A small caravan made its way south through the expansive flat plains while heavy rain caused the five unfortunate humans who were left on guard duty to sharpen their senses and watch their surroundings with even the great silver moon veiling itself with the mantle of grey clouds. Every so often the guards took their watchful eyes off the ground around them and turned toward the silently walking construct, carved into an image of death itself which slowly trailed behind the very last wagon pulled by the oldest and most timid of their precious terror birds.

 

---

 

 

"Auch!" The entire cart suddenly jumped causing the frowning Ba to let out a frustrated yelp. 

 

"Are you alright?" 

 

"Yes." He whispered back as we both stole a glance at the napping Ren. "I was just thinking about something Nu." His eyes shifted onto me before staring pointlessly at the furry skins covering the floor littered with thin shavings from the unfinished carving in his hands. His hand travelled under his mask to massage the swollen brow he got after stupidly attacking the pale elf who saved us.

 

"The elf? Is she scaring you?" Ba's grey eyes slowly shift onto me, he gave me a small nod before he stole another glance at Ren.

 

"Wat... what are you doing here, you two?" Ren's one working eye gave us a confused look while his cloud-filled eye stared at me.

 

"The elf took our wagon." I answer while dimming my mana light causing my tattoos on my forearm to also dim. 

 

"And?" Ren grimaced as he reached over for a blanket, tucked between the boxes filled with salt or meat. "It's not like she needs more slaves, at worse she would eat you or something."

 

"R-really?" Ba hesitantly asked, his lips trembling.

 

"Yeah, she probably has a huge maw on her stomach with huge knife size teeth with rotting meat lodged between them and that happy human is just her meat puppet. I bet she is already writing hexes into the wood." Ren said with a stone-cold expression before grinning as his eye meet mine. "Alright I stop but in all seriousness, I don't know what Ruu is thinking about bringing them along to the clan. Even my fucking Dauntless didn't want to come close to your wagon once she stepped in."

 

  An image of the great black terror currently pulling the wagon, shrinking in dread from just the aura coming out of the blood-splattered elf, flashed in my mind. 

 

"What do you think Bauha thinks of this?"

 

"Bauha... ah I always forget you are Kasheng's acolyte now. Well, the last time I saw her she was throwing charms, bones or whatever they are called after confronting Ruu about our enigmatic guests, I would go as far to say it was convenient for a band of ogres to appear and for a heroic and benevolent elf to save us," Ren said before putting the blanket over his eyes. "Didn't Kasheng tell you to not overuse your mana when you learn a new spell?" He said, clearly annoyed that the light still managed to find his eyes.

 

"Yes, but this is my first spell which is actually useful and I want to practice with it." Like, who would ever need calm familiar, you only have to scratch them behind the skull and they instantly go to the ground with glee.

 

"Turn around then, and remember I did warn you so don't run to me if something happens." 

 

  My little brother and I stayed for a while longer accompanied by the thumping of rain on the low-hanging canopy and Ren's snores. I would occasionally soak a rag in the rain and rubbed it into the bruise on Ba's brow but only my Bauha could make the purple bruise disappear which would be a huge waste of mana.

 

"I-is this good, Nu?" A timid question leaves Ba's mouth as he presents me with a rough carving of a four-legged creature which looked eerily familiar to a soul stealer with its large yet incomplete circular maw and enough material left under the carving's stomach to carve the nightmare second pair of hands.

 

"It is but you can't keep this one," I say as I regrettably grab Ba's honestly beautiful carving and snap its head before throwing it out the wagon. "Ba you are a wind season too old to not understand why."

 

"You are not mother and stop acting like her!" Ba raised his voice before he turned away from me. He lifted his mask off his face and rested it on the top of his head. Before I could come up with a word to convince him to put his mask back he turned around and rested his head on my shoulder. "I really miss them." 

 

"I do too," I reply as my words give way to the thunder outside. "Come on Ba, Dad and Mom would scream at me if you would lose your soul only season after you got your mask." He let out a yawn before shrouding his freckled face behind his mask symbolising his coming of age. Before I knew I found myself lying in the darkness alone with only my thoughts to accompany me.

