"Ow, watch the legs, short stuff. I'm still recovering from that meteor - even a guy like me can't just shake that one off," Ayl replied with a wince when Sam kicked him in the shin. He listened as they reported their situation, frowning at the news of the missing Hunters. "You guys are by far the best out of the group we had.. I wouldn't hold out much hope the others are coming back," he said bluntly, not wanting to get their hopes up. "We can wait here for a while," he continued, making his way over to the dead Huntress. "I don't think we can afford to spend time with a proper burial right now," he spoke, raising a hand that caused her to be gradually enveloped in a swirling white and black aura, which quickly dissipated after consuming her, leaving nothing behind. "She'll be in the void when we can." After that, he quickly made his way over to the tree Hatsu set ablaze and sat down, albeit not without a groan of exertion.<br/><br/>"I'm not gonna be up for making any long trips any time soon. The cocoon was a result of too much strain, it had to shut down for a while to recover. Now all I can muster is this form, nowhere near my full power," he explained with a sigh as he got comfortable - or at least as comfortable as the cold snow would allow. "Defending this place is going to be mostly up to you guys for a while.. You should all come rest by here to heat up. Adeline, take a break from channeling that wind and work on healing your wounds instead, the fire should keep us warm enough. Everyone else will have to grin and bear it until you can recover enough to take care of 'em."<br/><br/><br/>----------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>"What happened..?" Merle asked weakly, the strain in her voice painfully obvious. After lowering her hand and shutting her eyes tight, she tried to lift herself up into a sitting position. She shook under her own weight, and before she even made it more than a few inches, her body gave out, causing her head to fall back and bump against the ground. The sudden impact shocked her system back to life, and she was reminded of the cuts - now scarred from the healing magic, but still sore and tender all the same. She gasped in pain at the sudden reminder, only just managing to stop her hand from touching them.<br/><br/>"..How am I alive?"