The transmission lasted a total of twenty-five miles.
Selene knew she was not going to be as skilled as Aiden when it came to driving.
She knew she had a lot to learn.
But she had not expected it to be this bad.
They were still around twenty-five miles from Haremont, and Selene was pulling the vehicle at a slow pace using the clockwork steed.
It was significantly slower than before, but beggars could not be choosers.
Aiden and Jax were both incapacitated.
Jax because moving hurt.
Aiden because he had practically started pulling his hair out every time Selene shifted gears, and because the vibrations from driving apparently made both of their injuries hurt more.
It was for that very reason they decided to rest for a bit at a lake they had found earlier.
From the trodden ground, it seemed like a popular camping spot for adventurers and travelers.
However, as they pulled up, it seemed nobody was camping out there today.
Selene brought the clockwork steed to a halt and let it revert back to its figurine form.
They had needed to spend extra mana for it to pull the vehicle, and even with her extra mana bracelet, Liora was completely tapped out. She looked spent and tired.
"So what exactly is the plan here?" Beatris asked as everyone aside from Aiden and Jax hopped out of the vehicle.
The two of them seemed mostly incapacitated.
Jax more from pain.
Aiden, according to Thalia, from psychic pain every time the gears ground.
That left the four girls with some time to themselves.
They started with basic things.
Refilling the water jugs.
Checking supplies.
Making sure Jax and Aiden were respectively incapacitated and not dead.
The standard stuff.
That only lasted around twenty minutes, which left about two and a half hours before Liora would be able to power the clockwork steed again.
It was later in the day, with around three hours before nightfall.
Which left them with a dilemma.
Did they want to set up camp and have to pull two all-nighters on their trip to the tournament?
Or should they try to drive through the night to get to Haremont and go from there?
"W-We could make it a campfire dinner kind of thing," Selene suggested as they all sat near the edge of the lake. "Maybe two of us go hunting to find some fresh meat while the others set up a firepit?"
"We could," Liora said, lying back and lacing her fingers behind her head as she stared up at the clouds. "After all, we don't have much of a light source once it gets dark. Especially because we're on mountain roads, and you all saw how narrow some of those get."
They sat like that for probably a good thirty minutes before Thalia stood and walked to the edge of the water.
She dipped her foot in, then turned back.
"The water isn't a bad temperature," Thalia said. "We could wash while we can. I can set up one of the tarps for privacy."
They glanced between each other.
Beatris walked over to the water and dipped her paw in before shaking it out.
"If you all want to," Beatris said. "We're getting toward the back half of summer, so it's still a bit chilly."
"You say that like you don't plan to take one," Liora said.
Beatris blinked.
"Need I remind you of the literal rotting flesh and decaying blood that got splashed on everyone when those undead exploded?" Liora asked, walking over and taking Beatris's snout in hand.
She turned Beatris's head back and forth as if inspecting her.
"Not to mention, there is still blood from the necromancer girl in parts of your fur."
"Hey now," Beatris said. "Come on. There can't be that much in there. Plus, I don't even smell."
Selene walked over, picked Beatris up by the scruff of her neck with her left arm, and raised her to eye level.
"F-For now, you don't," Selene said. "But in a few days, it may get rancid."
Beatris held up her paws, panic flashing across her face.
"H-Hey now," Beatris said. "D-Do you know how long it's going to take for me to dry off? This fur isn't exactly a slow proceeeeeee—"
Selene tossed her into the lake.
Beatris splashed in, came back up sputtering, and immediately began screaming curses and obscenities.
Thalia walked back toward the vehicle to grab the tarp, while Selene went to collect sticks they could use for a frame.
It did not take long.
But as Selene came out of the woods, she saw Beatris standing with her legs splayed to the sides like she was bracing against being pushed.
Her fur was soaked, and her normal coat clung to her in a rather unflattering way.
Selene carried her small pile of sticks over to Thalia, who began tying them together with her strings.
Then Selene turned and saw Liora walking through the air with her skill, surveying the lake before coming back over.
"Good news, gang," Liora said. "There seem to be fish too. So we can catch some fresh dinner while we're here."
She grinned.
"No more beef jerky and mixed nuts for tonight."
Thalia and Beatris perked up at that.
Selene mumbled to herself, "W-What's so bad about the rations?"
The others did not hear her.
And Selene agreed that days on end of eating the same thing got repetitive and tiring.
But at the same time, she liked the rations.
They were simple.
Easy.
She could make a bunch of them for long trips.
Calorie-wise, they had what they needed, and they kept everyone going until the next town where they could grab a real meal.
Selene knew she was not very good at cooking.
But she tried to organize the rations so everyone had more of what they liked.
Jax and Beatris got extra meat because they dug into it.
Liora and Thalia seemed more into the nuts, so Selene packed them extra.
Aiden and Selene generally had an even balance.
It only took a little while to set everything up.
They all took turns washing and huddling around the fire and in the sunlight to dry off.
Aiden and Jax even made an appearance, though the two seemed to be bickering a bit because of what Jax called "the alcohol incident."
Thalia ended up fishing up some weird thing she called a Liopleurodon.
It was strange, with a smooth body, four fins, and a long toothy snout.
Aiden asked something about a candy mountain, but apparently, that was Will saying something weird.
As they sat around the campfire, everyone talking, chatting, and taking turns spinning the large Liopleurodon over the fire, Selene found herself thinking back to before she met these people.
The first few days on her own, riding in a carriage with others and just hoping to find any kind of lead, had been honestly terrifying.
She knew what war was.
She knew what monsters were.
But desperation was different.
Hungry people were willing to do things they hated because they did not want to starve.
People who seemed to have nothing but malice could be cruel for practically no reason.
It was an experience she honestly never wanted to remember.
Yet even something as simple as sitting around a campfire with these people was fun.
Traveling was fun.
Working with them was fun.
Jax and Aiden's jokes and jabs.
Liora and her flamboyance.
Thalia and her levelheadedness.
Even Beatris and her bewilderment at the most random things.
They made every day new.
Exciting.
Even still, as Selene sat and thought, her mind kept flashing back home.
Her mother, who always smiled, even with Selene's arm.
Her brothers, who always agreed to spar when nobody else would.
Even her father, before that night, when he had called her his special princess.
It came out unconsciously.
Unintentional.
A whisper.
"I miss home."
The others stopped for a moment.
Then they turned back to her.
"Well then," Liora said with a grin, "guess we know our next big destination once we finish the tournament."
She leaned back on her hands.
"Always wondered what kind of environment made Selene so big and tough."
The others nodded along.
Conversation quickly started back up.
Jax and Aiden began fighting with their forks after both wanted some of the first portions.
Thalia mumbled something about wishing they had tartar sauce.
Beatris looked deeply suspicious of the fish's long snout, as if it might still have legal rights.
Selene could only laugh.
And above them, it seemed even the stars were smiling down.