Chapter Text
When awareness first came, darkness enveloped everything, then pain. An endless burning over what felt like hundreds of cuts over their back. It would not dull. Even the slightest movement reignited it like it was new. Moments of consciousness and the void was already sorely missed, but the darkness apparently wasn't going to reclaim them, well not anytime soon.
Slowly eyes open, the light stung and the time it took to adjust felt longer than necessary. The sun was high overhead, peaking through the leaves of the surrounding trees. If they didn't know better, they would have sworn the intrusive thing was keeping watch. As the adjustment to the light and pain became tolerable, they were able to get a better look at their surroundings. It almost felt like the abysmal drag back to consciousness had at least some value. For once.
The forest was beautiful and it had the feeling of being free of human interference. Trees towered above, claiming as much of the sky as they could manage. Some pockets of blue sky held steady, allowing pockets of light through for the rest of the forest below. So much plant life they didn’t recognize. Songs of life were everywhere. Insects, birds, rodents skittering through the trees, even herbivores hidden in the brush. There was nothing here that gave any hint to where they were.
As beautiful as this place was, they weren't safe here. Luck had been uncharacteristically generous so far, given the fact that nothing had attacked them while they were out cold. It was best not to test it any further. With a hiss of pain they shoved off the tree to push themselves up. The tree was old and sturdy, it held strong as the broken individual forced themselves to their feet. Success was fought for with sheer force of will and no small amount of spite. Pain made standing unstable, it was a miracle in itself that the strength in their legs didn't fail given the state of their broken body. It wasn't ideal, but it was a start at least.
With the grace of a drunk squirrel and the speed of an over cautious snail, they shuffled carefully across the forest floor. Worn down sneakers were not doing any favors for stability, so they stuck to the most cooperative paths they could find. The sharp burning stings that danced across their back was a stark reminder of how broken their body was unhappy with each step they took. The plan was haphazard at best, not that they had much to work with. They were alone in an unknown forest in gods know where. They were fairly certain that being hidden here was the only help they were going to get from their mysterious benefactor. Given what happened before they had lost consciousness, it was fairly generous. Still best not to dwell on the past for too long, it was not a luxury they could not afford if they wanted to survive.
Time felt like it was dragging slowly as trees gave way to open grassland. The grass was a vibrant green, tall and littered with unknown wild flowers. It stretched as far as the eyes could see, truly a sight to behold. It was really feeling like this shit day was trying to balance itself out. Even if it was only a little bit. The sound of flowing water drew their attention to the left. Not too far down was a small river that crossed the grasslands into the forest. Even from this distance they could see the clear water sparkling in the midday sun, it felt like it belonged in a story book. The trek would be about a mile or so. The walk would suck but it would be worth it in the long run.
The walk was slow, sticking close to the treeline despite the uneven ground making it harder to walk, but the territory was still a big unknown. so having someplace to hide wasn't a bad idea given the circumstances. The sun shone with no hindrance of clouds, if they were to guess it was a little past noon given its position in the sky. It felt a little weird to gauge time like this. It was warm, reminiscent of summer. Another small blessing.
The pain that continued to zip across their back was starting to ease up a little now that they were in more direct sunlight. It was a useful bit of magic from a complicated parentage. It would still take time to heal and regain their strength, just significantly less that what it would have taken if they were on the normal side of being mortal. Scars would remain though, at least visual ones. She was sure of that, at least. There were some injuries that would be tricky for even a healer with skills advanced as theirs to erase, wounds made with celestial metal happened to be among them. They would know for sure how bad it was until they got a proper look at them later.
After what felt like an eternity, the figure slumped at the water's edge, their knees digging into the wet earth. The trek had taken more energy than they cared to admit. The reflection that stared back at them was a mess. Messy hip length hair was coated with grime, the sunlight blond color was barely visible, dried blood and the occasional leaf and small twig didn't help with the almost rats nest look either, nor did the dirt.
Sky blue eyes looked tired, lack of proper sleep in gods know how long definitely didn't help, neither did the stress of recent events. The bruising under the left eye while not flattering, but it could have been worse. A cut on the lip looked like it was closing properly, clean scab, no signs of infection. Skin was way paler than it should be. Blood loss from being whipped raw was probably the main culprit. Definitely a look of a walking disaster, not very flattering for a teenage girl.
