"So, what exactly are you planning to do with her?" The cold voice of Feywa slapped her the moment Nithara gained consciousness.
It seems that she was having a conversation with Eruana.
Five seconds later, the other party replied, "I'm not quite sure at the moment. She doesn't reek of danger, nor does she mean any harm. By all means, she's quite the opposite." Her last statement was gently followed by a soft chuckle.
Feeling her body being rocked back and forth, Nithara finally opened her eyes, which unsurprisingly revealed the situation she was in.
From her point of view, it appeared that she was being carried by someone and that someone was jumping from tree to tree.
Turns out, they had fled while Nithara was asleep, and to bring her along, Eruana had thrown her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and went on their way.
Nithara was a bit embarrassed with her position, so she instinctively called out, "Eruana, you can put me down now."
Eruana came to a stop and obliged, but before Nithara could say anything, she had been pulled away into a jump.
"Hurry up, Feywa's gonna leave us if we don't catch up! HAHAHHAAH!" She was as bright as sunshine.
Not long into their chase, they've finally caught up with Feywa, who stopped atop a bushy tree and gazing at a distance.
Then, she spoke, "We'll take that merchant train to a town near Patronage City. There, we can lay low for a bit and think of our next move."
Looking in the direction Feywa was facing, Nithara saw an old looking train, odd to be found in their modern era.
As the merchant train approached, they prepared for a final jump.
At the end of the train was a cart full of hay. They swiftly landed in that cart and settled down to rest.
"Here, have this. You haven't eaten anything yet." Eruana spoke while handing Nithara two slices of sweet potato.
"Thanks."
"Aren't trains like these too old to be running?" Nithara asked.
"Oh no- this one is specifically owned by a trading company in Patronage City. They're the only one who uses these train tracks nowadays because the old geezer who owns the company doesn't wanna use new train models that are built with magnetic levitation." Eruana replied, chomping down on her own sweet potato.
"It's quite common knowledge. How come you don't know? How big is the rock you've been under?" Feywa suddenly chirped in with an eyebrow raised.
Nithara was quite taken aback by these words but still replied, "I was raised far from any city, so all of this is new to me." She lowered her head in those last words.
Feywa was about to ask another round of rash questions, but Eruana quickly butted in while sending Feywa dagger-like glares.
"Then how come you're here?" Feywa, on the other hand, was rather enjoying the situation.
Nithara was quite relieved that it was Eruana who spoke because she was already mentally prepared to be skewered by Feywa's harsh words.
Heeding a sigh of relief, she spoke, "My dad raised me in a small village at the foot of Yuzon Mountain since I was a baby. Everything outside here is new and strange to me."
"That sounds like boring life." Feywa muttered.
Nithara didn't let it get on her nerves. But Eruana on the other hand, was determined to scold her friend.
She was about to do so, but Nithara gently grabbed her hand and shook her head, and Eruana quiely sat back down-still glaring at Feywa.
They all decided to rest after that. Not wanting to waste their energy on petty arguments no more.
Luckily for Nithara, that dream did not visit her this time, giving her the chance to sleep peacefully.
The next moment that she opened her eyes, she heard the faint voice of Eruana calling her name.
"Hey, wake up, we gotta go, something came up."
Nithara sprung up and immediately sensed something was wrong.
The train they were on that was once running at moderate speed was now running at a speed too dangerous for an old train to handle.
"You two stay here, I'll check what's wrong up at the cab." Feywa spoke before jumping on top of the train cart in front of theirs and making her way to the front of the train.
"Gather all your things, we'll be off as soon as Feywa comes ba-"
A sudden bump cut Eruana's words and sent her tumbling towards the back of the cart. Nithara came to her side as Eruana groaned in pain.
In the middle of the ruckus, the sound of something spilling came from behind Eruana.
Nithara checked and found a wooden box that was hidden in a layer of hay with one of its sides cracked open where its contents spilled out.
The said contents looked like crystals of different sizes and colors, some yellow, some orange, with a little bit of red and blue.
"Eruana, look at this!" Nithara said, tapping her friend on the shoulder.
"Aren't these..?"
Eruana was silent so Nithara shot a glance at her, but the expression on Eruana's face was something Nithara never expected.
Eruana's hand that was once on her aching side that hit the wooden box was now on her mouth, muffling her screams. Tears threatened to fall on her widened eyes as she hastily crawled backwards.
"Eruana, what's wrong?" Nithara asked, reaching out to cup Eruana's face but was instead met with a hard slap on the wrist.
"Guys we have a proble-" Feywa paused with panic written across her face.
She quickly rushed to Eruana's side and started comforting her.
"It's okay. I'm here. They can't hurt you anymore." Feywa gently stroked her back.
"Ssshhh. Your best friend's right here. No one can hurt you when I'm by your side."
Unlike her reaction towards Nithara, Eruana calmed down in Feywa's embrace.
Her pet Marcy crawled to Feywa's arm as she buried her face on her friend's shoulder.
This scene made Nithara realize how their friendship worked despite their opposite personalities- they needed each other.
With one keeping the other in line, while the other gave them safety and comfort.
"Are you okay now?" Feywa asked.
"Yeah"
"Alright, this train has been tampered with by rogue hunters. We'll have to find another way to get to our destination. Leave our things that aren't important, Eruana's in no condition to help us carry those." Feywa explained.
"One question. How are we gonna get off this speeding train?!" Nithara asked.
"There's a small lake on the hillside up ahead, we'll jump there and figure out the rest later, we've got no time to lose."
With that, Feywa stood up and took Eruana's hand, carried her bridal style and took the lead.
Just like Feywa said, a small lake was indeed located on the side of the hill where the train passed. The three of them jumped and swam to the other side.
A few minutes after the train disappeared from view, a loud explosion filled the cold night air. They looked towards the source and from a distance, fire and smoke was already painting the night sky.
"What the fuck happened there!? Was that the train we were on!?" Nithara asked one after the other.
"I'll explain it later. Help me clear this space so I can make shelter, Eruana needs to rest."
The earlier incident came back to Nithara's mind and she quickly turned to look for Eruana only to find her all curled up in Feywa's arms-she was sound asleep.
Feywa had already taken care of the fire to keep them warm while Nithara took care of cleaning up the space under a big tree.
"All done." Nithara said.
"Okay, now come over here." Feywa ordered.
Nithara walked over and Feywa motioned her to take Eruana into her arms.
To her surprise, the person she was carrying was as light as a feather. Dumbfounded, she raised her head to look at Feywa, only to be met with a glare that clearly said 'don't ask'.
Nithara decided to just quietly sit beside the fire, and let Feywa do her job.
Her figure walked towards the tree, eyes glowing with a tint of orange. She lifted her hand and touched the bottom of the tree as she mumbled a spell under her breath.
Seconds later an entrance appeared on the trunk of the tree. Feywa entered and came back out five minutes later to take Eruana.
Nithara followed suit and by the entrance was a small set of stairs leading down a neatly made small cavern with two doors leading to separate rooms. It was well lit and spacious.
If it wasn't made with dirt and lacked windows, it would pass as a good house.
Feywa headed to one of the rooms and set Eruana down in a bed of petunias.
After that, she faced Nithara and spoke, "That room is yours, after you set your things up, come back outside, let's talk."
Tone still as cold as ice, Feywa left the cavern. Nithara came back out moments later as well and sat down facing Feywa who was cooking some fish over the fire.
Seconds later, Feywa broke the silence first. "You don't have to worry, she'll be fine. She'll wake up tomorrow and act all giddy again as if nothing happened."
"Why did she react to the moonstones that way?" Nithara asked.