13 Chapter Thirteen - Lonely Tiger

"She really likes taking naps, huh?", the boy said and Emalia pressed lightly on one of his wounds, smiling at the boy's complaint while treating him, "What was that for?"

"You're an idiot."

"Look who's talking."

"Quiet… My head hurt…", the sleepy girl yawned once more, "What happened…?"

"That's what I want to know. You went mad and nearly killed a man."

"I did…?", she asked once more, looking at her hands, "My nails… So it did happen, huh?"

"What was that, Artemis?"

"What does it matter to you?"

"That was… something we consider to be the will of the mutant that resides within us.", the Elder spoke and the small girl glared at him.

"Why did you tell them?!"

"Because they have saved you twice now, Artemis."

"Indeed we have."

"We?", Cyrus asked and Emalia nodded.

"Yes, we."

"I don't remember seeing you there when she attacked me."

"But I was there."

"Then tell me, your Highness, what happened there?"

"Exactly what you know happened, Cyrus."

"That doesn't answer my question nor does it prove you were there, you royal pain-in-the-ass!", the boy answered and a snort followed by a laugh caught their attention.

"Oops."

"What's so funny, little tiger?"

"Can you stop calling me that? I don't like nicknames…"

"I'd say it's best if you accept it, Artemis. I wish he'd call me something other than royal pain-in-the-ass all the time."

"Idiot.", the boy said.

"Something more endearing, you dolt!", the girl complained and Artemis couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"About what you said, Elder, what exactly is the will of the mutant?"

"Under certain circumstances, a beastfolk may revert back into a mutant, their primal form. Whenever this happens, it's nigh impossible to have them return to who they used to be, yet… our dear Artemis has returned thrice now."

"Is it because she's a child?"

"I am not a child!", the girl in question refuted before crossing her arms.

"We have no idea why it only happens with her."

"The chief hunter said that you beastfolk don't fight against others, is it because of that?"

"Yes. Many years ago, we've had cases of some of our own succumbing to the will of the mutant and… when that happens, we usually have to take them down."

"I can't imagine how any of you must have felt when Artemis first lost control of it."

"It was a dark day.", the Elder's wife said, "To see such a young, sweet child become that enraged…"

"Enough mopping.", Artemis sighed, "Or if you want to mope, go do it outside. I'm tired."

"We still have something to talk about, don't we, Cyrus?"

"We do, yes."

"You can't escape this time."

"I didn't escape last time, though. As soon as you laid down, you passed out, princess."

"Why does he always call you princess?", the smaller girl asked.

"I thought you wanted to sleep."

"Shut it.", Emalia ordered while patting the boy's shoulder, "And to answer your question, Artemis, it's because I am a princess. Or… I was."

"You were? Did something happen?"

"I was with the Royal Guards and I decided to revolt against them. Against what they had been doing and at the same time, you can say I exiled myself from my own kingdom."

"I… I see. I'm sorry that happened."

"It's fine.", the princess smiled while ruffling the girl's wild, curly golden hair, "You're a nice girl, you know?"

"I'm not…", she answered a few seconds later, moving her head away, "Let me sleep."

"More than you already have?", the boy asked and she didn't answer.

Cyrus got up and decided to walk out and explore the settlement a bit more while the two girls remained there. A slightly weird silence settled between the two girls, as well as the Elder and his wife. The latter two decided to leave the house for a bit and the smaller girl slowly got up from her seat.

"Artemis."

"Not here."

"I know you want to be alone for now, but I feel like I can't leave you on your own."

"Why not? Why do you feel the need to be around me?", Artemis asked, "We barely met a day ago, why do you behave as if we are friends?"

"Because I think we are friends."

"Well, you think wrong. I don't need friends. I don't need others. I just need the power to defeat that idiot calling himself a General!"

The girl left the makeshift house in a hurry and the old woman walked back in, having heard what she had said. She saw Emalia's confused face and nodded to herself before sitting down next to her.

"That girl…", she whispered, "She has been through a lot."

"Could I ask you to tell me what happened? If she gets mad, I'll take the full blame."

"There's no need for that, dear. Artemis lost her parents when she was very young. Her mother passed away minutes after giving birth to her and some time later, her father ran away."

"That's… That's horrible. How can a father do something like that?"

