Fractures: Rewritten Chapters

*Insert great title here*

First published on December 19th, 2021

Point of View: 3rd person (first time trying this-) (Spoiler: It did not go well for me)

Kane stood beside the river, shocked to see the Coven in shambles. He had heard of the Coven being attacked by the Nether, but he never imagined his former ally to be destroyed by them. He decided to cut the contact between the Netherbane and the Coven after Ciara's "Nether adventure" a few months ago because he was sure they would be able to hold their own against the Nether without their help. Now, seeing their home reduced to a pile of rubble, Kane started to question whether he had made the right decision.

His train of thought was interrupted when Ciara elbowed him and gestured at Rain across the river, "Should we...you know, do something about that?"

Without a word, he shifted his gaze onto the boy, who is talking to a girl dressed in black with, quite oddly, lavender colored hair. Kane couldn't hear their conversation clearly, and frankly does not give a damn about their conversation.

"Do something about what?" he replied after a long pause.

"Are you blind, old man? She has a tail! She's not human!" Ciara hissed. Kane squinted at the girl on the far bank, who now has her back to them. It was hard to make out in the dark, but he could tell that the girl indeed had a tail behind her, and also some...peculiarly shaped ears.

Kane stayed silent. While the tail was certainly a red flag, the girl is not attacking Rain like hellhounds would. Not to mention that, if Rain's claims were to be believed, she is the nicest person ever and only attacked him after being turned into a hound. The girl glanced in their indirection nervously, clearing showing that she is, was, the hellhound they encountered earlier. Rain was behind her, partially hidden in the grass, kneeling down for some reason.

"Well? Do we keep following them or do we just skedaddle on outta here when they are not looking?" Ciara turned to him before leaning in and whispering, "If we're going, now's a pretty good time."

He sighed, to be real, he didn't know what to do either. This was his first time seeing a human turning back from being a hellhound. Until ten minutes ago, he never thought it was possible.

Kane reached into his pocket and felt the handle of a dagger, "We must get to the bottom of this. Even if it means being a bit clingy to those two." Ciara groaned as a response.

Rain and the violet haired girl crossed the river on the stepping stones before walking over to the hunters. He briefly introduced her as Stella.

Stella was visibly nervous in the presence of the hunters and kept trying to hide behind Rain. Kane made sure he stood between Ciara and the girl to ease the tension. He noticed that aside from the tail, Stella's ears were fluffy, with a long and pointy shape like an elf's ears. There were a pair of tiny horns on her head, just barely showing from her hair. Kane estimated them to be around an inch long.

Rain lowered his voice, "See? She's fine."

Kane acknowledged it with a nod. They agreed on staying with Rain until they find Stella and see for themselves that she is not a bloodthirsty hound that they assumed her to be. Now, seeing that Stella is perfectly sane, the deal is technically over. However, Kane couldn't help but worry about the two of them.

"What do guys plan to do now?"

"Go back to Frostbourne, of course," Rain replied, "We are two days behind already."

Kane eyed the boy's left bicep, which is covered in bloody bandages, and raised an eyebrow.

"So let me get this straight, you want to take the two-week long journey back to Frostbourne, which is through complete wilderness, while both of you have injuries that require immediate medical attention?"

Stella nudged her partner with her elbow and whispered, "See what I mean?"

Rain groaned and looked away. Kane could tell he's stubborn about receiving help, but his condition was dangerous. The bite wound was deep and it will surely get infected if they neglect treatments. And Stella did not seem to be in much better shape, with a knife wound in her right shoulder and the arrow wound from his crossbow was probably bleeding as they speak.

"There is a cabin towards the north end of the taiga where you guys can stay to recover." Kane suggested, "It will cost you a couple of days on the road but I think that is still better than infections."

He could practically feel Ciara's glare burning into his back. She did not like this. But these two felt important...somehow, and until Kane can understand why he will not let them leave his sight.

"Our camp is not far from here. If we leave first thing in the morning we can get to the cabin by sundown."

He watched Rain's face gave away to resolve before he sighed, "Okay fine."

A few moments later, the squad made their way through the dark trees silently, with Ciara in the lead, followed by Kane and then Rain and Stella. Stella was still wary about the hunters and fell behind, nervously holding on to Rain's sleeve as she shuffled forward. Rain sensed her nervousness and slowed down without a word while keeping an eye on the hunters. Up ahead, Ciara slowed down until she was beside Kane before she muttered, "Are you out of your damn mind?"

Kane side-eyed her and said nothing.

"Really? Invite them to our cabin? When we haven't even known them for 24 hours? You are asking for a disaster going to happen."

He quietly retorted, "Fancy hearing that from you."

Ciara rolled her eyes as a response.

"Besides, they are in need of a place to rest and we can do some investigating in the meantime." Kane said as they walked into their tiny camp. It consisted of a campfire, a log for sitting, and a few work stations. 

After some very peaceful discussions, Kane was assigned night watch duties. Rain and Stella settled down on the grass beside the log while Ciara clambered onto the closest tree to the camp and got herself comfortable on one of the large branches. How she can sleep in a tree and look comfortable and not fall off is beyond Kane's understanding. Stella, already dozing off, rested her head against Rain's shoulder. He looked surprised for a second, but said nothing before closing his eyes as well. 

After everything quieted down, Kane sat down beside the crafting table, pulled out the sheathed dagger from his pocket and drew it. Its crimson blade glistened eerily in the lantern light. He examined the blade. Rain had given this to him and stated that Stella was hit by one of these daggers and turned into a hellhound within a few hours. Kane sighed through his nose. The origin of hellhounds have always been mysterious. They randomly appear in the Overworld and maul every human they set their eyes on. They are dangerous, so the monster hunters take them out, simple stuff. The members of Netherbane have always been taught that Hellhounds are the result of dark magic and can only be cleansed through death, but Stella's existence overthrows everything he's ever known. Hellhounds can possibly be the result of some type of poison, which can be cured somehow. 

Kane sighed in his head. If only we haven't disbanded, Maya would love to research this substance. He turned the crimson dagger over in his hand, watched the blade shine in the lantern light before he glanced in the direction of Rain and Stella, now softy snoring with their heads resting together. Since we no longer have any way of performing any in-depth research, we may have to follow them... to Frostbourne. 

(Why is this so long I don't know what I've created help me-)