"HAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Valentine ran as fast as he could, trying to cover as much time as possible in the shortest amount of time.
He wanted to be back in a day at most, as ridiculous as it sounded.
His strategy? Draw an imaginary big circle and shout his lungs out, attracting everything in the perimeter, hopefully, the circle would have a diameter of two or three kilometres, with enough look, something would be around and he would be able to attract it all.
"HAAAAAAA!!!"
His hopeful shouts were relentless, a wolf, a bear, dammit even a chicken, anything!
After half a day of running, the situation was getting grim as his energy became scarcer and scarcer.
*GROWLLL!!*
That was until a light of hope resonated, that is what he had been expecting!
In the distance, to his ninety o'clock, the growls of a beast made themselves known!
With a smile on his face and brandishing his trusty knives he ran as fast as he could, what he found surprised him greatly, to the point that he truly didn't know what to do.
Four big wolves with dark blue fur, their height bigger than him by several feet, showed up with hungry expressions!
*GROWLL!!*
'This isn't going to be easy. These monsters really do stay in packs!' That's likely the reason as to why it is so odd to find a beast by itself, even beasts don't survive this accursed forest!
The wolves wouldn't let their prey even think about running!
They all lounged at him together!
!!!
Evading the closest wolf, Valentine's eyes lost their colour and his rational side took the steering wheel!
'These numbers, there is only one chance!'
*WUUUUUU!!!*
Two of the wolves, instead of chasing after him, started to run around, encircling him!
Seeing this, his gaze became even more stern!
The two wolves kept rampaging at him, he continued his pirouettes and manages to cut one of the wolves' legs but the other one caught an opening and struck forward!
*SLASH!*
"UGH!!" Grunting in pain, he managed to evade enough to be graced and injured with a deep cut, but not deep enough to reach his organs, blood spewed everywhere as he used the momentum to run back where another wolf was there to await him!
*GROWLLL!!*
Luckily the wolf jumped intending to pin him down, giving him the chance to slide down!
He placed his knife in position to cut down the wolf's belly intending to ending once and for all, but...
'No, I can do it!'
He refrained from continuing that move and used the momentum to leave the encirclement before running forward!
'I need to make time!'
***
A whole day had passed now and Valentine had yet to come back, Fayette was starting to worry, not a single soul had passed by them either.
"Do you think he's okay?" Vera hugged her knees and inquired, even now she was still naked, not truly uncomfortable as the heat didn't leave her with much desire to dress other than the sake of protecting her 'purity' and self-worth.
A purity and self-worth that she possessed no longer.
"..." Fayette wouldn't talk, she could only hope... Hope and survive.
She wanted to go out there and help, but her energy was simply so scarce, she didn't even have the confidence to run for long.
Her whole time was spent thinking about how their bodies worked... Why does Valentine have so much energy compared to her? She refused to believe him being male was the only reason, not only that, she was genetically modified to overcome such disadvantages yet she couldn't seem to even come close to Valentine in the slightest.
Not only that but there was also their 'regeneration'. Why could they regenerate, but still feel extreme mental exhaustion? And why was their regeneration being slowed down by consuming their own flesh?
All those thoughts rolled around her mind until the world started to dim in colour.
Her eyes opened widely and she stared up!
"Wait here!" She told vera and started to crawl up a tree!
Upon reaching the top of the big tree as Valentine usually does, she looked to the distance, in the direction where Valentine had gone!
It's a dark cloud!
She came down again and grasped her knives!
"Let's go!" She pulled the bewildered Vera's hand and they ran!
"W-Where are we going!? He said that we should wait here!"
"Do you want to sit like a princess or do you want to help!?" She yelled and released Vera's hand, stopping for the briefest of moments only to consider Vera's answer... Inwardly hoping the woman would just stay there, but also... Willing to give her a chance.
"..." Vera bit her lips and it didn't take long for her to think, she grasped Fayette's hand and nodded!
Like that, the two started to run frantically through the woods in the direction of the black clouds!
***
"AHH!!"
*SLASH!*
*GROWLLL!!*
Valentine's bloodied body ran through the woods, jumping through branches and evading three fricking hyperactive wolves!
There was also a little detail, he was missing an arm!
