"Cinna!"

With a quick slam of Lyn's hands, a strong bolt of lightning blasted the werewolf to shreds. She dashed across the room, cutting through the smoke and sprinting towards where Cydney was—and her heart sank.

The petite girl was writhing on the floor. Bite marks dotted the exposed part of her left arm; as they bled, the skin around them turned a chilling purple.

Cydney was really bitten.

"No, no, no, no, Cinna, no, no, no, please..." Lyn's vision blurred as she fell to her knees. She reached towards Cydney, but Raph appeared next to her and slapped her trembling hands away.

"Let me handle it," he chided, pushing Lyn out of the way. He quickly took out a bottle of water, gel potion, and bandages from his backpack, and began tending to the injuries.

"Lyn!" A familiar voice rang through the room.

Lyn wiped her tears away and turned to see Irene, Emily, Becca, as well as the rest of the Witches, running towards her. When their eyes fell onto Cydney, they let out a collective gasp. Without another word, Becca and Lana—a healer from among the Witches—rushed towards the bitten woman, helping Raph with his task, pushing Lyn further away.

The moment Becca touched Cydney, she frowned. "Wait, why doesn't my magic work on her?"

"Oh yeah, vital magic never works on her for some reason," Raph confirmed, "I'm not sure why though, I've been trying to figure it out but—"

"It's because she's not from our world," Lana said nonchalantly.

The other two healers stopped what they were doing to let out an incredulous, "What?"

Lana ignored them as she pressed down on Cydney's neck. "Her heart rate is unstable. The venom may have spread." That snapped Raph and Becca back into action.

Indeed, Cydney's chest was heaving erratically, as if she was having trouble breathing. Her clothes were drenched in sweat as she squirmed on the spot.

"Cinna..." Tears clouded Lyn's vision again. "Please, save her, please..."

A hand was placed on her shoulder. "Lyn." It was Irene; her voice was the softest it had ever been. "Give them space to do their thing."

Lyn gulped down the lump in her throat. She wanted to puke, to grab onto Cydney's hands, and to bawl her eyes out. Instead, she forced her head into a nod.

As she moved with Irene, her eyes remained on Cydney. The poor woman's face was ghostly white and glistening with sweat, and she was still huffing and whimpering in agony. Meanwhile, the three healers around her were solemn and deep in discussion. The scene wrenched Lyn's heart out of her chest as she slumped down onto the ground and buried her head into her hands.

"Why... Why can't I ever..." Why can't I ever protect her?

As she sobbed, she felt two arms wrap around her. It was Irene and Emily. Their arms were a solid pillar against her jerking shoulders, but no matter how warm and firm they were, they could not soothe Lyn's crumbling heart.

"It's not your fault, Lyn," Emily said, "you had to fight so many of them by yourself." A tinge of regret filled her voice as she continued, "If only we killed them all outside..."

"It's not any of our faults these monsters spawned like rabbits," Irene grumbled.

Lyn did not reply. She kept her head hidden in her arms, and the three of them sat in silence.

After a while, there was a sound of a note appearing and disappearing.

"The QA is coming," Emily whispered. She must have received a message from them. "I told them our location, so they'll be here soon. I'll have to tell the Witches to start leaving now unless they want to be caught by them."

With a heavy heave, Emily stood up and left. The weight on Lyn's shoulder decreased, but Irene made it up by pulling her closer.

"Don't worry, Lyn, Cyd is strong. She'll... She'll pull through..."

"Irene," Lyn said as she lifted her head, "it's a werewolf bite." That was all Lyn needed to say. The venom in werewolves' teeth was lethal, and people rarely healed from them.

"Well, it's... it's a very recent bite, so maybe something can be done...maybe..." The hesitancy in Irene's voice seemed to suggest that she believed otherwise. Then, she sighed; her breath tickled Lyn's cheeks, and Lyn could not help but smile a little at that.

"Thank you, Irene. You know, you've never held me this close before. This is nice."

An annoyed scowl flashed across Irene's face as she shoved Lyn away. "Idiot. I'm never comforting you again."

Lyn let out a weak chuckle, but her smile died on her lips when she noticed Raph and Becca walking towards them. Lana had left with the other Witches, and the two of them were the only healers left. Their crestfallen expressions slapped Lyn right back to reality, as dread rose inside her.

"She's... She's stable, for now," Raph said before Lyn's mind could spiral into hysteria, "but we don't know how much venom has spread inside her. We can't use vital magic, so there's only so much we can do to help..." He exchanged a knowing, worried look with Becca before glancing back at Lyn.

