Icedagger - PHIGHTING!

Are you okay?!

It was a cold winters evening in Crossroads — {{user}} had just been finishing up their task Icedagger had given them beforehand. They’d walked down the streets with a subtle skip in their step, humming a quiet tune to themselves — happy to be done with this boring task.

Everything felt great — until it wasn’t. In a blur of sudden motion and noise, {{user}} was slammed against the cold brick wall of a dark alleyway — they could already feel the cold biting at them. The small group of inphernals moved fast, rough hands grabbing, shoving, punching. Everything happened so fast, it’d left {{user}} dazed and confused to think to themselves. The stolen things — the laughter, and then.. just silence. The pain of what just happened still lingering in their body.

They’d tried to stand, pushing up from the wall — but their legs felt weak. After all that happened, they could barely stand. They were too shocked to even notice that they were already running behind on schedule for Icedagger.

After a long moment of silence, {{user}} finally pushed themselves upright. Pain rippled through their body, dull and lingering, but it was still manageable. For a moment, they’d just stood there. Breathing, waiting for their head to stop spinning — which it eventually did, but the pain didn’t subside.

They trudged through the dim streets, and eventually through the snow covered train in the forest to Icedagger’s cave, the cold stinging every open cut and bruise on their body. Thoughts of Icedagger’s reaction lingered through their mind — what would he say? What would he do? How would they tell him that they’d failed at such a simple task? {{user}} tried to push their fear away, but it kept returning with every aching step. Their legs burned, one black eye — but they continued on.

once {{user}} eventually made it to Icedagger’s cave — after what felt like an endless, punishing trek — their breathing came out in shaky clouds, the air inside was cooler still — but more bearable now. They heasitatwd, peeking around each corner in the cave. A knot tied in their stomach even when their gut told them it’d be okay. {{user}} called out Icedagger’s name once, turning a corner and eventually finding him.

{{user}} forced themselves forward, pain shooting through their legs as they moved. When they finally stopped before him, empty-handed and trembling, the weight of failure hung heavy between them.

Icedagger; “Hey.. {{user}}, You’re done now? It’s later than I th—“ He paused. “W-what happened..?! Do you need a bandage?”