Meant To Be

Chapter Thirteen

Trigger warning for death on this chapter

It was the next cycle now and Hunter's wish of finding lizards had been fulfilled. Her only spear had broken and Artificer didn't have any explosive saliva since she needed to eat to produce it, so she was unable to turn rubble into bombs. In other words, they were in a lot of trouble. As they ran, Hunter saw an old spear laying on the ground. It was old and covered with rust, but it was enough to fend off the lizards. She launched into combat with Artificer by her side, throwing rocks to stun them and giving her an opening for an attack. However, the lizards kept coming and Hunter was growing weaker by the minute. "We have to retreat!" Hunter called out to Artificer, but she heard no reply. Frantically looking around, Hunter saw Artificer's body being carried back to a lizard's den. She threw the spear at the lizard in an attempt to free her, but it was no use; more of them blocked her from getting a successful throw. Hunter retreated, running back to the den where she and Artificer had slept the night before, managing to outrun the lizards. She slipped into the den where Artificer lay unconscious, barely breathing. Due to the cycle, creatures would immediately be sent back to the last place they rested if they were killed. Normally, she would stay nearby until Artificer woke up again, but there was no time for that if they were to make it to No Significant Harassment. Instead, Hunter picked up the slugcat and carried her out of the den with her. I'm sure I can carry her for a few cycles until she wakes up...

Artificer felt like she was being pulled from a deep sleep, her body aching as her senses returned to her. She made a noise of pain as she tried to open her eyes and sit up, only to fall back down. "Easy, now. Take it slow," Hunter's voice soothed her and she held Artificer's paw in her own. However, she did not want to wait; she simply had too many questions. Forcing her eyes open, Artificer looked up at Hunter, her vision still swimming. "Am I... dead...?" she asked, wondering if this was, in fact, the afterlife. However, after taking inventory of how she felt, she doubted this. Her head was foggy and everything in her body ached, not to mention a painful wound that felt like a giant bite on her side. "Well, you died, but you're not dead," Hunter explained casually, as if this was something perfectly normal to tell someone. Artificer just stared at her in bewilderment. "...What?" She inclined her head slightly, unsure why the slugcat was so confused. "Well, you know about the cycle, right?" Artificer nodded. "Yeah, of course I do. It's just how we measure time, like a day but for rain." "Oh, I have a lot to explain don't I?"

"The cycle is the problem that the iterators were created to solve. The cycle makes it so that if anything dies, it will wake back up a few days later. But, the ancients wanted a way out of it so that they could all die forever. The only way to do that is ascension, though, which is really complicated. Of course, there are things that kill permanently, like rot and old age, but almost everything isn't actually lethal." Hunter sat next to Artificer as she stared blankly at a wall of the shelter, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm guessing this is your first death?" She nodded, only seeming to half be paying attention. "Yeah... it is..." Neither of them spoke and they sat

in silence, the only noise being Artificer's rapid breathing. "I remembered a shortcut through the underground and it didn't take as long as I thought it would. We're a few cycles ahead of the plan, so we can stay here for a while while you recover." Hunter offered, trying to think of how to help make this easier. "First deaths are always tough, especially if you don't know about the cycle." "No, I'm fine. I should be ready to continue by morning. The bite just hurts a lot worse than most injuries I've gotten." Hunter nodded and hugged her in an attempt to comfort her. She could tell that there was something Artificer wasn't telling her, but she didn't feel right asking right now. She held onto her tightly as she began to shake and cry, wondering what was going through her head.

It was a few hours later and Hunter had almost fallen asleep despite the sound of the rain against the shelter growing less rapid, indicating it would not be long until it stopped altogether. "Hunter..." A quiet and shaky voice snapped her out of her half awake state. "Yes?" "Does drowning and being stabbed cause a permanent death...?" She paused for a moment, already knowing why Artificer was asking. "No, it doesn't." A tension filled the air as she stopped crying out of shock and the shaking became worse. "So they're alive then."

The plot thickens. The pups live! But will she find them...? Well, not to give spoilers, but this is a happy ending fluff fic. Once again, cover art not by me.