It was only a short time later that I found myself standing next to Mauri as we both stared down at the body she'd dragged out of the rain and into the cave. She'd dropped it next to the fire and in the warm light, I could clearly see the pale corpse.

Laid out beside the dead man were a large wooden bow and a worn-looking leather quiver still full of arrows. The bow looked old, but Mauri had given it an approving nod as she looked it over. I winced at the sight of it, and unconsciously rubbed the shoulder near where I'd been shot by an arrow much like those in the quiver not so long ago.

I couldn't help but wonder if he was the one who shot me, but that was now neither here nor there all things considered.

The man himself wore a curious mish-mashed getup made of brown and grey furs and leathers. He'd been a tall and lanky sort with a gaunt face and wild, shoulder-length black hair. For all my desperate attempts to do otherwise, I found myself staring into his cold grey eyes, still open wide with shock and unseeing in death.

His whole face was a frozen mask of surprise and agony—like he'd never seen Mauri's attack coming until it was too late. According to the diminutive warrior, he'd picked up our trail and had been snooping about in a small copse of trees lining the cliffside across the flooded river further up the ravine.

Mauri somehow sniffed out his presence through the wind and rain and went out to investigate while I was... otherwise preoccupied. She tracked him through the trees and, having assumed the worst, the woman caught him off guard and cut him down.

It was a relatively quick and brutal kill, the man stabbed through the heart from behind before he could scream for help. It was only after he'd been pierced through that he managed a very short but very loud gurgling scream before he died—or so Mauri claimed anyway.

She'd been wary of anyone nearby hearing the scream and had done her best to drag the body away and cover her tracks. And so absorbed in my study of monstrous fauna from around this new and dangerous world was I, apparently, that I hadn't heard or seen any of this.

She brought the corpse into the cave after explaining the situation and now we were both trying to figure out what to do next. Havik, having woken up from her presumably short nap at some point during Mauri's explanation, stood to one side, once again leaning against the cave wall.

Her arms crossed and her posture relaxed, she was the very picture of callous detachment—something I found odd for a reason I couldn't quite put my finger on. This was contrary to my own panic and revulsion, which came in the form of nervous fidgeting and a furrowed brow.

It had only been a few moments since Mauri laid out the body and no one had spoken in that time. I couldn't speak for the other two, but I just didn't even know where to begin with this situation. It was Mauri that spoke first, finally breaking the tense silence as she cast a grim look Havik's way.

"One of yours, I presume?" she asked curtly.

Havik didn't say anything in response for a long moment. Instead, she let her golden eyes sweep over the man, then his bow. Mauri grimaced in annoyance at being ignored, but just as she opened her mouth to spout some rude remark, the platinum blonde woman finally spoke.

"He's Dealande, but not one of mine," she replied matter-of-factly, "a scout most likely, probably one of the ones sent to check things out."

"So he came with you then," Mauri asked pointedly, "would that not make him one of yours?"

"No, smartass, it wouldn't," Havik spat irritably, "he wasn't in the raiding group I was part of. The boss probably sent him out from the hideout to keep an eye on the situation and you just happened to find him first."

I frowned in confusion.

"Wait, 'raiding group'? What do you—wait, if it was a raiding group, the only way that would make sense is if you were talking about the mansion," my eyes widened as realization hit, "you weren't after us, you were after Qaedis! That's why you were all out there!"

"Well, damn, you figured us out," Havik huffed with a sarcastic roll of her eyes, "nothing gets past you, does it, genius?"

"That would explain why you were in the area," Mauri pressed on before I could sputter out a reply, "but if you were already on your way to storm the mansion, then why the ambush? You could not have known we would emerge from Qaedis' mansion and for all you knew, Sparkle here was long dead before you arrived."

Havik snorted and turned to me.

"The ambush wasn't meant for you," she explained, managing to look both angry and unnerved, "that you happened to waltz out of the mansion looking as if I hadn't just stuck you like a squealing pig only a few nights before... that was a horrifying coincidence."

I winced and once again reached a hand up to rub at the shoulder nearest to my most recently healed wound. If Havik noticed my discomfort she ignored it and continued on.

"No, it wasn't for you," she shook her head, "our original plan was to draw out and take down Qaedis' guard dog before storming the place."

