Falling Out

     Charlotte awoke in an unfamiliar bed, her eyes scanning a ceiling she did not recognize for a moment as she attempted to understand where she was. Sitting up, her body felt strangely sluggish and heavy, as if she were moving underwater. She slowly rose up, still feeling quite groggy and fatigued despite having just woken up. Her head felt foggy, and she struggled to recall what had happened before she fell unconscious and somehow ended up there. The memories simply would not come to her no matter how much or how hard she racked her brain for answers. She was mentally exhausted, feeling as though her mind had been working non-stop for some time and was now in some sort of hibernation state, though she could not imagine the reason for it. She could not fathom why she was struggling to such an extent. What could have happened to her that would cause this?

     She continued to pursue her line of thought as she looked over the room she was in. The room was quite bare to say the least, lacking any major furnishing save for the bed she was laying in and a small bedside table. To her right was a window covered with a curtain, and as she pulled it aside, she saw that it was around noon. The sun shone brightly through the thin panes of glass, warming her skin and filling her surroundings with soft natural light. Gazing down through the window, she caught sight of people strolling leisurely down a street that was quite familiar to her. If she was not mistaken, it was the very street the Hunter's Guild sat beside, but could that really be? Just as the question crossed Charlotte's mind, there was a soft knock at the door. The sound startled her, and she immediately turned to look over at the door, calling out after a brief moment.

     “Who is it?”

     “Oh,” a familiar voice replied. “You're finally awake, Charlotte?”

     Before Charlotte could say anything more, in walked Laura, the guild receptionist. She had a warm and neatly folded warm towel draped over her left forearm, as well as a tray holding a small bowl of soup meant for Charlotte. It seemed that she had been watching over her while she slept, though it was unclear how long. Charlotte decided to take the opportunity to get some information regarding her current situation from her.

     “Laura?” she said questioningly, but Laura spoke up before she could say any more.

     “Shh, you've been unconscious for a while now, so just eat. I'll tell you everything you need to know.”

     Apparently she and Will had both fallen unconscious as the battle with the vampire wolf came to an end. Faris and the other hunters managed to make their way inside of the cave and, upon entering, found both of them lying in heaps on the floor with the vampire wolf a short distance away. To their surprise, it had been slain, seemingly killed by a powerful energy discharge of some kind. They presumed it to have been some sort of magic. However, that was not all that had shocked them. While Charlotte had suffered only a few minor scrapes and injuries, seemingly having passed out due to extreme exhaustion, Will was not so fortunate. He had suffered multiple grievous wounds and had lost a significant amount of blood. If they had arrived any later, he likely would have perished inside the cavern. They had to rush to his aid at once. Luckily, the other hunters still had healing potions leftover after treating the wounded, and what remained of their stock was immediately used to treat him for the most part. The potions were not quite enough to restore him to health entirely, but administering them kept him alive.

     According to Laura, it had been three full days since they had returned from their expedition to slay the vampire wolf, and Charlotte had remained asleep the entire time. Will had not yet woken up, remaining in a deep sleep with no indication of when he might open his eyes. He would likely not awaken for some time yet.

     With all that information in mind, Charlotte knew she could not simply relax in bed. Upon finishing her meal, she attempted to stand up from the bed she had been laying in. An immediate and intense feeling of vertigo struck her like a punch to the face, nearly knocking her off her feet, and she immediately sat back down. It seemed things would not be as simple as she had hoped. She would have to spend a bit more time resting, so with no other choice, she remained in bed until the next day.

     The next day arrived, and after she had eaten, Charlotte left her bed at last. She gathered her things and stepped out of the room she had been allowed to stay in, wandering the halls. Before going downstairs, she looked around for the room Will was resting in. Upon finding his room, she quietly stepped inside and took the time to briefly check on him, mumbling under her breath as she saw the state he was in.

     “Reckless idiot…”

     A few minutes later, she arrived downstairs and greeted the people of the Hunter's Guild, thanking them repeatedly for all their help and promising to work diligently to repay them until the day Will finally woke up. They certainly insisted that she not worry herself over it, that they had only done their duty as fellow hunters, but that did not stop her. She simply readied herself for the days ahead, and off she went.

