"No, no, no! Please!" Karigan cried out as she sprinted to her unmoving lover. It was a pathetic sight, the once renowned hunter, now reduced to a child trying to scramble to her feet.

"Please..." She pleaded. Unsurprisingly, all she received was silence.

Finally, Karigan had crawled to her lover's side. Her gloved hand reached out to grab a fistful of damp fabric. The cloth wasn't enough to soak up all the blood, and stained her gloves with red hues.

"Telra...Hey, c'mon...You promised not to leave me alone! Don't...D-don't go back on your word now, dammit!" All efforts to sound composed were thrown out of the window. Her lover--Telra--was deathly pale. There weren't any signs that showed that she was breathing. The only prominent thing was the gaping hole in her chest and the darkened fabric around it.

Karigan's vision started to blur. Try as she might, she couldn't blink her tears away. Those crystal clear droplets ran down her cheek like waterfalls. The two streams met at her chin, and the combined droplets fell on Telra's torso.

"Kerry, you never told me why you acted so distant around me when we first met."

Karigan turned her head to face the brunette who was seated on the couch. She lifted an eyebrow, silently wondering what brought about this question.

"You never asked."

That earned an eye roll.

Smiling softly, Karigan walked over to where Telra sat and brought an arm over her shoulder. She hummed thoughtfully to tease Telra. When Telra delivered a soft jab to Karigan's ribs, she yelped and got on to addressing the question.

"...Well, you were really friendly." She paused, sneaking a glance at Telra to watch her expressions. Karigan immediately lost her train of thoughts as she admired the green hues of Telra's eyes. Her eyes were open wide, showing that Karigan had her full attention. The way her eyes shone resembled that of a curious child.

When Telra started to look worried, Karigan knew that she had been staring for too long.

"Ahem," She faked a cough into her fist, "You know me, I'm not used to the whole 'touchy-feely' thing."

"But that didn't stop me from harassing you," Telra laughed at the memory of a very flustered Karigan whenever she'd come around and hugged the introverted woman.

"Yeah, yeah." Grumbled said woman.

"Do continue, I don't think that's the main reason!"

It was scary at times; how much Telra understood Karigan. And how accurately she could read the hunter.

"You're right," Instead of musing, Karigan went straight to the point, "I mainly avoided you because...Er, this'll sound really corny, but, I felt a pull towards you, okay?"

Telra flashed a grin and cupped Karigan's cheeks to prevent her from hiding her face in embarrassment. Karigan's eyes went wide at the motion, feeling blood rush to her cheeks.

"Aw, you started to like me at first sight! That's really cute."

The brunette moved so smoothly, Karigan had a hard time processing when exactly did Telra close the gap between them.

Karigan took the time to relish the feeling of Telra's soft lips pressed against her own before she reciprocated the kiss.

As soon as it started, the kiss broke.

"I'm scared," Karigan breathed out.

"Hmm? Scared of what?" Telra tilted her head, worry and curiosity evident in her expression.

"I don't want to lose you."

"You won't lose me, I promise." The crease in Telra's eyebrows disappeared as she pulled the best smile she could manage and rested her forehead against Karigan's.

"I-"

"I know how much you can love someone, and I find it very sweet. That was the main reason why you didn't want to come close to me, wasn't it? Your fear of losing me?"

As usual, Telra was spot on with her analysis. It shouldn't come as a surprise to Karigan by now, yet it did.

"Yes." Was all Karigan managed to croak out.

"Then you don't have to worry, I won't leave you, not when you mean so much to me." Telra smiled gently at Karigan, sensing her uneasiness already.

"I love you."

And then she pressed her body against Karigan's once again as they shared a kiss.

"I love you."

Karigan hovered over Telra's face. Even though her body was riddled with wounds and with a large hole in her chest, she looked so peaceful sleeping.

"I'll always love you,"

Even to Karigan, the shakiness in her voice sounded foreign.

She was used to fighting on the front lines, not experiencing her heart shatter into tiny pieces and mending, before shattering once again.

"...So why, why did you have to leave me?"