Ah, that was stupid.

Time slowed as Jaire watched his end approach. With each passing moment, the gouytan’s teeth inched closer, until they were but a hair’s breadth away from his head and feet. God damn it...I reacted without thinking. Again. And now we are both screwed. I’m pathetic...

Since his body could not possibly react fast enough to do so in reality, he sighed halfheartedly within his mind. Yet, as the teeth began to prick his skin, he felt neither sadness or fear. Instead, another sensation rose within him.

Anger.

No.

His fist tightened around the dagger until he felt his heartbeat pulsating.

I refuse to die like this.

His hand burned with the unbridled fury yet still he held on as the thought repeated itself over and over within him.

I REFUSE TO DIE LIKE THIS!!

Like a dam buckling against the water, waves of burning fury exploded out of his clenched hand and coursed through his body. It infused itself with his blood, sending it to boil while it frenzied beneath his skin, searing every inch of him with its agonizing heat. The higher the pain rose, the faster his blood surged, until the pain was drowned beneath the blood's overwhelming presence.

Fully energized, he pulled with all the will he could muster, and commanded his muscles to heed his call and break through their mortal limits. Before the beast's maw could close any further, his right arm flung upwards, sending the dagger singing through the air in a wide arc. It emitted a high pitched whistle as it flew, silencing only when it slashed through the upper jaw of the beast without resistance.

A moment later, the beast finished clamping its mouth shut, only to be smacked in the face by its own nose as the front portion of its skull flung open.

He was already on the floor and dashing towards Ghost by the time the beast began to writhe and shriek. It thrashed upon the mushrooms as it cried, allowing the trapped gas to splurge out uncontested, which only increased its pain.

Standing beside Ghost, he could clearly see how seriously injured they truly were. Even with the heavy jacket on, it was obvious that their body was terribly broken and useless, as evident by the misshapen limbs and blood soaked furs. Surprisingly however, faint gasps still escaped their hood, indicating they were still alive, if only barely.

Incredible. Such tenacity. If it was any other, I would leave them for dead, but fornutately for you, I must save you. I am duti-bound to do so, as the deal has been struck. Now, where shall I-

Jaire paused.

Something felt wrong as he tried to concentrate. What deal??

His head felt heavy and clouded, and he couldn’t remember what his train of thought was. In fact, he couldn’t seem to recall anything that had just happened. Not really. In a way, it felt like a-

A rancid scent wafted in the air. The poison was approaching. He shook his head vigorously and focused once more. There is no time for that, we must get Ghost out of here right now.

As gently as he could afford, he wrapped his arms around Ghost’s torso and legs, while ensuring he didn’t accidentally stab them with the dagger. “I’m going to lift you now. This is definitely going to hurt.”

In one swift motion he quickly lifted Ghost up away from the first waves of gas. Ghost shuddered slightly, but otherwise made no complaints or cries of pain. Tough one aren’t you? Now then…

He walked away from the area, leaving the beast behind to deal with its own demise, and he looked around his surroundings for the exit. The forest around shone in a dim glow. They held a soft coloring to them, like a watered down version of their natural vibrant dyes, but that was only to be expected from non sentient beings.

Damn, this isn’t enough. He strained his eyes. Tears swelled and fell from them yet he pressed on and forced them to obey as he peered into the forest. The dimmed lights shone a bit brighter as new colors sparked to life upon them. Along the trees, the colored outlines of stealthed beasts began to contrast their wooden background, while the brigther but weaker ones crawled around the ground. High above, the branches were still shrouded in unnatural darkness, hiding their secrets from view.

Except for one lone creature. From the dim outline that it emitted, it appeared to be a creature with long legs and a circular body, though it was hard to tell as most of it was still shrouded in darkness.

Strange. It seems capable of hiding itself, yet still allowed its outline to show. That could only mean one thing then. For some reason, the creature is allowing itself to be seen by me.

He stared at it as it loomed above, watching him in return.

A few seconds later, he clicked his tongue and looked away. There’s no time for this right now. It seems content just to watch so I’ll let it be...For now.

Turning his gaze towards the trees before him once more, he glared in every direction until he found what he was looking for. At the far end of the endless trees, the green glow was interrupted by the black backdrop of the night sky.

Let’s hope we have enough to get there. “It’s time to go. Try to stay alive just a little longer okay?”

Ghost didn’t respond, but their body stiffened slightly within his arms. Better than the limpness of death I suppose.

Clutching the dagger, he rallied his anger once more and began to run. His legs whined but he drowned their pain beneath the waves of fiery anger as he pushed forward. Every step lunged him forward by several meters, quickly bringing him closer to the exit. He continued to strain his eyes as he ran, wary of accidentally crashing into a beast that he could not handle in his position. Thankfully though, it seemed that of those that were awake, most were drawn by the cries of agony and the scent of blood behind him.

While excellent, Ghost is also caked in blood, so we aren’t completely safe yet. Thankfully, despite his worry, nothing attacked them, and a minute later he was out of the forest and into the wide field. The grass glistened in a vibrant mix of moonlight and natural shine, while far ahead, the lifeless walls of the settlement stood in stark contrast to the vibrant world around it.

Almost there. He began to make his way towards it, but stopped immediately as he saw three figures swarm towards him. He clutched the dagger and readied for a fight, but a tiny voice brought held his strike and suggested hiding the dagger for now. Reluctantly, he did so, shifting his hand to be hidden beneath Ghost's coat.

“HALT!” One figure shouted as it landed in front of him. It wielded a large stick and looked at him with anger. The other two wielded similar sticks as they landed behind him, creating a triangular formation with him at its center.

“Who are you?” The first spoke once more in a commanding tone as it pointed its stick at him.

You dare threaten me? His blood boiled beneath his skin, demanding retribution for the insolent act, and he-

“I-I’m Jaire.” Jaire quickly responded before he let his anger get the best of him. What the hell was I thinking?! He had no intention of fighting the Hunters, especially not with Ghost in dire need of medical attention. This isn’t the time or place! Wait, no I mean, we shouldn’t be even fighting. I...we? His head felt heavier than before, and a dull sense of pain lingered just beyond his consciousness, but he couldn’t understand why. What’s going on? Why am-

“HEY!” The whelp barked, “Answer my god damn questions!”

“I-I’m sorry! Um, uh…I...what did you-” His head pounded and he felt himself losing consciousness.

“What are you doing out why a- -ich settlme- you carrying?” The Hunter spat out as he waved the Halberd closer.

His head throbbed painfully as every part of him went numb, but still Jaire struggled to stay awake. If I don’t...we won’t… “We live...here....this...is…. gh-Ghost. He….he’s...a sen...Sentine-nel….pleas….hellp…”

His vision tunneled and he could no longer understand the Hunters, but they had lowered their weapons. Great, that should be enough.

Despite their terrible reputation, Sentinels weren’t technically considered criminals, thus they were still able to receive assistance from the people and not be turned away at the door.

But yet, as his exhausted self faded into the recesses of his mind, he watched in horror as the Hunters sneered and turned away. Wait...no…come back...

“Tch, what a waste of time.”

He had endured their remarks and attitudes for the sake of Ghost, but he had come close to snapping. I’ll remember this. Now then.

He had a choice to make. He could try and help Ghost now, or wait until they were back in town. There was a chance that Ghost would not make it if he went back to town. In the brief time that they had wasted, Ghost had gone limp, though they still had a faint heartbeat remaining.

On the other hand, he was in no condition to spare his energy fixing Ghost while still maintaining control and keeping them safe. Although they were in human territory now, judging from the reactions of the stick wielders, there was no guarantee that they were safe from any random beast that caught the scent of blood.

Then again, there is one last option. Hm.

“Are you still awake? Huff if yes.”

“...”

“Good. Now listen, there is only one way for me to keep my end of the deal, but I will need you to do something for me…”

----------------------------------

Karebal’s perked up. He’d heard the front door swing open. She’s back. About time.

It was much later than he expected, almost 4am, but at least she was back. With a grunt, Karebal rose from his stool at the fire pit and walked towards the front gate with a torch in hand. As he walked, he mentally rehearsed the lines he had wrestled with all day. ‘It’s not your fault, you did what you could.’ No that never helps. ‘Just let it go?’ As if. ‘One of these days you’re going to get yourself killed.’ No. ‘You know he would have never wanted this.’ Ehhh, that’s too-

“What the fuck?!” Karebal gasped as he rushed towards the figure that was approaching upon the walkway. No! No this can’t be right!

He froze in disbelief as the person walked into the torch light. Sure enough, his eyes hadn’t deceived him. In front of him stood Jaire, face stained from bloody tears and eyes so red they were hideous, carrying Ghost limp and bloody form within his arms.

“Hey Cap’. Got a doctor around here?”