Ema Valentin

Three Bite Marks

Rob walked the dusty road with a simple goal — to become an Uninfester. The road she walked was just as dusty as any other road in WORIDII and she walked it alone — even though there was a cat sleeping comfortably in her backpack. The voice of her mother still resonated in her head, telling her that it was a bad idea, that it was dangerous and that she should not.

She only tightened the grip of her bag and sped up. The further she was from her Settlement, the better.

Robenea was always a peculiar child. Everyone in the Settlement knew it, but nobody would say a word. She was wild, would not sit still and most importantly — she was nothing like her mother. 

It was kind of a big deal. Her mother was a local Herbalist, named Autumn. One of the most important people in the community. All of the Jarni around were dependent on her and Rob — which was her preferred way of pronouncing her name, so let's stick to that — was supposed to take over her legacy.

But she didn’t want to.

Rob didn’t even look like her mother. She was way too short for a Jarni and she looked like no one around there. Her skin was slightly darker and her hair was thicker.

She was also a little more stubborn and a troublemaker. Not the worst of the worst, she tried a lot. She really tried to stay still, fit in and do what she was supposed to — except it was quite obviously against her very own nature. Even as a little child, she had this unstoppable need to explore the world and seek places that were usually out of reach for a kid like her. Many times her mother almost died of fear, when her only daughter went to scout the local forests, all alone.

And she knew her mother would probably not be very happy when she found the note Rob left her in the kitchen.

She was not running from home, even though it could seem like that. There was no bad blood between her and her mum, there was no horrible conflict that would precede this. But she had to go. This was her only chance. A chance to become an Uninfester, which was something she really wanted.

That was the problem, she really wanted it, but people around her did not. There were always a million little reasons presented to her as to why she should not do this, and instead follow in the footsteps of her mother and become a healer.

But there was no force in the whole WORIDII that would keep her in the Settlement. She dreamed of an adventure and of this job for years now.

As everyone knows, there are three Branches of humankind. Jarni, who live in connection with nature, Aristocrats, with their heavy machinery culture and Trolls. Every little child knows that, but things are never that simple. Three so-called Blossoms exist between the Branches — three guilds where people from all three branches go to work on a common cause. 

There are Historians like me. We record stories and study the past, so the history never gets forgotten again and never repeats itself. We’re supposed to be the scribes, marking down all the important events and information.

Most of the Historians don’t travel like I do, but then again, one must travel WORIDII to actually learn about it.

Then there are Obes Tetras. They take care of medicine, healing and child bearing. Similarly to Historians, anyone from any Branch can come to their headquarters and take a test to try and become one. It’s very well known where those places are and people from all across the land and all the Branches come to do so – even though the Trolls participate the least.

The third Blossom are Uninfesters. They are the oldest one to form as we know them today and they have no headquarters. It has complicated historical causes that are not that important for this story, but to make it short, Uninfesters are here to protect people from the consequences of their own actions. From the little we know, they were formed right after the War to deal with the creatures the Fourth Branch created during the conflict. They travel WORIDII and do their job wherever it is needed. There is no main place of meeting for them, they just sometimes meet all across the land. It's not easy to get the information about when and where it happens if you’re not an Uninfester, but that is apparently also part of the potential entry process, because those meetings are the only chance of getting in. 

There was no more specific information about the entry process for Rob when she left her home. She just knew where she had to go and when she had to be there. For the first time in her life she was stepping into the unknown, alone.

Well, not exactly for the first time.

It happened when Rob was 13. It is exactly the age when children are still seen as children but for them, they’re already adults and want to be treated like one. Rob was always a trouble maker, short tempered and stubborn. Ever since she knew about the existence of Uninfesters, she knew she wanted to be one. And against the better judgment of the whole community, she did everything she could to do so.

So one furtrob, instead of attending school, she decided to go for an adventure, to go and look around one of the abandoned military objects left there to nature after the War.

Was it dangerous? Yes. Was it utterly a bad idea? Well, if it was, I am still not the one to judge, because I did the same at her age and I certainly didn’t do any better than her.

She armed herself with a stick — a pointy one — and she walked straight into the lair of the beast — quite literally. She was not scared at that moment, but looking back she admitted that she just didn’t let that get to her.

