We run until we can't anymore.

Arrowhead becomes a dot behind you and Scarlet. The cool air is easily ignored by your body’s as the adrenaline continues to course through your veins. Scarlet is still in a full sprint, but you can keep up with her without a struggle, however. Despite that, you say nothing and maintain the momentum that is built. By the time you run out of energy, fragments of daylight are beginning to blue the sky above. You have no idea how much time has passed since your rushed departure.

Scarlet presses herself against a tree, making clouds of steam every time she pants. You’re next, more or less doing the same thing. You’re no stranger to running, but doing that for so long with so much equipment on your shoulders, there’s bound to be repercussions for this in the morning, if not sooner!

“We—“ Scarlet heaves. “We had to—“

“Take your time,” you say. “Deep breaths.”

“We had to leave everything of Alexandra behind,” she finishes. “We’re going to tell Amara we got attacked by bandits and that they got her,” Scarlet pauses to breathe and then looks at you for a moment. “And nearly got me.”

“You’re unscathed. Amara isn’t going to believe that.” You say.

“I know,” she sighs heavily and droops her head. “I need you to punch me. Punch me hard and make me bleed.”

You’re silent, which presses her to continue. “If you don’t do that, then we’re probably both dead.”

“Why do this?”

Scarlet becomes curt and looks away. “Alexandra offended me on a personal level,” is all she says.

The urge to press her with more questions is tempting, but you know that in order to survive, you’ll have to find a better time. She squares up in front of you. “Hit me.”

You take a stance and take off your gloves. “You ready?”

Scarlet nods and closes her eyes. You throw the first punch, and it connects against her cheek. Your knuckle stings and she falters backward. “You hit like a Girl Scout,” Scarlet says under a slur. “Hit me harder.”

You throw another punch when she squares up again. This time she has to stabilize herself on a tree. “Amara is… isn’t going to believe anything if you…you continue throwing those beta male punches…”

“You’re starting to piss me off,” you mumble, rubbing your knuckles.

“That’s the point,” she sighs. “Promise me you’ll kiss my wounds to make them feel better—!?”

You punch her a third time; this one sends Scarlet to the ground. For a moment, you think you knocked her out, but all you did was give her a black eye.

Scarlet mumbles, her face twisted and pulpy with bruises now. Her beauty gone missing, her toughness cracked. “A few more hits like that…Amara might believe you…I mean…. both of us.”

You look at your knuckles and grimace. “I could kill you if I'm not careful."

Scarlet gets on her knees and crawls towards you. “You mock me…You think those fuckin' punches are gonna kill me?”

She awkwardly crawls up your waist and wraps her arms around you for balance. She frowns deeply and opens her mouth, spitting the blood from her cut lip. You think she’s about to say something, but instead, she exerts the air from her lungs and wallops you with a punch of her own. You stumble and push her back.

Scarlet falls flat on her back and begins laughing. “This is such a FUCKING MESS.”

You hold your cheek, feeling the numbness as your body recovers. “You started this.” As soon as you say it, you wish you hadn’t.

The laughter dies instantly, and she gets up. “Don’t you dare start that.”

There’s no glint or reflection from her pistol, but the loud memory of it being used rings in your skull as loudly as the present.

“Now,” she sighs. “We’re beating each other senseless or what?”

“If you're planning on getting your ass kicked, then yes.”

Scarlet smirks slightly, but there’s a relevant glint in her human eyes that tell you she intends to hand your ass to you instead. “I’m going to make you eat those words.”

…

…

“What happened?” Kenji’s voice is iced with concern. “You both look like hammered shit!”

You feel Scarlet tighten around you. “We got attacked!” She sputters.

“We lost Alexandra!” You follow, blood coming out of your mouth as you speak.

Kenji rushes over and grabs Scarlet. As promised, you both fought each other until ugly with wounds. Luckily, you weren’t too far from where your meeting point was. The only gamble you were toying with was whether or not Kenji would be there with the horses waiting for you. If Kenji knew how much relief his voice gave, you wouldn’t have bothered helping anyone to their horse.

