Elowen gave up on fleeing even before Ki Lien joined him. The presence of the massive white tiger made her even more sombre.
"So, cousin," Maelora said, her voice laced with amusement. "Everyone is here. Have you made your decision yet? Last time, you seemed to be in a hurry, or why else would you leave us to deal with the peak iron rank beast, right?"
"Cousin, I--"
"Of course, Elowen isn't a coward who feared such a cute girl," Maelora said, raising her palm to caress the huge white tiger's whiskers as Gawn landed next to her. Even tiptoeing, she was unable to reach the whiskers, not until the tiger lowered its head for her. It squealed in comfort under her caress. "Look how cute it is. Well, it was equally terrifying before Gawn managed to bond with it. I mean, bond with her."
"Cousin, please, I didn't mean to—"
"I know what you mean and what you didn't mean to, cousin," Maelora said, cutting her short again. "You were afraid, so you ran away. The amazing thing is that I don't blame you for being afraid. We all were. It was, after all, a magnificent beast. According to legend, she carried traces of the heavenly White Tiger's bloodline. Yet it was still a beast. Doesn't it look so docile now, Cousin Elowen?"
Elowen sneaked a glance at Ki Lien, who looked dumb and annoyed at not understanding most of their conversation.
Maelora kept on stroking the white tiger. "I have an idea. Cousin, why don't you try to caress it? I'm sure it will put your mind at ease."
"Cousin, please. . ."
"Come on, it won't bite," Maelora urged her. She literally came to shove her forward towards the colossus resting beast.
"Yeah, Elowen go, she's a nice girl," said Elara.
Elowen swallowed her breath and looked at everyone. Gawn nodded at her, standing next to his beast. Elara was amused, waiting for her to embarrass herself, just like her cousin. Ki Lien seemed more vexed, brows wrinkled, waiting for this circus to end.
His eyes kept on wandering at everyone's position, their minute motions. He certainly didn't like standing in the middle of everyone, though she supposed he could flee on his own if he tried. The chances of success weren't that bright if she was with him.
Letting out a heavy breath, Elowen approached the beast. The white tiger lifted its eyes at her when she came a couple of steps nearer.
"Come on, cousin, the sun is going down."
"Haha, she's still afraid."
Calming herself, Elowen drew her palm towards the majestic beast under everyone's gaze, anxiety gnawing at her neck. It wasn't simply dread of the peak Iron-ranked beast that gripped her, but also the fear of embarrassing herself before everyone else. Of course, she knew Maelora was doing it exactly for that very reason. Maybe if I gave in easily, she would let me go.
What was there to lose? Her cousin saw her as a lesser either way.
Elowen barely lifted her arm, intending to stroke its whisker, when the tiger opened its mouth in a growl, causing her to almost fall on her back. She was ready to fall embarrassingly, making a spectacle of herself to her cousin's amusement, yet at the very last moment, she lurched her heel back and balanced herself.
"Nola, calm down." Gawn wrapped his arms around the tiger's neck to stop it from growling. He addressed her after the tiger went back to its resting. "Sorry, Nola is bad with unfamiliar faces, I guess."
Elowen could only nod.
"Maelora, let's end this here," Gawn said. "We are already delayed."
Maelora carefully noted her expression and nodded at Gawn. "Let's go then. Hopefully, with our numbers raised, we can catch up to them soon." She came to slap slightly on her shoulder. "Come on cousin, we have to catch up to the princess. Can't let her have all the glory, can we?"
Thankfully, her cousin viewed the trial as of bigger importance than embarrassing her. However, Elowen didn't like where it was going.
"She agreed to join us?" Gawn lifted an eyebrow.
"Of course," Maelora said, wrapping her arm around Elowen's shoulder as if to show how intimate their relationship was. "Elowen is very upset with herself at how she took off, leaving us to deal with Nola. So she decided she would help us as we reach the inheritance ground. Right, Elowen?"
"Um, yes." Her mind screamed to decline Maelora, but it was a request. Her cousin had instilled that when Gawn was away.
"That's more like." Maelora turned her head to look at the dark-skinned human, finally remembering his existence. "But what to do about him? What's his name again? Well, forget it. Can he even keep up with us? We can't leave him in the forest full of unknown dangers."
"He won't slow you down," Elowen said, turning her head to meet Ki Liens.
"I hope you're right," Maelora said as the group prepared to leave. "Or we can leave him with some other groups."