Tagatha shot up from her bed with a sharp gasp, her chest heaving as if she had just surfaced from drowning. Sweat clung to her skin, making her thin shirt stick to her back, and her body trembled uncontrollably. Her wide eyes darted around in a panic, she was… in her room, she could tell by the soft sheets she was laying on.
She was truly in her room.
Morning light spilled softly through the window, casting golden streaks across the floorboards. Her sheets were rumpled around her legs, damp with sweat but warm. She was panting heavily and her heart was hammering in her chest.
What… what happened?
Her fingers reached for her forehead, clutching at her tangled bangs as fragmented memories came crashing into her skull, one after another, like a cruel film reel stuck on replay. The forest. The beast. The pain. All of it, but the main thing, more than all of it that played in her mind, was the horror of losing her arm, watching as it was bitten off before her and the burning and pulsing pain that followed with it.
Her first instinct was to look at her arm. It was there. Fingers. Palm. Skin. All of it.
She stared in disbelief. Slowly, she brought her trembling hand to her side and peeled away the covers, she stared at her bloodied outfit still clinging to her body. The sleeve was shredded at the elbow, crusted with dark, dried blood. The shirt was torn across the stomach with a big hole, the fabric frayed and stained in the exact spot she remembered the beast's attack gouging through her flesh.
Her body, however… was unmarked.
No open wounds. No missing limbs. Only the terrifying memory of it all remained.
Was it… a dream? she wondered, but even as she questioned it, she knew the answer, she recalls every moment. No. It wasn't a dream… It couldn't have been… I felt it all. I was dying.
She clutched the sheets so tight that her knuckles turned white as reality pressed down on her like a ton. If she hadn't imagined it, then there was only one explanation.
I should've died. So why am I still here?
And then, the final images returned, the ones etched into her soul more deeply than the wounds ever could have been. Two figures. One cloaked in gold, the other in silver.
She remembered the sound, the crack of earth shattering beneath someone's arrival. The beast's spell fading into black. The sight of a foot crushing the monster's skull as if it were nothing. And through the trees, through the smoke and blood, she remembered those eyes.
Golden.
Silver.
But she had begged. Reached out. Her final words before the darkness consumed her, the only words that were on her mind.
"Please… h-help me…"
And they had answered.
She sat there in stunned silence, hand resting lightly over her stomach as if the wound might still be there, but it wasn't. But the fear lingered. The uncertainty.
Who… were they? she wondered. Her gaze fell to the floor
They saved me… but why? It doesn't make sense... I should be dead. Right?
Tagatha's thoughts churned as she sat frozen in the dim light of morning. She took a slow breath, trying to slow her heart, but the aftermath of a near-death experience wasn't something a few deep breaths could soothe. Her body trembled despite the warmth of the bed despite the familiarity of home. The sensation of dying, of bleeding out into the dirt, of her arm being severed from her body. It was horrifying, like the sensation of going under water and almost drowning, it just.. Sits there on the chest like a reminder that it could happen again at any point in time, that was scarier than anything.
She needed clarity, answers, something solid to grasp. What happened after she blacked out? How did she have her arm again? Why was the beast that strong, far beyond the rank it should've been? And above all else, who were those two figures with gold and silver eyes, whose presence alone had altered the outcome of her fate?
But those questions could wait, couldn't they?
For now… she just needed to move.
Tagatha slowly brought a hand to her face, fingers dragging up through her disheveled hair, tugging gently at the tangled strands as if the pressure might ground her. Her mind still replayed the scene like a cursed memory loop. She'd survived. Yes. But the truth of that survival was far from comforting. It was horrifying. She had almost died. Truly, completely, with no one around to mourn her in time. And that realization shook her more than any pain she'd felt during the battle.
I was lucky. That's all. It wasn't skill. It wasn't strength. I should've died there. Most people would've. Most people don't get second chances…
But here she was, alive, and most hunter… most people, couldn't have the luxury of saying the same.
Thank the Goddess…
was all she could manage to think. Then a sound broke through the still air. A soft knock, in the quiet of her thoughts, struck her like a bell.
Her body jolted slightly, caught off guard. Her throat felt dry, and her voice came out rough and cracked. "C…come in," she said, barely above a whisper, the words trembling as much as her chest.
The door opened, and there she was, Lynthia.
Those familiar midnight eyes that always seemed to see more than they let on. She stepped into the room without a word, her expression flickering for just a moment at the sight of Tagatha's state, sweat-slicked, blood-stained, and pale but she didn't hesitate.
She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Tagatha in a firm, silent embrace.
And Tagatha, stunned aching in ways she couldn't even begin to explain, let herself be held.