She was genuinely surprised to find her hair length still intact. Given the nature of the events before she had lost consciousness, she had been fairly certain that someone would have cut it out of spite. Granted she may have to chop it herself if she couldn't swipe a decent brush or comb some time soon. Matted hair could become quite a nuisance in multiple ways.
Her clothes were a little worse for wear, but they would still be fine for the time being. The blue jeans definitely needed to be washed, dried blood would draw too much attention once she was around people again. Her sneakers were still in one piece… Well for now in any case, they were pretty worn from age and use. Replacements would be needed sooner or later. The shirt she currently had on wasn't hers, nor was the bra. Hers were destroyed when she had gotten the business end of that whip.
The bandages were a surprise, whoever rescued her clearly had taken the time to treat her injuries and replace needed clothing. They were probably the ones who hid her in a forest gods only know where. She couldn't fathom who or why though. Of those that she knew were strong enough to pull any of this off, none of them had any incentive to help and they certainly didn't like her enough to take the risk, so helping out of charity was unlikely.
She was grateful though, they had probably saved her from an early trip across the river Styx, while her head rotted on a spear. It definitely beat waking back up in a cell too.
The day still sucked, it still could have been significantly worse.
The next task was getting cleaned up. The water was unpleasantly cold even in the afternoon sun, but it was clean, so it would have to do. Soap would have been nice.
Once reasonably clean, the next hour or so was spent taking advantage of the day's warmth to dry out. Soaking in the sun to regain strength while relaxing a little on the river bank was an added bonus. She couldn't curse her lineage too much since it allowed her to convert sunlight into magic naturally, which she could use for healing her battered body. It would still take a day or two until she was fully healed, not something that would be possible if she was fully a mortal human. Otherwise it would take weeks, even months if infection didn't kill her first.
As the teenager rested, she observed other details of her surroundings. The void of people was strange, but not unwelcome. The buzz of wildlife put her at ease a little, nothing dangerous or unnatural was nearby, for now in any case. Out here silence could be very dangerous.
The new terrain was still unfamiliar, trees of an unknown species, wild flowers that were not native to her home, even the mountain ranges seemed different. Try as she might she couldn’t recognize any of it, which could be either a good thing or bad depending on how things played out. This wasn't a haphazard plan, whoever had saved her had clearly put in the effort to ensure she would be difficult to find. It was suspicious and could really bite her down the road if she wasn't careful, but she still fully intended to use it to her advantage.
Now she needed to focus on what she needed to survive. Thankfully her childhood had been unconventional, so she would have the skills she would need to get by for the time being. She just had to focus on getting her hands on the necessary tools. She would probably have to steal them if she wasn't able to make what she needed. A knife would be a good start, it was versatile as a weapon and she could use it to make other tools or process materials that she would need. She would probably have to steal it. she could make a slingshot with rope made from grass or the bandages once she didn't need them anymore. leather would be better, but it would be some time before she could get her hands on that. She was decent with a slingshot, she was more natural with a bow, but she still needed that knife first to make it or found one worth stealing.
Once the heat of the day had dried her out enough, a reflexive stretch made her wince. She had gotten a little too comfortable and had forgotten that she still had plenty of healing to do, the pain wasn't nearly as bad as when she first woke up, which helped. After getting up and taking another quick survey of the area, the teen decided to keep moving. Following the river though the sea of grass and flowers was a simple plan, still a sensible one given she didn't have anything to carry water and it would be more difficult to get turned around. She was bound to come across a road or town eventually. Getting food was something she would need to figure out soon.
Honestly she would have preferred sticking to the woods over looking for a populated area, but she needed tools. People equaled easy access tools. Being under more direct sunlight during travel would help her heal faster and regain her strength, so while the lack of shelter sucked, it was a necessary discomfort. Still she didn't like it, she felt too exposed even in the tall grass. Unfortunately it was a feeling she had long learned to live with.
While following the river, she would occasional pocket a stone, nothing too big, about half the size of her palm. Perfect for throwing or as slingshot ammo, she could also whip it by hand if needed. As her little collection grew she glanced at the grass, debated if she should try to use it to make a slingshot or not. In theory she could. She knew how, but she didn't think it would last long enough to be worth the effort. She couldn't still use the bandages after her injuries were fully closed but that would still take time.
