She automatically shielded her face with her arms, her heels digging into the dirt and her hot pink hair blowing into her face. Below her, Tusara calmly watched as the sphere unfurled, the misty wind bouncing off of her taller-than-average form, her gaze unflinching when a figure stepped out of what was once a sphere. The moment the silhouette left, the wind died down and the mist slowly dissipated.
Once the fog completely disappeared, the figure's crimson red eyes weren't the only visible things anymore. The boy walked until he was right in front of Tusara, his intense gaze meeting her calm stare.
Adha jumped down, wincing when rocks dug into her bare feet, catching the attention of the other two in the crater. Tusara turned away, walking to her and crouched down.
"Show me your leg," her tone left no room for arguments.
While she checked Adha over, the boy frowned. His bluish-black hair glistened in the slowly setting sun and his gleaming red eyes contrasted with his pale skin. Adha glanced up at him while Tusara bandaged up her unsurprisingly twisted ankle with bandages she had gotten from the pouch she was given.
"Do you have a name?"
"Niyati," his tone was blank, completely lacking emotion.
"Niyati..?"
"My name."
She nodded in understanding, slightly weirded out.
Tusara got up and dusted her cargo pants, putting the roll of bandages back into her fanny pack. Adha felt her ankle and smiled up at them sheepishly.
"I can't walk."
A few seconds later, she felt herself get picked up.
"Hey!"
When he didn't say anything, she just pouted, glaring at Tusara who was chuckling. Niyati just stayed silent.
⸻
Yuki trailed behind the other two, her guard up; they were being followed.
Niyati stayed impassive, making Adha keep quiet despite her usual energetic nature. The trip was in a tense silence, prepared for whatever might happen.
Suddenly, Tusara halted. Fate stopped without protest and turned around.
"Do you hear anything?"
Tusara blinked when he mentioned her hearing while Adha looked from Tusara to Niyati in perplexity.
"Hear? What do you–"
"I did hear something."
Tusara met Niyati eye to eye for a second before the latter's eyes clouded over and he averted his eyes. Strange.
Suddenly turning around, she abruptly kicked the ground enough for it to break into pieces.
Adha yelped when the boy carrying her took off into the sky. She glanced down at the ground which was quickly growing further before she turned to Fate who seemed completely unbothered.
"What in the…" The half-fish was at a loss for words.
"We're flying."
She finally looked around and spotted a pair of black wings.
'Where did those come from–'
On the ground below them, Tusara crossed her arms and watched the miniature figure somewhere in front of her grow until it was the size of an average human.
The young woman observed the strangely-shaped yet most definitely humanoid person in interest. She knew for a fact that that person's appearance hardly matched his species.
The person, supposedly a man, got up and politely inclined his body in greeting.
"Apologies for the surprise, ma'am."
Tusara chuckled as Fate landed on the ground with a dumbstruck Adha and waved the man's words off.
"No worries, those were just my reflexes."
Her aquatic companion sweatdropped and the man raised his head up.
"Are you Tusara Aris?"
Niyati's eyes narrowed and Tusara merely smiled.
"Indeed."
The Semianimalis bowed down, his voice full of a certain urgency.
"Our village is in trouble. Our queen requests your assistance, Lady Archeress!"