In the flickering candlelight of the abandoned home, Rindel sat behind Floris, gently running her fingers through her hair.
The warmth of her fingers danced across Floris' scalp, oddly comforting, almost hypnotic.
"Friends stick together," Rindel whispered with a childish smile.
Floris' heart pounded, her mind still trembling with fear from the horror she'd witnessed. But something… something inside her calmed.
That night, they ate together her mother, carved and charred, laid bare on old plates.
Floris chewed slowly, her hands trembling. Blood smeared her lips. Her stomach turned, but her chest felt warm.
She glanced at Rindel, who chewed happily, humming to herself.
And for the first time in a long while… Floris smiled.
(Deep down… I'm happy she's dead…) she thought, and the shame never came.
Weeks Passed…
The snow deepened. Winds howled louder each night.
They survived together.
Rindel would come home with bodies—strangers, wanderers, drifters and Floris would cook them. Smoke rose from their crooked chimney daily.
Days turned to months.
Two whole years.
Every laugh, every shared meal, every stolen warmth under frayed blankets made it feel like this dark life was normal.
But one day…
A trail of blood stretched across the snow. It hadn't snowed enough to cover it yet.
A figure followed.
"Think I found the monster," the female hunter with the blue hair muttered, standing at the tree line.
Back at the cabin
"I'm home~!" Rindel sang, swinging open the door, her usual smile wide with joy.
But silence greeted her.
No warm steam.
No scent of cooking.
"Floris…?" she called softly.
Then she saw her
Floris lay unconscious on the floor, blood pooling from a wound on her head.
"FLORIS!!" Rindel screamed, rushing forward
ZZZZAP!
"Aghhhh!!" Rindel screamed as her body convulsed from the electric jolt. She hit the ground hard.
Boots thudded against the floorboards.
Grayslake entered the room calmly, wearing his long hunter's coat, hands behind his back.
"Nice work, everyone," he said to the agents filing in behind him. "I've been tracking this one for a long time."
Rindel tried to lift her head.
She saw Grayslake's cold eyes.
And then everything went dark.
Sometime Later…
Floris jolted awake with a gasp, blood crusted on her temple.
"Rindel run! People are..!" But the house was empty.
Silent.
Cold.
She stumbled to the door, ran barefoot into the snow, but her legs gave out. She collapsed into the frozen earth, sobbing, blood mixing with tears.
"Rindel…" she cried.
Her eyes flickered shut.
Footsteps.
A woman in a grey dress strolled across the hilltop, her parasol shielding her from falling snow.
"Oh dear," she said, voice rich and soft. "Are you alright?"
Miss Kate knelt beside the unconscious girl.
A fated meeting.
Now …Within Floris' Mind
"Rindel… so you're alive," Floris said, her voice barely holding together.
Rindel stepped from the darkness, her pale skin reflecting the crimson bloodlight. She smiled, tears glimmering in her eyes as she embraced her.
"I missed you as well, Floris…"
The embrace lingered.
"…but."
Floris began to sink.
The blood pool beneath her dragged her downward, gently but unstoppably.
"I can't let you intervene," Rindel whispered beside her. "Not until I've finished. Once I destroy the hunters… once Grayslake is dead…"
Her voice softened with longing.
"…then we can be friends again. With no one in our way."
Floris stared in horror as the blood rose to her chin.
"I'm not drowning…" she muttered, gasping.
But she was still sinking.