Star Darlings; The Soldier

Yup; Ciana is Confirmed

Diana tied another rope to the tree, finishing the final trap for the day. Colin gave her a thumbs up, jumping down from the said tree.

"Come on; it's getting late and that's more than enough traps to wreck an entire army." Colin said. He held out a hand, which she took to pull herself up.

The two started heading back, the sky darkening above them.

Diana stepped on something; breaking the woven rope and triggering something. A large log, sharpened at the ends, came crashing down towards her. Colin yelled, but it was too late.

The log connected on a spot right below her ribcage, knocking her into the tree headfirst and knocking her unconscious.

Diana opened her eyes, her vision spinning. She was dizzy, confused, and groggy. A sharp jab of pain woke the rest of her up.

She was still in the forest, lying on a small hill. Colin knelt before her, focusing on... OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

A massive, gaping wound was right below her ribcage, about as wide as her hand and surrounded by bruises. Her entire body hurt, and her head was still spinning.

Once her head stops spinning, she can see Colin crouching in front of her, stopping the bleeding and trying to help with the pain.

"Oh thank the stars you're awake." Colin said, not taking his eyes off the wound. "I thought you were dead."

"Hey!" She croaked meekly.

"Of course you still have the attitude." Colin sighed. "Even when you're about to die, you're yelling at me."

Diana reached to slap him, but her arms felt like jelly.

"Ow..." She whimpered.

"You literally hit yourself with your own trap." Colin said.

"Shut up."

She looked around. The air was chilly, though she didn't know why.

Wait... wasn't I wearing my hoodie? Then why is it cold? She looked left. Her hoodie was sitting there... meaning...

"AHHH!!" She screamed, squirming.

"DO YOU WANT TO DIE!?!??" Colin yelled. "BECAUSE I'M TEMPTED RIGHT NOW!"

"I'M NOT WEARING A TOP!"

"AT LEAST YOUR BRA IS STILL ON. IT'S DEATH OR THIS!"

"I WANT DEATH!" Diana yelled. "GET OFF- AHHHHHHHHHHHHH." She screamed as a wave of pain coursed through her, making her blackout for a bit.

"You're reopening the wound." Colin said.  "Sit here and let me heal you. I promise on my life I didn't do anything."

Diana calmed down a bit, but she was still furious that he'd taken off her hoodie, to save her life or not.

"Arghh... you're dead after this."

"Yeah yeah, you're welcomed. There's nothing to look at anyway."

"How dare you!"

"Just speaking facts." Colin smirked. "I haven't even looked."

Diana decided to shut up and let him heal her wound, wincing when another wave of pain coursing through her system.

Colin put his hands on the wound, channelling wish energy. Diana felt the pain stop, replaced by a warm, fuzzy feeling as the wound started closing.

Colin closed his eyes, sweat dripping off his head. Healing was never his strong suit. He felt his body go numb as he continued healing Diana, but he forged on.

The wound fully closed, and Colin pulled away, collapsing on the ground, exhausted.

Diana grabbed her hoodie, slipping it on before looking at Colin, who was already snoring.

"Colin?" Diana asked. "Are you okay? Still in there?"

He grumbled. "With great power... comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later." (Yes that is Nico Di Angelo's quote.)

Diana sighed. "I'm not going to leave you here." she sat down beside him. "How long do you need?"

"The whole night." he said before his head slumped and fell into the realm of dreams.

"Great." Diana said. She tried flicking his forehead like she always did, but he didn't flinch. Bored, she sat back and waited.

Her gaze again landed on the Starling beside her. She couldn't help but stare.

When Colin isn't being an old prick to her, she actually likes him. She traced a finger down his chin, mesmerized.

She and Colin had met when Nicholas and Grandpa found him in the mountains, nearly dead. She was 5 at the time; she didn't understand what they said. The two had gotten along, but once Colin started going on missions... the two drifted apart.

Although Diana would never say it, she'd always had a crush on Colin since they were young, but they were just the elementary school crushes. But somehow, she'd carried those feelings over from her younger years.

She rested her hand on his face, the same, warm, fuzzy feeling coming from her heart. Blushing furiously, she pulled away, trying to calm down when Colin shifted, his hand going to his stomach. His earlier, calm and stoic expression was now pained, scrunched expression as his breath started becoming harsh and heavy.

What's going on? She thought. Why is he... she gently pried his hand away and carefully pulled off a part of his shirt, revealing his scar.

What the... oh my stars... that's the wound he'd gotten 5 years ago; why isn't it healed? She thought. Has he been hiding this for 5 years?!? Why didn't he tell me...

Diana rested a hand on it. Colin shifted again, still not awake. His eyes twitched in pain as Diana gently touched the wound. He subconsciously flinched away and curled up into a ball. He was dreaming about something; something reminding him of the scar.

Diana didn't know what to do; she'd never seen Colin like this before and nor does she know how to help.

Pulling him out, she wrapped her arms around him. He was shivering hard at this point and twitching violently.

"It's ok." She whispered. "I'm here. You'll be fine; let go of the past."

It seemed to work; he stopped shivering as much, fully settling into the warm embrace from Diana.

Diana hugged him for a while, whispering comforting words and trying to calm him down.

"What are you doing?" He muttered drowsily. "Was I sleepwalking? Why are you hugging me?"

"You were dreaming of something... and I saw your scar... so I thought it's the best way to help; you were shivering and whatnot so..."

"That is not the Diana I know." Colin said, amusement in his voice.

"Hmpt." Diana snorted. "Ok then; I'll go." She pulled away and sat down a few metres away from him. Colin managed to lift himself and lie down.

"How long was I out?" he croaked.

"An hour or two; we should go back now." Diana said.

"Can't."

"How long do you need?"

"I said an entire night and I mean an entire night." he said before falling right back to sleep.

Diana sighed. "Great."