Utter Foolishness

Maya had been wandering outside for quite a while now… The two pale moons still hung overhead, though it seemed that the sky had darkened while she was distracted with her own objective. She believed that’s what she was reaching for, an objective, thus she wandered around aimlessly for hours on end, expecting to encounter a situation that piqued her interest, even if it was for a little bit… But in the end… Nothing. She spent all this time, just moving upwards, with no goal in her mind… She was exhausted and hungry, even her legs shook violently from the endless walk… She finally snapped to back herself, and let out a defeated sigh… She stood there, gazing upon the sky for a while. She pondered:

 

“I… I don't know what I'm doing wrong… Should I just… Stop waiting..?”

 

She looked all around herself… All the residents of the town had put their cares aside for the day, and decided to go home to rest. That lively crowd she remembers seeing just minutes ago… Gone… The last lantern had been blown out hours ago… She remained motionless, in absolute silence, it even got to the point where she even considered returning to Hiyori… She quickly shook those thought off. After all, she was the one who decided to leave to achieve her own freedom, in a world she always dreamt of… But this? All of this was so sudden… She took a quick detour to go rest her back against a damaged brick wall. She slowly but surely sank back to the wall, sitting down with her arms and legs crossed, staring up at the night sky… She tilted her head in the slightest as her gaze drifted upon the moons:

 

“I saw these in the morning too… Didn't I..? Maybe I missed the sun… Considering this world even has one… Haha…” She thought to herself.

 

For what felt like a whole another hour, she continued sitting down there, back getting covered in dust with every tiny movement she made, in absolute silence…

Then something suddenly broke the silence which was previously stretching across the whole town.

She gasped, her eyes opened as wide as saucers, she straightened her back and planted her palms on the cold pavement. She frantically looked around for the source of the noise… She heard the noise once again… It almost sounded like a low, grumbling sound, almost like a- Oh. It was just her stomach rumbling… She instantly dropped her guard, got back into her relaxed position, though her face contorted to a look of annoyance. Her cheeks reddened slighty from the embarrassment, even though she knew no one was around to hear or even see her… She shook her head and looked down to her stomach once more… She brought her right palm, and gently placed it on her stomach, and rubbed it up and down… She knew she had to do something about her hunger, and she knew she had to make it quick… With only one plan in her mind, she let out a long breath, and steadily got back onto her own two feet…

 

With her back on her feet, she planted her hands on her hips, and shifted her weight from feet to feet… Her gaze drifted uphill, the path she’d been taking for hours… Then she slowly rolled her eyes downhill, and that's when it hit her… She remembered seeing a marketplace down there when she first arrived… This was truly a huge opportunity for her… Yes… She wasn't the type of girl who always got disgusted with the idea of stealing… But by this point, she had lost all her energy, and had to replenish it soon… She had no other chance… She risked the fact that her actions may be witnessed, and she could be judged, or even charged later on… Despite that, she swallowed the lump in her throat, and with guilt piling up, visible in her eyes, making her sick to the core… She took the first step downhill, and the rest came along naturally…

 

She marched down, her arms crossed over her stomach… Eventually, she got closer to the marketplace, it was just a few more steps ahead. Just then, she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes drifted instinctively as she smelt something… Something familiar… Right there, there it was, the exact same cottage she left on her own free will, with the promise to never return… Her heart felt like it was going to pop straight out of her chest at the rate it was beating… The stress piled up…

She had to make a decision, and she had to make it quick. It felt as if she returned back to the cottage, things would go a lot more easier for her, she wouldn't be burdened with her own responsibilities… But on the other hand, That would be her betraying her own pride, and her promise… By that time, she hadnt even realized her hands were tangled in her hair, fingers pulling on her messy locks… So she shut her eyes, and took a deep breath… She let go of her hair… Without a second thought, without even opening her eyes… She kept descending to the marketplace…

