Chapter Text
Above all else, Sense enjoyed peace, and among everything it carried, she enjoyed the calmness the most. That serenity like a soothing afternoon breeze where you could imagine yourself lying down on the grass, able to take a small nap without a care in the world. Naturally, that was just her imagination at work. She shivered just thinking about how much time it would take for her to clear her entire hair's length from all the dirt and leaves if she did such a thing.
Those few years back, at that infamous and unusual exam, something changed. She knew things were not the same when the barrier raised by Serie had shattered like glass in front of her eyes. Even though that exam was filled with so many strange characters, she had managed to keep her ideals intact, conducting her test with no unnecessary casualties, despite in the end it being magnitudes harder than almost everything she had witnessed before.
It was to be expected when you looked with more attention, however. The mage from the legendary hero's party and her, for lack of a better way to describe, disciple with a severe lack of common sense, an imperial mage, a half-mage half-cleric woman with a strange fixation for things small and cute, a complete nutjob who didn't even care to show himself at the exam, and... her.
The exam was only the second time Sense had seen her in person, but after that first impression, it was impossible to forget. The way she cleaved through layers and layers of defensive spells, slicing a living person in half like a scissor running through soft fabric... It would be impressive to forget such a thing. The total and complete lack of a proper reaction from that woman who had just killed someone, the nonchalant way she accepted the result of her failure in the exam. If someone said that each person in this world had a polar opposite, Sense would be sure that Übel was that someone for her.
It was not her place to question the reason why someone like her got accepted as a first-class mage by Serie, but it would also be too much of a far-fetched wish for Sense to not have doubts, or more precisely, fear about what was that woman's intentions.
Despite all that, she continued her life as if nothing had changed, perhaps in some sort of wishful thinking that it was the case. Alas, for the following two years, it almost seemed like that.
"You seem to be bothered with something."
Sense changed her weight from one foot to another, a feeling like she had swallowed an ice cube and could pinpoint exactly where it began to spread its coldness in her stomach. Of course, her anxiety could no doubt be seen by Serie through Sense's usually expressionless self when it was written on her face so clearly. Even just being in the same room with that person enacted goosebumps, but this...
She swallowed down the coldness before replying. "I'm sorry. It's nothing."
The weight of Serie's stare was almost heavy enough to be physically felt. Naturally, Sense understood the reasoning. But that didn't mean she particularly liked where it ended up leaving her.
When she was called earlier that day, Sense already had an idea about what the topic of her conversation with Serie would be. She heard about it being whispered in the corridors even before taking it upon herself to investigate further. What she didn't expect, or to be more precise, what she hoped wouldn't happen, was for the mission to require a team to be formed between her and that person.
It wasn't as if she expected to suddenly be attacked, but one thing is living together in Äußerst, and another is traveling together. To travel such a distance together would also mean sleeping next to each other, sharing meals, and fighting while at the very minimum not needing to worry about being backstabed by her so-called "partner". Reelseiden was a spell that could be cast without a single gesture, and Sense would have only a fraction of a second to react before what happened all those years back with her colleague also happened to her. She was a first-class mage too, so detecting someone casting a spell next to her wasn't exactly a tremendous effort. Still, needing to be aware of the possibility every second was exhausting just thinking about it.
"Continuing on," Serie spoke again, "we still don't have enough clues to know if this threat is actually a demon, a person, or even perhaps an uncataloged monster. Its behavior is very unusual but no less problematic. As you know, the previous team sent to the area returned with two second-class mages dead and almost nothing that we didn't already know. That's why I've decided to send two first-class mages this time, and based on the ones available in the city now, you two are the ones I've chosen."
Since Sense had arrived in this room, only she and Serie had spoken anything at all. The other two people there were silent. Methode, as expected from someone studying under Serie's guidance, was almost always found next to the blonde elf. Sense always imagined Serie as someone who would be averted to physical touch from anyone else, but the scene of the taller woman running her fingers through Serie's golden hair was already so common that didn't strike her as unusual anymore.
