I was finally able to lift myself on the muddy jungle ground. It took a few hours for the water to rise to the top, the hole that I fell into now became a small lake only disturbed by the few water droplets that kept on falling on its surface.
I gradually made my way back to the village. The day felt like it kept on going forever, the sky was already dark and I could see the stars through the dome's ceiling, guiding me in the right direction.
I arrived in front of the village's enclosure and saw a guard that detected my presence. I was so happy that I fell unconscious, again.
…
"Is he alright ? Please tell me if he's okay !"
"Calm down Astrid, he's going to be fine. He simply collapsed out of exhaustion."
"...Can I stay by his side ?"
"Sure, please don't wake him up, he needs some rest. I'll get going now, there are a few other people to treat."
I heard what sounded like one of our clan healers leaving to tend to another wounded and then I felt a weight press on my chest.
Making the most out of this situation to rest, I stayed in my bed and kept my eyes shut. Some very faint movements woke me up.
Opening my eyes I could see Astrid with her head laid upon my chest gazing right into my eyes.
She had dried tear marks on her cheeks and a small smile adorning her delicate face.
"Meany… You always make me worry."
"Don't worry I'm fine. Thank you for always staying by my side."
We stayed like this for another few minutes but our moment was once again broken when our friends entered the healing hut.
"Oh ! He's awake ! Hi Matt, got lost in the forest ?" Falco exclaimed in his usual annoying tone
"Please shut up. Your voice makes my ears bleed more than the tiger I was up against." I retorted
A burly guy behind falco expresses his concerns "A tiger !? Are you sure you are fine ? I heard from Grimm that tigers could kill us easily... How did you get away ?"
"I found a ruin. And the tiger died by the way." I revealed proudly even though I technically didn't kill it myself.
"So cool !" most of them exclaimed
I'm really happy to have such good friends. Falco might seem like an arrogant asshole but he does care about us, I think.
Nicolas, Wilfys, Sarr, Heimer, Joseph, Bohr, Rhin and Yeri are the other eight of my generation.
They are nice people… it's hard to describe them in one sentence since they are all vastly different from each other.
We chatted for a while, mostly talking about animals and our hunting experiences...
"The hunting tournament will be held in a week if I remember correctly, if you really want to brag about your exploits then train some more. Last time I checked most of you couldn't hit a bullseye consistently." Rhin teased a big portion of the group.
"Hey, it's not my fault ! The bows are trash and-and… I would beat you in hand to hand combat !" Falco desperately retorted like a child
"Beat me, dream on ! I-"
This little argument just kept on going after that so I quickly put a stop to it. Astrid also seemed unresponsive so I wanted to check on her without anyone nearby.
"Alright guys, there is no need to debate on the fact that Rhin is the best marksman among us, it's really such a shame that she is afraid of frogs… such a shame-"
"HEY ! You said you wouldn't tell anyone ! Now-" Rhin cried out
Falco and Nicolas started laughing "Hehehe...Now we know how to prank Miss I'm the best. This is going to be fun."
Chaos ensued and Rhin ran off when the two troublemakers started making "ribbit" noises who then followed her out, the rest knowing how this would end bid me farewell and went after them.
I might have been a little mean but she does need to learn that being arrogant can make even the best marksman blind. Am I an old man for making quotes like these ?
I look down seeing Astrid still hugging me with her head on my chest. She seemed to want to tell me something.
"What is it ?"
"... When I saw that tiger run after you while I fled back to the village I-I… I don't want that ever happening to me again… NEVER." As she spoke her tone started getting colder and colder.
"We will never stay apart anymore". She looked up to me and I could see a crazy smile and her cold sapphire eyes stay fixed on me, "₩Ɇ ₩łⱠⱠ ₳Ⱡ₩₳Ɏ₴ ฿Ɇ ₮Ø₲Ɇ₮ⱧɆⱤ, ₣ØⱤɆVɆⱤ."
I have seen her shy, brutal, cute, kind and strong side but never, never have I seen her like this. It seemed like the astrid I knew was replaced by a completely new person, a crazy psycho… but I knew it was still her… And I found her really cute right now…
Am I crazy ? I mean she just went from cute girl to full on yandere. I should probably be scared… But why ? I mean, the fact that she loves me too much is obviously not a problem, right ? It should be common sense that love is essential for a couple…
It would be hot if- wait we're still ten years old.
While I really enjoyed her current appearance; I knew that nothing good would come from having her overreact in a public space.
"Shhh, everythings okay… I'm here." I lifted the blanket that was covering me and held her in my arms. Now that we were both comfortably laying together, I caressed her long blonde hair to calm her down.
She visibly changed her expressions and went back to her usual self and even snuggled closer to me.
We both enjoyed our intimacy together, it also gave me time to think about what I should do next. I knew that something was "wrong" with Astrid and while I really liked that side of her it would put her in an awkward position if anyone from the village saw her. This might not be the middle ages with witch hunts and all that but I do want to take some precautions.
"So… Is it simply a change of mood or were you hiding your true self all along ?"
Astrid looked up to me, "No ! I wouldn't lie to you. Well… This happened during my personal warrior training before. I kinda just stopped being able to control my body while it went on full rampage destroying everything around me, as if I was possessed… I injured Gormul like that once and asked him about it once I calmed down. He told me it could be a berserker state I got from my beast spirit or some other manifestation."
"Is there anything else ? Like did something happen after or during the hatching ceremony ? I know most of us don't like to talk about what happened back then but…"
"Nh, I don't want to hide anything from you... hubby.
The white room kept me for five days, five days in hell.
