Eventually, with slow, tired hands moving up to hold her own head, Caitlyn regained consciousness.
To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Her last memory before her eyes had closed was of feeling her own blood pooling beneath her body as she lay on the dirt.
And yet, her eyes opened all the same.
"W-Where…?" Groggy, Caitlyn tried to get up to her feet.
"Easy now," a slightly high-pitched voice said. "I healed you, but your body needs a moment to understand that. Take it slow."
Searching for the source of that statement, Caitlyn looked around until her eyes fell upon the same strange girl she'd seen before she passed out.
She froze, stunned by the image in front of her.
The girl was gorgeous. The way her green hair fell over her shoulders, her strange grey skin, her plump lips, and her face which gave off a sense of natural kindness all coalesced to make Caitlyn feel like she was dreaming as she looked at her.
The corpses beside them, however, belonging to those human officers, let Caitlyn know that definitely wasn't the case.
"Thank you," Caitlyn began, as she managed to slowly get on her feet. "I… How did you save me?"
"I healed you," the girl said again, smiling. "You're welcome."
That only produced more questions.
"B-But… How?"
Caitlyn looked down and found no signs of medicinal herbs having touched her body.
"Um, I used a Mantra."
Again, that sentence did nothing to ease Caitlyn's confusion.
So, instead, Caitlyn decided to ask something else.
"How long has it been since I passed out?" Caitlyn asked.
"A few minutes," a different voice answered.
As she turned toward it, she found a drasen woman standing there with her arms crossed, looking down at her.
"We might want to go somewhere else, though," the drasen said. "Other humans could be nearby."
"Yeah, hold on for a sec. I just wanna make sure she's alright," the grey-skinned woman responded.
Gradually, Caitlyn regained her bearings. She was still intensely confused but, for now, she would have to set that aside.
As grateful as she was, why she was still alive wasn't what ultimately mattered. No, what mattered was that as long as she remained alive, Caitlyn felt she still had responsibilities.
Right now, those responsibilities were telling her that she needed to head back to Diosia before the other elves there were killed.
Maybe this girl could come with her.
"We should probably introduce ourselves," the beautiful woman said. "My name's Liri and this is Arisa. Hi." Liri waved at her as she said that.
"I... see. My name is Caitlyn."
"Nice to meet you!"
She was being so… casual about all of this. It was almost frustrating to listen to, given everything that had happened recently.
So, Caitlyn tried to steer the conversation toward the matter at hand.
"Judging by the fact that I am alive, I take it you're on our side, whoever or… whatever you are," she muttered. "If that's the case, come. There are elves still trapped back there."
"Trapped where?" The girl asked, tilting her head.
Caitlyn blinked.
[What?]
"Wh- Diosia, where else!?"
"Oh," Liri made a big "o" with her lips. "You just came from there?"
"I-, wha-, you-…"
If it wasn't for the baffled expression on the girl's face, Caitlyn would have assumed that she was messing with her. Seeing that, Caitlyn merely gave a sigh and nodded.
"Yes," she stated firmly.
"We were just on our way to Diosia. We, ehm, couldn't really tell how far away we were just looking at our map, though. What happened to you?" Liri asked.
The fact that she knew what Diosia was and yet she still felt the need to ask that question made little sense to Caitlyn. The more she thought about it, the more sense it made that this was, in fact, some sort of higher being just messing with her. How else could she explain the healing capabilities she seems to have?
She decided to play along, though, because what else could she do?
"My family was going to be executed," Caitlyn began to say. "I saved them. Then, I escaped, got chased by some guards, and ran here."
"But I thought Diosia was an elven town."
Well, now she was sure she was being toyed with.
Diosia had been under humanity's control for a while. Liri pretending not to know this had to have been her way of expressing mockery.
"I…" Caitlyn inhaled deeply. "I am grateful for your assistance. Really. But, I'm afraid I have to go now."
There were still people in the town who needed help. Caitlyn couldn't afford to sit around and take this.
"H-Huh? Wait!" Liri stood up and walked over to her. "Um, what do you mean humanity's been controlling it?"
Caitlyn balled her hands up into fists. Turning toward Liri with a frown, she replied:
"Diosia hasn't been ours since the god-king took over. Have you been living under a rock or something?"
In the back of her mind, Caitlyn knew that being disrespectful to someone who clearly possessed some level of power was… Not ideal. However, she couldn't help it. She was frustrated and she was worried.
Worried that while they were chatting, elves were being hung, tortured, or whatever else the god-king's forces wanted to do to them.
Before she could turn away, however, a hand reached out and grasped her right wrist.
"Wait," Liri said. "I don't mean to bother you, but, we're on our way to Diosia. We would appreciate it if you could tell us more."
Suddenly, Caitlyn felt something.
Whenever she used a Hymn, there was a certain… power that elves could feel course through them. As she looked into Liri's eyes, she felt that same force keeping her in place.
Caitlyn felt her skin get hotter and her legs get weaker. She couldn't turn away.
"F-Fine," she replied, taking her arm away. "But… Let's be quick about it. People need help."