Drake and Elara were approaching the tents when an unexpected figure emerged from one of them. A young boy, seemingly disoriented by sleep, appeared with a toothbrush in hand. Upon seeing Elara, he immediately blushed, a red hue taking over his face. "Oh! Uh… Sorry, I…" He stuttered, visibly embarrassed, before quickly turning around and rushing back into the tent.

Drake and Elara exchanged curious glances, hearing the sounds of frantic movement coming from inside the tent. Moments later, the young man reappeared, now fully dressed and with an air of confidence that seemed somewhat forced. "Hello, fair lady!" he exclaimed, approaching Elara with an exaggerated smile. "Wow, you are, without a doubt, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen! A pleasure to meet you, my name is Koji, but if you want, you can call me the love of your life. And what's your enchanting name, miss?"

Elara, surprised and a bit embarrassed by the situation, responded with a smile: "Well, pleasure, Koji. My name is Elara. And thank you for the… compliment, I guess."

Drake extended his hand to greet Koji, but the young man was so immersed in his attempt to woo Elara that he didn't even notice.

At that moment, a woman emerged from the other tent, radiating a beauty and maturity that contrasted with Koji's exaggerated approach. She approached with a gentle smile and introduced herself. "Hi, sorry about my brother. I'm Julie. And this womanizer is Koji," she said, giving Elara a light tap on the shoulder as a warning sign.

Koji, hearing his sister's description, quickly turned around, an expression of indignation on his face. "Sis! Come on! I was just trying to be a gentleman, no need to expose me like that," he complained, clearly uncomfortable with Julie's comment.

Julie, with a somewhat irritated expression, crossed her arms while looking at her brother. "Koji, 'Chivalry' is what you always use as an excuse. You need to understand that you can't just hit on every girl you meet…"

Koji, clearly not liking this exposure, rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defensively, responding with a provocative tone: "Hey, hey, it's not my fault if no guy has shown interest in you so far. I don't want to end up like you, almost in your 20s and never having been in a relationship."

He quickly turned back to Elara, trying to maintain his charm. "She's just talking nonsense, you know? I don't hit on just any girl. You're different, you're unique…" Koji said before turning to confront Julie again.

Julie, clearly affected by her brother's words, responded with a hint of frustration in her voice: "Koji, that was totally unnecessary. Just because I don't go around flirting like you, doesn't mean I don't have my own interests. Life isn't all about relationships, you know? Seems like you only think with your lower head."

Koji, unwilling to back down, retorted with a harsher tone: "Oh, sure! Your life is just about observing bugs and stuff, right? That's why everyone thinks you're weird and no one wants to get close."

Julie, now visibly irritated by the comment, flipped Koji the bird.

As Koji advanced towards Julie, Drake, who had been observing the scene between Koji and Julie, began to laugh, turning the tense atmosphere into something lighter. His spontaneous and contagious laughter echoed through the clearing, surprising everyone.

Everyone stopped and looked at him, surprised by his unexpected reaction. The tension that had been in the air due to the siblings' argument quickly dissipated, replaced by a lighter mood.

Julie, with an interested look, asked: "So, what brought you to the Lusiry Woods?"

Elara, struggling to keep her eyes open, responded with a soft voice: "It's a bit of a long story, but in short, we have a common destination. We decided to share the trail to Belman, we're just passing through."

Drake added, leaning against a tree: "That's right. We just came from the Syris desert."

Koji, once again impressed, exclaimed: "Wow, you came from there? I've never met anyone who came from the Syris desert! Drake, can you tell me what it's like there?"

Drake, tired, responded: "Yes, I can tell you, but…"

Julie quickly interrupted: "None of that now. You're clearly exhausted. Better rest a bit. We'll leave the stories for later."

Drake looked at himself: "Is our tiredness that noticeable?"

Julie pointed to Elara: "Elara literally fell asleep standing up while we were talking."

Drake and Koji turned to Elara, who indeed was dozing off standing up.

Drake, understanding the situation, said: "Makes sense. In that case, I guess we'll just lie down here."

He lay down on the grass, looking for a comfortable spot.

Koji, wanting to be helpful, offered: "Wait, we have spare sleeping bags. We can set up a place for you to sleep in no time."

Koji and Julie quickly brought the sleeping bags for Drake and Elara. Elara, who had been fighting sleep for some time, simply collapsed onto the sleeping bag as soon as it was placed on the ground. Drake, almost as exhausted as Elara, barely had time to murmur a thank you before also succumbing to sleep.

It was very early, around 6:00 a.m., when Koji and Julie decided to leave the camp to fetch water. They headed to a nearby stream, leaving Drake and Elara to rest peacefully.

