Breather

-----Yui's POV

Morning came, and with it came with a new sense of relief, knowing that we're finally outside of the Inasdale border. Everyone was awake except for Faye, who probably passed out at some point with her sister, Fleur still in her arms. Just like before we slept, Fleur still shows no signs of life. I didn't know Fleur very well, but I heard from Kaede that she was practically her adopted mother, and even now as I look at Kaede, she still seems pained while looking over towards Fleur.

Iris: "Good morning everyone."

Mom kept her voice quiet as to not disturb Faye who was still sleeping. It's not like we have any urgent matters to attend like before, so I think we all can take it easy.

Yui: "So, we're outside the border now?"

Iris: "Correct. We'll be following this road basically all the way there, but we'll get some proper rest by noon. The horses need it."

Honestly, the horses were the MVP for this escape, despite us having to deal with the army for a bit towards the end. But if we're finally getting a proper rest, I'd very much like to check up on Luna. I know Kaede said she's fine, but I'd like to see her with my own eyes.

Natalie: "What monsters would we expect out here?"

Iris: "Well. From all the reports I got from my trade routes, they did encounter a werebear one time, but thankfully it didn't cause us trouble."

Natalie: "Werebear? Aren't they like, human?"

Marcus: "No. Werebears used to be demi-human, obviously cross between a bear and a human. But they evolve into a werebear when exposed to a large amount of mana, essentially losing themselves; no longer human."

Yeah I don't remember learning any of that in school. I do recall hearing about were beasts, but that all went in one ear and out the other as at the time, I was still focusing on figuring out how to use magic.

Natalie: "Wait, so is that the same for any species of demi-human?"

Marcus: "Yes."

Iris: "Mhmm."

Okay, maybe I can see why now that the king of Inasdale decided to ban demi-humans from entering the city. If they can just evolve randomly and lose themselves- wait... Evolve? I would think losing oneself would be a "devolve" if anything. I guess maybe that just means they just grow in power in exchange for their humanity. Kind of reminds me a lot of how I am now when I thirst for blood randomly.

Alice: "I wouldn't worry, Natalie. It's rare for demi-humans to evolve in such a way. And what Marcus didn't specify is that the demi-human does need to "accept" said mana. In other words, they need to thirst for power."

When Alice said the word "thirst," it did startle me a little bit as I was just now thinking about it. Spooky.

Natalie: "Wait, but what do you mean when they lose their humanity? Like do they lose all their memories?"

Alice: "At a first glace it would appear so. But they do retain their memories. At least from what I heard."

Iris: "It's a pretty grey area of knowledge. At least in Inasdale, we were taught to just kill demi-humans who turns into their "were" form."

Interesting. I more or less understand now.

Yui: "Was that werebear the only threat on this road?"

Iris: "Hmmm~ Well there are the usual wolves and kobolds here and there, but my trade route was well guarded, and with 8 soldiers, I never encountered any problems."

Kaede: "What about wyverns?"

Iris: "Oh! Yeah, the Queen did warn me about a certain mountain range. But no, we didn't catch any sightings."

Damn. I was hoping that we'd actually get to see some on the way there. I'm still jealous that Mai took Kaede all the way there to see them without me.

Sicily: "Well! I'm sure if we do come across them, Kaede will handle it, right?"

Kaede: "Hehe. Maybe."

I thought the same thing, but looking at Kaede's face, she doesn't seem all that thrilled with dealing with the wyverns. Are they that powerful that Kaede herself thinks it'll be a challenge? I couldn't see much of her fight with the army, but I did get to see her leap up into the-

Yui: "WAIT!"

Everyone stopped to look my way, including Faye who I accidentally woke up. I feel bad about it, but it honestly just leapt out of my mouth. I can't believe I forgot about what I saw!

Kaede: "Hmm?"

Yui: "Kaede! You flew! I saw you in the sky when you were fighting Lucien!"

Everyone: "What?!"

Kaede: "..."

But Kaede remained silent at my statement, shifting her gaze away from everyone's eyes as if she's embarrassed about it.

Sicily: "Wait, like fly fly?"

