My senses returned once again. The last day's events replayed themselves slowly as if my mind tried to accommodate me to the reality of the situation.

I opened my eye, the right one still refusing to cooperate, and I noticed I was lying on a soft, mossy bed in one of the rooms of the ruin. My feeble attempts to make sense of the situation failed, and my mind ignored this fact for now.

I checked my body for injuries, but everything seemed to have healed already. Not a surprise since I've always had a quick regeneration factor, but still a bit strange since only a few hours must've passed. I looked outside, finding the sun had already been up for a while.

"A bit more than a few hours…" I muttered to myself in a weak raspy voice. I nearly choked on my words because of the state of my throat. I had to find water soon, and also food. During my escape yesterday, I failed to bring any lasting quantities of supplies. Still, my vehicle was gone anyway, taken by Ahri. My body twitched slightly as I recalled him. A mere thought had this much of an effect on me.

I sighed at how low I'd fallen in such a short time, then got myself up from the green bed. I had no weapons or tools I could use, but being in a forest, I figured I could easily find materials. I walked out through the hallway, thinking of ways to find water.

"A bag could capture the humidity of the leaves. If I find enough of those, I could get a steady supply of water, at least until it rains. Also, with the scraps of metal I found in the ruin I could start a fire and maybe cook a few roots. Hunting is an option, but that requires a lot of time and energy I don't currently have."

I loudly talked to myself, trying to dispel the awful state of mind I got from remembering the events of the last day. As I did, I finally stepped outside, and again, I was met with the sight of a pack of Wilders.

"You must be joking."

Their ears perked up, turning in unison towards the source of the sound, me. I immediately froze in my tracks, scanning my surroundings. Since last night, their numbers doubled, but the big Wilder Lord was nowhere to be seen now.

I stood my ground as one of the females slowly approached me. Her features were more human than Wilder, with only the animal ears resting on top of her head and a big fluffy tail betraying her Wilder ancestry. In any other situation, I would've done anything to avoid facing one of them. Despite her frail appearance, she could easily tear me limb from limb. Right now, though, my mind was exhausted, unable to think of any way out. Returning inside would eliminate any escape route. Running away into the forest was futile since I could never hope to outrun a Wilder in their natural environment.

The only thing I could do was to stand still.

She came close, looking up at me with a curious expression. I held her gaze, using my slight height advantage to maintain a resemblance of courage. As I did, she continued to come closer, studying me intently. She touched my tattered pants, careful about my reaction, then she grabbed my shirt and pulled slightly. Eventually, she started touching my arm. She looked entranced, almost forgetting about me as she studied my body. I started feeling strange from being watched by a dozen Wilders while being touched by one, so I tried to pull my arm away. Noticing this, she immediately steeled her grip. I met her strength, pulling harder and harder until she gave out, releasing me. I winced slightly as her claws left surface gashes on my skin.

Blood started trickling down my arm, but I was more worried about her reaction. She stared wide-eyed at my wound, more focused than before as it slowly started healing. I've never seen anyone heal this fast in my entire life, but here I was.

In less than a minute, the cut was closed.

Everyone was speechless, including me, but the girl wasn't done. Before she could restart her studies, I grabbed her by the shoulders and forcibly turned her around, pushing her back toward the other Wilders. She moved a few paces away, seemingly stunned by my action. Have I done something wrong?

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The mood changed suddenly. Everyone's ears lowered in a threatening gesture. Maybe she was some sort of leader to them. Touching her so casually might've been inappropriate in their culture. I panicked internally but kept my ground. Running away right now would set the entire pack on me.

Before things devolved even further, the Wilder Lord appeared from the forest. He immediately noticed the atmosphere, and his ears went down as well. In a split second, he was already behind me, growling in a low tone that I felt in my bones. Seeing him, the other Wilders immediately calmed down. Threatened into submission by the hulking wolf lord.

Was this guy on my side? That couldn't be true. Most likely, I was his prey or some sort of trophy. Having to resign myself so many times in such a short period made it feel empty. I didn't really care whether I died or not anymore. At least stop teasing, and let me rest already!

The girl's expression turned from threatening to annoyed. She started down the Wilder Lord, though the fur of her tail seemed stiffer than before. After the growling stopped, she approached us, speaking to the big guy in a language I didn't understand.

"Gold Fang! What are you going to do about this human? Something is wrong with her, she healed before my eyes!"

"Silence! Her soul is power. We must seek her protection. Our tribe is unprotected, and other tribes always tried to kill us, but she will give us protection."

They seemed to fight about something. About me. Were they debating whether to roast or boil me?

"True, she does appear special, but protection? She couldn't protect herself from my claws!"

"She allowed you. Her closed eye holds power. You would die with only a look, small sister."

"Why didn't you die, big stupid? You looked into her evil eye."

"I ran away fast. I felt my soul being gripped. I was already halfway to our village before I escaped."

"You stumbled on your tail much?"

Their exchange seemed to heat up. The wolf lord seemed to be boiling with anger, and the girl noticed that she went too far with whatever she said, taking a few steps back.

"Give her food. I will be back."

"Um."

The wolf lord started walking away after obtaining a verbal agreement from the girl. Without him at my side, I felt in danger again. The others seemed to fear him enough, but the girl looked resentful. She would surely try something behind his back.

After he left, the others scrambled into the forest, leaving me alone with the girl. She sat down some distance away, ignoring me for now.

She looked into the forest, deep in thought. With nobody else around and my only guardian completely oblivious to me, I decided to run for it. I slowly walked around the ruin, checking the girl every few paces. At first, she completely ignored me. After noticing my intention, she seemed aware of me through her peripheral vision. Still, she didn't do anything to stop me. After leaving her visual area, I walked momentarily, looking for any changes, then started running.

I started slow, watching carefully for Wilders that might lurk around the area. Little by little, I ran as fast as I could while dodging the tall Blacksteel trees. After everything I went through, I was about to escape. Blood rushed to my brain, expanding my senses, which allowed me to better navigate the forest.

I was already far enough from the ruin that the Wilders couldn't immediately track me. I planned to run as far as I could with my current reserves before stopping to catch my breath and hopefully find something to eat and drink.

Feeling lightheaded, I decided to stop for a few minutes. Since leaving, my head felt strange. I figured that my mind must've had some bad reactions because of everything I went through. However, the feeling persisted and grew stronger even as I put more distance between myself and the ruin.

I remembered the strange being in the dark shaft. The way I healed earlier must've been its doing. I felt grateful to it for saving me, but the way it operated, unseen, in my shadow, still unnerved me. It was long behind me, though. I would never return to this place, so I didn't care to get answers anymore. I would simply forget everything and go on with my life.

After catching my breath, I resumed the race through the forest. If I reached the edge before sundown, I wouldn't have to worry about roaming Wilder packs. From there, I could find a passing convoy or some sort of human presence. My struggles wouldn't end, but if I managed to meet with some of my old friends, I at least had a fighting chance.

After a few minutes of running at full speed, I found a sort of clearing. I recognized the familiar edges and angles of a human-made structure. Ruins were quite common in this part of the forest. I decided to check it out, hoping to find some supplies left behind by others before me. As I walked out of the tree line, I noticed the Wilder girl standing in front of the ruin. Our eyes met, and I saw her eyes visibly widen in surprise. The wolf lord was right next to her, pinning me down with his gaze.