A moment of pained silence passed as Hugo felt the way her gaze stiffened. She then placed her gloved hand atop his shoulder, as if to comfort him. Looking up, He could see the pity in her eyes. While pity is something the boy was no stranger to, she seemed so genuinely concerned for him.
“The Shade is a powerful force, you are not at fault for the things it made you do” She would state in a rehearsed tone.

“However, you have been gifted the chance to make amends.” She added, almost envious.

“Make amends? How? I’m a murderer!”

He didn’t deserve forgiveness; he didn’t want pity. He yearned only for the sweet release of death that Gavin had selfishly stolen from him. Pain surged through his skull causing Hugo to flinch but he remained strong.

“Killing you in such a pitiful state would bring nothing but more sorrow to those you have stolen from. You must lead a life worth trading.”

It was blunt and uncaring, but Hugo couldn’t argue. To trade his life for Gavin’s would be to trade coal for diamond.

The woods began to grow dark as the sun set behind the clouds. The Shade had taken the moon and without it the nights were filled with a darkness so thick you could almost touch it.

“What does it matter? I’ll turn soon. There’s no point.” Hugo lashed out angrily, panting slightly as the pain in his head surged again. He couldn’t shake this headache no matter how hard he tried.

“You are special, scrawny boy. You turn slower than any I have seen, perhaps there Is a way to save you.”

“A cure? Where? What do you know?”

“There is a book, an index of the Grem. It is your only chance.” Aster spoke carefully, hesitation filling her gaze. Her words were spoken as if there was fire on her tongue, the way she seemed so afraid they may both burn with them.

“Where is it?” This would be Hugo’s final question. Confidently spoken and delivered with every ounce of strength the weakened boy could muster, finding that somewhere deep within him is the strength to proceed.

“Capricorn, within the King’s library.”

Capricorn was one of the last bastions of human civilization, built from the rubble of Utopia and run by a powerful man known only as “The King”. Despite its status as a city of legend, as a capital of the wasteland, Hugo felt his spirit shatter.

Off-Shore, Hugo’s home since birth, is located at the very top of the continent. Capricorn however, was located on the very opposite side, between the Dead Zones. To reach the capitol he would need to journey across the wastes, something even seasoned warriors rarely attempted.

He had no map, no guide, no weapons to defend himself.

It was a suicide mission.

While Hugo’s spirit shattered his determined gaze never faltered, he had to do this.

“Junkertown would have a map of the area, right? Or maybe a guide.”

Hugo now planned out his journey. He would need food, both for the journey itself and to trade for other supplies along the way. He would need a weapon, a knife or maybe even a sword if he could afford it. Some warmer clothes would do nicely, perhaps even some armour.

As the boy slowly paced back and forth Infront of her, Aster noticed the creeping darkness that had been slowly setting in around them. Her eyes darted between the far-off tree line, searching for anything that might be following them.

“We may want to find shelter for the night before we plan out the grand journey ahead of us.”

Once alerted Hugo only nodded to her, still deep in thought.

Aster gestured for Hugo to follow behind her, readjusting her black furred gloves as she led the way to one of her many living spaces. Twenty minutes passed as the two walked silently back into the forest, Hugo remained unalert and would have walked directly into a tree if Aster hadn’t grabbed his wrist the moment they entered the trees.

Eventually the two arrived at the base of a large tree, one of the oldest Hugo had ever seen. Aster then led him to a hole under one of its large roots before she disappeared into the darkness within. Hugo of course was hesitant to dive into a hole that he couldn’t see the bottom of.

That was until Asters gloved hand reached out from the darkness to pull him in by force.

Once within Hugo saw that she had hollowed out a cave under the tree, fit with candles for light and even a large slab of stone shaped as a bed. To the left of the entrance sat a wooden desk with papers and pencils scattered across its surface.

Hugo stepped through the doorway and towards the desk only to feel the cold dirt collide with his back, the wind is knocked out of him for what seemed like the twentieth time today. In the moment, he swore he heard his ribs finally give out.

Coughing and gasping for air Hugo swiped at whatever had tackled him, though he would only feel the arm pressed against the dirt without the ability to move it. His eyes finally opened to see the piercing green eyes of a Panther, snarling and growling over him. The beast bared its teeth at him, saliva drooling down it’s chin and onto his cheek.

“Cuddles. No. Bad kitty.” Aster would scold, not even bothering to walk over and remove her ‘pet’ from Hugo’s chest. Luckily, it seemed the Panther was obedient. The beast slowly moved back and climbed off Hugo’s chest, sitting calmly ahead of him.

“It listened to you?” Asked a still panicked boy, sitting up and filling his lungs with the oxygen it demanded. Domesticated animals were rare, some believed it was because beasts had no souls and thus couldn’t be of use to anything but themselves. However apparently, this was incorrect.

The beast before him wore scars like medals, its fur patchy and torn from a lifetime of hunting. How many people had it eaten? How many of these scars had been gifted by the tip of a spear or the blade of a sword? Sometimes Hugo wished he could ask the beast.

“Cuddles” was old, the oldest Panther Hugo had ever seen, though it seemed to have wised in it’s age it still seemed to hold a ferocity that could match any of its younger kin. How Aster had managed to force its obedience baffled the feeble human.

“They guard the tree, in return I give them whatever food I return with.” She explained, looking about for a backpack which would be haphazardly thrown onto the stone bed.

Marvellous.