11 | I'd Still Be Afraid Of The Thunder

As much as you'd like to stop here and simply stare at the lone girl, you've come for a reason. She has put you through more than you could handle, so why do you feel bad? Why aren't you holding yourself now in high regard, boasting your sheer dominance?

Perhaps it's because you did not wish to go this far, despite all that has happened to you. Perhaps it's because she, too, is as human as you. Perhaps it's because you have seen this exact scene in the back of your mind, buried beneath memories built solely for the purpose of protecting it.

One day in your life, you came across a stray puppy, shivering in the cold empty roads of a village. There was no one around to help it, feed it, shield it. Love it. Not even you, because you just couldn't stop for an animal on the street. That was the first time you saw that dog.

...

The second time you saw it, it was dead.

Reflecting on this ugly memory and how you could have been there for that abandoned animal, you reach out to the shivering Pursena before you.

"Get up," you say in a soft voice.

Pursena hesitates to look at your hand and instead goes back to pressing her head down into her drenched skirt. Her tail hangs loose below her legs, damp, soaked by the rain.

"Get up," you say again but the girl does not budge. She is more preoccupied with sobbing, whimpering into the wet fabric of her uniform. It is far from enough to stain it further, as the rain persists, but not even rain can match the sorrow her tears consist of.

How did a girl like her...

Become so vulnerable?

"I thought I was doing everything right," Pursena says, though her voice is just barely able to be heard. "I thought it was enough, following in Linia's footsteps like that. Feeling like I was strong."

You take back your hand and kneel beside the girl, caring not for the mud that will come to stain your uniform.

"But I'm not strong. I'm weak. I'm so weak and I keep letting this happen." She pauses to wipe her tears. It's hard now to discern those from droplets of rainwater. "I keep... getting humiliated. I keep... getting weaker. And now... now you're probably here to finish me off."

Her teary eyes wander to you. "Is that it? Did you get rid of Linia and come back to do the same to me? I don't blame you — I'm a disgrace to my family already, so why keep going and have to tell them I've amounted to nothing?"

You swallow. Pursena carries on. "You'll make it painless for me, won't you, Y/N?"

"Stop," you say. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Pursena grants you a sad smile. "You have every right, don't you? You're stronger than me. You're my superior. And all this time I've been using you. So, what's my punishment?"

Punishment. She's jumped to conclusions too soon. It makes you wonder what really goes on within the Doldia tribe. Beastfolk laws truly do differ from humans', don't they?

"I'm not punishing you," you tell her. "I'm getting you out of this rain."

"What?"

You sigh, listening to the distant echoes of thunder. "Are you scared of storms, Pursena?"

Pursena's eyes flick up to the sky to catch the flash of lightning piercing the clouds, her flat ears wiggling slightly, then she looks at you with almost pleading eyes. "I guess..."

"Are you cold?"

"I'm freezing."

"Have you eaten?"

"I'm hungry."

With this, you hold out your hand once more. The dog-girl eyeballs your palm. Reluctance is written in every sparkle of her eyes, her quiver of her bottom lip, yet at the same time she appears no different from a stray dog begging for warmth, hospitality, love...

And somehow, forgiveness. Something you weren't keen on giving until you realized just how fragile these girls are when exposed to an individual who is much stronger than they are.

"Then let's go," you whisper to the girl. "Let's get you out of the rain. Linia's waiting for you."

Pursena stares into your eyes. "You didn't—"

"I didn't do anything to her." Well, you didn't completely off her. You just happened to... sneeze and the wind came along and shattered her ankle. Yeah, that's the story.

"Come on," you say again, gesturing for her to hold your hand. She may be a manipulative, careless brat who thrives on the toxicity of her own mind and soul, but when it comes down to it, she's just a girl.

A girl you humbled after enduring enough of the mental torture.

Pursena stares, hesitates one final time, then gently takes your hand.

* * *

"It's still coming down out there," says Linia who is now comfortable on her bed. She has her wounded leg propped up and a grin on her lips. You'd think a broken ankle would somewhat faze her and keep her hissing in pain. But no, she's still tough, that much is clear.

"Yeah." Pursena's response is quiet, dry. She sits on her own bed, her hands tucked in her lap. Luckily she doesn't have to fare with her soaked uniform, considering you were so nice as to find her a spare replica of the outfit while her usual dries elsewhere.

You look over at her from your seat against the wall, see the pain in her eyes.

"So, Boss tied you up and left you on the road, eh?" Linia suddenly says, causing her sister's head to perk up. "That's a hoot, nya!"

"It's not funny," Pursena mumbles. "At least I didn't get thrown out of a window."

Yeah... they recounted everything.

Linia grumbles, her smugness falling away instantly. "You're so lucky I can't walk over there right now, nya."

Pursena goes silent. As for you, it's both amusing and disgusting to hear what you've done in just one night. Part of you likes the fear you've engraved in the sisters' hearts. The other part of you, however, can't help but despise your hasty decisions.

Now, in a way, you've left the girls broken. Your way of fighting back clearly went a little too deep, touching a mental weakness you didn't know they had.

You feel the urge to ask now. "You guys okay?"

The two of them stare at you for a moment. Linia ends up shrugging; Pursena shyly tilts her gaze to the side.

"All good here, Boss," Linia says. "Nya... got any painkillers though?"

"Did you just say 'Boss'?" Pursena's eyes are back on her sister.

"Uh, yeah? Did you forget we're always supposed to 'treat superiors with utmost respect as a warrior would with their teacher amidst a battlefield'?" Linia waves her finger around as she speaks to articulate her words. "Father's words, not mine. I'm not into that fancy-warrior-tango crap, nya. So I call 'em Boss."

Pursena shrugs gently. "I guess you're right." A moment of silence fills the room before the girl is again looking at you. "But calling you Boss is so boring. That's only something Linia would come up with."

"... hey!"

"So, Y/N, what can I call you?" A small smile plays on the girl's lips. And honestly, you have no real answer. To you, 'Boss' is whatever. 'Master' is completely off the table. You're not very creative with titles of superiority.

"Just call me by my name," you say plainly. Pursena isn't amused. She shakes her head.

"Also boring. How about, like, Master?"

... of course she'd say that.