Step by step, steadily, she arrived at the first stand… She slowly opened her eyes, but to her surprise, the townsfolk wasn't as foolish as she thought they would be… Everyone had already packed up all their goods… The stands were completely deserted… There was a sign placed by the first stand… She… Couldnt read a word it was saying… It was a whole another language, unlike any she’d seen in her own world… She sighed, and kept looking around, hoping to find even a small glimmer of hope in this empty field. Just then… from the corner of her eye, she spotted a bright red round object… Her eyes lit up, and without hesitation, she rushed to the stand where the object was on… She tilted her head at it. At first glance, it seemed like some kind of apple, but apples aren't usually this long and spiky. With one hesitant hand, she moved to pick it up from its long, curled up stem… Cautiously, she brought it up to her nose, as if it was something like a feral animal that could bite her at any given second… She took one small sniff and… She immediately dropped it back down onto where she took it from… Her eyes were wide open… She hadnt smelled something as disgusting and gut-wrenching as whatever this thing was, ever. She gagged, and immediately she brought her hands up to her mouth to cover it… She felt sick… She stumbled towards a small tent, and hold onto one of the rods supporting it… She collapsed to her knees right there and there. She ran out of her energy… She was totally exhausted by this point.

 

Just as she was losing all hope… She heard a woman’s voice calling out from inside the tent:

 

“Oh dear, are you alright?”

 

Maya’s eyes opened up once again, the voice she had just heard… Sounded exactly as her mother’s… Or at least how she remembered it… Gentle… With no harsh tone behind it… The voice she had just heard was almost… Too comforting… Maya couldn’t tell if she was hallucinating from the lack of sleep, or if what she heard was actually real… Suddenly a light turned on inside of the tent… Illuminating her face through the thin canopy… She closed one of her eyes, bracing herself… Just as she was expecting, the woman spoke out once again:

 

“Hold on a minute, dear… I’ll be right there…”

 

A soft whoosh of canvas broke the silence, and Maya turned just in time to see the tent curtains sweep open.

Out stepped a tall woman. Easily towering five inches over Maya. Her movements fluid and deliberate. She wore a sweeping, breathtaking dress, cinched at the waist by leather belts bristling with vials of glowing, colorful liquids. A deep hood shadowed most of her face, hiding her features in darkness, but a few vibrant strands of purple hair escaped the cloth, dancing effortlessly in the stray wind.

 

“Be my guest, little one…”

 

She spoke out gently yet again, made a “come closer” gesture with her left hand, signalling Maya to follow her into the tent, then gracefully disappeared into the tent…

 

Maya on the other hand, wanted to trust her instincts, she knew she shouldn't be trusting anyone other than herself. She could've decided to ignore, walk away, and forget about whatever just happened… But reminiscing the woman’s tone, the way she acted so calm yet caring towards her. She simply couldn’t refuse the warmhearted woman’s invitation. She made her decision, she steadied herself once more, and with shaking legs, walked into the small tent…

 

Compared to the outside, the inside seemed to be generously spacious… Maya’s eyes wandered around the space…

 

What caught her eye first was that there were a total of four lanterns, all lit up, one on each corner of the tent, gently illuminating the inside without tiring the eye. The light from the lanterns highlighted the decorations spread around inside, such as pearly beads connecting around in a circle around the roof of the tent, with a few moon and star charms spread around here and there. She was lost in the sight of the sparkling decorations, that she didn't even come to notice the shelves right next to her… They were classic wooden shelves, carved out with special care, and they even looked like a premium kind of wood too… The shelves were stacked with countless amounts of bottles. Ranging from small glass vials to full on jars. There also happened to be drawer under the bottom shelf, but she couldn't be bothered to lay her hands on it. After all, she has no right to mess with something that she doesn't own… She gazed upon the woman, sitting calmly on her heels, under the warm kotatsu mat. Maya finally snapped back and hesitantly opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but she closed it back up…

 

The woman had recognized Maya’s actions, even if she was acting unusual, and out of place, the woman treated the moment with pure respect, and no judgement at all… The woman gently pat the spot next to her on the kotatsu mat, wanting Maya to come sit next to her:

 

“Make yourself at home, dear…”

 

She spoke out once again.

 

That sent a shiver down Maya’s spine. Before she could even think, her feet were moving on their own. She made it next to the woman, and slowly sat down on the soft, warm mats… It felt almost as if she was in heaven. She looked up, her eyes sparkling with gratitude, couldn’t help but thank the woman that she didn't even know the name of yet:

 

“Thank you so much, Miss… I don't know how I could ever repay you, genuinely..! I’m… I’m Maya…”

 

The woman returned a soft smile, her hand moving to gently pet Maya’s messy hair, her fingers flowing through the individual strands, the mat over her legs rustling as she moved… The woman stared directly at Maya’s eyes, and started talking:

 

“Maya… What a nice name… Tell me Maya, what brought you here..?”

