It hurt.

Kurt winced gravelly as he forced himself to duck right. There was a loud resounding thud as Quinn tackled Blaine onto the ground, earning a loud "oof" from the brown haired lad. Betrayal! His mind yelled, slamming violently on the walled fortresses of his skull, he shouldnt have let her just go after she tried to shoot them the first time.

The she-elf was incredibly swift, leaping from Blaine and fixing her gaze onto Kurts own.

She had one target, and her target was him.

Compelling his body to move, he let out a guttural growl of pain as a stab of agony spread through his lower abdomen. He gripped his shirt tightly, cursing under his breath as he braced for the pain of Quinns clouts. The elf raised her fists, grinning wildly and let her arm swing loosely down – only to stumble and fall ungracefully back onto the ground.

Kurt blinked.

Blaine had his arms wrapped around the blondes legs, a determined look plastered on his face as they both thrashed wildly on the forest floor, giving Kurt enough time to whip out his bow and arrow.

"Why does everyone you meet seem to hate you?" His hazel eyed companion let out a muffled chuckle, managing to overpower the thin frame of Quinn and had pinned her onto the ground.

The hunter frowned darkly at that.

Within that split second, Quinn had fought herself back up, now pinning the bigger sized male onto the ground with her frail looking fingers slammed onto Blaines wrists pugnaciously, a golden eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Oh contra, little Anderson," She whispered playfully, "Its the complete opposite."

Kurt aimed for her head and let his arrow fly, wincing as the sudden harsh movement sent a white bright pain through his lower body. In that fraction of time, he dropped his bow in sting and the elf had moved inhumanely quickly to resolve her problem.

To his horror, Quinn viciously flipped Blaines tough frame and used him as a meat shield. The sharp flaming arrow pierced through the males body and he let out a yowl of pain, hands desperately gripping onto the object that penetrated through his back.

"NO! Dont-" The hunter hissed in warning but it was a second too late.

Blue flames spread around Blaines fingertips the moment he pawed the arrow with fraught and he let out a raucous bellow as it grew and started to disseminate through his upper right arm. Looking rather pleased at her handy work, Quinn turned and towered menacingly over Kurt. With just a hasty kick, the hunters bow was strung aside and she grabbed his shirts scruff, lifting the brunette up with only her left hand.

With the other hand, she cocked the gun on his temple.

"Ive been waiting for this for so long, Hummel." She whispered, sending goose bumps down Kurts spine.

To his own surprise, Kurts voice seemed strangely levelled as he looked into the blue jewels of her eyes. "Youre not the only one whos fast." In one rapid movement, he had his dagger on the edge of her neck.

Quinn wasnt taken aback, in fact, she seemed more tickled than ever.

"You are debauched, Hummel." She sounded delighted, licking her lips, seemingly savouring the hunters increasing distress, his bullet wound causing him to pant heavily and he shuddered in pain. "You are reckless because you care for him," the beautiful elf nudged her head towards the shrieking boy on the floor.

Blaine was writhing in agony, the blue flames slowly creeping up to his shoulder.

Kurts heart stopped. The boys usual carefree demeanour was stripped off completely and replaced with an eerily familiar expression – the hunter let out a humourless laugh, if the flames reached the boys chest, it would be all over for all of them – all this trekking wouldve been a waste. He felt the cool metal on the temple, unnerving all his thoughts.

It was the end.

This was the end.

They were undermined by an elf.

"Let ME go," Kurts throat trembled, his eyes wide in anger. "BLAINE!"

Using all that was left of his strength, the hunter smashed his elbow into the side of Quinns skull, the soft spot above the temple, causing her to stutter in her movements. This granted Kurt the split second of knocking the thin elf aside, allowing him to leap across, burning pain in his side and all, to Blaine, who was had completely stopped shrieking and was convulsing violently.

Pale hands grabbed the curly-haired boys shoulder, and the flames begun to work their way to Kurts own fingertips.

Ignoring the whimpers of pain, the hunter grabbed the arrow from the others shoulder, lifting it up with a sickening squelch of metal and meat. Not wasting extra time, the hunter whipped around, only to be slammed down by Quinns fist, falling onto the snowy ground with a rather loud thud.

