[Freya/Rocco Team]
"Phew! I think it's time go back," Rocco announces as he stretches his back.
The two have been scanning their area for quite a while now and the area has started to get dark.
"We still have a bit of time no?" Grace responds. "Sundown isn't until 2 hours from now."
"The forest gets dark faster since there's a lot of trees around," he replies. "Also, do you really want to get caught in the darkness when we walk back?"
She realizes her mistake and nods humbly.
"Ok, let's contact the others and-"
"Hello, hello, is anyone there?" Richard's voice suddenly blasts in everyone's head.
"Damn it, Richard, go easy," Rocco complains.
"Haha sorry, sorry. It's been a while since I used [Telepathy] so I couldn't control my volume," he responds.
"Haaaah, what do you want?"
"Well, I'm just letting you know that dinner's gonna be [Savage Duck]."
"Is that it?"
"Of course not haha. Adresin and Freya, I know you can hear me. You guys might be done searching but your training continues."
*Growl*
Suddenly, multiple blue glints appear from within the brush.
"You see, I managed to control my strength for once so I summoned these cute little puppies," Richard continues. "They won't kill you but they hurt like hell so do run for your lives."
"Sir! This is torture!" Adresin cries from the other side of the forest.
Upon hearing Richard's words, Grace suddenly runs off deeper into the forest.
"W-wait!" Rocco tries to stop her but by the time he noticed, she's already gone.
*Howl*
The wolves that were surrounding them now hunt the runaway. Streaks of blue travel through the shadows of the forest as they chase their new prey.
*Rush*
Grace is keeping her distance but the wolves are steadily gaining on her. What's worse is that their coordinated chase is steadily cornering her into their jaws. She looks about to see if there's anyone nearby and then releases her costume. Her green hair shimmers with the same shade of the young leaves of the forest and her wings flutter as she jumps away from the pack's pursuit.
"Miss Grace!" Adresin's voice calls out to her.
[Barrier]
As he kicks off the dirt with his speed, Adresin leaves behind magical barriers which delay the ravenous wolves from biting him.
"Hey, Uncle Adresin," she responds. "I'm glad that you're able to join me."
"This is no coincidence!" he replies. "The wolves literally chased me to your position."
She smirks knowingly and says, "I guess Uncle Richard's serious about making us run in these mountains together."
"I still don't know why though," he says as he jumps across a short ravine. "All we've been doing is running."
"You really complain a lot, Uncle," she retorts as she kicks one of the wolves that manages to reach her height.
"Damn kid. Why don't you show me a little bit of respect too?" he cries.
"Once you become more respectable," she says and sticks out her tuck mockingly.
*Flutter*
Feeling that the wolves are beginning to constantly snap at her heels despite her flight advantage, Grace increases her altitude, leaving Adresin behind.
"Wait!" he shouts desperately.
[Back at Camp and Richard's POV]
"Are you sure those two'll be fine?" Rocco says through a mouthful of duck.
Nighttime has come and we're having a comfortable time around the fire. The gang looks tired so I'm glad that I used wild ginseng for for the food today.
"Yeah, those two'll be fine," I reply as I eat a spoonful myself. "They'll be doing this for a bit so they better get used to it."
They look at me with a mixture of dread and wariness.
"Y-you're really Spartan," Mark comments.
"Why? You wanna join them?" I say mischievously.
He immediately shakes his head.
"So tell me, what did you find?" I ask.
"Nothing on our end," Lina reports.
"Same here," Rocco follows.
"Trees almost dead," Tabitha chimes in. "Couldn't investigate. Wolves attacked."
"Alright, that seems to be our first lead," Rocco says as he wolfs down his plate. "Richie, let's go in the tent."
The poor boy is in the middle of putting food in his mouth when Rocco orders him to get up. He sighs and brings his food with him as he follows Rocco in the tent.
"I guess all of you will be busy tomorrow," I say as I stoke the fire a bit.
"I'm glad it was quick this time," Lina chuckles dryly. "Last time, we spent 2 weeks in a van when we were staking out someone."
"Stop talking about that time," Mark complains. "It's making the food taste bad."
It must be so tough being a cop. I'm not gonna lie, I used to watch a ton of detective series and dreamt of doing that. But seeing these kids now, I wonder if my old self would've lasted a day?
The night progresses and we finish eating. As I am preparing the pie for dessert, I notice that Lina keeps glancing at my direction, then at Mark. Mark would also then glance at her, then at me. Can these kids be more obvious?
"Look, kids, if you got something you wanna ask, just ask me," I say to them with a sigh. "I promise I won't bite."
The two hesitates for a bit but Lina finds her resolve first.
"Sir, c-can you tell us where you came from?" she asks.
"I'm a New Yorker through and through," I reply.
"But we've never seen you before," Mark joins in. "I'm sure that a person like you would stand out for sure."
"Well, it's because I was stuck in another world all this time," I say as I concentrate in putting the pie dough in the skillet.
"Another world?" Lina gasps.
"Yeah, I'm sure you know that they exist," I say.
"With all due respect sir, we've never even heard a report of someone SEEING another world," Mark says. "And you claim to have been in one?"
"Well, you've heard the report now," I say while caramelizing the apples in a pan. "I got no reason to lie to you."
The two glance at each other, not sure what to say next. Then, Tabitha raises her hand.
"Yes, young miss?" I ask.
"Is Adresin single?" she says in her usual monotone voice but I hear a hint of shyness this time.
"Tabitha?!" Lina exclaims in surprise.
I look at Mark pitifully.
"Wh-what?!" he asks defensively.
"Sigh... two ladies in a party and you couldn't score any of them," I say with a teasing smirk.
Mark's face flushes red.
"Yeah, Adresin's single," I answer Tabitha's question. "But you better give up on the guy. First, he's too old and second, he likes guys."
Of course that's a lie but with the way he's been living, there's already been a similar rumor going around in the Lupinus estate. The guy's good-looking already. A little handicap should balance his charms out.
"Tsk," Tabitha audibly clicks her tongue.
Meanwhile, Lina's lost in thought.
"Haha, for someone who's usually quiet, you seem to be more invested in this than Lina is," I comment.
"Well, Tabitha's almost thirty so she's been-"
*Fwip*
Before Mark could finish what he was saying, a dagger flies directly towards his head. However, he doesn't even flinch as it bounces off of his forehead. Wait... he didn't flinch but his face is pale as a ghost.
"Kid... if you wanna live long, don't mention a girl's age," I say to him as I finally place the pie in the fire.
"Duly noted," he replies weakly.
As our discussion continues, we hear rustling in the nearby bushes. The gang immediately go for their weapons but relaxes when they see who it is.
"Sir!" Adresin shouts between ragged breaths. "We... haaaah.... we're back."
Both of them look like hell. Good.
"You two worked hard," I say. "Go take a bath and eat. We got a long day tomorrow so enjoy the night."
"Yes, Dad," Grace responds.
The two then head towards the bathing areas. While they're bathing, I prepare their share. Lina, Mark, and Tabitha look at them with sympathy but I look at them with pride. If everything turns out well, I could bring them along with my plan. I fish the compass in my pocket and stare at its red needle that still points South-East. Just wait for me, Beelzebub.