Meanwhile, Übel, who was already there when Sense entered the room, had only grinned at her until now, either ignorant or indifferent to her frightened state, or an even more scary possibility: actively enjoying it.
The... "thing" that Serie was talking about, be it either demon or monster, was located north of the city, in one of the few villages remaining there. Reports of people missing had prompted an investigation team to be dispatched to the location, the results from the expedition being as Serie just told. Two mages died and the ones who returned had almost no clue of what happened. Most of what they knew was from what information the locals gathered.
It would take approximately two weeks to travel the required distance to reach the village, meaning another two for the return. Considering any accidents that may happen and also the time they would spend there dealing with the problem, it was expected for them to be at least a full month away. Almost an entire month where Übel would be the only person near her within who knows how much distance. Bothered didn't even begin to define what Sense was feeling.
"That's all, you two are relieved from any of your current duties and are to leave as early as possible. If what you find there proves to be beyond your capabilities, return immediately." Serie waved her hand in front of her for them to go, leaning her back into the throne-chair she always was on.
"Yeeees, understood." Übel hummed, hands crossing behind her and the ever-presenting grin still plastered on her face as she turned to look at Sense, who only answered with a brief nod before quickly leaving the room.
It was a few hours later that same day when a knock on her door took away her focus from the just-done travel bag. Without waiting for an answer, the knob turned and Übel entered the room, a large bag on her back.
"Hello, Sense." She grinned. "Ready?"
The ends of Sense's long hair twitched as if they were living beings, jumpy and nervous from the sudden intrusion. Still, Sense kept her best neutral expression, her voice the same calm and collected tone she was known for.
"Yes, just finished." Threads of hair tangled with her bag and lifted it. "We can go."
Taking a step to the side, Übel gestured towards the empty corridor, closing the door behind them after Sense passed through it. Only a few seconds were enough for Sense to realize that she really didn't like walking with Übel behind her.
"You are so tense, Sense. Nervous about what we will find?"
"I'm tense about what will happen during the way", she thought, opting for staying in silence.
It was close to noon when they crossed through the city's doors towards the north, each step away from the city weighting more than the previous. That sensation was unlike anything Sense had felt before. She had felt fear before, of course, the primal feeling that keeps you alive as much as it is dreaded. This, however, was different. She wasn't trembling nor wanting to run away. Instead, she imagined herself as a small herbivore, drinking water in a lake while a wolf stalked close in the darkness, ready to pounce at any moment, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself.
"For someone usually so unreadable, you sure are wearing your feelings on your face today, Sense."
Sense tried to once again swallow down the ice stuck in her throat. "I understand how your magic works, and that you can replicate the spells from whom you empathize with. However, I don't see how my magic can be useful to you."
"Oh, that?" Übel chuckled, ignoring the blatant topic change. "I find the way you can control your hair pretty awesome. And hey, I can always just let my hair grow out too. It might take a while, or I may find some spell that makes it grow faster, who knows?"
If Übel's interest in her magic was genuine, Sense wondered, maybe shey wasn't at risk of being divided into two half-size dead copies of herself, at least for now. And while some people could get defensive about their own magic being copied like that, Sense didn't particularly nourish any strong feelings towards it.
In other words, if Übel wanted her magic, she could take it and shove up her...
Sense shook her head, almost trying to physically remove her thoughts. She needed to ignore that constant smirk plastered on Übel's face, the woman well aware of the effect it had.
Complete the mission, then return home. Little mattered outside of it.
Predictably, Sense didn't sleep during their first night outside Äußerst's walls. No matter how much she tried to reason with herself that staying awake every night was impossible, she couldn't relax enough to close her eyes in that woman's presence. Surprisingly, they walked mostly in silence. Übel would occasionally comment on something random, while Sense dedicated all her focus to keeping her guard up. If her theory about Übel not intending to attack her until she got her magic was true, the best course of action would be to make sure they didn't interact enough to create any empathy.