The building was old and made out of concrete, which was a material she never saw before like this. Not from up close, not properly, because as Jarni, all the buildings she lived in were made out of stone or wood. The concrete was covered in moss and was already slightly falling apart, when she laid her hand on it. And in that moment she felt more alive than ever before, she felt this weird connection to something she could not name just yet.

How do I know all of this? Well, she told me. I am sorta her godfather.

Rob arrived at the crossroad early. She expected to do so, better sooner than later, right? And she camped on the nearby tree, ate some of the food she took with her, fed Cheecha, her kitty cat and slept there. Smart move if you ask me. It’s safer to do so than to sleep on the ground when you are alone in the wild.

When she woke up, the sun was already up. It was cold yet sunny pospi and there was already a group of people talking across the road. It was pretty obvious they knew about her, after all, those were Uninfesters, not your regular traveling civilians. They surely noticed a girl up on a tree.

Rob climbed down, stretched and took a deep breath. Alright. She knew that getting here was probably the easiest part of the whole plan. What now? Does she wait? Does she go to them and reach out to them directly, right now?

Fortunately, she didn’t have to make that decision. Before Rob knew it one of the women in the group was heading towards her, with her hand raised in a slight wave.

Rob stood up straight, carefully greeting her back with similar movement of her arm.

„Hey. Are you here waiting for us?“ the woman spoke even before she got close enough to stop.

„I am. My name is…“

“Keep that for later, alright? For now just go sit over there and wait for the others.“

Rob didn’t protest. She was not used to people treating her so strictly, but she didn’t mind. It kinda bummed her that she didn’t get to say her name or that there obviously wasn’t a space for questions, which she had, but she just nodded and went there. After all, she didn’t really want to get in trouble right away.

She wanted to know how this would go. She wanted to know how many other people like her could arrive, and how many of them even have a chance to join the Uninfesters. Instead she watched as the woman returned back to her group and how everyone in there turned to look at Rob.

She didn’t have a good feeling about it. There was something about the way the group changed the volume of their debate.

Anyways, now she had to wait.

Now, she did come to see the old bunker, of course. She walked around it, checked the area and then stared at the entrance. She may have been yearning for a proper adventure, but she was still 13, so going in was objectively very dangerous even for her. Yes, this was probably enough, she said to herself while peeking in.

It was brave, that was true. And it certainly was enough for someone her age to prove she isn’t afraid, but it didn’t end there.

As she was turning around to leave, she heard something from the inside. Her first instinct was to bolt and leave that place at once, but she stopped herself from doing so and paused for a moment.

That was not a monster down there. She heard monsters before, from the distance and from the safety of her Settlement but this was not one. This was something else, something familiar yet unexpected in place like this.

The sound could be heard again and this time she was sure.

It was a cat meowing.

Rob turned back to face the darkness inside and took a deep breath.

“Kitty, kitty, kitty?“ she tried to call out and hoped that maybe the animal would walk out on its own.

She waited for a while and called a few more times, but she soon realized that the animal was probably either lost or stuck somewhere inside.

The reasonable thing for her would be to run back home, tell an adult what happened and let them handle it. She would probably get in trouble for going to see the bunker, though.

So she might as well enter the bunker, find the cat, save the cat and go home. Nobody would know.

And she dreamt of becoming an Uninfester. This was her chance. No Uninfester would stop before something so small as a dark corridor.

She was to learn later on in her life that dark corridors in fact do stop a lot of Uninfesters, that they never enter places without having an Extractor — someone who will help to get away in case of need — and that in fact they are usually equipped with more knowledge than her.

She took a Lumeetle cocoon with herself and carried it in a glass bottle in her backpack, so now she took it out, held her pointy stick even tighter and made a step towards the entrance.

She made sure not to think so much about it, because she knew that with more thinking she would inevitably come to the conclusion that this was, indeed, a bad idea.

There were others like her on the crossroad. Or rather, there were others who came to seek the Uninfester apprenticeship, but nobody quite like her. She was the smallest of them, from all the boys and girls. It didn’t bother her that much, because she was used to being the smallest person in the room.

They all sat in silence. It seemed that no one wanted to do small talk or make friends around here and it only made sense.

The group of Uninfesters also grew in numbers, and the sun was already high above the horizon. They seemed to be arguing over something, standing in groups, talking one over another, but there was no yelling or audible conflict.

