Withering Love - La Signora

2.

The next day, after your encounter with Signora, you decided to visit the garden again, as you had not much else to do. As soon as you arrived, you saw her, sitting there in the same place as yesterday. You sat next to her, talked, and left. And did it again the next day.

And the next, and the next, and the next.

Over the span of those days, you felt that Signora had begun to open up a bit more, and the two of you could actually hold a proper conversation now.

Today, you woke up feeling better than usual, and decided to get up early to go out and explore. You slipped on your usual attire, and made your way out of the room. You walked over to the front door, before you brother, Childe, spoke

"And where are you going so early, Y/n?"

You looked over to the side, where Childe was leaning on the doorway to the main room. You smiled at him

"Today is a good day, so I'm going exploring. Don't you worry about me, I won't go too far"

"Alright, you better be careful" He sighed

You chuckled at this "As if you're  one to talk"

He couldn't help but laugh a bit as well, knowing you were right

"Just be back before it gets dark, ok?"

His tone changed to a more serious one, with a look of worry on his face

"Alright, I will" 

You said, then turning the handle, and walking out the door.

.~-~-~-~-~-~-~.

A short walk later, you had arrived at the part of the forest you had been meaning to go explore. You would have gone sooner, though your condition had been preventing you from doing so for a while, hence why you took the opportunity today to go out. This particular part of the forest had intrigued you, as there was not a monster in sight unlike everywhere else. Something seemed to keep them away from this area, so you had decided to check it out.

As you began to walk deeper into the forest, the air became slightly warmer than that of outside. As you moved further into the woods, you began to hear muffled voices nearby. You approached with caution, knowing that it could possibly be an enemy. As you inched closer, you could hear footsteps nearing where you were. You hid yourself behind one of the larger trees, hoping to not be seen. The steps kept getting closer to your hiding spot, as you readied yourself to make an escape.

"Y/n?"

You heard a familiar voice call out. You peaked your head out from behind the tree, and, to your surprise, you saw Signora standing there, looking at you in shock. You gave her the same look back, not knowing why she was here.

"Y/n, what are you doing here? It's incredibly dangerous, especially when you don't have a weapon with you. What were you thinking?"

You were a little surprised by her concern for you, as well as her sudden appearance.

"I-I was just out exploring this area. I had wanted to see what was here, as it's a little...peculiar compared other places around here..."