As the sun started it's sink into the horizon the teen looked around the area again, it was starting to get late and she needed a place to sleep that would keep her hidden. Luck had been unusually kind to her so far, but it wouldn't help her if she slept in the open. The only problem was there was no other natural shelter, just tall grass as far as the eye could see. Irritation coil in her gut. It was not ideal, but she would have to make due.
Picking the spot had been easy in comparison to getting to it without leaving obvious tracks. She kept the shelter as small as possible so that the woven grass would still look natural against the surroundings or at least look like an animal nest. It wasn't much, only enough space to lie down and practically worthless against the elements, but it should keep her hidden and for now that would need to be enough.
It would take someone with skill to realize she was there or a good nose.
As the last light of the day began to fade the teen crawled into her makeshift shelter. There was little point in staying up, she had no food to cook or eat and it wasn’t safe for her to light a fire even if she did. So she laid down to try and get some sleep. If only it had been as simple to claim. Between hunger, pain and the chill of the night air, sleep came slowly. It wasn't a peaceful sleep either.
The night terrorised her with echoes of past events new and old playing over and over, unrelenting reminders of her failures tormented her throughout the entire night. It was like a prison. She did not wake until the first light touched the horizon.
When she did wake, it was with a jolt, and suppressed a hiss of pain. She was dizzy and disoriented from the nightmares she endured the night before. She did not move until her senses rebalanced and she was able to remember where she was and how she got there.
She waited before getting up, listening to the world around her, looking for anything that could be a potential danger. A sigh of relief came when all she could hear was the songs of early morning wildlife. Nothing big or human was nearby for now.
Lips pursed at the thought of what could be out there waiting. Old threats that had long been forgotten by most humans, relegated to myths and legends, but still very much real and definitely dangerous. People weren't safe either.
With caution she slowly pushed herself up and took stock of the state of her injuries. The cuts that littered her back still stung, clearly not happy with the sleeping arrangements or the movement, but it was not where near as bad as the day before. If her luck held out, her magic would have them closed before the end of the day.
Her hand pressed the bandages, her mind wandering to the events that led to those spiteful cuts and current predicament. Thoughts of whips tipped with celestial metal, the swing of a golden sword as she had screamed for it to stop. The memories were just as unpleasant as the nightmares they had fueled the night before and for many more nights yet to come.
She internally cursed the celestial weapon and its wealder. She knew from her skills in healing magic, injuries from celestial metals were far more complicated to treat than ordinary steel. At the bare minimum, there would be scars and likely sensitive to touch if she was lucky. She simply didn't have the skill set or power to undo all of it.
The light of the early morning sun soon flooded the sea of grass and seeped into her little hiding place. The new day clearly refused to be ignored.
With a huff the teenager pushed herself up and maneuvered herself out of the grass shelter. Her body protested about everything and as much as she wanted to listen, she knew better. It wasn't safe to linger any longer than necessary. Even if she had gotten lucky and those whom she had been hidden from weren't looking for her, she still had this unknown territory to contend with.
Experience and training taught her long ago that those like her were a magnet for trouble on a good day, be it with people or things that were significantly older. There were reasons mankind started being careful in the dark. Ignorance could be fatal, she had seen it first hand. So whether her body liked it or not, she needed to keep moving.
Returning to the river was a much simpler task since she didn't need to worry about tracks. Dealing with basic body needs was less simple, but she managed. The river water in the early morning was cold and very unpleasant to clean up with. Needless to say, while the day didn't start out nearly as bad as the day before it still sucked.
The walk along the river, given her improved health, was going much faster now. Allowing her to cover more ground in less time. The pangs of hunger were starting to become persistent as time passed. She would need to scavenge something to eat soon. There still weren't any familiar plants and she didn’t want to risk getting sick from posible eating something poisonous.
Her musings on what to do about food were soon interrupted by the scream of a child. Her whole body froze at the sound, memories of a similar scream ripped through her like a title wave. Instinct overrode sense in a heartbeat as she visually searched for the distressed child.
It didn't take her long to spot a young girl in an orange and white checkered kimono with scruffy black hair and a strange toad like creature in formal traditional looking Japanese clothes running for their lives. Not too far behind them was about half a dozen men in ragged clothes and worn down armor that looked like it belonged in feudal Japan. The gleam of their swords in the morning sun made her eyes narrowed as anger bubbled forth.
Without thinking, she charged forward. She didn't care about the risks or the consequences. She was pissed and these bruts were the final straw on the shit pile that was her life. Now they were going to pay for it.
So much for being careful.