"Qaedis'... guard dog?" I asked, confusion probably written all over my face. I turned to Mauri for an answer, but she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts on the subject so I returned my attention to Havik, "what are you talking about?"

"You must've seen her while you two were dicking about in the mansion," Havik spat to one side, "I'm talking about that bitch Miriam."

"Miriam... wait, the maid?" I asked incredulously, "but that doesn't... I mean she seemed... well, she wasn't exactly nice, but she didn't seem dangerous."

"No, I can see it," Mauri said, nodding as if she understood perfectly, "that woman does not move like a simple maid. I wondered if there was something more to her and now it seems I have my answer."

"Really?" I muttered, still not quite able to believe it, "what about the butler? What about Thaddeus?"

"As far as I know, he is just an old man," Mauri said with a shrug, "a very capable old man, but an old man nonetheless. Havik?"

"No, he's just some old fart like you said," Havik answered with a shrug of her own, "the real danger is Qaedis himself, but if we can get his pretty little maid out of the way things would definitely fall in our favor... at least that was the plan."

"And I foiled your plans by sniffing you out," Mauri surmised, "ah, well, I suppose you had no choice then."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Havik sneered.

"I am not apologizing," Mauri smirked, "your failure was a result of your own bad luck."

"Um... maybe we should put all that aside for now and find out what to do about the current situation?" I suggested in an attempt to head off any further arguments. I cast an uncertain glance at the mouth of the cave behind me and saw that the rain was still coming down hard, "should we move on or do we want to hold up in here and hope the other bandits don't find us?"

"Well, that depends," Mauri answered, turning to give Havik a questioning look, "would your boss have sent more men with the scout do you think?"

"Dunno, probably," Havik replied uncaringly. She nodded toward the scout's corpse, "if you're asking me, I'd expected to see at least two or three more guys where he came from."

A small silence fell over the cave as we all tried to figure out a solution that wouldn't get us killed. I was sure Mauri could handle two or three bandits on her own. I even had a fair bit of confidence that I could assist if need be, but I wanted to avoid a fight if I could help it. I looked between the other two, waiting for their input.

"Should we go with our original plan or—"

"Hold that thought, my little Amethyst," Mauri interjected, cutting me off with an urgent whisper. She raised and turned a suddenly sharp gaze to the cave entrance, "I am not so sure we are alone anymore."

My heart skipped a beat as I whipped around to spot anything lurking out there beyond the cave. My eyes swept the area beyond the currently overflowing river outside but I couldn't see a thing through the rain. I couldn't hear anything either and was amazed that we could all hear each other let alone anyone wandering around out there.

"I don't hear a thing," Havik said, mirroring my own thoughts, "you sure you're not just being paranoid?"

Rather than respond, Mauri raised a hand to signal silence, then dropped it to the hilt of her blade in much the same way I'd seen her do during the ambush earlier. All the while she never once took her eyes off the entrance. Watching her move towards the mouth of the cave with such caution had my stomach twisting in knots.

Resolving not to be caught off-guard again, I backed away from the entrance and prepared to use my magic at the first sign of an attack. A thought struck me and I turned just in time to see Havik trying to subtly inch her way toward my bag.

When she saw me watching with furrowed brows she just clicked her tongue in annoyance, raised a hand in what I could only assume was supposed to be some kind of rude gesture, and stepped away from the bag in a quiet huff. I couldn't help a small pang of my own annoyance at Havik's antics though my feelings on the matter were probably due more to anxiety than anything else.

Wanting to focus on a possible ambush, I telekinetically zipped up the still open bag and brought it over to where I was standing. Another moment's thought and I brought my rifle and sword as well. It was just as I'd grabbed my sword that a battle cry rang out and was cut short, the cry turning to a gurgling gasp.

My eyes snapped back over to the cave entrance where I saw Mauri yanking her sword out of a large and stumbling silhouette of a man. It had all happened so fast that I almost missed it. Once her blade was completely free of the man, Mauri danced away, quickly retreating back into the cave as four more silhouettes brandishing swords and axes closed in from either side of the entrance.

Panic kicked my mind into overdrive and all rational thought gave way to flight or fight instinct. Adrenaline flooded my veins and though my initial reaction was to flee, something else pushed me to raise my hands. With a cry that was equal parts terror and defiance, I forced my magic forward.

