nigahamyeon

[nigahamyeon]

hearts awakened

ii. cold as ice

"Dad, I am late, can you drop me off on your way?" Chacha hurried into the kitchen and sloppily readied a sandwich for her to eat on the way. "Ts, ts, ts", her mother shook her head and her father chuckled as he laid down his newspapers. "Alright, I am leaving in five minutes – tell your brother", he said, sipping his morning coffee. Chacha nodded, took her sandwich and walked to her brother's door:"Minhooo-yah! We are leaving. Dad's driving!" A teenage boy put his head through the door crack and looked at her annoyed, "Thanks, I am taking the bus!"

"What? Why?!" Chacha gasped and looked at her parents who just shrugged. Minho hesitated for a moment and then whispered: "It's so not cool – dad doesn't even have a fancy car!" "Yah!" She was ready to box his upper arm, but didn't – her brother was way too sweet. Maybe she was spoiling him too much... "Let him be, Chacha – you were the same at that age", her mother called from the dining table and her father grumbled in agreement, "If not worse". They laughed as they were reminded of the old days.

"See", her brother crossed his arms, "Mum, dad, I am off!" he grabbed behind him for his backpack and left his room to wear his shoes.

"Mmh, have fun in school", her mother said and took her husbands empty breakfast dishes and put them into the dishwasher. "That's our cue, Chacha", her father said and got up from his chair, gave his wife a quick peck on the cheek and signed his daughter to go first. "Bye, mum!" Chacha said and threw a kiss her way.

Back then, when she was younger, she thought her family was like everyone else's – they fit the usual picture: her father was working in an office, her mother was the typical housewife, a daughter and a son. The older she got and the more parents of her friends got divorced she realized– they were far from normal - in the sense that being emotional was not a sin in this household. And that was completely okay. Chacha knew – she could always count on them and she would do everything so they could count on her! She took her bag, put the sandwich between her teeth and walked through the door, closely followed by her father.

He drove through the town – but knew his ways to avoid the rush hour traffic. "Oh, my..." Chacha suddenly said as her father halted at a traffic light and she saw the huge display on the skyscraper showing several picture of people gone missing in the last month. People went missing all the time –especially in such a huge metropolis like Seoul. But the weird thing was the amount in such a short time; only at night.

"What? Ah, the missing people?" her father asked glancing towards the building with one eye and coughed, "You are- you are not going out at night these days, are you?" "Mmh?" she turned her head and thought about her answer, "Of course not – I am not that irresponsible, dad"- She chuckled awkwardly. "I know, I know", the light turned green and her father continued driving, "I- no, we as your parents just can't stop worrying all the time – about you and Minho". "Aww, Dad", she playfully hit his arm. "Stop that. I am driving", he laughed.

He halted exactly in front of the entrance and Chacha loosened her seatbelt. "Thanks, dad! See you" she grinned widely, grabbed for her bag and left the car. Her father watched her walked up the stairs to the double winged doors and quickly let down the window and yelled: "Kang Micha!"

She turned around and looked at him wide eyed. He grinned and formed a heart with his thumb and finger: "Dad loves you! Have fun!"

Micha quickly looked around, maybe a little embarrassed being pushed into the spotlight like that and reciprocated the heart, a little hidden from the others around her and mouthed a quick: "Me too!" before she left into the building.

She entered lecture hall 'B' and pulled a face as she quickly looked around and the face of her occasional seat neighbour wasn't there yet. They weren't exactly friends - she wasn't even sure what her name was. However, she had lent her a pen once when it had been very urgent and since then that girl had been her saviour! But everytime Chacha tried to talk her up sometime she didn't dare to - mostly because her saviour seemed so closed off and totally focused on the lecture that even Chacha - a peopleperson - didn't have the guts yet. "Hey, Chacha! Did you write the essay?" one of her classmates asked her as she was passing them. "What essay?" He laughed, "I guess you didn't either..." Chacha shook her head, "No, I didn't", and moved to a seat somewhere in the middle rows. Even though, she liked going to college and she was not really good at it...

Her heroic and mysterious seat neighbour came a little late and as every other day sat down next to her  - with a few seats between them - and gave her a quick smile before turning to class. Okay, that day, Chacha would talk to her - maybe they could get lunch together or so...

