Part 1"This is so dumb..."
After the heated discussion, the group decided to take a break from their travel and take the rest of the night to rest. Because of the uncomfortable atmosphere, Ashley and Evlin were separated from the rest and were trying to sleep on top of Sphinx"s warm body. Ria looked at that scene and became immensely jealous, leading Evlin to promise to let her sleep on it next time.
"Everything was going so well... How did we reach this point??"
Evlin was feeling rather lost at what to do after being revealed that she would have to fight against Daren tomorrow. She was side by side with her sister and talking with her which created a nostalgic feeling form when her real sister would spend the night together to listen to her problems.
"I don"t see what the big deal is... You just have to punch him in the face like you always do and we can move on with our lives!"
Ashley said that completely relaxed. She didn"t look worried about the current situation in the slightest.
"I don"t want to punch him in the face!! We are supposed to be friends with these people!! Why do I have to fight one of them??"
"I guess you just give off a violent vibe..."
"... Ashley... You..."
Evlin extended her hand towards Ashley and touched her cheek...
"...You sure do look rather calm for someone who played a big part in this situation!!!"
... Followed by furiously pinching it and leaving a huge red mark.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I"m sorry! I"m sorry! Please let go!!"
"Ugh!!! What a stupid situation!! If only I had kept my mouth shut!!"
"Evlin, there is no way you two would not end up fighting..."
"Eh...?"
"You saw the ways those guys looked... They seem like they are about to break at any moment... The Gustav guy is desperately trying to keep the group together by having them follow Daren. But now you showed up and started to propose a different idea, so the group is starting to divide itself again..."
"Wait... I wasn"t-"
"Gustav is probably using this fight to make the rest of them re-gain their trust in Daren. Once they get reminded of how powerful he is they will start trusting his word again..."
"Wait... What about Daren then...? Was he really that upset about what I said?"
"I think so... But I also feel it was more than that... His behavior seemed to change the moment he realized you were a mage... He probably wants to use this fight as an excuse to get rid of you..."
"... "
"What...?"
"Nothing it"s just... I kinda joke around that you are a genius and stuff, but you are in fact really smart arent you?? You picked that all up??"
"Thanks for letting me know how much my little sister looks down on me..."
"Ugh... Sorry... "
"Stuff like that happens all the time in the guild... A good party needs a good leader, but finding the right leader is harder than you think... A good leader can make a group of weakling defeat a dragon but a bad leader can lead a group of experts towards their doom... Right now this party is trying to pick its leader and you just happened to be one of the options..."
"Eh...?? When did I ever say I wanted to be the leader? Heck, you"re are the brains of our trio, you should fight him!!"
"You"re smart, you"re confident, you have a way with words, you possess quick thinking and you"re are not afraid to say what"s on your mind... That"s a leader... I might have more knowledge than you when it comes to certain stuff but you are the kind of person that can bring out the best in a group."
"... You just don"t want to be the leader don"t you...?"
"n.o.body wants to be the leader Evie... Being a leader means being responsible for the safety of everyone... How many do you think can handle this kind of pressure?"
"Well, I can"t handle this pressure!!"
"Sure you can... I think..."
"Gahh!! Even you don"t believe in me!!"
"Sure I do! I"m just worried if it might be too early for you to take this kind of path..."
"It definitely is... I"ll just let him defeat me tomorrow..."
"Like h.e.l.l you will... You better go at him with everything you have or these guys will never respect you!"
"But what if I end up hurting him??"
"Wow... You really never learn do you...? Have you seen that guy demolis.h.i.+ng that crowd?? You really think he will be an easy opponent?"
"W- Wait... You think i might lose??"
"Of course I think you might lose!! People were throwing arrows at him and he caught it with his teeth!! You better have a good battle plan ready for tomorrow or you will become minced meat!"
Evlin wasn"t thinking too much about it but maybe Daren was an opponent more dangerous she was giving him credit for. Now that she thought about it, he looked rather invincible in his lion form. He was strong, fast, normal attacks looked like it had little to no effect on him, he possesses sharp claws and fangs, he was a beast so he probably advanced senses and...
"Oh my G.o.d!! I"m gonna become minced meat tomorrow!!!"
"... Took you long enough... That guy is not like any monster I ever saw before..."
"H- Help me, coach!! What should I do!!??"
"Coach...? What!!"
"Come on!! you"re the idea girl and I"m the action girl!! I need you to use your big brain to save me!! How do I beat him?? We are a team right?? The big sister needs to take care of the little sister right?? Right??"
"All right!! All right!! Just stop clinging on me!!"
"Thanks, sis!!!"
