Now the whole group looked at Neferet and the young man.
Some frowned, and others began to whisper while they looked at the blond young man who began to shake his head while opening and closing his mouth, looking for the right words.
Beneath his veil, Neferet drew a delicate smile and said, "But we must be calm."
The girl took a step forward, gently moving her hands, making signs of lowering her spirits while saying, "It's not such a bad idea, we can send a group of three as a forward and additionally, we can throw a reconnaissance group."
The murmurs trailed off as the girl pointed to the sky behind the trees.
"Let's face it. No one wants to spend the night in the woods without knowing what's ahead or around us."
The group began to nod while the blond boy jumped to Neferet's side, saying, "Comrades, it's my fault. I didn't think things through before speaking."
He then raised his spear and stuck out his chest before he said, "I will lead the advance group. My name is Armin Lawrence. And I want to do this as an apology."
Behind the veil, Neferet drew a somewhat uncomfortable grimace while gently patting the young Armin on the shoulder, whose eyes began to shine like a torch in the night.
Raising her voice again, Neferet said, "There's not much time to waste, and we'll need a sorceress and some hunter to go with him to make a basic trinity, volunteers?"
A girl with pale skin, wearing a somewhat worn uniform that was clearly not made for her since the sleeves hung over her hands.
She timidly raised her arm. Next to her was a boy with light brown hair and red eyes with a copper tone.
He unhooked the rifle from her shoulder and raised her hand, standing firm.
"Well, this will be our brave vanguard."
The white-haired girl blushed a little and looked down while both Armin and the young hunter puffed out their chests proudly and began to walk slowly.
While the group began to surround Neferet, who began to straighten her back and calmly looked at the group that remained with her, most seemed to be rookies somewhat scared by the situation, but a few looked at her waiting for orders like trained soldiers ready for duty.
Calmly Neferet said, "Okay, now let's get organized here. Certainly, there are many left. Many of us are tired, so we can move forward slowly."
She then started to look at a small restless group that was still staring at the group of young people who were sitting. Taking a breath, she said, "There are still many left. What we can do is form another group, this one a little bigger. Made up of five people who can explore the terrain around us like this, even if we move slowly, we will recognize the terrain."
The young people began to nod slowly when a young man with black hair and pale blue eyes.
He took a step, saying, "I can lead that group. After a little rest, we can go around and meet up. If you advance ten minutes or so to the front and make a camp, we will find you."
Neferet nodded and walked slowly between the young people and then asked, "This settles everything for now, doesn't it?"
The group nodded as the young man with pale blue eyes was selecting his group. Neferet sat down on a nearby log.
Looking at the group, she slid her fingers through her bracers, breathing slowly Neferet made her eyes shine in a soft yellow color while the nails of her ring and middle fingers also shone, drawing a long line that crossed her entire bracer, carefully looking at her companions and trying to go unnoticed, she stood up and gently placed her fingers on the shoulder of the blue-eyed boy.
She said, "Well, be careful, the night is coming, and we don't know what we can meet."
The young man nodded and, waving his arm, indicated a group of five applicants who began to enter the forest.
As Neferet turned around, she said, "Okay, folks, we're leaving. We will take short breaks every ten minutes to check on the exploration team."
The applicants nodded as they began to walk, Neferet looked at the tips of her fingers, and from them, a small and imperceptible bright line was drawn connecting with the shoulder of that boy.
Neferet said goodbye to that group, moving a hand slowly and taking command of the largest group of young people who went deeper into the forest.
The night was immediate. The group of young hopefuls was dragging their feet, some were yawning, and others were just lying on the trees.
Neferet looked at them, beginning to lose her patience a little. She looked at the group while she looked at the sky.
The moon, little by little, rose higher. Neferet looked at her hand, and although they had followed the plan to stop every ten minutes, they had not yet come across the team that had gone to explore. The yellowish line stretched more and more. Gently biting his lip, she thought, 'Sure, this guy took five with experience and got lost in the woods. I don't think he will come back. The advanced trio, I doubt he stopped even once. Now I'm here with seven rookies.'
The group was sitting on the ground, leaning against the trees, in total darkness. Neferet was thinking of how to improve her situation while her mind tried to think of some form that would take advantage of numbers and compensate for the lack of experience of those around her.
While Neferet leaned against the tree, she felt a nauseating smell coming from her. It swept through the air, drawing closer.
Neferet began to cough forcefully as her eyes filled with tears.
Quickly Turning her head and looking at the forest, she could see how the group of applicants began to vomit.
Some coughed and stood up to look at Neferet, gently swallowing Neferet stood up still dizzy she heard a loud roar.
The trees opened between the passage of a creature that jumped between the treetops, and the smell was nauseating.
A strong combination of excrement, blood and ammonia presented that beast that fell among the group of eight applicants.
Neferet's eyes did not take off her fingers that drew an increasingly faint line, and in front of her, that stinking vision stood hanging in front of the group.
Half of the body of the creature was on the ground, surrounded by the applicants, while the creature's long, furry arms dangled from the trees.