Rob just silently watched everything, trying to understand as much of the situation as she could, holding Cheecha, on her lap. Rob was never good at waiting, but there she was putting all her energy into sitting still and doing so. 

This was important and it was important personally to her.

And so she waited.

She watched the Uninfesters talk and exchange some books and scrolls, hearing nothing but pieces of words, many of which she didn’t understand.

And in her head there was still the voice of her mum, telling her that this was a bad idea.

First thing Rob learnt entering the bunker was that she should have taken at least two Lumeetle's cocoons in a bottle. The inside of the building had no windows and the darkness was almost overwhelming, it was the kind of darkness she never saw before. The air was stale, wet, cold and smelled like mold. Her senses were for some reason sharpened like never before and she carefully moved forward.

Thankfully the cat was still meowing so it was not that hard to continue in the right direction. There were many rooms and corridors and Rob started to get worried she would get lost.

She dragged her heel on the dusty, dirty floor, leaving behind a trail she could follow back.

She was scared, yes. Yet she never felt so alive.

This was it. She was doing what she dreamt of and it was even more fun than she expected. 

“Hey, kitty, kitty!“

The cat responded with an even louder meow. She must have been close.

The air got worse and worse, the smell was putrid more than before and it almost weighed on her. It felt heavy to breathe, hard to get through her lungs and yet she persisted.

If there was a living being trapped in there, she had to at least try to help. Regardless of her ambition to become an Uninfester, she was still a Jarni. She still had a strong connection to nature and all living things, she still deeply cared for every creature, big or small.

She entered a bigger room. She could see it because there was a hole in the concrete, probably a meter wide. The light was fighting its way through branches and leaves covering it, but it still came through.

There was also a way wider hole in the middle of the floor Rob was currently standing on, and the meowing seemed to be coming from there.

“Oh Patronettes, couldn’t be easier,“ she mumbled for herself with sarcasm typical for any 13 year old. Then she carefully approached the hole and looked inside, making sure her feet were not on the edge.

There was, in fact, a cat.

Small one, maybe just a kitty. At this distance Rob couldn’t tell well even its color, but it was obviously scared.

“Alright, little one. I need to find a way to get you out.“

But she already knew that getting the kitty out would mean that she would have to go in.

It probably took hours before the Uninfesters came back to Rob and others to stand up and make a line — or at least it felt like hours to Rob. There was nothing more dull than sitting in one place waiting for something, but at least this time this something was important. She returned Cheecha back to her designated spot in her backpack and straightened her shoulders, looking over at Uninfesters across the road from them. Alright. Whatever she was waiting for, this was it.

“Dear friends,“ the same lady who before spoke to Rob started and all the kids went silent.

“We are grateful for your interest in us. People like you keep our Blossom alive and even if you don’t make it today, we're actually very happy you showed up.“

Rob's attention was ticking between the speaker and all the other Uninfesters who were still silently whispering to each other. Alright, so there is gonna be some form of a test. Of course, they can’t just let everyone in and she expected it, but still it made her nervous.

Nobody's future should depend on a single moment, on a single test that probably can’t be retaken.

“We have Uninfesters here who can take in apprentices. So I would like you to introduce yourself and tell us why you think you should become one of us. This is not a talent show, no need to make a spectacle out of it, we want facts. Your talents, skills, knowledge, experience, motivations, everything. We’ll give you a few moments to prepare. Then we’ll go.“

There were a few gasps and nods from Rob's competitors, but her mind was already somewhere else. She was already trying to find the right words as her fingers were mindlessly rolling across her right forearm.

Now, more than ever before, she was happy she entered that bunker back then.

It could change her life now.

Getting inside the hole wasn’t the real problem. The real problem was getting out with the cat.

She had no rope to use but thankfully the debris looked pretty stable and climbable so all it needed was a lot of bravery or a bit of recklessness.

Rob had both.

She climbed down carefully, though. She didn't want to cut herself on something or hurt herself in any other way. The ideal plan was getting in, grabbing the cat, getting out and never telling mum.

She got in. Once her feet touched the dirty ground, the cat stopped meowing and started hissing. There was nothing surprising about it for Rob, this was indeed typical cat behaviour.