The class ended and the students hurried out the lecture hall to avoid the long queue in the canteen and her seat friend also made her way to the exit. Now or never! "Hey-" Chacha hurried after her, but she couldn't hear her. "Chacha~!" She turned around as she heard someone call her name and saw Chaeyoung's silver coloured hair shining at the other end of the hallway. Chacha waved and turned quickly into the direction her seat-friend went to, but she was long gone. "What's up?" Chacha linked her arm with Chaeyoung's. "Not much - want to get a snack at the coffee shop? Today's menu is not that great-" Chaeyoung asked and left the building with her best friend. "Sure- oh, is that the blouse I got you?" Chacha noticed the familiar pattern peeking from under her friends oversized jacket. Chaeyoung nodded and Chacha grinned satisfied, "Looks good on you". "Of course, everything looks good on me". "Tcham, your confidence...."

Chacha sat down at the table in the coffee shop and sighed dreamily at the barista behind the counter who had just handed her her coffee. Chaeyoung rolled her eyes as she slid on the chair beside her, "Did you ask him this time?" "Mmh?" Chacha turned her head towards her friend, barely tearing her eyes away from the flower boy in the brown apron. "His name! Did you ask him his name?" Chaeyoung turned impatient.

Chacha looked down to her cup and shook her head. "Then I will-" Chaeyoung jumped up and was about to go back to the counter, but Chacha grabbed her hand and pulled her back down, "No! That's embarrassing!" Chaeyoung chuckled dumbfounded, "And you oogling him from here isn't?" Chacha shrugged and dared to glance back at the blonde young man. "Asking for someone's name is the least embarrassing thing to do in this situation". "Maybe so, but this makes him so mysterious", Chacha grinned and took her coffee - a simple short name for the mixture she was drinking. Chacha didn't really like coffee - she just liked the idea of caffeine . So she mixed it with some milk - of course lactose free thanks to her dad's genes - something sweet - most often caramel - and then put it in a cup with a straw. Some may wonder why: First of all, it was more fun, and secondly, she didn't want to leave her lipstick all over the place.

"By the way, are you coming tonight?" Chaeyoung asked drinking from her plain black coffee, like the adult she was. Chacha shrugged, "I would. But my father-" "What's his problem this time?" Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. "Nothing. He just worries. Especially now that all those young people are disappearing". "Oh, come one - we aren't alone~" she pouted, "You have to come! The boys said there are coming as well. It's going to be lit!"

Chacha looked conflicted as and kept drinking from her straw - "Mmh - but he is probably going to cut my allowance when I get caught..." she mumbled and Chaeyoung rolled her eyes again. ' "Then, maybe you should get a part-time like normal people your age do". "You don't work", Chacha pointed out. "I-" Chaeyoung flipped her long silver hair over her shoulder, "-am not normal!"

Chacha chuckled, "Alright fine. But, when it's not lit I am leaving. It has to be a hell of a night for me to lie to my dad!" Chaeyoung pursed her lips and shrugged, "You don't have to lie. Just tell him you're staying the night with me to work on a project". "What project?" Chaeyoung nodded towards the barista, "Getting you a man!" "Yah!" she boxed her friend's arm and giggled, "I don't even know his name". "So what? As if you need a name to make out...." "What's this? Shame Chacha hour?" Chacha crossed her arms and leaned back offended. Chaeyoung looked at her watch and nodded, "Yes, it's Sha-cha-cha time", she laughed at her own joke and Chacha looked at her trying to keep her frown - but soon broke out into laughter, as well.

It was time for the planned lit night and Chacha had lent a sparkling black two-piece from Chaeyoung so she didn't have to go home and risk getting caught. She felt very guilty at first - but with Chacha had a talent for repressing negative thoughts - so she could have some fun.

The club they went to was new - opened just two months ago and ever since won many young people over with great newcomer DJs and unbeatable prices for alcoholic beverages.

"A drink first?" Chaeyoung asked and laid her arm around Chacha's shoulders after she had given up her coat and walked her nodding friend to the bar. The music was loud and the bass vibrated against Chacha's feet.

"Excuse me, two hotties coming through~" Chaeyoung announced with a little cheer as she pushed her way through the partying mass towards the bar. "Yah", ChaCha giggled, a little embarrassed as she noticed the looks she got from the surrounding girls.