 

Maya first encountered a small shock when the woman’s hands started combing through her hair, but soon secreted a feeling of comfort, that she couldn't hold back but lean into it:

 

“I… Really am not sure… One day I was at my own home, peacefully laying down in bed… Next second, this… Orange… Fox lady dropped into my room and… Brought me here I think..? I have no better way of explaining it… It wouldn't make sense-“

 

The woman interrupted her:

 

“Dont worry, darling… I understand… But first of all. You seem pretty thirsty… Why don't we talk this over a cup of some good old tea..?”

Maya was shocked that she suddenly interrupted her in that manner, even then, she reluctantly nodded. The idea of tea didn't seem that bad to her. She watched as the woman grab a teapot, and steadily poured the tea in the small cups that were already sitting on the table, making sure not to drop a single drop. When she finally finished pouring the tea, she set the teapot aside and gently pushed one cup towards Maya with one finger, while resting her chin on her palm.

 

Maya gently grabbed the cup, as if a small twitch of her hand could shatter it instantly, and brought it over to her lips, blowing once, twice before taking a sip from it. In the meantime, the woman just quietly watched as Maya gulped the entire thing down without a drop of hesitation, she tapped her finger on the table repeatedly as she waited for Maya to finish, though her expression wasn’t quite readable under the shade of her hood, she seemed to be brewing with excitement. By that time, Maya couldn't overcome her thirst. She finished the entire cup in a matter of seconds, and set the teacup down with a sharp clink.

 

The woman murmured, while keeping one hand gently placed over her lips:

 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it that much..! Thank you! I'm sorry!”

 

Maya slowly raised an eyebrow:

 

“It's… not half bad… You're welcome! Why are you sorry..?”

 

The woman moved closer to Maya, wrapping her hands around her face in a very intimate manner, her lips hovering inches away from her ear, with every breath that came from the woman sending an eerie shiver down her spine. The woman whispered:

 

“Three… Two… One-“

 

Before planting a gentle kiss on Maya’s left cheek.

 

All of a sudden, Maya’s eyelids fell heavy, her breathing slowed down, and it felt as if her entire consciousness was fading away by each second that had passed. She didn't have any moment to react before she found herself completely passed out on the floor. The last thing she had heard right before her consciousness faded away was the woman’s soft tone once again, this once, with a hint of mockery:

 

“How utterly pitiful, dear… Hasn’t your mother ever taught you to not trust strangers?”…

 

 

 

After what felt like an eternity, Maya finally found her consciousness fading back into place. The moment she fully woke up, her first instinct was to open her eyes, so she did. But to no prevail, her vision had been obscured by something similar to a thick cloth covering her eyes. Her next option was to move her shaky hands towards her face to get rid of whatever that is blocking her vision off, though her movements were severely restricted. She heard it when she tried lifting her hand, the sound of heavy metal chains clinking against eachother. She soon realized her mouth was probably gagged too. She bit down, her teeth sank into what seemed to be a thick, splintering branch, the bitter taste of dirt and rough bark instantly scraping against her tongue. She took in a long shaky breath through her nose as a way of attempting to calm herself down. She felt her legs left unrestricted of any movement. She wildly thrashed them around, aimlessly. She pushed on her heels to drag her backwards, until her back hit a rough object. She assumed since there happened to be a stick planted in her mouth, she must be in what seemed to be a forest. She could now clearly tell she was bonded to a tree, with chains connecting her wrists together behind her. She planted the soles of her boot, and her palms on the rough patch of soil beneath her, and used the leverage to get herself back on her feet with a slow and shaky motion. To her surprise, she actually had managed to stand on her own two feet, though in the matter of seconds, her legs gave up from the sheer exhaustion and the lack of energy. She fell forwards, her knees digging into the soil. She couldn’t take it anymore, she lacked even the fundemental energy to keep her head up. Her heart was hammering against her chest as droplets of sweat rolled straight down her chin, and one by one, dripped on the soil… She was at the brink of passing out once again…

Just then, her ear twitched. She could hear some bickering between a group of people, audible, yet muffled from afar. Even though she couldn’t make out exactly what was being said, two of the voices coming from the group, sounded oddly familiar to her, as if she’s heard those people before. No, she knew those exact tones.

The first one, a high-pitched raspy voice, seemingly the kind that couldn’t let their fragile ego shatter by any mild inconvenience, ever. Their voice annoyed her. Their way of talking, and the way they chose their words annoyed her. If they’re the person whom she previously assumed they were, their whole existence annoyed her. She let out a huff… And moved her attention to the second voice she had recognized.