It would probably be way easier to save a dog than a cat from down here, but Rob was an aspiring Uninfester. She could handle one cat.

The cat, as cats tend to, proved her wrong. It backed into the furthest corner possible and hissed again.

Rob was always a bit eager to act, but she also knew that there was no way it would help here. She breathed out, hands down, trying as much as possible not to look like a thread. She blinked slowly while looking at the kitty to prove she actually meant no harm. 

Her mum shared this trick with her.

“Hey, I am here to help you.“

The cat at least stopped hissing. Rob made a few careful steps towards her, so she could actually see what it looked like, while the cat withdrawn. It was really just a small kitty, fluffy, scared and lost. She couldn't properly see the color just yet, but it wasn’t her main focus right now.

“Come on now,“ she started softly, looking at her. “I want to help you. Let me help you.“

The cat, obviously, didn’t understand that. But something in Rob's voice worked to calm it down a bit.

So far, Rob enjoyed this little adventure. She wasn’t really comfortable with being in the hole, but she was rescuing an animal, which was something Uninfesters surely also do, and most importantly, it was a huge part of her culture.

No living thing shall be hurt on Rob's watch.

She slowly put her pointy stick down next to her and reached for her backpack. There was a piece of goat cheese in there and it was probably the only thing she could use to get the kitty cat to trust her a little.

She put small pieces into her palm and while sitting on her haunches she slowly offered it to the cat. And waited. She had the time, it was still pospi and she planned with some time reserve.

The cat smelled it and carefully, while still watching Rob, moved towards her. Rob waited, still squatting down. The kitty took a while and she slowly started to realize how uncomfortable the position she picked to wait in was. But kneeling down into the rubbles wasn’t an option and the sudden movement could scare the cat.

She had to wait it through.

Thankfully, the cat came, smelled the cheese and then started eating it. Rob had to smile. It was just a small kitty who shouldn’t be in this dangerous place.

Just like her, really.

Rob was marching back and forth across the road and kept repeating what she wanted to say. They were taking them one by one, so every person had the privacy to present themselves. That was nice, but Rob was too nervous to appreciate that and too stressed to stay still and wait. Her hands were also fidgeting around, as she was trying to keep her thinking straight.

She only stopped when one of the Uninfesters walked back to them. She stopped and stared at him, this time not to look calm and steady but simply because she was scared. She wanted him to take her next and yet she also didn’t.

The Uninfester was heading towards her.

She felt her throat closing.

„Come with me,“ said the man and there was no malice in it, it was even, kind of kind. Looking back Rob could never describe properly how that man looked or which of the Uninfesters he was — she was probably way too stressed to remember.

She nodded, took her backpack with sleeping Cheecha in it and followed him.

And she tried not to think too much about how important the following minutes may be for her future.

It took time to befriend the cat, but not as much as Rob was worried it would. It was just a small kitty, a little ball of fur, lost in this desolate place. She tried to figure out if it was a male or a female, but the fur didn’t let her.

She managed to get the kitty into her backpack — that was the only way to get them both out, because she needed her hands to climb out of the hole.

Rob knew the sun was already moving and her plan was to go straight home, tell everyone she found the kitty in the woods and never tell a living soul. Maybe she could return back someday and try to explore some of the other rooms. With better equipment, such as more light and a rope for marking her way.

She was still carrying her pointy stick. When she was climbing she tucked it into her backpack and then she took it out again. It was merely a self confidence exercise because she knew too well she could not hurt anything living in that way.

Jarni have a strong relationship to nature and living, and they never, under any circumstances, hurt other living things. There is no persecution, no judges or trials for it — it simply never happens. Every Jarni has it rooted deep inside them, it’s just as natural as breathing for them. If that happened, the Jarni would not get punished, no, they simply would never do that.

Self defence was a thing for them though. There have been cases where, while defending themselves, some Jarni hurt some of the bigger, scarier creatures — and as long as it was unintentional, it was alright.

The point I am trying to make here is, even though the stick was pointy, Rob would never use it to stab anything. It was out of the question.

Anyways, she looked around the room, smiled as she was very proud of herself, and set off to the exit. Happy that she was smart enough to mark the way, she re-entered the darkness of the corridors.