Chaeyoung squeezed in between two guys standing at the bar and gave them a flirty smile. They were handsome, sure, but they looked kind of concentrated; as if they were here for work.

They eyed them up with a stern look, first Chaeyoung as she leaned against the counter and then ChaCha in her sparkling outfit, which reflected the colourful party lights.

"What? Never seen a woman before?" Chacha asked, as she walked towards her friend and pushed one of them aside. They looked at each other, took their drinks and walked away. "Wow, that's what I call stuck up-" Chaeyoung shook her head as she watched the two young men and then proceeded to scan the room while they waited for their drinks.

"So, anyone to your liking yet?" Chaeyoung asked making Chacha snort, "Do you have a tight schedule? I haven't even had my first drink yet - ah, thank you!" she smiled at the barkeeper as he placed two cocktails at their sides and threw the polishing cloth over his shoulder.

"Noo~", Chaeyoung snickered, "I am just goal orientated!" "You take this project very serious, mmh?" she sipped from her straw and bobbed her head to the loud music.

The evening turned into late night and Chacha found herself sitting together with Chaeyoung and two guys she had talked up. They had bought them a few drinks and whilst Chaeyoung was very enamoured with her pick Chacha was rather bored.

The guy sitting next to her - Lee Hyungwon was his name - had a lot going for him... He was well-off, his parents have their own firm and he was studying law at Yonsei. Sure, it was impressive considering that all Chacha was capable of was that aesthetic major - but, could he please stop talking about it? All that ever came out of his mouth was the constant reminder what a hellacious stallion he was.

Chacha pretended to laugh at what Hyungwon had said and let her gaze wander around the club - anything might be more interesting. She noticed the two men they encountered at the bar looking around carefully - they are looking for someone. Were they cops?

That thought was a little exciting and she spun her own story around the guy that was hiding from them.

"Hey, you having fun?" Chaeyoung asked her, barely able to tear herself away from her guy. "Sure", Chacha gave Hyungwon a smile who reciprocated it and drank from his beer bottle, "But, I have to go the bathroom real quick". "Shall I tag along?" Chaeyoung offered making sure whether that was an excuse. "No", Chacha stood up, "It won't be long".

Chacha left the ladies room after washing her hands and nearly ran into someone, "Oh, sorry", she said, slightly inclining her head to the stranger, who turned around and smiled at her as his eyes landed on her. He was pretty, very pretty! "Oh, no need to apologize. A beautiful lady like you can walk into me any time", he winked.

Normally, Chacha would scoff at people like him using outdated and cringe lines like that. However, something urged her to stay - maybe it was his scent? He smelled incredibly good - almost aphrodisiac... "Do you already have someone waiting for you or could I invite you for a drink?" Chacha looked into the direction where Chaeyoung was sitting with the two guys and turned to the man: "I would love that!"

His name was Yi Kang and though he seemed to have lived through much he didn't really talk about himself - which was refreshing after someone like Lee Hyungwon and kind of mysterious. And Chacha was a simple woman, someone as attractive as him with the right amount of secretive was always alluring.

They talked about a lot - or more like Chacha talked his ear off, which he didn't seem to mind. And Chacha didn't keep track of time - they could have sat there for days and she wouldn't notice. She even forgot that Chaeyoung might be waiting for her.

She felt so good in that moment - the music didn't seem that loud anymore and his voice was just so melodic and his eyes so inviting that she had to hold back herself to not lose herself in them. Then, he touched her hand and her heart skipped a beat. His skin was so cold... She certainly wasn't the type for quick love - but, at that moment she knew what love at first sight must feel like!

Then, her bubble burst a little as she saw the two presumed cops were staring at them with dark faces. It was a little concerning, if not frightening. However, she didn't want this moment to get destroyed because of their stupid agenda...

"Can we- maybe go somewhere else?" she asked. "Is something wrong?" he asked and jumped from his seat. "No, well - there are just some guys..." she waved her hand and Yi Kang looked around, maybe he saw the two men, as well. Any ways, he nodded, laid his arm around her shoulder and walked with her to the wardrobe and before Chacha knew it they were walking along the streets.

This was so crazy - Chacha never had done something like this before. Well, sure, she had her own share of one-night-stands... but she never left the club after just talking for such a long time and have such a sincere feeling.

Chacha was so blinded that she didn't notice his sudden shift - his answers became shorter and his eyes turned... hungry?