The second one… That voice undoubtedly belonged to the woman she had met. The same woman she trusted to make acquaintances. How could have she been so utterly foolish?! She knew she should’ve trusted her first instincts. The instinct to ignore, and to flee. But something deemed that woman irresistable for her. She didnt know if it was the sense of comfort she gave off, or maybe it was just that gentle, deceiving tone. Perchance, the circumstance was that the woman reminded her of someone she held dear to herself… Someone who she had unfortunately lost a few years prior… She shook off those thoughts. One thing was certain, whoever that woman was, she was definitely brewing up something deeper, that completely opposes her whole facade. She was NOT a friend.

 

“What is this? Some kind of bondage kink?!”

 

She thought to herself out of pure boredom. She got too caught up in her thoughts, she didnt even realize the voices faded away, leaving her in absolute silence, besides the frequent gush of wind, and the soft rustling of leaves.

 

The moment she least expected it, a sharp and fierce voice of a girl cut through the agonizing silence:

 

“Hey! Don’t you dare pass out on me again! You kept me busy for a long while, you do realize that, right?!”

 

Quite a recognizable voice. Maya backed up against the tree trunk up until the point she couldn’t push back on her heels anymore, a cold sweat broke out on her, dripping down from her forehead right past her mouth with each second that had passed. She frantically shook her head, and tried to yell out, though she was incapable even through her desperate attempts, due to the gag in her mouth. All the noise she could produce was only an incoherent mumble:

 

“Mmmffgg— Haahh!!”

 

That annoying voice Maya despised spoke out once more, their patience running thin:

 

“You’re really pissing me off…”

 

Thats when Maya heard it, a pair of sturdy boots crunching the leaves beneath them as they moved closer to her. With each step she heard, she tried backing up more into the trunk, as if she desired to be intangible at that moment and pass right through the tree, but to no avail, she was deprived of her hope. With a final heavy step, the person stopped right infront of her, Maya felt it, an intimidating presence towering right over her. That voice spoke out once more:

 

“You know… Some usually try to show a desperate attempt to escape… Some attempt to be heroic and fight back… But in the end, their fate can’t be changed. But you? You’re pathetic. Powerless. Useless little wretch. I could tell from the start that you didnt belong here…”

The person stopped talking and started tapping their foot… The awkard silence stretched out through the whole forest. Maya slowly tilted her forty-five degrees to the left, trying to make sense out of the situation. The person realized their mistake:

 

“Oh, I forgot to mention. How rude of me!” With a mock-happy tone.

 

“I’ll give you a proper introduction… My name is Scarlett Flintlock, though my peers refer to me as Scar. I am the head mastermind and the leader of the Bandit’s Crew.”

 

Then she whispered to someone nearby:

 

“That was good, right?”

 

Another voice, elegant and calm, spoke out, being her support:

 

“You did splendid, dear!”

 

Scarlett moved to kneel right infront of Maya, and let out a heavy sigh:

 

“Fine…”

 

Her hands moved with precision. Firstly removing the branch from Maya’s mouth, then untying the blindfold that deprived her from vision for what felt like hours…

 

Maya’s eyes fluttered open, vision still blurry. Her head was already kept down low, but in her peripheral vision, she saw a pair of sturdy crimson boots, one tapping the earth repeatedly, making a crunching sound with each tap. Her gaze drifted up towards the figure looming over her… Her assumptions turned out to be right. It was her, the same girl she encountered this morning.

 

The heavy gear, the buckles, and a jacket that seemed outrageously oversized for her small frame. A frilled skirt trailed beneath a striking black cloak that billowed wildly behind her with every gust tearing through the forest, its edges tattered and patched with dusty cloth. Heavy boots tapped rhythmically against the damp ground, echoing the vivid crimson palette of her worn-out attire. Her face remained an unbothered facade, yet even then, Maya could tell Scarlett was growing steadily annoyed by her antics. A thick series of bandages completely covering her right eye made it difficult to read her exact expression, masking the twitch of a brow. She hadn’t noticed before, but creeping out from under the sterile white gauze, the jagged edge of a partially healed scar lengthened from her jawline, disappearing upward into the heavy wraps. Her hair was a messy, frizzy, dirty blonde bundle, loose strands sticking out wildly and waving with the wind, pinned back behind two spiky, unkempt twin buns that shifted with every sharp movement. Scarlett finally planted her hands firmly on her hips, staring down Maya with that usual, fierce intensity, her visible eye blazing with quiet fury. After all this inspection, Scarlett got impatient:

 

“How long are you going to keep staring me down? What? Do you think this is some competition?”