"But I can"t just come up with a plan on the spot like this... I need time to think about it..."
"Ok, just please have something ready for tomorrow!!!"
Evlin was giving Ashley the biggest puppy dog eyes she could create. She would often use this trick on her during her days at the guild to make her spill some top-secret information, but she never figured out if they worked because Ashley was weak to it or if she just wanted her to stop annoying her.
"I- I"ll try my best..."
It was late at night but Evlin still managed to get some decent sleep. The reason being, this was the first time she had gone to bed and didn"t encounter Xadi inside her dreams. She was finally free of that maniac that kept using his tracking spell to invade her sleep and bother her at night. She wondered if turning the G.o.ddess into a frog would work as well as it did on him.
The sun rose and the two girls were woken up by the sound of Ria trying to pet Sphinx. The rest of the group seemed a bit wary of the golden griffin but Ria acted as if it was just a big fluffy cat.
"Good morning sleepy heads!!"
"Morning Ria!"
"Ughhhhh... Five more hours...."
Evlin was feeling rather good right now but Ashley still looked a little tired. It might have something to do with the fact that Evlin would always spray herself with healing magic in the mornings. She wanted to start giving Ashley a daily dose of healing as well but she decided to stop using magic on people without their consent.
"So Evlin!! Ready for the big moment tonight?"
"Eh... You look rather excited..."
"Well yeah!! I have wanted to see you in action ever since I saw what you did with the entrance of the city!!"
Seems like Evlin had found herself a fan. She was a little happy with the idea but Ria looked to be a bit too energetic for her to handle.
"Well... I"m glad one of us will be enjoying it tonight..."
"Hey... Huh... Will you be ok?? Daren is really strong you know?"
Ria was speaking in a different tone right now. Slower, heavier, more focused. Evlin a.s.sumed that was her "serious" tone. Even her usual bright smile was a little weaker. She was honestly worried about Evlin. She knew Evlin was a powerful mage and she was still worried about her, just how scary is Daren?
"We... We are working on it..."
"... Daren talked to us last night... He said if he won... You would have to leave the group..."
"Ehhhhhh??"
Evlin was surprised but Ashley had a look that said "That"s what I thought...".
"I mean... I know that Gustav guy might not like me but did I upset Daren that much??"
"No, no, nothing like that... I think he just doesn"t want to drag innocents into our problems..."
"Well too bad... Him trying not to trouble me is honestly a troubling me a lot since I really need your help and I really need to be on this team!"
"Right... You want to learn how to do a wind-scar to go home if I remember correctly..."
"Is that what that portal thing you do is called? Wind-scar? ... Wait, that"s actually kinda cool..."
"Hehe, thanks! I can teach you tomorrow, you should save your strength for tonight!"
"Aaah!! Really!!?? Thank you so much!!"
Ashley stared at Ria for a moment while Evlin started to grim with joy.
"Huh... You are not worried that Evlin will just abandon you after you teach her what she needs?"
Ria simply smiled at that remark.
"Well, how do I put it... Evlin doesn"t have an "Ill abandon people who need me!" face."
"I see..."
"Er... Thanks?"
"She has more of a "Here, let me help you blow up this building so we can pa.s.s through it more easily" face."
"... ... ... I see..."
"The heck do you mean "I see"??? She basically just called me a terrorist! You not gonna defend your little sister??"
"But... I have no arguments against it!!!"
"The heck are you saying!!! What kind of sister are you?? Did you forget how much I covered for you yesterday??"
"Yesterday?? You mean when you were acting like a lost puppy just following the first person that showed up after giving you a bone until I brought you back to reality??"
"You... You sure got a lot c.o.c.kier after I got rid of your stupid brother for us!"
"You mean after "we" got rid of him, I put my life on the line for you remember??"
"Ugh!!"
Ria was having fun enjoying the show watching the two sisters acting off each other. Although she was curious about what Evlin meant with getting rid of her brother, she decided to leave that topic for another day.
"Come on guys, its time to make breakfast. Everyone needs to help out!"
"All right." x 2
Part 2
After enjoying a nice meal under a heavy atmosphere and contemplating finally being able to move her body again, Evlin started to play a game of giving each member of Daren"s group a family role in her mind after observing how each would go on with their day.
Daren looked like he would be the father of the family. Always serious and focused on the mission and never taking no for an answer. He probably didn"t mean to act rash but that"s how he would come across off since he had to shoulder so much responsibility for the sake of the group. This was rather impressive considering that the guy was so thin that he looked like one of the stick figures Evlin used to draw when she was younger.