 

 

 

"Nu." I hear a familiar voice quietly stirring my mind before my entire body flinched from the blinding light piercing my eyelids. "Wake up, Ruu was asking about you."

 

"Ba? What phase is it?"

 

"High phase." He replies as I manage to open my eyes enough to see his dark figure pointing at the sky.

 

"High phase? I overslept by a lot." I frowned internally as I sneak my hand behind my mask and massage my stiffened temples. 

 

"Nu?"

 

"You said Ruu was asking for me?"

 

"Y-yes." 

 

  I stood up and looked around. Ren was nowhere to be found and my Clack was pulling the wagon with Ba's Redtip slowly walking alongside Clack. The sun was in its highest phase happily shining amongst the blue sky with not a single cloud existing to ruin the beautiful view. I looked at the front of the caravan and saw Ruu and my Bauha leading our column of two wagons in front of us.

 

"Could you swap with me?"

 

"S-sure." Ba quickly jumped in the driving seat before carefully stepping onto the bar. He motioned Redtip to come closer before strapping his terror with the harness.  I swiftly grab the side as the entire cart lunges forward with the addition of another terror bird before slowing down as Ba unharnessed Clack who sprinted ahead of the cart, stopping a short while later faithfully waited for me to mount him.

 

*Clack*

 

"Sorry about that but I will feed you later, Ok?" I rub Clack's greying feathers trying to compensate for my sleepiness. 

 

  I steer the old frustrated terror to the front of the column while enduring the impatient clacks he was making with his large beak. In no time at all, I catch up and see the backs of the two oldest members of our returning hunting expedition. 

 

"You had been looking at these for ages Kasheng." I hear Ruu speak loudly waving his hands at the unresponsive rider beside him. "In the wyrm's spirit, I got us a guard who defeated an ogre slaughter master without any help. If that elf was here to steal or to enslave us I don't think I could have scratched her and I am champion of our clan! Kasheng you are delusional if you think I was in a position to risk offending the elf. We are lucky Ba didn't kill us all. What even got into that kid?"

 

A noise of a die being thrown sounded from in front of Bauha before replied. "You don't understand that the spirits are angry at us. That elf alongside her slave is immune to inspect while the golem is level one hundred. I am fainting from exhaustion trying to communicate with spirits and seek their counsel on where are we even going but they are all gone! Poof like that. What will you do if that vile elf starts slaughtering everyone once we reach the rest of the clan, mmm? Though of that?"

 

"If I have to place my trust in that slaver to save us from the certain starvation that will happen if we do not reach the others, so be it."

 

"Sorry, did you ask for me?" 

 

"Yes I did call for you." Ruu swilled in his saddle and waved for me to come closer without even a hint of the heated debate that I just interrupted.

 

"You missed your morning class." An ice-cold voice sounded from my left as Clack positioned me between the two riders. That traitor.

 

"Bauha I-I overslept, I promise it will never happen again." I quickly give her my deepest bow to try to remain on her good side but after an awkward silence occasionally interrupted by the sound of bones hitting against bone, I felt Ruu patting my back to get my attention again.

 

"I have a battle order for you to do," Ruu said as he scratched his short black beard with a few grey hairs beside his ear which had grown rapidly over the course of the trading expedition. The words stroke an uncomfortable string in my mind as these specific words always foreshadowed a boring or dangerous errand, never anything more normal.

 

"Go to your cart and check on the elf inside." The almost normal-sounding instruction escaped Ruu's mouth causing goosebumps to appear all over my body. 

 

  I turned to seek help from Bauha Kasheng but she was staring intensely at a small table resting on her saddle. The enchanted dice made out of bones shined with pale blue light as they roll before a similar light pieced through the silky garb distinct from normal clothes everyone wore which showed her rank as our clan's Bauha. I gripped my belt made out of the same fabric her blessed garment was made from. The dim light coming from her many tattoos gradually intensified before disappearing as my Bauha sighed with exhaustion. Seeing no saving from Ruu's task, I gave him a nod which he return with a look of pity.

