New Friends

He stepped on a twig; the snapping sound rang out. Though the forest was not all the way quiet, it was loud enough to be heard by the group.

"See, I told you I wasn't crazy!"

A girl with brown hair stepped forward. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" she shouted. She hovered her hand over the blade mounted on her hip.

Elias panicked. He didn't know what to say; if he were to turn around and run, he would lose progress and probably never see humans like these again, but if he were to jump out of the bush, they would think he's a monster and cut him down on the spot. The girl with brown hair stepped forward again, this time approaching the bush Elias was in. He needed to make a decision, and fast; she was approaching rapidly. Step, step. Every time she planted her foot in the earth, Elias felt his heart sank deeper.

"I'm not a monster, please don't cut me!" Elias shouted from the bush, causing it to shake off twigs and leaves.

His sudden voice shook the group, and they immediately put their hands on their swords; the brown-haired girl held the hilt of her blade and got into position to attack in case of ambush.

"If I come out, you have to promise not to swing at me. I don't want to hurt anybody."

His intentions were pure, but to them it sounded like a threat, so they remained on guard.

"Alright, I won't cut you, so come out slowly..." Her eyes narrowed; she didn't intend to keep that promise, she kept her hand on her sword, ready to strike at any moment.

"But your hand is on your sw—" He was cut off by a high-pitched voice.

"JUST COME OUT!" Her shrill voice bounced off the trees, prompting birds to fly away and her friends to cover their ears.

"Alright, alright," he said defiantly. He stepped with his left foot; it was dirty, like someone had taken a bath in mud for hours. Then he followed his other foot, then his arm. Eventually, he was fully revealed into the open; his tall stature and chiseled body made him seem menacing, and the two sickles on his hip gave off a threatening aura. His white, scraggly hair made him look like he's been through hell. What worse is that he didn't even have a shirt on, merely pants, a belt and his pendant. Yet, He stepped out with his hands raised.

"He still has color, so he's not a DK…" she glanced over at his tall body, "Woah, he's really tall…" Her thoughts of shock and awe turned stale, realizing the dangers of a tall foe, "Which makes him all the more dangerous." Her eyes climbed his body and locked onto his two sickles attached to the belt on his hip.

"Drop your weapons." Her eyes motioned to his sickles on his hip.

He looked down at his sickles on his side, then back up at her. His eyes narrowed, he mugged, and his once soft voice became rough and deep. "No."

The sudden shift in tone struck a sense of danger in the brown-haired girl. The sickles meant more to him than all of their lives combined.

"I…" She stammered over her words, her posture weakening.

A golden-haired boy leaned over slightly, looking at the black-haired boy. "What's happening? I've never seen her so nervous before…"

The Black-haired boy met his gaze; his tone had a hint of aggression and sarcasm. "Do you see the SIZE of that dude? Who wouldn't be nervous?"

They both looked back at the two up ahead, watching for any sudden movements.

She glanced at his wound and realized he had been in a struggle, and he's been traveling for days because of the bags under his eyes. She was looking for weakness.

Her posture fixed, and she regained her composure. "Found it."

She looked him up and down once more, "Who are you?"

"My name is Elias'; it's nice to meet you!" He reached out his hand, but it was too fast; the brown-haired girl took a large step backward, and her group pulled out their weapons immediately. Grumbles formed among them as they expressed their fear of what he could do.

He blinked; he didn't understand why they were so on guard,wasn't a handshake normal?His father taught him so. Quickly he retracted his hand and put them up again.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you…" He took a step back; her eyes tracked his feet, making sure he didn't move too fast or too far.

"What's your name…?"

"Sady. Where did you come from? You know this is a dead-man zone, right?"

"Oh! That would explain the abundance of nightmares…" he paused. "Anyway, I am trying to find the uhh…" He tried to recall the name of the city, "one moment." He grabbed the map from his pocket and began searching for it. She followed his hand, making sure he wasn't reaching for his weapons, and edged her hand closer to her sword's hilt. "Uh... Let's see…" he scanned the map, zooming across different mountains and lakes. "Oh, City of golden wings…?"

She paused; her tense gaze softened, and she slightly retreated her hand from her sword. "What for?"

"I have an admittance; can I get it?" He pointed at the bag on his back, "It's in there."

She raised her eyebrow as if she wanted to question it but chose not to. She unsheathed her sword and pointed it at him; the tip of the blade shook slightly. "Grab it slowly." He stared down the tip of her subtly shaking blade, thinking of ways to parry it, a sigh. He could have easily killed them if he wanted to, but he wouldn't want to ruin his chances of reaching the city, so he did as she instructed. He reached in his bag to get the envelope. He pulled it out and gave it to her.