I'd meant to push the attackers back, but it was my sword that shot forth instead. Already unsheathed from its scabbard and wreathed in a brilliant magenta-colored aura, the pink and violet blade sailed through the air. It crossed the short distance between myself and the small group of aggressors in an instant, shooting past a startled Mauri and sinking into the face of one of the bandits with a sickening crack and squelch.

The impact was enough to send the corpse of the man flying back out of the cave. For an instant, none of the other bandits moved as the body hit the wet ground outside. All eyes had turned to the sword sticking out his head, all except Mauri's. Barring her initial shock, the woman had otherwise been undeterred and used the distraction to launch her own attack.

I looked on as she cut down another unsuspecting bandit, hands frozen in the air and eyes wide with horror at what I'd done. I hadn't meant to kill anyone. At most I'd wanted to either detain or disarm and leave the more gruesome work to Mauri. I'd only wanted to distract and yet something pushed me to act.

Was it fear? Panic? Some innate need to protect myself?

It was all of those things but I knew on some deeper level that it was more than simple survival instinct. I knew deep down that I'd wanted to do that, and though I tried to deny it even now, I knew where that secret desire had come from. That horrible yearning. That longing. That hunger.

I was so caught up in my own mind that I hardly noticed my own rapid, gasping breaths. Sudden vertigo made the world lurch around me. My vision grew hazy with an emotion I was desperately trying to push down even as my hands twitched with a craving I vehemently refused to acknowledge.

I could almost hear the faintest whisper of another voice somewhere in the back of my mind when—

"Oh for fuck's sake! Move!"

—I found myself viciously shoved to the side. At that same moment, a brilliant glint of white caught my eye from somewhere in my peripheral vision. An instant later a thick line of white steel flew past me and impaled itself into the shoulder of a heavyset, heavily bearded man covered in furs.

The man had somehow managed to bypass Mauri and had gone straight for me with an axe raised and a furious bellow. Had it not been for the timely rescue of Havik of all people, the bandit would've cut me down and I wouldn't have even seen it coming.

I was so messed up in the head that I'd let an enemy get close enough to nearly kill me without a fight. I'd been pushed to the ground where I watched stunned as Havik stepped over me, her shining white blade in hand as she fought off my would-be killer. I looked down and to my right to see that my bag had been thrown open when I wasn't looking.

Turning back to Havik and the struggling bandit, I found I couldn't even be mad or worried that she'd gotten her sword back. She'd just saved my life even though she had no reason to. She could've just as easily stabbed me in the back but she didn't. Questions upon questions buzzed around my head, but an angry shout brought me back to reality.

"Dammit!" Havik growled as she raised a boot and kicked the skewered bandit off and away from the sword she stabbed in his gut. She rounded on me as the large man fell to the ground, her expression furious, "if you're not gonna fight, then stay the fuck outta my way, got it?"

All I could do was nod dumbly and scramble back, catching sight of Mauri's battle as I did so. Seeing what the smaller warrior had to deal with, I could understand how she'd managed to let one bandit slip. At some point during the initial attack, more bandits had shown up and Mauri was facing them all on her own.

I counted at least three or four more bandits and realized that the main force must've found us somehow. We were effectively trapped, but even knowing this I couldn't help but marvel at Mauri's ability to fend them off so thoroughly. It didn't even look like she was struggling all that much, but that might've just been what it looked like to my inexperienced eyes.

Suddenly I was glad that Havik had taken up her sword again. Seeing Mauri's plight, I opened my mouth to ask Havik to help, but she'd already turned away and was charging into the fray once more. That just left me alone, on the ground with my back against the cave wall near the no longer burning firepit.

Watching the two other women fight for their lives and mine as I just sat there trying to get my own emotions and shaking limbs under control, I started to feel increasingly useless.

But I'm not useless, though. I know I'm not. I'm no Mauri but I can do something, right?

I felt my hands clench into fists as Havik's words rang over and over again in my mind. The look on her face as she turned away from me to help Mauri. There was anger—rage even—but I saw something else there too. It was something like disgust or disappointment. Like I was letting her down somehow, but why would that be?