For a moment, she didn't say anything. She didn't have to. Then, she spoke
"Oh my days, what happened to you, Tag? Where were you? Are you okay?" Lynthia said in a flurry of panic and concern the moment she stopped hugging Tagatha. Without hesitation, she dropped onto the bed beside her and grabbed Tagatha's cheeks, gently turning her head from side to side as if inspecting for damage. In that moment, she sounded less like a younger sister and more like their mother when she was deeply worried.
Tagatha managed a weak smile, brushing her sister's hands away. "Relax, Lyn. I'm fine. Really."
"Fine, my butt! You were covered in blood!" Lynthia shot back, her eyes narrowing as she looked Tagatha over again, first her pale face, then down to the bloodstained remnants of her shirt and the faint bruises still peeking out from under her collar. "You looked like you just got back from a war zone!"
Tagatha paused, she didn't think about how she'd look to her sister or father, heck, the thought didn't even pass her mind. "What… happened?"
Lynthia blinked at the question, surprised. "Wait… you don't know what happened either?" She asked softly as she scooted closer to Tagatha's side.
Tagatha slowly shook her head, of course, that was a lie to a degree, she knew what happened, she just didn't know what happened after she passed out.
"Well… I don't know much either. The guards brought you in a couple days ago," Lynthia began, as she rubbed the back of Tagatha's hand with her thumb. "They said they found you lying on the porch… in the hamper." She gave a small laugh at the absurdity of it, but her concern didn't fade. "You were fast asleep, still bleeding a bit, and they swore someone dropped you off but whoever it was vanished before they could get a look."
Tagatha's brows furrowed slightly. So… whoever saved me didn't just disappear. They made sure I got home too. But why be so secretive?
She let the thought pass for now. "I'm okay. I just… went out for a bit. Things got a little hectic, but I'm alright," she said again, forcing her voice to sound steady. She didn't want Lynthia worrying any more than she already was. "Anyway… how long was I out?"
Lynthia tapped her chin, thinking. "Uh… two days. Give or take."
Tagatha's eyes widened.
Two days?! Crap—!!!
Her heart skipped a beat. She didn't think that she would've been asleep for that long, she wasted a lot of time just doing nothing.. The raid starts tomorrow. I wasted all my prep time—two whole days just gone! Crap, crap, crap!!
She groaned and rubbed her forehead, dragging her palm down her face in frustration and she let out a long, irritated sigh, her shoulders sinking as she tried to process the weight of it all. Part of her wanted to scream. Another part… wasn't even sure if she wanted to go anymore.
Sure, this time she'd be with a squad, she wouldn't be alone like she was during the last near-fatal encounter. But still… the idea of heading back into that forest, of hearing the roar of another demon beast, of feeling her life slipping away again…
Her hands trembled slightly, but she couldn't let this moment, this fear.. Make her lose her once in a lifetime opportunity.
"Alright..." Tagatha muttered under her breath as she pushed the blankets off and attempted to sit up. The moment she did, a wave of dizziness washed over her like a crashing tide, forcing her to sway unsteadily.
"Whoa—hey!" Lynthia quickly reached out, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders to steady her before she could topple over. "You shouldn't be jumping up like that," she scolded gently, guiding Tagatha to lean against her for support.
Tagatha winced, a sharp pulse of pain throbbing just above her temple. She raised a hand to her forehead and rubbed it slowly, trying to soothe the forming migraine. "I know… but I don't have time to waste lying around. The raid's tomorrow, and I still have work to do."
Lynthia studied her sister for a moment. Though her body seemed weak and her face paler than usual, there was something different in her expression. Something that hadn't been there before. Lynthia could tell: something in Tagatha had changed.
She exhaled softly, watching her sister closely. "You're not going to rest, are you?"
Tagatha gave a slight shake of her head, still massaging her temple as she carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed.
Lynthia didn't push her. She understood well enough by now that once Tagatha set her mind to something, no amount of reasoning could pull her back. But this time, it felt… different. There was no reckless energy behind her actions, no desperate need to prove herself like before. There was just a quiet determination.
Even the fact that she'd mentioned apologizing to their father... Lynthia never thought she'd hear her say those words."Alright then," Lynthia said with a gentle smile, reaching out to brush a bit of hair away from Tagatha's face. "I'll help you, Taggy. Let's get you prepared for the big day, okay? Whatever you need, gear, food, clothes. I'll make sure it's ready."
Tagatha's gaze lingered on her sister for a moment before a faint smile curved her lips. She nodded out of appreciation.
"Okay," she whispered. "Let's get ready."