Requested by: ThePantheon18

Glory's breath became ragged and difficult as she ran, clutching the stitch in her side. She felt something warm run down the side of her head and into her eyes, but she paid it no mind.

Survival was the only thing that mattered now.

Her muscles screamed, her parched throat burned, her empty stomach was clenched in a tight knot.

She knew it was only a matter of time before she collapsed.

Still, she kept running, determined to live.

Until her foot caught on a gnarled root hiding under a pile of dead leaves

Exhausted, Glory fell down onto all fours and crawled forwards.

A few feet in front of her was a large tree. In a last desperate act of strength she manged to drag her body behind it. There she sat, rough bark digging painfully into her back as she leaned against the trunk.

The sound of heavy footfalls reached her ears. "Where is she?! Idiot! You let her get away!"

"Oh so it's my fault now?!"

"You were holding her!"

"You were the one with the dagger to her throat! How was I supposed to know that she had sharp teeth?!"

"Sharp compared to your brain! God Strongwings! Sometimes I don't know why I don't kill you myself!"

"Oh My Actual fucking GOD guys can you STOP acting like an old married couple already and find her? Both of you messed up!"

"   . . . I'm sorry Fierceteeth."

"Whatever. She can't have gone far. She has a head injury. Let's spread out and find her. This time don't let her get away."

"Okay."

Glory clenched her eyes shut and held her knife tightly in both hands.

"Strongwings, you go that way, I'll go this way, and you; you go that way."

"Oh so you're the boss now?"

"Okay sure, disobey me. Go on, do it! And then see what I'll do to you because if you disrespect me, our pact is over and you are no longer under our protection!"

"Well what if HE disobeys you? Will you kill him?!"

"Strongwings stays with me. That's all I'm saying. So do you wanna get your throat slit or will you just fucking search for the Rainwing already?!"

" . . . fine. FINE, keep your hair on! God-"

Footsteps receded, but Glory didn't dare look to see if everyone was gone.

Suddenly she heard the sound of a stick snapping just a few steps away from her tree.

In the following silence a cold breeze blew through the trees, rustling the leaves and making a soft shhhhhhhh sound. In the darkness one could almost mistake it for the sound of breathing.

"You can come out, they're gone."

That voice . . . 

Shakily, Glory stood up and walked out from behind the tree.

Deathbringer stood in front of her, blood on his hands.

With relief came weakness.

He caught her before she fell and in that brief moment of comfort and safety, Glory felt her strength give way. The tears she had been holding in since the terrible moment when she had seen the arrow whistling out of the trees and the shocked look on the blue eye'd girls face as the life drained out of her, to the moment when she held the little golden haired girls head in her lap as she died.

"They're gone-" she choked. "They're all gone-I, I couldn't save them-they're GONE Deathbringer, I-I-"

"I know," he said. "I saw them."

"God, what am I going to do?" she clenched her hands into fists where they lay against Deathbringers chest.

"You're going to survive Glory, I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."

She raised her tear stained face to look at him. "But my friends-"

"They're gone Glory. That's all there is to it. They're gone and no matter what we do, we can't bring them back. All we can do is survive, and then put an end to this, once and for all so no one else will die."

He was speaking for her, she realized. Not for the cameras, not for the thousands of people watching. For her, and for once, she accepted it.

She clenched her eyes shut and buried her face in his jacket, not caring if she seemed weak, not caring if it made her look helpless and pathetic.

A person can only be strong for so long, even the strongest needed to feel cared for sometimes.

And that's not weakness. She thought.

I'm stronger now, stronger than I ever thought I was while I was hiding my fear and sadness. The true strength in a person is the strength to show how they feel.

I'm not going to hide anymore. I lost everyone I cared for without showing them how much I loved them until it was too late.

I'm not going to take that chance again.

"Deathbringer," she whispered. 

"Yeah?"

"Don't leave me, please. Don't leave me alone."

He laughed. Not a humorous laugh, not a sinister laugh, a laugh of pain, sorrow, and at the one thing, the one thing she feared almost more than death, yet at the same time was what she most wanted; what she needed.

"You'll have a hard time getting rid of me now, I can tell you that. I told you, I'll do everything it takes to keep you safe."

"But- what about after?" she asked. "Afterwards, when this over, what will happen then?"

She knew she didn't need to explain. Deathbringer understood her language sometimes better than she did herself. He understood what she was really asking.

"If somehow, we both miraculously make it out of here alive, I am going to stay with you forever, even if you threaten me," he said.

Even though he manner at that moment was more of a jest, she knew he was being absolutely serious.

She breathed deeply as she felt him run his long fingers through her hair.

Even though they were in the middle of the forest, even though every inch of Glory's body was in pain, even though both of their clothes were caked in blood, she felt for the first time since she had entered the arena, that maybe, just maybe . . . there was a little bit of hope left in the world.

"We'd better find somewhere to hide out, it isn't safe here," Deathbringer told her gently, easing her arms out from around her.

He shouldered off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, brushing her hair out of the way.

His eyes darkened when he saw the blood on the side of her head.

"You're hurt," he told her.

She reached up and brushed her fingers over the wound, wincing as she began to feel the pain.

"I'll be fine," she told him.

"Not if you keep loosing blood. Come on, there's a cave I found a while ago, it's a little ways away. It'll do for a while, come on."

He held out his hand.

She pushed down her arguments.

I'm fine.

Don't worry.

I don't need you.

I can walk by myself.

Time to stop lying to myself.

Instead, she laced her fingers with his and nodded.

"Let's go."

There's going to be a part two :) Otherwise this would be one hell of a long one shot lol, rest be assured the rest of your request shall be fulfilled :)

Hope you enjoyed, second part coming out soon.