Rob took a deep breath. There was a group of Uninfesters standing and sitting there, giving all of their attention to her. This was her moment to shine, to actually become what she always wanted to be, and she did prepare a speech, so it shouldn’t be that hard.

Except right in that moment, she forgot most of what she wanted to say, as it goes with stressful situations like this one.

“You may start,“ said one of the Uninfesters and once again, if anyone asked Rob later on who it was, she would not know.

Alright, Rob. You can do this, she said to herself and then put on a smile.

“So, my name is Robenea, I am Jarni and I am 17 years old.“ Even her first sentence raised some eyebrows and since it threw her off a bit there was a pause long enough for someone to raise a question.

“With all due respect, you don’t look a lot like Jarni.“

Rob looked that way. Oh yes, her height. “I know,“ she shrugged and decided not to delve into it. The note did not seem hostile, she didn’t owe anyone any explanations. 

“But I am Jarni. My mother is a local healer and I learnt quite a lot from her, but it never appealed to me as a life goal. Don’t… don’t get me wrong, I wanna help people, I just don’t want to do it like that. There is no thrill in it, I suppose? And I wanted to be an Uninfester for as long as I can remember…“

She made a pause, to think about what to say next. The Uninfesters seemed to be listening, which was good, but then again she shouldn’t be talking about what her motivations are for too long. 

“I was just always somehow drawn to it. To help people with issues with creatures and also to help the creatures in question.“

Many of them nodded. This was core of their philosophy — Rob knew, that’s why she said that — so it being mentioned probably brought her some points.

“That’s a good start. But what makes you special? What makes you think you can do this?“

Rob took another deep breath. Alright. You’ve practised.

“Becoming an Uninfester is something I really want. I am capable and docile and I will do anything to make it happen. I have also handled a few situations in our Settlement, even though most of it were just Stinkroaches. I took them out into the meadows which are their natural habitats. I also can run pretty well, jump and climb and I know how to handle injuries.“

Good, this seemed good. Rob was getting more and more confident.

“I also carry Cheecha with me, she’s a cat, she can smell creatures pretty well. She sometimes warns me not to enter the forest or so. We’re a team.“

“Animal sidekick. Resourceful,“ Rob overheard one of the women. She had to smile a bit.

“Alright, but did you ever encounter anything bigger? An Obr? You know, there aren’t only Stinkroaches out there. The worst they can do is make you smell for a few robs. There are some really dangerous things you can face.“

This time, Rob noticed who was talking. It was an older man, obviously one of the Uninfesters, he was carrying three bags on him and he looked… not well groomed. He looked like the kind of person you usually don’t want to be around. He was looking at her, almost stabbing her with the look of his eyes. 

It seemed like he doubted her.

“I know,“ Rob responded as politely as she could and looked back at him. It seemed personal. It seemed like the man didn’t like her for some reason.

If Rob wasn’t so stressed, maybe she would have noticed that everyone around looked at the man with a slight disgust.

“She’s a teen, Vagh,“ stepped in the woman who spoke to Rob before. “Teens don't usually encounter Wolfeers.“

The man, Vagh, just grimaced. “Yes, but then again, they are out there. And it is more important to know how to handle that kind of situation than how to handle Stinkroaches, isn’t it?“

The woman seemed like she wanted to pacify him, but she did not. She just wished he wouldn’t speak anymore.

Rob slowly raised her hand to draw attention back to her and when people noticed her, a slight, winning grin appeared on her face.

“Since you're asking,“ she tilted her head and in that moment she was on the top of the world, “I did encounter something bigger.“

With that, she rolled up her right sleeve and looked straight in the eyes of the man who just spoke to her.

This was her ace, literally up her sleeve.

Rob stopped when the kitty started to be restless in her bag. Without taking it off, she reached in and carefully got the kitty out.

“What’s going on now, little one?“ Rob asked, not really expecting an answer. Surprisingly though, she got a pretty coherent one.

The cat looked into the darkness and hissed.

That was disturbing. Rob didn’t see much with only the one cocoon shining in the glass, but cats are well known for being able to see in the dark. Shivers ran down her spine and she instinctively stepped back, silently. Without making a noise, she put the kitty on her shoulder and the little one returned straight back into the bag.

There was something in there.

Just now she realized how stupid it was not to tell anyone where she went. Now she was alone in the dark, there was probably something between her and the exit and not a living soul knew where she went.

