Usapila

A rustle in the bushes pulled our attention, Daisy went for her dagger only to be stopped by me, who put my hand in front of her. It was only a gust of wind, stirring the branches of the dense undergrowth around us. She exhaled sharply and lowered the weapon, ears flicking.

Daisy tumbled backward, falling on the ground.

She was hyperventilating. Her red eyes were wide with an almost animal-like panic, her pupils dilated to the point where only a thin ring of red remained. Her ears were flat against her head, twitching erratically. Her muscles tensed, a soft whimper escaping her as she huddled on the ground. Her hands were clenched into fists, her knuckles white with the **** of her grip, as she tried to fight off the terror that gripped her. A whimper escaped her mouth, a sound that was so faint it was almost inaudible, but unmistakable in its terror. I could see her body shaking, a fine tremor that shook through her. She finally managed to steady herself, her eyes regaining focus as she pushed herself to a sitting position, legs tucked tightly against her chest. She avoided meeting my gaze, embarrassment and shame etched on her face.

"Sorry," she muttered, sheathing the blade at her hip.

"No need," I said, scanning the dark woods beyond the glade we walked through. "You should always be ready. But don't waste your energy reacting to every little sound. It'll wear you out."

"I don't know why I'm like this. I thought I was stronger than this. I hate this. I hate that I—" She stopped, unable to finish.

"Strength isn't about never being scared or never breaking down," I said gently.

She looked up at me, ears twitching slightly. "Then what is it?"

"Being able to get back up after you fall. Keeping your resolve despite the fear." I crouched beside her, careful not to crowd her space. "I'm not saying this to make you feel better, Daisy. This is how it works. You're strong because you're still here. You're still fighting. And you will get better." I saw a small spark of something flicker in her face, hope maybe, or simply understanding. Daisy screamed loudly, a wail of pure raw terror.

I looked forward, seeing what had frightened her so much. Ahead of us were two pairs of glowing red eyes belonging to one creature that stalked slowly. To my surprise, it was a twisted parody of a dog—its skeletal frames held together by sinew and muscle, its ribcage a cage of rusted metal bars. The nails driven through its vertebrae clinked softly as it moved. The head on the left sniffed the air, nostrils flaring. The other head continued watching Daisy, its tongue lolling out in a grotesque grin.

"D-d-d-DOG MONSTER! N-no, not another one! Not another one! I c-can't," she whimpered, her words thick with desperation. "I just c-can't. Not again."

A second later, a figure stumbled into the clearing, another bunny girl that skidded to a halt, her red eyes locked onto me. The rabbit girl had pale skin and the same distinctive red eyes as Daisy but was older, perhaps by a decade, and taller than Daisy, her white hair was unkempt. She was barefoot and wore rough animal pelts stitched together in a makeshift dress, and her ears were tattered at the tips as if someone had tried to chew them off. Her muscles were lean and strong beneath the ragged pelts. The dried blood and sweat hanging on her pelts suggested she'd just finished a hunt or a fight—or both. The unmistakable stink of Killer Hornet blood hung about her. Burns and old scars mottled her body and crisscrossed her face.

I could see from her battered appearance that she had endured much. "Oh thank heavens you're not one of them," she blurted, stumbling forward. "W-who are you?"

Daisy's breathing had quickened to ragged gasps as she scrambled backwards, arms and legs scrabbling against the dirt. Her face was streaked with tears, her entire body shaking violently. She didn't seem to register anything beyond the presence of the Hellhound or the approaching figure.

"I'm the Scourge. I've freed humans and demi-humans from the orc slavers and human cultists. Who are you?" I stepped forward, drawing SkullHacker from the sheath on my back.

The rabbit girl flinched at my words but didn't stop her advance. "Usapila. I'm Usapila."

Usapila's eyes narrowed dangerously as she focused on me, her muscles tensing. The hellhound growled, its rusted nails rattling with the movement.

The white bunny girl's ears twitched as her hand inched toward a crude orcish bone spear she wielded, its handle roughly carved from a femur, its tip stained with Hornet Killer blood. The blade itself was a salvaged piece of broken metal, likely from a piece of armor. It wasn't much, but in the right hands it could be lethal. Her stance made it clear she was ready to use it at the slightest provocation.

I moved towards Daisy and pulled her to her feet, her body tense as a bowstring.

Daisy stood naked and exposed in the clearing. There was no shame in her posture.

Usapila's gaze darted between us, her face softening slightly as she took in Daisy's condition. "I didn't mean to scare you." Usapila stepped forward, her bare feet disturbing the dirt and leaves and gestured toward the Hellhound. "See that? That's my pet. I tamed it after I killed its last owner. It obeys me. Did he tell you to take your clothes off, or did you just drop them for him?"

"He freed me from the orcs," she said simply.

Usapila hands curled into fists, and I saw scars around her wrists—places where shackles had bitten into her flesh.

I stepped forward, SkullHacker raised. "Call off your pet."

She gestured toward the creature without breaking eye contact with me, her fingers flexing around the bone spear. "Chill out," she commanded. The Hellhound whined low in its throat but obeyed, sitting down beside her. Usapila adjusted her grip on the spear. "I don't like men much," she said, her ears twitching as she studied me. "But you... you're interesting." She bared her teeth, not quite a smile. "Where did you come from, stranger?"

"I'm from another world," I said. "A Sin Eater."

Usapila's white ears flicked forward, and she tilted her head slightly, studying me with renewed interest. "A Sin Eater?" She said the words slowly, as if tasting them. "Huh. I've never heard that title before. Sounds... intriguing." She glanced at Daisy and back at me, her gaze calculating. "And what exactly does a Sin Eater do in this world? How exactly does one 'eat sin'?"

I could sense her curiosity warring with her hostility. "It's complicated. They don't literally eat sins. I don't know why they're called that. Normally they destroy worlds lost to the Dark," I said simply. "But I'm the reincarnation of a human from another world."

"The orcs are gathering near a mining operation, plus some strange humans with funny robes. They're up to something big."