Arianna hissed through clenched teeth as hydrogen peroxide was poured onto the cut on her ribcage. She closed her eyes and buried her face into her shoulder as the former war medic began to sew up the cut. As the medic worked, Arianna thought of the massacre at the mall. Hunger had overcome Iktomi’s controlled composure, turning him into a bloodthirsty, power-hungry host. What would have happened, if he hadn’t of run out of spirit after killing the boss? Would he have continued and feasted on the souls of the Golden Mercenaries? What if he had still been hungry after that?

These thoughts had been in her head since she had arrived at the base. It wasn’t as big a mansion as the previous one, but it had more beds and a better looking front foyer than the last. Perhaps it was only because Iktomi hadn’t covered it in spiderwebs, yet. She didn’t care, to be honest. It was safe, and would provide a place for Itkomi to heal in peace. She hoped he would recover soon. His discomforting actions at the mall made her wonder if it was right for her to be in his “business.” Anyways, she had been thinking of joining the Golden Mercenaries before she ever discovered that he was still alive. She’d rather help people in need by joining the Golden Mercs than standing at the side of a man that had an inner need for power.

Then again, what care did the leader of the group of Golden Mercenaries have for people in need? She had heard them speaking of Kisheto. He had carelessly left Kisheto just because of one blunder. It was obvious to her that he was new to being in the Golden Mercs, so couldn’t they have forgiven him instead of left him there? Plus, the two hosts that had wanted to help her tried to convince the leader, but he had only thought about the good of his men. She wanted to think that he was only upset because of the loss of his men, but she knew there was another side to his actions. She could only hope that he wouldn’t leave someone to die again. If she joined, she would definitely have to try and change that. Arianna wasn’t one to leave someone when they were hurt.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the medic finished tying the knot on the stitches. She sat up and winced lightly, then pulled her tank top down and rebuttoned her shirt. “Thank you,” she said before sliding off of the bed. The medic only nodded, following her out of the small room to check on Iktomi again. With a soft sigh, Arianna headed downstairs, hoping for some water and a nice meal.