     Following that day, Charlotte spent the next week working diligently for two reasons. She of course sought to save up more money while Will remained unconscious, making the best of her time to do so. Moreover, she wanted to do as much as possible to ease the workload on the people of the Hunter’s Guild. Ranging from taking on additional requests and assisting her fellow hunters, to even volunteering to help Laura with reception, her actions were a testament to her gratitude toward those that had helped her and Will, even if they were unnecessary.

     On the final day of the week, Will awoke at last. Laura had made the surprising discovery herself when she caught sight of him shambling down the stairs toward the reception area. She was astounded by both his recklessness and sturdy nature in equal measure. She could not comprehend how he was already moving about despite having only risen from bed recently after sleeping for over a week. Unsure of what else to do, she ushered him over to a chair and had him wait for Charlotte to return from the latest request she had taken on. It was well past noon, so she was likely to return shortly.

     Upon her arrival, she was shocked to find Will up and about. Even more so when Laura told her he had spontaneously gotten out of bed and come downstairs despite being unable to move around very well. With a deep sigh, she met Laura's gaze.

     “Laura,” she began, her frustration evident. “Would it be alright if Will and I spoke privately in the back room?”

     “Of course,” Laura agreed, clearly concerned for Will's current state. “Would you like me to help walk him in?”

     “No, that's alright,” Charlotte insisted, waving dismissively. “You've done more than enough already. Let me take care of it.”

     With that, she walked over to Will and urged him to stand. As he rose to his feet, she put one arm around him to hold him steady as the two of them slowly made their way to the back room. Will did not say a word, seeming quite nonchalant about the situation. Inside the back room, Charlotte sat Will down on another wooden chair and ensured the door was closed, glaring at him fiercely once he was properly situated.

     “What's wrong with you?!” Charlotte snapped, keeping her volume just low enough to avoid making a commotion for others outside to hear. “Do you have any idea how ridiculous you're being?!”

     Will seemed both confused and offended by her accusation, returning her gaze with visible upset.

     “What are you complaining about? We beat that vampire wolf thing, and we got out in one piece. Everything's going great.”

     “Great?!” Charlotte echoed, clearly not sharing his sentiment. “We almost died back there! You were asleep for a week and a half because of your own recklessness! Do you have any idea how much you've set us back?!”

     Will leaned forward in his chair, his eyes narrowing sharply in anger as he spoke.

     “Are you kidding me right now? We survived against that monster because of me! I fought it so we could get out of there alive!”

     “No, you fought it for your own selfish reasons!” Charlotte shouted, inadvertently raising her voice more than she meant to. “I had a plan that would've gotten us out of there! Or, at very least, our chances would've been better, and you wouldn't have ended up bedridden!”

     She continued, not giving Will the chance to interject.

     “Let me guess. I bet it felt nice, huh? Did beating that thing make you feel big and strong? Well, what you did was stupid, Will! You could've easily gotten us both killed!”

     “What then?!” Will snapped back at her, attempting to stand up. “You think I'm some kind of screwup or something?! Do you think you're better than me?! You're just jealous I beat that thing when you couldn't!”

     “I had to save you back there, moron!” Charlotte yelled, no longer caring who might have been listening from outside the room. “You would've died in there without me! In fact, you would be laying crushed under rubble right now if not for me! I don't know why Lahstus ever brought you here! You're just a selfish, reckless idiot obsessed with your own ego!”

     Will's expression soured further, and as he steadied himself on his feet, he took a single, forceful step toward Charlotte before yelling.

     “Y'know what?! I don't need this crap, and I don't need you, Charlotte! Screw this! I'll get stronger and save this damn world by myself! You stay the hell away from me!”

     “With pleasure!” she obliged, and their conversation ended there.

     The following day came, and Will was able to move about with relative ease. He and Charlotte did not meet up as they had nearly every day since their arrival to Valgaea and the town. Not long after their argument, Charlotte went and split the money the two of them had accrued over the course of their stay in town, leaving half of it to Will and walking off with the rest. To her, it was greater generosity than she felt he deserved in the moment, but she could not simply leave him with nothing as she went off alone. The pair left town separately—Charlotte early in the morning after saying her goodbyes to all those she had come to respect and appreciate, and Will later in the afternoon upon learning of the path Charlotte had taken and going the opposite way. Despite arriving as a pair, the two left separately to embark on two different journeys. Their journeys would take them in entirely different directions, but they would come to an end at the same destination. In the end, their paths would converge at the end of the world.