(This chapter is undergoing revisions for tone adjustment and pacing)
Chapter 11
A brief span of time had continued from the moment Hoku sprinted out of the Return's shadow.
After a few minutes of running through the traces of sunlight that seeped through the branches, he began glancing back to see if anything had followed.
He already felt the blood rushing to his head.
He was sure that he had already surpassed his limits, but beyond certainty on how long he could keep up.
The sunken reverberations in the distance pursued; however, it wasn't until he heard the immense impact of a collision that he reached a complete halt on the path.
He stumbled, the force of how fast he was running caused his leg to lift as his boot that remained on the ground slid forward, burying under grains of dirt and dead leaves.
Damn it...
His reflexes played favorably, and he managed to catch his balance before he could slide onto his stomach.
A vicious current of wind followed the blunt sound of two bodies colliding.
His legs shook, but it wasn't from fear or exhaustion, setting aside how presently he was plagued by both.
The forest was trembling beneath him.
Did the creature form a crater on the surface this time?
However, that thought was quickly swept away by a separate one.
Is she—?
Although the Return was eminently larger compared to the both of them, Hoku tried reassuring himself after encountering her reaction towards its sudden presence.
She hadn't expressed any sort of panic—in fact, her behavior alluded to both experience and courage.
'She couldn't have been killed, otherwise it would have caught up.'
The movement beneath him slowly subsided, and he stood still, cautiously staring down the path.
'Am I supposed to keep going?' Hoku struggled to think past the thumping in his ears.
"Strange how it fades, isn't it?"
Hoku flinched, his heart nearly stopping, as a young male voice spoke.
He raised his shoulders, pointing his attention in the other direction.
"Shh! Imbécile!"
Another person with a higher accent responded, shushing the one who had spoken.
The proximity of their voices came from a place that drew noise almost directly.
Hoku tensed his jaw and looked up into the trees.
The queasiness in his stomach worsened before two figures came into focus.
A boy with tawny beige skin and short daintily waved locks peered down.
Two dimples formed in the upper part of both cheeks, lending detail to the smooth features encompassing his clumsy smile.
"Sorry…did I scare you? …I can vouch that it wasn't my idea to hide up here."
A girl stood with a straight posture on a branch behind him. Her hand was placed on the tree stump, offering fragile support.
The tiny dimple was displayed on her face as well.
"Who are you?" Hoku pressed his hand below his collarbone to ensure that his pulse was steadying.
The man over him with an awkward smile.
"He probably thinks we're weird now, can we get down?"
The girl looked away from Hoku and nodded fervently.
"Thank goodness! My damn legs were starting to cramp," the boy said, evidently relieved.
Hoku watched quietly as he grasped the branch with both hands, momentarily crouching in a frog position before sliding his legs off the tree so that they dangled.
He used another branch as leverage to swing himself forward and land away from the tree.
Differently, the girl climbed to the lowest branch before hurdling onto the ground.
Hoku stepped back from the two of them, clenching his fists.
The light refracting in their brown eyes gave them a warm presence.
"I am Fleur, and this is Abel," the girl spoke with an accent that made her voice notably tantalizing.
"Nice to meet you, I guess…" Hoku muttered, feeling a slight unease.
From a near display, he recognized how the color of her lips resonated with their similar skin tones.
Inherently, the two of them next to each other shared various characteristics. From their eye shape and color to their noses and even facial structure.
Fleur must have noticed Hoku comparing the two as she gestured to Abel and said, "We are fraternal twins."
"Yeah, but I am the smarter one—if you have questions, look for me," Abel added, grinning.
Fleur abruptly stomped her foot near Abel, who briskly jumped back, thrusting his leg in his sister's direction.
She caught it and dug her fingers into the outsole of his normal brown shoe.
"Wait—"
Fleur snickered, firmly yanking his leg higher into the air. He immediately lost balance, throwing his other foot in the air as he landed on his tailbone.
Hoku ignorantly chuckled, watching them squabble.
Abel held onto Fleur's ankle, and it was clear who the stronger one was when she proceeded to drag him because he wouldn't let go.
"You call this… smart?" Fleur said, pulling him further from the place where he had stumbled.
Hoku interrupted them, recalling Abel had offered to answer the questions he had eventually lost count of.
"I do actually have a few questions…"
Abel promptly released Fleur's ankle and stayed on the ground, crossing his legs like a respectable subject.
Fleur politely fixed herself, clearing her throat as she patted down her clothing.
Is this what they call twin telepathy? No… that's mind reading.
Hoku shook his head, deviating from the topic.
"What's your question, sir?" asked Fleur.
Oh, I haven't told them my name.
"Just call me Hoku. Do either of you know Juno Mirai?"
"Hoku?..."
"Mirai!"
Both of them answered in broken unison. Hoku grew unsure of how to respond. Fortunately, Abel, who had enthusiastically repeated Juno's surname, granted him actual disclosure.
"She's a binary star. One of only two voyagers in the timestream. She and Li are—speaking of which, how come she hasn't returned?"
Binary star? Voyager? Who is this Li person?
Hoku breathed in, phrasing a nonchalant explanation of the creature they had dredged up while feverishly searching for a 'safe zone.'
"She slapped me across the face before informing me there were others and that the forest was infested with monsters. We were scouting out a narrow path for somewhere called the nucleus, but a huge creature she entitled the Return left a crater before waking up and floating over us. I ran after nearly dying, but she was held back."
Abel's lips parted, and the creases of his mouth expanded.
Fleur's eyes widened but returned to normal as she joined the conversation.
"Was she using her fan?"
Hoku raised his eyebrows.
So she has dealt with monsters before.
"If you're speaking about the red Chinese fan, then yes."
Abel heaved a sigh of relief, then stood up and brushed himself off as well.
"You don't need to worry then, she will be back soon."
Hoku too endured a subtle sweep of assurance.
"That's good to hear… I also hoped to ask ab—"
Fleur abruptly hovered her hand in front of Hoku's face.
"Hold on."
Abel gazed in her direction and proceeded to raise an eyebrow at her manners.
Without any elaboration, she glanced ahead. Hoku took notice of the intensity in her expression.
Abel read more from it, reacting for the second time to a question Hoku had considered beforehand.
"Someone is trailing us," he said, wearing a similar guise.
What?
The Memoir Chapter 7
Rule 12
The safe zone should be utilized under highly restrictive circumstances. It has a capacity that can be exceeded and will weaken with the presence of each individual. If commotion outside fades rather than halts, consider searching for a new region to reside. It generally takes around a day and a half for the safe zones to become completely ineffective.
「This section has no objective」
-The Memoir Chapter 7 end-