Whether Übel knew or not what went through Sense's mind, she didn't seem to care, content enough to just keep their pace, not making any real effort to keep a conversation going. One night without sleep wasn't all that unusual for Sense, but spending an entire day walking also wasn't part of her routine. She could feel the ache in her exhausted limbs and the weight of her eyelids. She was painfully aware that if she were to be attacked by Übel, she wouldn't stand a chance.
Behind her usual neutral expression and serene eyes, Sense was someone who'd rather take a rational approach to her problems. The answer was very clear. Two weeks to reach the village, a possible fight there, and then two more weeks to come back. She couldn't continue like this. Even knowing that, as the second night came, her mind still didn't allow any rest for her.
For the following day, each step seemed to take a colossal amount of effort, her entire body on the verge of simply turning off from fatigue. Sense couldn't remember if she had eaten during the previous day, either. She vaguely heard what sounded like words, their meaning gone.
"Se***e, y*u **e v**y **te *he* s****d"
She squinted her eyes, trying to discern what that psychopath was saying when finally...
... her body had enough.
"... Oh, my."
Her body floated between clouds, the perception of awake and sleeping blending to the point she didn't know her real condition. At one point, she was back in the city, safe and sound. At another moment, she was witnessing once again the time when Übel had sliced a mage in half, despite all his confidence in defensive spells. A blink later and she was in that same dungeon from the exam, a copy of one of the strongest mages in the world fighting against herself in a battle that even for her as a first-class mage, seemed completely lunacy.
One time, she was on a path in the woods, her body gently rocking up and down. She couldn't see much of what was happening, only that her face was pressed against something warm, a soft scent that she couldn't exactly pinpoint what was. Sharp, earthy, fresh, like a field of wildflowers, a cold winter breeze blowing after the rain stopped. She unconsciously pressed her face closer to that warmth, committed to learning more about that scent that was so enticing. She felt a small rumble as she motioned closer before her mind was taken into yet another dream.
Seemingly an eternity later, she finally felt in a place she could understand as real. It was dark, a shy moon glowing faintly in the night sky above her, and the smell of burnt wood coming from a small bonfire a few meters away from her. Despite the cold weather, her body was warm due to a thick blanket that sliding down when she sat up to look around.
"Oh, you are awake, sleeping beauty. Dinner?" Übel's voice reached her ears, and she saw the woman pointing at a small cauldron hanging above the bonfire.
The smell of it had an immediate effect, Sense feeling painfully aware of how empty her stomach felt. She blinked several times before slowly lifting herself and walking towards the fire. As she closed the small distance, she took notice of her surroundings, and while she could count on one hand how many times she'd been this far to the north, she still understood that it was not the same place as when she presumably fainted from exhaustion. If she would risk a guess, she'd say it was about a day's worth of walking from where she last remembered.
Übel offered a bowl full of freshly cooked soup, but despite that infuriating smirk, she remained quiet. It was as if she knew Sense would be the one talking this time.
Any questions, however, were immediately postponed once Sense took the soup bowl in her hands and felt her empty stomach once again screaming at her. The last time she remembered eating after leaving the city, they had eaten rations and other equally flavorless foods they brought. The temptation of a freshly cooked meal was strong enough to obliterate any reservations Sense might have had.
"This is..." Sense stopped a moment to breathe between another spoonful of the soup, "... very good."
Übel chuckled. She looked like she had already eaten her fill, currently content in lying down on the grass, arms behind her head as she gazed at the starry sky. "Thanks. Not a whole lot to go wrong when making something simple as soup."
Sense eyes stared ahead after she finished her bowl. It was true that it was a pretty simple recipe, but they were not comfortable at home. Having a meal like this out in the middle of nowhere meant that Übel planned for this before they left the city. She would need to bring the cooking utensils, like the cauldron and bowls, not to mention the ingredients like meat and vegetables, and based on the taste, other spices too.
