Hybrid

Chapter 16: New deal

You slowly walk out of the woods, trying to not raise any suspicion and approach your trustworthy friend. As usual, the man gets his lucky coin out of his pocket and give it back to you but instead of going back to his activities, he keeps looking at you.
You don't make him wait and tilt your head in the direction of the shelter while turning around, ready to go into the woods again. You don't check behind you to see if the gambler is following you. You know he is.

As soon as you enter the cabin, you close the door shut and grab your friend shoulders:

"I've got some good and bad news."

"Start with the good one."

"I've found a way to make the difference when being called as survivor or as killer."

The man sits on the wooden floor:

"Well, at least that will make things easier for both of us. I did feel that your last call was more... pressant. So hit me. What's the difference?"

You lay against the wall and take some seconds to rewind the scene in your mind:

"Usually, when I'm being called as survivor, I suddenly feel oppressed. Like I'm being watched by the Entity itself. I get the mark around thirty seconds after I first get the feeling. But this time, there was another symptom that came way before the oppression. It started with an unease sensation and rose up to an intense anger. I felt enraged to all of you. I... I wanted to hurt you and when I realised what was happening I felt so bad and scared of myself I..."

Ace notices your shakes before you do and gently stroke your back:

"Hey. Remember, it's the Entity, not you. You told it yourself, those are symptoms. So relax, breathe and tell me what happened next."

You listen to his advices and lighten up to his touch:

"I felt enraged and when I thought of hurting you, I realised what was happening. That's when I gave you the signal. I was panicked because those sensations were new and I had no idea when I would have transformed. You did your diversion, I fled away, got the oppression way stronger than usual and shortly after... I transformed."

"Yeah, about that... I think we might have heard you scream once."

You freeze. You had no idea how much distance you've covered before getting into your killer form and had hope you were far enough. The gambler waggles his hands in an attempt to dispel your doubts:

"Don't worry, nobody could say it was you. It didn't sound like your voice but more like an agonizing beast of some sort. It was very far and  distorded so nobody can link you to the Avatar. But now, all the survivors are on their toes. They're affraid to meet that creature if they sink too deeply into the forest."

You let out a sigh mixed with relief and annoyement. Even if they didn't recognize you, their alertness might be a problem for futur diversions. Ace littly shake your shoulder, trying to grab you attention:

"Is it... painfull?"

You catch your knees and snuggle your face between them. You don't want to think about it.

"You have no idea..."

Ace remains silent, his arms wrapped around you and his hands softly caressing your skin in a comforting motion. You were expecting him to be a friendly pal when you arrived here, but never you'd expected that he would be such a good emotionnal support.
You enjoy those precious minutes with him, relaxing and building back your strength with this simple cuddle session. When you feel ready, you draw back from his grasp; pat his back with a smile; and straight back go to business talk: