Lost

When Sebastian opened his eyes, he saw a few trees somewhere around his peripheral while he stared at the sky that was slowly becoming darker.

"..." he slowly assessed the situation that he was thrown in. The hawk had spotted him because the stream didn't have much cover and moved to attack him. Even though it was a fair distance away, it managed to attack him.

"Urk..." Sebastian tried to get up but he felt as if his body weighed tens of times heavier and he could feel pain with each small movement.

—You're awake.

"...Balanos." Sebastian struggled to speak. Even just breathing made the wounds on his chest ache.

—That hawk made three claw marks along your chest area. Most of your arrows were snapped in the river but half of the shafts and heads are still inside the quiver.

Even if it wasn't as rocky as a normal stream, it was still a stream after all. Did it connect to a river? He didn't recognize this place that he had drifted to.

—I'm going to suppress your wounds to help you move. You have to rip apart your clothes and stop them from worsening.

Soon, he felt something warm cover his body and he managed to move, though just barely.

"Ugh..." his hands were trembling but he managed to rip some of the damaged clothes he had and wrap it around himself.

He used most of the hood and cloak and once he finished, the warm feeling faded away and pain suddenly rushed in like a tidal wave.

—That's all I can do for you. I've exerted too much power trying to block the hawk's attack. If I didn't do that, you'd be in three pieces by now.

In the first place, Balanos had told him that the power she could exert away from the oak tree she resided in was very limited. But, he didn't have any other choice to rely on her as the amount of energy his stigma could store was nowhere near enough what he needed.

"Can I use the stigma to mend my wounds?"

—There has never been a case of someone bearing a stigma being able to heal before but I believe that it is possible.

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders, flinched from the pain of doing it, then began trying to heal his wounds. It was just as Balanos said, he had no idea how to use the stigma to heal his body.

It slowly became darker and darker. He gave up on using the stigma to heal his body and struggled to stand. He found the bow near the water and limped all the way over. Then, he began to use it as a cane to walk towards the forest. He couldn't be in an open area.

"Ugh—!"

Sebastian took a wrong step and collapsed.

"I... haven't felt this weak since I was sick..."

With trembling limbs, Sebastian picked up the sturdy black bow once more and began limping towards safety. His first priority was shelter. He could recuperate inside then hunt for food later.

The river he had been swept up in was his source of water.

As if Lady Luck personally granted Sebastian her blessing, he found a small cave. It didn't seem to have traces of being inhabited and Balanos hadn't warned him so he walked in and collapsed on the stone floor in exhaustion.

He didn't have any choice, his stigma was empty and his body was injured. His body was desperately crying out for him to sleep and in the end, his impulse won over his rational mind. He didn't have the leisure to think about the open cave nor what he'd eat the next day. He just wanted to rest.

...

"..." Sebastian stared up at the ceiling with a despondent expression.

He was lucky that no beasts found the cave but... what would he do from here? He was lost in the middle of a forest filled with rampant beasts. The only way out would be to follow the river and find the stream but the hawk would undoubtedly guard that area closely.

For now, let's drink some water then find some food.

Sebastian picked up his black bow and a few arrows before limping over to the river to get a drink. Once his thirst was satisfied, his stoma chi began grumbling and he began walking towards the forest.

"Can you identify poisonous plants?"

Sebastian waited for Balanos' reply but she didn't respond even after a minute had passed.

"Balanos?" he called out one more time and he was met with silence.

Sebastian groaned. Not only was he injured and hungry, his guardian was also out.

"Achoo!"

A sneeze. Sebastian rubbed his nose and realized that he had fallen asleep right after being washed away. It wouldn't be strange for him to have a cold already.

While he walked through the forest, he picked branches that would serve as good fuel for the fire he was planning to build. He couldn't ignore his body's temperature if he wanted to get out of this alive.

He also took some plants he recognized and a few mushrooms.

"I sure hope that these aren't poisonous."

Once Sebastian limped back to the cave, he began creating stacking dry wood in a good position and lit it up with his stigma.

