A small burrow at the base of the cliff hides a duo. One stands guard over the other. The latter slowly regains consciousness from a recent defeat.
Dimas stares up at the hole, one of the two entrances to the cave, unaware of his surroundings. His mind is busy on other things such as the aching pain in his legs. The kind of pain that made one think 'Would it hurt more to cut my legs off or keep them on?'.
Lilee crawls back from the small opening in the wall, the other entrance, and sits cross-legged next to Dimas.
The rays of light that come from the hole on top illuminate the cave somewhat. Enough to allow Dimas see a worried look on Lilee's face that quickly gives way to a small gentle smile once she sees that his eyes are open.
"You had me worried there." Lilee says.
Dimas looks around, the cave is in the shape of a cocoon with the small hole in the wall just narrow enough to fit a person.
"Where am I?" Dimas asks, tired of waking up in unknown locations.
"We're right near the clearing. Did you notice a cliff to the side while you were fighting? This cave is at the base, it's hidden and the bandits gave up looking a while ago." Lilee looks down. "I'm sorry I didn't help you. When I saw how well you were doing, I thought it would be a good idea to sneak into the camp. Before I could reach it, I heard the bandits cheering which told me something was wrong. By the time I got back, the fight was over and you were sprawled out over a bush. They were searching for you but I managed to hide you in here, there were a few close calls I won't lie."
"Why?" Dimas asks.
"Well, there were four of them looking and you're not exactly easy to carry."
"I mean, why risk getting caught helping me?"
Lilee gives him a look of confusion as if he just asked a stupid question. "I wasn't going to just leave you there. You needed help."
[Yeah, right.]
Despite having no reason to doubt her, Dimas tries to find any reason to see her motives as selfish. He finds nothing.
"How long was I out?" Dimas sits up and begins to rub his legs.
[Haven't felt this kind of soreness in a long time.]
The pain reminds him of the first time he tried hiking the tallest mountain near his town. By the time he made it back to the orphanage, his legs were ready to collapse from underneath him.
"For about half an hour." Lilee sees Dimas wince. "Are you hurt? I didn't see any injuries on you earlier. Apart from the bruises on your neck, I mean."
Dimas shakes his head. "No. Just sore." He stops rubbing his legs. "Can you heal me?"
"Nope, sorry. My healing can only take care of small cuts. The only practice I get is when my mom cuts herself when cooking."
[Guess I have no choice but to rest a bit.]
At times of defeats like this, although rare, Dimas takes time to think of what went wrong.
[Ponte las pilas imbécil… What the hell is wrong with me?]
Dimas already knew the answer, he's filled with doubt. With everything that's happened to him, it would be understandable. Especially with the stakes being as high as they are. However, doubt wasn't ever a problem for Dimas before now. Even when the odds were stacked against him back on Earth, Dimas would always have complete confidence in himself. Now though, despite how many times he tries to reassure himself, this feeling of impending doom won't leave.
He tugs at the blue cloth around his wrist, noticing a stain on the cave floor. The stain is large, nearly covering the back section of the cave, and unmistakably the color of old faded blood.
"It's my blood…" Lilee says. "I'm sure you've noticed the scar." She traces the crescent scar on her face. "When I was eight, I fell from that hole up there."
Dimas looks up at the hole. "That's at least 60 ft."
"It might as well have been 600," Lilee closes her eyes. She can remember the incident clearly. "And yet, the ground came up quicker than I could react. I ended up landing on my face. At first, I didn't think anything was wrong until I picked myself up and saw my own blood spilling onto the floor. It was so much blood… So much… That I knew I was going to die before I even made it home." Lilee opens her eyes and looks at Dimas.
"That was the scariest moment of my life. Dying alone, my parents never finding me, never getting to meet my baby sister, all those thoughts rushed to my head as I saw my life ending in a small puddle. It was all too much that the only thing I could think of doing was lying down and closing my eyes." She lays her palm against the stain and stays silent for a moment.
"Then the pain kicked in. I'm glad it did. I think the pain was what jolted me out of my… despair. Up to that point, I still hadn't awakened my Brío but I told myself that I at least had to try something. I placed my hands on the gash in my face and concentrated. The first attempt ended in failure because the pain was too much. If the blood loss wasn't going to kill me then the pain certainly was but I still kept at it. My second attempt was shorter than the first. And on the third, nothing happened. My vision was getting blurry at this point and my arms were beginning to shake. I almost gave in again but told myself 'Just one more time'. This was my last chance, any longer and I wouldn't have had the energy to try again. Finally, I felt as the Brío rushed through my fingertips and closed the wound." Lilee traces the scar on her face.
"When I was done closing the wound, I was exhausted. I fell back on to the puddle of blood and -" The smile returns. "- began laughing. I don't remember much after that. All I remember is getting home, hugs, kisses, yelling, and crying." Her eyes rest on the hole above. "Funny enough, that was the only time my Arts was that strong. I've been trying to raise my Arts to that level since then but like I said, I don't get much practice."
A moment of silence passes before Dimas speaks. "Your father can't heal scars?"
"He can and he offered but I told him no." Lilee's gaze returns to Dimas. "I wanted to keep it as a kind of badge of honor. It reminds me of how strong I can be when push comes to shove."
The story stirs something within Dimas, a feeling he hasn't felt for years. Sympathy. Maybe it was her story, his situation, or a mixture of both but whatever the case Dimas opens up a little.
"I know what you mean," He holds up his hand with the blue cloth. "this is a small part of the blanket I was abandoned in. I keep it to remind me that I can't be weak."
"What do you mean by abandoned?" Lilee asks.
"I'm an orphan. I was left on the doorstep of an orphanage almost right after being born." The exchange reminds Dimas of everything he's been through.
"I'm sorry." Lilee says.
"It was a long time ago. Right now we should focus on beating those bastards." Dimas begins to make his way to the entrance of the cave.
Lilee holds onto Dimas's shirt. "Hold on! I thought you were tired. Is this really a good idea?"
Dimas flashes the cloth once more. "Can't be weak, remember? Besides, I want to test a theory."
Dimas steps out of the cave with renewed vigor and free of doubt. He looks back to Lilee. "And you're going to help me."