Next thing Chacha realized she was being pulled into a dark alley way and he started to kiss her. It was forceful and steamy, as he pulled down one side of her top over her shoulder, his lips wandering now to the exposed neck.

Chacha had her eyes closed, enjoying every moment of it, feeling his cold hands on her hot skin. Then, suddenly, she heard something snarl and felt something sharp on her neck. She opened her eyes and looked down, seeing Yi Kang's dark hair and then the two men from the bar.

Her eyes widened as she saw one of them unsheathe a sword and without hesitation swung it at them. She didn't dare to look down, but heard something heavy thud onto the ground and rolling until it hit an obstacle. Shortly after Yi Kang's body collapsed and the man with sword wiped away the blood and sheathed it again.

"It's okay, you are safe now!" the other man said and Chacha dared to look down - Yi Kang's body lied torpid on the ground... without a head!

"What- what have you done?" she squeaked frightened and her eyes trailed the lane of blood to see the black-haired head with his frozen eyes.

The man took a step towards her making her flinch and raise her arms in protection. "Don't worry", he said, raising his hands carefully to show he was armless and meant no harm, "We just saved you. He- he is a vampire and tried to suck your blood", he explained.

"What?" she had hold her breath until now and her voice sounded weak.

The mean walked over to the head and opened his mouth, completely unfazed by the fact that there was a headless body in front of them. She peeked over to see what he was trying to show and took a deep breath as she saw two sharp fangs peeking out of his gum.

The one with the sword seemed surprised, "You are taking it rather well..." Chacha looked at him and nodded, surprised at herself - but then her stomach turned around and she felt her cold sweat run down her back. "Are you really okay? You don't look gooaaah..." The one at the head jumped forward to catch the fainting Chacha and looked at his partner with a big question mark on his face.

"What do we do with her?"

[nigahamyeon]

hearts awakened

i. a man's heart

Yisoo woke with the first rays at the break of dawn. Her eyes still closed, she could feel the beginning warmth of the sun on her face. Slowly, she raised her head, opening her eyes and blinking a few times. The window of her small room was facing east, and her bed was standing right in front of it, so she could feel the first sunbeams on her, everyday.

After a few moments of just looking outside, she raised her shoulders, sat up, and extended her front legs into a long stretch that she could feel through her entire body. Then she rolled onto her back, then onto her legs again and jumped out of bed.

Yisoo was a Gumiho, in Korean legends known as the nine-tailed fox, a kind of shifter. And she always slept as a fox. She could never really figure it out how to sleep in her human form, every position felt awkward, she never really knew what to do with her legs in relation to her torso – she had read about different sleeping positions, of course, but it all just felt so unnatural, and she was never able to relax. As a fox, however, sleeping was intuitive. Just curl up into a ball, tails around you, head on your hind legs. Easy. Sleep guaranteed.

It took a few moments until Yisoo fully transformed into her human form. Right after waking up she had difficulties getting her ears and tails to fully vanquish, especially since she felt herself weaken again. But she had already taken care of that, tonight she'd get stronger again. When her body turned into a slender figure of average height, she stretched out her human arms while standing on tiptoes.

First the fluff brush – she used it every morning to get rid of all her fur that she left behind on her bed when sleeping as a fox. Second, washing up, brushing the hair and styling it into a loose braid. Then clothes, and lastly, putting on make-up. Objectively, she wasn't in need of any kind of make-up as Yisoo was more beautiful than the common Korean girl, but she just loved the way a winged eyeliner made her slanted eyes look, and she could make her face look a little bit less fox-like.

She put on her necklace, a simple golden one with a blue-shimmering bead pendant, also known as yeowoo guseul – just that it didn't hold her powers and intelligence, like in the legends, but her very soul. It was the most important part of her, and if she was separated from it too long, she would die. Well, not instantly, but she’d get gradually weaker until she couldn’t keep up her human form anymore. And if someone were to destroy it… well, she didn’t actually know what would happen then. But she’d probably die as well.

By the time she was finished with her morning routine it was already half past 7, and she had barely time to eat something for breakfast.

“Good morning,” Jongho greeted her as she was rushing into the pathetic excuse of a kitchen that was part of the apartment. He had a cup of coffee in hand, handing it over to her to take a few sips.