"He wasn't part of our settlement at first. He was a beastfolk that had shown up one day, asking for shelter. We took him in and Artemis' mother cared for him. Things moved well and soon, she was pregnant with that small, angry ball of cuteness you see today. But her mother… She was fragile. She was told she wouldn't survive her baby's birth, but she wanted to go through with it nonetheless. She was given the chance to breathe life into this world, she wasn't going to throw that away."

"She was a brave woman.", the Elder smiled as he walked in, "Artemis inherited that side of her. Always wanting to explore and learn more about things. I would have loved to see those two play together, if fate had been benevolent. After the passing of her mother and the fleeing of her father, it was her grandfather that took care of her and raised her. He did everything within his power to prepare her for the world, but for some reason, once he passed away, Artemis grew distant and cold. She started wanting to defeat the General of Wind out of nowhere, she picked up two daggers she found and started training against the trees around our settlement. We are very lucky that she hasn't been killed by pillagers yet and honestly, we are very worried she'll end up getting herself killed at the hands of that crazy General."

"I had no idea she had been through that much."

"She may not show, but I'm sure she's grateful that you two are insisting on standing by her side. Artemis has been pushing away most everyone that tries to check up on her."

"She reminds me of a certain idiot I know.", Emalia giggled, "We'll continue pestering her until she finally surrenders and lets us into her life."

"I'd ask for nothing more, your Highness.", the Elder chuckled.

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"He's right here.", a beastfolk lady with a pair of wings for arms said, "That dumb son of mine entered the log storage we have and got trapped between a few logs."

"I'll see what I can do, miss.", the boy nodded and walked into the storage room.

It was filled with logs neatly packed together in piles for the most part. One of the piles was messed up and a pair of legs was peeking from beneath them. Cyrus got close to the legs and tapped them with a soft kick, to see if the kid was alive, and the flailing of the legs confirmed that.

"Who's there?!"

"Help."

"That's a strange name.", the kid laughed.

"I can't really lift all of this for long, so you have to be ready to crawl out as soon as I start, alright?"

"Sure. Ready when you are!"

"That's my line, kid!", the boy answered while lifting the logs as hard as he could.

They budged somewhat, but not enough to let the trapped kid crawl into safety. He kept pulling the logs up as hard as his arms allowed him, but it wasn't enough.

"Am I seriously this weak? I punched a goddamn rock into submission, how can I not lift some logs?!"

"Because they are stacked on top of each other.", the chief hunter said, "Why not use your magic?"

"I am fairly sure fire and wood don't match well, sir."

"Not that, the other magic that lets you bring hands made of rock from the ground."

"Oh, that…", the boy whispered, "Yeah, it could work."

Cyrus closed his eyes and focused. He turned his right hand so his palm faced the ceiling and slowly raised it, manifesting quite the number of stone hands from the ground beneath him, lifting the logs and allowing the kid to crawl to freedom. Once free, the hands crumbled and the logs fell once more while the boy sighed.

"Thank you so much!", the kid's mother said, "And you, young man, we have a lot to talk about."

Cyrus almost felt sorry for the winged kid, but he had to learn his lesson. He looked over at the pile of logs and then at his two hands. The feeling of being weak was starting to settle in and he could feel his confidence in his strength wavering more than usual. He did defeat a General, yet he couldn't lift a pair of logs.

"Everything alright, young man?", the chief hunter asked.

"For someone capable of breaking rock with a punch, I can't even lift a damn log!"

"Because those are two different types of strength, young man."

"How come?"

"The strength to punch something is explosive, it happens the moment you throw the punch and it's done. The strength to lift something is a more stable type of strength that is employed for a longer time, it needs to be a type of strength you can maintain and not waver."

"That's pretty insightful. I hadn't properly thought of it that way. It makes sense that I couldn't really lift it."

"I can tell you, however, that those two are interlinked. A modicum of stable strength goes into your explosive strength and vice-versa. If you train one, train the other just as much."

"I will. Thank you once again, chief.", the boy said while walking out of the storage room.

"By the way!", the man called out and the boy stopped, "I heard Artemis managed to return from the will of the mutant again."

"She did."

"That girl's a box of surprises, huh? You'd do well to stay by her side. Right now, she needs that more than anything else."