But she had her pointy stick and a Lumeetle cocoon and with a bit of luck, the kitty was just hissing at ghosts or a small, harmless animal.

She was trying to calm herself down and make a move, but she didn’t have to.

That something decided for her and with a growling hiss, it jumped straight at her.

Rob didn't have much time to react and even if she had, she probably wouldn't be able to. She had no idea what that thing was or how to handle it, so she just raised her arms in a desperate attempt to protect her face.

Next thing she knew, was a sharp pain in her right forearm.

The Uninfesters gasped. If Rob didn't have their interest before, now she did. The man who asked her the initial question made a few steps forward — surprisingly he didn't smell, he only looked like he did. He leaned forward to see the bite marks on her arms properly. He didn't grab her forearm or touch her, he only stared at the wounds like it was some kind of a miracle.

He then looked her in the eyes with a sincere disbelief on his face.

“How are you not dead?“ he asked and this time there was no sign of teasing on his face. He was serious.

Rob knew he was and she knew that this was a serious matter. “I got lucky, I assume. When I was 13, I went exploring…“

“No,“ she was interrupted by that man, maybe a bit too harshly. “You didn't get lucky. You were bitten by a Viperhound. How are you still alive?“

The question got to her. Yes, she knew it was serious, but her mum always told her that she got lucky. She had a fever for three days after the injury and got grounded for months to come, so she knew it was serious, but it never occurred to her that it was this serious.

“What do you mean? I got bitten and got a fever and I assume hallucinated a bit and then it went away and…“

“Girl,“ he spoke to her. “Those are lethal. None of us have ever met anyone who survived a Viperhound bite.“

Rob was staring back at him in disbelief and horror. “What?“

She knew that that creature bit her. The sharp, burning pain was hard to ignore and impossible not to notice. She screamed and made a few steps back, somehow managing to keep her grip on the stick. She didn't see much and had no idea what she was standing against.

The wound on her hand was, surprisingly, not bleeding that much. Even in the faint light of the Lumeetle she clearly saw three bite marks on her forearm, forming an obtuse triangle. And it didn't hurt the way she expected to, no. It burned.

She had to get out. Somehow, even though she was scared for her life, she wasn't panicking at that point — quite frankly, she didn't remember much from that moment on. Her initial thought was that she probably blacked out thanks to the venom already circulating in her body, but that theory proved not to be quite right later on.

To her best knowledge, it probably happened like this. Rob took her stick into both her hands to use it as some form of a shield and with scream, probably to frighten the thing, whatever it was, charged straight into the corridor. There was no other option, she needed to get out and this was her only way. She didn't have time to stick around and look for a different route out, that thing bit her.

Inevitably, she ran straight into the creature. That thing then tried to bite her again, but Rob — this time more than ready — managed to use the stick as a decoy and get it to bite that instead. She didn't remember much, but for a moment, she saw that creature — a Viperhound.

For those of you who never encountered it, Viperhounds are a rare and very dangerous remainder of the War. We mostly think the Fourth Branch made them from vipers and greyhounds — a dog breed groomed in ancient times before the War. They are fast and deadly and not many people live to tell us about how they look or behave.

“This is not real,“ claimed one of the Uninfesters and crossed her arms on her chest. “It may look like a Viperhound bite, but it isn't one.“

“It is,“ said the man, still inspecting the wound. “You said this happened four years ago?“

Rob just nodded. She had no idea how to react in such a situation as now all the Uninfesters were around her, looking at her forearm.

He grinned and turned to the others. “I was right, remember? I was right. I won.“

The woman who initially spoke to Rob frowned. “No. We have no idea if it's her and we have no idea if it's real.“

“It is real, look. There are traces of the venom damage around the bites. Those are Viperhound bites. And she is alive and well.“

Rob didn't understand the situation, but she couldn't get rid of the feeling that this conversation is about her without her. And she really didn't like that. “Can someone please explain to me what is going on?“ she asked, probably a bit too angrily.

The Unifester named Vagh looked at her, raising his eyebrow. Even though calling it an eyebrow would be too generous. The proper way to call it would be a bunch of hair growing randomly in a place where an eyebrow should be, without any logic or shape.