Gustav would be the angry grandpa. Always trying to stick with the old fas.h.i.+on traditions trying to keep things just as they used to be. He would often act calm and composed but that was mostly due to him trying his best to listen so his opinion could safely come across. Or maybe he was just having a conversation with someone considering his power is the ability to communicate with his mind. That idea made Evlin start to think about Gustav as a walking chat-room.
The last guy on the group was Auren. Auren was probably the polite son. Always trying to make sure everyone is doing ok and that n.o.body is troubled by anything, probably due to the fact that he is a healer, but the safety of others seems to be a big deal for him. The thing about him is that he just doesn"t emit the same kind of mature aura that Daren and Gustav have. He always seems a little nervous and insecure. If it wasn"t for his shaved head Evlin could mistake him for a little kid with that behavior.
Next, the girls. The role of the mother would most likely be Lilith. She always seems to be looking at the group from afar and acting concerned if her "children" will be ok. Apparently she has an ability called future sight, which allows her to stare a bit into the future. Because of that, she keeps looking at everyone as if they were made of gla.s.s and will break at any second. She probably is seeing many futures where her friends end up getting hurt for one reason or another so seeing them safe and sound right now must be a huge relief but also kinda stressful.
Finally, there is Ria. Ria would be the troublemaker daughter, the total opposite of Auren. She acts like the kind of girl whose dad keeps trying to keep locked inside the house all day so no "danger from the outside world" can harm her, resulting in her becoming completely filled with the idea of living a rebel life. She is constantly walking around and playing, laughing, running, and just overall acting like she doesn"t have a care in the world. Evlin started to get a little worried that someone like that had the power of teleportation.
She mentioned that to Ashley who in turn said that Ria was just trying to brighten up the mood and take everyone"s minds from the serious stuff.
"I"ve seen girls like her in the guild before... She might act as an air-head but she"s probably really worried about her friends right now..."
Evlin started to wonder just how much did Ashley learn from just chatting and receiving people on that guild? At times this woman looked like she could unravel the secrets of the universe from her experience at the guild.
After finis.h.i.+ng giving everyone a role Evlin thought to herself "It would be fun to be part of this group".
By the way, Evlin gave her and Ashley the roles of adoptive daughters since she felt like they were treated as outsiders at times. She tried to share her game with Ashley but was received by a look of concern.
"You sure seem to be enjoying your free time considering what you have to do tonight... Are you are not the one who is an air-head daughter?"
Evlin had no answer to that. Truth is, she was trying to take her mind out of it with this game to calm herself down a little. If she started to think about her battle she would become nervous and stop thinking rationally.
This wasn"t like the fight with Xadi or anything like that. She wasn"t filled with a sentiment of "I need to survive!" or "I need to protect someone!".
She was going to fight someone who would be her future ally. Someone she really needed to be her future ally. If she loses she might need to end up leaving the group, but if she wins she might need to start acting as the leader and she just didn"t have that kind of faith in herself. Plus, she runs the risk of creating some rift among the group.
She tried to ask Ashley what would be the best result.
"Just do your best. They will use this fight to get to know you... So let them know you"re not someone who does things half-a.s.sed."
"I see... By the way... Hows that battle plan coming along...?"
"I think I came up with something but we just don"t have enough information on this guy so I"m mostly working with a.s.sumptions..."
"That"s ok... Any help right now is good help..."
Ashley and Evlin discussed their battle strategy and began to prepare for the fight for the rest of the day.
Part 3
Night had arrived and it was finally time to decide which direction the group would take. Daren and Evlin were both being bathed by the moonlight in the middle of a vast black sky of the night. One side wanted to go towards the southern kingdom to obtain more information on curses, while the other wanted to search for the son of the living weapon.
The two combatants were staring at each other on an open gra.s.s field. On a small corner o top of a broken log, Ashley, Ria, Lilith, Gustav, and Auren were watching with antic.i.p.ation wondering what the final result would be. Each side was rather unclear of how strong the combatant from the other side truly was. Ashley only saw Daren in his lion form for a few seconds while the rest of the group hadn"t even seen Evlin in action.
"You are not going to use the silver knives?"
"I want to win with my own strength... I don"t want you to complain later that you lost because of a handicap... I"m going to earn my spot on the team fair and square!"
"... Evlin you don"t need to get dragged into our fight..."
"I"m a friend of Marceus as well... He helped me, so now I will help his friends..."
"Looks like you won"t listen no matter what..."
"I"ll make sure to fix that when I become a teacher in the future... Right now, I"m here as a warrior!"
"Then let"s begin!!"
Daren transformed into his ma.s.sively muscular black lion form and dashed towards Evlin.