Tasting blood on his lips, the hunter chuckled darkly, even with his head spinning and the exhaustion from the wounds he received, it was almost hilariously ironic that the two elves were once again in the same position they were a long time ago.

With whatever energy he had left, the hunter rolled, lightning fast, away as Quinn tried to stomp his thighs furiously.

He got up, hissing in pain, the sudden swift movement causing more and more pain at his side, but still he fought.

He swung a punch.

She ducked.

He kicked.

She twisted.

Flames still on his right fingertips, he tried to land another punch, but his movements were starting to become sluggish, slow. Quinn was light on her feet as she avoided all the blows effortlessly, twisting and bobbing gracefully from foot to foot.

It was a dance to her.

Kurt blinked, an idea forming in his head.

"Im getting weary of all this," Quinn hissed, hastily side-stepping Kurts jabs. "You can tire yourself out for all I care, but I need to –"

Before she could finish her sentence, Kurt swung a punch, aimed for her forehead but she swiftly dodged it, smirking smugly – only to completely have been misdirected by the hunter as he delivered a low-kick to her graceful legs, causing her to trip and fall, expelling the last bit of choked air from her arrogant chuckle.

Lurching forward, the hunter landed a harsh stomp to the elfs back, causing her to gasp in pain as he grabbed her leg with his flamed-hand, letting the fire now encase the blondes lower calves. Fresh ripples of pain were sent through his torso as he pulled away, panting in exhaustion. Quinn was yelling in agony but to Kurts horror, the flames of her fight were not extinguished.

Before he could even register the sudden fist flung at him, another body shot was aimed, right at his ribs as he fell back onto the ground, wincing.

Even with the blue flames creeping up her leg, the elf stood up shakily, blood all over her delicate pale features.

"Never turn away from a wounded soldier." She whispered darkly.

"Are you daft?!" Kurt bit his lip, trying to still the pain that seemed to have erupted from all parts of his lower body, "Sebastian is not going to let your village go, whatever he has promised, he will never keep."

"Its better than trusting you!" Quinn spat back, doubling in pain from the flames around her leg.

"Im not the liar!" Kurt grunted in distress, trying to get back up on his feet.

The elfs gestures were all too familiar, the way she tiled her head and thrust out her lower lip as she grinned wickedly. Long hair now streaked with blood and dirt, tangled and matted, her eyes narrowed and blue-black.

"Are you sure, Kurt Hummel? That you are not a liar!" She roared, towering over his head and placing her left leg over the hunters skull precariously. "Why dont you tell me how you,"She paused for a moment.

"Killed Elizabeth."

There was a frozen second between the both of them.

Kurts eyes flicked from Quinns to the ground, face unreadable, no fear, no pain, no invitational smirk. The snow was stained darkly with the flow of blood and dirt as his eyes trailed over to Blaines limp, lifeless body.

Quinns balled fist collided with his cheekbone, flaying his neck backward like a willow caught in the wind.

"You murderer!" She bellowed, her voice now wrecked with pain and poignancy.

The hunter didnt respond, he didnt even fight back.

She was right after all. He had killed his own mother; was there no remorse that he felt? He sliced her head off in cold blood, not even struggling to stop himself. He watched her fall, almost in slow motion, in the cold winter of the night, stole her heart and burnt her body away.

Burt. Burt was probably upset. He did not expect his son to come running home, bloody and bruised – a mangled arm with a blind eye. What he truly did not anticipate was his wifes heart, now curled up, withered and dry, held in the boys hand like some sort of trophy.

He wanted to give her a proper burial. There was no body left.

They found the ashes scattered and buried it back in the village of the elves, where she wouldve wanted to be buried away in.

Kurt remembered the teary faced Quinn as she watched, what was left of her sister, piled under soil and patted down by metal. He reminisced how disappointed she was, how much she sobbed and remained vigil by the grave for weeks. Never once did he step up to greet her, daunted by the guilty crown.

"He told you." Kurts voice echoed through the woods.

Quinns cheeks were streaked with tears.

"I cant believe I had to hear it from him!" She wept, knees buckling and falling next to Kurt, her hands covering her face, loud ugly sobbing venting from her.

