Some Scars Never Heal

Chapter 10-Running from Fate

She turned her back on them, ignoring the screams of her sister, the quiet cooing of her father. She ignored the sudden quiet that erupted, and ran. She ran like a coward, she never looked back. The tears wouldn't stop coming, but a coward doesn't deserve tears. She was a deserter, she was the one who left them to die. Pain erupted from her chest as her heart throbbed.

She lost all of them, the hole grew inside of her, an inescapable dark chasm, cracks formed in her heart, one by one. Then it all shattered. She felt her heart breaking bit by bit, and it hurt. Kitsune just wanted the earth to open up and swallow her hole. It was at that moment that her true self died, she was just an empty shell with no life now.

So why was she running? She acted like she wanted to live, but does she? The world just ended for her so why is she still alive?

'LIVE FOR US KITSUNE'

A new determination filled her being as the scene replayed in her head. She was living for them. She can't die now. The perfect idea popped into her head as she watched trees fly by her.

There was a place, very deep in the forest. It had the biggest trees in the walls. She remembered venturing there as a kid, a certain tree had a hallowed out part in it about 1/3 of the way up. It was one of the tallest plants in the forest and was fairly easy to climb. It was so deep into the forest rarely any titans would be able to get through. Since she knew that wall rose was out of the question now, this was the last plan of action she could take. So she steered her steed in that direction.

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The ride to her official little hideout had gone fairly easy with no interventions, the forest slowly got thicker and thicker as they went on. If a titan got through this it would be surprising. The forest floor was covered in vegetation, and a lot of it was edible. Many different berrys, nuts, even a couple grape vines ran up some trees. Of course she paused to pick some, it would be what makes up most of her meals the next few days.

The woods around here were teeming with wildlife as well, its fairly rare that any human comes here, so there has been next to none. There had never been a time where she had been happier that she ran off as a kid. This place was known to her by sheer luck, and she's glad she visited the area a lot.

The area was peaceful, but there was no way the girl could enjoy it. The horrors that she witnessed was still fresh in her mind. It flashed through her head continuously, leaving her unable to enjoy the true beauty of the thick, untamed forest.

The good thing though, was that no way a titan could get this deep, the trees were so close together and the undergrowth so thick. Echo was moving at the fastest pace possible, and that was simply a quick walk. A luscious green filled every corner of her vision and the loud birdcalls flooded her ears. The rustle of the undergrowth sounded occasionally with the movement of the wildlife. She wanted to stay here forever.

But she knew it was impossible.

She'd have to go back. The girl only had her horse and whatever was on herself, which wasn't much. There was only her clothes, shoes, a machete (which will definitely come in handy), and a couple of your average repair tools(wrench, screw driver..). She had unconsciously grabbed them before she left in the morning and none of them except the blade, would be of much use. She would need medical supplies, hunting weapons, and a couple more knives. Medical supplies came first though.

She didn't want to go back, but if the violet eyed girl made it back to the safe haven alive, she will not regret it.

But for now, she's good with nuts, Berry's and roots.

A sigh escaped her lips as the small clearing slowly came into view, reveling itself more with every step. The grass was long, but lush, some of the greenest grass she had ever seen. A small barely noticeable trail led through the field of green towards a very large tree in the center. The trunk of the massive plant was at least 4 meters in diameter, and it looked to be as tall as the walls. It all looked as she remembered it. A small entrance was just barely visible, about 17 meters off the ground and the gnarly trunk of the tree provided very good footholds for climbing. If she remembered correctly a small spring was located just south of the clearing, and it had fish, definitely a plus.

This forest was her new home, and it looked like she was to be staying for a long time. It supplied everything she needed to survive, food, water, shelter, and protection from the titans.

Another loud groan escaped her lips as she slid from her horse, wincing as her feet hit the ground. The ride there was about an hour long, and all the adrenaline from before did not help her cramped state. The girl patted the steeds back as a sign of release, and the first thing she watched him do was move to the neared tuft of grass and start munching away.

Once she had properly stretched her legs she stood in from of the enormous tree, preparing herself for the climb. One slip and she could fall to her death, but the girl was practiced in this skill, having done it many times before.

So she started the excruciating climb, and by excruciating she meant feeling like she was going to die by the time she got to her destination. Her arms felt numb when she finally planted her feet on the solid floor of her new home.