He foraged through his stuff and found some long leaves. He ripped the ends and then held them together. These leaves were extremely common and famed for their stickiness. The moisture inside the leaves were incredibly sticky and could be used to weld the leaves together. They were also fire-resistant, for the most part.

He took a few branches and broke them apart and wrapped the leaves around them. He took a bit of time but he finally finished creating a bowl.

Sebastian took the few mushrooms and plants he was familiar with and gathered them into one spot before getting water from the river using the bowl.

He had set up the firewood well so he could place the bowl on top. Once the water boiled, he covered his hand in energy and set it off to the side. Then, he skewered the mushrooms and placed them near the fire.

Now, all he had to do was wait. Luckily, he had read many books and knew what all these materials could be used for.

The bowl was only good enough for about five uses because the leaves would eventually burn but he still had plenty left.

Now, he had a clean supply of water. If the water from the stigma was actually drinkable then Sebastian wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble but he had already tried it before. The water tasted like mud and it was full of impurities despite its clean look. It would be much safer to drink unfiltered river water.

Unfortunately, Balanos still hadn't spoken. Was she resting? Or was the connection between them nulled?

Sebastian took one of the skewers and bit into the mushroom.

"Urk..."

He had wanted to spit it out as soon as he tasted it but he had no choice. Despite the taste, it was still fit for human consumption and he needed to keep up his strength if he wanted to leave.

When he finished the first mushroom, he was reminded of the delicious food served back home by Miss Martha and tears began welling up in his eyes.

Why do I have to go through this?

All of the frustration and helplessness finally struck him and he began tearing up.

They should be looking for me by now.

Sebastian wiped his eyes with his hands. He didn't even wear proper clothes, let alone a handkerchief. While remembering the comfort of his home, he bit into the second mushroom.

...

Sebastian wanted to continue crying but it wouldn't help the situation at all.

He had put out the fire early in fear of beasts and began creating a wooden spear with a stone head. Although he couldn't kill beasts with his injured body, he figured he could at least spear fish. He used the sticky leaves as adhesives to stick the stone spearhead he sharpened earlier.

Although it was rough, it would be enough to pierce through soft fish. His hands were full of blisters from trying to sharpen the stone but he couldn't feel the pain because he rubbed some herbs famous for being natural painkillers.

The cave wasn't dark, Sebastian had lit a long and sturdy branch on fire and moved it inside the cave. It wasn't as bright as a normal fire but it was at least safer because it could keep him somewhat hidden compared to a large fire in the middle of the trees.

If he had the energy, he would've covered the entrance in leaves and plants but he could still only barely walk.

When Sebastian finished the spear, he leaned it to his side and maneuvered over to the pile of leaves he had taken earlier to sleep while clutching his midriff from the pain.

The small torch he made earlier would run out soon. He replaced it after every ten minutes or so with the many pieces of wood he piled up in the cave so when he would go to sleep, the fire wouldn't attract any unwanted visitors.

"I'll pay you back for this tenfold..."

Sebastian cursed the hawk in his mind and began to entrust his body to slumber.

Unfortunately, his rest didn't last long. He heard some bushes move and his eyes instantly shot open. He slowly lifted himself up and grabbed the black bow from the floor.

There were only about three arrows left with the black arrow missing, would he be able to take care of what's to come? He still couldn't contact Balanos so he had to get through it all by himself.

Sebastian felt his entire body shaking. He was only human, he had an instinctive fear of death. Now that it was looming so close, of course he'd be terrified.

Soon, a shadow leaped out of the bushes and Sebastian released an arrow. It flew straight at the shadow and after a small cry, the shadow fell down.

Sebastian waited for a minute. After seeing that the shadow still wasn't moving, Sebastian walked over. It was just a rabbit and the arrow had cleanly pierced it.

Normally, Sebastian would feel either pity or sadness but instead, he licked his lips as his stomach grumbled. He still had his knife in his back scabbard.

While slightly drooling, Sebastian took the knife and headed for the rabbit.

It was the most satisfying meal he had in two days.