"Hm, the crest is real…" Her eyes scanned the paper, glancing over every word. She lowered the paper and raised her eyebrow.

"So I guess he got lost and somehow ended up here."

She sheathed her sword once more and motioned for her friends to do the same. "I'm sorry for the hostility. Dream-Killers have been roaming about here, and we constantly have to stay on guard."

She extended her hand out; without a moment's notice, he grabbed her hand and shook it firmly, just as his father taught him.

"I'll introduce myself once more. I am Sady. The boy with the golden hair is Pris."

Pris waves. "Yo." His eyes traced Elias' whole body, analyzing every part from head to toe.

"The awkward boy in the back is Ahn."

"Hey…" He waved nervously, not fully understanding that Elias' wasn't a threat.

"And the girl in the white is Ella."

"Hi!" Ella smiles brightly, her voice bubbly and cheerful.

"Hello, everyone! Please treat me well."

"We were heading back to the city from a mission. Do you want to join us?"

He scratched his head. "Sure! It's not like I have a choice, though..." he chuckled.

They walked back to the group and began their journey back to their camp. Minutes turned into hours as they talked about their experiences and laughed about the mistakes they'd made. Soon night fell, and they all sat around the crackling fire, laughing and eating. Elias' felt right at home; he realized how easy it was to talk to people and how calming it could be. This was what he imagined, how he thought his first interaction would go, minus the death threats before. They had gotten so comfortable with him they gave him a nickname, "Eli."

Ahn pointed at Elias. "So Eli, what's your story?"

He wiped the tears from his eyes; he had been laughing so much he started crying, "Huh?"

"Where did you come from?"

He crossed his legs and rested his arms on them

"I actually used to live in the woods with my dad, just a few days north." He pointed.

"What was that like?" Sady asked as her eyes lit up with an untamed fire. She sat down and listened attentively, and Elias was sure she wouldn't move unless her question was answered.

His eyes moved around from person to person. Realizing how everyone was looking at him with such curious expressions, he chuckled and leaned in close to give them what they were asking for, a story. "Well, my dad was pretty busy, so sometimes he would disappear. But!" he cut himself off.

"He taught me how to survive on my own," his eyes drifting towards the sky. He recalled the fond memories they had.

"Every day we would hunt horned rabbits; we hunted so much I actually grew tired of it." His voice became soft. "I wish I could go back… Just one more time."

Ella's face dropped; her once cheerful expression grew somber and resentful. "What happened?" Her eyes softly looked upon him.

"A few days ago… While celebrating my 16th birthday…"

"Wait a minute, you're 16?!" Ahn shouted in amazement; everyone turned their eyes on him, their expressions a mix of disgust, confusion, and disappointment.

Smack! Sady slapped him on the back of his head, "NOT THE TIME!" She glared at him, her eyes shooting fear into his heart. He lowered his head and kept his mouth shut.

"A few days ago, while celebrating my 16th birthday, we were attacked by an N3…" He took a deep breath. "It was…" He paused, reliving the horrifying experience. "I couldn't do anything… I…" He stammered as the memories came flooding back before his very eyes, flashing in rapid succession. The look of happiness his father had before the explosion, the yelling of his name, the paralyzing fear. Clasping his hands together, he choked on his tears. Yellow aura oozed off of him in response to him reliving the memory, flowing away from him and rising into the air. They watched as it got stronger and stronger.

"What… is this...?" Ahn mumbled, his eyes wide, watching the aura change colors from yellow to red.

Sady watched in awe; she had never seen such a soothing yet powerful aura. "You don't have to tell us anymore, Elias. It's okay." Sady said, acting quickly to ensure he didn't snap on them. It worked; his aura slowly dissipated.

The camp grew silent; cold wind blew through the camp, threatening the fire; however, it remained lit. They sat in silence, their faces riddled with mixed feelings and sorrow. Mourning the unfortunate loss of this stranger's loved one, also fear, the aura that oozed off of him was unlike anything they had felt before, even in the school, and what's worse, they couldn't feel any passion from him, yet he had color.

He opened his mouth to say something and closed it once more. Then he opened his mouth to speak once more, "I… I'm sorry, guys, I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

He felt bad for dumping all of his problems on people he just met and felt he messed up.

"No, no!" Ella waved her hands to shoo away the thought, "We shouldn't have asked."

There was a pause. "So, uh… What's school like?"

Ahn scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

"It's… fun. If you make it… You know we're 3rd years, so…"

"Ah…" He chuckled nervously, "That's… cool..."

