Request

They both look at Kazu, his body leaning forward, his eye glinting with a fire of hope. He needed this badly.

“We can after the two hours are over; if we are out there, then there is nothing to stop us from dying. Hiwo wouldn’t be able to come, as he would have to stay with you and our supplies.”

Toki’s point of last acceptance at the reality within the boy was that their going towards the forest without the right equipment was going to be a disaster in more ways than one.

Kuza, however, still protests, knowing he can't go after “I will be too tired after playing to also go out; I don't have an infinite magic supply.”

“Can playing really be that—” His mocking tone was instantly silenced by Ayuri, forcing him to shut down his comment.

Ayuri steps forward. “We will go alone and search for them during the two hours when we get a break. That way it's going to be safe; we're not budging otherwise.”

She was assertive for the first time in a while, her thoughts not backing down. Risking herself and Toki for people she had never met didn't seem like the right choice, even despite knowing what Kazu is feeling within; it had to be ignored.

“That's fine… I will play by your rules after all; I do still owe you for protecting me.” Kazu backs off with any more suggestions. He was grateful they were at least willing to help find his friends in the first place; also, trying to argue with them was just going to be a pitiful way to break their connection.

Before time even had a chance to blink, an hour passed within the interval. There weren’t many creatures trying to attack them during the period, and whenever anything did happen, the combination of Hiwos' threatening gestures with the spear and Kazu's music warded them off.

The worrying trend of Shina’s disappearance started to spread a bit of concern towards her.

Shina must still be alive; there's no way she would die so easily. Her power makes her invincible against these beasts. Hiwo doesn’t still seem the slightest bit worried either; his faith in her is too big for me to just let slide.

Toki walks towards Hiwo away from the camp. He was still standing outside the camp's premise, staring into the forest for anything that could move. He was hyperaware of everything going on around him, to the point his hips twisted instinctively, pointing the spear at Toki.

“I'm not a beast…” He raises his hands in mock surrender.

Lowering his spear, he loosens a bit. “I'm just making sure not to let anything jump at me. Do you want something?”

“Shina, why did you let her go?” His mouth was hard locked within; his eyes were focused on any reaction coming out of him.

“Thought we dropped that already. I let her go because I know she could handle herself.”

Toki gets closer to him, protesting, “Even at the cost of her possibly being overwhelmed or jumping from the side? At the cost of us being less protected.”

“We can't rely on her. That's all I can tell you. We made a promise not to let her powers exceed anything we can't suppress for our own safety. Do you think that we have a right to care about her wellness?”

Hiwo steps closer, meeting the fiery expression from Toki; fire clashed with a greater fire.

“The deal was made for our protection, but that doesn't undermine hers.”

Hiwo lets out a lazy huff out of his mouth. “Let me put it this way: it's a test to see if we can trust her to keep control.”

“Keep control?”

Hiwo nods. “Haven't you seen her during the fight earlier? She was acting too aggressively. It also happened the moment she consumed that beast; something happened to her. I know that much.”

“Saw her stagger a bit as well during the time we got attacked. Hiwo, you might be onto a downside.”

Hiwo nods, “When she took over that owl girl, I managed to get a glance. There was peace within her.”

Why would she be at peace? If we were assuming something happens to her, then it would be based on the things she consumes.

Hiwo turns himself around, his eyes closing in on the forest, the darkness within, and the trees and foliage hiding what's truly happening beneath this world.

“We will ask her about how many beasts she consumed. If there is something wrong, it will be a high number.”

There were around thirty-two in our area; we killed one, and one was injured. That leaves thirty realistically.

“I will tell Ayuri also about this; we will make a combined plan to prevent the loss of Hera.”

Hiwo’s mouth lifts, a small chuckle letting out of his lungs, “That's a good idea. Reasoning with you is actually quite enjoyable; you're open to ideas but also tell me your stance firmly.”

“I don't want to go far either way. Being firm and open within the team is the best case for us. We shouldn't be locked into our own views, especially when we rely on each other.”

Toki gives a soft smile back before heading back to the camp. Hiwo continues his study of the area around him.

He watches as both Ayuri and Kazu seem to be engaged in small talk.

Their bond has grown fast; they're very similar in many ways, it seems. I'm glad that even with our luck, we managed to find somebody who wants to be an ally.

Toki sits down on the log away from them, planning not to interrupt, the mixture of pale yellow and silver hues above him painting a beautiful image, their deadly meaning leaving his eyes for just a second.

A thoughtful expression appears on his face, a mixture of anger, gratitude and regret. Everything changed so fast, forcing him to adapt. His group and the goddess, however tricky, were like a pillar in the ease of his transition; before he knew it, a small tear streamed down.