By the time Siu's body had hit the ground, an all-enveloping darkness had swallowed him whole, making it feel... surprisingly comfortable. It also came quickly, with no gradual fade or gentle slipping away, as if going to sleep... It was a snap, the sudden absence of any pain, sound, and thought alike... Everything was just... gone.

  That was when Arya registered how her partner's feelings, which were like a warm buzzing in the distance, were turned off, without notice. The panic it caused her made Arya hit the ground running, her paws tearing through leaves and soil as she sprinted toward where Siu had fallen, her heart hammering so hard she felt it in her ears and behind her eyes. The scent of blood was thick, almost overwhelming, and it wasn't coming from her own mouth or nose because she gouged out the squirrel's eyes, but it was coming from Siu's injury.

  “Master!” she cried out as loud as she could, skidding to a halt beside him.

  No answer.

  Siu simply lay there, sprawled out on his back, his eyes closed, his chest barely moving, but at least it was moving. His robes were soaked dark where the claws had punched clean through flesh, and looking into the wound, it was ugly. Under the hole, she could see the torn muscle, blood welling up in it and trickling out, even now when his body had shut down to conserve what little energy it had left. Scared, Arya jumped onto his chest at once, her paws pressing down on his chest, trying to thump it, over and over again, her ears flatter than ever.

  “Hey—! No, no, no, no! Wake up! Master!” she yelled, audibly quipping and whining while pushing at him, sniffing frantically at his face. “Don’t you dare do this! I just pulled that thing’s eye out for you! I helped! You won! Wake up! You won, Master!”

  Then, something else finally caught her attention, with a skittish, sudden movement, happening right above Siu’s head. The moment she registered it, Arya froze in place, her panic giving way to sudden anger. It was then that she noticed, tangled in his hair, clinging on for life with all four limbs, there it was... another squirrel. Yes, it was smaller, about the same size as she, but nothing really mattered now as Arya’s fur bristled, increasing her size twofold as she arched her back.

  “YOU—!” she hissed, launching herself forward, slamming into the squirrel, knocking her off Siu's head, standing between the two now, her teeth baring at her, snarling with a foaming mouth.

  “WAIT!” the squirrel cried out, squeaking, waving her front paws in fear. "Don’t hurt me! Please—! I’m not bad! I swear!"

  “ENEMY!” Arya shot back, making a fake lunge at her, but she wasn't going to leave Siu's body unprotected, so in reality, she was staying where she was, only growling at the perceived danger.

  With a loud cry, the small squirrel pressed herself flatter against the ground, her tail wrapped tight around her own body, trembling.

  "Please don't! I don’t want to fight! I don’t want to hurt anyone... I just..." She sniffled, whimpering, "I want to help! He saved me... You both did! You didn’t know, but you did, please don’t eat me, I don't want to be eaten again!"

  "You... You aren't lying..." Arya muttered, her fur slowly flattening again, as she kept sniffing, watching the shivering squirrel, her senses confirming to her that she was telling the truth.

  "No! No! Never! And I don’t fight well, I hide instead! I hide really well, in fact! I just... I hid so well... that thing had eaten me with my hiding spot! Hauh... I was in that dark and foul place for... for days! I thought I was going to die! Luckily, he also ate a lot of things, so I could eat them, but... I didn't want to be swallowed!"

  Listening to her thoughts, Arya’s ears slowly eased back into a neutral position, and this time around, she looked at the squirrel again, noticing the nasty grime, saliva, and who knows what, all matted and stuck into her fur.

  “Okay... You’re not an enemy...” She shook herself once, and the squirrel sagged in visible relief, nearly fainting before pulling herself together and sitting back up, chattering like she was born a third time today.

  "Thankyouthankyouthankyou—!"

  “Shut up!” Arya snapped at her, suddenly remembering the situation and becoming agitated once again. “My Master is dying!”

  Saying that, both of them were now surrounding and looking down at Siu's body. The blood flowing from the wound was slowing, as his cultivation, even at his beginner level, was working to heal... but it was not enough. It was only enough to allow him to survive what would initially kill someone who never cultivated... But Arya knew that it was only delayed.

  “Alright. You said you want to help?” she demanded, glancing at the squirrel who nodded so fast it almost snapped her head off her neck.

  "Yes! Yes! I know things! Help... help, yes! Plants... We need plants! I know plants!"

  "Will it save Master?" Arya’s body shot to all fours immediately. "Will it wake him up?” The squirrel hesitated at first, but then nodded again. “Show me!”