"I cant believe Burt never said a thing. I cant believe you never told me the truth!" She seized his shoulder with rough hands, shaking the hunter gravely.

"Tell me Sebastians lying," She begged, big fat tears falling from her face and dribbling onto Kurts own, "Please tell me hes just lying."

Kurt shuddered as he forced himself to sit up.

He reached out and Quinn flinched, backing up.

With his fingertips, he absorbed the flames encasing her legs, now burnt and crackled into a darker mute beige on her leg.

"Hes telling the truth." Kurt snorted internally at the irony. "I did it."

"Why?" Quinn grabbed his neck, raw voice brutal against his ear. He struggled faintly, but his movements were far too slow. He did not respond.

She seized his arms, trapping them to his side.

"You," The elfs lip quivered. "You disgusting creature, not fit to be a human."

The hunter let out a choked laugh, head spinning from the loss of vigour. He stopped struggling and lay limp, unmoving, ploughing punches to his face, shoulder and side.

The pain was starting to numb away, and his consciousness began to ebb.

In the faint light, he could hear Quinns snuffles and for a moment, felt undying aching grief that he had felt a long time ago. He wasnt the only one suffering all this time, even though it felt as if it was. A gush of pain jolted throughout his body, aching sides and his legs weakening, Kurt shut his eyes and let the drone of punches lure him to sleep.

"GET OFF OF HIM!"

Kurts eyes shot back open, only to see the dark figure of Blaine Anderson wrestling Quinn onto the ground. The brown-haired boy had grabbed a handful of Quinns luxurious hair and brought her face down sharply onto his bent knee. Blood splattered out from the elfs broken nose as she stumbled backwards, crawling on the floor.

With his dishevelled hair filled with grime and dirt, the blotchy red mess on his arm, Blaine looked far from capable of fighting.

"I never came looking for a fight." He declared, heaving Kurt up to a sitting position. "I am a pacifist by nature."

Blaine grabbed Quinns injured leg stopping her from crawling away.

"But no one stands back and watches someone they hold dear get pounded, unless they are some sort of defective moron!"

With great force, he twisted her entire right leg, the elf letting out an ear splitting scream. There was a pause before Blaine stepped on her wrist roughly as well, the sound of bone cracking muted by Quinns constant shrieks of pain. He swung his sword down, stabbing her left leg before sheathing it back.

The seemingly gentle-boy had completely crushed her legs and hands, disabling her from movement. A moment passed and the screams finally died down, Blaine turning away and covering his own mouth in shook.

Ignoring the sight that took place, Kurt pushed himself up and grabbed his weapons that were scattered across the ground, limping and hunching from the pain. Spotting her gun, the hunter hesitantly grabbed it, shoving it into his pocket.

Even with his blurred vision and wrecking pain, the hunter managed to gasp out a "Lets go!" to Blaine.

Confused, the curly-haired boy glanced back at Kurt.

"And leave her here?" He inquired, far more relieved than curious.

"Yes." Kurt spat, "Leave her. Lets go."

Not wasting time, they limped away into the woodlands, leaving Quinns unconscious body on the ground.

It was amethyst-purple tinted skies that finally slowed them down to a halt. It spelt evening for them and Kurt was close to fainting from exhaustion. Even with Blaine shouldering him up, they needed a place to rest and heal for the time. Strangely enough, the other boy seemed to share the same sentiments with him as he spotted a large tall tree in the distance and began to embark towards it.

The orchestra of the evening forest was a relieving sound from the shrieking and pained yelling from a while ago, Kurt noted quietly, turning to examine the bruises on Blaines face. The cascading evening light fell upon the others damaged face, blue-purple light illuminating the scratches and blood like paintings upon canvas.

They travelled in silence.

The first in a long time.

Wintry fogs cast beams of light as they approached a towering oak tree, the golden sun sinking down beneath the tops of the tree, streaking light through the boughs in both brilliant and shadowy beams. Blaine stopped and set Kurt down against the trunk of the dulled tree, observing the thick branches with newfound curiosity.

"Should we climb up there?" He asked meekly, as if afraid of Kurt snapping at him.