Lillian: "Or did you mean like she-"

Yui: "Nope! She was totally flying! I even saw her wings."

Everyone: "Wings?!"

Kaede: "Hah~"

Yeah, Kaede wants nothing to do with this, but I just can't help myself but bring this up. I mean, when is anyone going to get the chance to fly? At least as far as I know, humans can't do such a feat.

Mell: "You can fly, mom?"

Kaede: "...Yes~"

It was her own daughter that finally got her to admit it, as her acceptance of it made everyone all the more curious about it, even Faye who was gloomy before is showing some interest in this topic.

Kaede: "It happened out of nowhere. My body just, moved on it's own when I was chasing after Lucien. It took me a while to realize that I even had wings. It happened instinctively."

Sicily: "You think you can show us?"

Kaede: "No. They're quite large. Plus I'm not certain about how I'd go about bringing out my wings again. Like I said, it happened instinctively."

Lillian: "Maybe when we stop for our break you can try?"

Iris: "Mhmm! We'll be stopping in a few hours. I'd also like to see."

Kaede: "..."

Mell: "I wanna see too!"

Kaede: "Mmm~ Fine. I'll try."

Once again, Mell's the one to make Kaede budge, making it seem like she has Kaede wrapped around her little fingers.

Yui: "Maybe when you do try it, you could try and lift me up with you."

Kaede: "Eh?! W-what if I drop you?"

Yui: "I'll make sure to cling on tight!"

Kaede: "...Maybe after when I get used to it."

Yui: "Deal!"

I'm extremely curious what it's like flying through the air, like free birds having not a single care in the world as the wind brushes against them. Hah~

Mell: "Mmmm~ I'd like to fly as well."

Sicily: "Same!"

Natalie: "Hehe, I'm a little curious as well."

Seems like Kaede already has a queue already, haha.

Eventually, a few hours passed as it was finally time for us to set up a place for us to rest. The drivers of the caravans tended to the horses, allowing them to rest while everyone else stretched their legs. Looking down the dirt road we've been travelling on, I could see the massive line of caravans, stretching all the way down my line of sight.

Yui: "Wait. I'd like to check on Luna first."

Kaede: "We'll come as well."

Iris: "Mhmm. We can take our time now. I'd also like to check in on her and some of the injured soldiers."

And just like that, we all began to stretch our legs, walking down the road along the rest of the caravans. Kaede ended up whisking Mell up and onto her shoulders, as Mell ends up reaching up in an attempt to catch some of the lower hanging leaves from the trees.

Violet: "Kaede!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice calls out form behind us. Turning around, I could see Violet, along with her brother Collin and the rest of their family. Her mother, Ann caught my sight as she wasn't wearing a maid attire no more, but that's likely due to the fact that she's no longer married to a count. That said, she looks quite beautiful in more casual clothes.

Violet: "Thank god you're safe."

Ann: "She struggled to sleep last night from all that fighting going on. I even had to cradle you in your arms like when you were little, hehe."

Violet: "...Y-you, didn't need to say that."

Unlike her relationship with her father, it seems like she's less prone to lash out on her mother. Although when I visited, I quite liked the banter between her and her father.

Kaede: "We're just heading over to check on Luna."

Collin: "Hmm? Wait, is she okay?"

Yui: "Last time we checked, yeah. But I'd like to make sure she's still breathing."

Collin: "You make it sound like something serious saying that."

Well she did have a massive gash all along her back. I'd think it was as serious as it could get.

Rupert: "Well, we'll let you go. Sorry to inconvenience you."

Iris: "Not at all. I'm glad to see you guys are doing well."

Rupert: "Thank you, my lady."

Violet: "Come back though when you're done!"

Kaede: "Will do~ Apparently I'm putting on a show, so you're welcome to join."

What!? I quickly get in close to Kaede as we walk away, leaning in to whisper.

Yui: "Are you crazy? You do realize they don't know you're a vampire?"

Kaede: "Everyone basically knows now, right? I may as well just embrace it."

Mell: "Yeah!"

Unlike us trying to be quiet, Mell agrees proudly on top of Kaede's shoulders with a somewhat smug face. Seems as though she's proud of her mother, haha.