Rebeca looked askance at Brian, who began to walk towards the small group that was together on the edge of the forest, barely surrounded by trees and in front of the small pond.
The noise of the river covered the footsteps of Brian approaching the group.
Rebeca walked quickly to where they had thrown the equipment on the floor, taking her rifle and carrying a second pistol at her waist.
Brian placed his hand lightly on Neferet's shoulder as he slid the tip of his spear across the ground. With a low voice and trying to adopt a calm tone, he said, "Nefy, go to the pond. You and these guys could use the water to clean their sweat and regulate their temperature."
Brian's gaze was completely nailed to the forest. At the same time, holding Neferet's shoulder firmly.
With her eyes brimming with tears, Neferet looked at Brian. But his body language was screaming at her the danger Brian felt.
His shoulders stiff and his gaze fixed on the forest, his legs slightly apart and his knees slightly bent, his right hand covering his body and his spear hand with his shoulder lose and his elbow tucked in.
Neferet took a deep breath, but the only thing she could smell was the sweat of the companions she had in her arms linked with the smell of the forest, but understanding the situation.
Neferet cleared her throat before she said, "Guys, let's go to the pond. We have to eat, and you can tell me how you survived."
The boy who had just arrived looked at Neferet, who was staring at Brian, and he stood up clutching his sword as he raised his shield, standing between Brian and the girls he knew.
He said, "Wait, you're the one who left alone." Covering his body with the shield, the boy raised his voice, saying, "What are you doing here? You were not in the group!"
Brian looked at the boy carefully, seeing how the hand that held the sword trembled as well as his knees and relaxing his posture a bit.
He said while letting go of Neferet's shoulder to hold the boy's shield, "I found Nefy in the woods. I brought her here."
Gripping the boy's shield tightly as he lowered it slowly, Brian lowered his voice as he asked, "Do you really want to fight me?"
The boy tensed his arm, trying to pull it back up, but then he could see Brian's eyes. Brian's deep burgundy eyes shone, but not with a colorful flash.
But with an intense force, as if instead of shining, it absorbed the light around it, making its eyes appear brighter while everything around it darkens.
The boy relaxed his arm, finishing lowering the shield and looking away he said, "No... sorry... I'm tired and nervous, and please let me rest for a moment."
Releasing the boy's shield, Brian nodded while indicating the pond with a nod. While saying, "The girls can clean up behind the rocks where we set up camp, and you use the pond. I'll watch your back, mate."
Brian placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, who nodded as he began to shuffle towards the pond.
While Brian, looking at Neferet, gave her a gentle blow on the ankle with the tip of his spear, moving his lips, telling her, "Advance with your head down."
Neferet gave a covert nod as she bent down to help the sweaty, muddy girl who seemed to have gone into shock walk.
Taking her by the arms, Neferet barely got up and walked towards the rocks where Rebeca was watching everything with the rifle hanging from her shoulder.
Brian turned his back on the forest and walked to the pond, turning around as he leaned against one of the rune-marked rocks.
Still looking out into the woods, Brian was staring at the nervous boy who was taking off his uniform to wipe off the sweat.
As Rebeca and Neferet tried to help the girl, who was a bit shocked, they heard Brian and asked, "Who's going?"
Brian was still leaning on the rock while pointing his spear at the forest.
The girls quickly saw how, from the forest came, a boy with black hair and pale blue eyes were walking towards the pond with his uniform full of cuts.
The boy shuffled his feet and, staring at Brian, raised his left hand while in his right hand, he carried a silver bow.
Taking a deep breath, the boy said, "Wait... please."
The boy collapsed to the ground, and with a voice that denoted the little air he had in his lungs, the boy continued saying, "I give up... I…."
Neferet recognized him immediately and stepped out in just the white shirt without the brown leather breastplate or blue hooded vest, and she yelled, "You are the guy who went with the exploration team."
While looking at Neferet, the boy gave her a tired smile and said, "You're… You're still alive…."
He sighed deeply before he got up, and then he said, "What a joy. Does that mean that everyone here is a survivor?"
Brian shook his head as he stood up, leaving his spear aside to help that boy to get closer to the pond.
"I was on my own, but now I found out everything that happened," he remarked. When he arrived at the pond, he helped the boy to stand in the pond and said, "Now we are together."
The boy nodded as he dropped in front of the pond. Taking off his thick white shirt while Neferet stared at him, Brian frowned while the boy spoke.
"We heard the fight, we ran, but when we arrived, there was not much to do. The beast wiped out my entire team."
Brian got up and began to walk slowly while moving his spear slowly, brushing the ground with the tip.
As Brian's burgundy eyes stared directly into the nape of the boy's neck, Brian slowly said, "It's impressive how such a slow beast could attack so violently."