Thea's Reprise

Chapter 8: On edge

Kris

“Let’s see if Ronin was right…”

“Huh?”

I raise my swords to block, but her hit sends me flying out of the window. “How the hell is she so fast?!” I asked myself before I crashed through a few trees. A branch pierces my left shoulder, stopping my momentum in its tracks. Blood leaks through my gritted teeth as the tree I'm on begins to crack, slowly falling backwards while still attached to me. As It picks up speed, I grab the branch puncturing my shoulder, trying to break free.

What the hell am I dealing with here?

I squeeze the branch more and it snaps, freeing me as I place my feet on the trunk and jump off, narrowly escaping the crash. As I roll across the ground to break my fall, I take a look at my shoulder, noticing the branch is still there. “This is going to hurt…” I mumble to myself as I grab it, take a deep breath, and rip it out to my major discomfort. I gasp for air, looking at the bloody branch at my feet as my vision gets blurry. This isn’t good, I’ve lost too much blood, the chips were enough to heal the hole in my stomach and start repairing my ribs, but with the new damage I just took…

“Well you have the durability to handle a Paratana…”

I look up, seeing Rose walking towards me with the spear in her hand. Blood begins to leak from my head as it covers my left eye. The sky is already dark, but between my already hazy vision and the blood covering my view, I don’t know what to do. “W-What was that for…?” I ask weakly, hoping to stall her long enough for my limited healing to take effect. “You show up claiming to have killed a Paratana, immediately perk up at the thought of exploring other cities, and seem awfully reserved with your motives and desires.” She said, twirling her spear and holding it with the long end behind her back, “One thing I hate more than someone who tells false information is one who withholds it.”

Seriously, what is this lady's deal?

I begin to get my swords ready, but realize they aren't in my hand anymore. “What the-”. Where the hell are they? I must've let go of them between tree crashing. I begin to look around, seeing one of them a few meters behind her. Great, I have to get past her first.

“T-Thats my business, but I'm not some type of informant if that's why you're wondering.” I say, slowly getting up from my knees as I feel my hair rest on my shoulders. I guess the fall ripped my hair tie too.

Doesn't matter, what's most important is getting back to the swords.

Third Person

“Whatever happened to privacy..?” Kris asked. “Didn't you want to be a scavenger? I can't employ people I don't trust.” Rose dashed forward and swung her spear at her. Kris quickly ducked and dashed to the side in an attempt to grab the sword. Rose grabbed her leg and tossed her into another tree,“Not so fast…” Kris coughed up blood and slid to the ground. As she looked up in pain, Rose stood right above her. ‘How the hell is she so fast?!’ Kris thought to herself as she rolled over, narrowly dodging a stab from Rose's weapon and getting back on her feet. She glanced over to her shoulder, noticing the bleeding stopped. As she tried to move it, a sharp pain shot through her body and she held her wound.

‘Bones must still be damaged, Indigo was right-’.

Kris’s eyes widened as she saw Rose's spear thrown straight at her. She caught it and moved it to her left side, blinking as Rose appeared in front of her. She grabbed the spear and pushed, sending Kris into a tree as she struggled to keep the spear in place. “What's the matter? You wouldn't have killed a Paratana performing this poorly.” Kris looked at the sword on the ground, then back at Rose. She reeled her foot back and kicked her off, running towards the first sword. Rose smirked and ran after her. Kris jumped at the blade and grabbed the handle, rolling over before quickly recovering and parrying Rose’s attack. Rose jumped back and held her spear behind her again. Kris held her sword steady with her good arm, breathing heavily.‘Can I get her to a stalemate…?’, she asked herself. Even if it was most likely impossible, it was the best case scenario. 

Rose held her hand out and motioned for her to attack. Kris dashed forward with her blade in a thrusting position. Rose took a step back and swiped her spear, deflecting Kris’s attack before kneeing her in the gut. She flew a few meters into the air and tossed her sword down. Rose moved to the side to dodge, making an opening for Kris to attack. She landed on the ground and jumped at her, spinning around to kick her in the head. Rose stabbed the ground with her spear, blocking Kris's kick. Kris looked up, “Huh?”. Rose laughed and grabbed Kris by the neck, holding her in place. Kris grabbed her arm and struggled. “I asked you for one of two things. Your strength, or your desires. Since you’re being so conservative, I'm requiring both for you to pass.”. Kris spoke through strained breaths, “P-Pass? What is this, a test?” she asked. Rose shrugged,”If that helps you perform, then I suppose.”. Rose squeezed and Kris looked up as her vision began to fade. She noticed the other sword stuck at the top of a tree, the clouds of ash, dead trees, and falling leaves before blacking out.

Moments later, she woke up in front of a bed. The sun beamed through the window, warming up the room to a more welcoming feel. She looked around, confused as to where she was. As her vision finally came to, she realized.

This was her home.

She looked at the door to the room she was in, about to explore before a loud cry came from behind her.

“Dad, please!”

Kris turned around, seeing a younger version of herself in tears next to her mother. She stared at the doorway, “Don’t go, please don’t go!”. With hair an imperfect mixture of black and blonde, and eyes the color of desaturated gold, this girl was the spitting image of her. She had forgotten the way she looked. Mirrors weren’t easy to find in ruins, and with all the ash around, she was sure her hair was now a dusty gray. As she started to walk towards her younger self, a familiar voice rang in her ear.

“So this is where you fall.”.

Her father was behind her, she knew for sure. It had been years, but she could recognize that voice anywhere. She immediately turned around, seeing his faded body standing in the doorway. “Defeated by a lady you have no idea about in an inhospitable forest. A shame.”. Kris, stunned, began to slowly walk forward,”What are you talking about...?”.

“You're going to die.” He responded. “You're going to die here without achieving your goals.”

He turned around and began to walk down the hallway. Kris sped up her pace,”H-Hey…that's not fair!”. Her speed walk turned into a run as the hallway got longer and longer,”You left me, I-I watched you go!” her voice began to break as tears welled up in her eyes. She got faster and faster as the hallway continued to expand. “And yet…” her father spoke as she tripped and fell to the ground. She reached out as the tears built up in her eyes began to leak out, “Dad, please!”

“You still cannot, and will not reach me.”

The hallway expanded faster and faster until it disappeared into a black void. Kris tried to get up, but her left shoulder began to ache, making her fall to the ground. She looked at it, noticing the hole in her shoulder as blood began to accumulate on her head, covering her eye once again. She sobbed, curling into a ball as she held herself for warmth.

“No…”

Kris opened her eyes and rolled over, punching the ground to raise her body. “You cried already, now's not the time for that!”. She dragged herself up, ignoring the pain from her shoulder as she slowly began to walk forward. “You’ll heal up when you get back to Indigo, so until then…”. Her walk sped up into a run, “You ignore the pain, you pass her test, you show her strength…”, A white door appeared in front of her.

“And you put the sound of her heart in her heart in her ears!"