Amora wrinkled her brow. Little? She scowled, peeling her eyes away from the blackened hand as she turned to Lokt.

“I know that's a hand, little Lokt, I’m wondering why it isn't attached to anything.”

“Ah.”

She hesitated as the words spilled out of her. Looking at something so horrific should have been nauseating, but Amora only felt- apathetic to it all. Perhaps it was the ringing in her head. Or maybe it was the fact that she had almost died. Again. Or- or because the hand was charred and crumbling and barely looked like a humanoid appendage at all.

Amora brought her hand up and shivered.

What was this new numbness?

It was fish spearing all over again.

Amora watched Lokt’s dark eyes ripple in waves of unease as he stared down. He brought a hand to his cloak, silent waves crashing, and pulled out a large white handkerchief. In one quick flick, he flipped it over his glove and reached out.

Lokt exhaled as he drew himself closer to the hand.

It wasn't a female’s hand. It’s not hers. It's not hers.

He felt it collapse inward under his touch and tensed his jaw. The entire thing had been charred through. Even the bone itself was crumbling apart. Sill, he grabbed a chunk of the flaking black mess and folded his handkerchief over it.

Amora watched him bend back up and place it into his cloak wordlessly. His expression looked distant, but his readiness to pull off a piece of charred flesh and then nonchalantly stow it into his cloak made her think he’d done something like that before.

“What’s that for?”

Lokt’ cloudy expression cleared as Amora spoke. He swivelled around, facing her and tapped his chest- where the handkerchief rested.

“There are people that can use this to track whoever this belongs to. If they’re still alive.”

Lokt bit his lip. A tracker. That's what he needed. He knew there were a few of them in Vandryl, but he was not so confident in their efficacy. Still, the time frame was important. He grit his teeth. Lokt knew it was easier to track something the more recent it was, and the difficulty increased exponentially with time.

If his estimation was right…he wasn't even sure if it could be done.

But he had to try.

All the more reason to go to Vandryl as soon as possible.

“Say Lokt, what do you want with the Witch anyway? Why are you looking for her?”

His expression softened for a moment and looked down as he cradled his glowing glove in his other hand. It was growing heavier with each passing moment. Was he still not strong enough?

“I need her help to fix a problem of mine.”

“What problem?”

Staying alive.

He hesitated, looking up from his hand and smirked at her.

“I need her to curse an annoying little human I’ve found.”

Lokt’s smile grew wider as Amora made a face at him.

That’s right. He needed to find her. Whatever it takes. He needed to get to Vandryl as soon as possible.

But first…

“This isn’t the only room.”

Amora followed his gaze as he jerked his head toward the leftmost wall.

She narrowed her eyes. He was right. There was a door. But unlike the other, it was unpainted and its flat brown face blended seamlessly into the wood walls around. Amora wouldn't have noticed it at all if Lokt hadn’t pointed it out to her.

She walked towards it, looking down as she stepped around a pair of humanlike dolls. Their faces had been sheared off and cotton spilled out in a messy clump.

What a shame.

Amora couldn’t understand why anyone would go out of the way to maim two perfectly innocent dolls. And why their faces? Why not simply rip them in half? They seemed flimsy enough.

She resisted the urge to look back at the dolls as she put a hand to the door. Another room. She wondered what would be inside. More faceless dolls?

Or maybe it was also trapped too?

Amora spread her fingers across the cold wood as her thoughts swirled. She pushed circumspection away, ignoring silent pleas for consideration. In the name of safety. Of self preservation. Wait! Please! What if it’s like the front door? What if something heinous lurks behind?

She leaned into her arm and pushed the door open.

And there it was.

Lokt heard her gasp and caught up to her in a flash, staring over her shoulder as she looked out into the room.

“Well that’s… not what I expected.”

Lokt shook his head, not bothering to hide the plain surprise in his voice.

A simple, bare, bedroom. With only a broken wood desk beside a small bed.

From the rumours he’d heard, he thought… Lokt shrugged. Well, the Witch does have to sleep somewhere doesn't she? And at least it was better than another orb trap. He tried stepping forward to enter the room but Amora stood still, blocking the entrance with her body. What was she-

“...bed”

Amora spoke dreamily, trembling word fraying even under her hushed breath.

“What?”

“Bed.”

She spoke clearer this time, as desire dripped off her tongue. Amora couldn’t remember ever seeing or using one. But the word itself filled her with such a perverse amount of joy she was sure to have had one before.

She rushed forward, unable to contain her foamy excitement as she hopped onto the soft mattress.

Lokt grimaced as he watched Amora catapult herself onto the brown bed sheets. He shielded his mouth and nose as dust plumed upwards in a dense grey cloud and heard her burst into a coughing fit.

Serves her right.

Lokt rolled his eyes as Amora waved her hand in front of her face wildly.

That's the first thing she does when she sees a bed? Granted she was living in a forest. But was a bed really this exciting?

“You know, for someone with no Bounties, you're awfully reckless.”

Her eyes remained fixed on the bed as she buried her nose and mouth into her shoulder.

“I have one now.”

Amora ran her hand over the soft cotton material and gulped as her fingers sank gently into the soft and fluffy mattress. There was a strange warmth to the bed sheets and she felt an intense urge to just unfurl herself over the bed. Dust and all.

“One what?”

She shook away temptation and looked back at Lokt.

“One Bounty.”