 

Maya shook her head and snapped out of her gaze upon hearing Scarlett’s words. She felt a vein on her forehead, almost about to burst out of frustration. With her mouth finally freed, she bit down on her lower lip, hard enough to draw just a drop of, dark, crimson blood, dripping down her chin. Her gaze drifted, towards the crowd standing afar, chatting with eachother… Her vision was still blurry, but from what she could make out:

 

Someone in rusty, worn out armor, leaning against a tree with their arms crossed. Another one, towering over everyone else, with a wide and built frame, they seemed to hold some type of weapon over their shoulder… The last one, she could tell clearly. It was the same woman who deceived her, Long flowing purple hair, long, elegant dress, equipped with frills and vials attached to her buckles, glowing with the same glowing colored liquids, swishing around as she moved. She hated it, she hated how easily she was deceived by a sliver amount of kindness she had received. Damn her mortal body! She couldn’t even overcome her bodily functions. Her need for food, her need for water, her undeniable need for affection… Yet, she was still here, helplessly strapped to a tree with a bandit standing just a few feet away from her. She stared back at Scarlett. She couldn’t keep it in anymore, she wanted to scream, to yell out for help… No. She had to keep her calm, and be the mature, responsible one, after all, the person standing infront of her was still a little kid. She lowered her head, shut her eyes and took a deep breath. A smirk crawled onto her face as she looked back up with a fierce look, one eye twitching, on her face a huge grin:

 

“What a creative nickname! Scar? Is it signifying the scar on your face? Your painful past? The scars it left on your mentality?! You’re laughable, you’re aware of that right..? Hah.”

 

She seemed proud of herself.

 

Though it seemed quite strange… The figures in the back abruptly stopped their bickering and slowly turned their heads towards Maya and Scarlett’s direction. No, something was wrong. It felt as if the temperature suddenly dropped down ten degrees. Maya’s smirk vanished, replaced by a hesitant, small smile. She started doubting herself. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that? She got lost in her thoughts until she decided to move her gaze upwards until she met Scarlett’s eyes.

 

Scarlett was already looking down at her. Her expression seemed still, too eerily still. One of her eyes subtly twitched, it was so unnoticeable that Maya even thought she was seeing stuff. Scarlett’s hands were planted at her sides, drooping down. Her shoulders kept low. It was almost as if her breathing had stopped entirely, as well as her heartbeat. Things took a move on. Her face contorted, a subtle twitch at the corner of her mouth. With one swift motion, she planted a palm on her face, and shook her head in disappointment:

 

“Was this your attempt at mocking me..? You’re actually weak-“

 

Maya spoke out once again, her voice raised, so that everyone could hear:

 

“Oh? And you weren’t being weak when you ran away from me with your tail tucked between your legs because you mistook me for some kind of witch?! Look who’s talking! Honestly, such big words for such a small frame!”

 

This was it. This was the last straw that sent Scarlett over the edge. Her breathing grew ragged. Her brows furrowed as she stared down Maya, with an undeniable fit of rage. How dare she? How dare such a useless peasant shatter her fragile ego right in front of her peers?! She bared her teeth, as she threw her upper body forwards, to meet Maya face to face. Her cape followed behind her, her buckles clanking together wildly the moment she met her destination. She stomped down, right on the patch of flowers between Maya’s legs, crushing them flat. She threw one hand forward to latch onto Maya’s neck forcefully, shoving her head back onto the tree trunk with a loud thud. Though her hands weren’t nearly big enough to wrap around Maya’s neck. Maya’s eyes widened when she saw the look on Scarlett’s face. She took a sharp ragged breath before Scarlett snapped:

 

“LISTEN HERE! Do you even realize who you are mocking right now?! You assume you’re in a higher position only because you managed to scare me off?! Well let me tell ya… I wasn’t scared of you, why would I be?! The manuever I pulled off that moment was nothing more but a tactical retreat. Any smart bandit would have guessed! And yet you dare… YOU DARE DISHONOR MY-“

 

Her speech abruptly cut off, her mouth wide open, and with her hand pointing to her chest, locked in that exact position. The corner of her mouth twitched as she noticed something had changed. She quietly lowered her gaze towards Maya yet again, and let her hand droop down.

