Spirit of the Woods

Reconciliation

Reconciliation

Chernobog

The city was dead.

At least that is what Firewatch thought. Except for the rare bird or rabid dog, the streets and its buildings were empty. This differed from what she felt before. During the first foray into Chernobog, there was always the feeling of being watched from the shadows, even though there was no one there. But now? It was like there wasn't a soul except for her.

Trudging through the streets, keeping a close eye for any pursuers, Firewatch traced the path she took. She passed derelict cars, abandoned apartments, and destroyed stores, not seeing a single sign of Reunion or life in general. She was on edge. The area should have been saturated with patrols through and through. And yet it was empty.

After a couple of minutes of walking, she finally reached the plaza which she had left from. The same craters were still present from before, with plenty of blood coating the ground. However, the battlefield was void of bodies, which could be explained by both sides taking their fallen. Taking a quick look at the ground, she picked out the faint imprint of footsteps moving away from the area. She turned to where they were heading, straight into the center of the city. It must have been Rhodes Island.

But before she could follow them, she heard the sounds of metal shifting behind her. Spinning on her heels, she pulled her VSS to fire but hesitated to pull the trigger when she saw who was standing in front of her. A figure in a suit of armor stood in front of her, wielding a halberd and shield emblazoned with Reunion's symbol. Patriot, the leader of the Guerillas, stood in front of her. "It's almost like you didn't age a day..." a coarse voice reminisced, dropping his colossal weapons on the ground. "You look just like your father, Sofia."

Firewatch lowered her rifle but still kept her guard up, "What are doing here, Uncle? Don't you have a job to do?" The armored figure took a step closer.

"Ever since Yelena told me you were still alive, I've been waiting to see you again." Patriot let out a raspy cough, "When I saw the damage done to our camp, I knew it was you. Only a true saboteur could do that damage. I would never waste a chance to see family again."

A shot of pain shot through Firewatch's heart as she listened and slowly reached into her jacket's inner pockets. Patriot only watched as she pulled out a familiar strip of ribbon. "I don't deserve to be called family anymore, Buldrokkas'tee. I killed her. I don't deserve it."

Patriot's posture didn't change a bit as he approached her. Firewatch form stiffened and closed her eyes. There was little she could do in front of the leader. A veteran and sarkaz, he was unchallenged in warfare. Before long, the wendigo was standing over her. She closed her eyes, waiting for a strike—an attack for vengeance. But nothing happened. Instead, she felt an armored hand take the ribbon from her hand. Opening her eyes, she gaze into the helmeted gaze of Patriot's as he reached behind her head and tied it around her ponytail. "There you go. It should be there instead of in your pockets."

Firewatch finally let her rifle fall to the ground as she stared at the ground. Leaning her head against the armor of Patriot, she let out a whimper. "Why..." A stiff hand grasped her shoulder. "After what I did to Reunion and Yelena, why don't you hate me?"

The hand suddenly moved, and soon a metal embrace surrounded her. Despite his helmet, his voice was clear as it could be. "We're both warriors, Sofia. So was Yelena. Death and conflict are inevitable. Even though our allegiances are to other masters, nothing you could do would make me hate you."

She couldn't take it anymore. Wrapping her arms around the sarkaz, she cried. Hard.

15 years ago