No common ground

Everything happened like a blur. One minute, this lady in tribal clothes appeared out of nowhere, commanding Szeina and Yvann to save the twins as fast as they can.

The sheer determination in her eyes was unmistakable. Yvann couldn't even joke about it.

With the current situation they were in, jokes weren't even welcome.

Just as the lady said, Yvann caught Szeina's gaze. The two of them watched closely as she released her hold on the arrow.

Making a run for it, they pushed through the chaos and had the twins at their hands in a span of minutes.

It didn't occur to them what was happening in their surroundings.

But Yvann felt something. The atmosphere was crackling with a potent energy; he was certain that even Szeina could sense it. But neither of them knew what it was.

They have been plunged into this scenario with no preparation.

If Szeina knew something, her face showed otherwise.

On their way back to where the mysterious stranger was standing, a loud explosion threw them off their feet, sending them to fly all the way towards the sides.

The impact of the explosion shook the ground.

It took a minute before Yvann was able to recover from falling to the ground. He immediately secured Szeina and the twin's safety.

When he squinted at the lady, she was still standing steadily facing the tripper's camp.

Following her gaze, Yvann saw nothing but a speck of dust as a huge amount of smoke rising towards the sky.

The camp was no longer present. There was no trace of what happened to the trippers, either.

There was a resolute silence that followed.

"Who the hell are you?" Szeina said, surprising Yvann at the sharpness of her tone.

The lady seemed unfazed, though. She took her time to face Szeina and opened her mouth to respond.

"My name is Feeliz. And no, I didn't save you. It just so happened that you were here when we're trying to track this tripper group down. But thanks to you, we found the opportunity we were looking for."

Getting on her feet, Yvann followed Szeina, eyeing the lady warily.

"We?" Yvann inquired, finally finding his voice back.

The lady turned to him, her eyes sparkling purplish against the moonlight shining above her head.

However, instead of replying, several rustling of feet were heard around them. In a matter of minutes, tribal looking people surrounded the four of them.

Their vests resembled that of the mysterious lady who claimed that she didn't save them.

"Yes, we."

"What are you? Some kind of Amazon troupe?" Szeina squinted her eyes at the woman and the people that appeared around them.

She was wary of what their actual intentions were and if she was even telling the truth.

Trust nobody.

That was the rule of thumb.

That was what Granola would always remind Szeina.

Never trust anyone easily.

She already made a mistake before. She had no plans to commit the same mistake all over again.

"I don't know what you're talking about. But, as I said, you happened to be in the same place where we intended to be. I think it's your turn to introduce yourselves. Judging from what you're wearing, all of you are not from around here. Correct me if my deduction is wrong, but I believe I am right."

Szeina almost rolled her eyes at the woman's confidence. And though she'd keep stressing the part where she didn't save them, they still owe it to her that the four of them were alive.

Whatever happened to the trippers or how she was able to make the camp explode without obliterating the entire forest with them or destroying any trees, Szeina would like to inquire about that later.

Right now, she was trying to focus on learning if the woman and her squad were a threat to the four of them.

"Call it whatever you like. But yes. You're right. We're not from here, wherever here is. They dragged us all the way to wherever this place is and, by all means, please forgive us if you think we're trespassing. Believe me, if we are aware, we'd never even dare. So, if that's enough to answer your question, would you care to explain what you really are?"

Yvann didn't make a sound. He heard the sarcasm in Szeina's voice loud and clear.

He didn't know if the woman or her companions felt it just as he has. But she surely wasn't playing around.

Szeina was dead serious and her confidence to talk back to Feeliz was giving him some goose bumps, the good kind of goose bumps.

"Interesting. You have no clue of our kind, but you don't seem to be mortal. All of you."

Her comment rendered Szeina speechless. She turned her attention towards Yvann, who was standing right behind her.

The question in her eyes led Yvann to clear his throat.

"Well, you never asked." He stated like it should have been common sense. "Besides, I… didn't know until… I somehow knew." Yvann claimed, almost telling her and everyone present about the voice inside his head.

That part was something he'd like to keep for himself. Someone else learning about it wasn't an option.

He finds it revolting enough that the monster responsible for his mother's death had left a part of him in Yvann's body forever.

"Ah, this is getting even more intriguing. You young children are new. It's a pity that neither of you has been informed properly of what you are and what you are capable of. It would have come in handy when faced with the situation you were just in."

"Well, lucky for you, you grew up with your people and were well-informed of what you are and what you're capable of. Big round of applause."

Yvann didn't know what to make of what was going on any longer. The two ladies were cut-throat in winning the argument they started.

Clearly, Szeina and Feeliz have a growing dislike for each other.