What does she want from me? I thought she wanted to kill me. I thought she hated me enough to kill me. She did try to kill me! Twice! But now... now what? What is she thinking? What's her goal here?

I shook my head, my eyes clenched shut as I tried to bury my own disgust at myself under questions that seemed to matter less and less as the battle raged on in front of me. I knew I should help. I wanted to help, I honestly did, but there was something holding me back and I knew exactly what it was.

It was fear, plain and simple. Not fear for my own safety, but a deeper, existential fear. A fear that if I willingly went in there and started killing I wouldn't be able to stop. A fear that I'd revert back to that thing with its insatiable hunger. That horrifying scenario was at the heart of my hesitation. I wanted to avoid that madness at all costs, but I also knew that if I didn't do something—

"Forget Kultaina an' the green bitch!" cried a gruff voice over the noisome din of clashing steel, "Cassius wants the purple-haired wench! Get rough if ya need to but bring her back alive, yeah!?"

My eyes shot open and I looked up to find several of the bandits—those still standing—breaking away from the fight and heading right for me. I heard Mauri and Havik curse and even saw them try to give ground to help me, but three more bandits, including a man that absolutely towered over everyone else, pressed in on them, locking them down. The rest were free to focus their attention on me.

And that was the final straw. The deciding factor. The breaking point. Something snapped and a familiar giddiness began to bubble up from somewhere deep in my core. There were no people here, just nameless threats to be eliminated. Obstacles to be torn down. Meat to be consumed.

The feast was kind enough to bring itself to me and I was so, so hungry.

The group of men must've sensed some kind of change because every single one of them faltered. Deciding that wouldn't do and growing more impatient by the second, I helped myself to one of them. The man cried out in alarm as his body left the ground.

Caught in a bright haze of magenta light, he could do nothing but howl in horrible agony as his limbs ripped themselves from the rest of his body. Thoroughly shocked by my spectacular display of dismemberment, the other bandits tried to scramble away. The ridiculous sight just made me laugh as I dropped the pieces of bandit and rose to my feet.

A quick flick of my wrist was all it took to wrench my sword out of my first victim and send it flying back into my waiting hand. A sense that everything was going to be just fine came over me as I held the pink and violet blade aloft and admired it. A smile began to creep across my face but my joy was cut short as that same gruff voice from before called out.

"By the bloody pits of Tartarus!" he roared angrily, "get it together you lot! She's just one woman! She ain't like these two harlots! She's soft! Weak! Yeah she knows a few tricks but you bring her down together an' she ain't worth shit! Now pull your Goddesses damned heads out of your Goddesses damned asses an' get to it!"

The hapless grunts seemed to find their nerve at his bellowed command and with a collective roar they all charge at once weapons poised to do me serious harm. Again the sight of it sends me into peals of laughter. I was already reeling from the nonsense their supposed leader was spouting.

Weak he says.

Soft he says.

Before the group of maybe four or five men could get too close I raised a hand and used another one of my 'tricks' to freeze them all in place. Each and every one of them stood bound in place mid-stride, my magic wrapping around them all like a warm blanket.

Any bravado they'd gained from their boss had quickly and thoroughly been snuffed out. All that was left now was fear, and that was just fine with me. It's what I wanted. It's what the little voice in my head wanted. I craved it almost as much as I craved watching the light leave their eyes.

With a few sauntering steps I'd gotten close enough to look them each in the eye individually. My own violet eyes roamed over the assembled faces until they stopped on one of the men near the front of the pack. The man in question was rather handsome with short, black, windswept hair, a clean-shaven face, a chiseled jawline, and bottomless seafoam green eyes.

I took a moment to stare into those gorgeous eyes of his, savoring the moment as horrified realization shone bright and clear within them. I could practically smell the terror, a stench that only grew as I raised my Spellblade and slowly, sloooowly pushed the blade through his leather cuirass, past the flesh and bone, and into his heart.

I watched that beautiful face twist in unbelievable pain, watched the blood bubble from his lips, watched his body try to twist and jerk in the grip of my telekinesis. Only after his eyes grew dull and his body grew still did I pull my Spellblade free, take a step back, and let the corpse drop to the ground.