Pleasantly surprised by the clever suggestion, the hunter just nodded, too tired to speak anymore.

Blaine helped him up, silently but awkwardly granting the brunette his shoulders to climb on as they climbed their way up the first few thick branches of the oak tree, big enough to sit and lay down on. Thankfully, Kurt thought to himself, they were easy to climb low branches as Blaine struggled to get himself on the branch next to the hunters.

They sat there, panting in fatigue.

Kurt closed his eyes, tempted to just collapse in lethargy.

"Dont sleep yet." Blaines voice broke his thoughts, "You are battered all over."

Working noiselessly, the curly-haired boy searched through his backpack and pulled out a strange smelling ointment, but instead of applying it onto his own wounds, he reached out for Kurts side, docilely smearing the sickly looking gun wounds with the gel – the one they had stolen from Rachel a while ago.

Too tired to argue or to fight back, the hunter let the other tend to his wounds, sighing in content as the ointment worked its magic. Although it wasnt as potent as Burts healing gel, it was definitely closing up the gashes and taking away the scent of blood. Trust the Berrys to have better medicinal ointments, they were rich after all.

Moving away, Blaine capped the ointment and shoved it back into his backpack.

Kurt blinked, turning to the other.

"Arent you going to tend to your own wounds?" The hunter asked but realised immediately why the latter did not have to.

The bruises, scars and even burnt marks on Blaine were completely gone.

Kurt sat up, ram-rod straight, ignoring the dizziness in his head.

"How?" He jabbed a finger angrily at the other, "I wasted my ointment on you before!"

Blaine sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Apparently I still have some sort of Wendigo healing on me." He shrugged, palming his arm tentatively, revealing the closed up gashes and bruises.

Kurt let out an exasperated snort. So much for wasting healing supplies on the latter. He turned away, relaxing on the branch of the pine tree, covered by snow-decorated leaves, blocking the soft gusts of winter wind. He glanced back at Blaine, who had his eyes closed. There was something else the boy was hiding, but it didnt matter at the moment.

He didnt think it mattered, even though the possibility of Blaine still consumed by the Wendingo was an urgent pressing issue. It didnt matter much because the latter had actually saved him.

They sat side by side in silence for a moment.

Unexpectedly, it was he who broke it.

"Thank you." He murmured, sounding strangely apathetic.

"You are welcome." He could hear a smile in the others voice. "Crazy battle huh?" Blaine remarked after a bit.

They let the moment pass.

Kurt turned his companion, ice-blue eyes wide in curiosity.

"Arent you going to ask me about Quinn or Elizabeth?" He managed to mutter out, realising that he sounded awfully silly.

Blaine let out a chuckle.

"It doesnt matter." Brown eyes locked onto Kurts blue ones, "I trust you had your reasons, Kurt."

Kurt snorted.

"I trust you had your reasons for completely rendering Quinn immobile."

There was a long pause.

"Please forget that," Blaine sighed, shaking his head. "I didnt know what overcame me, I just wanted to protect you, I didnt mean to hurt her in that way –"

"Shut up, Blaine." Kurt scoffed, rolling his eyes.

The brunette watched his companion frown miserably.

"If it wasnt for you, I wouldve given up." The hunter added on, more softly this time as he fixated his gaze onto the curly-haired boy. "For everything. Not just Quinn."

His companions eyes widened as large as saucers as he glanced nervously at the hunter, his frown forming into a delighted smile.

"Thank you, Blaine." The hunter repeated himself, gently reaching out and placing his hand onto Blaines. He let his hand linger there for a second before pulling it back quickly, suddenly missing the warmth of it all.

Once more, the silence of the night engulfed them.

"Hold on." Blaine voice punctured the silence, rousing Kurt from his slow sluggish descend to sleep. "We are on top of an oak tree. A large oak tree."

The hunter made a face.

"Yes we are. You brought us here."

"We are close to the heart of the forest?"

"Yes we are. We walked here."

"Kurt."

"What?" The hunter snapped irritably, ready to take back all the warm things he had said a couple of minutes ago.

Blaine took a deep breath.

"We are sitting on the Wendingos cavern."