First it used some type of arrow to inject me with a freezing liquid. I watched as my limbs turned into solid ice. The pain was unbearable but even after long minutes of suffering, I simply couldn't pass out or stop feeling the pain. When the torture finally stopped... that fucking god told me I had become a Fenrir and opened the doors."
While I knew that she seemed calm on the surface, the trauma that was ingrained in her, in all of us, was impossible to treat. It was a deep scar imprinted in her soul. The hatching ceremony was painful but even more brutal for people with problematic mutations.
While I was lucky by being able to escape into my consciousness and suffer for all the pain in an instant, Astrid was inflicted with that pain throughout five days without it ever stopping.
My heart felt like it was bleeding. She had gone through all that hell and still managed to smile at me... it is sad that she can only act like that with me and stay cold towards the others.
Trauma is the most probable reason for her becoming like she is now, it may also have something with that genetic wizardry crap. Personally, I think that what I received burned down some of my nerves but I would much rather go through that again rather than what she went through, did it make me crazy ? Nah...probably not.
But Fenrir… it seems like it wasn't a new species since it was already named. And a mutation that got such a mythological name surely can't be given ordinary "treatment"... If I ever find out what twisted bastard came up with this shit, ł'ⱠⱠ ₥₳₭Ɇ Ⱨł₴ Ⱡł₣Ɇ ₥ł₴ɆⱤ₳฿ⱠɆ ₣ØⱤ ⱧɄⱤ₮ł₦₲ ⱧɆⱤ.
...
"I can still remember the first few days after we came out, we had a lot of fun, everything was normal, we even had our counselling session and physical training. When we woke up that day and remembered what happened in there… It was as if our wounds opened up again." she started sobbing lightly.
Even I could still remember, the party and the training was a way for the clan to make sure that the passing children would be the strongest and root out the weaklings that managed to survive the hatching ceremony. They still gave us some joy and a hasty fitness training to stop us from completely breaking down… A crude way to strengthen our mental resistance but it seems like it works.
I was able to witness it from the generations that came after us, the pain followed by happiness once again followed by pain… What was right and what was wrong? Could this be the price we have to pay to be able to live in this world?
I comforted her the best I could but I didn't really know what to do.
"I remember that this was when I started hearing her, a voice that kept on telling me how weak and pathetic I was. That voice in my head was always there asking me to destroy everything.
I didn't tell anyone, if I told them… If I told you, you would surely be scared of me, hate me…". I could feel a shift in her manner of speech, her yandere persona had surfaced again, "But that is when you came. I know you have a more powerful spirit than we do and yet you still tried to help us. You went over your own pain and came to us, to me. I wanted you with me, ₮Ø ฿Ɇ ₥ł₦Ɇ."
I had goosebumps, not because of her scaring me but because of just how hot she looked. Shit Matt she's only ten! Bad horny, bad.
"Then why did you always lash out at those that teased you for always being next to me ?"
I started to get an idea of what is going on, this question while seeming quite normal would let me be more confident of my theory.
"₴ⱧɆ ₴₮Ø₱₱ɆĐ ₥Ɇ. ₮ⱧɆⱤɆ ł₴ ₦Ø ₩₳Ɏ ₣ØⱤ ɎØɄ ₮Ø ⱠØVɆ ₳ ₥Ø₦₴₮ɆⱤ Ⱡł₭Ɇ ₥Ɇ ₴ⱧɆ ₴₳łĐ, ฿Ɇł₦₲ ₵ⱠØ₴Ɇ ₮Ø ɎØɄ ₩Ɇ ₩ØɄⱠĐ Ø₦ⱠɎ ⱧɄⱤ₮ ɎØɄ ₴ⱧɆ ₴₳łĐ."
"And by she, you mean Astrid right, then who are you ?"
"Me ? I am Astrid and she is Astrid… She always says we are not the same but… we are Astrid."
This is crazy, who would have thought that a forest accident could reveal such a big secret about my girlfriend, girlfriends ? Is this how it works with multiple personality disorder ?
"I think I have an idea of what happened, you are a part of Astrid that split up during the hatching ceremony, the "positive" human personality and the "negative" beast personality. Even though that is not always the case… Ugh, so complicated... The human Astrid doesn't consider you as her because you and her are two people but are opposite of each other and yet still the same..."
'I took some time to think, psychology is not something I have studied so my theories are probably not correct but it could maybe help her even if just a little bit.
Her situation could even be something that has to do with this world's technology. A result of the serum or the pain nullifier that we were injected with ? No, if those were the reason it would mean all Valhalans are crazy. Maybe ? No. I'm trying the best I can damnit !'
"The only thing that made you stay sane is probably that both of you know that you are Astrid but don't necessarily recognise each other as such. But that wouldn't be enough… There must have been something both of you agreed on… What could it- Was it… me ?"
"M-Matt.". And she switched again," Hehe, to know that the reason for us to even be alive is you… how wonderful ! ₥₳₮₮ ₥₳₮₮ ₥₳₮₮ ₥₳₮₮ ₥₳₮₮ ₥₳₮₮...ĐØ ɎØɄ ⱠØVɆ ₥Ɇ ?"
"Let me answer it like this, I love you Astrid."
After I said this she placed her lips on mine and abruptly stopped moving.
This is obviously strange as it felt like I was kissing a statue, her soft lips didn't feel uncomfortable though, quite the opposite. It took a short moment for her to come back to herself and continuing the kiss before separating from me.
"You don't need to differentiate between us anymore, I am your darling." Astrid smiled wryly, "And as long as I can be beside you we don't care about anything else."
It was nice to know that they made up but it is also terrifying to know that she could go nuts if I'm not near her. We are chained together… Why do I always think about strange stuff?
I'll make sure to never neglect her.