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She was panicking, although she was unsure whether or not the fear was more due to being chased by such a violent group of men as were behind her or over what she might do to them if they did catch her.

After all, it wasn't that long ago that she had accidentally snapped a tree in half. Even if it was small enough she could wrap her arms around it and her fingers would touch on the other side, it was still plenty big enough that watching it fall to the ground had been a shock. She honestly hadn't meant to kick it that hard.

She had just been so frustrated at still being lost, not having seen any sign of civilization for the past couple days she had been wandering about the woods, no matter how long she spent walking in as straight a line as possible. All she had run across previous to this group had been wild animals and finally a river that Dea had decided to follow in hopes of it leading to a town or city.

Honestly, at that point, a single house would have been enough to make her laugh with happiness. Sadly, all she had gotten was a small camp filled with what seemed to be criminals, if she based it off of how quickly they had drawn their weapons and started yelling at her before chasing after her as she turned and ran.

Which, of course, lead to where she was now, weaving between trees as she ran from them. She would have picked up speed, but she was worried she would trip or crash into something, what with how dense the forest was. Even at her current speed, Dea would sometimes end up tearing through a bush or small sapling every so often, the sound of the wood snapping apart loudly giving away her position to the men chasing her.

Darting around yet another large tree, Dea heard the men shouting from a few hundred feet behind her, although she had no idea what they were saying. She'd never bothered to learn any other languages besides the one she grew up with, having been doing her best just to survive after she'd run away from home. She'd been lucky to learn enough of her letters to recognize various words and her own name.

It was when she heard a startled scream behind her that Dea realized she had just run right past another person, a young woman who had been washing her clothing along the side of the river she'd been following all day, even as she ran from the men. The same men that suddenly let out chilling laughter as they came upon the young woman, Dea turning in time to watch them surround the female and grab her by the arms.

With a shiver racing down her spine as she saw one man's weapon seeming to slowly raise up into the air as he stepped towards the woman, Dea realized she could either use this as her chance to run away and avoid dealing with the men or she could face her fears and save the young woman who would have been able to go about her day as usual if not for Dea leading the men on a chase to this area.

With a haunting scream that echoed through the forest, Dea launched herself at the group of men just as the bladed weapon finally started slashing downwards. Blood sprayed into the air moments later, the ground quickly soaked red as panicked shouts filled the air.

--------

Dea looked at the young woman with both sadness and surprise in her eyes, for here before her very eyes, was the familiar face of someone she knew. Or rather, what was still visible to her, as bandages covered a fair portion where the now dead male had tried to cut flesh from bone with his blade.

"Letta?" Her voice wavered for a moment as she looked into pain-filled eyes. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but the look of fear that entered the woman's partially covered face was not it.

Desperate to calm the female she had come to see as a friend, even after the strange events of a few days ago, Dea reached out and pulled the woman into a hug as she began to whisper soothing words. She could only hope that her meaning got through, even with the language barrier that seemed to exist as she heard that foreign language come from the woman.

It sounded much more pleasant to Dea coming from the female beside her than it had from the men earlier. Of course, she might have been a bit biased in that opinion, but she didn't really care at the moment.

It seemed strange to know that the Letta before her was somehow the same as the Letta who had so many times before helped to feed her and wash her when she was too weak to bathe herself. That this was somehow the same Letta who had spent so much time with her talking about everything and nothing, who had once lifted a black mask to reveal a ravaged face covered in scars.

Scars that matched some of the new, jagged wounds the blade had created upon the previously unmarred face of the now softly crying female who had begun wrapping her arms around Dea's shoulders. It made the whole situation strangely surreal to Dea as she realized that she had seen Letta's face for just a quick moment before the wounds which would later be joined by others to create the face she had first become familiar with, with and without the mask hiding parts away.

"Letta, I missed you..."

Description
She was panicking, although she was unsure whether or not the fear was more due to being chased by such a violent group of men as were behind her or over what she might do to them if they did catch her.

After all, it wasn't that long ago that she had accidentally snapped a tree in half. Even if it was small enough she could wrap her arms around it and her fingers would touch on the other side, it was still plenty big enough that watching it fall to the ground had been a shock. She honestly hadn't meant to kick it that hard.

She had just been so frustrated at still being lost, not having seen any sign of civilization for the past couple days she had been wandering about the woods, no matter how long she spent walking in as straight a line as possible. All she had run across previous to this group had been wild animals and finally a river that Dea had decided to follow in hopes of it leading to a town or city.

Honestly, at that point, a single house would have been enough to make her laugh with happiness. Sadly, all she had gotten was a small camp filled with what seemed to be criminals, if she based it off of how quickly they had drawn their weapons and started yelling at her before chasing after her as she turned and ran.

Which, of course, lead to where she was now, weaving between trees as she ran from them. She would have picked up speed, but she was worried she would trip or crash into something, what with how dense the forest was. Even at her current speed, Dea would sometimes end up tearing through a bush or small sapling every so often, the sound of the wood snapping apart loudly giving away her position to the men chasing her.

Darting around yet another large tree, Dea heard the men shouting from a few hundred feet behind her, although she had no idea what they were saying. She'd never bothered to learn any other languages besides the one she grew up with, having been doing her best just to survive after she'd run away from home. She'd been lucky to learn enough of her letters to recognize various words and her own name.

It was when she heard a startled scream behind her that Dea realized she had just run right past another person, a young woman who had been washing her clothing along the side of the river she'd been following all day, even as she ran from the men. The same men that suddenly let out chilling laughter as they came upon the young woman, Dea turning in time to watch them surround the female and grab her by the arms.

With a shiver racing down her spine as she saw one man's weapon seeming to slowly raise up into the air as he stepped towards the woman, Dea realized she could either use this as her chance to run away and avoid dealing with the men or she could face her fears and save the young woman who would have been able to go about her day as usual if not for Dea leading the men on a chase to this area.

With a haunting scream that echoed through the forest, Dea launched herself at the group of men just as the bladed weapon finally started slashing downwards. Blood sprayed into the air moments later, the ground quickly soaked red as panicked shouts filled the air.

--------

Dea looked at the young woman with both sadness and surprise in her eyes, for here before her very eyes, was the familiar face of someone she knew. Or rather, what was still visible to her, as bandages covered a fair portion where the now dead male had tried to cut flesh from bone with his blade.

"Letta?" Her voice wavered for a moment as she looked into pain-filled eyes. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but the look of fear that entered the woman's partially covered face was not it.

Desperate to calm the female she had come to see as a friend, even after the strange events of a few days ago, Dea reached out and pulled the woman into a hug as she began to whisper soothing words. She could only hope that her meaning got through, even with the language barrier that seemed to exist as she heard that foreign language come from the woman.

It sounded much more pleasant to Dea coming from the female beside her than it had from the men earlier. Of course, she might have been a bit biased in that opinion, but she didn't really care at the moment.

It seemed strange to know that the Letta before her was somehow the same as the Letta who had so many times before helped to feed her and wash her when she was too weak to bathe herself. That this was somehow the same Letta who had spent so much time with her talking about everything and nothing, who had once lifted a black mask to reveal a ravaged face covered in scars.

Scars that matched some of the new, jagged wounds the blade had created upon the previously unmarred face of the now softly crying female who had begun wrapping her arms around Dea's shoulders. It made the whole situation strangely surreal to Dea as she realized that she had seen Letta's face for just a quick moment before the wounds which would later be joined by others to create the face she had first become familiar with, with and without the mask hiding parts away.

"Letta, I missed you..."