Feeling I'd made my point to everyone watching, I let the others go as well. They stumbled forward on shaky legs. Some even fell over as they tried and failed to recover from the awkward positions they'd been frozen in. Despite what their leader said, the last few bandits were all quick to put as much distance between themselves and me as possible.

Unfortunately for them, I was faster.

It wasn't long before I was dancing among them. ripping through their flimsy armor with wild abandon. My Spellblade sang as it sliced into limbs and torsos and necks. My magic hummed along to the thrilling beat of snapping bones and tearing flesh.

Joyous cackles rose amidst anguished cries and tortured screams. Within that beautiful bloodbath, all the worries and fears of only moments ago seemed to vanish, carried away on a fetid breeze of death and despair. I'd forgotten how good it felt to let go and wondered why I'd even hesitated in the first place.

And then the world lurched again and reality hit me like a cold bucket of water.

In a cruel repeat of that fateful night, I suddenly found myself once again on my hands and knees. My vision blurred and I felt my body practically shake itself to pieces. There was some kind of commotion somewhere above me, but I couldn't be bothered to pay it any attention as I heaved and retched my entire bodyweight in disgusting grey bile.

Among the many scattered limbs and the overpowering stink of freshly spilled blood and sick, the only saving grace was that this time, there was no lingering voice. I'd heard it earlier but couldn't remember for the life of me what it had said. I'd given in completely. I was having too much fun. I'd slaughtered all those bandits and had the time of my life.

Oh, Sweet Celestia what did I do? What did I... Celestia? I—

A hand closed around one of my arms in a firm grip and I was violently yanked up and onto my feet before I could pass out. The sudden movement had my world spinning all over again but the extra shot of fear and adrenaline kept me conscious enough to notice a few things.

The first was that my body was being pelted by what I could only assume was rain judging by the smell. The second was that I was being supported on someone's back and that the person in question was on the move. I tried to open my eyes, but I was too weak to do even that much so I just had to guess and hope I was right.

"M... Mauri?" I rasped weakly.

"Not quite," grunted another familiar voice, "by the Goddesses! Del was right... you weigh... a fucking ton! The fuck... do you eat? And you smell like blood and shit."

"H-Havik?"

"Yeah, it's me," she growled, "just shut up and don't move too much, alright? If you start flailing all over the place I'm dropping you and leaving your ass for the wolves."

The... wolves?

My curiosity became too much and with a tremendous amount of effort, I forced my eyes open. The first thing I saw was the retreating steps of Havik's boots upon a dark path of loose gravel, broken sticks, thick branches, and wet soil. I tried to raise my head but that proved to be a bridge too far.

This looks like a forest path, but... weren't we just in a ravine? Did I pass out after all?

"What... happened? Where are we? Wh-where's Mauri?"

"Back at the cave trying to be a hero," Havik scoffed, "the bitch made me swear to keep you safe on pain of death while she kept the big guy busy."

I winced.

"All... on her own?"

"I mean, you took everyone else out," Havik said, her voice oddly quiet among the loud pitter-patter of rain, "damn near took our heads off. I think you might've if you hadn't keeled over like that."

My stomach sank and I suddenly felt cold for reasons other than the rain. I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn't come anymore. For a long moment, neither of us spoke and Havik continued to trudge through the forest. Eventually, she spoke again.

"Turns out the ravine doesn't go much farther than a mile or so," she explained, "found a path up and now we're back in the forest."

"Oh," I muttered, now fighting to keep myself conscious, "did I... pass out?"

"Probably," Havik replied, "you were muttering about something or other for a while before you went quiet."

"Oh..." I muttered again, feeling more and more delirious by the second, "I hope Mauri's okay."

"Who knows."

"...Hey, Havik?"

"What?"

"...Thank you."

I meant it, too. I had no idea what her motivation was for saving me when she had ample opportunity to kill me and Mauri, but I really was grateful. Maybe it was voicing my gratitude that did it, but I finally felt like I could rest and leave things in Havik's hands.

Deciding then and there that the blonde woman wasn't as bad as she made herself out to be, I finally began to slip into unconsciousness. I hardly even registered Havik's small chuckle before I was completely gone to the world.

"Don't thank me just yet, devil bitch."

Fun Fact: I took a lot of inspiration for... certain aspects of this Twilight's character from another character by the name of Logen Ninefingers.

If you know, you know.