 

*Clack*

 

"Don't add to my suffering, Clack." I managed to say as I intentionally stopped him and watched as the driver less carts slowly made their way in front of me giving me some more time. He contorted his head so that his small beady eye could look at me. He made another much quieter clack before falling silent as if apologizing for his behaviour. 

 

  I scratch Clack's neck until my cart passes past me. I stood up on the saddle and wait until Clack catched up before I steped onto the slowly traveling cart escorted by a golem. The tarp used to protect against sun and rain was still on for some reason, unlike any other wagon in front marking it as the one place non of us approached. 

 

"Great." A huge grey cloud speeding from the north suddenly blocked out the sun around me as if indicating my doom.

 

  My hand hovered in front of the curtain blocking my eyes from peering inside before I droped it back down. Something was telling me not to disturb the two people inside without making sure where they were. I grab onto the edge and slowly shuffle my way into the middle with Clack right behind me ensuring my safety if I accidentally let go and fell. 

 

  I slowly lifted the thin waterproof fabric and peeked inside and gasp. Inside, the snow-white elf was slumbering peacefully with an even paler human cuddled on her lap. Piercing the darkness ruling inside a soft purple light coming from under the human's luxurious silky black dress. The otherwordly beauty stared at the elf with a pair of wide-open eyes in the colour of the Moon-and-Sun themselves as her slender hand gently and lovably stroked the elf's cheek. The girl didn't look human she looked more like a star which was so fragile each time her ivory hand gently touched the almost equally pale elf I was worried that her fingers will break and fall apart like sand escaping through the gaps between fingers.

The living star stopped her mesmerising show intended for herself and only her and turned to stare at me with mild annoyance. The two differently coloured gems pierced my soul with shame at interrupting whatever she was doing.

 

"Sorry." I could only whisper to myself as I let go and jumped onto Clack trying to avoid the piercing stare. 

 

*Clack*

 

The sound echoed inside my mind as I was recoiling the sight my eyes saw causing me to rub my eyes in disbelief. "You wouldn't believe me."

 

  After collecting myself, as much as I could at least my eyebrows dipped as the image of the slightly older human then Ba started to fade slightly. 

The image of an elf who looked roughly my age with the human girl in her arms caused me to feel hot. I knew comparing myself to the centuries-old bloodthirsty killer was weird but my mind ignored that little detail. "She looked starved." I say aloud as I remember the petite girl slender figure causing an idea to appear inside my mind. 

 

  I urge Clack to pick up speed as I look for a cart belonging to Arda. I quickly found the cart which was one space behind Ren's wagon and look inside finding Arda gone. I went in and scavenged through the packed interior before finding the remains of today's breakfast I missed. My stomach growled at the honestly not too appetizing looking strips of cured meat but the image of the almost colourless girl enslaved by the elf quickly muffles my stomach enough for me to resist the temptation for long enough for me to go back.

 

"Be quick." I say while offering Clack some of the precious rations who greedily ate the offered snack.

 

  When I returned I hesitantly lifted the brown fabric and quietly went inside. I slowly and carefully navigated my way through the familiar environment in complete darkness. Until a pair of glowing eyes peeked around the corner causing my heart to jump to my throat. The previously mildly annoyed expression was replaced with an almost hostile glare before the girl's eyes opened wide and stared where my hand was.

 

  I began to back away slowly as the pair of beautiful eyes began to get closer with a strange animalistic shuffle which filled my mind with doubt and fear in equal measure until they were right in front of me appearing like wolf's eyes at the edge of the camp's light. The dark cloud must have moved away as rays of rogue light illuminated the cart's insides enough for me to see the rough outline of the human standing right in front of me.

 

"Hi." I say while handing the strip of meat to the crouching girl with an outstretched hand.

 

*Ommommnom* 

 

   I watched as the snow-white girl devoured the strip of meat I gave her in a matter of moments before she gestured for another one.

 

"Does she feed you?" I asked but the girl savagely rip into the meat with a small smile. 

 

"Kia?" A puzzled voice burdened by exhaustion sounded from behind the girl causing her to grab all of the food and dart back into the darkness.

 

"I understand now."