More urgent than that, there was another question that required an answer.
"What happened when I... passed out?" Sense spoke in a low voice, words that would easily go unheard if they weren't relatively close to each other in such a silent place. It was like she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.
"Hmm..." Übel hummed, not moving from her position of staring at the sky. "After you went two nights without sleeping, and not really eating either, you just went whoosh," she snapped her fingers, "like that, almost falling on your face right there."
Sense felt her cheeks becoming hotter when hearing about her pathetic display. Despite being a veteran first-class mage, she felt enough like a child for her eyes to start to ache as she tried to blink away the tears that threatened to come out. She clenched her teeth and held them back.
"Well, luckily, I was close to you, so I managed to catch you before that happened." Übel continued "Then, since you were completely exhausted and definitely not waking up anytime soon, I carried you the rest of the day." She pointed at her back and finally looked back at Sense, resting her head on her hand.
"You carried me..." Sense clenched her hands into fists, frustration running cold in her veins, "the entire day?"
"Yeah." Übel easily replied. "The long hair is a bit of a pain, but you are pretty light, it wasn't difficult. You got your very-needed sleep and we made progress, it's all fine."
She felt everything but fine at that moment. It was rare for Sense to want to scream back at someone, but at that moment, it took all her focus to not do that. Putting the empty bowl on the ground, next to her, she took a deep breath.
"I apologize for the shameful display I've shown." Sense bowed her head, staring hard at the ground. "I am grateful for your assistance and feel in your debt. If there's something I can do to repay, ask me."
The following seconds were met with silence, the tension so palpable that Sense could feel it wrapping around her neck, only for it to be cut as Übel began to laugh.
"Hah, what a sequence of words." She laughed loudly and returned her gaze towards the starry sky. "It's fine, it's fine, no need to worry so much."
Sense kept staring at the ground, her jaw hard as her teeth clenched. She understood that if she wasn't killed when in such a vulnerable state, at the very least she was safe for now. But a voice inside of her made her heart feel encrusted in ice.
I cannot let her learn my magic.
Without speaking another word, Sense turned away from the fire and back to where she was sleeping earlier, leaving the woman still laughing behind her, the weight of those eyes heavy on her back.
If her initial efforts were put on keeping her guard up all the time, now her focus was entirely on making sure that anything resembling empathy wouldn't happen between them. Sense didn't understand completely how Übel's magic worked. Perhaps she already had copied her spell and was only toying with her, however, that wasn't a risk Sense was willing to take. While she could at least relax enough to sleep reasonably well, every attempt at conversation coming from Übel was met with single-word answers, if not outright silence. It was clear that her tactics were anything but subtle, but it was her only weapon for now.
To be honest, it wasn't hard. Übel continued to not insist too much on these conversations and hadn't done anything suspicious. Their path had been pretty uneventful until now, too. Every day they would wake up, eat breakfast, walk the entire day, only stopping for a brief lunch, and then make camp for the night once the sun went out, setting up their beds and preparing dinner.
Sense also had to admit that Übel was a pretty good cook, and very resourceful, making excellent meals even with not a whole lot of ingredients. Of course, admitting that she began to look forward to their dinner was too much.
As each new day came and went away, Sense grew a suspicion that Übel realized how much time she spent staring. Most of the time, Sense's eyes would wander towards the woman's hair, searching for any minimal strange movement, maybe some strand of hair moving opposite to the wind, curling seemingly out of nowhere, anything that would indicate that Sense's magic was already copied by Übel. It should be pretty evident once it happens. Weaving mana through each strand of hair required an enormous effort, and any slight alteration in the caster's mana flow would generate even some minimal movement.