Cyrus nodded and began walking through the settlement in hopes of finding something to do and happened to catch a glimpse of that grumpy girl walking out of the settlement through the north exit. This time, he was the one doing the following, or at least trying to, and she was the one that had no idea someone was after her. She walked for a while until reaching that clearing with the wooden stakes on the floor. Just like the other time, she was standing in front of one particular stake, not too close and not too far. She felt a lump in her throat and her chest tighten, but this time she took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"It's not fair, you know?", she asked whomever she was talking to, "It's unfair that you got to meet them and I didn't. It's unfair that you left this soon. You had so much more to teach me, so much more to live and so much more to do. Why was it you…?"

The girl's voice faltered and her breathing grew shaky.

"I hate you… For leaving so early. For leaving me in such a way. Why you? Why not me? You had your friends, the memories of the adventures you went on and all the things you wanted to do and it was I that remained here instead! I, who has nothing going for her besides a stupid hatred for someone unrelated to you. I, who keeps pushing everyone away and secluding herself from the world with the idiotic belief that it'll help her win a rigged battle. I… I don't deserve the life that you gave me!"

"Give in…", a voice echoed within her mind, "Let it consume you…"

She grasped her head, shaking it. She could feel her nails growing again, her canine teeth sharpening and her control over her body and mind slipping away.

"Get out of my head…!"

"Let it take control… Only then will you see…"

"Shut up!", she shouted.

"The world around you… Those who cherish your existence…"

"They don't exist! Who could possibly cherish some freak like me?! I've got nobody!"

The girl's screams were turning into roars as time went by. Her eyes were slowly growing completely black and her left hand was dragging its nails along her left cheek, hoping the pain would make it stop. The space around her was growing blank. Her mind was growing silent and she could feel her sense of self slipping away.

"Help… me…", the girl whispered before finally succumbing to it.

A loud, powerful roar echoed throughout the forest, coupled with the sound of thunder, but no lightning. The sounds of his steps alerted the consumed girl and she immediately turned towards the source of that new sound, remembering his presence. She quickly began running away and the boy ran after her, yet he had trouble following her. Her instinct knew where to go while he had no idea where he was going. Soon, she left his line of sight, effectively losing the boy and managing to flee. He looked around for any signs of her, but couldn't find anyone.

"Artemis! Artemis, where are you?!", he called out, but no answer was heard, "Fuck…"

"What happened?", Emalia asked, having followed the sound of thunder and then the boy.

"It's Artemis. She turned again and fled."

"We have to warn the Elder!"

"You go, I'll try to find her."

"No, you're coming with me. She knows this place better than the two of us and I won't let you get lost."

"There's no time for that."

"There is, you idiot. Don't do anything rash. Come on, the Elder may know something. And… you need to know what happened to her. What she's been through."

"You're probably right. Come on, let's go."

"And!", she continued, "We still haven't talked about what the hell happened with the General."

"That we do, princess. That we do."

"You're not escaping me this time, Cyrus."

"Again, I didn't escape any time. You just forgot."

The girl cast him a pout and the two of them began walking back to the settlement. At the north exit, the Elder was waiting for them, accompanying them home while Cyrus told him what happened, then telling Cyrus what he and his wife had told Emalia. He paid attention to everything the man had to say about the smaller girl's life. The boy then asked the man if he knew of a place where the girl could have fled to and the man shook his head.

"That place she was at, what was it?"

"Most likely the graveyard we have.", the woman answered, "She sometimes goes there. She once said it helps clear her mind."

"What's on your mind?", Emalia asked, noticing Cyrus scratching his chin, "Any ideas?"

"Is there any place her grandfather would go to? Maybe somewhere he visited regularly or something along those lines."

"I remember him saying something about a sanctuary to the northwest of the settlement. A place he used to go with his wife and daughter. He must have taken her there once or twice, if she happens to be there."

"Can you tell us where that place is, Elder?"

"I'll take you there.", the man said while standing up, "I promised her grandfather I'd take care of her and I haven't been doing a good job at it, it seems."

"Take care, you three.", the woman smiled, "I'll be waiting with dinner ready."

The three of them left the house and walked up to the settlement's north exit where the chief hunter was. The Elder explained what happened and the chief decided to accompany them, if only to keep the settlement's Elder safe. Taking a turn to the left halfway between the settlement and the graveyard, they continued walking for some more time. Coming out of the forest surrounding the settlement, they came across a wide, clear plain near the base of a mountain. Near that mountain was a small cave and within that small cave was the barely visible silhouette of a crouched person, as well as a trail of blood leading into it. Creating a ball of fire on his right hand, the light from the boy's magic illuminated the girl in question, mouth covered in blood while she held the half-eaten remains of a small rodent.

