Felicia gasped as she opened her eyes, stumbling forward. She felt her veins slowly relax as her ether calmed. The wound in her chest started to close as she glanced over to Raynauld, feeling a rush of relief as he looked back at her. “You’re alright?”

“I should be asking you that.”

She gave a small laugh and nodded. “I’m okay.” Scanning around them, she marvelled at the array of destroyed buildings and crumbling stone. Everything around felt different, a bit off yet familiar, like the world they just came from but somehow more comfortable. Taking in a deep inhale, she smelled burnt wood and soot. She turned back to Raynauld. “Where are we?”

“... This is Genstem, we travelled to… wherever we were from here.”

Felicia dematerialized her wings before flexing her crystal right hand. “Is there somewhere we should go?”

“Away from here.”

She gave a nod, trusting his judgement. He rummaged through his pocket, pulling out a small crystal attached to a string, similar to the one on her neck. She looked at it, mesmerized by the wispy blue aura around it. “What do those do?”

“They’re teleportation crystals, they, well, teleport.” He walked over to her, reaching his hand out for her to hold onto. “I’m not sure where we’ll end up, but we can’t stay here for long.”

Nodding, she took his hand, letting a strand of ether flow into him. His hand gripped tightly before he relaxed, trying to hide his surprise. She smiled a little and gently held on, letting the ether swirl around and take them away. As she opened her eyes again, they were somewhere new, somewhere completely unfamiliar. It was a quaint path lined by bushes and bits of tallgrass, glowing under the moon. Dirt squashed beneath her feet as she walked forward. She felt signatures pull at her from just a little bit away, and upon closer examination, she spotted a small wooden wall further down the road.

“Raynauld, where are we?”

“I don’t really know, but I’m hoping the town is friendly.”

She nodded and started to walk down the path, but Raynauld quickly jogged to her side, hesitantly speaking up. “You might want to hide the arm.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” She let out an exhale as she let the arm fall into a dark mist. Before it even fully disappeared, she immediately felt uncomfortable. Maybe that was to be expected, but the lack of an arm affected her in some way she couldn’t fully describe. Keeping a straight face, she walked next to Raynauld, noticing her balance was slightly off. They moved down the path and closer to the gates. The wood was old with parts of it chipping off but thankfully not yet rotting. As they approached it, the door slowly creaked open. A man poked his head out with dark messy hair and scarred skin. He quickly pushed the gate open the rest of the way, his eyes wide. “God, are you two okay? I-I’ll get a doctor.”

Felicia stuttered for a moment while trying to wave her hands but quickly remembering she only had one. “No, we’re okay, thank you.” She looked down to her body, realizing almost all of her clothing was soaked with blood. Taking a glance at Raynauld, she realized he was the same. They probably looked like they went through hell. It took her a moment to realize that she probably just didn’t remember what that hell looked or felt like. She took a look around them to be greeted by more concerned faces. Raynauld led the way and kept his head low and steps brisk. Felicia did the same, trying to stay in step while figuring out what to do.

There were so many people around, too many for her to be comfortable. The sheer number of signatures flooded her mind, creating a giant wave of energy from all sides. She was completely exposed, surrounded by unknowns. She shuffled closer to Raynauld and started to put limits on her own ether. All the people around, while numerous, seemed like small flickering candles which were barely holding on. If that was normal, the amount of ether she was outputting had to be noticeable in some sort of way, even if she was already holding back.

Raynauld walked towards a small building, pushing open the door and holding it so Felicia could enter. The floorboards creaked underfoot and the musty windows streamed dim light into the room. Glancing up, Felicia met eyes with a man who was standing behind a table, his mouth slightly ajar. Raynauld walked forward and spoke quietly. “Do you have an open room?”

“... Yeah.” The man shook his head. “Just take your time, forget about the payment.”

Raynauld nodded and thanked him before looking back to Felicia and leading her up a set of stairs. The hallway was quiet, and she sensed nobody in the nearby rooms. Raynauld moved to the last door, opening it and letting Felicia inside. She looked over to him, helping him with his belt as he locked the door and then took the sword and carefully put it away. He looked tired, and he was still trying to hide it. She gave him a hand and helped him sit on the bed, taking a seat beside him. “Raynauld, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, are you?”

“I think so, but Raynauld, I’m serious, I’m here if you need me.”

He glanced over to her but quickly averted his eyes, shaking his head. “... Of course I’m not. I don’t understand what’s happened today, and now you…”

She nodded and let him continue. “We can’t go back to the city, but I don’t know what to do.”