 

Maya had her head lowered, averting eye-contact with Scarlett. Her lips moved, but whatever she just mumbled out was inaudible. Scarlett stood there, trying to make sense out of Maya’s undescribable actions, her lips slightly parted, eyes squinting, blinking every few often. After a while, Scarlett eventually got tired of waiting, gritted her teeth and lowered herself down to Maya’s eye level, tilting her head at a forty-five degree angle, inspecting her with a judgeful gaze:

 

“Speak up. Stop whining around like a little mouse.”

 

Her tone filled with irritation, getting tired of Maya’s antics.

 

In a moment of desperation, and to shatter Scarlett’s whole pride, and reputation amongst her peers, Maya committed the unthinkable. Without a moment of hesitation, when she found just the right moment, Maya spat directly onto Scarlett’s deadpan face, the saliva splattering all over her face, eyes, nose, mouth, covered completely by a layer of wet, warm, disgusting saliva.

 

Scarlett’s face dropped. Her pupils went pinprick, trying to process the situation she currently was in. She couldn’t believe it, she couldn’t believe what she just saw. She stopped breathing entirely, didn’t even alter her position in the slightest. She was stunned completely, the insult to her being dripping down her cheek while her mind struggled to process what had just happened. Once she snapped out of it, she brought up a single arm, and used her sleeve to wipe the mess on her face away. She slowly but surely averted her gaze to the wet, disgusting mess on her sleeve… She was boiling with rage, so much so that the vein on her forehead was nearly about to burst. Her face reddened out of pure spite. Her jaw clenched as one eye twitched again, a dirty, horrifying grin slowly creeping up on her face. The initial disbelief vanished, replaced by a cold, trembling fury that radiated from her entire posture. She slowly reached behind herself, making sure all the eyes were on her. She brought her hand to the buckles behind her, her fingers searching for something. Suddenly, her fingers latched onto the hilt of something that perfectly suited her hand. She whipped it out, flashing right toward Maya’s face with a blur of silver and cyan. Maya heard the sound before she saw whatever it was. The sound of chains clanking against eachother.

 

There it was, thinner than a needle, a point of a blade pressed lightly against her forehead. She crossed her eyes to stare directly at it. Heart hammering, all the colors drained from her face, and a tiny drop of cold sweat, running straight down her forehead, hit the blade of the dagger than was being held up against her. She held her breath, trying to convince herself that all of this is nothing more than a dream, as a drop of blood rolled down from where the blade was making contact, straight into her slightly agaped mouth. The taste of metal filling her mouth in an instant. At that moment, her pupils shrunk to dots, shaking violently. Everything had went quiet after she heard a collective group of gasps coming from the crowd afar. The gentle breeze, the tweets of birds, the soft rustle of leaves, all shattered in vain.

 

Scarlett made herself clear, her voice filled with venom:

 

“I will kill you. I will make you pay for your disrespect. It’s only justified at this point. You’ve forced my hand upon this.”

 

Scarlett’s face contorted, she shook her head. She smiled softly, something about it seemed off… Uncanny even…

 

“I’d like you to meet Daisy..!”

 

She slowly retrieved the dagger to herself, and pointed a rigid finger to the blade. Then proceeded to drag a finger alongside the edge of one of the three blades that shot upwards like a trident. With edges sharper than unlike what Maya had ever seen before. A gem, connecting the hilt to the blades. A bright, glowing cyan gem attached right onto there, pulsating with a glow every other second, as if it were actually alive. Attached below the hilt, a series of chains connecting themselves to one of Scarlett’s buckles behind her. She tilted her head and slowly closed her eyes, still smiling, yet the corner of her lips showed a hint of hesitation:

 

“I think… Daisy likes you..! Why dont you two...”

 

Scarlett’s eyelids opened in an instant, and stared down Maya with a terrifying gaze, which sent a shiver down her spine.

 

“…Get closer..?”

