They met at the gate of the city, both packed for a few days' journey.
"I swear I felt you looking at me," Elena sneered toward Luke. "You didn't tell me you were a pervert,"
"I wasn't even in the room this morning," he quickly replied, hands covering his face from her view.
Luke had left before dawn to train, slipping out before Elena woke.
He trained for hours, leaving only when the sun crested the trees and the city had begun to stir, quickly meeting up with Elena afterward.
"Where were you this morning?" Elena asked. "You left before I even woke up. I was worried you ran away." She chuckled, hands stretching.
"I had some things to do and didn't want to wake you," Luke said. "You're terrifying to wake."
This earned him the same look it always did, anger mixed with pure joy. Elena would never say it, but she liked being teased by Luke. He smiled most when he did.
"I'm only saying you're dangerous," Luke said quickly. "Dangerously beautiful," he corrected, hiding his face again.
"Where is this guy?" Elena asked. "The quest said sunrise. The sun is clearly up. Where is he?"
"Don't worry. It's barely been up a moment," Luke said. "I'm sure he'll be here shortly."
The moment he finished his sentence, a man came into view with a very large satchel tied to his back. He was clearly carrying too much of whatever he had.
"Sorry, I'm late," the man said, breath catching heavily. "It's just, I needed to bring my research." He finished, finally catching his breath.
Luke immediately started thinking. This man and his research would cost them time.
"I only packed for two days. Do you think we can get there dragging him along?" Luke asked.
Elena looked at the man, slightly amused. "He wouldn't bring it if it wasn't important. We have enough supplies to last three. Don't worry."
Luke thought about it and decided she was right. They would finish this quest without fail. They headed out the gates.
Four hours into their first stretch, they decided to stop and take a break, setting up a small fire for warmth. Water was dispersed amongst the trio.
"Dang, I can't believe it's been this long and we haven't seen or even heard any monsters," Elena said. "Not even the howl of wolves. Luke, this quest may be boring."
"What's wrong with being boring?" Luke replied. "If it's boring, that means we get paid faster. Not to mention the recovery a boring quest would bring." Tears rolled out of his eyes as he said it.
"The problem is we can't grow unless something attacks," Elena said. "Not in the ways I want to anyway. I'm sure you can practice your earth magic anywhere."
Luke thought about that for a moment. She was technically right. She was currently a frost magic user who swung big blades around. Her best place was always going to be in the dungeon.
He thought about that for a moment longer, thinking about how he also would be forced to endure the dungeon. At this realization, he crumbled into a ball, face in hands again.
"Elena, I just thought about how our first dive was three days," he cried. "If you get stronger, we'll never leave." He rolled on the ground now.
Elena watched as he rolled around in self pity.
"I'm not joking, Luke," Elena said. "If longer dives are going to scare you like this, we might not want the same things."
Luke stopped immediately, not because of what Elena had said, but because he felt something. He rolled onto his knees and put his ear to the ground.
"Elena, something's coming," he yelled. "I don't know what it is, but it sounds big."
The moment Luke stood up, something exploded out of the forest wall. It was huge.
Forest bears were quite common in this area, but this one was wrong. A faint shadowy haze surrounded its neck.
"Elena, something's wrong," Luke yelled. "Forest bears aren't normally out right now."
Elena had already started charging in, frost accumulating at her feet.
"Frost Step," she said as she slung across the forest floor, sword aimed for a killing blow.
"No, stop," Luke said, scrambling to gather his nerves.
The bear noticed Elena running up and braced for her attack. Elena sliced once, her blade not quite cutting deep enough.
The bear leaned back and swung at her.
"Rock Wall," Luke said, hands faced toward Elena. An earthy aura projected outward.
The noticeably more dense shield appeared in front of Elena, fully blocking the attack. Elena kicked off the shield, joining Luke.
"You have been training, haven't you?" Elena said as she braced for another explosive attack. "Let's try that again, but in another order."
Elena launched herself once more toward the giant bear, sword pulled back like a snare about to collapse.
The forest bear went for an attack. Elena feigned sideways and yelled for Luke.
"Now, use it now and keep it in place."
Luke did exactly that. He used another spell and kept the bear from moving for just a second longer than it could afford.
"Ice Slash," Elena's voice rang out as she brought her sword down on top of the bear's neck, cleaving cleanly through.
Where the bear's head had been now lay frost covered wounds. The bear was dead in an instant.
"Good job, Luke," Elena said. "You really helped back there. Without you, I would have been toast." She finished with a smile.
"I just did what you asked me to do," Luke said. "But I realized something. If starving or going without sleep means I get to protect you, I'll do it." Snot and tears filled the man's face as he proclaimed it.
Her heart skipped. Elena's eyes gleamed with tears. "I was only joking, Luke. From now on, two days max without sleep."
Luke's shoulders dropped with relief. "I thought you were going to leave me," he cried.
Elena walked over and patted him on the head. "Remember, I chose you. Don't second guess me. Do it and we'll hide a full week inside the dungeon." She teased.
Luke sank down again, thinking of how a whole week without food or sleep would feel.
"Hey guys, I think you should look at this."
Luke and Elena walked over to the courier to see what he found.
"This shouldn't be here."