For long hours during their travel, Sense would almost forget everything outside of her own thoughts and that deep green hair. It was beautiful, she realized. She wasn't sure if such an unusual color was natural or dyed, but it was a perfect fit for Übel. Sometimes, Sense's eyes wandered through different parts of the mage's body. Always walking a few steps behind, she could see the back of the woman's neck as the single ponytail swayed from one side to another. She also noticed that, despite being a mage, Übel was surprisingly fit. They both wore heavy clothes for the cold weather, but even then, Sense could easily see the strength of those arms. She had seen first-hand how agile the woman could be, so she concluded it only made sense.
Still, as more days passed, their destination now very close, silence was still the main aspect of their journey. Outside of the atmosphere between the two, no other accidents came onto their travel. No bandits, no wild animals, no monsters, no demons. It was a silent, almost peaceful walk through the cold tundra, the loudest sound being the cold wind that blew without ceasing.
It was a few hours into the morning of their fourteenth travel day that they finally saw the first sign of someone living nearby in the form of a broken spear on the side of the road. An hour later, they stood in front of a gate in the middle of a not-very-tall wooden wall that circled the village, a lone guard atop a watch post.
The man quickly ran down the stairs toward them as soon as he noticed the two women walking in his direction. Not for a second he seemed to doubt their identity, after all, nobody that didn't trust their own strength could make the journey and reach so far in the north staying unscathed, and few would even make such an attempt.
"Oh, by the goddess, bless this day." The guard let out a deep sigh, his shoulders relaxing a bit. More than anything, he seemed very tired. "You two must be from the Magic Association, I presume. Thank you. Thank you so much."
Before Sense could open her mouth, Übel already walked ahead, a grin on her face before she even answered.
"That's right, but calm down. We haven't done anything yet." She chuckled and raised her arms above her head to stretch. "It was a long journey and I really need a real bed. Who do we need to talk to know what's going on?"
The guard straightened his posture. "That would be Halt. He's the oldest hunter in the village and the one who first discovered and reported the disappearances." His eyes suddenly regain the tiredness from before. "One of the few hunters who remained, actually... In any case, warm rooms are waiting for both of you in the main inn. Halt and the village chief will be notified of your arrival and should meet you there."
Sense nodded. "I see. We will wait for them, thank you."
Turning his eyes to the smaller woman, the guard gave a small chuckle. "It's me who should be thanking you, really." He turned to open the heavy wooden gate, stopping midway and turning towards them. "Oh, sorry, but... Could you two show your association certificates before entering? Not that I doubt you, but these days, we can't keep our guard down."
"Sure, here." Übel extended her hand holding out the certificate confirming her as a first-class mage of the association, and Sense did the same.
"Right, Miss Übel and Miss Sense, first-class mages." He replied after a quick look at the certifications, not hiding the almost awe in his voice. He handed the certifications back to them, finally opening the gate, and gesturing towards it with his free arm. "Be on your way, then. Once again, we are very thankful for you two coming here. The inn is a few hundred meters down the main road, shouldn't be hard to find."
Still with her ever-present grin, Übel waved towards the guard as both of them entered the village, the gate closing behind them a few seconds later.
As soon as they started walking, Sense easily noticed that something wrong had affected the normal life of the people living here. Because of how isolated they were from any larger city, a village like this would need to sustain themselves through agriculture and any animals they could raise in such cold weather. The guard mentioned a hunter, so that meant also used hunting to complement their food needs. At least one of those things must have collapsed, if the atmosphere around them could be trusted.
There was a distant look in the eyes of the few people they saw outside. They seemed distracted, almost numb towards the outside. Some of them seemed to recover a bit of life when noticing them. People living in a village like this used to know everyone by their names, and surely the presence of outsiders was extremely rare. Even the children were quiet, the noise one would expect from a populated place simply non-existent to the point that it carried the same silence from their days walking through the woods.
"Wah, I have seen funerals with more life than this." Übel let out a remark with a small laugh at the end. "Things are looking this bad, huh?"