The silence settled over the camp once again, intense and suffocating. The awkward silence multiplied tenfold, gripping them like an unseen force. Every second felt like an hour. The sound of the wind blowing, causing the fire to crackle, was the only thing to break the silence. Then a sudden shift: the air around them changed; it was heavy and closing in fast, as if the night itself was approaching them. Without a word, they all grabbed their weapons and prepared for a fight, their eyes scanning every place the light touched.

All but Elias, he sat looking up at the group who had risen so suddenly and in perfect sync as well. His gaze darted around the dimly lit camp, looking for the unseen threat. Yet, despite his best efforts to search, he found nothing. The intense awkwardness rotted into anxiety as their stances shifted every so slightly to get a better look at what was approaching.

"Get up, something's coming." Pris said. His eyes darted around in an attempt to catch whatever was moving silently in the dark.

Elias' slowly rose and unbuckled his sickles from his belt. "What…? How do you guys know?"

He peered back at him, his gaze sharper than his sword. "You don't feel it in your dream core?"

He held his sickles out in front of him, the fire reflecting off of the worn metal.

"What's that?" He looked ahead.

They all froze and turned to look at them; their combined look felt like a million needles had just pierced Elias' body, and he was once again reminded that he was an outsider.

Ahn furrowed his brow. "How have you survived until now…?"

The trees began to move and rattle; something big was approaching, much bigger than anything Elias had seen. It moved with so much speed, Elias barely had time to react before it came lunging out of the darkness at him. It was an N1; it had a gray, bulky body with bulging veins throughout, it had slimy skin, much like a slug, and arms longer than its body; it used to travel. It had no legs; instead, in their place was a long, slimy tail with a sharp point at the end. It was over 3 meters tall with a singular bloodshot eye. It had sharp, shiny talons like an eagle and sharp, crooked canine teeth, and it reeked of rotting flesh.

It launched itself forward at Elias, extending its arm to rip through any prey that would be in front of it. Everyone looked back; the speed of the attack took them by surprise, and they couldn't react in time. Elias bent backward, narrowly avoiding the sharp talon that flew by him at blistering speeds; the wind blew across his face and hair, scruffing it up; it was cold; that's all he felt. The beast flew and was sent tumbling back into the darkness. The group quickly regained their footing and immediately rushed to Elias' side.

Elias smirked and rose back to his feet. He turned to look at the group who was approaching his side, "Well, I guess that answers your question, huh?" Elias said to Ahn, He rolled his eyes and scoffed, annoyed.

The beast recovered; being rattled from the fall, it shook its head. Viscous saliva dripped from its gaping maw as it prepared to attack again; the thought of eating them sparked a twisted flame in its bloodshot eye.

"That thing is fast; what is it?"

Sady stepped forward, her blade drawn, "A Night Hunter…" Her eyes darted around to make sure they weren't being ambushed again.

"It only comes out at night and feeds on things weaker than it. It uses its eye to see in the dark and isn't very smart."

"So that means if we take out its eye, we can kill it."

"Easier said than done. It moves too fast for that." Her stance shifted; Elias noticed and got ready to attack as well.

"Here it comes!" Pris shouted.

Silence, it was deafening; the forest stood still, and anxiety gripped them like a vice. The anticipation of waiting for such a large monster to attack was alarming. Their weapons shook; even the sound of wind blowing caused great panic. Then it attacked it, lunged out of the darkness, and attacked. The group acted immediately and broke apart; Elias acted too slowly and was swiped out of the way and thrown by the fire. Luck graced him once again, as he wasn't hit by its razor-sharp talons; merely bruised, he was still shirtless, so the wound was exposed to the air immediately. But it didn't hurt nearly as much as the damage done by the min, which still hadn't fully healed.

He slowly rose to his feet and watched as the group fought the beast; the sounds of metal clashing rang through the trees and shook the ground beneath them. However, he felt something was off. Their coordination was messy. He raised his eyebrow and tilted his head. Their attacks weren't in sync, let alone strong. They were barely doing any damage, and they couldn't land a fatal blow.

He buried his face in his hands and shook his head. "How have you all survived this long...?"

He started to recover and prepared himself to fight once more. But something changed; the monster didn't seem to be tired; instead, it sped up. The sounds of clashing metal became slower, and the stench of rotting flesh grew stronger; it overpowered any other sense he had, causing him to feel nauseous, his head spun, and he fell to his knees.

"Ugh... What… is happening…?"

He realized the smell was making him sick, so he moved closer to the fire, the smell of the burning wood snapping him back into his senses.