“Thanks,” Yisoo mumbled and opened the fridge, just to see that it was almost empty. Not even the yoghurt that she had saved was there any more, one of her many roommates must've eaten it. She hated most of them. Except Jongho.

“I heard Outside Conformist are playing tonight at the Flask tonight, you wanna come?” he asked her, trying to lean casually against the counter.

“I can't, tonight is the night, you know? I already prepared everything,” Yisoo looked apologetically at him.

She really liked Jongho, even though he was a werewolf. Generally, Yisoo disliked all kinds of canines, even though she was, technically, also one. Never, in her whole life (and she had lived for a long, long time), had she had any good experiences with any kinds of wolves, dogs and the kind. But Jongho was different, maybe it was because he wasn't part of a pack (he used to be, but was shunned by them for a reason he never told her) or maybe because he was generally just different. Either way, Yisoo wasn't blind nor stupid, she had picked up on the fact that he showed signs of romantic interest in her. She could smell the pheromones he produced, and she could read the body language. It was more than obvious.

“Oh, I forgot,” he said, “does it have to be tonight, though? The hunters have been really active lately.”

“Yeah, they've been onto me for a while now,” Yisoo sighed, “but it has to be tonight. Can't throw away weeks of preparation, you know.”

“Yeah, I'm just worried is all,” he looked at the bottom of his cup.

“Let's go out tomorrow night, all right? Outside Conformist may not be playing, but we'll find something else to do,” she said and his face instantly lit up. With a look at the clock, she said her goodbyes and see you laters, took her coat and bag and made her way to the subway station.

It was a very usual morning, a lot of traffic and Yisoo made it just in time to catch the subway. It was crowded and it stank after sweat and kimchi. With her nose and ears being more sensitive than those of a human, she had always a hard time riding the subway, or the bus, or actually any kind of public transportation. But she did her best to live a life as ordinarily human as possible. Even enrolled into university and studied some random subject that she found vaguely interesting.

When she arrived at university, she still had enough time to get a cappuccino from the campus coffee shop and got into the lecture hall at the same time as her professor did. He smiled painfully obvious towards her, and she feigned a cheeky smile back at him. Some harmless flirting, but it'd make sure to help her grade a bit. Yisoo scanned the room for an empty seat, and sat somewhere in the middle next to a girl that she already knew. Kind of. They saw each other frequently and maybe they had talked, once or twice. She was a nice girl, very fun to be around and it seemed like she had a lot of friends. Yisoo sometimes imagined being friends with her, with a human. What it would be like, she wondered. During all her years, she had ever really been close to mythical creatures, like herself.

For lunch she went to a ramen shop near the university that was run by a Fae. Yisoo could only wonder why no one ever picked up on the fact that he was so painfully obviously not human. It was nothing she thought about too often, much rather she'd eat up her bowl of noodles and not think about anything.

After that, more university and then she'd go to her own part-time job – an employee at a gas station in a rather shady part of Seoul. She could've gotten a better job, at a better location that paid her better, but Yisoo chose this gas station for a reason. It was in a district that was rather problematic, a lot of humans, almost no otherworldly creatures. Many of the people that lived here were social outcasts, criminals of all sorts and really just the scum of society.

It was perfect.

She did meet a lot of drunks here, sex offenders and abusers. Yisoo was not afraid of them, there really was no human who could ever meet eye-to-eye with her when it came to fighting. But, as she still was a Gumiho, she had to consume a human heart every so often – and she stopped killing just about anyone, no. With the hunters being as active as they were, and Gumihos being classified as dangerous and therefore being actively hunted by them, she couldn't murder blatantly obvious. Also, she just didn't want to. Since she developed consciousness, Yisoo started to just look for her prey in men that she considered the scum of the earth. So, actually, she was doing the world a favour in eating their heart. And, of course, with these types of people it took a long time before someone found out they're missing and start looking for them. Win-win.

Her shift was over at 10pm and her date, or rather dinner, for the night was already waiting for her. He looked like he didn’t even really try, wearing the clothes he usually wore when he went to buy liquor late at night. One might’ve thought that he wanted to impress her in some way, but it didn’t look like it. For him, it was an easy way to get laid, since she planted the seeds for some daddy issues and other things that could make girls potentially go for pathetic older guys. They walked from the gas station to - what he thought - was in the direction of her apartment. In reality, though, Yisoo was luring him into the forest where no one would be at night to hear him scream. 

