? RIFT ?

'The hard part is over' I thought, 'let's just keep on going it'll all be fine' I thought. The woman internally mocked her previous thinking. So now she was in a trap in the middle of the forest, alone. "Gh- help! Someone... get me o..out of here!" The woman felt pitiful calling for help with her faint and hoarse voice as she coughed in the middle of her sentence, but she had no other options. She just hoped it wouldn't attract any wild animals that the trap was most likely meant for.

But ripping the woman from her thoughts, the rose bush not to far away began to rustle...

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The woman's breath hitched in terror.

What could she even do?! She was trapped in a net hanging from a tree, wounded, soaking wet, and completely defenseless! All that she could do was brace herself for whatever horrifying monster was waiting to pounce at her and tear her to shreds right there and then. Then the rose bush rustled once more...

...and out popped what could possibly be the scrawniest and weakest soldier that the woman had ever seen.

"I-uhm- Identify yourself! O-Or else!" Stuttered a wavering, high pitched voice. The woman's eyes silently scanned the pathetic-looking newcomer. They appeared to be a thin boy with brown skin, pointed ears, dark brown eyes, and a bush of fluffy dark purple hair atop their head... and they were covered in small cuts most likely from the bush.

He held a sword that was clearly too big and heavy for him to handle correctly and their hair was full of leaves and sticks presumably from the bush they were hiding in. "I said i-identify yourself! Or there w-will be consequences!" The woman realized she had been staring.

"I...-" She suddenly paused, wheezing and coughing due to her horrendously dry throat, regretting for a moment she didn't drink a bit from the flowing stream of the creek. The newcomer perked up at this. "O-Oh my! Are you okay- gah- you can't just ask them if they're okay! They're the enemy!" They scolded themself before facing the woman again.

"I'm..." She paused, wracking her brain for the answer of what her own name was. Why couldn't she remember her own name?  She urgently looked around for a quick lie she could come up with for a name in order to not seem stupid, and that's when the rose bush the newcomer emerged from caught her eye.. "R-Rose! That's... erm... that's my name." She blurted out.

The person squinted at her as he approached her slowly, struggling to hold the sword at a threatening angle. "Well 'Rose', what are you doing so close to Cassius's Domain? Who are you with?!" He interrogated. "Acanthus? Hibiscus?-" They gasp. "Are you rogue?!" He questioned, trying to jab the sword in her direction but failing miserably.

"Wait- what? No! What are you talking about?" Rose questioned, trying to shift around in the net. "Also, would you kindly GET ME OUT OF HERE?!" She snapped, struggling around in a faint attempt to get out of the net. "I-I can't! You could be an enemy soldier! P-Plus you kinda scare me-"

Rose sighed, giving up on struggling at this point. "Alright. Listen kid, what can I do to prove I'm not some 'enemy soldier' like you think I am?" She wondered, groaning as the pain from her injuries set back in after her rush of adrenaline started coming down. "I'm not a kid!" The soldier squeaked. "I- I'm a trainee." He emphasized.

But the soldier trailed off, starting to think about the question she asked. "...and I... can't prove that currently, s-so you're coming with me! A-Any sudden moves and there will be consequences! Also watch out!" He quickly added as he readied himself and swung the sword straight at the net. Rose let out a scream and tried to get as far away from the blade as possible.