  There was no hesitation in the way the squirrel began running, scurrying away at lightning speed. Still, Arya was just as fast, following her through the underbrush, trusting her frantic directions as they darted through roots and fallen branches, listening to the squeaking of her squeaking, new friend.

  "Here, here... It was here! Yellow petals... Um small... It smells sharp and stingy!"

  Arya didn't know what they were looking for, but apparently the squirrel wasn't lying, because they did find them growing near a trickling stream, half-hidden beneath a dozen other ferns. They were small flowers, pale yellow with thin, zigzag-shaped petals, and their scent was biting enough to make Arya wrinkle her nose.

  “These?” She asked, pushing down her disgust.

  "Yes! Chew them, but don’t swallow! Chew, chew, chew, and push the paste into the wound and bam!"

  Arya grimaced when she heard that, but if it would help, she wasn't going to wait. In a hurry, they gathered as many as they could carry and raced back while she already began chewing the flowers, her face contorting as the bitter sap flooded her mouth. It was horrible... like she was trying to hold thick, goopy bile in her mouth, doing her best not swallow it down. Yet, instead of complaining, she just stuffed more of the petals in and kept chewing. The moment they returned, she spat the paste directly onto her paw and pressed it into the hole in Siu’s chest, waiting for the effects, not even daring to blink her eyes.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The reaction was nearly immediate. The moment the paste had seeped into the wound, Siu’s body arched violently, as he sucked in a sharp breath, choking as pain also slammed into him like a hammer. The consciousness that he had let loose snapped to attention like a bowstring, and his eyes flew open, way too focused, while his hands were clawing at the ground.

  "—GHK—!" He gurgled, spitting out blood and saliva, clearing his throat, sitting up, and glancing around, taking deep, long breaths like a whale. Everything hurt, everything ached, it was horrible... but he was awake and aware, as if his blood was swimming in adrenaline once again.

  “MASTER!” Arya yelled loudly, gushing with relief and panic at the same time as she tried to shove him back down. “Don’t move! Don’t move! It's okay!”

  “WHAT—?!” Siu spoke up, his voice raw and hoarse, still breathing loudly, “Fuck...” He groaned, reaching to the wound, noticing that it was now filled with more than just his blood.

  With everything coming back into focus, his breathing steadied at once as he forced himself to use his own method, clearing his mind and replaying the last of his memories. The pain was unbearable, but now he used it to keep him from fainting again... Then, glancing around, he quickly ascertained that he wasn't out for long, maybe a few minutes, ten at most. With that, he finally also noticed the one who had blinded him in the middle of the fight, now looking at him like a lost child.

  “Why,” he groaned slowly, mostly asking for a poetic reason, not for a real answer, “was there a squirrel in a squirrel?”

  The small one squeaked and flattened herself instantly onto the ground, squeaking in a way that apparently was some kind of explanation. Still, he couldn't understand her... but Arya did, and she immediately translated.

  “She’s not hostile,” she added quickly at the end of her translation of 'sorry' and 'I didn't mean to.' "She helped you wake up!”

  "Ugh..." Siu swallowed as an answer, wincing and doing his best to stand up. “We will talk about that later,” he agreed faintly, “My injuries come first...” he moaned while scanning the corpse of the dead squirrel and began wobbling towards it, cursing himself in the meantime.

  As he did so, his mind began berating him as well. He heard the story... he was told that these bastards kept things hidden in their mouths! Yet, in the middle of the fight, all of that information went out the window. Haaah... he couldn't help it... His Old Man once said that no matter what one knows theoretically, applying them in the heat of a battle is always different. To merge the two, that won't come easily; it will only come after experiencing life. He could even hear his old voice echoing in his mind...

  "It will be yours, if you survive long enough, Siu. Then you will start to understand that knowing and KNOWING are two different things."

  Finally... he understood what he meant.

  “My bag,” he muttered, crouching beside the dead Red-eyed Squirrel while Arya followed him closely, brushing against his leg with every step, only looking at him.

  “I’m going in!” She volunteered at once, realizing what he was thinking of.

  “You are absolutely not—” Siu began, but it was too late.

  Arya hopped straight into the open maw of the corpse, disappearing up to her waist as she rummaged through the hoarded chaos inside the foul-smelling mouth of the dead beast. The sounds she was making... were… unpleasant, to say the least.

  “Why are there rocks in here—?!”

  Still, combing through everything, she reemerged a moment later, dragging out part of Siu’s torn pack, followed by a bundle of cloths, and preserved medicinal pastes that were bagged multiple times over, to prevent them from being soaked, if Siu had to cross a river or something. Good thing it also prevented them from getting stained by the creature's saliva, keeping them clean.

