Pain.
His body didn't feel like his own. Every single one of the 206 bones in his body ached, so much so that he didn't even have the strength to clench his fingers.
Allen weakly opened his eyes, only to find himself… being bear-hugged.
Not figuratively, literally. He was wrapped up in a full-on bear hug, with not a hint of exaggeration. Annie had summoned Tibbers again, and at this moment, Allen was lying right in the giant bear's arms. In front of them, a crackling bonfire roared, and with Tibbers' warmth layered on top of it, Allen, despite his grave injuries, didn't feel even a hint of cold.
Annie was nowhere in sight, but with Tibbers here, she couldn't be far.
Sure enough, just a short while later, a small figure appeared in the distance. She was probably out gathering firewood or searching for something to eat. Allen chuckled faintly, then focused on gathering mana to begin the slow process of recovery.
He was incredibly weak. Utterly spent. The battle earlier had drained nearly all his magical energy. The lingering curse Voldemort had transmitted continued to gnaw at him from within. But worst of all was that final spell, Avada Kedavra.
Though Morgana's shield had blocked most of the killing curse's force, and Garen's physique had given his body some resistance to magic, the Unforgivable Curses were called "unforgivable" for a reason. Their power was absolute and brutal.
So, even when he saw Annie coming, Allen, completely paralyzed, could do nothing. The most he could manage was a brilliant, if forced, smile as she approached.
But when Annie truly arrived, that intended smile turned into a stunned expression… and froze there.
He had assumed she went to gather some wood, maybe pick a few berries, or at most, catch a rabbit.
Clearly, he had underestimated the little girl's combat prowess.
To his utter disbelief, Annie came dragging back a massive feline creature, easily several times her size. It was wild, likely predatory, and absolutely dead.
Seeing that Allen had woken up, Annie's face lit up with joy. She dropped her prey and skipped over to him.
"Eh? Big Brother, you're awake?"
Well, yes, he was awake, but what was that thing?! That has to be illegal!
…Then again, Allen wasn't seriously upset. Honestly, he was just trying to distract himself from the pain by fixating on something ridiculous.
When she noticed Allen's eyes shift toward her kill, Annie beamed even wider.
"Look! That's our dinner! I'll start cooking soon. Big Brother, want some water first?"
Allen nodded weakly. At the moment, he didn't even have the strength to speak.
With a few clinks and clatters, Annie quickly rummaged through the bag that had been strapped to Allen's body, producing a small bowl.
Don't ask why Allen had that with him. As a proud Hufflepuff, not carrying a set of emergency cooking tools, spices, and portable cookware would've been a disgrace to his house.
With a quick chant of Aguamenti, a stream of clear water filled the bowl, one of the top ten must-know survival spells for any practical wizard.
After drinking, Allen nestled back into Tibbers' embrace, conserving what little energy he had left. Meanwhile, Annie happily began prepping their dinner. The scene might've looked a little absurd, but the smell of the roasting meat soon melted away any sense of strangeness.
And just as Allen was starting to relax, he found himself facing one of the top ten worst crises known to mankind.
A massive, crystal-clear droplet of saliva was dangling directly over his head. It fell with a splat, forming a huge wet patch on the ground, and the source of that drool was… drifting dangerously close to his face.
Oh no.
Tibbers was hungry.
Allen could hardly move, let alone dodge. All he could do was curl up as best he could and pray that Annie finished cooking quickly. It seemed today's fight had left the fire bear, who usually relied on magical sustenance, absolutely starving.
After what felt like forever, the food was finally ready.
Annie gently asked Tibbers to lay Allen down on a carefully arranged bed of dry twigs she had gathered and flattened earlier.
To Allen's surprise, Annie's cooking was even better than he'd expected. But he didn't have the strength to bite or chew. After a few spoon-fed bites, he had to switch to porridge that Annie had stewed in a small pot.
The real winner of the feast, however, was Tibbers. The bear gnawed away at the massive feline creature like it was a delicacy, happily munching on bones that cracked loudly like someone biting into crispy cartilage.
It would've been a cozy and heartwarming scene,
If not for the arrival of an unexpected visitor.
A man wearing a patched-up wizard's robe suddenly appeared out of thin air.
The moment he noticed their bonfire, his face lit up with a look of relief and delight.
Just as he started walking toward them, a wand was raised, pointed directly at him.
It was a silent warning. Annie wasn't about to let a stranger get anywhere near her brother while he was still injured.
"Little girl, don't be alarmed," the man said, adopting a pitiful tone. "I truly mean no harm. I'm just a lost traveler, just a poor soul hoping to warm himself by your fire, to chase away the night's cold and ease the weariness of the road."
Unfortunately for him, the only reply he received was a spell that exploded in the ground at his feet, a very clear refusal.
"Fine, fine. If you're unwilling, I won't press." He backed off with raised hands and lit a small campfire for himself at a safer distance.
Annie didn't chase him away, but she made sure to keep an eye on him as she returned to Allen's side and resumed feeding him porridge.
As the warm food slid down his throat, Allen felt a bit of strength return to his limbs. His mana was also slowly starting to regenerate.
"Big Brother, where are we? Why does it feel so cold here?" Annie chatted casually as she fed him, though Allen was far too weak to reply.
Still, Allen tried to examine their surroundings,
Then gave up immediately.
Sure, he wasn't so directionally challenged that he'd mistake the same street at day and night for two different places, but this was a completely unfamiliar area. Recognizing it was a hopeless task.
All he could confirm was… they were still on Earth.
To escape Voldemort, he had deliberately messed up a few of the rune sequences when activating the teleportation circle, meaning he had no idea where he'd ended up.
And that was exactly why Voldemort wouldn't be able to track him: with that many variables, the difference in destination could be half a world apart...
For now, Allen glanced at the unfamiliar landscape, then lowered his head and kept eating.
Whatever. Food first.
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