"I assume that you can't digest raw meat, even through all the adaptation, right?"

"Indeed.", the Elder answered, "Humans have long since adapted to cooked meat and we are no exception, coming from mutated people. Even some as Artemis and I, who have the traits of large felines, can't digest raw meat. We have tried."

"Very well.", the boy smiled, "I'll take care of this."

"We will, Cyrus."

"Unless you want to attack Artemis with your sword, you're not going to help, princess."

"I have full trust that he'll be able to calm her down. He has done it before, no?"

"You be careful, Cyrus."

"I'll protect the two of them.", the chief affirmed and the boy nodded.

"If you want to help, Emalia, then wait for the right time.", the boy said while looking back at her, "I trust you'll know when."

The possessed girl noticed the boy approaching and her first reaction was to growl in an attempt to scare him, but with no positive result. She dropped the meat she had on her hands and lunged at the boy, throwing slash after slash at him. All of them were dodged as best as he could, though some still managed to touch his shirt. Cyrus dodged to her right and made her trip forward before throwing a left jab at her, using an explosion on his left elbow to give speed and power to his attack. Her reflexes allowed her to dodge and made the boy hit the ground, lifting a small dust cloud as well as some chunks of dirt.

"That punch would have done more damage than my sword, is he trying to kill her?"

"He's fighting against a wild beast, young lady. If he doesn't fight her with all he's got, she will find a way to kill him."

Cyrus dodged a slash that left a cut on his right cheek and slapped the girl's left cheek while she was in the air, throwing her to the side to put some distance between them, yet she regained her balance rather quickly and lunged at him once more. Cyrus saw the chance and clenched his right fist as hard as he could, leaning forward while running towards her. He crossed her and dug his fist into her stomach, forcing the girl to puke out everything she had eaten before pushing her several meters away from him.

"One objective down.", he chuckled while shaking his right arm, "You still managed to scratch me, huh?"

The several cuts on his right arm dripped blood and he looked over at the girl. She was coughing in between heavy breaths, staring at the boy.

"Leave… me…!", she shouted before lunging at him once more.

"That's not what you asked for an hour ago, Artemis.", the boy answered before dodging an attack and hitting a punch straight in her face, "So allow me to knock some sense back into that small head of yours, little tiger!"

The punch made her spin a few times before regaining her footing once more and attempting to attack him, but he wouldn't allow her just yet. A left hook followed by a right hook, then an elbow hit to the face followed by a backhand slap with his right hand and a slap with his left. Although they were as weak as he could, they still had some impact on her. He pressed his left hand against her chest and pushed her away, only for her to roar and jump at him again. Her sharp nails reached his left shoulder, leaving four cuts on it before she was pushed back. She lunged yet again and dealt slash after slash, tearing the boy's shirt to shreds while leaving shallow cuts on his chest as he tried his best to dodge.

"Come on, little tiger, wake up!"

"Leave me… alone!", she roared.

"We won't!"

She roared and jumped at the boy who ducked and hit her stomach with his right knee before kicking the girl up. She spun backwards a few times before landing safely. Mixed in with her drool was some blood from the hits she was taking and her vision was growing somewhat blurry. She went in for another attack and Cyrus stopped it with his left arm before pushing her back just a little bit.

"Artemis, please come back!", the Elder shouted.

"Please, young Artemis, your grandfather wouldn't have wanted this.", the chief said.

"Shut up!", she screamed while grabbing her head, "I don't need you! I don't need anyone!"

"You needed me to remove you from the tree I put you in, so that's a lie!", Cyrus shouted and the girl shouted back, "Don't lose yourself to whatever that is. Your body is your own, Artemis, fight back!"

Her shout grew louder and lightning began falling around her. The fur on her tail became bristly and sparks began appearing around her hands and body.

"The longer she remains like that, the harder it'll be for her to come back!", the Elder affirmed and the boy nodded, "Please… Bring her back, Cyrus."

"If you're going to give it everything you have, little tiger, then allow me to match your passion with my own!"

Fire surrounded the boy as he shouted at the girl, intent on bringing forth everything his body and soul could at that moment. Emalia had her sword ready to stop the boy, in case he went too far. This quick battle was about to get a bit rougher than any of them had imagined. They had to do something and fast.

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