Chapter Text
Foolish tore through the night, his face bloody and his clothing ripped from his path through the forest. The Reaper’s footsteps followed behind him in a steady rhythm, steady and surefooted as opposed to Foolish’s desperate scramble.
“Give me your eyes, Foolish,” Bad yelled behind him. “I only need two.”
Really? The guy already had a whole collection stashed away! Greedy bastard.
Foolish needed to reach the safe village. It wasn’t far, but the overgrown forest made getting there a nightmare, especially when running from a certain murderous individual in the dead of night. Bad was doubtlessly trying to reach it before him, but Foolish needed the supplies and rest it offered far more than he did.
Villages were neutral grounds. Everywhere else was free game, but they didn’t disturb places where the villagers were out and the monsters tucked away. Not anymore. That rule had become necessary after an unfortunate mishap a few centuries prior, and it seemed only right to respect it.
“Give it up, Bad,” he shouted as the Reaper’s curved blade carved the air beside him. “You can’t catch me.”
He grabbed a fire charge from his belt and hurled it blindly over his shoulder as he ran. It tinged the air with sparks and brimstone.
The charge crashed into a nearby thicket and exploded into flames. The crackling of burning foliage followed soon after.
Grabbing a low-hanging vine, he jumped and swung across a narrow stream. They were nearing the edge of the forest. Foolish would have to run like the wind if he hoped to reach it before him.
Surely the townsfolk could deal with the fire. They lived in the middle of a forest, for heaven's sake, they must have had experience with them. Foolish had more pressing things to focus on, like the foreboding sound of glass bottles clinking together. Bad was still in pursuit.
Before he could react, a flask struck his shoulder and exploded, shards of glass sinking into his skin as the burning fluid sank through his clothes. Foolish nearly screamed as his muscles spasmed under the hot sparks of pain arcing across his back.
“Bet you can’t run from that,” Bad crowed. “Lingering damage. Believe me when I say it doesn’t wash out.”
“You are a freak,” he yelled behind him. “Sadistic asshole.” He fumbled with his jacket buttons as he ran, desperate to remove the rapidly liquifying material. The reprieve was only momentary, as the potion had already begun sinking into his shirt. His skin would be burned raw by the time he escaped.
Lights in the distance spurred him on faster. A village, neutral ground. If he could get there first, Bad wouldn’t follow him. If he could only-
A blade sliced down Foolish’s back. White-hot pain blanked out his thoughts, immediately followed by sensations like magma searing through his skin as the potion seeped into his wound.
The night was crisp and cool, a paltry relief from the nausea quickly rising to the surface.
When his foot slapped against the packed dirt of a village pathway, he could have cried from relief.
“You can’t hide forever,” Bad called after him, falling back into the forest. “You have to come out eventually.” Foolish could hear the irritatingly triumphant tone of his voice, as if he’d gotten Foolish just where he wanted him. “I’ll be waiting.”
Foolish ignored him in favour of blindly turning down meandering pathways until he spied the familiar white roofing of a hospital building. Only when the familiar house came fully into view did his body begin to shut down. His legs failed as he reached the door. He collapsed, back spasming and legs turning to jelly, barely managing to pound on the door before slipping into unconsciousness.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before he woke. It felt different from a full death reset. At least with those, he could vaguely sense where in time he’d emerged, relatively speaking. Although from the pounding headache splitting his skull, it couldn’t have been long. It wasn’t the natural kind either, brought on by stupid decisions or falling from a few meters too high, rather like the uncomfortable side effects of the sedatives and painkillers used around these parts.
Hospitals were great.
“Are you feeling pain, sir? We gave you more sedatives after you woke up screaming.”
“I- what?” Foolish squinted and flopped an arm over his eyes to lessen the harsh glare from the window. A nurse was hovering over his bed. Their hair was swept back into a bun, neatly pinned in place. Their face was the picture of neutrality. Something about the nurse’s quick and deft tone made his head pound even harder.
“You were on the brink of death when you fell on our doorstep. Although I don’t think your heart would stop beating even if it were ripped from your chest, you being you and all.”
Ah. They knew who Foolish was. Of course. The question was whether or not they knew what his proximity did to them.
“Yep, I’m the totem.” He shuffled higher on the bed and squinted closer at the nurse.. Something about her was familiar. “I’m Foolish. What’s your name? You’re new.”
“Aubrey. I’ve worked here as a nurse for five years. To my knowledge, this is your first time visiting.”
“No, no.” He waved a hand, wincing as pain shot through his arm. “Shit. No, you weren’t here the last time I visited. It doesn’t really matter. I’ll be out of here soon.”
“I know the legends, but respectfully, sir, even you can’t heal bones overnight. We need to continue care until your condition is more stable. You’ve already been unconscious for two days. My supervisor said to inform you that there have been no visitors.”
Two days? Foolish frowned. And Bad had let him be?
“Give it a day and a half. I’ll be back to normal by then.” He grimaced. “I’ll be up and moving, at least.”
The nurse gave him a patient smile. “Someone will check on you in a few hours. Lunch will be around shortly.”
Foolish sighed and flopped back onto the bed. He was itching to grab a horse and get far away from this tiny village, but he couldn’t deny that some rest and a proper meal sounded good. Still, he wasn’t built to stay in one place very long. As soon as he could restock and sneak away without anyone noticing, he'd be moving on.