“But we can figure that out, right? We’re both alive, and that’s enough for now.”

“I… yeah.” He flicked his eyes over to her again but quickly returned his gaze to the ground. Felicia lowered her head, a pang of sadness coming over her. “... I don’t usually do this, do I?” She put her hand on her lap and gripped onto the fabric. “I’m sorry, I just thought that… that I could help.”

“It’s okay, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Raynauld’s voice was quiet, but not quite calm. Felicia gave a long sigh before mustering up her courage. “Raynauld… can I ask something?”

“Anything.”

“Were we in a relationship?”

He took a second to process what she asked and then stuttered a response. “I, no, but… when you… you told me that…” Shaking his head, he stopped talking. Felicia looked up to him, trying to stay composed. “It’s just that when I’m around you, I get these… feelings, or these prods of emotions, but I don’t fully understand them.”

“I…”

“S-sorry, I don’t want to push anything on you, it’s just that… you know.”

“No, it’s okay, I… um…”

She gave a long sigh and hung her head. “... I want to have those memories back, the times we spent together, whatever they were.”

“... I know.”

“But in the place that I am… it’s just so confusing.”

He turned to her, shaking his head. “Then why don’t you just see for yourself? We can just stay together and make new memories, have a fresh start.”

“I would like that, but... I don’t think that’s possible.” She faced him and forced the words out of her mouth. “I’m in love with you, helplessly. If that’s not what this is then I have no idea.”

He slowly nodded and hid his face as Felicia formed her other hand for her to clasp onto. She stared at the crystals, realizing the implications. “... I’m sorry, I know this has to be hard for you.” Lowering her head further, she whispered. “I’m not who I was, I don’t think I can be. None of my memories have returned, nothing at all.”

“That’s okay.”

“But I can’t make you throw the past out as well.”

“I won’t have to, it doesn’t define our future.”

She looked up to him, reaching for his hand. His grip sent a wave of comfort through her as she tried to keep her face straight. “Is this really okay? For you to do this?”

“Yes, it is.”

Hesitating for a moment, she shifted herself closer to him, moving the crystal arm up to his shoulder and the other to his cheek. Hesitating again, she looked him in the eyes before moving closer. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, embracing her. She closed her eyes as her lips met his and warmth flooded through her body. She expected to feel regret in some fashion, but the only sensation in her was heavy relief. They separated for a moment and he looked down. “We should clean ourselves off.”

“Yeah.” She released and got up, moving to the bathroom. A trough of water sat idly on the side which she knelt beside. She let out a gasp as the cold water hit her face, mixing with the dirt and washing off. Raynauld did the same and then took off his standards, slowly unstrapping his armour. Felicia slowly pulled her ser coat off as well, throwing it to the side. She brushed her hand over the armour on her stomach, the metal caved inwards and the clothing underneath ripped. Taking off the straps, she let the steel fall to the floor. The clothing underneath was still bloodied, even more than the outside.

She glanced over to Raynauld and then quickly tore her eyes away, feeling anxiety well up. She had no idea how he really felt, and she had definitely pushed him into indulging her desires. Looking over to him again, she meekly spoke up. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

She shook her head, sinking down to her knees. “You don’t have to do this for me.”

“Felicia, I’m going to stay with you because that’s what I want. It doesn’t matter that you don’t remember, the you that’s here right now is more than enough.”

“I... okay.”

He stood up, offering her his hand. “Do you want to see if we can get you a new set of clothes?”

Felicia looked down to her tattered shirt, her stomach and shoulder blades exposed. “Sure.”

Getting up, she walked forward before looking down at her abdomen again. Her eyes widened as she spotted a dark indent which crawled with black veins. As she ran her hand over the wound, the corrupted ether pulsed under her fingers. Moving her gaze back to Raynauld, she shook her head. “That’s where I?...”

“Yeah.”

She gave a long sigh and looked down at her hand. “I keep forgetting. That I’m not normal I mean. They wouldn’t have helped us if they knew what I was.”

“... Probably.”

She nodded and sat down on the bed. “I’ll stay here.”

“But-”

“I don’t want to cause trouble.”

He scratched the back of his head.“No, you won’t, it’s not that,... I just don’t know your size.”

“... Oh. I see.” She smiled a little and shrugged. “Well, what do you propose then?”

