With the tail between the legs

The clearing was full of holes. Tree roots rose out of the ground everywhere. In one corner was the corpse of a huge tiger. In another, a werewolf tied by the undergrowth, with one arm sticking out branches impaling a half-dead catman. This scene that one would think impossible was displayed before the eyes of the girls.

The first to react was Mirthia who, after recovering from the shock of the vision, ran towards the impaled cat, screaming in despair.

"What happened here?!" Raidha yelled at me as she tried to get rid of the plants that bound me.

"I'm not even sure at all... That crazy cat wanted to kill me, and just before you arrived... Well, uhm... these branches came out of my arm directly towards him..." I replied, looking straight at the cat and Mirthia.

"Gad, are you okay, meow?!"

Mirthia drew her own sword and cut off the branches that impaled the cat, who was apparently called Gad. She carefully lowered him on the floor. At the same time, I managed to free myself from my bonds. I grabbed that wood growing on my arm and pulled hard. It came out without much difficulty or pain. The wound on my severed arm also was gone as if it had never been there.

A few steps from me was the other part of my arm, still holding Vurtalis. I got closer and at least got the sword back. I was a bit hesitant as to whether I should keep my arm or just leave it there. After all, I didn't think it was possible to implant it in its place, especially after seeing how the wound had closed. The medicine available in that place didn't seem to be capable of it either.

"Gad, Gad, say something, meow!"

Mirthia's screams continued to echo through the clearing. That, added to the fact that our fight wasn't very silent, it seems that it reached the ears of some of the cats that were nearby, as some men from the village also came to the clearing.

"What is this mess?"

"Look there! It's Khesnar!"

Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw the scene, but immediately ran towards the corpse of the tiger.

"He is dead…"

"They also attacked Gad."

The different emotions of each were appreciated in their tones of voice. Anger, fear, despair, contempt, all negative, all directed directly at me. The situation was dire, and on Mirthia's side, it didn't seem to be going much better.

"Mir... thia, listen... I..." the half-dead cat managed to stammer.

"Don't worry, meow. You will be fine, meow. Don't strain yourself."

"No... Listen, that guy is... he's a monster," he said, pointing at me as he spat blood. "You must not, no..."

"No, no, hold on!"

Mirthia was desperate trying to keep blood from pouring out of the various holes in Gad's body, but she couldn't. Slowly, a red pool spread out from under him and began to drench Mirthia herself in that unpleasant color. Each time his breathing was weaker. No matter how one looks at it, he wouldn't last long.

"You know, I... love you."

He confessed to her while touching her face affectionately, finally closing his eyes and exhaling his last breath, leaving behind a bitter smile. Apparently, in his last moments, he mustered the courage to confess his feelings. I don't think he died without resentment, but from his face, at least he died content to be able to say that. And with that, the last bomb fell. A bomb that would undoubtedly explode soon, causing enormous destruction.

"Hey, meow... Come on, meow... Open your eyes, meow. Don't joke, come on, it's enough, ha, ha, ha. Come on... say something!"

She started out with small strokes on his cheek in a state of utter disbelief. She laughed, despaired at the silence, laughed again. Her head didn't seem to be able to decide which sentiment should have... And in the end, the bomb exploded.

"Come on, get up! Stop the nonsense! Meooooooooooou!!!!"

No one apart from her opened her mouth, so her scream created a noise that made even the surrounding animals flee. Mirthia began to shake the dead cat like someone trying to wake someone up asleep.

The villagers were still mute behind her. Some cried, others looked away, many more clenched fists and teeth in fury, but no one said anything. Raidha was with one hand covering her open mouth, debating whether to say something or to be completely silent as she exchanged glances between Mirthia and me. On my side, the feeling of guilt was beginning to corrode me intensely. I couldn't do anything but keep quiet like everyone else while holding the pressure on my chest. Only one person apart from Mirthia spoke, someone whose voice could not be heard by anyone but me.

—Bah, they all look like morons. He deserves it. It's fine that he died. If he hadn't died, you would be the dead here.

"I know..." I whispered.

It was really lucky that no one other than me could hear that voice. It was cruel, but what he said was the plain truth. If the one lying on the ground wasn't that cat, it would be me. So, despite feeling some guilt, I can't say that I regretted it from the bottom of my heart.

"I love you too, meow," Mirthia said as she hugged him.

Finally, Mirthia seemed to realize that he was really dead and released him. Gad's blood soaked her from top to bottom. His black fur was completely wet with red. For a moment, she turned to us and looked directly at me. Her appearance was identical to that of a butcher from a horror movie. It was pretty scary.

Faced with the deformed face most suitable for a demon, even the villagers took a step back. However, that face didn't last long. Her expression changed from extreme fury to utter sadness and fell right on top of the corpse with her eyes overflowing tears. Finally, she broke, this time she was the one who did not let any sound out as she buried her face in the chest of the dead cat.

"Why, meow?"

"I do not…"

"I helped you, I welcomed you, I taught you, and this is what I get in return…"

"He attacked me… I don't even know how… It was unintentional..."

"Unintentional, ha, ha, ha."

Mirthia's dry laugh made me feel even more guilty and the pain in my chest felt greater than any injury. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish, but I was not able to articulate a word.

"Mirthia!"

The little princess couldn't stay still anymore and ran towards her in what was probably an attempt to comfort her. As soon as she started to run, I could see Mirthia clench the hilt of the sword that she already had half drawn.

