“When are no longer

Able to change a situation -

We are challenged to

Change ourselves”

-Viktor E. Frankl

“You take that better than most.”

Yara says as they walk through the door to the cottage.

Bellator sighs, and says

“Who am I to judge. I've slain thousands of innocent men, forced into combat by a demon.”

“Thousands? You're cute.” Yara responds.

“One life or a million, it makes no difference to me. The time of the old world is past. We are both but relics of a time past, who will both be looked upon in the future as fiends.” Bellator says.

“I suppose fear doesn't distinguish between its monsters. Anyways, if you want to be useful for saving your love, stop acting like a walking pity party.” Yara remarks. “Shut your mouth for now, or if you really want to chat tell me about your demon issue.”

“Toriaku or Samhain, whichever you prefer. A year ago I fought him and sealed him into an amulet. He…” He gives pause. “escaped, and he and Veronica fought. She weakened him enough before dying that I could finish him.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but he is most certainly not dead. Maybe weakened, but not gone.” She responds.

“I thought as much.”

“Good, maybe some of your brain cells survived your wallowing.”

“Clearly she rubbed off on you.”

“Eh, more like the other way around.”

“What do you wish to know?” Bellator asks.

“I guess your relationship would be a nice start. She takes out a small metal rod and sticks it in the corner of her mouth.”

“Or lack thereof. I fell for her, and supposedly she fell for me. It's hard to acquire details when you're stuck in a Circle of Binding, and the other person is fighting a demon.”

"I suppose that would be rough. Veronica never liked explaining how she felt, though she certainly felt a lot."

"That much is obvious. I'm not that tone-deaf."

"Really? Coulda had me fooled." Yara remarks.

"Funny." Bellator says.

"Had to brighten things up a little bit."

"Anything else?" Bellator asks.

"You want to know what's going on with witchy?" Yara asks.

"I don't follow." Bellator responds.

"Veronica, would you like me to explain why I can even think about resurrection or would you rather be stuck in the dark like you've been since she died?" Yara explains.

"Yeah, an explanation would be wonderful."

"I suppose I owe you that much. By preventing her from rotting, Hecate trapped her soul in her body. Sure, the two are severed so she is very dead, but her soul's still around because her goddess won't let her rest for the rest of eternity. She's not technically immortal, but anytime she dies she's just gonna get resurrected by some unlucky fool somewhere down the line." Yara explains.

"And that unlucky fool is me?" Bellator inquires.

"At the moment, yes." Yara answers.

"Fair enough. How do join the two back together?"

"If I knew, I would have done it. Thankfully, I can talk to someone who specialized in this kind of thing."

"Don't suppose you have an extra hand laying around?"

"Can't say that I do. Why exactly do you need one?"

"Have you noticed the blood flowing from her wound? That's the energy her soul makes passively. If that breach isn't fixed when you revive her, she'll just be in pain. So we need to seal it up somehow." Yara explains.

"Where are we going to get one, then?"

"That would be the current predicament."

"Perhaps I could get a little bit of help." Yara removes a necklace from around her neck and uses it to create a small cut in her palm. The blood soaks into the pendant's edges until it is completely outlined in red. She immediately collapses to the floor, jewel firmly grasped in her hand.

"Goddamnit I didn't sign up for this." Bellator mutters.

Bellator tries to prop her up. Yara is unresponsive for a moment, then her eyes dart open. "Man that girl can be a pain when she wants to be, but I got what I needed."

Bellator jumps back in surprise.

"Yo, didn't expect to see me so soon I guess."

"What in the world were you doing!"

"Chilling with the dead, what else?" Yara watches for a moment and laughs. "I'm not as good at that kind of stuff as Veronica, so I need my amulet to help channel power. It has a side effect of kinda making me faint. Sorry." Yara explains.

"No problem, I'm rather used to it."

"I do recall Veronica having a similar issue, but for a different reason. Anyways, I got the info and that's what matters, even if Amara was a complete brat about it."

"I have no doubt. Anyway, what are we supposed to do?"

"Well the easiest solution to our predicament would be to somehow seal up that little blood leak, but I'm sure you can guess that that's easier said than done." Yara says. "She either needs a seal, which I can't make, or a replacement hand, that we don't have."

"Could we use my hand?" Bellator asks nervously.

"I mean yes but why would we?! Are you out of your mind?!" Yara yells.

"Do you have any better ideas? If so, I am open!"

"I...I don't know, but don't just go and chop off your hand!"

"Well, I'm going to need your help. I can't just chop off my hand on my own."

"You think I would do something like that?"

"I'm asking you to, it's not as if you're doing it without me."

"We can find another way, just cool it for a second."

"By all means!" Bellator yells.

"Stop shouting!" Yara yells. "Geez, you're gonna give me a headache."

"You're gonna give yourself a headache."

"I already have!" Yara yells.

Yara sits on the floor and rests her head in her hands. "Why did I think I could do this without her? I am useless."

"I can't make a seal, you can't make a seal. Our only option is using a hand, and we don't have a spare. Our only option is using mine." Bellator says.

"So how do we go about this?"

"I'll make a tourniquet with a sigil, which will last a little while." Bellator says. "I'm trusting you. Now, we'll need something more impressive than this sigil knife."

"Will this work?" Yara draws a short sword from a sheath on her back, the blade glowing lightly with runes carved into its surface.

"I imagine so." Bellator says.

"I haven't used it in a while, but I don't think this'll be too difficult." She swings the blade around a bit, testing the weight in her hand.

"You seem all to happy to do this."

"What makes you think that?" As she says this, the blade slips and stabs into the ground between her feet. "Oh my."

Are you sure you won't chop my head off instead?

I think I can tell the two apart, but stay still just in case I get any ideas. She says with a smile as she picks up the sword.

"Ready?"

"I think so?"

A band of solid light constricts around his right forearm, blocking the blood flow from his heart to his hand. "You have one shot, and if you manage to fuck this up, you will have more problems than a dead master."

"I already have a lot of problems, asshole!" She yells angrily, while swinging the blade down, striking the wrist directly under the sigil tourniquet.

"Oh, wow, that actually worked."