“Walking.” I couldn't help it. The wolf hides and heads were in a bundle on my back, and we had been walking through the woods for a short while now. Not one, but two completed hunts left me feeling mentally satisfied, and I was relaxing as my body cooled from its adrenaline and blood-fuelled state. So when the woman beside me spoke, I could not help but reply, even though I well knew that she had not been talking to me.
“Smart-ass.” she shot back. I snorted. If we were going to be working together for any extended period of time, I might as well get to know her better. And have her get to know me.
“Years in the academy, at least some part of me had to get smart at some point.” I shrugged slightly.
“I mean - smart may be a long shot.” She said, snarky little bitch wasn’t she? I felt my lips twitch.
“At least it is not trying to carry the conversation along. So. Scarlet. Magical reincarnation cycle of some kind?” It was different. And explosive. Very, explosive.
“More or less…” She muttered, absently kicking at the snow. “I’m immortal. Fuck knows I’ve tried. If I’m damned to live for an eternity may a well shape the world into something I want it to be.” She shifted her black and red Sclera eyes up toward me. “At least make it fun, or something.” I blinked, tilted my head to the side, watching her. Now that the fight was over, I was processing her. Right. I knew why I projected a cold emotionless shell. But this woman? Hmm.
“So, the black lines. Related to the immortality, or a separate thing? And those Ethereal snakes?” The more I learned about her - the more likely I would be to have an easier time of fighting if that ever came up again.
“No. That’s my corruption. The snakes are a physical manifestation of my soul.” She was quick to talk about herself when asked. I thought it’d be harder to pry her for information. The confident and prissy woman I first encountered wasn’t her. I wondered if her revival had something to do with her being so deflated. But - a physical manifestation of her soul? Her corruption? That - Hm.
“Corruption? How is it purified then?” I paused and looked over to her as we came to a crossroads.
She glared at me, her voice turning into more of a growl. “Why the fuck do you wanna know that? What do you care? It’s better this way. Trust me.” She huffed and turned her attention to the path ahead. “Left here.” Then she started forward, ahead of me.
Better this way? I doubted that, highly doubted it in fact. Corruption never led anywhere good - in fact, it led to death and destruction. It led to becoming a beast, a ravenous force of the end. And Huntsmen fought beasts. Or, as I had done recently, prevented them. I watched the woman go, stomping ahead of me in the snow. She wasn't there, not yet. She was dark, she was twisted - the rot had shown that. But she wasn't there. Because she had control, she could restrain it. If the beast could not be slain - do not let it become a beast. And - her reaction.
“There is a way, then…” I tilted my head as I followed after her.