"Raidha, don't get any closer to her!"

I threw Vurtalis like a whip. I put the blade around her as I tried not to cut her and quickly yank it back. I barely made it in time to pull her away a couple of meters from Mirthia. In the place where Raidha would have been, Mirthia's sword had just passed at full speed, cleanly cutting off a couple of strands of Raidha's silvery hair.

"Go away, meow…"

A barely perceptible thread of voice leaked from her face buried in the cat's chest.

"Wait a minute, I…!"

"Get out of here!"

"But…"

"Get out I say!" She finally lifted her face and roared with a face full of hatred.

The other villagers also reacted and prepared their weapons. There was nothing to do, things were going worse every second.

"Shit, why things have to end like this. Isn't there just one place where problems don't haunt us? Raidha let's go!"

"Waiting! What happened?"

"There's no time to explain... I'll summarize it later... Now run if you don't want to die!"

I took Raidha by the hand and ran with all my might. Behind us, I could hear the footsteps of the group of villagers chasing us. Luckily, the lush forest, through which it was quite difficult to walk, served as a cover to leave them behind. Also, I blocked the path by raising earthen walls and blocking their vision as much as I could. In this way, we managed to escape the rabid cats. However, we left the area of the forest that I actually knew.

***

After running for at least half an hour straight and making sure they weren't following us, we stopped to rest for a bit. My legs finally gave out and I lay down on the floor with my arm covering my eyes, biting my lip hard. The glare Mirthia gave me was still alive in my mind and it didn't seem to be wanting to leave anytime soon.

"Well, now will you tell me what happened? I knew we wouldn't stay there forever, but leaving this way has been very unpleasant."

Her face was bitter and she was completely disgusted. So much that she didn't even want to look at my face. Luckily, she seemed to understand that it was not all my fault.

"I just want to know what really happened," she finished, muttering.

"In short, this Gad was jealous that we lived with Mirthia... well, that I lived. I don't think he cared that much about you. And that tiger was something like the guardian god of the forest... or I don't know what the fuck like that. Then, joining his jealousy with the excuse of killing the tiger, well... he attacked me."

"I think it's too short, but I more or less get it. And another thing, what happened to your arm?"

This time she showed pain instead of disgust. Obviously, she was worried and sad to see that I lost an arm.

"As you can imagine, he cut it off. Anyway, I don't think there is a need to worry. It doesn't even hurt anymore. Also, I have the feeling that it will grow up again..."

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh?! Really?!"

"Yeah... Look, I don't have a single wound right now. My regeneration has multiplied hundreds of times and my control over the earth has also increased exponentially... I can even create plants from scratch. Apparently, I did it unconsciously to defend myself and... well, you have already seen what happened."

I raised my hand as I remembered the feeling during the fight. A small tree grew on my palm.

"That's why I think right now I'm something of a plant in human form... well, wolf form… both. My wounds heal the way a tree branch grows again after being cut."

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh?! So, you became immortal?!"

"No, I don't think so. I can heal wounds, but as a plant, if the root is cut off I'm sure I'm going to die. Also, my body is still flesh and blood... I am simply something more difficult to kill."

"I'm not sure if I should be happy or offended."

"Why do you say that? Well... whatever. By the way, why did so many villagers come after you?"

"Ah! That... you see... ehm…"

"So you really have something to do…!

"Well, when I went to the village to look for Mirthia, I probably screamed a bit more than necessary... Hearing me talk about the tiger, everyone followed us."

"I understand... You are dumbass!"

"It's not my fault!"

We continue our way aimlessly through the forest. Our intention was to get out of it, but we had no idea where to go. After a few hours of walking, the sweaty, bloody, and torn clothes began to bother me.

"I wonder what I should do with these clothes... If someone sees me, I don't know what they will think about me."

"Right! As I told you, I took the opportunity to pick up our clothes."

She took off a backpack that she had been carrying for a while and started pulling out her usual clothes.

"I don't want to keep wearing these ugly clothes. I'm going to change. Don't even think about looking!"

She hid a bit and changed.

"Don't worry, I brought yours too."

"And why are you keeping mine too?"

"Would you rather wear this?"

"Is not that I like it... Comparing these clothes I'm wearing with mine, maybe mine is in a better state right now, but not much else."

I compared both. Mine was torn all over the place and had a nasty hole in the stomach. This one was missing a sleeve and four claw marks tore through the chest. As she said, they were almost as shattered. But certainly, the fabric of my normal clothes was more comfortable and had at least been washed.

"I'll wear mine for now. Maybe at some point I can patch the holes."

"This is no problem! Leave it to me!"

She puffed out her chest and hit it with a proud smile.

"You saw how we do things in my city, right? Well, just like we build buildings, we can also make other materials. I just need to change from a hard texture to one identical to the fabric. Give me a moment, I'll fix your clothes right away."

And just as she said, she started repairing the holes in my tracksuit with her magic. Luckily, the fabric was also black.

"Look! What do you think? Now it is even more resistant. It's not like armor, but it will last a few hits."

"Ah, it looks pretty fine. Just one thing... put a hole in the pants or I won't be able to get my tail out..."

"Ha, ha, ha, got it."

"Don't laugh..."

Once it was over, I went to change in the same way as her. Despite the state of the current one, I decided to keep the torn clothes just in case, since I had no other. I put mine on and...

"Raidha..."

"What's wrong with you now?"

"You made the hole on the other side..."