  “Got it, Master!”

  “Good… good…” Siu exhaled shakily, relief washing over his face as he saw her reemerge with them, sitting down on the ground.

  With Arya’s help, the medicine he prepared was quickly applied, and his torso was tightly bandaged with a pressure set. It wasn't like anything complex, like what he could get in the sect after getting injured, but he came prepared with a pack, always thinking of the worst possible outcomes. Good thing he did so... After taking another deep breath, looking down, and watching his hands shake, he forced them to steady, circulating his cultivation to the best of his abilities.

  "Why is that... whenever I go into the forest to hunt... this happens?" He asked, mostly himself, glancing at the squirrel, who was now sitting next to Arya, also looking at him, sometimes squeaking, talking with her fox.

  Arya was about to answer when a rustle made the trio flinch, and as Arya sharpened up, Siu had already caught another noise... voices. Human voices.

  "This way! I felt it from here!"

  A moment later, a man appeared from the trees, jumping from branch to branch, landing close by, wearing the sect's clothes without a sash, indicating he was an outer disciple.

  "The Ember Circle..." Siu muttered under his breath, noticing the pin on his collar.

  "Nice!" The short-haired man whistled with a grin, who was maybe in his twenties, glancing at the fallen Red-eyed Squirrel, "That's an alpha... Will fetch a nice price!"

  "I will bite your dick off!" Arya yelled, already standing on the corpse, growling, showing teeth towards the newcomer.

  "Hm...?" Finally, it seemed he registered the others' presence, glancing at the tiny fox and then Siu, recognition flashing through his eyes: "Lucky you lived, kid."

  "..." Siu said nothing, only watching the man as he stepped closer, putting a leg on the corpse, ignoring Arya completely.

  "I'll be taking this." He added with an unashamed grin. The moment he said it, Arya was about to bite his ankle when Siu softly spoke up, calling her back.

  "Leave it, Arya... Not worth it." He muttered, memorizing the man's face and voice in the meantime.

  "But! But! Master! He! He!!!"

  Arya could barely form any words, and if not for the little squirrel dragging her off the corpse by her tail, she might have attacked the man standing before them.

  "Good," he chortled, smirking, "At least you know this is not the sect... but the wilderness."

  "And?" A new voice appeared, and to Siu's surprise, from the trees, Tian landed near them, quickly scanning the battlefield, the clues, and then Siu, sitting there weakly with a freshly bandaged injury. "Does that mean you can act like an animal?"

  "Don't get cocky, Tian!" The man snorted, glancing at him, "We are taking this one!"

  "We are not." Tian shot back, walking over and standing opposite to him, his arms crossed, right between him and Siu, "Get your feet off his kill. We aren't bandits, we are hunters. Don't bring shame to the Ember Circle!"

  "Did your brain go smushy or something?! This here is worth a lot, more than what we originally came to hunt!"

  "Not your kill." Tian sneered, stepping closer, already in a battle stance, ready to fight, "Not your reward."

  "What is this?" Another, this time, female voice asked as more disciples appeared, and Siu watched as four others emerged from the forest, their leader being someone he recognized... Kae'Lin. "Oh." She added, tilting her head, surveying the area. "Impressive. You did it?" She asked, and when she did, the first man finally stepped back, taking his leg off the corpse.

  "What do you think?" Siu snorted, shooting back, and although he didn't see, Tian did smile at his answer, still standing before him.

  "Impressive indeed." She chuckled again, looking at the others, then back at Tian, "Well, you stood up first, so," Kae'Lin began, talking to him, "Go help him bring the corpse back to the Sect."

  "Hmph!" The first man snorted, both disappointed but also sniggering, because this also meant that Tian was out of their hunt, with no chance to bag any profits from it.

  "Okay." Tian nodded without hesitation, ignoring the scoffs, and after he said so, Kae'Lin only glanced at Siu one more time before waving a hand, and the rest of them dispersed in a hurry.

  "Thanks..." Siu murmured after they were left alone, watching as Tian turned around, looking at him, shrugging, shaking his head.

  "You owe me for this." He added, reaching a hand down to pull him to his feet.

  "You can have the corpse," Siu answered, accepting the hand without flinching, "I just need the mouth sacks from it."

  "Heh!" Tian smirked after hearing him, shaking his head once again, "Even then... You still owe me."

  "Sure," He smiled back at him, now back on his feet, wincing with every movement, "I do. Make it count, will you?"

  "Oh, don't worry!" Tian grinned, smacking his lips and glancing at the corpse. "I will."