They were walking at a rather slow pace, he was telling her about his time in the Korean army, she pretended to care and laughed from time to time. He didn’t even notice that they were walking past trees and trees and even more trees, slowly deviating from the path. It was pitch black, and he only realised it when Yisoo suddenly stopped. Manipulating men was just too fucking easy. And yet, even though she was extraordinarily careful in choosing her prey, she still felt bad for him. A little. He was talking to her, and Yisoo felt his pulse rising, his heart pumping faster and faster. Funny, she didn’t take him for someone who was scared so easily. Just a bit of darkness and a mysterious lady inside a forest were enough to trigger his flight instinct. A shame, really, Yisoo thought as she felt her hands slowly turn into claws and her animalistic instincts growing louder and louder. She did like it when they tried to fight her. 

It was over before it even started. With the swift motion of her claws she pierced through his chest, an agonising cry of pain leaving his mouth but before he could finish it she ripped his ribcage open. The heart was still beating for a few moments, and Yisoo transformed fully into a nine-tailed fox before feasting on his heart. She knew of some Gumihos who actually ate the heart in their human forms, and she could never understand why. Human teeth weren’t made for chewing the strong muscle of a raw heart. 

By the time she was finished it was probably around 10:45pm, she thought. Maybe she even got home in time for the new episode of one of the dramas she watched at the moment. And maybe was Jongho also home already, and they could watch it together. Still a fox she was digging a whole with her fore-paws. It was just faster that way. Plus, it was necessary, just because no one was looking for him didn’t mean that no one could find him. Leaving the corpse of a man out with just his heart missing? Not such a good idea. Yisoo grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the hole, covering it up with the dirt and some leaves. Should do well enough.

That’s when she heard the snapping of a twig - followed by the sound of an arrow piercing through the sky. But it was too late - by the time she could react she already felt the sharp pain of the bolt in her thigh - it had gone right through. Yisoo yelped, bit the arrow head and pulled the whole thing out before running for her life. Her leg was throbbing, she felt the blood drooling out and the pain was so strong she could barely put her paw on the ground. As she was speeding through the forest and had almost reached the city, she felt the pain pass and her leg getting stronger again. Once she turned into a side street and hid behind a giant trash container, she quickly turned into her human shape again, hoping they wouldn’t recognise her this way and giving herself a bit more time. For a few moments, she just stood there, back pressed against the cold stone wall, and listened. Nothing.

The hunters were onto her. Never had it been this close before. How could this have happened, she had been so careful all this time. Yisoo felt her heart beating frantically in her chest. Her fingers were closing tightly around her yeowoo guseul - and she took the pendant and put it deep in her cheek pouch. Yisoo felt the cool surface against her teeth and mucous, and the magic of her very own soul pulsating in her mouth. For just a second she wondered what would happen if she would just… swallow it. It would still be with her - inside her gastrointestinal tract, to be precise. But she didn’t swallow it. Once again she listened closely but she couldn’t make out any sounds that might belong to the hunter. Cautiously, but as casually as possible, she started walking out of the side street and nearer and nearer towards the main road. Yisoo scanned every person that she saw and kept her ears on high alert for any alarming sounds. Her heart was still pounding in her chest.

She crossed the street and was now only one block away from the well lit main road. Two guys, all in black, were suddenly just a few feet away, right in front of her. Yisoo could smell blood, and a distinct smell that she never smelled before, but was told of. The smell of not one, but two hunters. It was a gamble. Would they know that she was the Gumiho that they were looking for? Or would they only be alarmed if she changed her behaviour now? One step, two steps. Her eyes followed the guy who was next to her. Time seemed to stand still for the moment that they were passing each other. Yisoo could feel her blood hammering inside of her. In the corner of her eye she saw him moving his arm inhumanly fast, and a sword appearing out of nowhere. Yisoo was faster and leaped away. Right into the arms of the second hunter, who was suddenly behind her, his fingers clawed into her shoulder. 

Then she felt the sharp edge piercing through her flesh. And her heart. A deep grunt escaped her throat, her knees giving up under her, her body hitting the concrete ground. Even through the pain, she kept her jaw shut tightly. When he removed the sword, she grunted again. The blood was pooling out of her. And then it stopped.

“What. the. fuck.”