[Third Person's Perspective]
" May we ask who are you? "
Charles asks again. Tightening his grip causing the strings to constrict his movements. The hooded man tries to move his arm but with no avail, he stops. " Don't even think you can escape. " Charles spoke.
Allyson, who was near by his side, stayed quiet. Nervousness is written on her face, she wonders what will happen next.
* Sighs.
The hooded man stares at them. In a spur of moment, he forces his way to escape the binding. Charles could not believe. He knew he shouldn't underestimate the stranger's strength. The stranger makes his way to exit their grasp. Charles chases him.
" Back me up, Bluestone! " He shouted.
Allyson ran with him. Trying to catch the culprit with her senior. " Take this! " Charles raises his left arm again. In an instant, strings spew out of his gloves. It slithered like a snake and crawled like it's alive. His strings wraps that person once again.
This time, he didn't take a second to break out of Charles's binding. His eyes closes. Something was about to clash into him.
" How about this? "
Charles spoke. He raises both of his arms and pulls a log coming towards the man. His amber eyes traces the movements of the object. The man then give a fast kick, causing the tree to split in two. Charles's index finger points down. The strings climbed into the pieces of log - the man was wrapped once again by his strings.
" Pull this. " Charles ordered the young woman to pull along with him. They pulled and created a pulley from the branches. The strings tightens and binds him by stacking layers of strings from one to another. Like a bug wrapped around by a spider's web, the man was bounded in success.
Charles sends bunch of strings into other trees as it secures the prevention of another escape. Allyson catches her breath, it was heavy for her to pull a person upsidedown.
" Try moving or I'll resort to these. "
Charles warns the man by showing two cuffs. There we're runes and strange writings engrave on the cuffs. Allyson behind him wonders where did Charles used to hide these kind of spy gadgets.
The man stops moving. His body kept rotating from the motion. Allyson squint her eyes - she couldn't see his face from the height.
The man looked below, he saw the two approaching the tree he was hanged upsidedown. Then.... He spoke.
" I don't have time for this. "
Charles looked up. The man kept moving. Something poked out of his strings. A hand... A very large and beast-like hand. The strings snapped. The tree breaks apart. Expectedly, branches began falling into the ground.
" Watch out! " Charles shouts as he send strings to block the falling large branches.
" Thanks. " Allyson stood up. She looked up and discovered the man is missing. He's gone? - she thought to herself.
She turns her head to the right and saw the person on the trees. Marks were left along as he moves from one tree to another. He decides to fight back. Charles then tries to send strings into him. The man evades and rushed into his direction.
" You're taking me on? " Charles did a rotating motion. His strings quickly creates a temporary shield. The man clenches his large arm and launches a huge punch at his strings.
Charles steps back and realizes his strings are not strong enough to handle his strength. Allyson on his back was about to launch an attack.
" Stop, Bluestone! " His senior shouts at her. The branch she was holding snaps into two when it clashed into his head.
" I said stop! This man is a beastman! " Charles shouted once again. The man glanced back. He tries to kick Allyson away.
However, the young girl was fast enough to evade his attack. Instead, she jumps and went to the tree stump. She touches it and took a deep breath. She then spoke.
" Appearance "
Her eyes glowed. The pieces of the pine trees began to float in a tremendous pace. The log next to his feet rises and launches a full force into him - he was pushed away.
" Damn. " Charles exclaimed.
Allyson looks back to see the result. That person flew into another tree. Hitting his back into it's trunk.
He stood up. A bit dizzy from the sudden clash of a log. Charles wanted to use this moment to send some of his strings to surround his area.
Allyson picked up herself. Despite the confrontation of a possible phantom. She picks up a movement from the back. Shadows? Two shadows? - she asks herself. Charles noticed it too and proceed to be alert on what will happen next. The man looked around as one of the moving shadow stopped before him.
A wolf. It was a wolf.
" Chills? " He wondered why. He let his guard down letting Charles to bind him for the fourth time. Allyson looks at the left and saw a familiar face. It was Rachel.
" Rachel! " She smiled and was about to ran into her. But then, she stops. She notices that Rachel is acting different. Rachel is not smiling as usual. Instead, she had this worried look on her face.
" What's wrong? " Allyson asks.
Rachel didn't answer. She let out a sigh before speaking.
" Charles, our case was to find the source of these strange markings. Right? " She asked her partner. Charles catches his breath to secure the person from escaping again.
" Why are you bringing that up? Help me ti- "
He stopped when Rachel raised her palm. " I just solved the case. " She spoke.
" The reason why the marks are on the trees is for a specific purpose..... And that is Tracking. " She explains.
Allyson asks " why tracking? " Rachel gave the full details about the tracking method.
" Tracking by using marks are scented. Often used by the northern tribes of the Winter Clan. "
" This guy you two just caught is the one causing it. " She added. Charles stood up after he finished securing the strings.
" What are you trying to say, Rachel? " He asked.
Rachel didn't answer back. She approached the culprit. She reaches her hand into his hood. She removes it.
" It's been long since we last saw each other... Kleid. " She uttered.
Charles gulped. He couldn't believe what he just heard. " Kleid? You mean your brother? "
Allyson's eyes widened. What a revelation - she exclaims to herself. She remembered the chat earlier when Rachel mentions her past.
" Charles, remove your strings please. " Rachel ordered him. Charles was annoyed. After the struggle to tight the bind - he muttered to himself.