Right. She didn't tell him yet, did she?

“I got it yesterday.”

Yesterday? Lokt leaned into the side of the doorway as he looked down at her smile. She got a bounty right after he told her about them? Or Was it a trick? Did she really not have a bounty to begin with?

Amora saw his face drop and brought her hands up.

“No, it's a super cool one!”

He perked up slightly, straightening himself as best he could while still leaning against hardwood.

“Really? What kind of bounty did you get?”

Amora's smile widened as she beamed at Lokt.

“Get this right? I can smell…flowers”

Huh.

That was definitely up there. With all the useless Bounties he’d encountered over the years.

“I can smell them. Well everyone can smell them- but I can see the smell. And I can tell where they are like… um. Like a bee! I’m a flower detective! Isn’t that so cool? And it’s so helpful too. I can navigate around by smell alone. You know that’s how I found my way to…”

Lokt smiled sadly and brought a hand to his face. A flower detective? What was she talking about? A Bounty that allows her to smell flowers was hardly interesting- or useful for that matter. How could she be happy with something like that?

No. it didn’t matter. All it really meant was that she’s just- more of the same.

Amora glanced back at Lokt and quieted down as she realised she’d been talking for a while. She could see him rub his gloved hand over his temples and he looked like he was worried. Was he concerned for her? Maybe it wasn’t a good Bounty after all?

She opened her mouth. And closed it. And opened it again.

If it wasn't good- well, it didn't matter.

It was hers.

“It really is useful. I probably wouldn’t be alive without it. And I wouldn’t want anything else… and you were right, you know.”

Amora paused, sliding off the bed, and brushed dust from the back of her pants.

“It really is magic.”

Lokt felt his face harden and nodded stiffly. How could he be so stupid? It was the same with the water girl. How could he get his hopes up? For what? This? Another human?

He clutched his chest as his body tightened. When would he learn his lesson?

“There's nothing of interest here.”

“Yup. Seems like that. Just the bed.”

He sighed, spinning around as he exited the room. Amora hobbled after him, chasing the light to the centre room. She stepped on broken items and kicked away objects clumsily in her pursuit but Lokt was too weary to care.

“So what now?”

He pulled open the red door with ease and stepped onto the wooden porch. So now the enchantment is gone? Maybe the orb was a secondary source of power after the first one ran out? He leapt off the porch, landing onto the moonlit grass with ease.

“Now, I leave this wretched house and this wretched forest.”

“What?! You’re just gonna go?”

Amora looked at the back of his brown cloak as he began to walk away. Was it something she said? Was it her Bounty?

“I have to get to Vandryl.”

“What about the house! You’re just gonna leave it?”

He shrugged. Not bothering to look back.

“Well, it’s not going anywhere… I think.”

Amora huffed, blowing out her cheeks as she gripped the wood rail of the porch. She could feel the wood strain against her weight as she leaned over. He was just going to leave? Just like that?

What happened to curiosity?

---

Amora watched his back disappear into the forest and slumped onto the wooden floorboards. He ditched her. He actually ditched her. Well, it wasn’t like she expected him to stay with her. But would it hurt to at least say goodbye?

She sighed, looking down at the red cast on her leg.

What was she going to do now?

Her stomach grumbled an answer of its own, which only added to her overall gloominess.

Had she eaten anything today?

“Bleh. Only food from the morning.”

Her hunger weighed her down, which in turn made the rest of her body ache with fatigue.

Where was she going to go?

Should she get food?

A cold breeze blew over her, whipping her long hair up over her shoulder and onto her face. She swiped the veil of brown from her eyes angrily and spat hair from her mouth. This was pathetic. She grit her teeth and looked back into the dark inside of the house.

Something has to change.

“Well, if no one is using it…”

---

Lokt wondered if he would see Amora again.

Probably not.

He would have to go back and check if he missed anything in the Witch’s house eventually- but the forest was vast so the chance of an encounter was slim.

What did he care about some random human anyway?

With a boring bounty she was just- the same as everyone else. And honestly? Being a human was already the first offence.

That's right. It was her fault. If only she could-

Lokt sighed, dragging his boots over the hard dirt. 3 years and the path to Vandryl is still the same. Uneven, unclean and unkept. Was change so hard? Or would everything just stay the same? Over and over until he petrifies.

He looked up as something shuffled from behind a tree.

“Come out.”

A goblin, dressed in rags, shuffled out. He held a small brown bag to his breast and had a small dagger sheathed at his side.

“I'm sorry to call you here after dawn Lokt, but I wanted to come as soon as I heard. You know I am ever loyal to-”

Lokt put a hand up, cutting him off and jingled a small bag of coins in front of him.

“Never mind that. What have you got for me?”

The goblin rubbed his hands greedily and gave Lokt a toothy grin.

“Have you heard of… mana debt?”

---

Amora clutched the note in her hand. She didn't know why she felt it was so important. But unlike the sea of pages torn from random books, it alone was on the marble table- albeit ripped in half, but it was there.

Waiting to be read.

Didn’t that make it significant? Valuable?

She sat on the bed and rubbed the side of her cheek as memory flared hotly.

Something had to change.

And it would.

She set the note down beside her and exhaled.

She’d survive. Survive this nightmare forest.

Her back burned as she looked up into the ceiling. No. No. That's not enough. Not for all the shit she's been put through.

No.

Amora was going to get even.