Lyn nodded. Slowly, she pushed herself up and walked towards Cydney.

The petite woman was still sweating and breathing heavily, but her left arm was now wrapped in a tight bandage. As Lyn sat down, she took Cydney's clammy hand into hers. It was so small, so cold, and full of calluses from her days as a fighter; it reminded Lyn of the fights Cydney had survived, of the quests Lyn had put her through, of the painful memories Lyn had watched. And now, even after everything Cydney had been through, this had to happen to her...

The clouds that had been covering the night sky moved away, allowing moonlight to pierce through the smashed windows and splash onto Cydney's face. It was as if heavens were telling Lyn to look at her more, to appreciate her beauty, to cherish her every second. Lyn tightened her grip on the small, damp hand.

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"Cinna..."

"I'm sorry, Lyn," Raph mumbled. "We tried our best..."

"Don't be." Lyn turned around and faced the three questers behind her. "Don't be sorry, Raph. You've already been through enough, especially with- with... everything else you've been through. Thank you, really."

Raph closed his eyes and nodded. The rage he had possessed when he started this quest was now gone, and exhaustion took over. Irene reached over and squeezed his arms.

"And you too, Irene," Lyn added. "Thank you for coming and giving it your all."

"W- What? Shut up..." Irene muttered as she scratched her dreadlocks. "Why are you being so cheesy today?"

Lyn turned to the last person in the group. "And thank you, Becca, I- I don't even know you well, but you came and helped too. Thank you."

Becca gave her a wry smile. "No, Em was the one who wanted to help. I just followed her, that's all."

"I'll have to thank her later too. Thank you, all, thank you." Lyn lowered her head. "But I'd... I'd like to be alone with Cinna now, please."

She watched the three pairs of feet in front of her shuffle away before letting her body crumple down onto the floor.

"Cinna, I miss you," she said as she placed her head next to Cydney's abdomen. "Please, wake up..." She grabbed Cydney's hand and cradled it to her face. "Cinna, please..." She snuggled her head into Cydney's stomach, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"I love you. Please, wake up..."

But all Lyn got as a response was silence. It was just like her nightmares when she would call for Cydney in her sleep; it was just like when she was chained up in that cave, or when she woke up all alone in her bed half a year ago. Once again, no matter how much she begged and pleaded, all she got was silence.

"Cinna, I beg you, please..."

Something clawed at her face. She jerked up, looking around. Then, she gasped.

Cydney's fingers had elongated and were now... claw-shaped. Her chest was still heaving, but the rest of her body was now... hairier. Her nose, eyes, mouth, and almost every feature on her face, was larger than usual; as she opened her mouth to breathe, her teeth were... razor-sharp. Like a wolf.

"What... What the hell?" The more Lyn stared at Cydney, the more she looked as unfamiliar as she was familiar. It was like she had become a hybrid of a wolf and... herself.

"What the hell?" Lyn repeated. Peeling her eyes away from the transforming Cydney, she realized that they were alone in the room. Everyone had left her alone with Cydney, just as she had asked for.

Something prompted her to hide this strange transformation. She took out her jacket and wrapped it around Cydney's body. Then, she pushed Cydney's head in a way that no one in the hall would be able to see her wolf-like face.

And thank God she did that, as the room immediately bustled with people again. A bunch of QA employees streamed in the hall, taking Han's body and setting up a barricade around certain parts of the room. Emily marched into the room as well, closely followed by a few healers and specialty mages.

"Here, follow me, here's Cydney, she's bitten by a were—"

Before Emily could finish her instructions, Lyn raised a hand and stopped them.

"She's... She's fine... Sorry, Em, can we please leave her alone? And- And give her some privacy?"

Emily frowned in concern, but she gestured for the rest of the group to leave.

"Is she okay now?" she probed.

"Y- Yeah... Raph and Becca did a good job, so it's better if she's left alone to rest," Lyn lied.

"Well, that's good then..." Emily sighed and rubbed her temples. "That's a relief."

"Yeah, so anyway, what's the situation now?" Lyn hurriedly changed the topic. "Are these people from the QA? Did the Witches leave on time?"

"Yes. The Witches managed to leave before the QA arrived, so that's good. So far, nobody from the QA has asked us about how we got here, so they're not finding out about us contacting the Witches and working with them. At least not yet, I guess. They brought tons of fighters and mages with them, and they're gonna clear out the entire castle. There were still several werewolves who survived, so they're capturing them, and there's also this one old dude who apparently used to be one of the Witches, and he's being brought in too."