You can stay awake during the ride back but have difficulty distinguishing what’s real and what your mind is processing. When Kenji finally guides you and Scarlet back, you are brought to your room and nursed back to health, but the actual recovery happens when you rest.

…

…

When you finally come around to it. You find yourself still tired, sore, and confused. Your emotions are dull, and your thoughts are leaning in no real direction in particular. You look around and blink, there’s no one else with you and all that keeps you company is the white noise that is present in every silent moment in life.

Scarlet doesn’t enter your mind until you flip to your side and whine. You can’t remember who was the first to yield, but you can feel the gentle throbbing sensation her fists left behind every time you blink and breathe. You then recall how she killed Alexandra and nearly put you down too.

Your throat is dry, so you stir from your sheets and double-check for water. Someone has left you a glass of water which you gladly partake of, taking all its contents down with a single gulp.

The fuzziness fades, and you realize how fucked up the last 24 hours have been. You frown and glance down. You didn’t think it could get this out of hand. “Damn girls… Flora, you best be worth this trouble.”

Just as the last word sinks into the room, someone comes in. Low and behold, it’s Flora. Your eyes meet, and she retreats, leaving the door open just a crack. “Sorry,” she says. “Can I come in?”

It takes you a few seconds to come to the conclusion that you could use some different company. Precisely company that wasn’t a smuggler or a genuine member of the ARS. You clear your throat and nod gently.

Flora sits beside your bed and folds her hands together. “I’m sorry.”

You relax; the tension in your body makes everything hurt, however, so you have to take a full minute to recover before replying. “About what?”

“Scarlet told me what happened,” Flora says quietly.

You wait. Yon concludes Scarlet wouldn’t have told Flora the truth, so you just sigh. “Alexandra deserved better.”

Now it’s Flora’s turn to pause. “Alexandra was mean to me.”

“I noticed she, uh, never really…treated you well.” You say.

Flora shrugs. “Still a weird thought, though. She’s been here since the beginning for me, and for her to suddenly just…die…Jesus… Oh, God Jesus… It’s scary.”

She then looks at you. “Whoever got a hold of you and Scarlet really beat the crap out of you too.” She reaches around and gently presses the bruises with the pads of her fingers.

You flinch and pull away, gently grabbing and guiding her hand away. “Sorry, don’t touch me right now. It’s too painful.”

Again, Flora apologizes and retreats her fingers into their elegant fold on her lap. She keeps staring at you, though, wishing– wanting to say more. Has she missed you? When you look at her, you feel a slight tug in your heart. Then, finally, it clicks, and you realize all the pain and trouble you’ve had to deal with the last few days is worth the effort.

“You can talk to me, you know?”

Flora gets emotional. She shuts down while she shakes her head. “Can…” she trails off. “Can I make this about you?”

She looks deep into your eyes. “Don’t make this about me right now. Talk to me instead. What do you want to tell me?”

“A million things,” you say. “A million things and a million more.”

A small laugh escapes her mouth. “Let’s try five things.”

“Five things,” you mutter. The pain that shoots through your body makes you shutter. “Five things to ask?”

“Yes,” she says, smiling a little bit as she leans in. “Tomorrow, we’ll make it ten things.”

“What’s the catch?” You ask.

“You have to ask those five things right now. Otherwise, I’ll half it the next time we’re alone,” she whispers this with a glance at the door. “It’s like spin the bottle, but it’s just you and me.”

“Can you sing?” You ask.

Flora makes a face and shakes her head. “No.”

“Can you play any instruments?”

“I wanted to play the piano, but I’m no good at it,” Flora says.

“Have you tried making your own book?”

Again, she shakes her head. “Reading is more up my alley.”

“If you could either play or sing, which one would you do?”

Flora has to think for a second, but then she learns something new about herself. “I’d rather sing well. Last question.”

Your horse-like tongue almost slipped. You stop yourself and trail off with your original question and come up with something new. “Hot or cold?”

“Cold,” Flora then thinks about the outside. “Not this cold, though.”

You’re amused with her responses. “So, I get ten more of these questions the next time we’re talking?”

Flora opens her mouth to say something, but the door opens.