“There’s probably bandages around here somewhere.” He moved to the drawers, searching through them. Felicia pulled her shirt off and put the more brown than white fabric down. After a short moment, he came to her side with a bundle of cloth in hand. She raised her arms and let him wrap the bandages. Her corset was still sinched tightly at the top, but the bottom half had the strings ripped open. Raynauld was noticeably delicate with her, his hands moving gingerly. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

She turned to Raynauld with a small smile. He smiled back, staring at her. They sat in silence before she moved in for a kiss. He moved in as well, wrapping his hand around her waist. She grabbed onto his shoulders and then fell back onto the bed, him still in her arms.

~

Sirius groaned, holding his head and slumping back against a tree. His eyes fluttered open as he scanned around him. A hand heavily landed on his shoulder as Lianne walked up from behind. “Took your damn time.”

“Got caught up.”

“With what?”

“I… don’t know.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Good to see you’re reliable. Now come on.”

“Sorry?”

“We’re going to find somewhere to stay, I’m tired as hell.”

He shrugged and followed her, his footsteps still wavering. They walked along the path for a long while, staying silent the whole time. Soon, they came upon a large stone wall of a town, one that Sirius didn’t recognize but didn’t care to investigate. As long as they had somewhere to stay, it was good enough. They both walked through the gates with wary glances following their movements. Lianne brushed her hair over the right side of her face and kept her head down, still leading the way. The people in the streets were talking amongst themselves, sometimes even laughing. It was a nice change of pace.

As Lianne stepped up to an inn, she checked back on Sirius. “Do you have something to pay with?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” She stepped in, not even bothering to ask for the favour. Sirius looked over to the innkeeper as Lianne stayed silent, crossing her arms and standing still. He gave a sigh and waved. “Are there two rooms available?”

“Yeah, how long?”

“Just today.”

The man grunted and held out his hand for the pay which Sirius gave him, slightly thankful for Tylocke’s mocking generosity. Lianne moved ahead, already walking towards the furthest room down the hall. Sirius followed, taking the room next to hers. With a long sigh, he locked the door behind him and sat down, feeling exhaustion set in. Hearing the bed creak from the other room, he decided that Lianne had the right idea and laid down, closing his eyes.

~

Lianne stirred as she was unable to fall asleep, eventually deciding it wasn’t going to happen as she pushed herself up. Her head swayed as she looked around blearily, trying to discern where she was. Eyes drifting, she realized she was back home, back at the little cottage in the middle of nowhere. She pushed herself backwards, shaking her head. “No, no, we’re done with this, we’re-”

She looked over her shoulder, seeing two red eyes staring at her. They moved forward, revealing Avaria, her body covered in blood. She softly smiled, not uttering a word. Lianne kept staring, her lips quavering. “Stay away.”

Avaria didn’t listen and took a few steps, her movements completely silent. Lianne pushed herself back even further, curling into herself. “Stop.” She gripped her hands into fists. “Why can’t you just get out of my life?”

Her hands wrapped around Lianne, pulling her closer and coating her in a shroud of warmth, of blood. Lianne didn’t resist, still too tired to do anything. It was all too much, it was supposed to be over, she was supposed to be able to be better. Feeling familiar tendrils of dark seep into her body, she cried out, desperately trying to wake up.

“Hey, Lianne.”

She snapped her eyes open and quickly sat up with a sharp inhale. Holding her head in her hands, she glanced up at Sirius who started to move away. He paused for a moment and quietly spoke. “... You left the door unlocked again.”

“I know.” She clenched the sides of her head. Sirius started to leave, but she quickly called to him. “Sirius, wait.”

He stopped in his tracks and turned around, taking a second before walking back. He stood by the bedside for a moment before she motioned him to sit down with a wave. After a moment of silence, she flopped her hands down onto her lap and took a deep breath, staring at the ceiling. “... You were right. The whole time. And I was just too stubborn to listen.” Letting out a long sigh, she forced herself to continue, feeling as if she was confessing to an interrogation. “I always knew it wasn’t right, but I didn’t give a shit. She screwed me the hell up, and even if she didn’t mean to, I still hated her. I don’t think that was wrong of me. But you were right.”

Putting her head back in her hands, she relented. “But I still want to kill her. So badly. I want her to pay, for somebody to pay.”

“Lianne…”

“I can’t take back what she stole, I can’t undo what she did, I can’t have another shot. So what the fuck am I supposed to do?”

“You have to just keep going.” He shook his head and sighed. “It’s the past, and you have to live with it, learn from it for the better.”

Lianne looked over to him and shook her head. “Same old story, huh?”

He nodded and slowly got up. “We’ve got some time to wind down, we don’t have to return to work so soon.”

Lianne grumbled a response of affirmation and waited for him to leave and close her unlocked door. With a long, winded exhale, she flopped back down to the bed, trying to go back to a dreamless sleep.