The smell of burning wood permeated through his nostrils and he knew it is the time!
Gazing at the distance while running, he could see the burning wood and smoke creeping through and making its way towards him and the wolves several kilometres away!
His gaze became sharp and a white fire shone through his eyes, he stopped running abruptly and turned around!
!!!
One of the wolves that lounged at him got seemingly disturbed by the change of pace, giving Valentine enough time to cut it's claw!
*SLASH!*
*WUUUU!*
*GROWL!*
The two other wolves wouldn't give him time to regain himself, having already lost one of their own, they were more than a little upset!
This brawl continued for several minutes, more than Valentine could actually tolerate!
He gritted his teeth at the approaching flames, they were less than a kilometre away now!
Two heavily injured wolves remained, he needed to leave just one!
Just when the two wolves were preparing to lounge at him for the last match, one missing a frontal paw and the other with a deep and bloody cut on its neck, two random shouts resonated!
"AHHHH!!!"
From within the woods, two women came running with knives!
*SLASH!*
Fayette was fast enough to plunge her knife on the first wolve's ribs and keep it there for dear life!
Vera, however, wasn't so lucky, the wolf managed to evade and she fell pitifully on the ground.
Valentine saw a chance, not even bothering to ask why they were there and sprang to the last wolf, plunging his knife right on its injured neck!
*SLASH!*
*WUUUU!!*
Blood flowed everywhere coating his face as an important artery got sliced open and the wolf fell on the ground pitifully!
"Valentine, we have to go!" Fayette yelled resisting herself from shouting about his missing arm, the black cloud was just upon them, they wouldn't have enough time to round it!
"Take a huge chunk of flesh and let's go!" He yelled back, taking the core from the wolf's head, he had heard Vera before, talking about how this thing isn't appetizing or good at all, but still... It sates hunger.
If necessary he would eat this damned thing!
Vera helped Fayette dismember one of the wolf corpses, taking some fur and a big chunk of flesh!
"GO GO NOW!" Having taken a good enough loot, Valentine ran towards them having only taken the wolf's stone.
He ran signalling the way and the two girls followed.
Vera ran as fast as she could, but she was slacking behind by a big margin, still, she was relentless!
The acid rain started to fall upon them, but Valentine saw the light when the limit of the rain wasn't as far as he expected it to be, whether this cloud was smaller or whatever the reason was, he didn't know... Several drops of rain flowed and hit his skin, churning it as the pain he had already used to got him once again.
He and Fayette managed to sneak out of it with several charred parts, but more healthy than anything else, only Vera remained...
...
They waited and two minutes after, close by a woman ran with a highly charred body and several chunks of fur and flesh in her arms!
"AHHHH!!!"
She yelled in pain and crawled through the dirty ground as if trying to use it to cool her body down!
Sadly, it was almost as hot as a frying pan!
Two pairs of arms pulled her and the three ran far away from the clouds.
Falling against a big tree for some respite and staring at the spreading flames that burned the world as the darkness took over the sky.
Vera had long passed out.
They managed to escape once again, breathing deeply, with deep burns and cuts, but alive...
"Oh my god... I'm telling you this place is going to be the end of us..." Fayette closed her eyes to catch up her breath, it is simply impossible to survive in this place.
It made sense, were they not able to regenerate... They would have died the same day they arrived...
"I'm glad it's finished... Valentine..."
"...?" The man finally managed to direct his beloved couple a troubled glance.
"I want to have a bath so bad..." Fayette let out her frustration.
"I swear if we manage to find somewhere with water... I'll stay inside for a whole month!" He wanted to rant, about his reckless behaviour, how could she not know his plan.
Stall for the time until the clouds appeared due to the many living beings together... Just so they could follow the flames' lead.
But she didn't dare, he had been doing all that for their sake!
Her new boyfriend extended his arm behind her neck and pulled her.
!!!
The kiss was so sudden she didn't know how to respond, eventually she just dreamily followed his lead.
"You and I both. To have met you amidst hundreds of millions of possibilities... I'm the luckiest man in Hell." Valentine hugged his girlfriend with one arm as his vision drifted amidst the flaming forest.
Fayette kissed his cheek with infatuation, rejoicing at the thought of having a bath together with him.
"You and I both~"