The hunter's gaze filled with happiness; he opened his arms wide toward Azucena. "Azucena!" He said excitedly upon seeing her.
Azucena's expression changed too much; first she seemed to be excited, then shocked, and finally horrified. She lunged downward, but passed by Adriel.
He was puzzled and turned to see what she was doing.
A corpse: Selene was lying on the ground; her collarbone had been pierced and this was ignored by Adriel.
"Selene!" They all surrounded her, being careful not to touch the pool of blood beneath her.
The hunter's body tensed and he turned his back on the corpse. Amara's screams as she tried to think of a way to save her friend became white noise for the hunter.
'I've always been like this.'
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Adriel was sitting in his room. It was big. In one corner he had a drum set; in another was the door to enter; in another was his computer and, in the last, his clothes and bed.
Right below the drum set was something: a cat's food bowl. The kibble in it was sparse, but no cat was in the house.
Some time ago his little cat had gotten sick out of nowhere. She didn't eat for a couple of days, which he noticed and told his parents. Then they took her to the vet.
'Everything is wrong,' he thought, sitting on his bed; between his hands was his phone, scrolling through social media. 'She's very young, barely two years old... Yesterday she was very feisty, I'm sure she'll come back soon.'
Doubt was planted in his heart: "What if she doesn't?", but he always ignored it; he paid no attention to his own thinking.
'Surely she'll come back to us soon; she'll be scratching me happily again.'
Suddenly the door to his room opened and his parents came in. Their expressions were strange to the young man. "What happened?" He asked calmly.
"Your cat... She died today at 10 in the morning; she couldn't withstand the illness."
"Do you want to go see her?"
Yes, that answer couldn't leave his mouth; he wanted to see her, of course he wanted to, but alive. He wanted to see his little cat bite him, he wanted to see her running after him, he wanted to see her on the bed at bedtime.
"No."
The mere fact of thinking about his little cat's motionless and now cold body made him reluctant to want to see her. He wanted to cry; at least that's what he thought his reaction should be upon seeing his mother sobbing loudly.
He felt tears, or something similar to an itch in his eyes; he could force a cry, 'but... It wouldn't be sincere.'
He sighed. Was he sad? Probably yes. 'I suppose.'
Time passed and winter came.
A car skidded on the ice on the road and struck his brother at great speed, killing him almost instantly.
He didn't want to go to the wake; from his perspective, it was a waste of time. Even so, he was forced by his mother and father.
His mother was on a platform, crying inconsolably while improvising a speech.
"He was a great son."
'He annoyed me, got bad grades, and yelled at you when he didn't get what he wanted.'
"He had a great future ahead of him."
'He was failing five subjects, two for academic dishonesty and three for excessive absences.'
"A long and brilliant life that he couldn't get to live."
'Even at his age he did drugs, drank, and smoked both cigarettes and vape; nothing awaited him.'
"All his family is sad, just like me; I'm sure everyone present is sad. He was a great person."
'No, not everyone.'
The speech continued for a while telling some redeeming anecdotes about the young man, but none awakened anything in Adriel; he almost got frustrated, but he couldn't: it wasn't appropriate.
He sighed happily when he arrived at his house. A feeling of guilt gnawed at his heart. He knew that if his parents could know his feelings, he would be screwed. 'Happiness and tranquility.'
'Death... I'm definitely afraid of it when I see someone close to me die or dead, it scares me. Should I be sad? I suppose so, but I can't...'
He remembered something: he was crying in his room, screaming and insulting someone behind his door.
'That was the last time... Hatred and frustration.' He thought, looking at the white ceiling of his room, calm as he closed his eyes to spend another night.
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'I've always been like this.'
He continued turning his back on the corpse; the night fire in the camp revealed his pensive expression.
The smell of burned grass and wood was present everywhere. That night was being a hell.
Adriel covered his mouth with his right hand. 'Really, I'm incapable of seeing...'
The panther looked at the hunter. 'Hey, what do we do? She's already dead.'
He turned to look at his companion; the panther's black fur made it look impressive under the firelight. 'Protect those four, I'm going to look for someone.'
He summoned his gloves and his scythe, then began to walk without a clear direction.
The screams of the night had ceased a while ago; dozens of bodies were incinerated in the fire.
Soon he came to see someone watching a cabin, the main cabin where Yuste lived.
"Kael?" He asked calmly while observing his friend; the reflection of the fire was in both their gazes, dancing fiercely.
"Adriel... Is that you? Is that your voice? Liora died; an old man murdered her and he had Yuste's help. I came to kill him, but I didn't find him. Did I do well?"
The protector's gaze remained on the flames.
"I'm here, I didn't die; you saw the system notification, didn't you? Let's go, the camp is in flames and you'll die if we don't get out of here."
Water accumulated in the protector's eyes; soon they ran down his cheeks and fell to the ground.
"I'm... I'm afraid of falling into madness. I'm a stupid bastard and a murderer."
The young man observed his friend in silence for a few seconds; he knew it was possible that his death would come if he continued like that.
"You're sixteen years old. No one is prepared to be a protector at that age, no matter how you look at it. Kael, I have little endurance by myself; I need companions who serve as bait for traps. That's a hunter's job—to kill—but a hunter without a protector is fragile. I know it's cruel, but take Liora's death as a lesson. You weren't born knowing how to protect."
'Hugging him would be a mistake.'
Kael broke into loud, constant weeping. "But... you're a great hunter; even if you never fought, you're capable of putting your life in danger and you keep going despite almost mortal or extremely painful wounds."
"You're incredible."
"..."
Adriel remained silent before Kael's words. He never stopped to think about his behavior; it was more than anything instinct and impulsiveness that kept him alive for so long. 'Am I that strange? No...'
"I'm an idiot; I have little empathy for others, a fool who is capable of killing others without wanting to protect everyone. You're someone incredible because your goal is better, more honorable, and above all more human. I only want to survive with my companions; you want to survive with everyone."
He calmed down a little; his crying ceased and he looked at Adriel with his still shining eyes. "You're right, throughout the whole conversation... You kept that so monotone and disconnected tone.
He sighed at his friend's words. "Do you feel better now?"
"Heh, yes."
Even when according to Kael himself he had improved, he looked slightly downcast. 'How will he react to Selene's death?'