††† Haylee †††

Haylee slowly woke up and yawned extensively. She felt as if she had slept for days. The cat-girl stretched her legs and arched her back to get the stiffness out of her limbs. The shapeshifter felt like something important was poking at her from the back of her mind when she realised she was still in a partially transformed state. Her eyes widened with a start as everything came back. She felt around her midriff, finding only sleek fur and smooth skin. Was she dreaming? She pinched herself in the cheek. "Ouch, no dream," she muttered to herself.

Fully awake, Haylee finally realised that Siegfried was sleeping next to her. She suppressed her first instinct to wake him up and ask what had happened. If he got her out there, his body would need the break.

Instead, she took in her surroundings, pleasantly surprised about the secure location Siegfried found for them. There was only a small corridor leading out of the cave, illuminated by weak rays of daylight. She grabbed her shirt and skirt from the rucksack when the sound of strangely irregular footsteps caught her attention. Haylee sneaked through the long, straight entrance tunnel and pressed her back against the wall, listening.

She peeked around the corner when the sound seemed to move away from her. A human man was practising some type of hand-to-hand combat right in front of their cave. His jabs were quick, his kicks practised. Every odd punch, however, seemed to carry a sudden weight that should not have been possible. Haylee could hear the air being replaced in front of his fist.

The man was of average height and athletic build but not to the extent a warrior would typically be. Lethally as his punches were, Haylee doubted he would be able to score a hit against her. Apart from that, it was unlikely that an enemy would train calmly in front of their cave while they slept.

"Nice moves!" Haylee called out, snickering when the guy nearly tripped from the sudden interruption.

"Creator's hairy nut-sack girl!" he cried out. "Don't startle me like that," he laughed in relief.

Haylee found him to be a fairly handsome young man with a pleasant, easy-going tone in his voice. An unruly shock of blonde hair was kept backwards to keep it out of his friendly-looking face, and sky-blue eyes shone with intelligence at her.

"Glad to see you awake, Haylee. I'm Ryden, or Ry for short," he introduced himself, approaching without a shred of caution.

Haylee also noticed that he had not a single scar on his face or bare chest. "Glad to meet you, Ry," she replied, shaking his hand. "I take it you are some kind of healer, judging from my condition."

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Ryden nodded soberly, "It was really close for you… but as far as I can see, you're as good as new by now."

"Inside as much as outside? Are you sure?" Haylee inquired.

"Yes, your organs are fine. No difference from before," Ryden said confidently.

Haylee did not doubt the healer's words, as she really couldn't find any issue within her body and slowly started to change her features back to that of a stunning female human, only leaving the ears as they were.

"A real shapeshifter," Ryden mused. "I didn’t see any difference to a normal feline when I healed you. Will you let me inspect you again later?"

"Depends on the information you can provide. How the hell did you heal this?" Haylee pointed at her waist, which should have sported a lethal wound.

Ryden sighed. "I will tell you everything once Siegfried wakes up. It's morning already, and he has had a good eight hours of sleep by now. Shouldn't be long."

Haylee's feline ears twitched. "You might be right about that. He is already moving. I'll go and take a look."

When she entered the cave again, Siegfried was tossing and moaning in his sleep, his skin slick with sweat.

††††††

"Nghhhmhmmngh!" the muffled voice of a young boy sounded through the gag in his mouth. He wanted to cry, he wanted to beg, he wanted to ask what they wanted — and whatever it was, he would give it to them.

He had been blindfolded, gagged and tortured. For how long? He didn't know. The concept of time had long evaded his grasp. The worst thing was not knowing why he had to feel the pain. There was no question. No demand. And thus, no end to it. The only explanation was that he had died and ended up in hell, to be tortured for all eternity. But still, he couldn't stop trying to shift the gag and move his scalp to loosen the blindfold.

"Impressive…" a low, scratchy voice finally joined his hoarse cries. It hardly sounded like a human being. The boy couldn't even tell if it was male or female. But something had changed — there was a voice.

"Even after all this, I cannot feel your bond break," his torturer continued. "So… let's see how your mind reacts to a different kind of stimulation, young Siegfried."

Siegfried squeezed his eyes shut as the blindfold was suddenly removed. Bright light from several torches and a fireplace with hot-glowing coals blinded him once more. When he adjusted to the light, a different kind of dread, surpassing even the unbearable pain, wormed its way through his stomach.

A few steps from him hung the body of a young girl bound to a wooden cross. And though he could only see part of her face through the shock of red hair, he would recognise her anytime. It was Katherina, his sister.

Her head rested on her chest, clearly unconscious. But he knew this grace would not hold for long. A creature, veiled in a black, hooded robe, stood to her left. The implications of what was to come sent Siegfried into a frenzy.

He tried to move, but his broken arms did not obey. His legs were broken as well, and he swung uselessly from the two hooks lodged in his shoulders, keeping him suspended in mid-air.

"Yes, this is what I want to see! That expression of pure despair, the terror of having to watch it happen, unable to act on it." The creature's cracked voice rose ecstatically. "This is what I was longing for. How long will you bear it before your spirit breaks?"

The abomination pulled back its hood, revealing the insect-like snout of a clawbear. Suddenly the girl in front of him had changed from his sister to Haylee. Her eyes shot open, pleading with him to rescue her as the creature transformed its right arm into a massive, chitinous claw.

The monster's eyes lit up, glaring at Siegfried as it rammed the claw into Haylee's body.