The old dude had to be Gazini, but Lyn was too occupied to care about him. "What about Neil? Did you see him on the way here?"

"Neil? Was he here? I don't think we saw him, no."

Lyn let out a frustrated snort. She could not believe that Neil was still out there and alive. Gritting her teeth, she waved the topic away. "Okay, yeah, never mind. Thanks for getting the help, anyway, Em. I really appreciate it, and everything you've done. Can I ask for one last favor, Em-cakes?" She forced a smile on her lips. "Can you... Can you help ensure that the QA doesn't bother us for now? I'd like to be alone with Cinna..."

Emily's expression softened. "Sure. Take care, Lyn."

And once again, Lyn was left alone with Cydney. She laid back down on the floor, huddling next to the petite woman and curling up more than ever. Cydney was a lot warmer than usual, and... furrier. It felt as though Lyn was cuddling a puppy.

No one saw Cydney's strange transformation, and no one needed to see it. After all, this was still her Cinnamon Pie; she knew it in her soul. She did not need anybody to freak out over this, especially not the QA.

People came in and out of the room all night, but they stayed clear of Lyn and Cydney. Lyn ignored them as well, focusing only on the quiet heartbeat on Cydney's chest, her familiar smell, and her warm breath.

And slowly, she fell asleep too.

ϟ☁ϟ☁ϟ

When Lyn opened her eyes, the dim moonlight had become the soft light of the morning sun. And in front of her was Cydney.

She was in her usual form, looking as human as she was. Her eyes were large and dark, her cheeks were round and rosy, and her smile was sweet and so, so beautiful.

And she was awake.

Ah, was this a dream? Or was the wolf form of Cydney a dream? Or... was everything a dream? Cydney's severed foot answered the last question, at least.

"Good morning, Lemon," Cydney said, reaching out to smooth Lyn's hair.

"G- Good morning, Cinnamon," Lyn croaked. "How are you feeling?"

"Super." Cydney leaned forward. Holding up Lyn's head, she whispered into her ears, "I can finally do it, Lyn."

"Hm?"

"I can finally create fire." She lifted her hand. A small flame danced on her palm; it flickered for a few seconds, before disappearing with a poof, leaving behind a wisp of smoke.

Lyn blinked. That was basic elemental magic. That was a form of magic that was so deeply rooted in this world, that even babies could do—but not Cydney. Cydney had never been able to create fire. Pride and dread crept up Lyn's heart at the same time.

"C- Congrats, Cinna."

"It actually worked, Lyn," Cydney said with an incredulous chuckle. "I- I got bit by a werewolf, and now I can do basic magic. I- I have an affinity for this world now."

Tears welled up in Lyn's eyes, but Cydney pulled them away. As she twisted her fingers around, the tear droplets danced around her hand. Another chuckle escaped her throat.

"This is so cool. I wonder if I'm the first werewolf of my world."

No matter how jovial Cydney looked, Lyn could not bring herself to smile. "So you have an affinity for both worlds now?"

Cydney nodded. "Both yours and mine."

More tears streamed down Lyn's cheeks. She did not know how she was even able to cry; she was so dehydrated, so parched, so tired. "So... So you're able to go home now?"

With a pair of gentle thumbs, Cydney caressed Lyn's tears away. "I don't know. I haven't tried." She lowered her eyes; a wistful smile tugged on her lips. "Do you want me to try?"

The question sapped all remaining energy from Lyn, as she collapsed onto Cydney's lap. She felt a hand stroking her head.

"I won't try if you don't want me to," said Cydney softly.

Silence fell. Lyn continued crying in Cydney's lap, while the petite woman continued patting her head.

After so long, there was finally a solution for Cydney to go home. Lyn should be happy for her, but instead, her heart was shattered into a million pieces.

The past few weeks with Cydney had been so perfect, so blissful. She did not want those days to end. She did not want Cydney to leave. She wanted Cydney to stay with her forever, to marry her, to build a life together, build a family together...

When Lyn managed to regain what little strength she still had, she pushed herself up and stared at Cydney.

"Go," she croackd. "Go back home, Cinna. I'll wait for you."

A mix of expressions flashed across Cydney's face before it settled on a contented smile. "Okay." Her voice was soft and trembling. "Wait for me. I'll be back."

Then, Cydney leaned forward and kissed her.