon the monster noticed it was a bad idea, but it was already too late. "You won't make anyone cry anymore- Die." The Faerin muttered with a grim voice, suddenly swinging his leg that had the stubborn beast bitting it, throwing a powerful kick on the charging enemy. The body of the two creatures shocked on each other, making the insistent monster finally let Hanno's leg go with a painful yelp. The weakened beasts fell on the grass, growling at the Faerin and vainly trying to crawl away. There was no way those creatures were going to recover from their wounds. Seeing this, Hanno raised his feet and stomped the monsters skulls, making they let out their last breath in a coup dê grace. With the three corpses on the ground, the battle was finally over... Hanno took a few seconds to catch his breath, turning to Aurora that was still injuried. His vision was too blurried to see much, but he moved with all efforts he could to reach his companion. Tired, he threw himself on his knees beside the girl, gently placing his hand over her wounds. RADIANT HOLY BLAZE A warm feeling coated Aurora's wounds, carefully closing them to not let the life of the girl fade away... Finishing healing the girl, Hanno was barely being able to keep himself awake because of his wounds, but he couldn't let her alone now- So fainting wasn't a privilege he had. "A-Are you alright?" He asked weakly.
The impact of the cold ground made her gasp for a breath. 'What..is happening..' she wondered as it took all her strength to reopen her eyes. Even though they were opened slightly she could see Hanno still in the water. 'So...pathetic' she thought of herself as she closed her eyes, listening to the male's power scream. Unfortunately she could do nothing. For someone who wanted to be strong, she always ended up becoming a damsel in distress and always had someone come to save her. Hazel had thought she had changed from the past, that she was more independent, but spending time in the game made her realize she remained to be the same compulsive, weak girl and no matter how hard she tried to run away from reality, it would come chase after her 'I cannot escape..I still have my past haunting me in this world..then whats the use of staying here. I just wanted to spend a small amount of time as someone else' She could hear the rustling of the grass as someone sat down on their knees. She did not need to open her eyes to tell who it was. A sigh of relief came out of her lungs when she felt the gentle warmth wrap around her like a blanket. She was still exhausted but at least the pain was gone. "Thank you Ha-"She stopped talking when she realized just how injured the faerin was. "I..am so sorry.."She muttered in a low, disheartened voice. "Carissimi animarum. Auxilium interfectorum tuorum " she summoned a feline spirit to take care of the male's wound Healing Paw-er She watched as the feline, much smaller than usual, came to heal Hanno. She was very tired by now but that was alright, at least she didn't get a mind down yet. The feline purred and nuzzled against the male before disappearing. A few shallow scratches still remained on Hanno but otherwise he was fine. A sad smile came on her face. "I think we should head back with as many firewoods we can get and dry ourselves. What do you think?" She asked wondering if he had enough strength to reach the camp site.
The Faerin smiled seeing @Aurora Labyrinth recovering, though he paid attention at her expressions that showed regret and sadness. He looked at the ethereal feline going and rubbing on his wounds, making he let out a chuckle... Hanno patted the small animal spirit before it disappeared, and stared back at the girl's eyes for a few seconds, not answering her question at first. He slapped the dirt out of his outfit and his skin, standing up and stretching even though he was still scratched. Hanno took a deep breath and looked down at the girl with a bright smile. "I'm glad you are fine! Thanks a lot for your heal." "Also, don't apologize to me. A thanks is more than enough, apologizing someone for saving your life is rude." The Faerin shook his finger at her. "It doesn't matter if it was a silly mistake or not, you are learning. And like I said, I will train you to become tougher and stronger. We are taking baby steps here, no one change or improve overnight... And that's something you need to understand." "People don't change for best or for the worst with a blink of an eye. It's something that take time and effort. And changing you for the best will take an effort that not me, but WE are going to do... Every mistake you do isn't a reason to cry or to feel sad, but it's a reason to learn and to improve. You need to embrace your mistakes to be able to improve from them, if you keep escaping from your failures you will never be able to get over them. And that's your first lesson." Hanno said to the girl and to himself, he knew that it was something he also needed to listen. "Now, your second lesson was much more practical. You now know what it is a Will-O-Wisp, they are one of the most basic spirits of this world. Now that you finally got in contact with a foreign spirit, you will have an easier time to detect other spirits now!" He nodded, you need to start eating an appetizer before aiming for the main meal. The Faerin offered a hand for the girl to help her to stand up. "Well, I must admit that wearing wet clothes for too long is very uncomfortable, so I think we should go. And I still need to grab Ghast because I threw him somewhere over there." Hanno said, letting out a chuckle.
