The Hidden World

“Good flying out there,” Ember said as she sat down beside Yuki.

They found a place to rest for the day, setting up a small camp with two tents. Now they were sitting around an unlit campfire as the sun was beginning its descent through the sky. Yuna and Mathali had left in order to hunt for the night’s meal. Erica and Akira were sitting outside.

When they first made camp, Yuki went straight to sleep. Her energy had been completely drained from the events of the day. Turning into her elven form only emphasized the strain on her muscles. Now she felt as if her entire body was stiff and sore.

“Thanks,” Yuki replied. “That entire event was something. I wasn’t really sure what was going on.”

“You did really good for your first time navigating that area,” Ember said. “Most new people wouldn’t want to go through that without some sort of guide or safety net.”

“I mean, you were my guide.”

“I don’t think I was your guide in any way with the speed we were going at,” Ember laughed. “That was all you after the wyverns came.”

“Speaking of the flight,” Erica interrupted, “that was quite a trip being your back, Yuki.”

“Oh, was it?” Yuki asked, hiding her grin.

“Mhm. It’s quite hard to hit flying targets when the world is spinning around you, you know?”

“It was necessary though. We got out of there, right?”

“We did, but I’m pretty sure that you didn’t need to do barrel rolls fifty times,” Erica said with a pout. “I was so dizzy by the end of it, I didn’t even bother trying to hit those wyverns. I probably would have ended up hitting Yuna.”

Yuki couldn’t help it and let out a small giggle.

“So you did do that on purpose,” Erica frowned, smacking Yuki in the arm. “You giggly little goblin.”

“Bullying Erica, I see,” Akira commented with a faint smile. 

“In fairness, I did do those things to also throw off those lesser wyverns,” Yuki said. “I do admit that I may have embellished it a bit.”

“A bit? Akira, you should have been on with me. It was like a rollercoaster that I didn’t know when the drops or loops were coming.”

“No, I don’t think I want to be on that,” Akira replied dryly. “I’ll stick with Ember’s little side to side motions.”

“Is that a compliment?” Ember asked.

“Yeah. It was about what I expected running away from flying monsters. After hearing what Erica went through, I’m pretty happy with the experience I got.”

“To be fair, the reason I didn’t do any crazy maneuvers was because Yuki was drawing all the attention,” Ember smiled. “Since she was in the back and doing all that, they focused on her.”

“So it was necessary,” Yuki interjected. 

“You can go with that.”

“And there you go, Erica.”

“Doesn’t matter. You still owe me something,” she said. 

“What do you want? If it’s obtainable in a forest, I could go get it for you,” Yuki replied.

“No. I’ll wait until we get back home,” Erica said. “Then I’ll tell you what I want for payment after that ride.”

“You know, normally the person giving the ride gets paid.”

“Well, that just shows you how bad it was.”

Yuki laughed.

“Fair point.” A thought struck her and she looked over at Akira. “Aki. Where did the wyverns go after you first detected them? You called them out, but never said a word about them after that.”

“Oh, they were hanging back, so I didn’t feel the need to say more,” she explained. “They weren’t charging us. Ember wanted to make sure that they weren’t tipped off that we knew they were there.”

“I see. That makes sense.”

“If the wyverns noticed, then they would have gone right at us and it would mean we would have to travel further at an uncomfortable pace,” Ember explained. 

“Yeah, I understand. Speaking of pace,” Yuki said, “how long do you think it will be until we get to the dragons? A day or so?”

“If we go fast, we can get to a stop within the day and be at one of the cities the next day,” Ember replied, looking up at the sky as she thought. “Well get going at sunrise, so we should get some sleep before that.”

“Do you want to establish a watch?” Yuki asked. “I’ll rig up a perimeter around us, but I don’t know if you want more security. There might be some things in this forest that I’m not familiar with.”

“Mathali will stand watch,” she said. “He’s built for that.”

“Alright then. I guess we’ll just wait for Yuna and him to return and tell them the plan moving forward.”

---

 

That night, Yuki laid in a tent with Akira and Erica. Ember had elected to spend the night with Yuna, saying that she wanted to talk to Yuna about a few things. The sleeping bags were laid out next to each other inside that small tent, their edges squished together. 

Yuki sat on top of her sleeping bag, her legs drawn up as she stared at the tent flap, thinking to herself. In two days, she would be meeting the dragons. She wondered what they would tell her and what she could ask. Her history was a mystery to her. This might be her chance to make things clear.

“What are you thinking about?” Akira asked. Yuki glanced down at her. She was lying on her own bag, staring at Yuki. 

“Just wondering. About dragons.”

“Me too,” Akira said. “I wonder what their cities are like. The succubi had an old fashion one. The angels had something that I don’t think can really be classified.”

“They don’t really have cities in the traditional sense,” Erica replied. She was lying down as well. “I’ve been there about one time.”

“What was it like?” Yuki asked.

“Dragons love their nature. There aren’t many buildings. That may have changed since it was a while back since I was there, but I don’t think it would be too different.”

“We’ll see. I wonder if we can ask the dragons for anything to help Yuna,” Yuki mused. 

“With what?” Akira said.

“Her control. She says it’s an emotional problem,” Yuki explained. “Dragons deal with those types of things, so maybe they can help give her tips on how to control them.”

“Maybe. It wouldn’t hurt to ask, I guess.”

“Speaking of Yuna,” Erica said, “how are things going on between you and her?”

“What do you mean?” Yuki asked.

“Any progress? You two have been talking a lot lately.”

“Well, I don’t know,” Yuki said. “She’s been more open, but at the same time, she seems only friendly. Not really bashful like before.”

“She making moves?”

“No. She’s kind of acting like she never said she liked me.” Yuki frowned. “Maybe she doesn’t like me anymore.”

“I can guarantee that is not the case,” Akira replied. 

“Hmm.”

“Worried about that, I see,” Erica said, sitting up. “So you do like her back as well, don’t you.”

“I’m not sure yet. I think anyone would be sad at the thought of someone like Yuna not liking them anymore,” Yuki said. “She’s cute, smart, and humble. And teasable.”

“Yes to all of that,” Erica laughed. 

“How has she been with you two?” Yuki asked. “When I was gone.”

“Well, we’ve all gotten a lot closer,” Erica said. “Honestly, she’s basically like our girlfriend at this point, right Akira?”

“I would say so. But if you tell her that, you’ll probably get a lot of blushing and denying,” Akira replied. 

“I see. That’s good to hear. I always knew she was attracted to you two as well. How have things gone with Ember? You all have been together a lot recently.”

“Ember?” Akira repeated. “She’s great. She’s a fun girl, but a lot smarter than you would think. I’m fine with her.”

“No complaint here, either. I like her,” Erica added.

“Mmm. She would be glad to hear that,” Yuki smiled. “She was worried that you two would disapprove of her, but I always told her that it wouldn’t be a problem. We might want to tell her directly, otherwise she’s going to keep doubting herself.”

“Next time we’re alone, we’ll make sure to do that,” Akira said. 

“Thanks. One day, we really need to get together all alone with no worries or deadlines and just enjoy ourselves. I wonder if that would ever come.”

“After the Shikaku are gone, I’m sure we’ll have some days like that,” Akira said.

“I hope. We should go to sleep,” Yuki suggested, lying down on her sleeping bag, “Might be a long day tomorrow.”

“True. Good night you two,” Akira said. 

“Night,” Erica replied.

“Good night.”