Sense tried to ignore the inquisitive eyebrow raised in her direction, focusing instead on finding the inn. The sooner they finish this, the sooner she will be back to where she could leave behind all of those thoughts about that woman.
"Only in dire situations such as this would two first-class mages be requested." Sense whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.
The next few hours went like a blur. They had reached the inn without trouble, not more than a few words were needed for them to be recognized by the innkeeper, an old woman with mostly gray hair who, like the guard from before, seemed to be tired but relieved by their presence. She led them towards their rooms on the upper floor, instructing them to come back down for lunch after they finished setting up. More than anything, Sense felt a small relief in knowing that she would sleep at least a bit further away from Übel, despite knowing very well that it mattered very little if the woman was truly set on taking her life.
It was almost dusk and a few hours after they finished setting in and eating the meal prepared for them when a lonely but distinct enough figure passed through the inn's entrance, their head obscured by a hood connected with a long cape, his eyes seeming to search through the place until it found the two sitting next to a window. It walked toward them with large steps, stopping when finally reaching their table, lowering the hood to reveal the face behind it.
Closing the book she was reading, Sense took a look at the man who stood before them. After seeing the same expressions on everyone's faces throughout the whole village, this man seemed just as an outsider as them. He was old, probably in his sixties, but his eyes were nothing but harsh, focused, born definitely from a life of hardships. His forehead bore the wrinkles from years of constantly frowning, a relatively long beard covering part of his neck before ending in a straight line, almost as if it was shaved using a common knife. More than the bow without its string on his back and the long cape with shades of black and white that seemed to camouflage against the scenery, it was his eyes that denounced him as the hunter they expected to meet.
After a few seconds spent analyzing the two of them, the frown on his expression receded and he extended a hand towards them.
"Name's Halt, hunter. I'm grateful for you two coming to help, it's very much needed."
Übel, who during all this time had seemingly been completely unaffected by the intimidating presence of the hunter, extended her arm to shake the hand in front of her.
"Hi, hunter. What's been going on recently?"
The hunter released a deep sigh, pulling a chair towards the table to sit. "Has been a few months already. At first, it was another hunter, a young lad who disappeared without leaving a trace. Then it happened again a few weeks later, and a few townsfolk started saying some of their cattle also vanished. That's when we sent the first request and the mages came to help." He shook his head in clear distress. "Poor lads, wish it hadn't turned like that."
"Those mages that returned," Sense spoke to the man, "none of them knew what exactly happened. Two had disappeared while searching through the forest, but the ones remaining saw nothing outside of the usual."
"Same thing that happened here." Halt frowned, his jaw clenched into a tight line. "After the second hunter disappeared, we stopped going alone, but then a pair of lads, and not some green, but experienced hunters with many years on the back, vanished just the same. No bodies, no unusual sounds, no apparitions. Of course, some people started saying they saw a shape moving in the shadows, but that's probably a bunch of shit from scared folk. Nay, it wasn't until recently that something gave us an indication of what's been going on."
"Oh..." Übel widened her eyes, finally interested in the conversation. "And what would that be?"
A somber shadow fell onto the old hunter's face. His hand reached for a small bag strapped around his shoulder. Scrambling through its contests for a few seconds, he removed two different objects, putting them on top of the table.
One was a small roughly spherical-shaped stone, around the size of a woman's fist, strapped together with an equally rough and crude rope, although it was snapped only a few centimeters away from the rock. The other object was more of the same type of rope, this one not having anything other than the rope itself, which had a tight knot, leaving a small loop open.
"And that's supposed to be..." Übel looked back to the old hunter, after some seconds analyzing the objects.
"I've found these in the forest. The one with the rock tied to it is probably from a type of weapon I've seen some folk using in the past. It's supposed to be two rocks, or any type of weight, tied together with a rope. You spin it above your head and throw aiming for the legs of your target. It tangles around the legs and immobilizes the prey. The other one is laced in a common hunting trap meant to catch anything that steps inside of the rope's loop. I've seen that knot more times than I can possibly count, couldn't miss it."