 

Maya’s eyes followed the blade as Scarlett dragged it down right towards her neck. She let out a sharp gasp, frantically shook her head, kicking around wildy, trying anything, any desperate attempt to push Scarlett away. But in the end, she fails miserably as her exhaustion gets the better of her. She yelled out weakly:

 

“Stop..! Stop it..! Please…”

 

But it was too late. The tip of the dagger had already pierced her the skin on her neck. Scarlett pushed more fiercely, driving the blade deeper into Maya’s throat. To the point where her airways got cut off. The moment the blade was pulled out, hot, crimson blood started gushing out of her throat, spilling downwards onto her skin, clothing, staining everything in it’s path, like some kind of sick, twisted waterfall. Maya’s fingers twitched as the colors in her eyes went dull. Tears spilling out uselessly. The sunlight illuminating her face as her head fell back. The grass beneath her painted red. She felt her consciousness fading away with each second that passed. For a moment, she felt at peace, as if she were being cradled by warm, gentle and loving hand. No… It was only her blood spilling over her. Was this really it? It couldn’t be… No. At that moment she felt something. Her dull eyes drifted towards Scarlett, wiping her blood off her blade, looking unbothered as always. She instinctively lifted one weak, shaky hands towards her, and tilted it, showing her palm. She focused deeply. She trusted her instincts. And all of a sudden, a bright white glow started forming in her palm. Everyone averted their gazes to the source of the blinding light. Scarlett took a step back, but it was already too late.

 

In the blink of an eye, a blinding light suddenly shot out from Maya’s palm in the form of a divine beam. It completely engulfed Scarlett inside of it, before sending her flying and forcibly crashing against the tree meters away from her. The light made the entire sky seem dark in comparison. Seemed like an unstoppable force, almost as if it was rupturing reality itself. The others were watching in awe as they pinned themselves to the ground, to not be blown away by the blinding force. It eventually died out. Scarlett rolled down the trunk, and got planted straight into the ground, face down. Everyone rushed to her, forming a triangle around her as she laid there motionless for a few minutes… Though, she didnt seem to have a single scratch on her. Just then, Scarlett let out a loud scream of pain that cut through the whole forest, clutching forcefully onto her throat.

 

Maya’s hand dropped down. While her consciousness was still fading out, she let out a quiet:

 

“Heh…”

 

Before dropping completely.

 

Hours later, she opened her eyes. Instantly, she let out a sharp gasp and started breathing heavily. She frantically moved her hands to her throat, clutching at it, expecting blood to cover her hands. But there was nothing. A gentle breeze hit her. She looked down at her clother, expecting them to be stained red. Again, nothing. Did she actually just experience a horrifying nightmare..? She looked down, her breathing seamingly calmed down just a little. It appeared that she was on a bed. Her shaky hands grabbing at the sheets. She closed her eyes.

 

Less then a second later, she opened them back up upon hearing a noise that seemed like heavy metal clanking together. She looked to her left, the source of the noise and…

 

A figure, in full metal armor, with glowing gems attached to it, completely towering over her, leaving her in the shadow. The figure had an intimidating presence radiating off him. Heavy, metal plated hands resting on the hilt of what seemed to be a sword. From his helmet, two large cream colored fox ears stuck out, standing up straight. Behind him, four tails of the same color, waved in circular motions. The figure slowly turned his helmeted head towards Maya, lifting one of his resting hands and reaching out towards her. Out of fear, Maya naturally backed up against the bed frame, looking up at the hand with terrified eyes. Noticing her fear, the figure pulled his hand back.

 

“Ah..! My apologies… I seem to have startled you… Here let me get rid of this…”

 

His voice came out muffled through the helmet.

 

His hands moved to their helmet, and slowly slipped it off his head, fur spilling off the edges in the process. When the helmet fully came off, He set it aside on the wooden floor boards. In contrast to his intimidating size and presence, ranging from the heavy metal armor, to the sword the size of Maya… His face was only describable as cute. His head was just that of a fox’s, only difference was that he looked quite cartoony… with beady eyes, reflecting the light, thick eyebrows, which were currently in a position that made him look apologetic for his whole presence, and a little “:3” face. He put a hand behind his head, scratching sheepishly:

 

“I… I didn’t mean to scare you… Here…”

 

He stood up:

 

“My name is Aurel, short for Aurelius! Im the Head General of the Four-Tailed Kitsunes, Assigned protectors of the Land Above and Land Below! I only happened to find you resting against a tree whilst I was patrolling around in the forest, and your wrists seemed to be chained up behind the tree… So I retrieved you. And on my way to getting you to somewhere safe, I bumped into Lady Hiyori, and she had me return you here! I hope everything is okay..!”

 

Maya slowly blinked:

 

“…What..?”

 

And a familiar voice spoke out from the other side, unmistakably Hiyori.

 

“So… How’d your journey go?”

 

She smirked.