The cart had driven quite some ways from the fortress gates. Since when had this Felix noticed that Laris was already awake? When the cart turned by the commercial street? When they passed through the checkpoint? Was it when they were discussing with the Lycan guard? Or maybe it was as early even before he detected Felix's presence?
"You've been feigning sleep even before we entered Evidna, little half-Lycan."
With this, Laris could no longer pretend. Felix had answered his unspoken question. He'd clearly noticed it when Laris had woken up. Unexpectedly, this person was sharp. Add to the fact that he wasn't able to right away detect his presence until Felix gave himself away, Laris felt that this person was dangerous. Even his wolf was slightly alert, despite its depressed state.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked at the other person sitting on the opposite bench. The person named Felix looked older than him and yet he wasn't able to accurately predict this person's age. For some reason, Felix gave him the same feeling as Savella, but this feeling was subtler with the former. They had the same air about themselves.
Laris wasn't able to dwell much on this matter when the other two people turned to him.
"Oh, you're awake, handsome!"
With their conversation, it was only expected to see two bickering girls that had long upturned ears and blonde hair—two female Korrigan-kinds. They were the most sought out slaves in the market, and Salciorne's underground market was the main trafficking area for such high to middle quality slaves. In short, it wasn't surprising to find Korrigan slaves accompanying a Sorcerer-kind. What startled Laris, however, was the fact that this Sorcerer-kind kept them as companions instead.
This act of befriending instead of forceful possession was rare in itself. It should have been a testament to this person's personality, but for some reason, despite the facts laid out, Laris felt something was off with this person. He just couldn't place his finger on it, but he had small impression of him. And in his heart, it wasn't a good one..
Had he met this person beforehand? Why was his wolf hostile to this person?
As he speculated in his mind, Laris tugged the hood of his furry coat, making sure to have his bangs cover the green-colored eye. Having a Lycan mother with golden eyes and an emerald-eyed Satori father, Laris and Letitia's eye colors were a mix of both. It was a defining unique trait that could set them apart from the crowd, in addition to their attention-catching red hair.
With the close relationships between this nation and the kingdom, surely the Sorcerer-kind are aware of the physical traits of the 'half-Lycan rebel leaders'?
Even if these two Korrigan-kinds could let him slip off, it wouldn't necessarily be true for the Sorcerer-kind.
Laris wasn't sure if he'd be recognized. He didn't want to stay more than necessary with this people, however, it was safer to be with them than to be suspected by other strangers upon his departure. At least it was easier to fool these people as they'd picked him up out of kindness by the side of the road. He already had proof to back his story.
Despite the seemingly long process of his thinking, Laris had only been silent for a few seconds. He had been extremely alert ever since getting called out by Felix, but the other didn't seem to care. Regardless, his emotions did not show on his face.
"Why didn't you tell us if you were awake? Are you hungry? Is there anywhere you're hurt? We didn't want to invade your privacy so we did not touch you."
"Don't worry. We wouldn't stoop so low as to steal from an unconscious person."
"Mina! You're phrasing it badly again! This is why you're always getting into fights! Please don't mind her. She doesn't mean anything bad."
Two sets of eyes peered at Laris. Judging by their voice, Laris affixed their names in his consciousness. The person asking a lot of questions was Ann, while the other person should be Mina. They're both wingless Korrigans with blond hair. Ann had long hair whilst Mina had short hair held together by a hair tie. She looked like the type to prioritize efficiency over looks.
There was actually a sub-race of the Korrigan-kind. They were called the 'Wingless'. Perhaps it was brought upon the racial instinct of the Korrigan-kind. They have been hunted by slave traffickers for many years because of their beauty. Their young had always taken quite a bit more time to mature and become stronger. Once caught and sold, to establish their position, their transparent dragonfly wings are ripped to remove any other ways for them to escape. Eventually, it was rumored that some Korrigan mothers gave birth to wingless children upon a strong wish during their pregnancy. They wanted their children to blend better among the other races. It could have been said to be a way to protect themselves by camouflage.
Laris didn't know if it worked. It was only a rumor, or even a myth at most. He didn't know how much was true. Those who both slave never cared in the least either.
What he was sure about though, was that despite being wingless, you couldn't really look down upon the adult Korrigan-kind. They were experts at the bow, and despite not being able to fly, the wingless could elegantly glide. Thus, they were also known as Elven Gliders from the terms elevate and glide; for simplicity, an Elf.
Who knows, perhaps in the distant future, when the most prestigious school has been built upon free land, and the students from different races have begun to be of equal footing with each other; where all slaves are made free—a history lesson about the Elven's extinct ancestry, called the Korrigan-kind, could even be actively discussed among the bright-eyed children. But that is an entirely different story in the future.
None of the people at present could have known, and presently, the most unsure of his circumstances was Laris.
"I didn't quite come to until earlier, when we passed through the gates, I think. I wanted to say something but felt it quite awkward for me to disrupt your conversation. I apologize, I did not mean to eavesdrop, nor pretend." Laris scratched the side of his neck.
"Don't be sorry. It's fine", Ann replied. "But what happened to you?"
"I was...attacked by a Wendigo." Laris calmly said, his emotionless face making it look as if he was pensive after having encountered a life and death matter. In his head, he couldn't help but correct himself—he was clearly kidnapped rather than attacked.
Ann, "A Wendigo?! When?! Where??"
Mina, "I'd been hearing a rumor from one of the villages we passed by. They did say to avoid going through the forest and to stay on the road. So there was a Wendigo-kind inhabiting that part of the woods. We're fortunate that we didn't listen to your shortcut suggestions, Ann."
"O-Oh come on." Ann sweated a little. She continued to ask, "Were you traveling alone?"
"No." Laris could feel the stare of the third person who stayed quiet. It was better provide half-truths if he were to convince that person. "I was traveling with two other companions. We passed by that part and wanted to camp. They were searching for firewood while I stayed to guard our camp but then I got caught by...it."
Intrigued, Ann tossed the reigns and changed seats to sit closer to Laris, making Mina panickingly grab the reigns of the ox. Felix comes over and grabs the reign from Mina's hands in a very smooth manner, and gestures for her to go over. It was quite obvious that she was curious.
This didn't escape Laris' observation. This person seemed to be considerate. Was he wrong about him?
Laris ended up telling the story of his "escape" from the Wendigo. He proclaimed to have taken the opportunity to sneak away after pretending to have been unconscious and waiting for the Wendigo to leave.
"That must have been a very frightening situation", Ann proclaimed. "I don't think I could've done that—my legs would've been scared stiff! I wouldn't be able to run!"
"Even when you're not scared you can't run. Goodness, you can't run to save your life. If you give up those big melons on your chest though, you might have a chance."
"Minaaaa", Ann screeched as they started to get rowdy with each other.
"It's not my fault you suck at running because of those two kilos of melons stuck on your chest!"
As the two argued and wrestled, the ox cart soon stopped in front of an inconspicuous inn.
"I'll take this cart back to the rental place. You go get us a room." Felix glanced at Laris. "Get another one for your guest too."
"No, I can't impose on you like that", Laris quickly declined.
"You can at least take up on our offer this one time. It must be uncomfortable to not have been able to shower and eat a hot meal while wondering through the woods."
Now that they were talking about food, Laris' stomach made its plea. A small blush finally cracked Laris' blank face with a small emotion called shame.
"Apologies for imposing. You have my gratitude."
Felix hummed before lightly whipping the reigns to signal the ox to move. Laris watched the cart disappeared at a corner before turning around to see Ann and Mina enter the medium-sized inn.