"The smell…" He gagged, "Why does it smell like that…?" He was so busy with the smell he hadn't realized that the sounds of metal clashing had stopped. He snapped his head to look back. The group had fallen, and the last one standing was Sady. She was covered in blood and weakly held her sword, though her strength was failing her.

"Where...is Elias...?" Her thoughts were slowed, the exhaustion grabbing hold of her mind. She sloppily swung her sword; the beast dodged and swiped at her, sending her tumbling to Elias' feet. Elias looked down and at the pitiful state of someone who once had a bright smile, someone he laughed with. And he was enraged; an unfamiliar feeling of protection filled his body. This was new to him; he had never felt something like this before, and he was confused.

"Help us..."

Those words echoed through his head; his gaze turned cold, and his aura became a deep red. Anger riddled his face; he wasn't scared; he didn't fear the monster in front of him like he did the min. He had a newfound purpose, and he was so close to his destination; he couldn't be scared now.

He knelt down and placed his hand on her head. "Please rest, Sady. Leave it to me." She weakly shook her head, and her body went limp; she had passed out from exhaustion. He slowly rose to his feet, and his aura exploded from his body; it shot out in every direction. His face was shadowed by the fire, but his eyes showed just how angry he was. The large monster met his gaze and launched itself at him. Remembering what his dad said to him, he stayed calm and effortlessly stepped away from the monster's attack.

"You will not be leaving this camp alive." He looked the monster in its eye, his gaze a predator, hunting its prey. This time, he was the hunter.

The monster, as if understanding what he said, swung its arm at him again; it was strong and fast, but not smart.

His eyes followed the long, veiny arm of the beast. "The same attack won't work twice." He stepped just out of the range of the swipe and sliced the monster's arm. However, the cut was too shallow to do any damage, but it still hurt it. The monster let out a distorted screech before retreating into the darkness.

Elias didn't chase after the monster because he knew it would leave over such a small wound, so he stood still and waited. Closing his eyes to listen for any sudden movements in the darkness, but for a few moments only the crackle of the fire and the crickets can be heard, but he turned it out; he had to listen harder, or else he would be ambushed. Another skill his dad taught him while hunting.

Then, a sound caught his attention; it wasn't like the crackle of the fire or the singing of the crickets; it sounded like someone stepping on twigs at unbelievable speeds. The sound stopped behind him, and all fell silent. This time he knew what was going to happen. He quickly twisted his body and slung his arm forward, anticipating the monster's attack, just like he had planned. The monster leaped out from the bush, with its arm extended, attempting to grab him; he once again pivoted his body low to dodge the attack of the monster, mimicking the dodging technique of the horned rabbit. Though he didn't fully dodge it, he was nicked on his face, but his attack landed right where he wanted it to.

"Bullseye."

The beast writhed in pain; its eye had been pierced, and it had completely lost control, its high-pitched shriek being heard from miles away as it swiped at the air, attempting to swipe at the one who did it, but he quickly moved from its range. It couldn't run away because it would risk running into a tree or off a cliff; it was dumb, but it knew what death was.

"There's no need to throw a temper tantrum. It'll be over soon." Elias appeared behind the flailing creature and swung at its tail with all his might, his expression of anger fully showing as his sickle sliced through, spraying Elias' face with blue blood. But it didn't bother him; he no longer felt bad for the creature who hurt his friends. It screeched again and swung behind it, only to miss and hit a tree. Elias had already moved away and was now on top of the creature.

With his sickles raised above his head, looking down at the pitiful beast as it swung at an invisible target. screeching so loudly it couldn't hear anything else, "May your soul never find peace." He brought down both of his sickles at once atop the monster driving his sickles into its head, causing the creature to drop dead immediately. Elias stood on the monster; he had won but he didn't have the feeling of victory.

Ella, barely clinging onto her consciousness, had seen the entire fight; she couldn't believe what she saw: a mere 16-year-old defeated an N1 by himself, a feat she had only ever seen performed by the professors at her school. Her heart slammed against her chest as she covered her mouth, struggling not to scream. She gazed upon Elias once more; his expression was no longer that of anger or disgust but that of sadness and remorse.

She was confused; why would he be feeling such emotions if he had done such an incredible feat? Her whole body ached with pain through her, and it became harder and harder to remain conscious. The fire that was lit slowly began to fade, and she became more tired. She looked at Elias one last time; his figure was shadowed by the large moon behind him in the night. She wondered, "Who…are you...?" But before she could find an answer, the world slipped away, and she fell into darkness.