" So.... ". Rachel breaks the tension.
" Care to explain why'd you left "
His brother didn't answer. Instead, he straight up look into her eyes. Seconds passed before he finally stood up.
Without hesitation - He walks away.
Rachel's bubbling rage is about to explode. She raised her voice. Not too loud, not too quiet.
" Your first response is to " leave "? "
Kleid stops. His wolf companion looked back to see the woman he met earlier. At this moment, curiosity pondered Allyson's mind. She gets closer to her senior.
" If you don't mind. What's exactly happening now? " She asked a quick detail.
" It was about her brother leaving the clan 7 years ago... I believe he was searching for their other brother, who left as well. "
" I don't really know the further details, she mentioned this one time when she was drunk anyways. "
Allyson looks at them. The tension between the siblings were still there. But she seem to notice something different. They don't seem to be related at all - she thought to herself.
Rachel took a deep breath before breaking the silence once more.
" Kleid... Come home. You don't have to be like this. "
Her brother looked back. He can Rachel is both worried and mad from the sudden reunion. He finally spoke back.
" I have to.... I will find him. It's the only way. "
Rachel was about to say something but Kleid continued walking - leaving once again her sister behind in a long pursuit.
Rachel couldn't bear to say the things she want to. She clenches her teeth. She was sick of this. A single tear drop slide down to her cheek.
" Why? "
She asked. Collapsed into the ground with knees touching the grass. Allyson quickly got to her and places her hand into her back. Charles picks up his fallen hat before he approach his partner whose in a dire sadness.
Allyson tries to calm her down. Even the most jolliest person can become like this - she thought to herself. She looked back to see the direction where Kleid and that wolf headed to.
She gulped. Deciding to do something about this.
" Excuse me for a moment. "
Allyson stood up and quickly ran to that direction.
" Wait! Where are you going, Bluestone! " Charles shouts back. The young girl didn't pay attention and continued her chase to catch up into Rachel's brother.
" Hey mister! Hey! " Allyson shouts back at them and spotted something walking from far. She increases her pace.
" Hey! Wait up. " She shouts again.
Kleid notices the young girl trying to catch up to him. He looks down to see his companion didn't pay attention. He wonders why. Finally stopping for her to catch up.
* Allyson panting...
" Ah, finally..... You walk fast. " Allyson exclaims as she catches her breath.
" Why? " Kleid asked her.
Allyson stood up and straight up told the guy her thoughts.
" What you did there is too cruel.... You could've atleast wait for her response. " She added.
" Why? " Kleid asked the same question again.
" Why? I heard that it's been 7 years since you left her behind. Please don't make your sister wait again.... It's unbearable to watch her being like that. " Allyson replied.
Kleid looked at her. He didn't change his expression before asking once again.
" Why do you care? "
Allyson was left in shock.
" You don't know Rachel or me. So why care? Based on your uniform, I can clearly see you're a new recruit. "
" Why meddle in someone's business? " He added.
Allyson stopped. She realizes her actions. Speechless... She couldn't find any words to back her up.
Why I care? - she asked herself.
She remembered something from the past. She recalls the day her grandfather passed away. She thought to herself.
" No relatives, no siblings... It was just me and Evelyn... It was hard for us that day. "
" Years passed and our little lives got better. Evelyn found a job. Me studying in hopes of graduating to help her. I even had to find a part-time job to support both of us. "
" But that wasn't the hardest part... For me, it was the day she was killed. "
" After that traumatic event, Boss had to take me under his wing... He provided me enough to live.... But I know deep down in my heart I was the only one left. "
" In Rachel's case... It's the same.... Leaving a family member behind is something I don't want to see again. I know it's meddlesome for me to take part. ".
" I just can't stand seeing It.... It's selfish. It's very selfish. ".
Kleid notices Allyson is not speaking and was about to leave.
However, Allyson snaps back....
" I am meddlesome... That's true. "
" I look into someone's business... That's true. "
" She was your family member right? "
Allyson asked him. Kleid stops and looked back to see. He saw how Allyson is trying her best not to cry. He began to ask again.
" So? "
Allyson sighs.
" I may not know everything that happened before but I know the feeling of being left... Rachel feels alone. I can hear it on her voice - the way she laughs and jokes. ".
" Why abandon and act coldly? "
" We don't know when's the last... SO I BEG OF YOU DEPRESSED F*CK! CHERISH THE MOMENTS WITH HER! "
" I WANT YOU TO GO BACK AND APOLOGIZE TO HER!! "
She shouted from the top of her lungs. It was clear that Kleid's eyes widened. He looked into her eyes. He can see how mad and emotional she is.
Allyson was clearly annoyed. But for a second, she began realizing something.
Oh sh*t - she just realized how cringe for her to say something like that.
But she played it cool. She wipes off the tears from her face - hiding the fact she did something embarrassing earlier.
Kleid's response was to sigh. He looks back and notices something...
" So. Are you glad to hear my reasons? " Allyson asked him in a sarcastic manner. Kleid turns back and spoke.
" Are you stupid? "
This almost broke the camel's back. Allyson, blood rising from her brain, thinking it's time to retaliate from his feedback.
" What? " She asked calmly, trying to suppress the anger before she caught something unusual. The leaves up in the pine trees were moving in a weird way.
The wind had this eerie feeling.... It felt like they are being watched~
She looked everywhere. There were masked people staring at them. Kleid asked one last time.
" Why did you have to shout? "