Sense nodded. She could see how both objects worked but had a feeling that the real deal about them was still about to come.
"And the problem with these damn things is that it sure as hell itself does not belong to any of the townsfolk or the hunters. And unless someone decided to suddenly start to live in a forest, in the middle of nowhere, and hunt with tools made out of the woods itself, this can only mean one thing." He spit out the words, a rage almost uncontained making him grind his teeth from the effort. "Whatever this fucker is, it's smart enough to not be seen, knows how to hunt and make tools, and we are currently its prey."
During her first night in the village, most of the time that she meant to spend sleeping, Sense instead lay restless against the bed, staring at the ceiling. Talking with the hunter earlier shed some light on what they were dealing with, but still left too many questions unanswered. The creature was most likely not a demon. Setting up traps and vanishing with people without being seen, just didn't match their understanding of how a demon would act. Demons are, above everything else, extremely prideful. They would rather intimidate their targets into submission than stalk through the shadows unseen.
That only left two other possibilities. Either it was another one from a humanoid race on an impossible-to-understand killing spree against the isolated villagefolk, or it was an uncatalogued form of monster. Most likely the latter. It just didn't make any sense for another human, or even an elf or dwarf, to be so far here in the north and to spend their time kidnapping townsfolk. Not to mention that it would need to be a pretty powerful one at that, otherwise it would have already been seen or dealt with, especially by the last squad sent by the Magic Association.
The feeling of near certainty that they were dealing with an unknown monster also brought no relief to her. There were still a lot of creatures that wandered at the edge of the world without being noticed. In a region like this where human occupation was even more sparse, it only increased the likelihood of it happening. A monster that was perhaps never seen before, elusive, and with either the brains or an extremely sharp instinct to be able to hunt down its prey with traps and weapons, possibly even some sort of concealing magic. Serie had mentioned that if they felt that the task was too dangerous, they should return with whatever new information and clues they could find.
But it wasn't an easy decision to make. They had new information, sure, but if they were to turn their backs now and return to the city, they could very well be dooming the entire village. Just the travel time between the village and Äußerst meant that the next help would take more than a month to come. They had to at least try.
Strange how her first night spent on a soft mattress would be the one where Sense couldn't manage to sleep. She felt restless. The whole journey, standing next to Übel had made her feel like she could die at any moment. She usually trusted her own combat capabilities, her defense being strong enough to never get any major injury in a mission before. She also had never feared a mission before like now. Was it the time spent with that woman that made her feel like this? Like a scaredy cat? A deer caught in the hunter's sights? The few clues they had about the creature only exacerbated that feeling.
A small part of her, one that she couldn't deem as neither reasonable nor irrational, made her feel slightly guilty about how she treated Übel during this trip. Until now, at least, she had only suspicions about the woman, no action on Übel's part that exactly justified the treatment. But Sense knew, saw first-hand what Übel was capable of, saw how easily she dispatched the clone of herself created by the Spiegel. Knew why she feared that woman more than anything else, possibly more than even the unknown menace lurking in the forest.
Another yet even stranger part of her, one that she completely refused to acknowledge, was responsible for the wave of warmth that would overtake her face, slowly creeping through her entire body whenever she spent too much time looking at that woman. After the first time Sense realized this, she made the decision of never thinking about it again, otherwise she was sure it would push her into insanity.
As if her thoughts had a mind of their own, no matter how much she tried to avoid, that sleepless night couldn't be pointed at the monster. At least, not the one in the forest. Green strands of hair that smelled like mint and wildflowers didn't leave her mind until the first rays of sunlight invaded her room through a half-closed curtain.
As it was decided yesterday, today would be the day of the hunt, and only at the end they would know who was the hunter, and who was the prey.