Arranged From Birth

Chapter 8 Marked

"Here is your flower." McCoy said to Damien, as I handed him the entree flower.

"Beautiful," Damien replied, taking it, and ripping it in half. I gasped as he tossed the orange petals onto the dirt. "Welcome to the Hunters. This way to initiation." Damien turned, and started walking into the house structure.

Ace was waiting for us inside.

"You made it back, yay." Oh yes he sounded quite delighted to see us again.

"Is it ready?" Damien asked, motioning to the fire behind Ace.

"Yup." He agreed, turning back to the flames.

"Alright, welcome to the Hunters." Damien said, clapping and smiling at McCoy and I.

"We made it?" I asked, incredibly pleased.

"Indeed you did." Damien agreed. "You successfully collected an entree flower in a week without killing each other."

"I'm telling you Day, there should be a much more rigorous process to get in." Ace grumbled. The sound of metal hitting bricks, and tried to look over Damiens shoulder, but he blocked me with this head.

"You may be right, but they fit don't you think?" Damien looked over at McCoy and I again. "Welcome my new friends." He stepped to the side, and took a metal bit from Ace. Damien grabbed my head, pushing it to the side.

"Wait wh- AAH!" I cut myself off with a cry of pain as hot metal made contact with the skin of the side of my neck. After about 5 seconds of Damien pressing the metal to my neck, he released. Apparently Ace had been doing the same thing to McCoy. I groaned in pain, my eyes fluttering.

My skin was boiling, my heart pounding, and my chest tightening. My eyes glassed over, and I couldn't see for a moment. I looked over at McCoy who was having the same reaction as I was.

Damien tossed the metal to the side as Ace doused the fire they had been heated in. "Alright then! Give that a few days to heal, and you'll be fine." Damien insisted, before he and Ace left the room, making normal conversation with each other like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

McCoy clutched my arm, and I clutched his hand, the two of us holding each other, silently suffering with the other.

My 'healers' instinct kicked in, and I dragged the two of us outside to the snow. I pushed McCoy down into the snow, making the new burn have contact with the frozen liquid. Then I fell onto it myself.

The snow made my skin singe for a moment before bringing both relief and stinging. "M-M-McCoy,"

"Miaread, are-are you okay?"

"No," I replied, trying to build up the snow around the new burn on my neck. I inched over to McCoy, who inched over to me. When we met, I grasped his hand, and he held mine tightly. The two of us laid in the snow, the ice numbing the burn just enough for us to be able to be aware of the others hand in ours.

Next day---

McCoy and I had gotten up out of the snow after about an hour of laying in it. We'd been given a blanket each, and were told to find some where to lay down. So we did. We ended up on opposite sides of the hut.

Damien had me sewing blankets and clothing back together all the next day. Sewing wasn't my strong suit, and it's rather hard for me to focus sometimes, especially on mundane and repetitive tasks.

"Aah," I hissed under my breath as the needle lodged itself into my finger... again.

"You alright?" Someone asked, coming up to me, and dumping an arm full of fire wood next to me. I looked up to see one of the Hunters I don't know. Then again, I knew Damien and Ace vaguely; and McCoy was my best friend... besides Stevie and Seth. But I haven't seen them in a week.