Being a Hero.

… Cauliflower hissed and screamed a horrible cry, having enough of what was happening. He ran off into the shadows, whipping his tail back and hitting Falx in the process.

“GHRK–!!” “A-Are you okay, man?!”

A mostly white-furred kit helped Falx back up, as Falx winced a bit when he stood.

“Yes, I-I am… Thank you, Lucem. I am more concerned about Helios however. Is he okay?” “Well uh, he definitely got away, if that’s what you’re asking. Socrates, too.” “Ahh, good, good…”

He sat down to breathe, letting everything sink in. The kits behind him were either doing the same or cheering. Nobody could blame the kits who were excited, I mean they had just successfully warded off a HUGE predator! Their teamwork really paid off!

“You’re always so cool under pressure, Falx. I hope this doesn’t make me sound mean, but if I heard someone was in trouble like that, I totally wouldn’t have done what you did.” “Heh… Perhaps I had a few words of inspiration from our Jarl that put me in the right direction.” “Woah now, you spoke to Lyric?! I’ve only ever seen her once or twice when visiting my lune Lola Mae… What’d she say to you?”

But before Falx could continue the conversation at all, a faint scream of pure agony came from deeper in the woods. The blue kit suddenly stood back up, looking onward with determination.

“... It went to hurt someone else.” “Huh?! Who the hell else could be out in the woods at a time like this?” “..Xaulter. Xaulter Orchidian. I recognize the voice.”

Lucem seemed shocked. He looked back in the direction of the scream.

“..I-I don’t think we can go farther. There’s some odd, patchy rain happening here and there deeper within the forest. Plus, it’s dark out. But hey, if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think losing Xaulter is all THAT bad..!”

… The joke clearly didn’t land right with Falx, who gave the kit a glare.

“O-Okay, I get it, you wanna help that guy you hate so much. But we can’t go on!” “Then I will go myself.” “What?! You can’t be serious, you–” “Go lead the others back and make sure Basil is taking care of my injured friends. You cannot stop me.”

And he was right: Falx was already running deeper into the night, past the looming trees and into the shadows. Lucem shook his head, but reluctantly did as Falx had ordered.

. .

Cut to a horrible, gorey scene: Xaulter laying still in a pool of his own blood, and the one and only Cauliflower looming over him.

“AH?! X-XAULTER!”

There was no response. Was the other already dead..? Cauliflower noticed him after his shout, and screamed a roar in his direction. It was almost petrifying. It was enough to scare him, even, and he jumped back and began to flee, leaving Xaulter behind.

…

But then he remembered what it was that Lyric told him. What she said made a good leader, in the face of danger: “Knowing when it is time to make the wrong choices.” ..As he took a moment to recollect himself, Falx turned right back around and made a beeline for Xaulter. Cauliflower ran to stop him, but the beast was so large that Falx made a quick maneuver to slide on the grass right under him. He quickly put Xaulter on his back, and made a run for it.

Through the branches and the leaves, Cauliflower continued to give chase. Did this thing never run out of breath? Because Falx certainly would, if he couldn’t get out of the thick of it in time. But bless Azalhai himself, he was beginning to approach a part of the forest he recognized. One that was close to civilization, and where Cauliflower would dare not follow. But just as he was about to be home free, he tripped and tumbled forward onto the ground, Xaulter skidding on the grass in front of him. He turned around… Cauliflower’s body loomed over him, looking merciless. Out of pure panic, he picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the beast!! … It was deflected off Cauliflower’s beak. Man, that worked so much better when he had an army of kits by his side… But as he scampered back to his feet, the corvid took a bite of his leg, keeping him hostage for a little while longer. It took everything he had to wiggle free, and he had to ignore the agonizing pain he felt while picking Xaulter back up and running far, far away.

Finally, Cauliflower was out of sight. He dropped Xaulter, and sat down to take deep breaths. … And then, let out the scream of agony he was keeping inside of him. Apparently, this was enough to wake up Xaulter.

“..Ghhh.” “--! Xaulter, you’re alive! You–” “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!”

Falx was taken aback by this.

“Xaulter, what are you–” “YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! NOBODY DOES! HAH! HAHAHAHAHAAAH!”

Xaulter staggered back up, with a gash still bleeding out on his neck and chest… He took a glimpse of Falx’s leg, noticing that it too was bleeding.

“..Heh. My sol made an example of you, huh?” “Your… Sol? What do you mean?! Xaulter, we just escaped from CAULIFLOWER, the Promethean Society’s most wanted! We have to let them know that–” “Don’t you see, you fucking idiot?! You can’t tell anyone… You can’t show your face around ANYONE, anymore!!”

Falx slowly stood up to follow suit of Xaulter, wondering what the other meant.

“You’re infected… My sol infected you. My sol wants me to infect EVERYONE! ONLY THEN, WILL WE HAVE OUR REVENGE!” “YOU ARE SPEAKING NONSENSE, XAULTER!” “Am I? Look at yourself… Your blood. Heh.”

He looked down to his injured leg… The pinkish blood that was pouring out of it had hints of white.

“You have Frostmaiden’s Riss. And you know what happens to the guys who get Frostmaiden’s Riss? They get colder… And colder… And colder… Until their touch becomes so cold, it freezes over EVERYTHING they’ve EVER LOVED!” “...” “... You get it, don’t you?

Nobody wants to be friends with the blighted.”