Dry leaves crackle with desperate footsteps, disturbing the quiet late afternoon. Gasping for air, fighting against tree branches, sharp bushes, loose rocks – the very forest that seemingly wants to keep her trapped inside it and make every step so unbearably painful – there she was, Igris. Running and running, hoping to finally get nowhere and become undone, no matter how long it took, now matter how far she had to run, her final destination being the end of her world.


    Yet another misstep – “gah!” – she exclaims, barely breaking her fall with an arm. Add another cut to that one. Her makeup is visibly smeared from crying – maybe with enough tears she’ll be finally able to get this fucking stuff off of her face.


    – – –


    “...Deer?” Chloe whispers to herself. It’s got to be. Unusual for a deer to be this active and noisy this far into the afternoon… it’s already a little too dark for her liking. Staying at a stranger’s house for hours wasn’t the best idea, even if it was kind of nice… It’s hard for her to admit, but Kaira is still kind of a stranger to her, considering the timespan of barely-a-week since they first met, and though they had their… moments, it doesn’t exactly mean much. Right? You can’t just waltz into someone''s life like that and expect some kind of… anything.


    What were you expecting, Chloe?


    …


    “Ack!--”


    An audible thud breaks the uncomfortable silence.


    “O-ow…” Chloe’s body is grazed by a critter running like it’s the last thing it’ll ever do. “Deer…”


    She stumbles and barely catches herself from falling by holding onto the nearest tree, then checks her surroundings, still a bit startled. As she fixes the glasses ready to fall from her face and the culprit uses the last of its strength to get up, both of them end up making eye contact.


    Igris’ tangled mess of hair covers half of her face. It’s still somehow barely tied into twintails that are just as tattered as her little jester outfit – whatever it is she’s been through, it wasn’t pretty, yet she’s dressed like she’s meant to look pretty regardless of that.


    “Are you… are you okay?” The words struggle to leave Chloe’s mouth. Is this normal for anima folk? Kaira hasn’t told much about her kind, or herself, for that matter. Chloe was too busy worrying about Kaira’s safety to ask too many questions. It did cross her mind that this place could be dangerous, but… that’s just a child. It has more reason to be afraid than Chloe does.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Igris stands in shock. “O-okay…?” That woman is… oddly pink… and furless. She’s unlike any adult anima Igris has seen before, meaning… “H-human…?”


    “Yes,” Chloe stumbles through her words like she’s still trying to get a hang of herself. “I am not here to hurt you.”


    “Please…” Igris says in between tears. “Kill me.”


    ???


    It’s dark, and raining heavily outside. The smell of freshly brewed milk tea fills the air.


    “Here, this should warm you up.” Chloe carefully passes the hot cup over to Igris, who is sitting on the couch, curled up into a ball, wrapped in a big warm jacket.


    Igris doesn’t respond, taking a few seconds to even notice the steaming beverage being offered.


    “It’s…” Chloe crouches down to Igris’ level, looking at her in the eye, “It’s yummy, I promise. Doesn’t it smell nice?”


    Though Igris’ face remains completely blank, the insistence seems to be enough for her to accept the hot cup. Once in her hands, she looks down on it, her expression unchanged, her innards turning on themselves – it feels like she’s about to throw up the entirety of her intestines, her gag reflex begging to be called upon.


    …


    None of that happens – Chloe lightly pushes up the cup from below with a finger, slowly helping lift it up to Igris’ mouth, to her surprise. The warm steam greets her face with a hug, leading her to finally yield and take a sip. It’s…


    “...Yummy…”


    “See? I told you.” Chloe responds with more eye contact, her perfectly neutral expression somehow being more comforting than anything Igris is used to at this point. “Just sit here for now, and drink your yummy tea. I’ll find something to help with your pain.”


    Reaching for Igris’ face, Chloe carefully moves some of her hair to the side – revealing Igris’ right eye – to check the injury once more.


    …


    It’s still hard to look at. Taking her to a doctor is not an option, either. Chloe at the very least hopes she can get rid of the maggots and clean the wound to the best of her ability.


    “...This is my fault, isn’t it?”


    “You’ll be okay. It’s alright.” You’re not even sure of that yourself, Chloe.


    There’s not much that can be done, now. It’s dark outside, people are asleep. The cameras probably saw you coming in with Igris; it’s only a matter of time before questions start coming your way, and things get out of hand. Plus… how long has she been injured this badly for?


    “Anima folk have been documented to be exceptionally resilient. It is not uncommon for anima offspring to be encouraged into engaging in dangerous activities – though usually not without adult supervision – so as to develop immunities to micro-organisms that would otherwise likely cause death, or severe long-term sequelae. Common infectious agents include:


    THE VERY SKIN


    THAT COVERS MY BODY ”


    “Could you maybe smile a little more, Kaira?”


    “this is just what my face looks like.” The look on her face is neutral, yet somehow insulting.


    “Oh, sweetie…” Eleanore chuckles at the grumpy teenage Kaira. “Your food is going to go cold, too.”


    “i’m not hungry.”


    Eleanore pats Kaira on the head, messing with her hair – it’s curly and cut short, lightly twisting around Elea’s fingers as they run through it. The touch of her hand feels extremely off-putting to Kaira, somehow. “I know you don’t like meat, but you need it to grow up strong, sweetie.”


    Kaira stares at the plate. “i want to kill myself.”