Dubhra emerges from the abandoned shack, its frame crackling behind them while embers dance in the air.

The scent of smoke clings to their skin, acidic and suffocating, yet they barely notice. A half burned scrap of light colored fabric that they stole from what remains of the bodies clings to their shoulders in tatters, it barely covers their chest, with its burned edges curling like paper. The pants they found barely fit them, torn at the knees, hanging low on their protruding hip bones.

That's how they are stumbling into the forest, the trees standing tall and dark, barely lit by the timid light of the moon.

"Where am I?" Their breath hitches. They are a look around, tall trees surround them on all sides, no trace of Midas.

“Is anyone there?”

Only the silence answers them, some leaves are moved by the wind.

Yet something urges them to move forward.

Slowly but surely, they don't know where their legs are taking them, but there's something like an invisible force urging them to move and the more they walk, the less familiar everything becomes.

The trees aren't the same they grew up with, the wind whispers a language they don't understand, even the stars above them feel different, more distant, scattered in patterns they can't place.

The thought of Midas' sharp eyes flickers in their mind.

And something twists in their chest, anguish starts to pool in their heart. But this time they are all alone and so it grows.

“I failed her, my feelings clouded my brain and now look where I am! Far from home, far from her.” They sigh.

They stop for a moment, leaning against a tree, their head resting against it, while the roughness scrapes their skin, grounding them. They look down to the bright colored half burned shirt, the stolen pants barely holding together. They feel like a ghost.

The fire had always been easy, eager to answer their call. It doesn’t care for who it touches and neither do they.

Dubhra walks for what feels like an eternity, their body growing numb, let alone for that heavy anguish spreading like an illness through their body. And that pull, faint but relentless, like an invisible thread, a silent call that's leading them.

The air is damp against their skin, clinging like a stranger’s breath. Each step sinks softly into the forest floor, wet leaves and the faint crackle of twigs muffled by the hush of the trees.

A faint scent lingers in the air, earth and something… sweeter?

Like wilted flowers. Not quite decay, not quite life. It makes their nose twitch, their stomach turns, though they keep walking, as if in a trance.

Then— it snaps.

The force vanishes.

The thread, whatever it was, is simply gone.

They stumble, as though the ground has shifted under them. The forest is suddenly too quiet, not a single leaf stirs. Even their own breath seems loud now, too loud. They stand in the stillness, surrounded by ancient trunks that look all the same, unmoving and watching.

Then they turn in place. Once. Twice. The path they had taken doesn’t exist anymore, just darkness behind them, darkness ahead.

A prickle creeps up their spine, mismatched eyes darting between the trees, every shape looks like it could move, if they blink.

Suddenly a flicker, a shift beneath their skin, almost imperceptible. Like the brush of a fingertip over the back of their neck.

There’s something else now, not the same force that had pulled the before, this one is subtler, quieter. Not a command, more like a suggestion.

It urges them in the opposite direction, probably back where they came from, where the woods are still and empty as before.

Dubhra turns and steps towards it, a leaf falls beside them and they flinch.

Still, they move.

It goes from minutes to hours, yet something keeps them moving. Where to, they don't know, but for someone so used to not questioning their own feelings twice that had always been immune to the charm solidness of logic, that faint pull is enough to keep walking.

Their prosthetic legs drag through dirt and fallen leaves, branches snagging at their burned shirt.

Then, the air shifts, the faint feeling turning into sharp goosebumps like ice sliding down their spine.

Something's there.

Their pulse quickens, heat curling in their core.

They move without thinking, weaving through the trees, each step feels heavier than the last and the heart thumps loudly in their ears.

The presence grows stronger, something unmistakable pressing against their senses.

Their breath caught.

And then they see her.

Midas is standing a few steps ahead, her familiar long, red hair falling loose around her shoulders, her head turned like she had been caught too, her sharp gaze sweeping the branches.

She's searching for something, for them, maybe, though she doesn't seem to know it yet. Her eyes flick between the trees, cautious and calculating.

But it isn't her wary expression that stops them cold, it is her clothes.

She isn't dressed like she was the last time they saw her.

No heavy armor protecting her, no long red gown covering her frame.

She wears a simple light piece of fabric that doesn’t hide her arms and a pair of loose pants. And her left hand is not a prosthetic, it's a real hand, even if all scarred like it was partly melted with fire.

She looks so familiar, yet incredibly out of place, like a queen forced to blend with her own court.

For a moment they can't seem to move. They just stand there, staring at her, her but somehow not her, as if she may disappear if they dare to make a sound.

Until something in Dubhra snaps and they can't stand still any longer.

The fear, the uncertainty, none of it matters now that the anguish that had been spreading through their body has finally vanished. Not when she is right there. Not when the weight in their chest threatens to crush them if they don't move.

They step forward, branches snapping beneath their feet as they leave the cover of the trees.

"Midas?" Her name tumbling out of them like a breath they had been holding for far too long, barely more than a whisper.

Her head snaps towards them, eyes sharp and unforgiving, but something else is hidden in there, curiosity.

She looks like a huntress that found her prey.

She gives them a wide, fake smile, that so much tries to mimic an honest, reassuring one, but that hides other intentions behind.

She takes just a step closer and that's when Dubhra sees she has a game-fighting club with her, dragging it on the ground.

"Did something happen to you? Are you lost?"

That mockery of a smile could fool many, but not them. Not when they know her so well.

But the creature can’t stop, their face breaks into a sincere grin, wide, unsteady, impossible to contain. Their core feels too full, like they might burst if they don't get closer.

"I— yes, I'm kind of lost here," a very nervous laugh leaving their lips, the emotion is too much to contain. "Midas, is that really you?"

Of course it is, their heart knows, undoubtedly so.

But she doesn't seem to be as sure.

Her fake smile slowly disappears from her face, but she still looks determined to stand her ground. "How do you know my name?" Her hand squeezing the club, her head tilting as if she is trying to grasp something, anything about the seemingly lost person in front of her.

"Of course I know, I'm Dubhra!" The creature says, pointing at themselves, not giving up their wide smile that shows all their teeth. If they could carve open their chest and expose their heart in this exact moment, they would.

"Never heard of that, maybe you look familiar, but I’m pretty sure I don't know you. You can't be that good at guessing, it’s—"

Dubhra cuts her off. "It's a peculiar name, I know, because your dad wanted a son."

Midas is too stunned to speak, her surprise is way too visible even through her pretty inexpressive face.

It's true.

She could easily hit them with her bat, it's there in her hand and that is why she brought it with her after all, but what feels like a spell is holding her back and weakening her usually strong arms, while she thinks of the most useful way to go about it.

"Oh, yes- that's right," her fake smile is back. "Listen, it's okay, you got lost here but I can bring you back home, my car is not too far from here."

Dubhra is as confused as ever but their feelings are once again clouding their brain. "I actually don't— I don't have a home. I've always lived with you, don’t you remember?"

They are making it way too easy, Midas had already noticed their burned clothes and cuts all over their body.

"Great! Then why don't you follow me and come back home?"