They make it to the house, Meize carefully laid on one of the beds upstairs. Anastasia tends to him, doing her best to reduce the blood loss and avoid further injury. But they heal slowly, far too slowly.
“What are you doing?” Bunny asks Ambrose as she rummages through the kitchen’s draws. Ambrose ignores her. “Hey. Don’t ignore me.” Bunny pouts, waving her hand in front of Ambrose’s face. Ambrose pauses, and looks at her for a moment, studying her. “What?”
“Thank you for helping us back there.” Ambrose says quietly, before turning back to the draws. “I’m searching for a source of flame.”
“Oh, of course!” Bunny chuckles. “Let me help.” She walks over to another part of the kitchen and begins to search through them as well. “So I was wondering.” Bunny continues as she works. “How does your power work? Did you figure out the limitations?” Ambrose pauses, her hands stiffening for a second, before they resume. “Oh relax. I’m asking because I get the feeling the next fight is going to be harder. I want to know if we can make it our trump card.” Her eyes turn to Ambrose’s own for a moment, before she continues searching.
“…It only works on living things.” Ambrose sighs, resuming her own search. “The more powerful the effect, the more it exhausts me. I’ve started to get a better idea of how to apply ‘abnormal’ to something.”
“What is that?” Bunny asks.
“Abnormal means something outside of logic, not something abnormal to the being's logic.” Ambrose continues, growing thoughtful. “I couldn’t give myself night vision back at the shack, but I could make the night become daytime for me. Abnormal in every way.”
“I see.” Bunny says. “That is truly useful-aha!” she cuts off her own words as she pulls out a flint. “Found our little flame. Let me see.” She continues rummaging and finally grabs the steel piece that matches it, a thin curved bar that a person can grip. “And let there be light.” Bunny grins, sparking the two together. “Well, we need something to light first.”
“Oil.” Ambrose points to another part of the kitchen, where she’d rested a small, uncovered jug. “You can make some torches.”
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“Alright.” Bunny agrees. She pauses, and then turns to her. “Don’t you mean we?”
“No.” Ambrose denies. She looks outside at the shadows, those figures hidden by the night in her mind. “I need to hunt.”
“Hold up!” Bunny calls out. “Meeting time.” She grabs her hand and starts dragging her upstairs. “Explain what you’re doing, and WE will decide whether you do it. Don’t go doing anything crazy on your own.” Ambrose allows herself to be dragged, simply following her up silently.
“What’s wrong?” Anastasia asks as they enter the room. Her hands are carefully weaving some bandaging they found in the house, protecting Meize’s wounds from the harsh surfaces. Ambrose looks down at Meize, her eyes drifting across his wounds.
“Ambrose wants to leave.” Bunny says.
“What?!” Anastasia shoots up, looking at Ambrose. “Is this true?”
“Hunt.” Ambrose nods. “You stay here. Defend Meize. Prepare.”
“We’ve been struggling to face this monster with the four of us.” Anastasia says, her tone forceful and direct. “You can’t face it alone.”
“I’m with Anastasia on this one.” Bunny agrees.
“Not it.” Ambrose shakes her head. “Hunt.” She pauses for a moment, gathering her thoughts. “There is a third party here. Ally. Enemy, perhaps. I need to find it and ascertain what it is.”
“Someone else?” Bunny asks. “But you’ll be found. Attacked while you’re alone.”
“No.” Anastasia says, as she considers Ambrose’s words. “The last time when we were weak, it didn’t continue attacking. It’s safe to assume it needs to recover. The better question is how strong is the enemy you’ll hunt?”
“Why do you think they’ll be an ally?” Bunny asks, before her eyes light up. “The book!”
“Yes.” Ambrose answers. “I can find them. Retreat if they’re too strong.”
“Okay.” Anastasia relents. “Go.”
“Yeah alright.” Bunny agrees. “We can’t have distractions.”
“While I’m gone.” Ambrose says, looking at Anastasia. “Don’t leave Meize’s side.”
“I know.” Anastasia smiles with a sad lilt. “I’ll tend to him.”
“No.” Ambrose steps forward, her eyes piercing into Anastasia’s own. “Don’t leave his side for a single second.”
“…Okay.” Anastasia’s eyes search Ambrose’s own. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Thank you.” Ambrose breathes out. “I’m worried what I’m hunting might be an enemy and come for Meize. We need to protect him at all times.”
“On that note, I’m going to go look for some sticks. It’s torch-making time.” Bunny turns around and heads out, pausing at the door. “Good luck.” She says quietly, and continues outside.
“Yes. Good luck.” Anastasia says softly. She stands up and pulls Ambrose into a hug. Ambrose stiffens for a moment, before relaxing.
“Stay safe.” Ambrose whispers as she pulls away, looking at her gently. Then she pivots and leaves the room.
A few steps take her to the house’s window, and with a heavy push she launches herself out of the window and lands lightly on the ground. Ambrose turns to look at the house for a moment, before disappearing into the darkness.