While Koji was filling a water bottle at the stream, Julie, immersed in observing the nature around her, suddenly shouted with excitement: "LOOK, KOJI!"

Koji, startled by Julie's sudden scream, quickly turned around: "What? What happened?"

Julie, with eyes shining with excitement, pointed to the ground: "Look, a rainbow snail! They are extremely rare. Ancient studies linked them to fairies, saying they lived together because they were attracted by the sweet aroma of magical dust, or rather, Fae Spark. What's this little buddy doing here?"

Koji, less impressed, responded with a slightly sarcastic tone: "Seriously, Julie. You screamed just to show me another one of your bugs?"

Julie, correcting him, said: "First, it's a mollusk, not a bug. And this could mean there's a fairy village nearby! Can you imagine if we found it?"

Koji, thoughtful, pondered the idea: "Would it be a good idea? Fairies probably wouldn't like to be found, especially after everything that happened… With the magical potential of Fae Spark, they were practically forced to isolate themselves and live hidden. You know, Julie, the story of the fairies is kind of sad. With the magical potential of Fae Spark, which they produce, many people coveted them. They say this magical dust has incredible powers, capable of temporarily enhancing an individual's magical abilities."

Julie, with a thoughtful look, agreed: "Yes, I read about that. Fae Spark became an object of desire for many mages, alchemists, and sorcerers. Fairies were hunted for it, to be used as a kind of… magic source."

Koji looked at the rainbow snail again: "Because of that greed, fairies were forced to hide, to isolate themselves from other races. They had to live in the shadows to protect themselves, abandoning their interactions with the outside world."

Julie sighed, feeling a hint of sadness for the fairies' situation: "It's a cruel reality. They just wanted to live in peace, but others' greed forced them to hide. Now, finding a fairy village is something extremely rare and... maybe even dangerous."

Koji closed the water bottle, concluding the reflection: "Yeah, I guess if we find a fairy village, it's best to keep our distance. Respecting their space is the least we can do after all they've been through."

Julie, observing her brother speak with such wisdom, couldn't hide her surprise: "Wow, Koji, I didn't know you had this side. I thought you only cared about your pick-up lines. Seems you're not always an idiot."

Koji, approaching Julie with the water bottle in hand, responded with a smile: "Ah, there are many things you don't know about me, sis. Now, how about you help me get some water here?"

The moment Julie turned to look at the stream, Koji, in a gesture, turned the water bottle, pouring all the water over her head.

Julie, completely drenched, yelled: "Koji! I knew it, you're still an idiot!"

Koji burst into laughter, finding the situation hilarious, but Julie, laughing despite being annoyed, pushed him into the stream. "Take that!" she exclaimed, trying to contain her laughter.

Koji, now also soaked, emerged from the stream laughing: "Ok, ok, I deserved that!"

Getting out of the stream, still drying off, Koji cast a thoughtful look at Julie and asked: "So, what did you think of that Drake?"

Julie, contemplating the nature around her while picking up her water bottle, responded with a pondered tone: "Ah, I don't know… Both he and Elara seem pretty chill. Don't you think?"

Koji, with a slightly skeptical expression, reflected: "About Elara, no doubt, she seems like an angel fallen from heaven, but Drake… I don't know. He seems like a very chill guy, too much so, you know? No one is that laid-back unless they're forcing it. At least I've never met anyone like that. I'm not saying he's a bad guy, just think we should be careful with whom we get involved, you know? It's always been just the two of us…"

Julie nodded, understanding her brother's viewpoint: "Caution is never too much. But they seem like nice people. We just need to keep our eyes open, as we've always done."

Koji nodded, his expression softening a bit: "Yeah, you're right. Let's just keep an eye out, but for now, they seem like good company."

After filling their water bottles, they continued their way back to the camp, each immersed in their own thoughts about the new travel companions.

In the clearing of the woods, after Koji and Julie had left the place, a small shrill voice resonated, speaking to a rainbow snail that was hidden among the leaves: "I'm not even going to say anything... The Elder already said that if you rainbow snails want to stay with us, you must be discreet and NEVER let anyone who isn't from the fairy clan see you. This time you were lucky those humans didn't seem to pose a threat, but we can't risk it... Let's go back to the village right away."

The voice belonged to a tiny fairy, barely visible among the foliage. She floated near the snail, her wings beating rapidly, with a worried expression on her face.

The snail, with its shell shining in rainbow hues, seemed to understand the seriousness of the fairy's words, retreating even further into its shell. "We need to be more careful. The proximity of humans is becoming frequent. I need to report this to the Elder," murmured the fairy to herself, before flying quickly back into the density of the woods, disappearing among the leaves.