Ch17 - Sleepless night

Tonight, the moon is not very bright but because of that, many stars can be seen lighting up the skies. With just that dim bit of light coming from the moon and stars, I am currently washing myself in the river.

[Haaa~]

A sigh of relief escaped from my mouth. Apparently, when Taki was walking around the forest earlier, our horses came running towards his direction. He then calmed the two horses down and got them tied to a tree near the camp. When I went to see Kuro earlier, he greeted me with a neigh and came over to nudge me like he was relieved to see me safe.

After I washed up, I wrapped a towel around my body and proceed to wash my clothes. They reek of sweat after an eventful day. Encountering a pack of Axectors with two alphas, losing our horses, getting lost in the woods, and finally meeting Taki in the middle of the woods. And here I am now, washing my clothes by the river.

[Ah...]

A sudden realization came to me when I am hanging my clothes on a tree branch. What am I going to wear when my clothes are drying? I did not bring any spare clothing along! To be more accurate, I don't even have any spares!

[(Psst! Lily!)]

I called out to Lily in a soft voice. I am currently hiding in a bush near the campfire. Luckily, Taki is nowhere to be seen.

[Eh? Onee-chan?!]

[(Shhh! Not so loud!)]

I said softly and waved for her to come over.

[So why do you only have a towel with you?]

Lily asked after she came over to me, scanning over my body with a hint of excitement on her face.

[That's… Do you have any spare clothes I can wear?]

After showing a shocked expression for a while, a mischievous grin can be seen on her face.

[I have, but... You will know later.]

[Really? All you have are yukata armour?!]

I questioned my sister after putting on the sky blue yukata she handed me. It is a yukata with white flower design covered in translucent white frills. I am also wearing a pair of black knee socks to pair off with the yukata.

[Wow! Onee-chan, the yukata suits you very much! You look great! Here is the finishing touch~]

Lily said as she tied my hair up into a ponytail with a light blue ribbon. 

Right after she finished tying my hair, she pounces onto my back, snuggling her cheeks against mine.

[Now we have matching appearance~]

[Waa?!]

A sudden shout came from the bush right beside us. When I look over, Taki is standing there staring at me in amazement.

[Kalia in yukata, that's cute.]

He said with a smirk. Given such a compliment again, my face turned bright red due to embarrassment.

[Shut up!!]

[Hey Kalia, Liliane, you two get some rest, I will keep watch for the night.]

[Eh? How about we rotate watch duty? You need some rest too.]

[Wait wait, time out, Onee-chan come here for a bit.]

Lily interrupted before Taki can reply and pulled me to one side. Leaving Taki alone at the campfire.

[This should be far enough. So, Onee-chan, how well do you know Taki?]

[Hmmm... We hunted a lot together and he is a great leader.]

[Character wise? Do you know him in real life?]

[Nope, never met him in real life.]

[Then I can't trust him to keep watch over the two of us. Don't forget you are a girl now. You may never know what he will do.]

[Eh?… I don't think Taki is that type of person.]

[How sure are you?]

[I believe in him. The past year I spent playing DHO with him should have given me a good judge of his character.]

I answered Lily with my right fist hitting my left chest.

[Since you are so sure I guess I will put some trust in him too.]

Lily replied with her arms crossed and we decided to head back to discuss our plan with Taki.

After a discussion, the plan is to continue our way to Yokke village tomorrow and depart back to Distodia on the same day after we stock up enough supplies. What supplies? Snacks of course. And maybe some other stuff. As for the night watch, Taki will be keeping watch first followed by me then Lily. But thanks to Lily, I am unable to fall asleep when Taki is keeping watch. I find myself glancing at Taki once in a while. Even though Lily said all those things, she is sleeping just fine! In the end, I only fell asleep in the middle of my watch duty. Luckily, nothing happened that night other than me not having enough sleep.