“Did you write a letter to the Blossom? Four years ago, after it happened?“

“I did,“ Rob answered, trying to figure out where this was heading. “I never got any answer.“

“Well, because it sounded made up. To them. I, on the other hand…“ Vagh turned around to the Uninfester audience like he was delivering some kind of a speech, “… knew it was real. And you all owe me now.“

What followed was some mumbling and groaning from the Unifesters, who turned to him and leaned in to check on Robs arm. She was just standing there, looking at them, kind of stunned by the whole situation. She was silently watching all those people taking papers out of their bags and pockets and giving it to that weird man.

This was a bet. Rob wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it, how she wanted to react to it or even if she wanted to. This had nothing to do with why she came here and she honestly didn't know whether this was a good thing or not, but she did raise her eyebrow and just silently watched them, trying to keep her confidence.

“I am still here,“ she proclaimed after a while when she noticed many of the Uninfesters were just chatting with each other. They turned to her and Rob wondered for a moment if she wasn't rude. But considering this situation, even if she came across a bit rude, she probably wouldn't mind.

“Oh, yes. Do you have anything else to add?“ asked the woman who was apparently in charge of all this. Rob thought for a moment and then she shook her head.

“No, I don't think so.“

“Alright. Now if you'd wait over there until we talk this through, we will call you back.“

She made it out. Somehow. Her memory of those events was nonexistent, last thing she could at least slightly remember was her stand against the creature in the corridor.

She managed to get back to her Settlement where she collapsed and laid in fever for half a week, with the stray kitten she saved still with her. When she got better and inevitably got grounded for half a year — she was surprised it wasn't a whole one — she gave the kitty a name.

Cheecha.

Her mum was not very thrilled that her only daughter almost got herself killed and tried to convince her in the following months that she should try to do something else with her life.

One would agree. One would say that one near death experience is enough and decide to join Historians, but then again, Rob isn't like that.

For her, her near death experience was the sign that she really, really, really wanted this.

They called her back, but it took them probably more than an hour. Rob returned, her arms behind her back, looking at them. She must have been visibly stressed, because this long waiting would throw off almost everyone. She stood there, looking at them, trying to figure out what is going to happen.

“Sorry for the wait. And also sorry for the incident before, our colleague A'Bound is very well known as the one who keeps betting all the time…“

“And winning!“ she was interrupted by the betting Uninfester, Vagh A'Bound, and she rolled her eyes.

“Anyways. We talked this through and the thing is, considering your encounter with the Viperhound earlier in your life, none of us is… how to say it, brave enough to take you in. We have no idea what kind of effect it could have had on you. It may eventually come strike you when you're least expecting it. You got lucky once. Thank the Patronettes that you're alive and try something else.“

Rob kept staring at her and she felt like her heart sunk. No. No way. She wasn't going to just let it be and do something else, there was nothing else she wanted to do or even considered to do. And this wasn't fair. Just because she was an anomaly they wouldn't take her in.

“It that it? Is it because I didn't die? Is that the only reason?“ she asked, keeping it together. No crying. No sign of anything at that moment. She even kept her chin from shaking.

“Yes. We don't know if we can train you safely. Any exposure to toxins that are usually alright to deal with may be the last straw that could kill you. We wouldn't be able to guarantee your safety while letting you finish your training.“

Rob looked at her. She thought it was ironic that the thing she expected to be her triumph is the one thing keeping her from entering the Blossom. At the same time, she had this idea, right there and then, and she acted fast, because otherwise she might have changed her mind.

“I bet he could,“ Rob claimed, raising her arm and pointing at Uninfester A'Bound. He raised his head as he was still counting the papers his colleagues gave him, and looked at her back. She then continued. “I bet he could finish my training safely.“

“No,“ said the woman faintly and tried to get Robs attention, however, she was focused on the man she just mentioned. If he really loved betting and wining against the other Uninfesters…

“He didn't have an apprentice for ages, I don't think it's a good idea…“ tried the woman again, but unfortunately for her, it had the exact opposite effect on the situation.

Vagh A'Bound smiled and raised his eyebrow. If anything, that girl was a fighter. He made a few steps towards her and tilted his head. Rob couldn't help but smirk when he shrugged and put the papers into his bag, now suddenly really uninterested in them and said,

“I bet I can.“